Thanks to Umbruhon for reviewing Chapter 2, and as usual, thanks to The King of Emerald for beta reading this chapter!
So quick side note, don't get used to these frequent updates. I've just been on a role lately with writing the chapter, but that is sadly going to come to a halt soon. If you guys don't know, I am a senior in college, and I got three major projects coming up for my school (which of course I don't graduate if I don't succeed in getting them done). If I disappear for awhile, that is why, but hopefully I will not be gone too long while I work on them.
Regardless of that, enjoy the chapter!
A faint melody began playing on the alarm clock sitting by Rose's bedside. The red head groaned and sat up, her blue sheets falling off her white pajamas as she reached over and tapped the alarm clock once, silencing the melody that was playing. Rose yawned loudly, stretching before swinging her legs out from under her sheets, letting them touch the floor, and standing up fully, continuing her stretches.
"Well, time to get ready," Rose thought aloud, grabbing her trainer clothes off her dresser and walking over to the second door in her room and opening it, revealing a bathroom. She stepped inside, making sure a towel was hanging on the hook before closing the door.
After taking her shower, Rose emerged from the bathroom fully dressed and ready to go. She grabbed her bag from the dresser as well and took a quick moment to check the clock, which read 7:25 am, which was good because she had 5 minutes before her scheduled meeting with Professor Kukui and Jason, who wanted to see her off before she headed out. Rose left her room, making sure to lock the door behind her before heading downstairs and out the door, heading out towards the main campus building, where she could see Jason and Kukui standing there, both beaming at her with pride (or, at least, Kukui was beaming).
"Thanks for seeing me off, you guys," Rose greeted them, bowing in respect. "I appreciate it."
"Of course." Jason nodded, giving a small smile rarely seen from him.
"Before you go, I would like to give you a gift," Kukui noted, holding out a red object that was somewhat rectangle in shape, with a rectangle screen and what looked like two ovals extending from the screen, also part of the screen. Rose looked confused, reaching out to grab the object, but before she could the object suddenly began levitating, causing her to recoil back in surprise, her eyes widening as she looked at the floating device. Suddenly, before her very eyes, the screen lit up and the two oval screens sprung to life, displaying two blue eyes with white outlines, while the normal screen displayed a mouth. Two arms grew from the device, with one waving at her.
"Hello," the device greeted her. "I am the Rotom PokeDex, and I have been assigned to be your guide during your Island Challenge! Pleased to meet you, zzt!"
"Uh, it's nice to meet you too," Rose hesitantly said, smiling a sheepish smile.
"This type of PokeDex is rare, even in Alola," Kukui explained. "With Rotom inside, the PokeDex is even more advanced then before, and has a lot more functionality then a standard PokeDex! By lending you a Helping Hand, you will be able to clear the trials in no time at all!"
"Thanks, Professor, but I am unsure about all this," Rose admitted, watching Rotom levitate next to her. "Is Rotom really ok being stuck inside a PokeDex?"
"I actually really like it in here," Rotom admitted, giving her a smile. "Sure, I am stripped of all my combative capabilities while occupying the PokeDex, but I've always found myself as more of a compassionate pokemon instead of a battler, zzt. When I was caught by Professor Kukui, he asked if I wanted to be part of a experiment to create the most advanced PokeDex ever, and I accepted without even a second thought."
"If you are willing to help me, then how can I say no?" Rose smiled.
"Registering Rose as my primary user," Rotom stated, suddenly displaying a picture of Rose and some information about her before returning to a mouth. "Rose's user registration complete, zzt!"
"And with that, I believe you're all set!" Kukui cheerfully said. "Rotom can even display a map of the Alola region just in case you get lost, and even can keep track of where you need to go next on the map so you can route the quickest location."
"Thanks, Professor, I appreciate this a lot," Rose smiled.
"If anything, you're doing me a favor," Kukui admitted, grinning sheepishly. "Not all the features of the Rotom Dex are 100 percent complete, and we need to learn how the Rotom works with the dex's internal components. We need to Bulk Up the dex, but we can only do that after someone has used it first to test out the features."
Rose nodded. "I understand. Alright, I'm going to head to Route 1 to do some training, then head off to Route 2 and Verdant Cavern! Oh, hey Rotom, are there any good training spots on Route 1?"
"Analyzing," Rotom declared, a loading wheel appearing on the screen before a map of Melemele Island appeared, with a red flag suddenly appearing on a cave located on Route 1. "Ten Carat Hill is a natural cave located on the route, zzt! Pokemon that make their natural habitat there are Zubat, Diglet, Roggenrola, Carbink, Machop, Spinda, and Rockruff."
"All those huh," Rose thought. "Might want to catch one of them too and add to my team. Alright, sounds perfect, I'll go there first before I head off to complete my trial. I'll be back later, guys!"
"Good luck in your trial!" Kukui called after her and she began heading in the direction of Route 1, with Rotom hovering after her, the image of the map still located on its screen. "Alright, first let's stop by my office before heading up to the classroom. I need to grab something first."
"The students are getting a half day today, right?" Jason asked, following after Kukui as he entered the building.
"That's right," Kukui stated, turning left and walking down the hall. "I want to meet Rose after her trial to see how she did." He entered his office and headed towards his desk, and open looking at the desk and at the box full of amulets, he frowned. "That's odd. I could have sworn there were more amulets in here."
"Huh?" Jason walked over, looking into the box and quickly counting. "Didn't you have 10 amulets in total? There's only nine here."
"Yes, perhaps I miscounted them," Kukui thought aloud as he placed the one sitting on his desk in his pocket. "Strange, but I'll look into it later since we are going to be late if we search for it now."
Jason, however, was frowning as he followed after Professor Kukui, who heading down the hall and taking a right. Jason's face grew a little anxious suddenly, and he began muttering to himself. "It doesn't bother me, it doesn't bother me," but as he muttered that, the anxiety in his eyes grew. "It bothers me, it bothers me a lot."
"Let's just focus on class," Kukui whispered to him before he walked into the classroom with Jason following after him, who was still muttering to himself. Kukui smiled, looking around the classroom. "Alola, everyone! Before we begin class, I would like to talk to Wes out in the hallway. No, you are not in trouble, Wes, just please follow me real quick."
"Uh, sir?" A blonde haired girl wearing a white dress and a white hat pipped up, raising her hand. "Wes isn't here. We stopped by his dorm room earlier today too to check up on him and make sure he came to class, since he seemed pretty down about not getting chosen for the Island Challenge, and he wasn't in there."
"What?" Jason scowled, immediately donning a look of anger.
"Hmm, seems like that is the case," Kukui frowned, looking around to see that Wes indeed was missing. "Thank you, Lillie. I wonder what could have happened to him."
"I think I got a good idea of where that missing amulet is," Jason growled softly. "Oh, that punk, when I get my hands on him, he's in for it!"
"Jason, wait!" Kukui shouted, but Jason was already heading out the door, power walking at a pace that was just under running speeds. He didn't get too far, however, when suddenly Samson Oak appeared before him.
"Not so fast, Jason," Samson said. "I need to talk to you."
"I'm sorry, sir, but it has to wait," Jason replied firmly. "I need to head to Verdant Cavern and make sure a certain student doesn't sneak his way into the trials with a stolen amulet."
Samson looked confused, but he quickly shook his head. "We have to look into stolen amulets and students breaking rules later, I am afraid."
"But-" Jason was about to begin, but Samson held his hand up to interrupt him.
"There was an incident at the Aether Paradise this morning," Samson stated. "We aren't too sure what happened, hence why we need you to go and investigate. Make sure you don't rule out the option that Aether Paradise itself is up to something."
"Oh, come on, I don't think those pokemon activists would really be plotting something," Jason sighed, irritated. This was a waste of time in his mind, and every second he wasted was another second Wes would be out there thinking he was about to get away with stealing a amulet.
"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," Samson warned, looking grim. "Don't forget, this world has seen activists in the past with alternate motives."
"Right, Team Plasma," Jason hissed. "Alright, I'll check it out, then head off to find Wes. I know he stole that missing amulet, and I know that little brat is trying to participate in the trial at noon. Well, not on my watch he won't!"
XxXxXxX
"All healed up and with 5 minutes before we need to meet this Trial Captain," Wes grinned, standing outside of the cave entrance, indicated by a sign that read "Verdant Cavern", which Wes was leaning against. "And no one is here yet. Guess it's time to wait."
"Have you even thought about what you are going to say to Rose?" Nayru asked. "I mean, she could be here any moment."
"Oh, I'm sure when Rose get's here, I'll know what to say," Wes stated, smirking with confidence.
"And just what would it be that you would say to me?" Rose's voice suddenly asked. Wes was startled by her sudden appearance, standing up suddenly and turning to her with wide eyes and a sheepish smile. Rose was standing there with her arms crossed, her eyes piercing through Wes as though trying to read his mind. Bagon was also standing there staring at Wes with a similar look.
"Hey, Rose," Wes hesitantly spoke, sweat forming on the back of his head. "Turns out Jason made a mistake yesterday and I am one of the ones doing the trials too. I caught a Pokemon so I can quality as well. Faye is a cutiefly, wanna see?"
"Smooth," Nayru whispered, nudging Wes. "She'll never suspect a thing."
"Shut up," Wes whispered to her from the corner of his mouth. Rose raised an eyebrow but said nothing, her piercing glare unfazed.
"Ah, so Kukui has chosen two of his students to partake," A voice coming from the cave entrance spoke. Wes turned to see a younger, tanned man with pink hair, wearing a brown vest with dark brown designs over white clothes. "Yes, both of you have an amulet on your bags, so it makes sense. My name is Ilima, and I will be over seeing the very first trial you two will be partaking in. Before we begin, are there any questions?"
Wes paled a little, still sensing Rose's eyes on him, but she didn't say a word. "I think we're good," Wes shaky voice said.
"I can tell you are nervous," Ilima pointed out. "Now, allow me to explain the basics of my trial, what you should attempt to do is defeat six of the pokemon that lurk here in their dens!"
"Pokemon battles, huh?" Wes asked, a grin forming on his face. "My speciality."
Ilima laughed a bit. "Hold on cowboy, I'm not done yet. After that, you two need to reach the pedestal deep within the cave and collect the z-crystal there! Afterwards, show me the z-crystal and I will give you a second one so that both of you can have one. You'll need to be completely in sync with your pokemon to succeed."
"Sounds simple enough." Rose stated, looking over at him. "But I don't see how this trial will be challenging at all with two people taking it at the same time."
Ilima nodded. "Yes, I understand, but since this year we are letting the students do trials in their class groups, we have already made up for that. First, the goals you are to accomplish usually are much more intensive. Normally, I would have a solo trial goer fight three pokemon, while I am having you two fight six."
"And the totem pokemon?" Rose asked.
"Ah, so you have already been informed of the totem pokemon, have you?" Ilima asked. "Yes, while many strong pokemon make their home in this cave, one stronger and more fearsome than all the rest, known as a totem pokemon, also resides here. It will be the greatest obstacle you face as you attempt to clear my trial."
"So will you be sending out two totem pokemon to compensate for the additional person?" Wes asked. Ilima started to chuckle, an unsettling laugh that made Wes' stomach turn. He was now wishing he hadn't stuffed himself full of those snacks.
"You'll have to get to the totem pokemon's den to find out," Ilima explained. "By the way, until you clear the trial, you will not be able to catch pokemon in Verdant Cavern. Now, if you two are ready, we can begin right away."
"Ready," both Wes and Rose said at the same time, nodding at Ilima.
"Then you may begin," Ilima stated. Wes and Rose turned to the cave entrance and walked inside, looking around. The cave was somewhat small, with multiple holes spread out across the cave.
"Alright, let's get started." Wes grinned, turning to Rose, only to see the red head glaring at him again.
"I know you aren't supposed to be here," Rose bluntly stated. "And while I held my tongue in front of Ilima, once we get back to the school I will turn you in for stealing that amulet and coming here, despite Jason not choosing you."
"Oh, right," Wes narrowed his eyes, before gaining a grin. "Look, just because your boyfriend only picked you, doesn't mean any other student in our classroom, especially me, can't do this as well."
"He isn't my boyfriend," Rose stated. "First of all, he is our senior and we are supposed to respect him. Second of all, it is improper for a teacher and a student to have any form of relationship. I'll actually have you know that romance is not what I came to this school for, and it will not be anything I even dare think about until I am champion."
"Sure, because that isn't what you are attracted to," Wes continued to tease her, ignoring what she had said. "I bet you are just thinking to yourself about how smart and talented he is, probably thinking that is what you are attracted to."
"I don't have time for this," Rose sighed. "Bagon, Headbutt!"
The dragon pokemon suddenly jumped up and slammed into Wes, knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the ground.
"Oww... what is in his head, concrete?"
"Her head," Rose corrected him. "Now shut up and focus, we need to defeat six pokemon in their dens. Bagon, check one of the dens."
Bagon nodded, walking over to the den and looking into it. She suddenly jumped back as a pokemon covered in brown fur with a yellow stripe down its back and underside emerged from the hole, a tuft of yellow hair on it's head.
"What is that?" Wes asked, standing back up.
"Rotom, identify that pokemon please," Rose said to her bag. Wes looked confused until the Rotom Dex flew out of her bag and turned to them, displaying a picture of the pokemon in question.
"It's a Yangoos, zzt!" Rotom spoke. "Average height, 1 foot 4 inches with an average weight of 13.2 pounds, normal type."
"Is that PokeDex... talking?" Wes asked, weirded out.
"No time to explain. Go, Bagon!" Rose commanded. "Use Dragon Claw!" Bagon nodded, dashing forward with her claw covered in green energy, slashing at the Yangoos, who get severely hurt and fled back into the den.
"Hey, we're supposed to be working together," Wes pointed out, looking upset.
"Then pull your weight," Rose suggested, point over towards three additional dens. "Go over there and see if any Yangoos are in those spots.
"Fine," Wes muttered, pulling out his Level Ball. "Faye, come out!" Faye appeared from her ball, flying into the air and looking at her trainer for orders. Rose looked at the cutiefly for a moment before heading off with Bagon to examine other dens. Wes walked over to the three dens Rose pointed out to him. "Faye, can you fly into one of those dens and see if any Yangoos are in there?"
Faye nodded, instantly zipping into one den, before suddenly zooming back out in a panic as a Yangoos appeared, before shouting out. Two additional Yangoos appeared, all growling angrily at Wes.
"Well, that wasn't intentional," Wes blinked in surprise, before smirking. "But that's just fine, because I can get three birds, er... Yangoos, with one stone! Faye, use Fairy Wind! Nayru, use Dazzling Gleam!"
"Right," Nayru confirmed, as Faye nodded. Both pokemon leapt into the air, with Faye flapping her wings rapidly and creating a gust of wind with sparkles in it, while Nayru shined in a white light, sending out rainbow colored beams. Both attacks hit the Yangoos, who scurried away quickly to avoid getting hit anymore.
"Good job, guys!" Wes cheered, petting them both. "Now let's rejoin Rose." They didn't need a walk too far, as Rose was just around the corner, battling two Yangoos with two pokemon Wes hadn't seen before. The first was a small sea lion that is primarily blue with large eyes, a long, white snout, black whiskers, and round, pink nose, and a light blue ruff around its neck, which extends past its shoulders. The second pokemon was a dog like pokemon with light brown fur and a darker brown muzzle, paws, and ear tips. It had large blue eyes, button ears, a short muzzle with a triangular pink nose, and a short tuft of fur on each cheek. Around its neck is a ruff of grayish-white fur stubbed with dark brown pebbles. If Wes had to make a guess, Rose had the blue pokemon already, while she had caught the light brown pokemon earlier that day.
"Popplio, use Water Gun!" Rose commanded. "Rockruff, use Bite!"
The blue pokemon shot out a spray of water, while the dog pokemon ran forward and bit into the second Yangoos. Both retreated immediately, Rockruff letting go to allow its escape. Wes walked forward as Rose recalled her pokemon, Popplio going into an ordinary pokeball and Rockruff doing into a Fast Ball.
"Is it just me, or is this almost too easy?" Wes asked her.
"Don't let your guard down," Rose warned him. "We still got a totem pokemon to deal with."
"Right," Wes sighed, uninterested. "I dunno, I expected this to be just like a gym battle, with tons of challenging pokemon to defeat. This is nothing like that, hell these yangoos were just wild pokemon making their dens in here."
Rose glared at him before heading off deeper into the cave, with Wes following after her, still mumbling to himself about the ease of this trial. After a few minutes of walking, Rose stopped and pointed. "Look, I think I can see the pillar and the z-crystal!"
"Alright," Wes grinned, running forward. "Then let's grab it and leave!"
"Wait, Wes, the totem pokemon!" Rose shouted after him.
"Maybe it got too scared and ran off?" Wes suggested, still grinning. His grin faded, however, when a large shadow formed on the ground, getting bigger and bigger. Wes barely managed to leap back, narrowly avoiding the spot that a large pokemon landed on, letting out a roar. It looked very much like Yangoos, but stood on its hind legs, had jagged fur in different placed, and had a larger tuft of hair then Yangoos did. It also seemed to have a yellow beard on his chin as well. It looked down at Wes with a glare, before roaring again. A golden aura suddenly surrounded the pokemon, making it much more intimidating to look it.
"W-what is that thing?" Wes asked, backing up. "And why did it just go Super Saiyan!?"
"Analyzing," Rotom instantly said. "It is a Gumshoos, normal type. Average height 2 feet, 4 inches with an average weight of 31.3 pounds."
"Ok, I know that's only average height, but this Gumshoos is as tall as we are," Rose pointed out, her eyes also wide.
"This is a totem pokemon," Wes realized, looking at the Gumshoos. "A pokemon more powerful then ordinary pokemon."
"That aura is powerful," Nayru noticed, looking at the Gumshoos. "I am sensing that Gumshoos is receiving massive power from it."
"Upon analyzing the aura, I have concluded that aura boosts the attack, defense and speed of that Gumshoos drastically," Rotom pointed out, ducking into Rose's bag once again. "If you don't mind, I'm going to hide before it decides that I am an enemy."
"It's the perfect pokemon to battle against," Wes grinned, his excitement clear. "Faye, use Silver Wind!"
Faye flew high into the air, flapping her wings rapidly and sending out silver bursts of energy contained within gusts of wind. Gumshoos took the blows, but barely seemed affected by it, before jumping high into the air and tackling Faye, sending her flying to the ground.
"Faye!" Wes screamed out.
"Popplio, use Water Gun!" Rose commanded. Popplio leaped forward and sent out a jet of water, which caught Gumshoos attention. He charged at Popplio, colliding into the sea lion pokemon and sending it flying into the wall. Faye and Popplio both were unable to move, knocked out from the attack alone. Wes recalled Faye into her ball, as Rose did the same to Popplio.
"We need to avoid getting hit at all costs," Wes growled, standing up and glaring at Gumshoos. "Nayru, use Confusion!"
"I hope this works," Nayru prayed, her body glowing with energy. Gumshoos was surrounded by the same glow, and he closed his eyes in pain before turning sharply and slamming into Nayru, who was sent flying, but got up from the attack.
"Are you ok?" Wes called out to her.
"That really hurt, but I think I can continue," Nayru hissed in pain.
"Rockruff, use Leer," Rose commanded. "If we lower his defense, perhaps we can take it down!"
Rockruff's eyes glowed red, and what looked like two red energy beams shot from his eyes and hit Gumshoos, who was surrounded by the same energy. Gumshoos, however, wasn't having any of it, and charged at Rockruff, bitting onto him with a Super Fang attack. Due to being a rock type, Rockruff escaped from the attack without fainting, but he looked like he had taken a lot of damage from it.
"That did lower his defense," Rotom said from Rose's bag. "But he is still pumped up with attack and speed! Be careful!"
"Nayru, use Growl," Wes commanded. "Rose lowered his defense, so we will lower his attack!"
"Got it," Nayru said, before inhaling and letting out a sonic screech, which caused Gumshoos to cover his ears in pain. Gumshoos immediately charged again, using another Super Fang on Rockruff, causing it to faint. Nayru was about to attack again, but Gumshoos got the first move, attack with another Tackle that sent Nayru into the wall again.
"Nayru!" Wes shouted, running over to where she hit the wall.
Rose fell to her knees, looking shocked at Gumshoos, who was eyeing Bagon with confidence that he was unbeatable. "W-we can't beat it," she said to herself, looking at the ground, defeated. "He is too powerful, we can't win no matter what we do."
"What are you saying!?" Wes screamed at her. Rose looked stunned, turning her head to look at Wes, who was glaring at her from the rubble he was standing on, Nayru panting at his feet. "You are just going to give up!? You, the girl who is considered the best in the entire school!?"
"But, we can't beat it," Rose stated. "He is too strong for our pokemon to beat."
"Screw that textbook crap," Wes hissed, taking out a Super Potion from his backpack and using it on Nayru, who was healed of some of her injuries. "I'm still standing, and I still got a pokemon left! That's all the reason I need to continue this battle! It doesn't matter what you read in a textbook, or think based on math and logic, all that matters is that you got one pokemon left, and can still battle! If you don't give up, even if the odds seem against you, you can win! If you give up, you'll always be a loser! Nayru, use Growl again!"
Nayru sent out another sonic screech, and this one seemed to do a lot more. Gumshoos yelled in pain from the sonic waves piercing his ears, and when he used his Tackle again, it seemed to not harm Nayru as much, as the ralts got back up, a confident smirk on her face.
"Use Dazzlimg Gleam!" Wes commanded, and when Nayru unleashed her rainbow beams, Rose could see Gumshoos looked more damaged by them then the last time.
"He's... actually weakening it," Rose said in awe, starting to stand up. She looked down at Bgaon, who was looking at her, awaiting orders. "Well, we can't let Wes hog all to glory, huh? Bagon, use Dragon Claw!"
Bagon charged forward, and slashed at Gumshoos, who cried in pain and tackled Bagon away, but the dragon pokemon instantly got up, ready for more.
"End this!" Wes and Rose both shouted at the same time. "Attack one more time!"
Nayru sent out a final Dazzling Gleam, and Bagon charged forward and slashed at Gumshoos with another Dragon Claw. The totem pokemon finally fell, unconscious and defeated by the two trainers, who were panting and looking at Gumshoos.
"We won... Alright, we won!" Wes cheered, holding up his hand, his pointer and middle fingers extended in a victory pose.
"We actually beat it," Rose said in shock. "Even though I thought it would be impossible, we actually did it."
"See?" Wes grinned, walking over and taking the z-crystal in the pedestal. "Now come on, let's deliver this to Ilima so we can both get our z-crystal."
"Don't you mean Rose will take that z-crystal, and you will come with me back to the school?" A voice asked. Wes instantly paled, turning slowly to see Jason standing at the entrance to the Gumshoos den, his eyes locked on Wes in anger.
"Oh, hi... Jason," Wes sheepishly greeted him. "How's the weather?"
"It's about to be stormy." Jason growled, walking forward. "Now, give that z-crystal to Rose, and you're coming with me to serve an entire year of detentions! Pronto!"
"Actually, I think we should hold off on that," Another voice said. They all turned to see Professor Kukui standing there, a grin on his face. "Wes! Rose! You two did it!"
"You... aren't mad?" Jason asked, flabbergasted.
"Well, a little," Kukui admitted. "Wes, if you had only waited till this morning, I would have given you an amulet and a letter, explaining to Rose that you were MY choice for the Island Challenge."
"WHAT!?" Jason, Wes and Rose all yelled in shock.
"You can't be serious," Jason exclaimed, pointing at Wes. "I thought only I was choosing the students for the challenge in your class, so why am I suddenly just learning that you were going to choose him as well?"
"Maybe you can't see it," Kukui explained, beaming at Wes. "But Wes has a ton of potential to be a great trainer, potential that can be unlocked with just a little bit of initiative, and some finer learning. But we can talk about all that later. I believe you two need to turn that z-crystal into Ilima to get a second one?"
"Yes, Professor," both Wes and Rose stated, hurrying off. Kukui and Jason looked after them for a moment, silence between the two teachers.
"Jason, maybe I should tell you why upon your choice of Rose, I instantly knew that Wes should go on this challenge as well," Kukui stated, looking at him. "The sun and the moon are opposites, but they need each other, you see? Wes is like the sun, warm and full of life, but hot-headed, cocky and at times dare I say a little destructive. Rose is like the moon, cool, calculating and mysterious, but lonely and often times thinks too much into things. They both have something the other lacks, and from the moment they met I could tell they could learn just as much from each other as they could in this school, perhaps a bit more from one another."
"I still don't like the idea of Wes going on this challenge," Jason admitted, sighing. "But I cannot argue with you or overrule your order."
"You can give him ONE detention for stealing the amulet though," Kukui stated, laughing a little. "I believe that is fair."