Track 19 - Far Away


Leinani jabbed, punching one of the many trees in Lush Jungle. She winced from the pain, but her anger helped her get through it. Then, she punched again. She had been doing this for hours after her loss to Plumeria.

She dropped off all of her Pokémon except for DJ at the Pokémon Center and then went to the Lush Jungle to be alone with her thoughts. Kaiko decided to stay at the Pokémon Center, as he didn't want to anger her in any kind of way.

"I'm so stupid. Stupid. Stupid," Leinani said with each punch against the tree.

"Row?" Rowlet trilled.

"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid," she repeated. She punched once more. "So stupid!"

Rowlet had enough. She dropped from Leinani's hat and then flew in front of her trainer, as though to protect the tree from another strike. She caught Leinani's eyes, and for the first time since they had traveled together, it appeared like her trainer was nearing tears.

Leinani wiped her face with her sleeve and then turned away. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to do with myself right now."

"Row," the Pokémon cooed before taking a place on Leinani's shoulder. She fiddled with Leinani's headphones and did her best to put them over Leinani's ears.

Leinani couldn't help but smile, even if tears had started to streak down her cheeks. "Thanks." She adjusted her headphones so that one of them pointed out towards DJ. The Pokémon had enjoyed Leinani's music, even if she couldn't understand a single word. She pushed the button on her music player, letting the song that she had been listening to previously resume.

It was a song with two male singers who had deep voices. It was slow and the main instrument was a piano, but there were drums and guitars to it too, making it sound like a ballad of sorts. Rowlet didn't understand the difference between music genres though, so she didn't care.

Leinani walked through the jungle. She knew that it was a place where some trainers took on the island challenge, but besides her music echoing off of the trees, there were no sounds of any ongoing battles. It was relaxing but in its own way, slightly unsettling.


Back at the Pokémon Center, Kaiko was resting with the Pokémon. He sat down and ate potato chips while Leinani's Pokémon were quiet. Sandshrew knocked on Wishiwashi's glass fishbowl, which startled her. Charjabug was ashamed by her loss, and Sandygast consoled her by wrapping her blanket-like body around her.

"Leinani will be okay!" Kaiko exclaimed. "She just needs time to rethink. None of you should worry about her! She's really strong mentally!"

The Pokémon looked at Kaiko and then one another.

"I mean, sometimes she can be irrationally angry, but isn't that true for anyone?" Kaiko asked. "Even I get angry sometimes!"

The Pokémon didn't believe him.

"For example!" he exclaimed. He looked down at Marshadow's red eyes. "The other day, I was in an intense battle! You can ask Togedemaru!"

"Toge!"

"We had to fight with these evil dudes, and it made me so angry. I even threw a guy!"

The Pokémon still had trouble believing in him. He was young, and they knew that he was bound to have a wild imagination. And Togedemaru didn't help either, as none of them would have believed that the goofy Pokémon had any experience in battling.

"I wish I could show you guys proof," Kaiko said while crossing his arms. "I can get angry too! I promise!"

He huffed and then stood up and walked around the room.

"None of that matters, though. We should do something to help Leinani, even if it's small. What do you say?"

"Wishi!"

"Shrew."

"Charja!"

"Gast-sandy-gast."

"How about you, Togedemaru?"

His Pokémon jumped up and down while cheering.

Kaiko put his hand to his chin and thought momentarily. "I don't know the first thing about producing music, so making her a battle theme is out of the question. How about a nice lunch? Does anyone know how to make coffee?"

Leinani's Pokémon looked around at one another, unsure of what Kaiko was getting at.

"Don't worry! I'll handle it!"


Leinani took a seat and pulled out a small paper bag. It was filled with two big malasadas that she bought before her gym battle. She handed one over to Rowlet, who devoured it quickly. Leinani took her time with it. She thought over her battle. She was so sure that with Sandshrew's Steel-typing, she would have had the battle won. It looked like she had a lot more to learn than she previously thought. Maybe if she evolved Sandshrew, she'd be able to pick up the win, but she was afraid that the two weren't in perfect sync just yet. They needed more time before she was comfortable evolving him. However, she was curious as to why Rowlet was yet to evolve. She was very strong and after a scan with Leinani's Pokédex, she found that Rowlet has enough experience to evolve whenever she wants to. What was the hold-up?

Being a trainer was a lot different than what she had studied. Being in actual battles was very different compared to the virtual battles that she used to take part in. And Pokémon evolution wasn't as easy as she thought it'd be. Barely any of it met her expectations, but she wasn't going to give in anytime soon.

She looked down at her malasada, and something behind her cast a shadow. She turned around, fingering herself face to face with a massive peach-colored Pokémon with bulbous pink eyes. Leinani, terrified and shocked, screamed and tossed her malasada into the air. The massive Pokémon stuck out one of her limbs, poking what appeared to be a scythe into the malasada. She then devoured the pastry with ease while Leinani scanned the Pokémon.

"Lurantis, the Bloom Sickle Pokémon. For self-protection, it pretends to be a bug Pokémon. Both of its arms bear keen-edged petals," the Pokédex beeped.

"It says that it's supposed to be only three feet tall, but this one is at least five!" Leinani exclaimed. "Probably because it steals trainer's fattening food!"

"Row!" Rowlet chirped angrily.

"You're gonna pay for stealing my malasada!" Leinani yelled. "DJ, use Peck!"

Rowlet was fast to jump into action. She flew from Leinani's shoulder and drove her beak into Lurantis. It seemingly didn't do very much, but the massive Pokémon was still stunned by the strike nonetheless.

"So strong," Leinani said.

Rowlet rounded about, ready to do her strike once again. Now, Lurantis was ready. She raised her two scythe-like arms and crossed them while forming dark energy. The two Pokémon connected, and although Rowlet had the type advantage, it wasn't enough to keep up with the powerful Pokémon. Rowlet was knocked back, hitting against the side of a large tree.

Lurantis then turned towards Leinani before slowly coming out from behind the tree it had been hiding in. It stood up tall, coming eye to eye with Leinani. It raised its arm, seemingly preparing to strike.

"Row!" Rowlet trilled while coming back through the air.

"Steel Wing!" Leinani ordered.

Rowlet ducked under Lurantis' arm and then rammed her iron-hard wing into her midsection, making Lurantis keel over momentarily.

"Now, Shadow Sneak!"

Rowlet dove down, entering into the ground for a second. She emerged as quickly as she disappeared, ramming herself into Lurantis' large head. The massive Pokémon was knocked backward, falling into the trees behind her. Rowlet rounded the small area and came back to Leinani, landing on the ground in front of her trainer.

"We got them on the ropes!" Leinani cheered. "Use one more Shadow Sneak!"

Rowlet dove into the shadows once more and raced across the small area, but this time, the experienced Lurantis had a counter. One of her arms started to surge with black energy, and she drove it into the ground moments before Rowlet was planning on the attack. The dark energy canceled out Rowlet's attack and forced her to emerge. Then with her other arm, she slashed, knocking all the way back to Leinani. Lurantis howled while holding her to scythe-like arms into the air, absorbing what solar energy entered into the jungle.

"That's not good," Leinani said. "But if we can strike once more, then we can win!"

Rowlet flew into the air and flapped her wings violently, preparing for Leinani's order.

"Combination Peck and Razor Leaf strike!"

Rowlet twisted her body, forming sharp leaves around her. She then pointed down and rained the leaves onto Lurantis, getting in dozens of direct hits. Her beak started to glow, and she dove towards the massive Pokémon, ready to deal a final strike.

But then, Lurantis struck, driving her arms down onto Rowlet. Her attack was filled with a sun-like glow, and it sent Rowlet into the ground. Upon impact, Rowlet's body instantly went limp, and all hopes of Leinani defeating the massive Pokémon were erased.

"DJ!" Leinani shouted. She quickly got in front of her downed Pokémon and then held her arms out to her sides. "You're not going to hurt my Pokémon anymore. I'll take you on myself if I have to!"

Lurantis lifted her scythe-like arms, and Leinani closed her eyes, preparing for her head to be sliced clean off. But then, she felt something hard touch her palm. She winced, although there was no pain, and she waited momentarily to open her eyes. When she did, Lurantis was gone, and in her hand was a green Z-Crystal.

"What?" she wondered before observing the crystal closely. "Grassium Z?"

Rowlet trilled and then slowly sat back up, taking in deep breaths.

"Was-was that a totem Pokémon?" Leinani asked herself.

"Hey, is anybody there?" a familiar voice shouted from the bushes. A boy emerged, a Torracat by his side. He had on a black shirt with golden flower print and light blue skinny jeans that were held up by a white leather belt.

"Enoka?" Leinani wondered.

"Oh, it's you," he said. "I thought I heard a little baby girl screaming for help, but as it turns out, it was just Miss Koa." He grinned. "How have you been, cousin?"


AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Short and sweet! But something simple for a cooldown chapter.

Next chapter, Enoka and Leinani will catch up a bit. We'll get some of their rivaled backstory and history. They've known each other for a long time. Also, just a quick reminder; they're not actual cousins. It's just a way that some of the characters refer to one another.

A quick note (for those that have read Awakening Alola)! I have reworked some of Awakening Alola! I wanted to include some gym leaders and such before they became gym leaders. I've reworked all of the chapters (small additions), but I heavily reworked Chapter 37, 38, and 39 to include a 50 person Battle Royale, a couple of more battles for Emma and Kala, and more appearances from Kaarina. I'm yet to rework 40, 41, or 42, but they won't be changed too much. Give them a read if you have some extra time! (Or don't!)

REVIEWS:

wisdom-jewel - "I wonder if she would use the same Pokemon or used her other Pokemon. She might need to plot out how to battle Plumeria. It would be interesting to see one of her rivals and they give her some useful advice." - I haven't yet planned out the rematch, so it's up in the air, but I think might stick with a similar team. And yeah, Enoka showed up!

CrescentApple - "That S pendant is all over the place now. I'm starting to think it's a sort of fad for younger people. Cool area for the arena. Nice touch for Mix to battle." - I have to find as many ways to get Wishiwashi involved, so yeah. As for the S pendant, it's because of Team Skull. Clark is a former member whereas Ulani is a student of Guzma's. They get the little pendant for learning under Guzma.

UKEagleClaw (16) - "Liked the description for the ref bump. Realistic." - If there's anything I understand how to describe in this world, it's a ref bump. (17) "I particularly liked the tension between Leinani and DJ." - I want to make sure that their relationship isn't perfect, so I've been focusing on that recently.