Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and story elements of the Pokémon franchise. Nintendo, Game Freak and the Pokémon Company own everything and all credit is given to them. I'm only borrowing them for entertainment purposes only.
Chapter 6: Mother's Love and the Aether Foundation
oooooooooooooo
Cynthia's POV
"Guess we're heading back to Alola then," Lana said as she was a disappointed that we were leaving to return to Alola as she wanted to stay a little longer.
"Look on the bright side," Shelby offered to our friend, "at least you managed to capture a Kyogre like you wanted to get."
'That was quite the battle to capture him,' chimed in Lana's now evolved Brionne. 'Lana really had to fight hard and even capturing it was a battle in itself.'
"Those were some interesting recipes that you cooked for us," my mom said to Mallow. "Feel free to come back and cook for us again."
"Thank you, I may do that," Mallow said as she bowed to my parents.
It was then that my parents then looked to my big brother, Victini, and gave him a glare as to make sure that he got the message that he needed to do his job and keep me safe. Victini really didn't like it when my parents to give him the third degree for him to acknowledge that he has to keep me safe. But then again, Primarina reassured my parents that even if Big Brother was off flirting with girls, that she'd never leave my side for any reason. Having Primarina's reassurance was enough for my mom AND Daddy. Lana, Lillie and Mallow finally met Benjy and Shelby's parents and were all nearly Beartic hugged to death by Mrs. Summers.
oooooooooooooo
"I never want to get Beartic hugged like that again," Lillie said as we disembarked from the plane from Diamond Bay Island back on Melemele Island in the Alola region. "Your mother is nice, but she didn't have to hug us like that."
"When Mom hugs someone like that, it usually means that she likes you," Shelby informed our Alola friends. "At any rate we need to get you guys back home and..."
"Hello dear young friends and Alola to you," a new person said to us as we were heading towards the terminal.
A few of us were suspicious of the new person as she approached us as we got off the tarmac and were heading to Baggage to claim our luggage that we brought from home. As for Lillie, she knew the person greeting us yet was nervous and couldn't bear to look her in the eye. As for the woman who greeted us, she was very friendly and was certainly beautiful as I could tell by how dazzled Benjy was by her beauty. Seeing Benjy being dazzled by the woman's beauty made me uneasy and I certainly had a few blood vessels popping on my face and forehead.
"You aren't cheating on your girlfriend by having dirty thoughts about that woman now, are you?" I asked Benjy angrily as brought him back to reality by pinching his cheeks hard from behind.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" moaned Benjy as he didn't like that I was pinching his cheeks hard. "Come on Cynthia! You know I'd never cheat on you, my ocean beauty!"
The woman just began chuckling in amusement as she found our little tiff to be amusing. Her chuckling got our attention as I let go of Benjy's cheeks. Once I let go of his cheeks, the woman said to me, "There's no need for you worry about your boyfriend trying to cheat on you with me. I'm actually over 40 years old. Well out of his league."
"Hooray! Thank Arceus she came to my defense," Benjy said weakly as he was rubbing his sore red Pikachu-like cheeks.
"Who are you anyway?" Shelby asked the woman as we still hadn't learned her name at all.
"It's Lusamine," Lillie answered for the woman as she stepped forward and eyed her with her Alola Vulpix in her arms. "Hello there… Mother."
"Wait wha?!" I asked Lillie in startled tone.
"As my daughter said, my name is Lusamine," the woman said to me and the rest of the group with a smile on her face.
"Hey wait a minute, don't you head up the Aether Foundation?" Mallow asked Lusamine. "The group that takes in abused and battered Pokémon?"
"You are correct Miss…," Lusamine answered to Mallow.
"It's Mallow," Mallow said to Lusamine. "I'm from Akala Island."
"Yes, I'm aware of you, young lady," Lusamine said to Mallow. "You're looking to become an aspiring chief, correct?"
"Uh... yeah, that's right," answered Mallow nervously before looking to her Bounsweet.
"And you're young Lana," Lusamine said to Lana as she looked at Lana. "You seek to capture a Kyogre, if I recall correctly."
"I actually caught one," Lana said to Lusamine as she held the Lure Ball containing the Kyogre that she caught. "And I caught a few more Pokémon too."
"Oh?" Lusamine asked her daughter as she saw Lillie with her baby female Alola Vulpix in her arms. "So I see that you've gotten over your fear of touching Pokémon. That's wonderful to see."
"What are you doing here, Mother?" Lillie asked her mother in a cautious tone. "Last we spoke, we were having... uh... creative differences about... um a certain issue."
"Yes, I haven't forgotten about our argument," Lusamine replied calmly to Lillie as she maintained her smile. "But I figured that I would come and meet your foreign friends in person and make sure their experience here in Alola is warm and welcoming."
Lillie glanced at her mother carefully after hearing her mother's explanation of why she wanted to meet us in person. As for my big brother, he started to dart towards Lusamine at first but stopped short and was frozen for a brief moment before composing himself and straightening himself. I found it quite odd as Big Brother Victini was always trying to hit on pretty girls for attention and friendly affection from them. But this was not the case when he saw Lusamine. Pushing those thoughts aside, we were quite startled when Big Brother Victini let out a telepathic yelp as my Primarina yanked him back by his left ear.
'You by chance are not having any dirty thoughts about that female human now, are you?!' my Primarina demanded of my big brother angrily as she was keeping him in check.
'Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!' cried out my big brother as he didn't like being yanked by his left ear.
"It seems that the men have to be kept in check today," Lusamine said with a slight chuckle of amusement.
'But I wasn't having any dirty thoughts about the human female,' Big Brother protested to Primarina with tears rolling down his cheeks.
'You better not, Buddy Boy!' exclaimed my shiny female Soloist Pokémon as she glared at him.
"Well, if you would allow me the privilege of showing you the Aether Foundation's Aether Paradise," began Lusamine as she looked to me and everyone else, "I would be happy to show you all what we do for Pokémon conservation."
oooooooooooooo
3rd Person POV
oooooooooooooo
"So, you've made contact with the Aether Foundation, have you?" Rhea asked Shelby Summers, who was reporting in instead of Cynthia.
"Yes ma'am," answered Shelby as she gave Rhea a slight nod. "Everything looks respectable on the surface. But…"
"But what?" asked Shelly Robinson, Rhea's younger sister and former Team Aqua admin.
"Milady Rhea, my Spinarak senses are telling me that there's something else afoot and Cynthia is gonna end up caught in the middle of it," explained Shelby. "But there's also something else to report."
"And what is that?" asked Rhea as she raised an eyebrow in interest.
"Team Skull's original leader has been defeated and was usurped by someone from mine and Benjy's home region of Sinnoh," added Shelby. "Someone by the name of Paul Shinji from Veilstone City."
"Keep me informed on everything that's going on in Alola," Rhea instructed Shelby, "and make sure that my niece is safe from harm."
oooooooooooooo
"Wow, thanks for the training," Cynthia said to Lusamine after the two spent the entire afternoon training for the next leg of the Tapu Fini swimming circuit around the Alola region. "I've had a blast training with your watchful help and pointers. I know Primarina and I will perform much better this time around."
"You're most welcome," Lusamine said to Cynthia as she warmly embraced the young swimmer in a gentle hug.
"That swimsuit looks great on you," Cynthia said happily to Lusamine as she looked at her new mentor's blonde yellow one piece swimsuit.
"That's very sweet of you to say," Lusamine happily replied to Cynthia as looked to her new protégé. "I look forward to training you again to help you win the Tapu Fini swimming circuit and other swimming competitions."
After Cynthia and the others went away on the boat they came to the Aether Paradise on, Lusamine smiled as she knew that she had the one who would most likely fulfill her agenda. The president of the Aether Foundation then turned her back towards the boat as it was fully out of her view and then looked to the two female Pokémon who were at her side and gave them a slight nod.
'So you've finally found the one you want as your new protégé, Mistress Lusamine?' Lusamine's Lilligant asked her mistress.
"Yes I have," Lusamine answered her female Flowering Pokémon.
'What about your daughter, Mistress?' Lusamine's Clefable asked the Aether Foundation's president and her trainer. 'We know that she stole our only Cosmog from us and without it, our research can't be complete.'
"Patience Clefable," Lusamine replied coolly. "Lillie will eventually bring Cosmog back to us and then we will continue our work into to Ultra Wormholes.'
'I just hope we can find my husband, Mohn,' Lusamine thought to herself. 'Mohn, I hope you're still alive either there in Ultra Space or somewhere here in Alola.'
oooooooooooooo
Cynthia's POV
oooooooooooooo
'You do realize that there's something wrong with that woman,' Primarina informed me after we met Lusamine.
"Relax Primarina, my Spinarak senses weren't blaring that there's anything wrong with Lusamine," I replied to my shiny female Soloist Pokémon cheerfully. "She's offered to mentor me and help us train for the Tapu Fini swimming circuit. Besides, what's wrong with Lusamine? She runs a respectable group and they're nothing like those Team Skull idiots we've encountered."
"I hope for our sake, you're right about the Aether Foundation," Shelby said to me plainly as she knew that I inherited Daddy's easily trusting personality. "Just promise me that if things aren't what they seem, that you can pull out of there and away from Lusamine if she's not what you think she is."
"I promise," I said to my big sister with a big grin on my face.
"Alright then," Shelby said to me as she hugged me with tears running down her face. "You're too important to me. You're the baby sister that I never got and I don't wanna lose you to someone who took your trust and twisted it for their purposes."
"I know we've gotta start making our way to the first trial site," I said to Shelby as we pulled out of our hug. "It's on Route 2 and we're really gonna need to make ourselves stronger especially if we're gonna take on Team Skull and Dark Blizzard."
"I know… you're right," Shelby replied after letting out a sigh. "We'll just poke our heads in to the Pokémon School and then bug out so we can go take on the trials through the Alola Islands."
oooooooooooooo
"Huh?!" Isabella asked in shock as we found that the Pokémon School was missing some of our classmates. "Where'd everyone go off too?"
'This is quite interesting,' Rika said calmly as she looked at the nearly empty classroom.
"Oh hey guys," Lillie said to us as we took our seats, "Lana, Mallow and Kiawe left the school for different reasons."
'Mommy, I'm hungry,' Lillie's female Alola Vulpix, Snowy, said to Lillie as she pawed at Lillie.
"We'll eat at lunch time," Lillie told her baby Alola Vulpix as she set Snowy on her desk. "The lessons are about to start."
Commander Shelke and Lieutenant Commander Yuffie both entered the classroom as the lesson was about to get underway. Surprisingly enough, our teachers told us that there was no lesson since the season for the island trials were starting very soon. Since there were no lessons, school was going to be out of session until the island trial season had ended. For us, it was like getting a summer vacation and we were gonna make the most of it for certain. Once Commander Shelke and Lieutenant Commander Yuffie left the classroom, we bolted for the door and ran as fast as a Rapidash back to our apartment where we then packed our clothes and gear for our journey throughout the Alola region. I knew that Shiva was going to insist that I take her with me as one of my Pokémon to travel with throughout Alola. Big Brother was certainly coming along with me and I had no say in the matter... no thanks in part to my parents feeling that I had to have Big Brother Victini at my side 24/7. As for my other selections, I took Primarina as she too wasn't going to leave my side either after she promised my parents that she would keep me safe from harm. My last two Pokémon were going to be my shiny female Combusken, Hibiscus and my shiny male Gogoat that I usually rode on for transportation around my home region and in Kanto. Hibiscus was certainly a special Combusken as she didn't have the Blaze ability but had the Speed Boost ability instead and was quite the battler. My Gogoat had the Grass Pelt ability instead of Sap Sipper and didn't train him much except in grassy areas to excellent use of his Grass Pelt ability, even though he did know Grassy Terrain. All of my other Pokémon would be on standby for when I needed to call on them. But I was gonna have to get Primarina and Shiva on board with having to be sent back home to my family home back on Tsunami Island in the Atlantica Islands.
oooooooooo
'You're out of mind if you think that I'm just gonna let you send me away from you for even a second,' began Shiva as she wasn't happy with the idea of her having to go home even for a brief stint.
"Shiva, I have to train my other Pokémon too," I tried to reason with my shiny female Ice/Fairy-type. "It's not like I'm gonna just abandon you at home."
'NO!' screamed Shiva as she tackled me and latched on to me. 'You're not gonna leave me behind! Not ever!'
'Someone is being a spoiled little drama queen,' Big Brother remarked with a sweatdrop on his forehead.
"Shiva, you're just gonna be home for a few days," I informed Shiva as I tried to pry her off my waist. "After the trial is done, I'll most likely call on you after I return to the Pokémon Center. Now can you get off of me so I can finish packing my clothes?"
'Not until you say you'll never send me back to your home unless you come with me,' Shiva answered as she latched on tighter, ensuring that I couldn't try to pry her off.
"Shelby! Help me out here… PLEASE!" I shouted for my big sister to help get Shiva off of me.
"Alright Shiva, time for you to let go of Cynthia," Shelby said as she produced Shiva's Dream Ball and recalled her to it.
'NOOOO!' Shiva cried in horror as she was sucked into her Dream Ball.
"Thanks Shelby," I said as I got up off the ground and received Shiva's Dream Ball from her. "She's going home for now and can pout there."
"That's pretty cold, Cynthia," Isabella said to me as looked at me. "How do you know she won't go on a rampage at your parents' house and trash it?"
"That's what Big Sister Glaceon is there for," I answered Isabella. "She keeps all of the Ice-type Pokémon in line with Big Brother Pikachu too."
"That's right, they both know Iron Tail," Shelby said with a thoughtful nod. "Speaking of which, Benjy is out getting supplies for our journey. Let's change into our journey clothes before he comes back."
"Sounds good to me," Isabella said as the three of us then shamelessly chucked our current clothes off our bodies and changed into our chosen outfits for our journey around the Alola region.
Isabella had put an outfit that resembled her Meowstic sister, Rika…, slipped her Love Ball necklace back around her neck and of course, was going commando like she's done ever since I've known her. As for me, I put my Alola outfit back on after I slipped into my sexy shiny Primarina swimsuit as I was gonna try to charm my shy and cute Benjy with my sex appeal.
"Man Cynthia you're really looking to make a statement with my little brother," Shelby said to me before she put her choice traveling clothes on.
"Well… I did learn from the best… big sister," I replied to Shelby with grin on my face.
Shelby was quick to slip on her clothes as well as she chose to wear a Manectric themed outfit that she got from Aunt Jessica before we left Costa del Sol. She had on skin tight Manectric blue shorts with a yellow and Manectric blue shirt that left her midriff exposed and electric blue sneakers on her feet. Shelby's Manectric was very pleased to see that she chose the outfit that closely resembled him… not that her Houndoom was bothered by his master's choice. As for me, Primarina was very happy as she glomped me in joy that I chose to wear the shiny Primarina Alola outfit that Aunt Jessica made for me.
'Oh Cynthia!' Primarina exclaimed happily as she nuzzled her cheeks against mine. 'I'm so happy that you would wear that outfit! It makes me proud to be your Pokémon and swimming partner!'
"Thanks Primarina," I replied sheepishly. "Now can you get off of me before Benjy comes back and sees me like this, please?"
oooooooooooo
"That was so embarrassing," I said as I was blushing redder than a Chople Berry after we left and locked up our apartment to go on our journey throughout Alola. "I really didn't want Benjy to come back and see Primarina glomping me. So embarrassing."
"I told you before Cynthia," Benjy began as he sighed and rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time, "I don't really care about your Pokémon glomping you. It's not like I'm gonna snap a pic of it and plaster it all over social media and Pokénet. Sheesh Cynthia…"
'Ah… on the road, on the road,' sang Big Brother Victini with a smile on his face. 'We're on the road with beautiful girls just waiting for yours truly!'
"For the love of Arceus…," I said as I rolled my eyes at my brother's antics.
Taking a better part of two days, we were within thirty miles of the trial site when we heard noises coming from a Delibird that was coming from the east of us. The Delibird looked as if she was startled and was frantic for help.
'P-Please good humans,' the Delibird begged of me and my friends as she looked on us from the back of our riding Pokémon, 'my human is in trouble! Wicked humans calling themselves Team Skull are threatening to end the life of my caretaker! Please good humans, you must aid in saving the life of my human caretaker!'
"Okay that's really weird," Shelby said as we heard the Delibird mentioning that Team Skull was now threatening to kill people. "Why are they now threatening to kill people?"
"I dunno," Benjy answered as he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "But let's get to it and take those idiots down."
"Yeah, but we can't let our guard down," I said to my friends. "Remember what Aunt Rhea told us after we made first contact with Team Skull. We can't underestimate these Skull idiots just because Isabella single handily defeated a few buffoons."
"Well then... time to get cracking on these idiots," Isabella said happily with a grin.
'I am looking forward to dealing with those Skull idiots,' Rika said as she remained stoically calm as per usual.
We made our way into Berry Fields and found that the Skull idiots were already lying on the ground in pain with some of them holding to their family jewels. They were still crying out in pain after whoever it was who faced them had inflicted some serious pain they and their children afterwards were going to feel. The one responsible was none other than my cousin and Surfing Queen, Ren Kaiou. You could tell that she was very angry… angry enough to inflict the kind of punishment that the Skull idiots wrought upon themselves.
"Ren, maybe you shouldn't wear those skintight swimsuits or wetsuits if these Team Skull guys are gonna make rude comments and the sexual things they said," Benny said to my cousin.
"You think they're gonna hurt me before you get the chance you've been waiting for about three months?" Ren cutely asked her boyfriend and son of Team Trident's leader, Aunt Rhea. "I mean… you just turned 14 today."
"Really Benny?" I asked Benny as we had overheard our friendly quarry talking after laying waste to the Skull idiots. "Happy birthday to you Benny."
"Oh hey there guys," Ren said to us as we had stopped by to help out. "Sorry about taking these bozos out before you guys got here."
"It's not a problem with us," Shelby said with a smile on her face. "But I think Isabella was wanting to fight these guys since she missed the bento brawl back on Diamond Bay Island."
"Well... there was a convenience store that was starting to have a lot of people showing up after an ad for half price bento was just put outside the door," Benny informed Isabella and Rika.
Once Benny had said the words "half price bento," we knew that we were gonna be eating bento that night. Before Benny could give Isabella directions to the convenience store, Isabella and Rika were already gone. With the pair gone, we decided to go find some more Pokémon to catch and train. Ren wasn't interested in catching the Pokémon in the area of Route 2 since there weren't any Water-type Pokémon for her to try and catch. Though Ren did try to and make an effort to find a Growlithe with the Justified DW ability as she wanted to have a Pokémon that she and Benny could ride on instead of having to always transform into their Pokémon forms just to cover ground throughout Alola. Sadly, Ren didn't have one of her Pokémon that knew the move False Swipe in order force what the locals here in Alola called SOS Battles. So for Ren to try and force these SOS Battles, we had to go the nearby Pokémon Center and buy some item called an Adrenaline Orb in bulk just so Ren could keep trying to find the Growlithe with Justified instead of Flash Fire or Intimidate. For Ren, it took her a few days just to find a Growlithe with the Justified DW ability… and the fact that he was shiny was an added bonus for her.
oooooooooooo
"Man Isabella, you and Rika really went to town on that convenience store," Ren said to Isabella as Shelby and I were tending to the cuts she acquired from fighting in the convenience store over our delicious supper. "But did you really have to bust out the fire bending just to get all of this delicious food?"
"Does your shiny Arcanine have to be a complete pervert?" Isabella countered back with a question of her own in relation to Ren's newly caught and recently evolved Pokémon being a pervert.
'We're just lucky that Isabella's fire bending didn't do much damage to the convenience store,' Rika replied before she opened her bento box. 'Though we will not be able to enter that store again as per the manager's request.'
Before I could say or contribute anything, my cellphone vibrated as I got a text message from Lusamine of the Aether Foundation. Her text message gave me info on Team Skull as they were getting ready to make a move near or at the trial site. Lusamine also sent another text message telling me that the next leg of the Tapu Fini swimming circuit was fast approaching and that she wanted to schedule another three training sessions before the start of the next leg of the Tapu Fini swimming circuit. I had a smile on my face as I enjoyed hearing from Lusamine as she was starting to become like a third mother to me and she really treated me as if I was her flesh and blood daughter.
'We'll train once my friends and I have defeated the Melemele Island kahuna,' I replied to my third mother, ending the text with a hugging emoji.
'The next leg will start in a couple weeks,' Lusamine sent back as her reply. 'And I expect you and your friends to be careful, sweetie. Make sure you let me know once you've completed your first trial and if Lillie is still with you. With all my love… your Alola mother. ;)'
Once we had finished our evening dinner, I received a text from my mother. She told me that Shiva was certainly quite a handful as she was trying so desperately to get back to me. Thankfully, Sister Glaceon and Sister Meloetta were working on helping Shiva calm down and get settled into living at home when I didn't require her help. I made sure to thank Mom and Sisters Glaceon and Meloetta for helping to calm Shiva down. Though Mom did say that Shiva was getting in bed with her and Daddy… more like forcing Daddy out of the bed and hogging his spot on the bed. I found it to be very amusing that Shiva was forcing Daddy off the bed and I know that Daddy doesn't like getting kicked out the bed or forced to sleep on the couch.
"Something up Cynthia?" Shelby asked me as she noticed that I was snickering at the text messages that I was getting from Mom.
"I think Shiva's making herself comfortable at home," I answered Shelby, getting the attention of Benjy and my two Pokémon protectors as they were eating their meals.
'That's good news to hear, I take it,' Big Brother Victini said before he wolfed down a Zebstrika Cake his mouth.
'Seriously Victini, care to shovel another Zebstrika Cake while everyone else has to watch you?' my shiny Primarina sarcastically asked Big Brother Victini as she wasn't amused by my Psychic/Fire-type's eating habits while we were on the road.
"Its fine Primarina," my boyfriend said to Primarina, "we're used to him shoveling and wolfing down sweets."
"Let's get some last minute training in before we head to Verdant Cavern in the morning," I said as we left my big brother to eat his two Zebstrika cakes. "Though I kinda wish there was a pool nearby so I could do my usual morning swimming exercises.
oooooooooooo
"Man Primarina, we got lucky there was a path to bring us down to the beach and the ocean," I said to my shiny female Primarina. "And the ocean is very calm. Calm enough for us to get in our morning swimming exercise in."
'I agree… but shouldn't Shelby be coming with us to train?' Primarina asked me as I eagerly and happily shucked off my clothes to reveal my swimsuit underneath.
"I wouldn't worry about Big Sister Shelby," I reassured Primarina happily as I happily ran into the water with my shiny female Soloist Pokémon following me in tow.
'Wait for me Sister!' Primarina exclaimed happily as she followed me into the warm tropical water.
As the two of us began our swimming exercise, it seemed as if we had stirred up trouble with the local Mareanie gang as we began our exercise. They didn't take too kindly to Primarina and I being near them. A few of them even tried to attack us as we came around the bend. Thankfully, Primarina had learned Protect as she swam in front of me and blocked the Sludge Bomb attacks fired at us. Primarina then retaliated with her Psychic attack every time a Mareanie tried to attack us with a Sludge Bomb or Spike Cannon attack. I really didn't understand why the Poison/Water-type Brutal Star Pokémon wanted to attack me and Primarina as we weren't bothering them with whatever they were doing.
oooooooooooo
'I certainly hope that you two enjoyed your swimming exercise this morning,' Big Brother Victini said as he made himself visible as he had followed me and Primarina to the secret beach that we went to swim and exercise in.
"We did enjoy ourselves," I informed Big Brother Victini with a smile on my face. "And I'm actually glad that you were doing your job for once."
'Please, I always do my job,' my Pokémon big brother insisted coolly.
"Uh huh… keep telling yourself that," Shelby said to Victini plainly as she came back to the campsite after doing some training with her Pokémon before looking to me. "I take it you found a way to go swimming this morning, considering that you came back just in your swimsuit."
'Oh yes,' replied Primarina as she happily latched on to me. 'We got plenty of exercise and some training too… no thanks to those stupid Mareanie who thought we were snooping around in their business.'
"Oh man," Shelby said to me and Primarina as I threw my clothes on over my swimsuit in anticipation. "Did you catch any of them?"
"No way," I answered Shelby as I shook my head. "I'm not interested in Pokémon that are big in being thugs. Like those Poison/Water-type Pokémon were."
'That's big coming from someone who caught a Skrelp last year,' Victini replied plainly as in reference to my recent add-on of reinforcements I brought from home.
"Hey, she's a good girl and she evolved into a Dragalge before we nailed the finals of the Suicune Cup… together," I shot back at I glared at my Pokémon big brother as I finished putting my clothes on over my swimsuit. "Besides, she was my swimming partner during the Suicune Cup in Johto."
'And I intend to play a big part in helping throughout the trials and against those Skull idiots too,' chimed in my shiny female Poison/Dragon-type Mock Kelp Pokémon before looking to Primarina. 'You must be Cynthia's swimming partner for the swimming circuit here in Alola. I'm Dragalge and it's a pleasure meet a new Fairy-type Pokémon such as yourself.'
'Uh… thank you I suppose,' Primarina replied nervously as she could sense my Dragalge's Poison-type energy. 'Never met a Poison-type Pokémon that wanted to be friends with fairies like me.'
"Oh… she's friends with Sister Amethyst and Ronginku," I told Primarina with a smile on my face. "But let's get to the trial site and get our first Z-Crystal."
For Benjy, Shelby and Isabella, we were in complete agreement as we headed Verdant Cavern, the site of our first trial in the Alola region. Once reached the Verdant Cavern, we were greeted by the trial captain guarding Verdant Cavern. The trial captain, Iilma, was kinda cute, but he wasn't as cute as my sexy stud, Benjy. He gave each of us a warm welcome but then told us that each person would have to go through the trial individually instead of moving through the cavern as a group.
"So... then which one of you will go first through the cavern and take on the challenge of Verdant Cavern?" Iilma asked us with a smile on his face.
"My siblings and I will go first," I answered Iilma as I raised my hand. "I mean my Pokémon and I will go first."
"Hm... that's quite interesting to hear," Iilma said as he rested his chin on his left hand. "'My siblings and I will go first'. I've never heard that one before.
"Very well then," finished Iilma, "You and your Pokémon siblings may go first."
Once the words left his mouth, Iilma then opened the gate to enter Verdant Cavern after giving some last minute words, letting me know that I couldn't capture any Pokémon in Verdant Cavern until I completed the trial in the cavern. With those last words, my Pokémon siblings and I entered the cavern and began our trial. At first, I had no idea on what I should do until I spotted a Rattata that was black and grey in color instead of the normal purple and grey that I've been SO accustomed to back in Daddy's home region of Kanto.
'Maybe we're supposed to go after and capture that little weird Rattata,' Dragalge offered to me.
"Then if that's the case, let's go get it," I said as I put my Dragalge in the lead position.
There certainly were Pokémon that tried to slow us down. Zubats in particular were being quite the annoying pests like they usually are at Mount Moon and the various other caves in the different regions I usually traveled to. However, Primarina was able to easily sweep them aside thanks in part to her Liquid Voice ability and Disarming Voice move. It was then that we spotted the Rattata and tried to corner it. When we corned the Alola Rattata, it fought back, but was no match for Primarina as she was too powerful for it. After about twenty minutes and having to sweep aside some weird looking Digletts, we made our way to the next area and another Rattata to try and corner. Like the first Rattata, it tried to fight back, but was easily swept to the side by my Water/Fairy-type Pokémon sister.
'These Pokémon are far too easy,' my shiny female Soloist Pokémon sibling informed me with happy look on her face. 'But it is that time again, so could you please let me sit this one out since you have to perform the usual weekly maintenance on my throat?'
"Yeah, yeah, I know I gotta do the weekly maintenance," I said before recalling Primarina back to her Dream Ball as I rolled my eyes. "Sheesh, she thought I'd forget about it. I read the Pokédex entry of Primarina and paid attention to it."
Once I put Primarina's Dream Ball in my fanny pack, I then heard a noise coming from the other side of the cave that I didn't like at all. Using my Aura power that Master Lucario and Aunt Anna taught me, I detected the same three thugs that Isabella beat up and humiliated. If anything, I planned to do the same to those three idiots… minus the fire bending that Isabella used against them. Unfortunately for Primarina, I was going to have to put the weekly maintenance of her throat on hold until I disposed of those Skull idiots. I then decided to use my Aura power to help me get the drop on them. I had gotten very good with Aura power thanks in part to Master Lucario and Aunt Anna.
"Hey, how we supposed to capture that Pokémon if it keeps going to different areas of this bat crazy cave, yo?" the fat Skull idiot asked his companions.
"Let's just head to surrounding spots where the ugly little creep will pop up at," I heard the tall scrawny Skull idiot suggest to his two companions.
When the Skull idiots agreed to their plan, they sprang into action and then blocked three of the four smaller caves leaving one smaller cave open. Instead of going to fight the remaining Pokémon, I chose to beat up the Skull idiots myself and make sure that it was personal too. My first target was the Skull fatso as I snuck up behind him and decided that I play a little dirty as outsmarting the Skull fatso was going to be too easy. I wondered if he had ever gotten wedgies when he was little. If he hadn't, then he was getting them that day. Using my Aura power, I effectively snuck up behind him and made sure that the Aura was "turned off" before launching my blitz attack wedgie on him. The Skull fatso certainly was caught off guard when I gave him a wedgie he was never going to forget, nor forgive. He certainly cried like a little girl when got the wedgie as I quickly melted back into the shadows as per Lady Aquila's instruction as I had received training from the Amphibious Corps of Team Trident. The next target was the scrawny Skull idiot as I planned on ensuring that he wasn't going to be thinking about the family plan just yet. Once again I snuck up behind the Skull idiot like I did with the Skull fatso idiot by using my Aura power and then performed a blitz attack on him as well. The last Skull idiot wasn't as dumb as her companions and actually put up quite a fight too. Despite the fight, I still defeated her and knocked away the Pokéballs from her belt causing her to run away and abandon them. I had thought about acquiring them myself, but I wasn't interested in their Pokémon… at least for the moment.
oooooooooooooo
"Man that Totem Pokémon was quite tough," I said to Primarina after we had defeated the and I gave her that special tonic that Doctor Nakamura gave me to give Primarina once a month so I wouldn't have to perform the daily maintenance on her throat.
'You're not kidding,' agreed Primarina with a slight nod. 'We definitely weren't expecting that Raticate to know the move Sludge Wave. I'm just glad that I didn't get poisoned by that Sludge Wave.'
"Oh well... at least we got this Z Crystal and are one step closer to being able to go toe to toe, hopefully against more competent opponents in Team Skull," I said as I put the Normalium Z crystal away in my fanny pack.
"Really? You think you can defeat the new and improved Team Skull with the weak little Pokémon you've got?" a man from behind asked me in an angry and malicious tone.
"New and improved Team Skull?" I asked the purple haired man in a mocking tone. "If you're talking about those three idiots that I launched a blitz attack on and made run off like little babies, then sure thing pal. You keep telling yourself that Team Skull is new and improved."
'Those three morons were a joke,' added my shiny female Soloist Pokémon as she snickered at the new person.
"Oh I'll deal with those three worthless morons later," the purple haired man said to me and Primarina with a poisonous venom tone. "Anyone who doesn't perform the way I tell them to may not live to see the light of another day."
"You don't scare me," I shot back at the purple haired man as I narrowed my eyes at him. "Come on you jerk, I'll take you on!"
oooooooooooooo
"Primarina!" I shouted to my wounded Primarina as she was being carted away by Doctor Nakamura's medical staff. "Primarina! Oh Arceus! Why did this happen to you?"
'Don't… worry… about me… Sister,' Primarina said to me weakly with a reassuring smile as she held my hand. 'Your safety… and… protection is my responsibility.'
'Little Cynthia,' Big Brother said to me as he set his tiny hand on my shoulder, 'she'll be just fine. Your safety is not just Primarina's safety, it's my responsibility too.
'As for that wicked human, we'll get back at him for what he tried to do to you,' finished my Psychic/Fire-type Pokémon big brother with a confident smile on his face. 'I'm sure Shiva would like to return to the field… provided that she hasn't done any damage to the house.'
"Sister Glaceon and Big Brother Pikachu are more than likely to keep Shiva under control," I reminded Big Brother Victini as I let go of Primarina's hand.
"Don't worry about your Primarina," Coraline, Doctor Nakamura's firstborn child, said to me as she set her gloved left hand on my right shoulder. "We'll take good care of her and she'll be back to you before you know it."
oooooooooooooo
"I'm sorry to hear about your Primarina getting wounded like that," Lusamine said to me as I cried in her lap and she stroked my hair. "It's very heartbreaking to hear that a vicious beast like that purple haired monster you described to me would try to kill an innocent girl who's blossoming into a beautiful young woman."
"But why me?" I asked my surrogate Alola mother with tears still streaming down my face. "I didn't do anything to make this guy angry or to cause him to have a beef with me!"
"Sometimes, those who are angry refuse to accept to take responsibility for their own failures and wish to pass that blame on to others," Lusamine answered me as she pulled me closer to her in a warm and gentle hug.
"It's all my fault that Primarina is hurt," I cried as it felt like the tears wouldn't stop streaming down my face as I thought about my Pokémon swimming partner for the swimming circuit. "I got too cocky and it got her hurt… by that Thunder attack that was meant for me."
"Shh…, it's going to be alright," Lusamine said to me in a gentle and silky tone as she buried my face in her chest as I continued to sob. "Everything will be just fine, my precious child.
"Lay down in the bed, sweetie," Lusamine said to me as she then laid me down on the hotel bed gently.
"Please stay with me," I requested of Lusamine as I held out my arms to my surrogate Alola mother.
"What am I to you… chopped liver?" Shelby asked me as she got in the bed with me and laid down next to me.
'Oh goodie!' big brother Victini happily exclaimed as he got on the bed with Shelby and I. 'Just where I always like to be! In a nice comfy bed with very beautiful girls! Lord Arceus could not have given me the best luck this day!'
"O'fer," I muttered as I would've preferred that it was just Shelby and I.
"Alright… let's go small fry," Benjy said as he grabbed my Psychic/Fire-type Victory Pokémon big brother by his left ear. "We need to be courteous and let the ladies have their peace and quiet without us for the night."
'Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow,' whined my big brother as he was being dragged away by his left ear by my boyfriend.
Lusamine couldn't help herself by chuckling at my big brother's attempt to get in the bed with Shelby and me. She found my big brother's attempt to be very amusing as she said to me, "You have quite an amusing Pokémon there."
"He's not just my Pokémon," I said to my surrogate Alola mother. "He's my big brother. Victini's always been at my side since I was born. All of my parents' Pokémon are all my older brothers and sisters and I like having Pokémon as older siblings."
"It kind of reminds of someone else that I met when I was younger and traveled to the Unova region," Lusamine said to me with a smile on her face. "He was very cute and always had Pokémon at his side, saying they were his siblings just like you do.
Lusamine then looked to me and said, "Sleep well you two and you'll awake in paradise… my daughters."
Both Shelby and I fell asleep and drifted off to dreamland cuddling with each other… um… in a sisterly manner of course. As Shelby and I were fast asleep, my body then began to feel light as air as I was asleep. I had no idea of what was going on and it would remain that way until I woke up. I will admit that I was certainly enjoying the sisterly cuddling with Shelby.
oooooooooooooo
The next morning I woke up and saw that we weren't at the little motel on Route 2 or on Melemele Island for that matter. Rather we were in someone's home and in a luxurious bed for that matter. I looked around the room we were in and saw four rather expensive-looking chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, a couple tables and two nightstands flanking both sides of the bed. As for the bed itself… oh Arceus, it was so comfortable! The bed was a king-sized Sleep Number bed that had a pillow top plush mattress that was set to my ideal sleep number of 15. With me and Shelby sleeping in the very comfortable bed, neither of us were certainly going to be counting Mareeps or Flaaffies. As for my body, it felt as if it didn't want to get up because of how comfy the bed was and I went back to sleep. Another 30 minutes passed by and then Lusamine entered the room with a smile on her face as she then turned the lights on in the bedroom and came to wake both of us up.
"Turn the light off, Mom," Shelby said sleepily as her grip around my waist tightened a little bit. "It's too early for us to get up."
My surrogate Alola mother didn't comply with Shelby's request as she just giggled and got us both stirred and slowly awakened. Once Shelby and I were awake, we looked at Lusamine and saw her standing at the end of the bed. I could tell that she certainly was enjoying scene she was looking at.
"So how did you two enjoy my bed?" Lusamine asked me and Shelby. "Was it comfortable for you?"
"Very comfortable," answered Shelby before looking around for her Pokéballs. "Wait a minute… where are my Pokéballs? And better yet, where are my Pokémon?"
"There's no need to be hostile," Lusamine answered Shelby in a smooth and silky tone. "I haven't stolen your Pokémon. They are out in the Conservation Area with the other Pokémon I have brought here.
"But I'm sure that you would like to move around and have breakfast, yes?" Lusamine asked me and Shelby, getting a slight nod from both of us as we were both hungry.
Lusamine then gestured to the table as our backpacks with our clothes were set on the table behind her and she told us to shower and get changed before we joined her for breakfast. But before we got out of Lusamine's bed, I felt something familiarly fury brushing up on my back as I knew right away that my Psychic/Fire-type big brother was in the room with us. I snatched him by his left ear without even using my Aura power and was able to get him to become visible once more.
'Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!' moaned my Victory Pokémon big brother as he didn't like it when I had him gripped by his left ear. 'Let go, Little Cynthia! You're about to yank my ear off!'
"Maybe if you'd get the message that I'm fine being with Shelby, I would stop yanking you by your left ear," I replied to my big brother's complaint in an irritated tone.
oooooooooooooo
"I would like to welcome you to the Aether Paradise," Lusamine said to us after we had breakfast and was giving all of us a grand tour of the facility that she was running. "This is the headquarters of my group, the Aether Foundation.
"Here we rescue Pokémon that have been abused and neglected by trainers and bring them here for rehabilitation," continued Lusamine as she had gone to the Conservation Area where we found our Pokémon interacting with the Pokémon that were living there and their respective Pokéball set on a necklace in order for the Pokémon that were being rehabilitated knew that they were owned and not rescued. Our Pokémon seemed to be learning quite a bit about the Aether Paradise from the Pokémon that were being rehabilitated by the Aether Foundation. Once we got our Pokémon back, it was then that an intruder then blasted their way into the Conservation Area. One intruder was a teenaged girl a year younger then Shelby, but older than my boyfriend and me. She was accompanied by what looked like her boyfriend… or brother and appeared to look as if he was an unwilling participant in the girl's activity. The older girl with long blue hair and was certainly dressed in a nearly lewd outfit and looked more like someone I'd rather not say. As for the boy with her, he had red hair and wore loose fitting purple cargo pants, a white t-shirt and light purple sleeveless jacket. The girl laughed in an evil and maniacal manner as she then said, "Neo-Team Rocket is BACK! And we're here to set up shop in this region.
She then looked at the Pokémon that were resting or glaring at her as she continued, "Hmm… using this place as our base is great idea. There are already Pokémon here for us to steal and do with as we please. Right little brother, Clyde?"
The boy shook his head as he answered her, "You've already gotten us in trouble back home in Kanto. Not to mention every time you've tried to revive Team Rocket, it's been dismantled. Again… and again… and again. I told you that I never wanted to try and revive Team Rocket, Bonnie."
"Oh come on Clyde," the older girl named Bonnie protested to her younger brother. "You used to enjoy the stories that Mom and Dad told us about their days as members of Team Rocket."
"Yeah," shot back Clyde, "I… enjoyed the stories. I never wanted to relive their experiences, their glory days in Team Rocket."
"You foul and ungrateful little beasts," Lusamine snarled at the two Kanto siblings in disgust and contempt. "You will not steal from us."
"Oh we're taking every Pokémon here, including all of the Pokémon you 'think' are under your possession," Bonnie countered back with a wicked grin. "All Pokémon exist for the newly reformed and improved Neo-Team Rocket to exploit."
As for Bonnie's younger brother, he let out a sigh and then pulled out his cellphone as if he was having to use his phone as a last resort. It took only a few seconds for the younger brother of this Bonnie girl to go through his contact list and hit it on his touch screen as it dialed the number of his contact. Looking at Clyde's body language, it looked as if he didn't wanna have to resort to calling the person or persons that he was calling.
"Hi Mom… Dad, its Clyde," Clyde said to people he was talking to on his phone as his older sister stood before us cackling like an evil hag. "You wanna who's been trying to reform Team Rocket, the group you said you got out of before it self-destructed? Yeah, that group. Well… the person responsible for trying to resurrect it is Bonnie. She's been trying to revive it multiple times.
Bonnie looked at her older brother angrily as he continued, "No Mom… that's not what Bonnie's been spending her money on. She's been blowing it on stupid gadgets and whatnots for trying to steal Pokémon from others. No Mom, I haven't been trying to steal Pokémon. Bonnie's been dragging me all around Kanto and now here in Alola to try and set up her… Neo-Team Rocket… for the umpteenth time. But… yes Mom, I'll put her on and turn the speaker on too."
Clyde then turned the speaker on his cellphone on and then handed the cellphone to his older sister, causing the rest of us to be confused at what was going on. The Bonnie girl looked confused at first and then glared at her younger brother. She then composed herself and then accepted the cellphone from her brother.
"Hey there, what's up Mom?" Bonnie asked her mother as she was trying to deal with her mother. "Clyde and I are having a great time here in the Alola region and we're gonna…"
"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO SAY LITTLE MISSY!" Bonnie's mother screamed at her over the speaker. "YOU AND YOUR BROTHER ARE RETURNING BACK HOME TO KANTO RIGHT NOW! AND YOU AND I GOING TO GO A FEW ROUNDS AS WELL!"
'Thank the Alpha Pokémon that Little Cynthia's mother isn't like this when disciplining her offspring,' my Unova Psychic/Fire-type Pokémon big brother said to the rest of us with his eyes wide as dinner plates as we were listening to Bonnie getting chewed out like a Granbull with a bone.
"I don't think I've ever been that angry with my own children before," Lusamine added as she was shocked at the level of rage Bonnie and Clyde's mother had as she was still going at it with Bonnie.
"But…," Bonnie tried to protest to her mother.
"YOU'RE GOING TO GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD… LITTLE GIRL!" shouted Bonnie's mother, still over the speaker. "TEAM ROCKET… IS… AND… WILL ALWAYS BE… DEAD!"
"Well… that'll save us from having to knock down Neo-Team Rocket any more times," Shelby chimed in with a sweatdrop on her forehead.
"Amen to that Sis," agreed my boyfriend, Benjy.
"I can't believe you told on me," Bonnie mouthed to her younger brother.
"Go ahead and give me that third strike," shot back Clyde. "I really don't care. You had to be stopped… even if it meant tattling on you."
Then Bonnie tossed the cellphone back to her younger brother as she stormed off in anger. As for Clyde, he was instructed to give his cellphone to the owner of the establishment so she could speak with them. Clyde did as he was told and gave the cellphone to my surrogate Alola mother.
"Um… hello?" Lusamine asked the caller a little a nervous.
"I apologize for the trouble my daughter might have caused you,' Clyde's mother said to Lusamine. "I hope that she didn't steal any of your Pokémon from you."
"No, she didn't steal any of the Pokémon that the Aether Foundation is sheltering and rehabilitating," Lusamine replied to Bonnie and Clyde's mother. "Nor did she steal any of my guests' Pokémon either."
"That's good to hear," replied Bonnie and Clyde's mother as she was now calm. "I'll punish my daughter for her actions. She'll be very lucky not to be handed over to the authorities after the Arceus Act was drafted and enacted worldwide."
"Yes… I agree with that," said Lusamine as she and the caller shared a few more minutes of talking time.
oooooooooooooo
"Thank Arceus that's over with," Benjamin said after the two intruders left the Aether Paradise.
"Well… at least we'll no longer have to deal with trying to knock down Neo-Team Rocket," Shelby said as she was taking care of her Pokémon.
"I might as well call Mom and have her send Shiva over to me while Primarina is being cared for right now by Doctor Coraline," I said before letting out a sigh and rolling my eyes.
"Unfortunately, you won't be able to receive any Pokémon here as the jamming signal also blocks Pokéballs from coming in or going out," Lusamine informed me before I started to dial the phone number back home on Tsunami Island. "I'll make sure you get back Hau'oli City so you can get to the Pokémon Center and call home switch out Pokémon."
My only response to her was just to glomp my surrogate Alola mother and hug her. Lusamine was certainly taken aback by me glomping her, but hugged me back with a smile on her face. Shelby and Isabella looked at Lusamine with looks of uneasiness. Even Rika shared their uneasiness as the shiny female Kalos Psychic-type Constraint Pokémon watched Lusamine as she hugged me back.
oooooooooooooo
3rd person POV
'You seem to be taking a liking that young Cynthia human, Mistress,' Liligant said to her mistress as Lusamine waved good-bye to their guests after they had lunch and finished the tour of the Aether Foundation. 'That's not going to be a problem, is it?'
"Of course not," Lusamine answered her Grass-type Flowering Pokémon as the look on her face then soured once the boat with its occupants was no longer in view. "She's just a means to an end. Nothing more to me."
'You say that now, Mistress,' began Lusamine's female Clefable, 'but your body language is telling us that you're developing feelings for the young human.'
'Perhaps you need to look into the foreigner's background,' Lusamine's Mismagius suggested to his mistress. 'There must be something that's causing you to potentially feel close to her.'
"Alright… you guys win," relented Lusamine as she let out a sigh. "I'll take another look at Cynthia Ketchum. Though I can go through a better source then using a computer and Pokénet."
'Eh… thinking about contacting your friend from Sinnoh then?' the female Fairy Pokémon asked her mistress.
"Yes, Cynthia Shirona should know about this girl," Lusamine answered her female Kanto Fairy-type Pokémon. "Though I heard that she disappeared after the Lily of the Valley Conference 14 years ago with some guy she married and their child. I can contact her through Pokénet. We still keep in touch every now and then. Hopefully I can get some info on our guests without our efforts being hindered at every turn we take."
'I hope you're right about that,' Clefable said to Lusamine. 'We really need to more about these foreigners before we make any attempts to get them on our side and do our bidding.'
oooooooooooooo
Cynthia's POV
oooooooooooooo
"Shiva! Get off of me!" I exclaimed as my shiny female Ice/Fairy-type Fox Pokémon had pounced on me after I asked Mom to send her to me since Primarina was out of action for a while.
'You left me at that place and didn't bring me back with you!' cried Shiva as she tackled me to the ground and latched on to my hips with her front paws.
"I wanted to change up my lineup," I protested to Shiva as I was struggling to get free of Shiva. "Now let… go… of… me!"
Boy did I sure have a heck of a time just getting out of Shiva's grip. Though I certainly had to thank Lavender for her using her Flamethrower to get Shiva to let go of me. Once I got out of Shiva's clingy grip, I took a deep breath and then recalled my clingy Alola Ninetales to her Dream Ball. I was certainly going to have to a word with Diamond Flake if I ever got the chance to do so, about her very clingy daughter.
oooooooooooooo
Author's note: And cut! Sorry for the wait. Work and stuff IRL have kept me a bit busy and I wasn't able to do much writing. I hope you like the chapter and leave reviews on it. I may take a month or two hiatus from this fic while I work on other projects. I dunno yet. At any rate, I must say 'Chao!' for now. Bye! ^_^