Chapter 2: Hard Lessons Learned
Ikaika followed behind Ash while Professor Kukui leads them toward the classroom. Once they got to the door, Kukui went in first with Ash followed by Ikaika who looked at the class. The two young boys both stood at the front of the class with Ikaika placing his hands behind his head.
"Ash and Ikaika will be joining us at the Pokémon School. If they have any questions, please don't hesitate to help them out," Kukui explained with a smile.
"See, I really wanna become a Pokémon master and learn everything about this place. So it's nice to be here," Ash added.
"Pika!" Ash's Pikachu chimed in.
Ikaika blinked at the introduction before bringing his right hand to his side while rubbing the back of his head.
"I honestly don't know what I want to be. Didn't really have a good starting in life so...if I come off as harsh or anything sorry...this good nature stuff is still kind of new to me," Ikaika admitted while looking away with a soft blush on his cheeks about his embarrassing fact.
The students only cheered in which Ikaika looked back over to them seeing the girls as well as the fat boy clapping. In the back sat Kiawe who nodded his head in respect. Once they got the chance to talk to one another, this allowed the students to chat with Ash on how he got a Z-crystal. While they were talking with Ash, Ikaika stood at the corner of the balcony looking out at the island with a light smile over his face. That was until he felt a soft chill run across the back of his neck.
Ikaika could not help but look around the ground to find nothing until eventually, he saw a single figure standing out in the open that seemed to be a tall man wearing a black hooded cloak. Looking back at the others, he found that they were still talking to Ash in which he looked back over at the same spot seeing that the figure was now gone. Narrowing his eyes, he felt that he was being guided by this strange shadowy figure in which he hopped over the rails and climbed down. Upon reaching the ground, he traveled to the spot where the figure was and looked to the forest seeing it standing at the entrance of the forest before fading into the shade of a tree.
"The heck was that?" Ikaika asked himself while rubbing the back of his head in confusion.
"Pretty fair from home aren't you boy?" A voice whispered into Ikaika's ear.
This caused Ikaika to quickly turn around to find himself in a pitch-black field with a single ball of light over him being his only source to see around himself. As Ikaika looked around him, he found himself standing in front of Devimon who grinned with his arms hanging by his sides.
"So there is someone from the other world to help this one. And here I was beginning to think they were only rumors," Devimon said with a grin while flying into the sky and stretching his arms out revealing hundreds of Vilemon laughing and chuckling around him. "Not that it matters right now. I will deal with you here and now. You and I both know that you are not even up to my level...nor do you have the means to evolve your partner. After all, you both still fight over trivial things. It's almost laughable. Information wise at least,"
Ikaika immediately took out his digiball and released Ku who landed on his feet this time and looked around. His sheer confidence melted away revealing his cowardice that had been long before hidden. Seeing Ku not willing to fight, Ikaika gritted his teeth while gripping his hands into fists.
"Oh? So you had a Goblinmon as your partner. That explains a lot. Goblinmon!" Devimon shouted making Ku shutter and walk forward in front of Ikaika. "Kill your partner and I will personally see that you become a part of my army,"
Ikaika's eyes widen before looking at Ku who looked at the ground only to slowly turn and peer at him. The boy prepared himself until a bunch of Vilemon's swarmed Ikaika and took hold of his arms and legs to keep him still. Their laughter annoyed him but due to the sheer numbers, he was easily overpowered as his focus fell on Ku once more who was now facing him. A smile grew over Ikaika's lips as he sighed in defeat and closed his eyes.
"Well...I'm not going to lie Ku...it was fun hanging with you," Ikaika admitted before opening his eyes slightly to see Goblinmon raising his right hand created a fireball over his head.
"Goburi Strike!" Ku shouted before gritting his teeth and throwing it at the Vilemon's on the right of Ikaika freeing him from their grasp.
Ikaika's eyes widen in surprise as well as the Vilemon's still holding him. Not missing his chance, Ikaika quickly brought his right fist to the Vilemon holding his left arm and punched its eye causing it to shriek in pain and release him. Ku followed up by running over with his club appearing in his right hand as he swung it at the Vilemon behind Ikaika chasing them off back to the hoard. The two were back to back now looking at their odds seeing it was not in their favor nor was it likely they would win.
"So you chose the humans side...foolish...but something I predicted," Devimon commented while waving his left hand out toward the two causing the Vilemon to start moving in on the two.
"Kooo!" A voice called out before Tapu Koko dove down using Brave Bird and quickly circling Ikaika and Ku knocking away any Vilemon that got too close.
Once the Vilemon were far enough away, Tapu Koko levitated over Ikaika and Ku looking directly at Devimon who glared at the legendary Pokémon before gritting his teeth.
"Seems you have a guardian watching over you. No matter. You will fall in due time digitamer," Devimon spoke before fading into the darkness along with his army.
As soon as Devimon's army disappeared, Ikaika and Ku found themselves standing outside of the school at the foot of the forest like last time. They looked around confused before Tapu Koko flew in front of them and waved before looking toward the direction of where Ash was. Ikaika followed the legendry's gaze before looking back at where Tapu Koko was to find it was gone.
"A guardian..." Ikaika whispered to himself before turning his attention to Ku seeing his partner looking at him as well. "Mahalo Ku...for not killing me. You had the chance to off me...why didn't you?"
"You boss. Me grunt. Follow...only you," Ku spoke slapping his chest with his left hand while snarling.
"And here I thought you never liked me," Ikaika commented with a chuckle.
"You good boss. Take care of...me. Old boss mean. Treat me like...trash. We Goblinmon...eat leftovers. Old boss...not leave...much," Ku admitted in which Ikaika blinked at this and nodded.
"Sounds pretty rough to me man," Ikaika spoke rubbing the back of his head annoyed at how his old boss was before sighing and looking back at Ku. "I'm glad I can trust you with my back,"
Ku nodded and looked back to the class where laughter could be heard.
"Seems we missed a lot," Ikaika spoke as he made his way toward the entrance before stopping and looking at Ku. "No regrets about your choice?"
"None," Ku answered earning a soft smile from Ikaika before turning and entering the school to make his way back to class where Samson Oak was teaching.
"You wanna stay in or out of your digiball?" Ku asked looking in the classroom before turning to face Ku.
"In. Me no like...kids..." Ku admitted while snarling.
"Ku...I'm a kid," Ikaika said with a raised brow.
"Boss...only exception," Ku answered in which Ikaika sighed and nodded his head before bringing out his digivice and recalled him into it. With Ku back in his digivice, he opened the door and entered the classroom.
"Ikaika my boy. Where have you been?" Samson asked wearing an Executor costume.
"...Lua?" Ikaika answered gaining a confused look from everyone excluding the principle who stood there waiting for an answer. "Bathroom..."
"Ah okay well next time be sure to tell your teachers when you're going. We were a little worried you might have been taken away by someone," Samson spoke with a loud laugh with Ikaika but his was a little more nervous as a sweat drop rolled down his forehead.
"Yeah. That would be bad," Ikaika added while looking away and scratching the side of his head.
"Alright, let's continue on with class, shall we?" Samson spoke as Ikaika moved to his seat and sat down to with class continuing.
-Night-
Ikaika was taken to Professor Kukui's house with Ash to eat at his place for now seeing as class was over and Samson had to do something at the school. Ash sat down and looked around the house while Professor Kukui started to prepare dinner for them. While he was cooking, Ash looked to Ikaika who sat on the other couch with his head leaned against his hands and eyes closed.
"So Ikaika, how did you meet Ku?" Ash asked with a smile.
"Well it wasn't very pleasant that's for sure," Ikaika answered while sitting up straight and bringing his hands to his thighs while looking at Ash.
"Isn't that how most friendships are made?" Ash asked with a chuckle.
"You're not wrong about that...but ours was...well it involved a lot more violence..." Ikaika said now leaning forward to look at Ash with half-opened eyes.
"Like what?" Ash asked with his eyes filled with curiosity.
"Well I was chilling at an abandoned site and before I knew it, he appeared out of thin air right in front of me," Ikaika started while groaning at the thought of how they met.
"And then?" Ash asked with a wider smile.
"We ended up fighting each other. I won thankfully and so he follows my lead. Now and again though we get into fights," Ikaika finished with a soft laugh.
"Fighting each other?" Ash asked blinking his eyes.
"Yup. Fists were thrown and clubs were brought," Ikaika admitted while crossing his arms over his chest and nodding his head.
"You beat up your partner?" Ash asked leaning back.
"With me its win or lose. If I lost...I would not be here. In fact, I'd be dead," Ikaika answered looking at Ash with an annoyed look. "We rough house now and again now but nothing serious...so far,"
Ash looked at the ground with a sad expression while rubbing the back of his head.
"Sorry," Ash said looking back at Ikaika.
"Don't worry about it. Just don't judge a book without knowing what or why it happened," Ikaika said with a smile.
"Mind if I see Ku again?" Ash asked with a smile once more.
"...sure I don't see why not but I'm going to warn you...don't try to touch him or anything. He is not a fan of new people without fighting them," Ikaika said with a chuckle.
Ash nodded his head as Ikaika took out his digiball and released Ku who appeared on his rear yawning loudly while scratching his belly with his left hand. It took a few seconds before Ku figured out where he was making him hop to his feet and growl seeing Pikachu as well as Rockruff walking up to him trying to be friendly. Ku on the other hand only snarled at them while swinging his wooden club at their forms forcing them to jump back.
"Me strong! No like weak!" Ku shouted while growling at Pikachu and Rockruff.
"Weak? I'm not weak," Pikachu spoke in which Ikaika understood.
"Meany!" Rockruff barked while growling back at Ku.
"Ku, I doubt Pikachu there is anything but weak," Ikaika said with a chuckle while placing his hands on the table.
"Yeah! I've fought in a lot of regions. I even fought against a lot of legendries!" Pikachu added with confidence.
"You heard him, Ku. Pikachu has been through many battles. Way more than me and you so I would not want to fight this one," Ikaika said laughing only to look at Ash who was speechless as well as Kukui who stood there holding their plate.
"You can understand Pikachu?" Ash asked blinking his eyes.
"Not only Pikachu but also Rockruff here," Ikaika admitted with a smirk.
"Samson would have a field day with you if he ever found out," Kukui commented as he placed the two plates down for them with a smile.
"And because of that, I kept it at a down low. The last thing I need to have is a bunch of people wanting to be a translator for their Pokémon," Ikaika said looking at the two before looking at the dish placed before him. "Mahalo for the food,"
"I've been meaning to ask but what does mahalo mean?" Ash asked ash he got his utensil while still looking at Ikaika.
"It means thank you in my native tongue," Ikaika said before he started to eat his food with a smile.
"Oh, well you're welcome then," Kukui spoke before going back to the kitchen to get the bowl for the Pokémon while grabbing his plate.
Once the bowl was placed down for the two Pokémon, they immediately started to eat while Ku stood by Ikaika who finished eating half of his dish. With half it finished, he looked at Ku and smiled before handing him the rest which the Digimon took hold of the plate with his free hand and opened his mouth to gobble the rest. As soon as Ku finished the rest, he handed the plate back to Ikaika who took the plate and placed it on the table to look at Kukui who chuckled.
"What?" Ikaika asked with a raised brow. "We share our meals. I get one half and he gets the other. It's how we've been doing things,"
"I'm not judging...but if you want, I can make more for both of you," Kukui offered in which Ikaika was a little taken back.
"Yes! More food! Feed now!" Ku cheered while hopping up and down happily causing Ikaika to chuckle and nod his head.
"If it's not too much trouble please do," Ikaika said with a soft smile.
"Can I have seconds to?" Ash asked showing his plate was also empty.
Kukui laughed softly at this before nodding his head and getting up to go back into the kitchen to start cooking more food. While Kukui was making more food, Ikaika sighed and look over to Ash with a smile.
"So how did you and Pikachu here meet?" Ikaika asked leaning against the seat with his arms stretched out and leaned his head back.
"Well it wasn't an easy one that's for sure," Ash said rubbing the back of his head while Pikachu cheered.
"He saved me," Ash and Pikachu said in unison while looking at Ikaika.
"You saved each other. So that's how your trust grew," Ikaika commented before looking at Ku who was watching Kukui cook. "Guess me and Ku kind of share the same feeling then. Although we did not start that way...he saved my life all the same,"
Ku turned after hearing that to see Ikaika and nod his head while raising his left hand and giving his partner a thumbs up.
"Boss strong. Help boss...make me...strong," Ku said before he turned his attention back over to Kukui.
Kukui came back with their plates and placed them on the table. One for Ash and another for Ikaika making Ku blink while nibbling on his pointing finger.
"Don't worry. I have yours coming right up Ku," Kukui spoke handing Goblinmon his plate in which he immediately started to eat.
"You said a lot of things in your native tongue but...what exactly is your native tongue?" Kukui asked putting another bowl of food for Rockruff and Pikachu before finally sitting down and eating.
"My native tongue...is called Hawaiian," Ikaika answered as he started to eat his food again.
"interesting," Kukui said.
"I only know a few words and only the basic ones. My mother taught me only that much before she died," Ikaika continued while he paused for a brief moment only to go back to eating.
Once Ikaika and Ku finished their second dish, Kukui suddenly got a call in which he answered his phone and walked off. Ku blinked at this but turned his attention to Professor Kukui's plate that was still full and reached out to grab it with his mouth drooling. Ikaika took hold of Goblinmon's wrist and narrowed his eyes.
"Don't be greedy," Ikaika spoke before Kukui came back while putting his phone away. "Is there someplace we can sleep for now?"
"of course. I have a guest bedroom, but you and Ash will have to share," Kukui spoke with a smile.
"I don't mind. What about you Ash?" Ikaika asked looking at the Pokémon trainer.
"I don't see why not," Ash said with a smile while he was petting Rockruff as well as Pikachu.
"Alright, then I'm going to hit the hey. Night everyone," Ikaika spoke standing up and walking toward the room with Ku following behind him.
-Next morning-
Ikaika, Ku, and Ash were both running toward the Pokémon school seeing as they were both running very late. It was strange how Professor Kukui didn't wake them, but they had other things to worry about. Upon reaching the entrance of the school, Ash ended up running into a large bubble made by Popplio causing it to pop and fall on his rear.
"What's going on?" Ikaika asked looking around.
"Alola Surprise," The female students cheered.
"Hey, guys," Ash spoke as Kiawe walked over to offer a helping hand to get the Kanto trainer off the ground.
"Did we surprise you?" Kiawe asked with a smile.
"You got us both actually," Ikaika said sighing in relief while closing his eyes.
"You aren't used to surprises?" Mallow asked blinking her eyes.
"The only surprises I get are either getting arrested from running from my foster family or getting news that my foster family gave me up to someone else," Ikaika admitted.
"Boss...downer," Ku commented causing Ikaika to slap the back of the Digimon's head.
"It's hard to think of any positive things okay!" Ikaika shouted at his partner who only snickered.
"Me know," Ku said making Ikaika sigh and cross his arms over his chest and closing his eyes while blushing softly in embarrassment.
Everyone laughed to Ikaika's flustered face as he huffed and faced away from them.
"First off, we decided today would be the perfect day to have a surprise welcome party for both of you. And that's the first surprise," Mallow explained with a wide smile.
"First one?" Ash and Ikaika said in unison.
"And next Togedemaru and I want to challenge you, Ash. I'm sure you know what I mean," Sophocles said with his arms crossed over his chest while he had a confident smile on his face.
"Challenge? A Pokémon battle, right?" Ash asked with his right hand raised and gripped into a fist.
"Hmm," Sophocles hummed with a smile.
"Okay, Sophocles. I accept your challenge! Right Pikachu?" Ash asked looking at his partner who agreed.
As pumped as they were, it quickly disappeared as there was a large bowl filled with water balloons. This immediately caused both Ash and Ikaika to look at the challenge set in front of them with confusion and disappointment.
"Wait what?" Ikaika said confused.
"Right! Balloons! Whichever team pops all their balloons first wins," Mallow explained with a smile.
"Ohhh..." Ash said with disappointment.
"Pokémon or trainer, it doesn't matter who pops the balloons," Mallow continued.
"Balloons? Pop them first? That'll be a piece of cake!" Ash cheered with his positivity restored.
Ikaika just stood there scratching the back of his head while looking to the water balloons in though.
"This would be a good game to have Ku just let loose...minus the fireballs being thrown everywhere," Ikaika said with a sigh making him chuckle as the two prepared themselves.
"Ready?" Kiawe asked looking at the two with his right hand raised. "Go!"
At the call, both teams ran toward their respective bowls and started to pop their balloons. Ash and Pikachu were struggling to pop one while Sophocles with his partner was going through the balloons with ease. Ikaika watched while clapping his hands impressed.
"That works," Ikaika commented.
"Maybe you didn't know. You can use Pokémon moves," Lillie mentioned.
"Really? That's cool. Okay Pikachu, let's pop all the balloons with Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted as his partner charged up his electric move and fired toward their bowl of water balloons.
"All right, this is our chance!" Sophocles said as he moved away from his partner while Pikachu's Thunderbolt was redirected toward itself and absorbed the attack.
"Well, that's neat," Ikaika whispered to himself.
"Togedemaru, Zing Zap, let's go!" Sophocles shouted as his partner moved into their bowl and started spinning rapidly as to start popping the remaining balloons in their area.
"What's all that about?" Ash asked a little confused about what had just happened.
"Here's the deal. Togedemaru's ability is lightning rod. It absorbs all-electric type attacks. Then is releases that electricity as a move. Isn't that great Ash?" Sophocles asked with his hands on his hips with his head held high.
"Wow. Togedemaru really rocks," Ash admitted while looking at Sophocles impressed.
"Excuse me. This is no time to be impressed," Kiawe called out with a soft chuckle.
"You're right!" Ash shouted before looking at Togedemaru seeing that their bowl had no more balloons to pop.
"The winners are Togedemaru and Sophocles!" Mallow announced.
"You were great! We did it!" Sophocles cheered with his partner.
"We didn't," Ash said rubbing the back of his head in which Ikaika walked up to his friend and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"At least you gave it your all right?" Ikaika asked with a smile in which Ash looked back at him and nodded his head.
"I guess you're right," Ash said laughing softly until Lana walked up to Ikaika.
"Ikaika...can I challenge you?" Lana asked with a soft blush.
"Sure. What is our challenge going to be?" Ikaika asked with his hands behind his head.
Lana placed her Popplio on the ground in which Ikaika blinked his eyes but smiled before bringing out his Poke ball and releasing Ku to the field. The Digimon landed on his feet and snarled ready for a fight but instead found himself the center of attention.
"A Pokémon Aquathoon is a competitive sport where you run and then swim," Mallow explained making Ikaika's eyes widen along with Ku who stood there with his right eye twitching.
"Swimming?" Ikaika asked bringing his left hand down while his right scratched the top of his head.
"Me no swim," Ku admitted while looking at the seal Pokémon.
"Think of it this way Ku. If you win, I am sure you'll get plenty of food to eat yourself," Ikaika said making Ku smile and hop up and down.
"Me go! Win! Win!" Ku spoke dropping his wooden club and preparing run.
"That's it, Ku," Ikaika said with a proud smile while crossing his arms.
"Go!" Kiawe shouted causing Ku to dash toward the water while Popplio behind him.
Ikaika was a little surprised by Ku's speed as well as the determination in his eyes. He did not know what to think but simply chuckled and jogged over to the corner of the pond. Just as Ku reached the edge of the pond he hopped in with a smile before popping up seconds later splashing as he struggled to stay above water. Seeing this, Ikaika sighed and walked over to take hold of his partner's hand and pulled him up to land chuckling. With Ku out if the water, the Digimon fell flat on his back panting heavily with eyes wide open.
"I gotta teach you to swim better," Ikaika said shaking his head while looking over to Popplio who made it to the other side.
"I'm proud of you. Great, Popplio. You're amazing," Lana cheered while Ikaika looked at Ku smiling.
"Well you still did your best, that counts as a win for me," Ikaika said sitting next to Ku who raised his right hand and gave a thumbs up.
"Thanks...boss," Ku said in between pants.
"Is Ku okay?" Lana asked walking up to Ikaika and the Digimon.
"Yeah, he's fine. He's kind of a slow learner so I'm teaching him the basics. He can swim but only doggy paddle...when he doesn't go under," Ikaika answered while laughing nervously.
"So he would have drowned?" Lana asked shocked.
"Nah. He overreacts...plus I wouldn't let anything like that happen to him. If it was the open water, then that would have been a different story. Thankfully, it's just a pond so it's not too bad," Ikaika spoke before returning Ku to his Digiball and standing up.
As Ikaika stood up, he looked over to Ash seeing him and Kiawe talking to one another and an excited smile on the Kanto trainer's face.
"So Ash is going to do the next challenge. Good cause I don't know if I can handle all this positivity," Ikaika admitted with a soft chuckle in which Lana laughed alongside him.
"What are you going to do now?" Lana asked looking up at Ikaika who blinked his eyes and sighed remembering the run-in with another Digimon as well as his army at his command.
"I gotta go talk to Professor Kukui and Principle Oak," Ikaika spoke looking to the school with his hands by his side and head tilted.
"About what?" Lana asked tilting her head while hugging her partner Popplio.
"Nothing special," Ikaika lied as he waved to her and walked toward the school. "Tell everyone I'll be in the school waiting alright,"
Lana watched Ikaika walk off before making her way to rejoin everyone else to pass the message as well as follow them to the next area.
-Pokemon School Office-
Ikaika sat down with Professor Kukui and Principle Oak who had his hands on his knees.
"So what is it you wanted to talk about that was so important that you strayed from the others?" Kukui asked a little concerned.
"Well remember when I said I am here to help you fight a war that's coming. I had a small run-in with a Digimon called Devimon," Ikaika said just as his Digiball floated out of his pocket and released Ku while also opening up a small screen of Devimon with all his information. "...I did not know it could do that...neat."
[Devimon. Level: Champion. Attribute: Virus.] The Digivice explained before shifting back to normal and falling to the floor.
"Well, that helps," Ikaika spoke before shaking his head and looking at Samson oak. "There was also another Digimon there with him,"
"Vilemon. Annoying. Bat monkeys," Ku spoke while growling as the digivice floated off the ground and revealed the screen again.
[Vilemon. Level: Champion. Attribute: Virus.] The Digivice explained before shutting off again.
"...well that's what we got caught by," Ikaika said looking at the Digivice before picking it up and holding onto it for now in case it acts on its own again.
"You were caught?" Kukui asked with wide-eyes.
"I was...but then Tapu Koko saved me and Ku. If it wasn't for Tapu Koko, Ku and I would not be here. Once Tapu Koko showed up, Devimon and the army of Vilemon backed off," Ikaika said crossing his arms over his chest sighing heavily.
"An army? How many did you see?" Samson asked this time while leaning forward.
"...about a hundred that I could see...it was too dark to see how many there are but it was more then we could handle," Ikaika admitted while closing his eyes and groaning.
"If so many are here why aren't they making a move yet?" Kukui asked looking at the table while rubbing the tip of his chin with his left hand.
"I would have to say its because of the legendaries as well as me...not sure why me. If it was just Ku and me then we would not even last a minute against those numbers. There has to be a reason why they can't attack right now but I can't think of a reason...either my brain is too lazy or it's too complicated to figure out," Ikaika said bringing his hands up to start scratching the top of his head while he faced the floor gritting his teeth.
Samson and Kukui looked at each other before smiling as they both stood up and looked at Ikaika.
"If we stand together there's nothing we cannot beat," Kukui spoke crossing his arms over his chest while Samson laughed loudly and nodded his head.
"I agree. We will stand together like a pack of Tauros!" Samson said bringing his hands to the side of his head to make it look like horns.
Ikaika looked up at them and nodded his head before smiling before nodding his head in agreement.
"I gotta remind myself that I am not alone in this fight. I got friends now," Ikaika spoke standing up while looking over at Ku. "We have friends we can trust...right Ku?"
"Friends?" Ku asked tilting his head slightly.
" 'Ae. Friends," Ikaika said placing his hand on Ku's shoulder who looked at the other two and smiled.
"FRIENDS!" Ku shouted hopping up and down.
"Speaking of friends, we best go check on Ash and the others," Kukui spoke walking over to the balcony along with Samson and Ikaika watching as the students were all gathered seeing Ash had lost again.
"Seems Ash lost again," Ikaika said with a smile.
"Well, the last challenge is with me. If anything I'll take you both on," Kukui said with a smile while looking at Ikaika.
/To be continued...