New job has been keeping me busy, but with the release of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon my brain would not keep Pokemon off it. Thus, I had enough inspiration to pump out a chapter of this story. You're welcome.

Speaking of Ultra Sun/Moon, expect some elements from those games to begin appearing in this story. Not everything will change to reflect the new games, but certain things will begin happening in this story that reflects those games as well as the original Sun and Moon.

Anyway, thanks to The King of Emerald for being my beta reader and letting me use his character, Jason! Enjoy the chapter!

Wes:

Nayru the Kirlia (Friend Ball, shiny)

Faye the Cutiefly (Level Ball)

Zero the Type: Null (Luxury Ball)

Rose:

Bagon (Great Ball)

Brionne (Poke Ball)

Rockruff (Fast Ball)

Maple the Pikachu (Love Ball)

"So much like how the pathetic Magikarp becomes the mighty Gyarados, we cannot judge any Pokemon by its outward appearance, and what is on the outside can hide something amazing on the inside," Jason read, putting the paper down and looking over at Rose, who was looking miserable. "Well, not your best work… but for an essay you wrote in five hours, it is very well written."

"Great," Rose muttered, irritation clear in her voice. "Now I know what Wes goes through with you."

No emotion seemed to come from the experienced trainer, as he just shook his head, putting her paper down on the desk in front of him. "This was supposed to be a lesson, not a punishment. I don't just give out punishments for no good reason, even when it comes to Wes. I hope you understand that."

Rose huffed at that. "Yeah, yeah."

"Speaking of Wes, it might be time I go out looking for him," Jason stated, looking at the Pokemon Center windows, the black of the night making it impossible to see outside, the sound of rain pounding on the glass. But he barely had stood up from his seat before suddenly the doors opened up. Standing there, making a puddle on the floor due to the damp nature of his clothes, was Wes. He was grinning widely, holding a Lure Ball in his hand. His eyes almost had a grey appearance to them before they suddenly shut, as he collapsed onto the floor. "Nevermind, looks like he's here. Rose, can you carry Nayru? I'll get Namira to carry Wes to his room."

"So now he gets the royal treatment?" Rose sighed, but she obeyed the request and helped carry Naryu to the room Wes was staying at in the Pokemon Center, while Namira carried Wes. After taking care of the two, Rose immediately went to her room, changed into her pajamas and ducked into bed, shutting her eyes and praying for sleep to come. It did not come easily, however, with the emotions stirring inside of her and keeping her awake, no matter how much she wanted to sleep. She did eventually get to sleep, but it only felt like seconds before she was awake again, the sun shining through her blinds. Yawning loudly, she got up and stretched, rubbing her eyes as she dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom.

Sleep had done nothing to calm her, as her emotions were still raging inside of her as she showered. Why was everyone on her case about letting the Feebas go? If she had made a mistake, she apologized for it, so she didn't understand why everyone was treating this minor incident like it was a big deal. It wasn't like she let a Shiny Pokemon go, Arceus forbid. Sighing to herself, she finished up her shower, and realizing that she had forgotten to grab clean clothes before walking into the bathroom, glaring in annoyance as she wrapped her towel around herself, covering her chest down to her upper thigh, before opening the bathroom door.

Only to be met with a grinning Wes.

"You owe me a Prism Scale," the trainer in question said, a stupid grin on his face.

"I tried to stop him," Nayru sheepishly said, peering out from behind Wes's head. "But he just kept walking with that stupid grin on his face."

Rose blinked, before her eyes narrowed as she fumed with anger. "I am naked underneath this towel. I need to change. So, get out of my room right now or I swear I will punch you in the throat so hard, you won't be able to talk for a month."

"I'd like to, but my excitement literally locked up my legs," Wes explained, still wearing the same grin.

"Alright then," Rose growled, tightening her fist.

"Hey, hey!" Nayru shouted, leaping forward and covering Wes's eyes beneath his glasses "Here."

Rose scowled, looking at Wes as she walked past him. The male made no attempt to look anywhere else expect where she was once standing, almost as if his excitement about catching the Feebas yesterday literally was locking him in place. "So why do I owe you a Prism Scale anyway? You're the one who wants one so bad!"

"You let the Feebas go," Wes bragged, his gaze (if Nayru wasn't covering his eyes of course) still fixated on where Rose once was, a smug grin on his face. "Therefore, you're the one who needs to help me evolve her."

"Help you evolve her?" Rose asked, pulling fresh clothes from her drawer, before glaring at Wes for a few moments, letting the towel drop and pulling on her clothes. "I don't think I owe you anything. You got your damn fish, so why don't you and Jason stop being assholes about this whole thing and leave me alone. I made a mistake, so what?"

"I will forgive you if you help me evolve my beautiful fish," Wes suggested. "Deal?"

Rose groaned in irritation, pulling on her shirt and making sure her skirt wasn't wrinkled. Nayru, seeing she was dressed fully, uncovered Wes' eyes, who instantly turned to face Rose again, the same grin still on his face. Rose walked up to him, still shooting him a nasty look before finally holding out her hand, which was instantly grabbed by Wes' own. "Deal, but where the hell am I even going to get a Prism Scale anyway?"

XxXxXxX

"And of all the places we could've looked, we had to come back here?"

Rose sighed as she kicked at rock into the lake, half glaring at Brooklet Hill as she continued walking around the water front. With her was Jason, who was a few steps behind her. "Hey, you need to find a Prism Scale, and this is where they might be. Just be thankful you aren't having to do this the old-fashioned way… not that I wouldn't even dream of putting you through."

"The old-fashioned way?" Rose asked, her anger subsiding as confusion filled her. "What would that be?"

"Well," Jason thought for a moment. "You would have to take the Feebas, and through a ton of effort, raise the self esteem of the Pokemon so that they felt beautiful." He looked over at Rose, who's anger was gone instantly, a look of shock and horror on her face. "I know. It was a nightmare. Most trainers took months, or even years, to evolve their Feebas."

"Okay, even the most extreme optimist would have a hard time doing that!" Rose stated, shaking her head.

"I know," Jason nodded in agreement. "Took my dad ages to evolve his Feebas."

Rose, suddenly remembering something, looked over at Jason. "You never told me what Feebas evolves into."

"And not to upset you again, but I believe it's better witnessed then told."

Seeing it was pointless to ask again, Rose just closed her mouth. She and Jason made their way into the deepest part of Brooklet Hill, where Maple on her surfboard as well as Brionne began searching the waters for the item in question. Meanwhile, Bagon and Rockruff were keeping Rose company on the mainland as she cast her line into the water.

"What is it look like anyway?" Rose asked, looking over at Jason. "You can at least tell me that, right?"

"It's pink in the center, with it slowly transitioning to blue as it extends outwards," Jason replied, crossing his arms and leaning against a tree. "Judging by the fact that there are Feebas in this lake, there is bound to be at least one or two in this lake… somewhere."

"Surprised Wes didn't find one when he was fishing," Rose sighed, moving the line a bit as she sat there waiting. "I mean, they're at the bottom of the lake, you think he would've hooked one with all the fishing he did."

"Pretty sure he wasn't going for what was at the bottom of the lake, rather what was in the middle to the top," Jason pointed out. "Finding a Pokemon, in theory, should be easier than attempting to locate an item in water. Lucky for you, Brionne is in the water helping you."

But even with that help, Rose felt the minutes begin to creep by, her irritation returning as she sat there. She wanted to check the time, but was afraid of what she would see on the clock. Finally, she let out an irritated yell, throwing the fishing rod into the water. "How long does it take to find a freaking scale?"

"It's only been an hour," Jason pointed out from behind her, a look of slight amusement present on his face.

"Well, I give up!" Rose yelled in frustration. "Wes can just do it the old-fashioned way for all I care. Who knows, might teach him some manners, and I would pay anything to see that, even being constantly ridiculed for letting a rare Pokemon go would be a good price for that!"

Jason blinked, looking behind Rose. "You might want to turn around."

"Why, did a Prism Scale suddenly appear?" Rose asked sarcastically.

"Well, if it's being held by a Totem Pokemon then maybe," Jason replied, pointing.

"What," Rose bluntly said, turning to find herself facing a large, spider-like Pokémon with a bubble of water surrounding its head. Its six legs were yellow-green in color for two-thirds of their length, and the final portion was dark blue, each leg with an opaque bubble enveloping each joint. Its abdomen was dark blue with brown streaks on the top and bottom, with two additional horizontal streaks on the top.

"A Totem Araquanid," Jason growled.

"You're kidding me?" Rose hissed, backing up. "Why does Lana have a second Totem Pokemon in here?"

"I'm not sure," Jason replied, as he began reaching for his belt. "Let me-"

But before he could finish, Rose growled in anger. "Maple, Thunderbolt!" Maple obeyed, circling around the lake and jumping into the air, firing a bolt of lightning from her tiny body, hitting the spider Pokemon head on. Araquanid squirmed in pain before firing a Bubblebeam towards Maple, but gravity took hold as Maple began to fall, the bubbles sailing harmlessly over her head.

"Or you can take care of it," Jason commented. "Not like you're in an actual trail, but whatever."

"Brionne, Dazzling Gleam!" Rose ordered. The sea lion Pokemon obeyed, sending a wave of pink energy filled with hearts flying in the direction of the Totem Araquanid, which recoiled in pain from the attacks. The giant didn't take kindly to being attacked, however, and lunged forward, slamming into both Maple and Brionne, who were knocked back to shore from the attacks.

"Are you two ok?" Rose asked. They both nodded weakly, struggling to stand.

"You might want to just let me handle it," Jason stated.

"Nah, I got this," Rose commented, smirking suddenly. "Besides, I want to try something out. Maple, Thunderwave!" The mouse Pokemon jumped back into the air and let out a wave of static, which hit Araquanid and caused it to begin shuttering a little, paralyzed from the attack. Rose then held up her arm, revealing the white colored Normalium Z nestled into the white Z-Ring on her arm. "Maple and Brionne, fall back! Me and Bagon got this!"

Jason blinked, before smirking. "Right, Bagon knows Headbutt."

"Let's do this, Bagon!" Rose shouted, tapping the crystal, which began glowing and surrounding her with yellow energy. Rose began posing as the energy from her was transferred to Bagon, who began glowing with the strange aura. "Breakneck Blitz!"

Bagon roared out, charging forward instantly, a trail of dust kicked up in her wake. She slammed into the totem Araquanid so hard that it looked as though she had flattened it, Araquanid screaming out in fury as she took damage.

"Dragon Claw!" Rose shouted. Bagon leapt off the rocky cliffside surrounding the backside of the lake, flying towards Araquanid and slashing at it with her claws. Araquanid finally swayed and fell into the water, defeated.

"Well, you did it," Jason sighed, relaxing. "And here I thought I was going to have to step in."

Rose smiled for the first time that day, panting a little as she looked at Araquanid. "That… was some much needed stress relief."

"Good," Jason nodded, before something caught his eye. "And it seems like you are getting a prize for your little 'trial' just now."

Rose looked confused before she noticed that something had flown off Araquanid when it feel into the water. Sitting on the grass was a Prism Scale, glistening in the sunlight. Rose picked up the item, looking at it. "It's so pretty."

"Well, don't get attached to it," Jason commented. "Once Wes uses it on Feebas, it'll be gone forever… though the beauty of the scale won't be. Come on, let's go back before Wes comes looking for us."

XxXxXxX

"Here," Rose said, holding out the shiny scale. "You have NO idea the hell I went through to get that scale. Now you better keep your end of the deal and stop being an asshole to me for making a mistake."

"Not just yet," Wes said, taking out the Lure Ball. "You hold onto that, we need to trade first."

"You're joking!" Rose moaned loudly. "It's a trade with held item evolution?"

"Hey, there's a reason why I needed you to get the item after all," Wes commended, walking over to a green machine with two pipes coming out of it, one on either side. "It will be quick, just put a ball in here and we can start."

"You better just do it," Nayru commented, with Maple even nodding in agreement. "It won't end until you do."

"Ugh, alright, but there better not be more to this crap," Rose hissed, pulling out Rockruff's Fast Ball and placing it in the machine, just as Wes placed the Lure Ball. The two balls were sucked into the machine, a graphic of Feebas and Rockruff passing from one end to the other appeared on the screen, before the Lure Ball popped out on Rose's end, and the Fast Ball on Wes'.

"Now just send her out and had her the scale, then we can trade back," Wes stated, not even removing the Fast Ball from the machine.

"I know how it works," Rose hissed, releasing Feebas from her ball. She stared up at Rose with an odd expression, as Rose placed the scale underneath the fin of Feebas. The two seemed to lock eyes for a moment, with Rose raising an eyebrow. "Why is she looking at me like that?"

"Beats me," Wes shrugged, before beginning to bounce impatiently. "Come on! I want to see my beautiful new Pokemon!"

"Fine, fine!" Rose growled, recalling Feebas into her ball before placing it back onto the machine. In an instant, the trade began, with the Lure Ball going back to Wes and the Fast Ball going back to Rose. Once the Lure Ball was in Wes' hand again, he released Feebas, who stared at them for a moment before a blue glow of energy surrounded her. The fish body suddenly shot forth and grew into a serpentine appearance. The glow disappeared, the new Pokemon looking at them with red eyes, long, pinkish antennae above them. On top of her relatively small head was a straight spike, with three black dots running down either side of her neck, gill like in appearance. Her lower body was a patterning of blue and pink, diamond-shaped scales outlined with black, a tail that consisted of four large, blue fins with pink ovals in their centers at her end, each of the tail fins overlapping the next slightly, resembling a fan.

Rose stared at the new Pokemon for a few moments, her mouth hanging open. She finally found the words to speak, her voice coming out higher pitched then normal in awe. "I want one."

"Too bad, she's mine!" Wes commented proudly, hugging the creature, who nuzzled him with affection, looking at Rose with a smug look. "My beautiful Milotic!"

Rose blinked, before suddenly realizing something. "You are the Feebas I let go, aren't you?" Milotic nodded, and Rose almost fell over in shock. "Great…"

"Now we need to nickname you, it's tradition when it comes to my Pokemon," Wes thought for a moment before smiling. "You're as beautiful as cherry blossom trees turning pink in the spring, so how about I call you Sakura?"

"Poetic," Rose sighed, though the newly dubbed Sakura seemed to enjoy the name, as she flapped her tail fin in glee.

"Glad to see all's well that ends well over here," Jason commented, walking over and looking at Sakura. "And now we will stop mentioning it, Rose. Seems like you learned your lesson anyway judging by that look of envy in your eye. Now you understand the true value of a Feebas."

"I don't have a look of envy!" Rose denied, turning away and huffing, though a small smile was present on the face of the trainer, proud of what she had accomplished.

"Anyway, I came over here to tell you guys that tomorrow you maybe meeting in the classroom like normal, but tomorrow's class is going to be taking a field trip," Jason stated.

"Another trial?" Wes asked, with Rose flinching at the mere mention of trials.

"No," Jason bluntly said, with Rose sighing in relief. "It's a class event, not just for you two. Had you not taken Lana's trial yesterday, you would be doing it Tuesday, after this field trip."

"Is it that important of a trip?" Rose asked, noticing that Jason had said Tuesday would've been the trial date instead of Monday."

"It's vital information for any trainer that is serious about raising Pokemon, yes," Jason replied.

"So, where are we going?" Wes asked.

Jason gave a slight smile at this, "Paniola Ranch. Hope you aren't uncomfortable with the topic of breeding."