"Land ahoy!" Hau announced as we stepped off the ferry and back onto dry land, heading up the stairway to get a better look at the place.
{So this is Ula'ula Island...I like the looks of it.}
The city we had arrived at had a warm and inviting feel to it, and it wasn't quite as sleek and modern as cities like Hau'loi or Heahea, and especially not as polished as Aether Paradise for that matter. Some of the rooves of the buildings sloped inward, and came to points at their corners and apex instead of just being flat, and the roads were made of cobblestone in place of asphalt. The surrounding nature incorporated itself into the city very nicely, flowers blooming on the trees along the paths and long shoots of bamboo growing up from the ground and towering over us.
"Yeah, it sure looks different from Melemele and Akala Island," he agreed. "...Hey, I got an idea!"
{What's that?}
"What say you and I pitch ourselves a battle here? New island, new challenge, am I right? We gotta prep our teams for the trials ahead!"
{Well...I'd have to run into the PMC over there really quick first. Grace took a bit of a beating. Be right back.}
"Sure thing. I'll still be here!"
A quick dash i and out of the Pokémon Center and I was ready. And it was no sooner than when I stepped out the door that I saw Hau readying his first Pokémon.
"You ready?"
I nodded and let out a confident snarl.
"Alright, then! Let's go, Eevee!"
{Grace, this one should be easier on you!}
Both Eevees materialized on the battlefield. Hau's gave off a low growl, and Grace simply stood her ground and stiffened her form.
"Eievui...!"
"Go in for Tackle, Eevee!"
{Use Swift!}
The enemy Pokémon honed in on us, only to be struck by the array of never-missing stars right in the chest, sending him flying backwards again.
"Ooh, a critical hit right off the bat! You're startin' this battle off with fire, Echo!" Rotom buzzed.
{Good job! Now, Sand Attack!}
She kicked up a cloud of dust and hurled it into the still-disoriented Eevee's face.
"Vui!" it yipped, staggering backwards again.
"Come on, Eevee, you can break through it! Use Bite!"
"Eie, vui!"
Hau's Eevee managed to shake the sand from its eyes, then pounced onto Grace and sank its needle-like teeth into her leg before we had a chance to do anything else.
"EIEVUI!"
"That's it, Eevee!"
{Quick Attack! It's in close range so it should hit hard!}
"Eie, eie-VUI!"
Without any further hesitation, she shoved him off with a swift kick of her back legs, then used them again to shoot herself up and towards him, ramming her head right into his. The enemy Eevee staggered backwards, disoriented by the attack.
"Come on, lil' dude! Shake it off!"
"Eie, vui...Vui!"
He shook his head vigorously, then gave Grace a glowering look, emitting a low snarl at her. She backed up a bit, put off by his display of aggression.
{He's using Growl!} I told her. {Don't let it intimidate you. Counter it with Baby-Doll Eyes! It'll confuse him, for sure!}
"Eie, vui!" she nodded back, and the very next moment, she made her eyes all big and cute-looking, and even fluttered them at the opponent to further throw him off guard.
"Vui?"
He looked pretty put off by her reaction to his Growl attack; probably figured she would be pretty badly scared. But it didn't work as planned for him.
{Now!} I ordered. {Pile on the Swift attacks!}
"Vui!"
She launched her next array of stars, and they made their mark, as they always did; Swift never missed its target.
"Eie!" the enemy hollered.
{Keep it up!}
She shot out two more series of the projectiles, and the opposing Eevee scampered around the battlefield attempting to avoid them, only for them to gain on him even more with each passing second, and before any of us even knew it, they had stuck him again.
Once, then twice, and on the third hit the Eevee lost its footing and skidded to a halt across he ground, completely drained and dazed.
It was out.
{Nice work out there, Grace!}
"Vui...Eie, vui..."
{Grace?}
For the third time, she started to glow, and the faint indications of changes developed beneath the white light.
Again, she was resisting evolution.
{You remember what I told you, right?}
"Vui, vui eievui...!" she groaned, still trying to fight its affects.
{What'd she say, Rotom?}
"She'zzz still not going to evolve, she said! She knows it izzzn't an Umbreon she's turning into, and she's that determined to prevent evolution until she knowzzz she can!"
{Grace, I said it before, and I'll say it again. I DON'T want you to forcefully stop your evolution. If you keep resisting it, then...Well, I don't know what might happen, but I doubt it'll be anything good!}
"Vui, vui...Eie, eie-VUI!"
But just a few seconds after I said it, the glow dissipated, and she heaved out a breath of relief. She'd stopped it.
{Agh...I don't want this to happen again, Grace,} I said to her.
"Vui, eievui..." she mumbled, casting me a shameful, but still adamant look. I sighed, then pulled out her Poké Ball.
{You did really well, though,} I praised as she was drawn back into the capsule. {Take a rest...You probably need it after all that.}
"Hope she'll be alright there," Hau thought aloud, though still readying his next Poké Ball. "Think you should take her back to the Pokémon Center after this and ask them about what's goin' on?"
{I'm considering it,} I replied, reaching for my second Pokémon as well. {But not before we wrap up this fight.}
"I gotcha, cousin! Noibat! Take over!"
{King! Sic 'em!}
Both Dragon-Type Pokémon materialized on the battlefield at once. King snarled, and the Noibat screeched.
"Kick this off with Supersonic!"
"Noi, NOOOOIIII!"
The piercing scream of the tiny opponent rang high and loud enough to disorient just about anyone, and especially someone with arms too short to reach up and cover his ear holes. It was so intense for him that he began to bang his tail against the ground, perhaps in an attempt to fight off the horrible sound.
{You can break through it!} I called out, my own gurgly voice muffled by the sound of the attack. {Use Crunch!}
{Wha...}
He caught his thrashing tail from the corner of his eye, and then, without any warning, started to run in circles chasing after it!
{What are you doing!?}
A moment later he'd gotten close enough, and clamped down on his own tail with his powerful glowing jaws. And the next he was screaming in agony at the pain of the damage he had mistakenly inflicted upon himself.
"Ha! A Supersonic attack from something like a Noibat will confuse any Pokémon!" Hau cheered as his Noibat finally stopped making the awful sound.
King was staggering around the battlefield, looking about ready to fall over. He didn't seem to realize that the noise had stopped, so I made some of my own.
{King!} I cawed. {Try your Dragon Tail!}
{Huh...?} he gurgled back. {Dragon Tail...?}
{That's right! Go for it!}
He shook his head again, a bit more lightly than what was usual, then blinked a few times to assess his target.
"Absorb!" Hau commanded.
Just as the enemy began to approach, Tyrunt's gaze hardened, his bright yellow eyes fixed heavily on their target.
His tail started to glow, and just when the opposing Pokémon was about to latch onto him with its teeth and drain his energy, he spun himself around and whammed his tail right into the enemy.
There was a burst of energy, and the next thing we knew, the Noibat had collided with its Trainer, sending both of them falling to the ground. Hau examined the tiny Pokémon in his grasp, and it hung their limply, its steady breathing the only sign of life in it.
"Dragon Tail, huh...?" he remarked as he returned the fainted Pokémon to its ball. "Yeah...In hindsight, I probably should've taught him a Dragon-Type move before getting to serious."
He shrugged it off, then sent out his third Pokémon.
"Not bad. But let's see how well your Tyrunt there can take this! Alright, Raichu! Show 'em what you got!"
The Mouse Pokémon let loose a few sparks as he formed on the battlefield from the glowing red light, and he sounded off a not-so-intimidating battle cry.
"Rai- CHU!"
{King. You still okay to fight?}
{That Pokémon?} he chuffed confidently. {It doesn't look so tough. I can take him on, no doubt!}
I cast another glance at the still-bleeding wound on his tail that he'd given himself.
{Positive?}
{Absolutely!} he barked.
{Well...Okay,} I nodded. {It is a Psychic-Type. See how much your Crunch attack does on him!}
"Use Psychic!"
My trusty Fossil Pokémon bore his mouthful of sharp teeth again, and they started to glow the moment he kicked off into a charging sprint. But in return, the enemy conjured up a pretty decent-sized aura of psychic energy around him, and it glowed a bright fuchsia as he fired it at us. King tried to bust through the energy by leaping forward and into the air towards the Raichu, but that only ended with him being thrown backwards and slammed back onto the hard ground.
"Grack!"
{King!}
He emitted a low, pained growl as he rose back onto his feet. The Psychic attack had apparently done more damage than either of us had anticipated.
{Are you okay?}
{I'm fine,} he insisted, still trying to shake off the mentally-trying affects of the move. {I'll give Crunch one more try.}
{Careful out there, King. That Raichu is stronger than we thought!}
{Maybe...But can it withstand a powerful Dark-Type move!?}
The moment after he finished speaking to me, he charged back up into another sprint, and honed in on the enemy Raichu once more.
"One more Psychic!" Hau ordered. "Don't let him hit you!"
The enemy Pokémon fired up another wave of weaponized energy, and King's fangs glowed white at the same time as he leapt into the air and opened his gaping jaws.
There was a crash, a cry, and a cloud of dust scattered across the arena. The wave of Psychic energy dispersed into the atmosphere from beneath the debris, sending the thick dust off with it.
And there on the battlefield lay both fighters. King was battered, bruised, and clearly knocked out cold, and Hau's Raichu was the same, except sporting a series of bleeding puncture wounds along where the Crunch attack had landed instead of scuffs and bruises.
It was a draw between them.
"Whoa..."
{Wow...}
"...One thing's for sure: your Tyrunt really knows how to fight."
{I should say the same about your Raichu.}
We both returned our fainted Pokémon, glad that we were so close to the PMC.
{Well, King...You did it. And you did good.}
"Great job out there, Raichu. Go 'head and rest up."
But as soon as we finished praising our downed fighters, we each extracted another Poké Ball and called out our next ones.
"Come on out, Brionne!"
{Archer! Let's end this!}
Our respective Grass and Water-Type starter Pokémon emerged from their capsules and onto the battlefield.
"Brrriiiii!"
"Dwitdwit-droo!"
"Start this off with Icy Wind, Brionne!"
{Razor Leaf!}
Archer fired up his array of sharp leaves, readying them for launch, and shot them at the opponent, who had already fired her Icy Wind attack. To our dismay, upon colliding with the cloud of frosty air, the leaves froze solid, and plummeted to the ground.
"Ha! We worked on that one in the Lush Jungle!"
{Huh...Not bad. But let's see how well you handle a Spirit Shackle!}
Archer took the cue to attack, and pulled an arrow quill from his wing, aiming it and shooting it in just a fraction of a second. It twirled around the target, struck the ground, then burst out in an eerie purple explosion. Hau's Brionne was thrown back in an instant.
{Nice work, Archer!}
"Dwit, dwit!" he chippered, turning his head to face me with a grin on his beak.
"Bri..."
The enemy Pokémon slowly lifted herself back onto her front flippers, looking very unamused.
"You okay, girl?"
"Brionne...Bri, bri!"
She called back to him and nodded before turning back to face Archer, a harsh, angry glow in her usually docile gaze.
"Alright, then! Icy Wind, one more time!"
{Try another Spirit Shackle!}
The moment Hau saw my Decidueye reach into his wing, he called out one more time.
"Roll off to the side!"
He was just in time. The arrow had already fired by the time he'd finished giving the command, but the Pop Star Pokemon was still able to roll off to the right of the arrow as it hit the ground, and she tumbled out of the way of the impending energy burst. She was quite a bit faster than she was the last time we'd battled. Perhaps Hau had been improving on her speed as well, given that she didn't have much in the way of legs to carry her away from danger.
But he seemed just as surprised as we were.
"Whoa...Nice one, Brionne! How'd ya get so quick, huh?"
"Bri...Bri..."
The glow in her eyes intensified, still locked onto her opponent.
{Wait a minute,} I chattered to Rotom. {I know what that glow signifies...!}
"I know it as much azzz you! Brionne is about to-"
"BRI!"
And just like that, the telltale glow spread down from the Pokémon's eyes and engulfed her entire body.
All of us stared in awe at the sight of it. From beneath the blinding light, the change began. She became larger, and more streamlined, as Archer had become as he evolved from his first stage. The ruffs on her body spread apart, the bottom one lowering down to the base of her tail and the top one rising to her shoulders.
The light dissipated, and revealed Hau's former Brionne, which had now become...
"Pri, ra...?"
"Whoooooa..."
I let out a raspy gurgle of amazement as the newly evolved Pokémon turned to face its owner. Her top half was a pristine white, and her long, flowing tail was a deep ocean blue, and she had also grown a long head of blue hair, which flowed gently in the hazy ocean breeze.
A stunningly beautiful creature, had I ever seen one.
{It's amazing...} I chattered to Rotom. {Can you get a scan?}
"On it, boss! Bzzt!"
He approached Hau's partner, who tilted her head to the side curiously as he gathered the data.
"Scanning...Scanning...Scan complete!"
"Primarina: the Soloist Pokémon! It uzzzes its mesmerizing singing voice as its key weapon in battle, both entrancing opponents and controlling the power of itzzz attacks! The melodies it knows are passed down from one generation to the next, and so they say, there izzzn't a sight more fantastical than a Primarina leading its colony in song under the light of a full moon. Ahh...Soundzzz relaxing just to think about!"
{It's already a fantasical Pokémon without the moonlight or the song,} I remarked. {Ah, no offense, though, Archer.}
My Decidueye wasn't bothered by my comment. Rather, he seemed just as in awe as we were, staring at the Pokémon with wide eyes. Finally, his expression relaxed, and he nodded, seemingly satisfied by something, then turned to face me.
"Dwit, dwit droo. Trrrrill."
{What's he saying, Rotom?}
My PokéDex turrned towards me as well, a confused look on his screen.
"Uh...He sayzzz he wants to call it a draw. He'd rather not have to fight her anymore right now."
{What? Archer, why?}
"Dwit, dwit, drrrroo drit dwoo. Troo trrrrril..."
{What'd that one mean?}
"Direct tranzzzlation? 'Tut tut; I'll tell you later, Alpha. Just let this one go..."
I rolled my eyes, but ultimately allowed the forfeit.
{Hau. You wanna call the match off? Archer says he doesn't want to fight anymore right now.}
"No? Huh...Well, okay. But I guess you win by default, 'cuz you still have more Pokémon that can fight!"
"While that izzz true," Rotom pointed out. "Neither of them have a good type matchup against a Primarina! Sassafras is part Fire-Type, which is weak to water, and Red is part Fighting-Type, which is weak to Primarina's new additional typing: Fairy! Kzzrt!"
{She's a Fairy-Type now?} I asked. {What are they like in battle?}
"They're good niche Pokémon against big and tough Dark, Fighting and Dragon-Types! And they can hold their own pretty well in neutral matchups too! Though they tend to attack a bit better than they defend...And they aren't good picks against Steel, Poison and Fire-Typezzz."
{Interesting...I wonder if we'll ever have one on the team.}
"Well, one thing's for sure: Hau beat ya to it! Zzt!"
"Guess so. Ha!" Hau nodded as he approached his starter Pokémon and stroked her snout in praise. "Awesome job out there, girl. You wanna stay out of your Poké Ball and be with us for a while?"
"Ri!"
"I take that as a yes," he grinned. "So, we goin' back to the PMC, Echo?"
{That was the plan,} I answered, already turning to go that way. {Come on. The nurse oughta know how to deal with Grace.}
...
"Hmm...So you say this has happened three times over the past few days?"
{That's right. And the last time was just about fifteen minutes ago,} I told the nurse at the front desk. {And she seems pretty tired after every time it happens. I assumed that resisting evolution wasn't very healthy, but I wanted to consult a professional first.}
"Well, might I say that that was a wise decision of you as a Trainer," she nodded and smiled. "While it doesn't happen very often, I have seen cases of Pokémon resisting the process of evolution before. Usually either because they simply don't want to evolve, or because they think they might disappoint their Trainers by becoming something they don't want."
{That's the case with my Eevee here. Back when I was doing the Akala trials, we encountered a wild Umbreon. And seeing how awestruck I was by it, she decided that she was going to evolve into one to please me...I know that Eevee has multiple possible evolutions, so if she's resisting evolution, she must know that she's turning into something other than an Umbreon.}
"I see...As for what I know, the forced resistance of evolution can be physically taxing on a Pokémon, since it uses up quite a bit of energy. Especially in the long run..."
"So, this could be a problem if it isn't stopped," Hau guessed.
"Yes. A fatigued Pokémon is a lot less likely to win any battles, and much more likely to get badly hurt."
"Vui..." Grace whined, not enthralled by the thought of herself being groggy and disoriented on the battlefield.
{That's bad...} I gurgled. {Nurse. In order for an Eevee to evolve into an Umbreon, they have to evolve during the night, right?}
"That is true," she nodded. "But the second key factor is that they have to have become particularly close with their Trainer as well."
{I see. Well, I know that part is already in place.}
"Eievui!"
Grace sat up straight for a moment, then pushed up onto her hind legs to press the tip of her snout against my own.
{I don't usually go looking for a fight past sundown,} I realized. {Do you think if I took her into battle during the night, that might work?}
"Perhaps," the nurse replied. "But if not, and she keeps resisting evolution, you may consider an Everstone for her to hold."
{Everstone?} I asked. {What's that?}
"This right here," she told me, pulling out a smooth, round grey rock from the desk shelf. "These stones have a peculiar effect on Pokémon in that they prevent them from evolving if they're holding it. So it may help your Eevee until you can work something out."
She handed me the stone, and I presented it to Grace. She sniffed it curiously, then took it in her mouth and looked back up at me.
"Vui, vui eievui!" she chippered through her clenched teeth, and she proceeded to tuck the stone into the thick mane around her neck.
{You don't think it'll fall out of there during a battle, do you, Grace?}
"That's actually less likely than you might think," the nurse informed us. "An Eevee's fur is fairly good at holding things. It would probably only fall out if she were hit by a particularly hard physical attack."
{Huh...That's convenient,} I remarked. {Thanks again for healing our Pokémon back up.}
"Anytime. We hope to see you again soon!"
All we had to do next was stock up on some more healing items at the PokéMart and we were on our way.
"You didn't get a whole lot...You get a confidence boost?" Hau asked as we headed out the door."
{Actually, it's because I'm a bit short on cash,} I answered, a sheepish, toothy grin plastered on my face. {Used most of it to buy the Jaw Fossil back on Akala.}
"Oh. Well, at least you got King, now!"
{Wanna know something interesting?}
"Always!"
{When I went to get King restored from the fossil, I was so excited about it that I just...took the fossil in my mouth at the counter and ran over there. And apparently, me having it in my mouth, sort of...Mixed in some of my DNA into his genetic code by accident.}
"Yo, what?"
{Uh-huh. So technically, King is...Part Velociraptor.}
"...Whoa..." Hau rasped. "So, are you two, like...blood related?"
{I believe so.}
"That's AWESOME!"
{And did I ever tell you that he and I can directly communicate with each other?}
"REALLY? Like, ACTUALLY understand each other word for word!?"
{Exactly. Our dialects are a tad different, but it still clicked the moment we started speaking to one another.}
"Man...Wish I could do that."
"You know, I already serve as Echo's tranzzzlator!" Rotom piped up. "If you wanna know what one of your teammates has to say to ya, just ask me!"
"When? Like, now?"
"If you want, sure! That's okay, right, boss?"
I nodded, and Hau smiled excitedly and proceeded to release his Noibat from its Poké Ball.
"So, what's on your mind, lil' buddy?"
"Noi? Noi, noibat...Noi, noi!" it chippered.
"What'd he say, Rotom?"
"'Me? Food izzz on my mind...Can't wait for lunch!'"
The three of us chortled. For such a small Pokémon, Hau's Noibat definitely had a big appetite.
"Ha! Well, it ain't that much further off, so don't worry! In the mean time, how 'bout we do some exploring while we wait for Lillie and the Professor to show up? Get to know the place a bit more, huh?"
{Sounds like a plan,} I nodded. {Rotom. Any places of particular interest on your map?}
"Well, there'zzz the library, the community center...Oooh, the Malie Garden sounds interesting! Bzzrt! It looks really big...And the entrance is just ahead to our right!"
{Well, what are we waiting for? Let's check it out!}
"Hey, wait up, Echo!"
We turned a hard right, and the cobblestone beneath our feet smoothened into stone bricks, and the sidewalks melted into lush, green grass. Before either of us even knew it, the city around us had disappeared, and in its place sat a vast, verdant field, which bloomed with countless plants and was teeming with wildlife. A body of clear blue water wound through the green like a ribbon, gold-lined bridges connecting either side.
It was a paradise. A paradise for people, for Pokémon...For creatures like myself. It was strange and bittersweet, how much the garden already reminded me of my old home.
"Wow...Pretty sweet, ain't it?"
{Certainly so...} I chattered. {What kinds of Pokémon do you suppose live around here?}
"I'm about to go find out! With all this tall grass, there's bound to be something hiding in there! You game?"
{I...think I'll just sort of wander around for now, really,} I replied. {I'd like to take in the atmosphere a bit before engaging in any battles.}
"I gotcha. You wanna meet back up towards the north end once we're done?"
{That's a good idea.}
"Awesome. See ya then!"
He ran off into the tall grass, and I continued down the walkway. As I passed over the bridge, it occurred to me that this seemingly natural landscape was still touched by the hands of man. Perhaps it was even formed by the humans in the first place, seeking a retreat from their daily city lives. It was so peculiar, yet it seemed so normal, how the humans I now intermingled with could shape the world around them, change it...
...Control it.
Were the humans able to control an entire planet in the manner I'd seen so far? Or at least most of it? It had seemed that way for a while back in my old home, where the humans oversaw nearly everything, and they worked to right wrongs and make things go according to a plan. It seemed that way my whole life there...Until the fateful day we were let out of our paddock to go up against that horrible beast. Where did such a thing come from? Owen had presented a ripped-off piece of its flesh to us to smell so we could track it down, so they had obviously known about it. But the humans could make enclosures for us, so that we wouldn't run wild...Why couldn't they have made one to house that monster in? Were they doing it at the time, and it just wasn't done yet? Had it outgrown its old paddock? Had it...
...Had it ESCAPED?
Did they let us out thinking we would help them get it back in?
If the humans could supposedly control an entire planet, but not something that lived on it with them, then...Were they even REALLY in control over the earth in the first place?
And if they weren't, then...who was? Was ANYONE really in control over ANYTHING? What if the concept of control itself was just a figment of-
"Oof-Hey!"
"Huh?"
I'd apparently been so deep in thought and so immersed in the scenic garden that I hadn't been paying much attention to the PEOPLE around me, and I accidentally bumped someone off to my side by mistake. Once the mild shock wore off, the yellow-clad human turned to face me, looking slightly flustered.
"Ah, sorry about that!" he stammered. "Boy, I really need to look where I'm goin' in here more, that's the third time I've...run into..."
He trailed off when he finally processed the sight of me, eyes widening.
"Oh...You...You're the..." he stammered. "You're that Trainer from Melemele Island everyone's been talking about."
{The news has spread this far already?} I chattered. {I didn't think it'd gotten all the way across Akala yet.}
"Yeah, yeah, it has! I've heard it all over!" he informed me. "Ah, and you're the Rotom PokéDex she uses to speak with! Oh, my gosh...Echo, did they say your name was? Wow. I...I-I apologize for the inconvenience, I didn't think it'd be YOU. Ha...This is crazy, I haven't been here for that long, but news has been getting around, and we've all heard of you, and what you look like, but now you're ACTUALLY here. Just...Wow...You're taller than I pictured."
It seemed as though the humans were fairly impressed by me at this point. But if they thought I was tall and fast and smart, then what would they think if they saw someone like Blue, or even Charlie and Delta, if they'd ended up here instead of me?
"Wow..." he continued to marvel. "I...I gotta pitch a battle with you!"
{Me?} I crawed. {You mean...Right now?}
"If you're up for it! Whadaya say? Let's do it!"
Without any further ado, he pulled out a Poké Ball and sent out a fighter.
"Persian! Let's see what we got!"
The Pokémon materialized on the field and struck a fighting pose; it was a sleek, elegant-looking creature, with long, pointed whiskers and a cream-colored coat, and it let out a deep, trilling noise as it rose its head, somewhere in between a purr and a growl.
"Prooowwwrrrr..."
{Wow...What kind of Pokémon is this one, Rotom?}
"That'zzz my cue!"
He zipped around the opponent to gather the information on it, dodging a few curious swipes of its front paw as he went.
"Scanning...Scanning...Scan complete!"
"Persian: the Classy Cat Pokémon! Its lithe muscles and lean build allow it to remain completely silent as it moved around! It's very popular with higher class people, but behind its elegant appearance lies a vicious temper, as it hazzz a tendency to lash out at people for little to no reason. Like its pre-evolved form, Meowth, Persian has an Alolan regional variant, which sportzzz an even softer fur coat and a rounded face! Bzzt! Wow..."
"Ha ha, yeah...He can get a bit uppity sometimes, but he does me good in battle!"
The Pokémon rose its head up higher, enjoying the praise.
{What's its typing, Rotom?}
"Pure Normal-Type, boss!"
{Normal-Type, eh? Well, let's see how well it does against Fire!}
I pulled out a Poké Ball myself, and sent out my own fighter.
{Sassafras! Show 'em how we do it in Alola!}
My equally elegant Salazzle formed on the battleground, and she let out a trilling hiss as she rose up on her hind legs.
"Sssssrrrrrrr...!"
"Alright, Persian! Start this off with Fury Swipes!"
"Grrr-OWWWR!"
{Counter with Flame Burst!}
As the enemy began to advance on us, claws extending, Sassafras fired up the glowing orange flames in her mouth, then shot them at the Persian just when it seemed it was on top of us. It snarled in pain as it flew backwards, but managed to land back on its feet instead of crashing with a nimble flip while it was still in midair.
"Mrowwwr..."
"Try a Quick Attack!"
{Dragon Rage!}
The Toxic Lizard Pokémon attempted to finish charging her attack before the Persian was able to hone in, but it's speed turned out to match our own; it sprinted forward and slammed itself headfirst into Sassafras, knocking her off her feet and sending her attack flying into the air instead. The glowing orb of draconic energy burst out in the sky above like a firecracker, dealing no damage to the opponent.
"NOW go in for Fury Swipes! You're close enough!"
"Srrrr..."
My Pokémon emitted another low trill of a growl, then stood still on all fours, looking very deep in thought. Even the opponent seemed curious by this behavior.
{What's she doing?} I wondered aloud.
It was the very next moment that she flashed white, just for a split second, then rose back onto her hind legs, looking like she'd just figured something out.
"Sal-RRR!"
"Holy moly, Echo! I think we got a new thing goin' for us!" Rotom suddenly exclaimed. "It lookzzz like our buddy Sassafras just learned the move Nasty Plot!"
{Nasty Plot?} I repeated, the name of the move leaving an odd feeling on my tongue. Sassafras? Plot nastily? It didn't seem like something she'd do. {What does that do?}
"She juzzzt thinks about her next move for a moment, and then the move raises her Special Attack by a whole lot! It'll make her special attacks FAR more powerful! Zzt!"
{Is that so?}
"Yep!"
{Well...} I gurgled, a grin inching its way across my muzzle. {If that's the case, then go in for Flame Burst again, Sassafras!}
"Sal-ar!" she nodded back, looking equally pleased.
"Come on, Persian!" the opposing Trainer called out. "Fury Swipes, hurry!"
The Persian snapped back into concentration, then rose its foreleg for the attack, baring its mouthful of sharp teeth while it was at it.
But it was already too late.
The flames, now glowing with more energy than ever before, shot right into the enemy and engulfed it, burning gold as they collided with their target. Red and white sparks flew out from the sides, and when the explosion finally died, it revealed the Persian on the ground, knocked senseless and its golden coat singed.
"Persian. Return!"
He withdrew his fainted Pokémon, then pulled out another.
"Not gonna lie, that was pretty dang good...But your Salazzle won't do so well up against THIS! Come on out, Marowak!"
{Fighting Fire with Fire, huh?} I told Sassafras, readying for the opposing Ghost and Fire-Type to materialize. {Lets's see how our Dragon Rage does against-}
"Marowak!"
Wait...What?
That didn't look like any Marowak I'd ever seen. The bone it carried had no flames burning on its tips. and it was a sandy brown color instead of a deep maroon. It looked more like an overgrown Cubone, really.
"Uh oh...That's a KANTONIAN Marowak, not an Alolan one like the onezzz here!" Rotom pointed out to me. "A pure Ground-Type? Against a Salazzle? This izzzn't going to be very pretty. Bzzrt!"
{We can at least give it a shot and see what she'd got!} I decided. {We can always switch! Sassafras! Dragon Rage!}
She fired up the glowing orb in her mouth without missing a beat.
"Counter that with Bone Club!"
"Rooo-WAK!"
It swung the bone in its grasp at the attack just as it was about to land, and sent the orb flying back towards us. Fortunately, Sassafras was slick and quick enough to weave out of the way in time, and it burst into midair right in front of me, just a yard or so away. I could feel the force of the energy as it exploded, and was grateful that it hadn't gotten the chance to make impact with ME.
"Now, Marowak! Bonemerang!"
{Dodge and use Flame Burst!}
Again, she darted off to the side, but not before the enemy Marowak threw its bone right in the direction she was going. To my dismay, it had predicted our evasive maneuver, and the hard white club slammed smack into my Pokémon's face as it whizzed by, spinning as it went.
{SASSAFRAS!}
"Slrrrr..."
She was badly disoriented by the attack, and struggled to stay up on her hind feet. I was just about to call out the attack when the bone twirling through the air made a U-turn, and headed right back for her again from the OPPOSITE direction!
{Look out!}
Again, I was a moment too late. The attack made impact, and it took whatever was left in my Salazzle out, as the very next minute, she was down on the grassy ground, worn weary and knocked out cold.
It seemed as though I HAD overestimated her.
{Return, Sassafras...You did well.}
She was drawn back into her Poké Ball, and I pulled out my next fighter. A pure Ground-Type? Archer would have a hay day.
{Let's take 'em down, Archer! This one should be easy for you!}
The Arrow Quill Pokémon materialized on the battlefield, and flashed an arrow to intimidate his opponent.
"Drit-droo!"
The opposing Trainer seemed flustered by the sight of my Decidueye; perhaps he didn't have much in the way of coverage attacks.
"We do have one thing up our sleeve, Marowak!" he called out to his Pokémon. "Use Fling!"
"Rowww-row-AK!"
It hurled its bone club at us again, but Archer and I were one step ahead.
"Take to the skies and dodge!"
Before I even had to give the order, he had already spread his wings, and just before the bone could collide with him, Archer was airborne, and had already risen several yards above our heads. The Fling attack spiraled, then came back to the attacker, who grabbed the bone as it watched the enemy circle above.
{Now! Razor Leaf!}
"Droooo, Dwit DWIT!"
He summoned his trusty blizzard of leaves around him, and they cascaded down onto the Marowak with such speed and intensity that it seemed to turn the air of the battlefield green itself. There was a cry from under the flurry as the leaves made their mark, and then, as suddenly as it'd rang out, it went silent.
The leaves finally dissipated, and they revealed the Trainer's Marowak lying motionless on the ground, its hide covered in cuts left by the sharp foliage.
...We'd won yet again.
"Marowak. Return."
He withdrew his fallen Pokémon back into its ball, then looked up to face us as we approached.
"Ah...That was...incredible! I heard you were pretty good, but...WOW. I still got a ways to go, huh?"
{Well, so do I,} I replied. {We all do...Seems like everybody wants to be the best Pokémon Trainer around here, don't they?}
"A lot of people do. That's what the sport is about! Ah...But there can only be one best, can't there?"
{Who's the best Pokémon Trainer right now? Do you know?}
"The best? In the world? Out of EVERYONE? Wow. Well, uh...The Kanto Champions are both pretty strong. They're always challenging each other for the top spot, so they kinda take turns on the Champion's seat...Been at it for years. And Lance is the Johto Champion, where I'm from. REALLY good with Dragon Types. Steven's got an antarage of Rock and Steel-Types that I hear are near impossible to beat, Cynthia's Garchomp is a MONSTER. Man...I'm not sure I can give you a definitive answer to that. All of the Champions would probably have to take each other on in a battle royal down at the dome to find out! Ha!"
{Huh...You don't suppose either of us could be up there on the level of the Champions one day, do you?}
"Well, it'd be a long, winding road to the top, and not everybody gets there...But never say never, you know?"
{I don't think I will...Not yet. Not after everything I've learned so far...}
"Ah...Well, thanks for the fight. But I gotta run. My girlfriend's down by the tea shop waitin' on me. Catch ya around!"
{Bye.}
He was off in a flash, leaving me, Rotom and Archer standing there in the midst of the garden by ourselves.
"Wow...Even the people around here who AREN'T localzzz are still super friendly! Bzzrt!"
{Rotom.}
"Yeah, Echo?"
{...Do we control our Pokémon in battle?}
"Um...What do you mean?"
{Like...Are we, the Trainers, really the ones running the battle? Or are they the ones in charge during the fight?}
"Well, ghee, I would think the Trainer controlzzz the Pokémon! Granted the Pokémon is willing to listen."
{And it it's not?}
"Uhh...Well, then I guess it would be hard for the Trainer to contol the Pokémon in battle, but with some disipline and negotiation, it wouldn't be impossible to get it to listen. That's just how it workzzz between Trainer and Pokémon. You both have to work things out side by side!"
"Dwit-droo!" Archer agreed.
"Hrmm..."
"Um, any reason you're asking stuff like this, boss? I mean, no offense, but...It seemzzz like sort of a weird thing to ask about."
{I don't know. Before we started up that battle, I was...questioning a few things I thought I knew for sure.}
"Oh...Doezzz this have anything to do with your old life back with your sisters?"
{Sort of, yes...}
A long silence followed. There was a lot to say about what I was thinking, but I wasn't sure how to put it into words.
{...Well, I'll think more about it later. Why don't we wander around and train up for our next trial?}
"Oh! Sounds good, boss!"
{Archer. Wanna stay out of your ball and follow us for a while?}
"Drit, drit!"
{I figured you would...Let's go.}
I kicked off the ground and set into the tall grass, my two most trusted packmates close behind. But even as the breeze blew in my face and all of my troubles wanted to simply wash away with the tide, I couldn't shake off what I was thinking of earlier.
The matter of control, and how the world really worked, continued to turn the wheels in my head. What WAS control? How was it attained? How was it supposed to be used? Did it have any real purpose in the big scheme of things?
...Did it even exist at all?
And...Did HUMANS worry about things like this like I was? Maybe I was just overthinking things again; I realized that I'd been thinking a lot of existential things lately. Why did I worry so much about things like that? There was so much more to think about. So much more that was BETTER to focus on. I had a new home to explore, a new and still-growing pack of Pokémon at my side, human companions to help guide me...What made me ponder such things?
A rustle in the tall grass cut my thought off and grabbed my attention.
Archer withdrew an arrow quill. and the enemy waddled out of the grass and confronted us...It wasn't a very threatening-looking Pokémon; short, stout and yellow with a large, rounded bill and a coat of soft feathers. But it possessed IMMENSE eyes, and the way they stared did give it somewhat of an unsettling aura.
"Psy?"
{Seems like a decent first opponent. Archer! Show it your Spirit Shackle!}
"Drrrroo!"
As the battle engaged, I finally felt more at ease...I decided to wait to look for answers to the questions I had until I actually needed them.