"Why'd you drag us here again?" Alex complained as she tossed a rock against the glittering rock wall.
"Because," Robert grunted as he lifted a heavy rock. "I need a fossil."
"You're really trying to put meaning into catching them all aren't you?" Clara sat on a rock, looking bored.
"Not really," Robert said. "I just figured Professor Juniper might want fossil Pokemon that originated in Kalos. For research."
"Why are we the only ones doing the heavy lifting?" I asked, tossing a heavy rock to the side, scattering crystals that had fallen to the ground.
"Because you're the guys," Clara gave a wicked grin. "Us ladies shouldn't do the mens work."
"So feminism is only in effect when it's in your favor," Robert set the stone down, moving towards a mine cart filled with rocks and minerals.
"Figures," I said.
Clara shrugged. "I couldn't care less about all that stuff. Men are strong, women are strong. Each is more capable in one field than the other. If one doesn't want to follow that, fine by me. Life is life."
Alex snorted. "Your ideology is certainly sound."
"Fine with me," Clara leaned back against the rock wall, hands behind her head.
"Aha!" Robert exclaimed, tossing rocks and minerals out of the mine cart. He dug in deeper before producing a piece of fossilized foot. A claw and a half were clearly visible.
"Let's see," Robert began scrolling through his pokedex with one hand. "Not big enough to be a Tyrantrum's, so it's pre-evolution maybe? Yeah, there we go."
"Tyrunt, the Royal Heir Pokemon and the pre-evolution of Tyrantrum. Its large jaw has incredible destructive power. Some theories suggest that its restored form is different from its form of long ago."
"We done?" Clara got up. "We were supposed to do our gym battles before you dragged us here."
"You didn't have to come along," Robert said, tucking the fossil under his left arm. "I'd like to stop by the Pokemon Center first though. Sending this to Professor Juniper shouldn't take too long."
"I actually should return my Pokemon back to Kukui," I said, tapping a pokeball on my waist.
"Why?" Clara looked at me, confused. "Your Pokemon from Alola are so much stronger than the ones you currently have."
I went over to where Froakie was sleeping next to Alex and picked him up, his large eyes opening sleepily. "Yeah, they are. But we journeyed together in Alola, deepening our bonds. But now that I'm here in Kalos, I'm able to develop more bonds with new Pokemon. I don't want to sideline my Pokemon just because they aren't as strong as the others."
Clara rolled her eyes. "To each their own."
"C'mon troop!" Robert placed a foot on a rock, pointing down the tunnel. "Let's move out!"
...
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU CALLED WHEN I WAS GONE!"
"Nice to see you too Hau," I said, putting a fist to the screen.
The dark skinned teen sighed and placed his fist where mine was, smiling like only he could. "It's been six months. Great to see you man."
"Heh," I rubbed the back of my head. "Same."
"Hey," I said, remembering something. "Gladion mentioned something about stray Ultra Beasts the other day. Any information?"
"None that aren't classified," Hau frowned, shoving his hands into his short pockets. During the six months since we last saw each other, Hau changed his appearance. He still wore his black tee, but now his shorts were white, longer, and baggier. He wore a flora patterned coat like Hala's, but Hau's was orange instead of yellow.
"But," Hau grinned. "Since it's you, I'm sure it'll be fine."
He put his hands behind his head, looking behind him to make sure no one was there. "Well, seems like there are a few stray Ultra Beasts. They like to stay hidden though as far as I can tell. One hiding in the Lush Jungle, one in a secret cave inside the Vast Poni Canyon, and two underwater around Ula'ula. It's been a fun challenge trying to deal with them."
"Need any help?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.
"Nah," Hau waved his hand. "Me and my team are good. I am the Champion of Alola and all."
"How's that going?" I wondered.
"Not so bad," Hau scratched his nose. "I get challengers now and then, none can beat me though. And Kukui and I are working on getting the league set up again soon. Then Alola can see some of its best trainers in action. The lucky winner will be able to battle me on live television! No having to go through that grueling process of battling the Elite 4 that way."
"That's different," I remarked. "Usually trainers have to have a recommendation to challenge the Elite 4. That tends to involve a lot of money. That or win the league and go onto the Elite 4."
"Yeah," Hau grinned proudly. "Alola likes to do things differently."
"However," Hau grimaced. "Now I have a lot of fans. Especially fan girls."
I snickered. "Oh, Lillie must enjoy that."
Hau looked frightened. "Last time one got near me, I was afraid Lillie might take the passing trainer's Aegislash to smite me."
I burst out laughing and I had to wipe away a tear. "Well, have fun with that."
Hau shuddered. "Anyway, back to the topic of the Ultra Beasts. We're pretty sure these aren't ones that managed to stay behind from Lusamine's purge."
"New arrivals then?" I asked.
He nodded. "Seems like it. I'm working with Aether to find where they might be coming from. Who knows, it might lead us to wherever Lusamine ended up."
My eyes widened. "Woah. What do Lillie and Gladion think of that?"
"They're not holding their breaths," Hau sighed. "Between you and me, I think they're secretly hoping we're able to find her. Which is why I'll explore the worlds beyond ours for them. I'll do what I can to find their mother for them."
"Keep me updated on that will you?" I asked him. "And if you ever need my help, just call."
He nodded. "The same goes to you. I heard about Team Radiance."
I shook my head. "They're not the issue, but I think this Team Flare might be."
Hau opened his mouth to say something, but a beeping on his wrist distracted him. He held up his right hand to a watch and appeared to read a message off of it.
"Hey," Hau said, turning back to me. "Gotta go. Apparently there's an update at Aether. Keep in touch alright."
I nodded, ending the call. I made my way to the PMC lobby where I only saw Robert and Froakie. There were a couple other trainers milling about, but they didn't seem to pay any attention to us as they looked bored.
"Done with your call?" I asked as Froakie leaped onto my right shoulder. I ushered him to my left side, not wanting him to always be on my right.
He nodded. "The Professor sure was surprised. She even offered me a raise."
"That's good," I looked around. "Where are, ah, never mind. I can hear them."
Robert nodded and we both looked towards the backdoor where Alex and Clara were battling with their Pokemon.
"It's like when she and Hau first met," I groaned. "Butted heads in an instant."
"Yeah," Robert turned on his Holo Caster. "But Hau wasn't like Clara. Not by a long shot."
"I agree," I said.
"Why is she travelling with us?" Robert asked.
I saw Ninetales spew a jet of flames as Scizor flew overhead. "For one thing, if she travels with us, it'll be easier to keep her from being a miscreant. On a different note, maybe if she stays with us for a while, she'll become a better person."
"For being a former Team Rocket member," Robert swiped the hologram screen. "You really try to see the best in others."
"I have to," I said. "If I don't, then how can I see the good parts of myself?"
Robert didn't answer. He might've, but the lights went out. In fact, the whole Pokemon Center went out. I saw Nurse Joy frown and enter through a door into a back room.
"What's going on?" Alex asked, rushing in through the door, clipping a pokeball to her waist, Clara following her. Without any light, they looked almost like shadows.
"I don't know," I said, walking outside. It was night out and everything was dark. The streetlights were out and no lights were on in any windows in any of the houses.
"Seems like the power in the whole city went out," Nurse Joy said, returning to her post. "Any trainers who left their Pokemon with me will have to be patient."
"What about the backup generator," a guy asked, his short dark hair barely visible in the darkness.
Nurse Joy shook her head. "For some reason it isn't working. It's quite odd."
"At least us trainers can try to help," a young teen let out her Electabuzz. "Maybe with an Electric type we can get the generator going."
Nurse Joy smiled. "That would be great. Please, follow me."
"In the meantime," the guy with the short hair let out a Lampent. "Will-O-Wisp please."
Lampent spun, small ghostly embers floating around her.
The guy grinned, his brown hair ending in short bangs. "Great. Now we have light."
All the trainers gathered in a circle with Lampent in the middle, happy with all the attention. Froakie reached out with a hand, wanting to touch the ghostly flames, but I managed to stop him before he got burned.
Including Alex, Robert, Clara, and I, there were eight trainers total. Nine, since the girl was helping Nurse Joy.
The guy with the Lampent sat across from me, brown eyes on the dancing flames. The guy next to him was a punk, complete with spiky pink hair, the sleeves to his leather jacket ripped off. The blonde-haired girl next to him was eyeing him warily, her Bunnelby in her lap. The last kid was a young boy with short black hair, probably not even a teen yet. An Inkay floated around him, bobbing up and down at random.
"Hey," the brown haired teen said. "You guys ever hear of the Ghost of the Coast story?"
We all shook our heads, aside from Clara.
"'Course you've heard of it," Alex said under her breath.
The guy rubbed his hands together. "Good. Story time folks. My name is Bradley, I'll be your speaker today."
"On a night as dark as this one," he breathed, balancing a ghostly ember on above his palm, watching it flicker. "A young girl, a trainer and her Lunatone were walking along the beach at night. She felt safe, because who wouldn't with their Pokemon around? Anyway, she never returned home from that late night stroll, so people began to look for her. They never found her or her Lunatone. Only an imprint in the sand of a body and her Lunatone was found, but that was soon washed away."
"Many claim they know what happened to her," Bradley said mysteriously. "Some say she was carried away by the waves. Others say she was kidnapped. And still, some claim, her Lunatone was responsible."
"Now this," he wagged his fingers. "Is where it gets interesting. Her family claimed to have noticed an odd behavior in their daughter's Lunatone weeks before the incident. He would begin to glow at odd times during the night, a soft white light, emitting a low, forlorn cry. That's why there is more probability that her disappearance had to do with her Lunatone. Some even swore they saw a white light on that beach, outlining a girl, before completely disappearing. They say her Lunatone vaporized her and itself, leaving only an imprint of them in the sand."
The little boy looked shook as the punk guy tried to act cool by sneering. The blonde girl seemed to be visibly shaken as well, Alex too. Robert was looking through his Holo Caster, but there was no signal for it. Clara seemed to be unfazed, as was I.
I stood. "It's been a while. I'm going to check on the other two in the back room."
"I'll go with you," Clara offered, which was weird.
Once we were on the other side of the door, Clara closed it almost all the way. We were standing in a short hallway, three doors in total. One in front and one on either side.
"Zeno," Clara grabbed my shoulder, eyes darting to the door we just entered through. "There's something off about him."
I nodded. "You felt it too then?"
She nodded, then her eyes drifted to the door to out right. "Zeno, I don't hear anyone in there, do you?"
I looked. The door was slightly ajar, but there were no sounds beyond it. I returned Froakie to his pokeball and opened the door slowly. Like everywhere else at the moment, it was pitch dark inside. I heard a click behind me, then a small light lit up the area partially around us. I turned to see Clara holding a lighter. She nodded at me and I turned back around. She raised the light, allowing us to see a splatter of blood on the floor.
I drew my knife from my side, holding it close to my person. I stepped in slowly, avoiding the racks on either side containing boxes. Slowly, I peeked around a rack and almost wished I hadn't. I held up a hand to stop Clara and withdrew. There was only one person dead and it wasn't the trainer. Judging by the size of the room, no other people could be in here.
"Joy's dead," I whispered and Clara's eyes widened, pushing past me. She stopped when she saw the body, a stab wound to the neck and belly.
"We need to get back to the others," Clara whispered, but I was already ahead of her, making my way past the racks and back into the small hallway. I burst through the door to find nothing but darkness beyond. If Lampent was still there, its flames had gone out.
As Clara came up to my side, a small ghostly fire lit up. It belonged to Lampent, the center of its body glowing slightly. Standing behind her was someone in a long purple cloak, the hood up over the head, keeping the face hidden in shadows.
"Who are you!?" I demanded. "Where is everyone else!?"
They said nothing, seeming to glide backwards as Lampent's light went out, leaving us in darkness once more.
"Heliolisk," Clara sent out her Pokemon. "Parabolic Charge!"
Electricity sparked off the floor and ceiling, lighting up the lobby, but there was no sign of anyone. Then I saw a flicker of movement outside in the darkness.
"C'mon," I said, running through the doors, letting out Arcanine.
"Where'd he go!?" Clara yelled, looking around wildly.
"There!" I pointed ahead to someone entering a building.
"The Aquarium," Clara said, taking off at a run, returning Heliolisk. I ran after her, Arcanine running between us. We ran into the dark building, the faint sound of water bubbling from tanks.
Clara let our her Heliolisk again. "Parabolic Charge!"
The Aquarium lit up, revealing ghostly images of Water type Pokemon in their tanks. I noticed a staircase leading down to the beach, which appeared to be the only other place to go. I ran down to where the sand started to see footprints.
Clara and I ran with Arcanine behind us, Heliolisk perched atop him. The prints led us beneath to the side of the cliff, close to the rock formation that stood tall over us. The footprints ended at a huge stone boulder laid against the cliff face.
"This isn't going to stop us," Clara growled, sending out her Barbaracle. "Rock Smash!"
With a thunderous crack, the boulder crumbled to pieces, revealing a cave entrance.
"This isn't good," I said. "Arcanine, I-"
I sensed a presence near us. I turned to the right, but I wasn't fast enough. A blow to the head had me collapse to the ground, my vision fading. Then I was submerged in darkness.
Totally unexpected chapter huh. Well, you guys ain't ready for what I have in store next. Till that time. Toodles
