Track 14 - "Stand By Me"
Although Leinani did not like Xerxes, she took his warning seriously. She knew that the gym leaders would be getting more and more intense, which brought the two to Route 5. She had been training on the route for a couple of days, battling any and all wild Pokémon that they came across. She was nervous to take challenges from strangers, but after her first win against a pair of twins no older than Kaiko, she gained some courage.
Kaiko sat down against a palm tree and fed his Togedemaru some berries. He watched Leinani train. Although he enjoyed traveling with her, he didn't find any fun in watching her train for days on end. He saw no purpose in battling with Togedemaru, so the thought never crossed his mind to help out Leinani directly. Even if he did offer his help, she'd probably reject him.
"Hey, Leilei, do you mind if I walk around? I heard that there was a farm nearby. I was thinking that I could go buy us some milk or something."
Leinani had been focusing on her training. She had her headphones on and couldn't hear a single word that Kaiko had said. Kaiko sighed. He stood up and then puffed his cheeks out.
"I'm gonna go for awhile! Don't worry about me!" Kaiko exclaimed.
Leinani didn't respond.
Kaiko didn't say anything else. He instead decided that he'd do exactly as he said, and he walked towards the farms. The air was full of the smell of hay, and all of the farm hands were busy at work. Some were feeding the Mudbray. Some were milking the Miltank. And others were herding the Mareep by use of a giddy Lillipup. Kaiko didn't want to bother any of them, so he simply bought himself and Togedemaru Moomoo milk, and the two found a quiet spot in the woods to sit where they could enjoy their milk in silence.
"Everyone is doing their best and working really hard," Kaiko said. "I'll have to work hard too!"
"Toge?"
"When I get my trainer's license, it'll be me and you and whatever starter Pokémon I get! We'll take on the island challenge and then win the Manalo Conference and challenge Leinani for her champion spot!" he exclaimed. "I can envision it all, Togedemaru!"
"Get it! Don't let it escape!" a voice called.
Kaiko turned to find three people, all dressed in black and white, chasing a small shadowy Pokémon. The three had black bandanas on their face, and they wore matching baggy clothing.
When the shadowy Pokémon took notice of Kaiko and Togedemaru, it charged their way. It dove forward, seemingly sinking into Kaiko's shadow. The three people stopped and glared at Kaiko, unsure of what to say.
"We're gonna ask that you give us back that Marshadow, if you know what's good for you," the leader said. He was dirty blonde, which was the only distinguishable feature when compared to the other two. "It belongs to Team Skull."
"Team Skull?" Kaiko asked while standing up. "I thought you disbanded!"
"You thought wrong!" the leader's cohort snapped. She had brown hair that was pulled into pigtails.
"We're reformed!" the third member yelled. He had spiky black hair.
That Guzma. I knew it was too good to be true, Kaiko thought. He looked down at his shadow where a pair of red eyes looked back up at him. "I don't think Marshadow wants to go with you."
The three Team Skull members looked at one another.
"What are you going to do about it?" the leader snapped.
Kaiko adjusted his glasses and then stood up. He held out his arms and hands, ready to defend himself if necessary. "I should warn you that I'm a purple belt in kung fu."
"A bluff to save yourself," the female member said.
Suddenly Togedemaru jumped forward. He sparked and allowed his quills to stand up. The Team Skull members weren't intimidated though, and they began to laugh.
"Don't laugh at my Togedemaru!" Kaiko yelled. "He's very self conscious!"
"Go, Crabrawler!" the lead member of Team Skull shouted while throwing a Poké Ball forward. His Pokémon emerged and waved his arms in front of his face, ready to strike at a moment's notice. "Use Power-Up Punch!"
"Togedemaru, use uh-um-" Kaiko stammered, suddenly losing the ability to think.
Togedemaru looked back to Kaiko for guidance before he was punched. His small body rolled backward, and he collided with Kaiko. He quickly recovered and then glared at Crabrawler, who was now flowing with energy.
What moves does Togedemaru know?! What moves does Togedemaru know?! What moves does Togedemaru know?! Kaiko repeatedly thought.
"Now, do Dizzy Punch!" the leader commanded.
Crabrawler scuttled forward while waving his fist in the air.
"Nuzzle! Use Nuzzle! You know Nuzzle!" Kaiko screamed.
Togedemaru leaped into action. He sparked with electricity and then dove forward. Once again, he was punched directly in the face, but he didn't have nothing to show for it. Crabrawler walked back, sparks now emitting from his body. His movements were jittery.
"Yes! Paralyzed!"
"No! Paralyzed!"
Kaiko was now feeling the heat of the battle, and he remembered all of Togedemaru's moveset. In a second he formed a strategy. He pointed at Crabrawler and then shouted, "Charge!"
Usually when commanded to do Charge a Pokémon would focus their energy and build up electricity within their body. However, Togedemaru started to wobble back and forth. He had heard Kaiko's command, but his mind was fuzzy, and he didn't know what to do.
"He's confused!" Kaiko exclaimed.
"Crabrawler, fight through the paralysis and use Bubble Beam! Finish that weakling!" the leader commanded.
Crabrawler screeched and then unleashed a stream of bubbles from its mouth straight towards Togedemaru. Neither Kaiko or his Pokémon were sure of how to react, so they both stood in fear. But then, the Pokémon from before emerged from Kaiko's shadow. It dove in front of Togedemaru and sparked like the Electric-type did, taking all of the bubbles directly. They seemingly did very little though. It then glared at Crabrawler before unleashing its own Bubble Beam. Crabrawler was pelted in the face repeatedly and knocked backwards a few feet.
It's using Copycat, Kaiko thought. First it used Nuzzle as a defensive maneuver and then used Crabrawler's own Bubble Beam against it! Amazing!
"Crabrawler, use Power-Up Punch! Go!"
"Shadow," the Pokémon muttered as it crouched its body low. Its arm started to spark, and then it lunged forward, jabbing directly into Crabrawler's stomach. It launched the Crabrawler into the air, and when the Fighting-type came back to the ground, it crumbled into itself right in front of its trainer.
"No!" the boy exclaimed. "No! No! No!" He glared. "You come here, Marshadow! Stop being a brat!" He withdrew Crabrawler before taking a large step forward. He ran as fast as he could towards Marshadow, but Kaiko was ready.
Kaiko stepped and put his right leg forward. He quickly put the large boy to a stop by tucking his right arm under the boy's left shoulder. Then, before any three of the Team Skull members could say anything, Kaiko flipped the boy, making him land on his back. Kaiko then stepped back, took in a deep breath, and glanced at the other two.
"Get out of here," Kaiko said calmly. He looked to his left where Marshadow stood, striking the exact same pose as Kaiko.
The two other members were stunned, but once they gathered themselves, they ran to their leader and picked him up.
"We won't forget about this, kid!" the girl yelled.
"You've made Team Skull's hit list! You best be careful!" the black-haired boy added.
And with that, they ran through the forest, carrying their blonde leader with them. When they were well away from Kaiko, they put the leader up against a tree and allowed him to sit down for a bit.
"You okay?" the girl asked.
"That kid packs a punch," the leader said. "Wasn't expecting something like that from someone so small."
The black-haired boy pulled a phone from his pocket and checked his messages. "The boss wants us back at the paradise now. We should change out of these dumb outfits before we leave the woods."
"Good point."
Once the three had left Kaiko's eyesight, he looked down at his shadow where Marshadow stood. The Pokémon was still. It looked back up at Kaiko and then cocked its head to the side.
"You okay?" Kaiko asked.
"Mar."
"You're a rare Pokémon, aren't you? I've never even heard of a Marshadow before, and I've studied all of the Pokémon in Alola. Are you even from Alola?"
"Marshadow-shadow."
"Are you an ultra beast?"
Marshadow shook its head slowly.
"So an actual Pokémon! That's incredible!" Kaiko said. He knelt down and tried to get eye level with the Pokémon. "Thanks for helping me and Togedemaru. We're not great at battling."
"Marsh?"
"It's probably safe for you to go home now, if you want to. I think they're gone."
"Shadow?"
"I have to get back to my sister. I'll keep this a secret though. I don't want anyone chasing you again," Kaiko said. "Bye!" He tried to turn around, but his feet were seemingly stuck. Black energy came from Marshadow, attaching itself to Kaiko.
"Do-do you want to come with me?"
"Shadow. Marshadow-shadow! Marshadow!"
Kaiko couldn't speak Pokémon, but for some reason, everything that the Pokémon was saying made sense to him, and he could understand Marshadow's babble. He looked down at the black energy that connected the two of them.
"You're from Alola, but you're not from this island. You got swept up in a storm and ended up here. You want to get back home, but you have no idea how," Kaiko said. "How can I understand you?"
"Marshadow-shadow!"
Kaiko was taken aback. "You can communicate through my shadow? That's incredible!"
"Shadow!"
"Now, don't go reading my thoughts!" Kaiko said with a laugh. "My sister and I are traveling through Alola. We can take you home, Marshadow. You can follow me, and we'll get you where you need to be."
Marshadow smiled before sinking back into Kaiko's shadow. Only its red eyes were once again visible.
"Let's go!"
Kaiko returned back to the area where Leinani had been training. She was still hard at work with her Pokémon. It appeared as though she hadn't once removed her headphones or noticed that Kaiko had even left.
"Leinani, I want you to meet someone! And Marshadow, this is my sister!" Kaiko exclaimed loudly while waving his arms around. He looked down at his shadow at the red eyes, but they slowly dissipated. "Huh?"
"You say something, Kaiko?" Leinani asked. She removed her headphones and then turned around to find Kaiko staring at the ground. "Hello?"
Kaiko shot up straight. "Oh yeah! I said that I bought Moomoo Milk! Do you want some?"
"Yeah, that sounds great," she answered. "I'm worn out."
"Okay!" Kaiko looked down at his shadow. "Well, Togedemaru and I drank it all!"
"Why did you offer some then?" Leinani asked, now slightly peeved.
"I can go and buy more! I'm not thinking straight, I guess! It's really hot!" he answered.
Leinani sighed. "Don't bother. Maybe it was bad milk, and that's why you're suddenly acting weird. We learned a new attack today. Isn't that exciting?"
"That's amazing!" Kaiko exclaimed. "It's probably the most exciting thing that's happened all day!"
Leinani shrugged. "Your enthusiasm is too much. But yes. Let's go get some dinner," she said while returning her Pokémon and waving over Rowlet to sit on her hat. She grabbed her bag and then started walking up the path that Kaiko had taken to get to the farms.
Kaiko looked down at his shadow. He couldn't see Marshadow's eyes, but he could still feel the Pokémon's presence and feelings.
"Kaiko, c'mon!"
"Coming!"
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
So, Kaiko is joined by a new friend!
Not sure if I'm depressed or sick, but the past couple of days have been kind of rough. Haven't had the energy to move very much. That said, thank you all for your constant support on my stories. Writing them is extremely fun, and I'm glad I get to share these characters with you.
REVIEWS
wisdom-jewel - "Love how Leinaini and Xerxes' interaction with this chapter. I simply enjoy the whole battle that much more. And loved how Xerxes tried to buy off Sandygas and later Leinani having the same reaction to when he said something about Boombox." - Writing their interaction was extremely fun. I'd be willing to bring Xerxes back at a later date to see what I could do with him.
CrescentApple - "The battle was good. I was curious how you would use Charjabug in battle. It has one of the most oddest forms. But it was done well. So its now shown how Leinani feels around rich people, but she was amused they enjoyed her music." - Leinani has kind of an odd team. Right now, three of her four Pokemon are kind of slow-moving. And her next Pokemon will be even weirder!
UKEagleClaw - "The battle was enjoyable. Liked the description of Vinyl being splattered by Psychic and then her body reforming, that 'magnet' simile. Also cool reaction to Leinani playing her music, haha, and strong finish to the battle between Bruxish and Charjabug." - That was probably one of my favorite parts of this battle. I'm going to enjoy writing for Leinani's team.
