Track 17 - Personality
It had been a couple of days since Leinani and Kaiko visited Royal Avenue. Leinani got in a few more reps with the Battle Royale format, but she didn't get the chance to face the Masked Royal a second time.
It was time to move on though, which lead the two to Wela Volcano. While Ula'ula Island had two famous mountains, they were arguably not as well known as Wela Volcano, which was a popular tourist destination. Most trainers who came to Alola had to come through Wela Volcano, as it was a destination for an island trial. Those who weren't taking on the island challenge came here to catch power Fire-type Pokémon.
"I think your team could really benefit from a Fire-type!" Kaiko exclaimed as he flipped through a pamphlet that listed the various Pokémon that lived on the volcano.
Leinani thought about it for a moment. She looked up at Rowlet, who sat on her head. She saw her beak peeking out from the brim of her hat and smiled. Leinani had intended to start her journey off with a Fire-type, as she wanted the advantage of Uhuli, but she ended up with Rowlet. In hindsight, she was happy that that was the way things played out though.
"Right now, you have Grass- and Flying-type, Ice- and Steel-type, Bug- and Electric-type, Ghost- and Ground-type, and a Water-type," Kaiko said while listing off the Pokémon on his fingers. "That leaves one spot open for quite a bit of Pokémon unless you plan on capturing a variety of Pokémon for your team."
She shook her head. "I'm just going for six. I want to focus on a full team and make them as powerful as possible. What types am I missing?"
Kaiko looked down, noticing Marshadow's red eyes. He smiled. "Dark! Or, uh, Fighting!"
Leinani clicked her tongue and tried to remember all of the various types of Pokémon. "Fairy, Fire, Rock, Psychic, Normal, Dragon, and Poison. I have so many options to go for."
"What about your remaining gyms?" Kaiko asked. He didn't study much about the gyms, as he wasn't interested in the gym challenge himself, but he knew that Leinani knew quite about from studying under Uhuli.
"I have three more to go. I don't know very much about them, in all honesty," she said. "I know that the next gym leader here specializes in Poison-types, the gym leader on Melemele Island uses Steel-types, and the gym leader on Poni Island is a master of Dragon-types."
"Seems like you already have types that will help you defeat them!" Kaiko exclaimed.
"I guess so," Leinani said. "But I don't think it'd hurt to catch a Fire-type. After all, they are kind of cool, and I think I'd benefit from having a full team to build up now rather than later." She looked around, finding some dry grass that had been rustling slightly.
"Vinyl, let's go!" she exclaimed while throwing her Great Ball forward. Sandygast emerged and wobbled her body around like jelly in an intimidating fashion.
The grass stopped rustling and a thin black and purple Pokémon slowly walked out. It hissed at Sandygast, ready for a fight.
"Salandit, the Toxic Lizard Pokémon. The males will do whatever the females tell them. They give the females most of their food. Due to malnutrition, the males can't evolve," Leinani's Pokédex buzzed.
"Sweet," Leinani said. "Vinyl, use Sand Tomb!"
"Gast!" the Ghost-type called out while whipping up a small tornado of sand around her body. The tornado raced towards Salandit, lifted it into the air, and instead of striking in a way that would lead Leinani to be able to catch the Pokémon, it instead tossed the Salandit from the cliff and to the area below them. Salandit hit with a hard thud in the dirt, got back up, hissed, and then scurried away angrily.
Leinani face-palmed. "Well, dang. Guess that means no Salandit for me. Maybe we need to be more careful when we attack, Vinyl."
Sandygast turned around and smiled. As far as she was concerned, she won the battle. She wasn't aware that Leinani was trying to add the Fire-type to the team.
"Let's just keep looking! Maybe we'll find something even better," Kaiko said.
The siblings continued to hike up the volcano, Sandygast following close behind. At the moment, Sandygast was the only Pokémon on Leinani's team that could go up against a wild Fire-type Pokémon. Leinani would have loved to battle with Wishiwashi, but the tiny fishbowl wouldn't provide enough space for Wishiwashi to do anything worthwhile.
"What about that Pokémon?" Kaiko asked while pointing up to a tree that had been blackened by soot. Its leaves were also burned off, and Leinani was unsure how it grew in such a harsh environment to begin with. On one of its small branches was an avian Pokémon with a redhead and a grey body.
"Fletchling, the Tiny Robin Pokémon. While it's an amiable Pokémon, if you touch it unexpectedly, it will heat up its body in an instant, and you'll be burned," Leinani's Pokédex buzzed.
Leinani considered her options. "It'd be another Flying-type, but once DJ evolves into Decidueye, she'd lose her Flying-type traits."
Rowlet perked up slightly. She had never even considered what would happen when she evolved.
"We'll go for it! DJ, use Razor Leaf!"
Rowlet would have usually enjoyed following Leinani's command, but when she saw the other Flying-type, she saw the potential of being replaced. Instead of flying off of Leinani and going straight into action, DJ stayed put.
"DJ?" Leinani wondered. She paused and then shook her head back and forth, trying to send Rowlet into action. "C'mon, DJ!"
"Row!" the Pokémon trilled before crossing her wings and shaking her head in disapproval.
"I don't think that DJ wants you to catch another Flying-type," Kaiko suggested.
Leinani grabbed Rowlet from her hat and looked at her in the eyes. "But what does it matter? When you evolve, you'll be a Ghost-type. I'm not replacing you, DJ."
Rowlet shook her head and then looked away angrily.
"Leilei," Kaiko said, catching his sister's attention. She looked towards him, noticing that he was pointing at the tree. Fletchling was now gone, having flown off during Leinani's conversation with DJ.
"It escaped!" Leinani yelled. She glared at DJ and started to shake her back and forth. "How could you do this to me, DJ?! Why are you so selfish?!"
"Row!" the Pokémon trilled as she struggled. She escaped from Leinani's grasp and then flew over to Kaiko, landing on his head.
"I think she's mad," Kaiko said, stating the obvious.
"Don't want to help me catch a new Pokémon? Fine!" Leinani exclaimed. "Vinyl, let's go find a Fire-type!"
"Gast?"
They continued their climb. Anytime that Kaiko would get too close to Leinani, DJ would pull him back slightly, wanting to make sure that Leinani knew that she was upset. It worked, but Leinani didn't want to show it. She put her large headphones over her ears and pretended to listen to music. This had bothered DJ to an extent, as she wanted to listen to the music with her trainer.
Then, something caught their attention, and they stopped walking. A small, bright red Pokémon with a lumpy head danced across their path. It stopped dancing and looked up at Leinani, terrified by her sudden appearance.
Leinani slowly pulled her Pokédex from her pocket and scanned it. "Magby the Live Coal Pokémon. When flames drip from its nose, that means it has a cold. Have it lie down for a nice rest in some magma."
"I like this one!" she exclaimed. "Vinyl, use Bulldoze!"
Before the Magby could even realize what was happening, Sandygast started her attack. The small field started to rumble, knocking Magby over onto his backside.
"Now, use Sand Tomb!" Leinani ordered. "Don't throw them off the cliff this time!"
Sandygast was much more careful this time around, making sure that the storm that she whipped up was weak. She sent it forward, blasting Magby and tossing him into the air. Luckily, he was only thrown straight up, so he wasn't flung from the cliff. He came back down and crashed into the ground with a hard thud.
"Alright, you're mine!" Leinani exclaimed while throwing a Poké Ball forward. It connected with Magby and absorbed it with the bright light. It hit the ground and started to rock back and forth. Leinani snapped her fingers and then glanced back at DJ, who still refused to look at her.
Then the Poké Ball exploded, grabbing Leinani's attention. Magby appeared and scowled at Leinani. But instead of shouting or roaring, it started to cry, letting out a terrible shriek through the air. Leinani and Kaiko put their hands on their ears while they tried to block out the noise, but the Magby was awfully loud for such a small creature.
"It won't stop crying!" Kaiko exclaimed.
"How do I shut it up?!" Leinani asked herself.
A loud shout then cut off the screaming, putting Magby's cries to a stop. Everyone looked up to a higher cliff, finding a large brown Pokémon with thick, armor-like scales. It hopped from its cliff, landing between Magby and Leinani. It looked down at Magby and picked up the baby Pokémon.
"It's gonna eat it!" Leinani screeched.
Then, the larger Pokémon put Magby into its front pouch before softly petting it on its lumpy head.
"Or not," Leinani said calmly. She scanned the new Pokémon.
"Kangaskhan, the Parent Pokémon. If you come across a young Kangaskhan playing by itself, you must never disturb it or attempt to catch it. The baby Pokémon's parent is sure to be in the area, and it will become violently enraged at you," it buzzed.
"Maybe I should catch Kangaskhan instead?" Leinani wondered. She looked back towards Kaiko for his approval, but he had a terrified look on his face. He slowly raised his hand and pointed past Leinani. She turned around, finding an enraged Kangaskhan only inches away from her face. "Crap."
"Leilei, run!" Kaiko yelled.
Kangaskhan raised her arm to strike, but Rowlet quickly flew from Kaiko's head. She jabbed her sharp beak into Kangaskhan's chest, making her stumble backward. Leinani then lifted her Great Ball, letting the red light retrieve Sanygast. Before Rowlet could strike Kangaskhan once more, or worse, be stricken by Kangaskhan, Leinani grabbed her by the talon and started to run away. The only place for them to go was up the mountain.
Leinani and Kaiko ran as fast as they could, fear making them move much quicker than they anticipated their legs would take them. They weren't sure where to go, but they knew that if they stopped, then Kangaskhan would surely beat them to a pulp.
"Now would be a great time for you to be a black belt in kung fu!" Leinani yelled while they ran at full speed.
"I wish I would have stayed in Malie City!" Kaiko responded. He looked down, his eyes meeting Marshadow's. The Dark-type could sense that he was stressed. Without ever leaving the ground, Marshadow shot from Kaiko's shadow, raced through the dirt, and entered Kangaskhan's shadow. The Normal-type Pokémon stopped in her tracks before a fist made of dark energy uppercut her in the jaw. She paused, blinked, and then fell backward, unconscious.
Before Leinani could see what had happened, Marshadow dashed back to Kaiko, taking shelter in his shadow once again. Kaiko stopped running, making Leinani stop. She looked at the unconscious Kangaskhan, bewildered.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Heatstroke!" Kaiko blurted out. "Probably. I dunno. Who cares what happened? We're saved!"
Leinani breathed in deeply and then ran her hand through his hair. "You're right. Let's look at the positives. I heard there's a Pokémon Center near the top. Let's go get some rest. I think I'm done trying to catch a Pokémon today." She turned and continued to walk up the mountain, but Kaiko remained still.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"C'mon, dork!"
After thirty minutes of climbing the volcano, they finally reached the top. It was the known destination for the trial, but for other trainers, they came here for the sights and for the Pokémon Center, which had been colored black by soot.
The sounds of a battle resonated, catching their attention. Although they were eager to get to the Pokémon Center, they couldn't help but get a look at whoever it was that was battling.
They recognized the Totem Pokémon as being the evolution of Salandit, Salazzle. It was large and had a yellow aura that emitted from it. The challenger was a slim boy who wore all black clothing. He had blonde hair that was uneven and lengthy in the front but kept neat in the back. His Pokémon was one that neither Leinani nor Kaiko knew about.
Leinani scanned the Pokémon with her dex.
"Date not found," the Pokédex chimed while bringing the image of the Pokémon up. It was a quadruped Pokémon with different colored front and hind legs. Its head appeared to be encased by a heavy helmet with a large stone horn on top. There was something odd about the Pokémon as if it had been frankensteined together.
"I'm so excited!" Kaiko exclaimed, breaking Leinani's train of thought.
"What's up?" she asked.
"In two years, I'll be doing my own island challenge! I'll get to come back here and battle against really strong Fire-types! I'm just so stoked for what my adventure will end up being!"
Leinani smiled, tucked her Pokédex back into her pocket, and then put her hands on her hips. "Let's enjoy the present. Don't get distracted. Remember, you have to write a report for school." She looked back to the boy and his Pokémon. "He's kind of strong."
Kaiko nodded. "There's a chance that you'll have to battle him if he makes it to the Manalo Conference. With a mysterious Pokémon like that, you'll have to be prepared for anything."
"I will be."
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
So, Leinani won't be getting her sixth Pokémon for at least another ten chapters or so. We'll see! It looks like she has to work with her current team a bit more.
Also, who's the mysterious boy?! Who is it?! WHO?! sorry.
Next chapter, we'll be getting into Leinani's next gym battle. Any predictions for who it might be? It was revealed that they specialize in Poison-type Pokémon. If Leinani can manage to do her Psychic-type Z-Move, that'd be good.
REVIEWS:
wisdom-jewel - "I love the chapter. It is a good break from it all and it would give Leinani some time to bond with her Pokemon. And I love how she's treating her Wishwiwashi. I think they would do well and maybe it would remember how kind its trainer is." - I think her relationship with Wishiwashi is going to be interesting and kind of cute.
CrescentApple - "Oooooh. I have mixed feelings about Leilani's win against Incineroar. It was dead clever, but... wow. I watched the video, it was hilarious, and I can see the similarities. Surprised Ulali was okay with that." - The way that she managed to eliminate Incineroar was intended to be controversial. Haha
