Track 2 - "From Out of Nowhere"


It had only been a couple of days since the two left Malie City. Leinani had taken time during their breaks from walking to actually train with Rowlet. She actively avoided battles with trainers though, as she wanted to make sure the first time she 'stepped up' it'd be memorable for her.

She still wasn't sure about Rowlet though. Finding out that Rowlet was female helped endear the Pokémon to her, even if only slightly. And when Leinani listened to her music, Rowlet sat quietly next to her.

The two were now in the Tapu Village. They had stayed at the Pokémon Center overnight, and they were set to head to Po Town next. If they stayed on schedule, they'd arrive by nightfall.

But, they wouldn't stay on schedule.

"You know why this place is like this?" Kaiko asked, referring to the fact that the only functioning building in the village was the Pokémon Center.

Leinani didn't answer. She knew that her younger brother was going to tell her anyways.

"Many years ago, they built a massive supermarket on some sacred grounds. Tapu Bulu got real angry, and he let everyone know. He destroyed the village and market. No one died, but a lot of people lost their livelihoods."

Leinani ignored Kaiko and looked up at the enormous mountain. It went up so high that she couldn't make out the top.

"Mt. Lanikala," she muttered quietly.

"Alright, so I've got us scheduled for lunch at 12:30, but the next time we can stop to go to the bathroom is on Route 15 at about 10 o'clock. I hope that's cool," Kaiko said as he held his electronic map and his notepad.

"All of the strongest trainers in Alola are on the top of this mountain," she said. "When I win the conference, I'll be allowed to go up there and challenge them."

"That's still a little while away," Kaiko said. "How about we focus on today?"

Leinani looked at the gates of Lanikala, formed by two massive totems. They were wide open, and no one guarded them. "Let's make a small detour for just today. I want to see something."

As Leinani started to walk towards the gates, Kaiko panicked. He ran quickly to get in front of her. He held his ground, but his sister was bigger and ignored him, comically pushing him without effort.

"It'll just be for a bit," she said.

"But, we're not allowed! And there's dangerous Pokémon around here, Leilei! We could get hurt!" he protested.

Leinani reached out and pulled Kaiko into a hug. She then shifted their bodies and switched places. Kaiko, dizzied by the exchange, fell on his backside. Leinani then continued towards the gates.

"I hate when you do that."

Leinani smiled and she peeked inside of the entrance of Mt. Lanikala. The cave was massive, and it appeared that ice had crystalized over the edges of it. Leinani had enough experience in Uhuli's gym to where it wouldn't be an issue though.

"Just a little bit."

"But we shouldn't go at all!"

"Then stay there."

"Don't leave me behind!"

The duo followed the path towards the cave entrance. It wasn't too far of a walk, but with Kaiko behind Leinani, dragging her slightly, and with Togedemaru behind him, it took longer.

Then, ten yards before they would have reached the entrance, they heard a twig snap. Leinani immediately grabbed ahold of her Poké Ball and held it out as the two waited for the creature to reveal itself.

Slowly, from the tall grass, a small round Pokémon emerged. It was white in coloration with a bulbous back appearing to be made out of compacted snow.

"A Sandshrew!" Leinani exclaimed.

Kaiko, now relieved, pulled Leinani's Pokédex from her back pocket and scanned the Pokémon.

"Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokémon. Alolan variation. The skin on its back is as hard as steel. Predators go after its soft belly, so it clings to the ground desperately."

"Uhuli has a bunch of these cuties!" Leinani exclaimed. "You think it's wild?"

Kaiko nodded. "Yeah. You gonna catch him?"

Without answering Kaiko, she tossed Rowlet's ball forward. Rowlet flew through the air before landing in front of Sandshrew. She looked curiously at the Pokémon, but Sandshrew tried its hardest not to look back.

"Let's get its attention!" Leinani said. "Astonish!"

Rowlet trilled as she flew forward. Her beak turned into a shadowy purple before she jabbed it into Sandshrew's face, forcing the Ice-type to roll backwards. It then curled into a ball as it did what the Pokédex said it would and tried to hide its underbelly.

"Give it Peck! Don't let up!"

Rowlet slowly approached Sandshrew and floated overhead, and then as commanded, she started to bash her beak repeatedly into Sandshrew's shell. The attack, no matter how many times performed, did nothing.

"We gotta try something else," Leinani said. "Use Leafage!"

"Wait, Leilei!" Kaiko yelled.

"What?" Leinani snapped. "Can't you see I'm busy!"

"Look!" Kaiko said. He pointed at Sandshrew, making Leinani and Rowlet pause. It started to glow with a light red aura. "That's Bide! If you keep attacking, it'll only get stronger."

"Well, what am I supposed to do? Not attack it?"

"Exactly!"

"I'm going to attack it. Leafage!"

Rowlet followed her orders and then took into the air. She trilled as small leaves of energy formed around her body. She then shot them forward, and they bashed into Sandshrew's back. Once the attack had completely done its damage, Sandshrew loosened up a bit and looked up.

"It worked!" Leinani said.

Sandshrew then shot up, and the red aura increased until it was surrounded completely by an orb of energy. The orb then exploded, sending Rowlet flying backwards.

"DJ!" Leinani yelled. "What was that?"

"That was Bide! I told you!"

Rowlet managed to recover, but she was breathing deeply as she flew through the air. Sandslash hit the ground too, and its body heaved up and down as though it were also worn out from the expended energy.

"Tackle!"

As Rowlet came back down to the earth, her claw extended outwards, Sandshrew held out its claws, which started to glow with energy. The two Pokémon connected, and they held out for a while in a test of strength. One had to give away eventually though, and it was Sandshrew, who was tossed backwards into a wall. It curled up once more as it slowly fell back down.

"This is your chance!" Kaiko said.

"Right!" Leinani responded. She pulled out a shiny new Poké Ball that she bought before she left Malie City. She expanded it by pressing the button and then grinned. "You're mine! Go, Poké Ball!"

The ball connected with the worn down Sandshrew and then absorbed it with a flash of red light. It fell into the grass, and while Leinani or Kaiko couldn't see the ball directly, they saw the grass moving back and forth as the ball rocked. Then, the grass stopped moving, and everything was silent.

Leinani slowly inched her way over to the grass and peered down at the ball. It was still, and since it wasn't forced open, that only meant one thing.

"Dope! I did it!" Leinani exclaimed as she picked up the Poké Ball from the ground.

"Good job, DJ!" Kaiko said to Leinani's tired Pokémon.

"Togede!"

Rowlet trilled happily.

Leinani turned around and looked towards the cave entrance. "Alright. Let's see what's inside."

"Are you serious, Leilei? We don't have time for this! And DJ is in no condition to battle if necessary!"

Leinani shook her head, huffed, but continued towards the entrance. She was determined to see what was inside, but then shock came over her face as something started to happen that she didn't think was possible. The grass nearby started to grow at an incredibly fast rate, covering up the cave in a thick mess. Leinani stopped in place as she watched a wall of forest grow before her eyes.

"Kai-" she started to say as she turned around, but then she was shocked into silence. In between her and her brother was a Pokémon that she had only ever heard about in stories.

It was a Pokémon with a bulky black body and thick arms. On its head were two sharp horns that pierced through what appeared to be a shell that it could use to defend itself. It had an angry look on its face which was contrasted by the beautiful sound its tail made when it moved.

"Ta-Tapu Bulu," Leinani said.

"Bulu!" it cried out as it got closer to the trainer. It quickly shifted its body and put itself between Leinani and the cave. Leinani was frozen with fear, and after Tapu Bulu let out another cry, she stumbled backwards before falling on her backside.

"Row!" Rowlet trilled while flying forward. She took her position in front of Leinani, prepared to fight if asked to.

"No!" Leinani said. She snapped forward and grabbed ahold of Rowlet. "Not now. Not with Tapu Bulu." She slowly stood back up, and walked backwards while never taking her eyes off of Tapu Bulu.

Kaiko grabbed a hold of Leinani and held tightly on her arm. He was shaking violently with fear, but as long as he was next to his sister, he was able to move. At the slow pace that they moved, they were able to get out of the gate and back to the village in a couple of minutes. Tapu Bulu didn't move an inch, and they never looked away until they turned a corner.

They both fell at the totems and collapsed into one another.

"That was so scary!" Kaiko said.

Leinani didn't respond but instead slowly peeked her head around the corner and at the cave entrance. Tapu Bulu and the wall of plants that it had created were missing. She gulped and then hugged her brother tightly.

"What do you think it wanted?" she asked.

"Maybe Tapu Bulu was trying to protect you from going somewhere dangerous?" he responded. "Or maybe he wants you to know your limits."

She nodded. Her heartbeat was now beginning to calm down and she wiped sweat from her forehead. As far as she was concerned, she had no limits.

The two continued to sit for awhile as they tried to catch their breath. Eventually, after the silence became too much, Kaiko spoke up. "So, what are you gonna name Sandshrew?"

"Name?"

"Yeah, like DJ!"

"I gotta nickname all of them?!" she asked, exasperated by Kaiko's nonstop insistence. "Well, Sandshrew is a ball and whatnot. It's kind of like a microphone."

"So, Microphone! That's so cool!"

"No. That's too on the nose."

"Oh…"

"I think I'll go with Shure."

"Shure?"

"Yeah. It's a kind of microphone. What do you think?"

"Shure? Sure, why not?" he said with a laugh.

"Shut up."

She stood up and moved her headphones up from her neck to her head before withdrawing Rowlet back into her ball.

"Let's go."


AUTHOR'S NOTES:

I REALLY like writing for Leinani. She's got a lot of developing to go, and I'm all for it.

Next chapter she'll make it closer to Po Town and her first gym badge, but she's got a bit more before she can actually challenge it.

REVIEWS:

CrescentApple - "Welp, this is gonna be an interesting read. Leinani is already interesting. I can see she is much different compared to Logan and Cyan already. Can't wait." - I'm trying to make her very different from the cheerful trainer that usually portrayed. That said, I don't want her to be unlikeable like a lot of other fanfiction protagonists that are 'edgy'. Thanks for your review!

UKEagleClaw - "Very enjoyable opening chapter. Cool that you are referring to the chapters as tracks, and how you are relating that to Leinani's character. I very much like Nanu's presence in this chapter too. Nice deviation really that it's him handing out starters instead of the regional professor. Very much like the interaction between Leinani and Uhuli. She obviously looks up to him, and that came across as a good character plot. Interested to see what number gym leader he will be when she returns to challenge him. Liked Rowlet having a specific shape of leaf and how you handled the nickname situation. Overall, really good stuff. Leinani's very interesting so far and has a compelling, engaging voice. Great job!" - I believe, and I could be wrong, that in S/M or US/UM, Hala gives the trainers their starters, so that's why I went with Nanu handing them out. Originally, I intended for Uhuli to be the second gym leader she challenges, but now I'm tempted to change it. I've written seven chapters so far, and I've really enjoyed writing Leinani's character. Thanks for your review/beta read!

wisdom-jewel - "I want to see more. I like the characters so far. I haven't decided which is my favorite yet." - I really like Leinani. Writing her character has been so fun.

pokestets23 - "Can't wait to see where this goes! I think Kaiko may stick around longer than just one island." - I've already made up my mind with how Leinani's traveling companion(s) will work out (no spoilers), but I did kind of consider having a new traveling companion for each island. However, I don't think that'd be enough time to establish likeable characters, as she'll be spending more time on some islands than others.