Ascending Alola
Track 1 - "Legend Has It"
It was a cool autumn day in Malie City.
A lone girl sat in the centermost red pavilion of Malie Garden. The garden was a lake of the cleanest water in all of Alola. Small islands with beds of flowers and old but well looked after structures were kept together by golden bridges. Wild Pokémon roamed freely throughout the area, knowing that they were safe.
The girl bobbed her head lightly as she tapped her fingers on her knee. Covering her ears were thick red headphones that blocked out the noise from the outside world.
Today was a special day for kids in Alola. Throughout the different islands, the kahunas were giving out starter Pokémon to new trainers who had turned eleven in the past year.
Leinani Koa was set to be one of those kids. She had been going to the Malie City Trainer's School and learning from the city's gym leader for the past three years, but this day was something that she had been thinking about for her whole life. She was eager to get on with her adventure, so she showed up early and listened through her favorite album, hoping that it'd help relax her but also keep her pumped to battle.
The lyrics from her favorite rap duo, while politically charged and often aggressive, had a certain flow to them that Leinani couldn't help but groove to. While she was too young to understand half of what they were saying, she still enjoyed every song.
The black hat that she wore had their symbol on the front, two purple hands. The left hand made finger guns, pointing at the right, which was bawled into a fist. She wore a white crop top that fell loosely over her shoulders, but because of her parents conservative nature, she was forced to wear a black tank top under it. Her pants were black and baggy at her waist, fastened with a long red belt, but they became more form fitting as they went down, becoming tight right above her ankles. And to match her belt and headphones, she wore thick and expensive red sneakers, which she received for her birthday, but kept in the box for anticipation for the day she'd start her journey.
A boy, the same age as Leinani, entered the pavilion. He was used to her ignoring him for her music, so he took a seat across from her. He didn't bother to try to get her attention, but he ultimately thought it was rude that she barely, if ever, greeted him.
His name was Enoka Wahilani, and between the two eleven year olds from Malie City, he was known as the more book and battle smart student. Their drive to be the best was equal. He wore a black shirt with golden flower print on it, and his skinny jeans were light blue and held up by a white leather belt. He dropped his bag, full of items to travel with on the wooden flooring, making a big thud.
Leinani opened one eye, taking notice of Enoka.
She sighed before pulling her headphones off. "Hey."
"Alola. Don't mind me."
"Nah, we can talk for awhile. I'm sure you're excited about today too."
Enoka shrugged coolly. "I guess so. It's no sweat though. Everyone gets their own adventure."
"Have you put any thought into what Pokémon you'll choose?" Leinani asked.
"Yeah."
"Cool. Me too."
There was an awkward pause.
Enoka sighed. "You aren't gonna ask what Pokémon I decided on?"
"I figured you'd just tell me."
"Well, now I don't want to. I'll just keep you in suspense," Enoka retorted.
"Fine," Leinani said before putting her headphones back on and resuming her music.
Enoka sat still while Leinani continued to bob her head with her eyes closed. They waited for the kahuna to show up, and soon enough, a man dressed in a grey police uniform made his way across one of the many bridges that connected to the pavilion. Behind him walked a girl who appeared to be the same age as Leinani and Enoka. She had some of her black hair pulled into a ponytail while on the right side of her head dangled one thick braid. She wore a white skirt and a pink spaghetti strap top. Around her neck was a necklace with a golden pendant in the shape of a stylized 'S'.
"Alola," the man said.
"Alola," Enoka replied.
The three looked at Leinani, who continued to listen to her music with her eyes closed.
The man sighed and then approached Leinani. He reached out and grabbed the headphones before lightly pulling them from Leinani's ears.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Careful, Enoka!" Leinani yelled before noticing the man in uniform. "Oh. Sorry! Alola!"
"You must be Leinani," the man said.
"It's nice to see you again, Nanu," Enoka said. "Thank you for coming today."
"It's part of the job," Nanu bluntly said. "Leinani, Enoka, this is Ulani Alo from Po Town. She's the third trainer for today's ceremony."
"It's nice to meet you!" Enoka said. He held out his hand.
"Um. Yes," Ulani replied before retreating behind Nanu.
"How about we get this started," Nanu said with a sigh. "You all should know the drill. We have three Pokémon for you to choose from." Nanu pulled a Poké Ball from his pant pocket. He clicked the button, and the ball enlarged before it exploded open. A small and round avian Pokémon materialized in the middle of the pavilion. It trilled happily as it looked around at the trainers.
"Rowlet, the Grass Quill Pokémon," Nanu said.
Leinani sat back. Rowlet was the Pokémon she was least interested in.
Nanu released the next Pokémon, a feline creature with red markings on its face and legs.
"Litten, the Fire Cat Pokémon."
Leinani smiled. She had every intention of choosing Litten.
Nanu then pushed the button on the last Poké Ball, and the final creature appeared in the middle. It was small and blue with a light pink nose. It stood up on its hind tail and clapped its two flippers together playfully.
"Popplio, the Sea Lion Pokémon," Nanu said. "Before Alola established a league, I used to give out Meowth, but we're trying to get with the times by distributing these three traditional Pokémon. He groaned as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "According to this, Enoka scored the highest on a majority of the tests given to you at school. He's allowed to choose first."
"What?" Leinani interjected. "What about ladies first?"
Enoka sighed and then shrugged. "If you really want to choose first, then you can."
"No," Leinani snapped. "No handouts."
"Alright," Enoka said with a nervous laugh. "I choose Litten."
Leinani instantly regretted not picking first. She watched as Nanu held out Litten's Poké Ball and Enoka took it. Had she asked Enoka about what Pokémon he planned on choosing, maybe she could have convinced him otherwise.
But nonetheless, there was still Popplio, which would give her a distinct advantage over Enoka from the start.
"Next is Ulani," Nanu said to Leinani's surprise. "She had very similar scores to Enoka, but he barely edged her out."
"Sorry," Ulani said to Leinani as she came out from behind Nanu. "You can pick before me if you want to."
"No," Leinani said while she folded her arms. "Go ahead." A nervous girl like her was bound to pick a Grass-type anyways. It fitted her personality better.
"Popplio."
Leinani's eyes widened in shock while she cursed herself internally.
"And that means that Rowlet is your partner, Leinani" Nanu said. "Congrats." He reached out and gave the ball to Leinani who took it halfheartedly.
"Thanks." Leinani looked down at Rowlet who smiled back at her. It didn't seem to know the disdain that she felt for it, but she did find something kind of adoring about how carefree it looked.
"One more thing," Nanu said. He reached into his grey jacket, pulling out three small tablets with red casings. "You each get a Pokédex. These are new. You can make calls, check your location with the GPS, and look up information about your Pokémon."
He handed over the three devices to the trainers. They all stood up straight in a line as they checked out their new tools and prepared for Nanu's final address.
"Leinani, Enoka, Ulani, good luck," Nanu said simply. "Don't get into any trouble."
"Short and sweet! I like it!" Leinani exclaimed. "It's time to get on the road!"
"Whoa!" Enoka yelled. He grabbed his Poké Ball and dashed in front of his classmate. "You're not leaving before our battle!"
"I like your energy," Nanu said. He turned and then began to walk away.
Leinani put her hands on her hips. "No."
"No?" Enoka asked, puzzled.
"You leave something to be desired though," Nanu muttered to himself as he continued his long trek down the bridge.
"If you want to have your little rival battle, then battle with Ulani," Leinani said.
"Me?" Ulani wondered while she nervously pointed at herself.
"You too chicken to battle me?" Enoka asked, trying to goad Leinani into a fight.
She shook her head. "I'm going straight to the gym to battle Uhuli. Once I beat him, I get a Z-ring. I wanna save Rowlet's energy."
"You're going to challenge the gym leader today?" Ulani asked. "Shouldn't you train first?"
"Nah. No time," Leinani said. "You two go ahead and have your battle. I'll catch you later." She looked down at Rowlet before holding its ball out. "Let's go."
When the Alola League was developed, every big city in the region received their own gym. Every city was tasked with building their gym and making it as challenging for trainers as possible. There were only six gyms throughout the entirety of the region, and they wanted to prevent people from trying to finish the gym challenge in a month.
Leinani was very familiar with Malie City's gym leader. He would frequent the school and teach them lessons on battle strategy. Occasionally, Leinani and Enoka were tasked with refereeing at his gym, so she had watched him battle countless times. She had studied and grown familiar with every one of his strategies.
As she opened the gym doors, she felt the cool breeze of the battlefield blow against her lightly tanned skin. The lobby was dark, as he probably wasn't expecting challengers this early, but the doors were unlocked, which meant welcome.
The doors to the battlefield creaked open, and Leinani walked into a white room. The battlefield was unlike regular fields, being covered in a thin layer of ice. Small stalagmites made of ice protruded from the floor, giving the field obstacles.
"Uhuli, I'm here to challenge you!" Leinani declared as she held out her Poké Ball.
A tanned teenage boy stood on the other side. He wore black jeans and a jacket with thick fur around the collar. His arms were folded, and he appeared puzzled by Leinani's appearance.
"You ready?" she asked.
Uhuli shook his head. "Are you?"
"I was born ready!" she yelled confidently.
Uhuli sighed. "You just got your Pokémon today. I don't think you're ready yet."
"What?"
"Put down your arm. You look ridiculous," Uhuli said. He walked along the edge of the field until he met with Leinani on the other side. "What's the rush?"
"I want to beat you and then move on. The faster I can beat the gyms, the better. I just want to get a headstart," she explained. "I can't become champion if I take my precious time."
Uhuli started to laugh. "You have eleven months until the Manalo Conference. Relax."
"I don't want to relax!"
The two paused as Leinani turned away from him. He was always levelheaded, which she admired but also hated at the same time. She knew that he was about to lecture her.
"What Pokémon did you choose?"
"I was going to choose Litten to get an advantage over you, but I ended up with Rowlet instead."
"And you still came to challenge me immediately?"
"I know all of your strategies and way of thinking. Even at a type-disadvantage, I think I could win."
"Can you tell me Rowlet's moves?" he asked.
"Tackle, Growl, and Leafage. I'm sure that after I defeat your first Pokémon, it would have learned Astonish right away."
"You are well studied. I'll give you that."
"I'm more prepared for you than any other challenger!"
"Is your Rowlet a boy or a girl?"
"Huh?"
"Your Pokémon's gender."
"I didn't check," Leinani said while quietly shifting her eyes. "Seems like a weird thing to ask it to be honest."
"You have your Pokédex which can give you that info instantly. What food does your Rowlet like?"
"Food?"
"Food. What food does it like?"
Leinani was puzzled. "I-I don't know."
"If you don't even know your partner, then how can you say you're the most prepared challenger I've had?" Uhuli asked. While his words were stern and cut deep, his light brown eyes were gentle. Leinani tried her hardest not to look directly at him.
"I-I don't know."
"Pokémon battling is a lot more than knowing your opponent's strategy. I have a huge type-advantage and my bond with my Pokémon is strong. What's the point of you challenging me and getting a Z-ring if your heart isn't one with Rowlet's?"
Leinani sighed. "You've made your point. I'll go and train for a bit. Maybe Rowlet will like pinap berries or something."
Uhuli lightened up slightly and smiled. "That's better, but not perfect. I'm gonna ask that you go and challenge another gym before mine."
"What?!"
"The gym in Po Town is much easier than mine. Rowlet will match up better against his Pokémon. Go there, earn your first badge, and then we can have our battle. I want our battle to be an intense one!" he exclaimed.
Leinani sighed. "I really wanted you to be my first gym battle, though."
"I'm sorry, Leinani. But, now is not the time."
Leinani exited the gym with her head held low. Not only was she walking away without a badge, but her ego had been shattered. Uhuli's words were like knives, and she didn't like feeling powerless.
"Leilei!" a figure from the distance yelled.
Leinani squinted her eyes to get a better look at the person quickly approaching. They were a small boy with black hair, thick rimmed glasses, a red polo shirt, and baggy cargo shorts. In his arms, he held a round Pokémon with yellow pouches for cheeks.
"Kaiko?" she said to herself.
The boy finally caught up with her, and he bent over as he gasped for breath. Sweat dripped onto his glasses, and he put his Pokémon on the ground as he took the time to gather his composure.
"I'm glad I found you!" he exclaimed loudly. "Did you already do your gym battle? Did I miss it?"
"No. Is something wrong?"
Kaiko stood up straight. "Not at all! I went to Malie Gardens to meet you and watch your first battle with Enoka, but he explained that you were going to come here and battle instead, so I rushed over! It looks like I made it just in time!"
Leinani nodded. "Well, kind of."
"Let's go! You have a badge to win!"
"Not today."
"What?" Kaiko asked as he stopped mid step.
"I gotta train for a bit and challenge the Po Town Gym Leader first. Uhuli refused to battle me," she explained.
Kaiko appeared upset by the news. He slowly bent over and picked up his Pokémon. "Togedemaru and I wanted to see your first battle."
"Well, today is full of disappointment for the both of us."
Kaiko puffed out his cheeks before blowing out air angrily. Then, he got an idea, and his eyes got wide. "How about I go with you to Po Town! As long as it's on Ula'ula Island, mom and dad won't be upset! I wanted to see the meadows anyway!"
Leinani's face scrunched up. "I'm going on this journey to get away from my family. Why should I let you come with me?"
"I can teach you fun facts about the island as we go!"
"That sounds awful."
"C'mon! Please?"
Leinani thought for a moment while she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine."
"Yay!"
"But!"
"But?"
"I'm going to listen to my music while we walk. Don't bother me."
Kaiko smiled. "No promises!"
"Then no."
"Wait! I promise!"
Since Leinani wasn't going to have her battle with Uhuli, she spent the remainder of the day at her home in Malie City. It took a little bit of convincing, but since Kaiko was already a top student at the school, they decided to let him join Leinani on her journey through Ula'ula Island.
Leinani's mom had prepared her a big dinner, making sure to include all of her favorite foods, and the family of four ate as much as they could. Afterwards, Leinani's father fell asleep on the couch, and her mother helped her organize her clothes and gear for the next day. Since Kaiko was going to tag along, she would have double the items, something that she considered useful.
"Uhuli wants you to get closer to your Pokémon, eh?" her mother wondered. She had dark skin and shared the same wavy black hair as Leinani. She worked at one of the barbershops in Malie City, but her fashion sense wasn't anything too impressive, mom jeans and a white, oversized t-shirt.
Leinani poked Rowlet in the head, slightly rocking it from side to side. She examined her Pokémon closer, noticing that the small leaf ribbon that Rowlet usually had was shaped to look more similar to a heart.
Because of Uhuli's advice, she scanned Rowlet to get her starter Pokémon's gender.
"Rowlet, the Grass Quill Pokémon. It sends its feathers, which are as sharp as blades, flying in attack. Its legs are strong, so its kicks are also formidable. Known moves: Tackle, Growl, and Leafage. Female."
"Female?" Leinani gasped. "That's rare."
"I think you should nickname her," her mom said. "I think it'll bring you two closer."
"Nickname? But that's so corny."
"I think it's a great idea!" Kaiko exclaimed.
Leinani huffed and then looked closer at Rowlet. She played with the heart shaped leaf slightly before rolling her eyes. "Alright. Since you're my partner, I'll give you a nickname. You're DJ, got it?"
Rowlet trilled happily.
"DJ? I love it!" her mother exclaimed.
"Me too!" Kaiko added.
Leinani shrugged. "Yeah. I'm pretty good at this trainer stuff." She turned around to see what Kaiko was doing. He was making a lot of noise and shuffling around, which distracted her.
"What do you think?" Kaiko asked as he showed off his pack that he had wrapped around his waist.
"A fanny pack?"
"More like a convenience sack!"
"I hate you."
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Welp. Another new story! I won't be updating this one as frequently as my others (maybe. I've already written a lot actually), but since I introduced the idea of gyms in "Awakening Alola" I felt the need to start up a story with a character who takes on that challenge. This is a soft sequel to "Awakening Alola" but it's not necessary to read that story to understand what's happening in this one. Leinani is a completely new character, unrelated to any characters I've introduced in my other stories.
Just like Logan and Cyan are reflections of myself, Leinani is also based off of a side of me. I plan to make her very different from them though. The main trait that her and I share will be our love for music. If I'm not at work, I'm listening to music, and my taste for music is all over the place. Every chapter (track) will be a title of a song that she listens to at the beginning or end. I can't post lyrics, because copyright is a thing and I'll give singer/band/group names parodies. But, I like the idea of slipping song titles in nonetheless.
Thanks to UKEagleclaw for Beta reading!
A QUICK NOTE ON POKéMON CAPITALIZATION
I understand that there's this little war going on within the community, and I just want to say that I don't want to be a part of it. I've decided to capitalize the way that I want to. I own countless official Pokémon storybooks that I read to kids, and they capitalize Pokémon names and such. I don't care if you do or don't. I don't care if it's wrong or right. Don't waste your time reviewing that aspect of my story. It will fall on deaf ears.
