Serena watched as Kiawe panicked over their lost 'prisoner'. "It's not like we stuck him in a cage or something, so was he actually a prisoner?"
"You don't get it! I defeated Agat in battle. We took him captive. We even tied him up—and Lana makes the best knots, so he shouldn't have been able to untie them on his own."
"The point is," Lana continued, "Agat is the strongest trainer on Fifth Island."
Dawn dramatically whispered, "He's the only trainer living on Fifth Island."
"And he calls himself an island captain. But Alola already has a ghost specialist, so when we integrate Fifth Island back into the rest of the region – and we will, in time – then Agat will need to compete against Acerola to see which of them will remain as the region's ghost type specialist."
May giggled. "I bet he's scared. He lost pretty hard to Kiawe, after all."
Kiawe held up his fist. "No! We both brought out our Pokémon's strongest moves! We battled to the best of our abilities! He is as worthy as I am of being a trial captain!"
"Since when did you become friends?"
Sophocles looked thoughtful. "I think Agat was the voice I heard last night. He helped me take care of Drifloon." He looked up at the others with determination. "He's a really good guy, so I'd vouch for him if he wants to be an official trial captain."
Mallow's eyes widened. "That's a big statement, Sophocles. If he's as bad of a trial captain as the one who let Fifth Island fall to ruin, then you could lose your position, too."
"I know he's good. He cares about Pokémon."
Serena walked away from the boat. "I trust Sophocles. I may not like Agat, but if Sophocles says he's a good Pokémon trainer, then we should give him a chance to apply to be an official island captain. He has the strength to back it, too; his battle against Kiawe was spectacular!" Then she remembered. "Kiara, are you okay if we stay on this island a little longer?"
Kiara nodded. "This sounds important, so go ahead. But my feet are tired and I don't feel like walking around anymore, so I'll stay on the boat with Rowly and Turty."
Dawn giggled. "Rowly is a cute nickname for Rowlet."
Kiawe was not as pleased. "Turty?!"
Kiara opened several storage boxes. "Also, I'm hungry. Do you have anything that isn't processed? Unova puts everything in bottles and shiny bags."
Kiawe was fuming. "We don't eat processed food in Alola!"
May placed a hand on the older trainer's shoulder. "I'll stay behind to cook something for Kiara. Mallow, Lana, can you two help me out?"
"Sure!"
"I don't think I can catch any fish here, but I'm sure I can find some edible fungi for a vegetarian curry. I saw wild carrots earlier, so I'll get those."
Kiara perked up. "I've never eaten wild carrots before."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm used to seeing them no bigger than my fingers, packed into nice clean bags. Also, sweetened with Combee-gathered honey imported from Sinnoh."
Kiawe muttered as he walked away from the boat, "I thought she said she didn't like processed food."
Serena, Dawn, Kiawe, and Sophocles didn't have to walk far before noticing a trail they could follow. Kiawe's Marowak sniffed the shadowy residue of some of Agat's Totem Pokémon; some Pokémon, like Furfrou, left fur, while ghost types seemed to leave unexplained shadows. Serena tried to ignore the Haunter, Misdreavus, and Shuppet staring at her, their eyes almost hypnotizing. The sun was up, but the island still had an eerie atmosphere. It was from the wildlife that grew untamed, roots and branches spilling out. Or maybe it was the ghost type Pokémon that haunted the island, never forgetting how a previous captain let everything fall apart.
Ghost type Pokémon weren't the only Pokémon lurking on Fifth Island. Serena had to restrain herself from grabbing onto Dawn whenever she saw one of those creepy salamander Pokémon. Their angled eyes seemed to leer at her, and their forked tongues resembled Ekans'.
Dawn murmured, "There are so many of them..." She scanned one with her Pokédex.
"Salandit. Toxic Lizard Pokémon. Its poison is so corrosive that it can even affect steel types and other poison types."
Serena suppressed a shudder.
Finally, the group found Agat. He was sitting on a rock overlooking the shore opposite where their boat was. An injured Salandit was on his lap; the Pokémon trainer used tweezers to pull out metallic debris that had gotten stuck in its body, which was white instead of the usual dark grey Salandit on Fifth Island. Serena kneeled down to get a closer look. "Does Salandit look like that because of its injuries?"
Agat blinked, startled, though his hand remained steady as he continued clearing the debris. He could be a Pokémon doctor like Brock!
"No, some Pokémon just look different." He smiled. "They're like people that way. So now that you and your friends have defeated me, are you gonna plague my island and bother me all day?"
Kiawe inhaled deeply for a rant. "Don't compare us to a plague! You're like a plague! Your negligence resulted in Kiara getting hurt and stuck on this wretched island, not to mention that poor Salandit—"
Dawn and Sophocles were physically restraining Kiawe from attacking the skinnier Pokémon trainer. Agat whistled for his Totem Pokémon. "Banette, darling, shut this guy up for me."
Banette appeared in front of Kiawe. For a second, its appearance reminded Serena of May's Gardevoir using Grudge in the Grand Festival so Brendan's Swampert couldn't use Earthquake.
Kiawe's lips were pressed shut. His eyes bulged and his cheeks puffed out as he fumed silently. Marowak sighed in exasperation; Serena could swear she saw a drop of sweat on the fire type Pokémon.
Agat put Salandit down so he could stand up. Serena felt bad for the wounded Pokémon, so she pulled it onto her own lap and took out her mini first aid kit, continuing Agat's work while the prospective island captain vented. "I'm tired of Fifth Island getting treated worse than Trubbish, and that includes getting insulted by people like you who have no idea how hard it is to keep this island alive and its Pokémon happy. Because someone made a mistake a long time ago, the other islands ignore us, and other regions like Unova think they can use this place as a dump. For the past few years, I've been trying to make it a safe haven for Pokémon, because people are mean. You're mean."
Banette's Grudge must have worn off, because Kiawe said, "I'm sorry. But you don't have to do it alone. Come back with us. Lana – my friend whose Primarina battled your Palossand earlier – wants to chart this island on a map and lead a restoration project. And you're a strong trainer, so you can become an island captain and use your voice to launch the project with Lana; I think we'll all work well together. My friend Sophocles here wants to vouch for you, and I'll do the same. You'd have to challenge our current ghost type specialist, but I know you'll put up a great fight against her."
Agat stared at him, incredulous. "I don't want to. I'll be a captain on my own. This island isn't ready for more people yet."
Serena looked up, finished with treating the differently coloured Salandit. Kiawe, Dawn, and Sophocles were all looking at Agat sadly, but no one argued further. Agat turned away from them and sat down next to Serena. "Hey, you made Salandit all better! Darling, you're a wonder with Pokémon. Salandit really likes you!"
Salandit padded around Serena and looked up at her expectantly. Dawn placed a hand on Serena's shoulder. "I think she wants to join your team. Do you have a Pokéball on you?"
Serena did. She clicked an empty Pokéball, enlarging it in her hand, as Salandit stared at her with scary purple eyes.
