FEARFUL OF THE NIGHT

By: Cy Mendoza

CHAPTER 1

WELCOME TO ALOLA

The sparkling lights of Hau'Oli City welcomed an eleven-year-old boy as he stepped off the ship and onto the dock. His wide amber eyes gazed around in amazement at the palm trees clustered around the marina, each lit by the fiery tones of the sun or silhouetted against that orange sky. All around him was an endless stretch of beach that disappeared into the steadily growing night.

A small group of locals had gathered at the dock, watching the ship's passengers disembark from the vessel. Some of them dashed up to meet them, as many of the passengers were transient visitors, here to enjoy a vacation with friends or family. Within the crowd was a tall man in a white lab coat, a contemplative look on his face as he scanned the traffic on the dock. Accompanying him was a small brown and white puppy that sat at his feet, its tail twitching back and forth.

When he spotted the freckled boy, the man in the lab coat strolled up toward him, the puppy following close behind. "Alola!" He waved his hands in a gentle movement over his head. "I think you're the youngest passenger here, cousin!"

"Oh! You must be Professor Kukui," the boy said, brushing his blond hair out of his face with a smile. He moved out of the way of other passengers behind him, pulling his luggage with. He'd brought all of his most important possessions with him, which had amounted to one small suitcase. The rest he'd left at home, a home that he wouldn't have been able to stay in anyway. When his older brother disappeared to the Alola Islands, rent payments evaporated with his departure. He knew it was only a matter of time before he had to leave. He'd taken it as a sign that he was meant to follow his brother to Alola… and boarded the next ship to the islands with all the money he'd saved up.

"And you're Chip, right?" The professor came to a halt in front of the boy and looked him over with a welcoming smile.

"That's me," he said, leaning against his suitcase a little. The cruise had been long, and he hadn't slept well, as the rocking sensation had made him feel a bit ill. Chip was thankful to have his feet on solid ground now. "Um, thanks for talking to Professor Oak about my situation… it means a lot that you're willing to help."

"It's fine, cousin. Oak's worried about you—actually, I think he'd really love if you called him from my lab when we get back there. I'm sure he'll want to hear how your voyage was, and that you're here safely! Speaking of Oak... when we get back to the lab, there's something I'd like to give you. I think the kahuna will give you your first pokemon tomorrow, after you've had some time to settle in, but that doesn't mean we can't get started with preparing you for your journey, right? I think Oak mentioned you wanted to find your brother?"

Chip tilted his head, curious about what Kukui planned to give him. "I do want to find my brother. I just don't know where to start… he didn't tell me where he went, just that he'd gone to the Alola Islands. I don't even know what island he's on… and, um, if you don't mind me asking, what's a kahuna?"

The professor laughed. "Oak was supposed to give you your first pokemon, right? He'd mentioned offhand that none of his eggs were close to hatching when you were getting ready to leave, which means you'll get your first pokemon here in Alola. Those are given out by the island kahunas."

Chip blinked in confusion. "Not professors?"

"No—though... hm. It'll be a little different for you. Here, you'll see—we'll be back at the lab in about twenty minutes."

True to the professor's word, in about a half hour, Chip spotted what he assumed was the lab just past an incline. He scuttled down the hill beside the professor as they drew closer to the rickety-looking house. It was old, made of wood, probably built about thirty years ago from what Chip could see. It needed a lot of work, as the roof was missing shingles, and the door hung slightly ajar. The windows were patched up with duct tape, but it was a quaint sort of place with a homely feeling and its own special brand of charm.

"Sorry ahead of time for the mess, cousin," the professor said as he approached the door. "I'm always in the middle of researching pokemon moves, and it tends to wreck the place. Even with Lillie as my lab assistant, it gets messy around here. I think she just can't keep up with me!"

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Chip said. "I think my room at home was worse."

"You haven't seen the inside yet," the professor said with a laugh, opening the door and gesturing for Chip to step in.

Chip glanced around as he entered the building. A huge tank in the back corner of the room immediately drew his gaze. Luvdiscs floated up and down, as if the aquarium took up both the ground floor and the basement below. As the blond walked further inside, he saw the aquarium did take up both levels, which explained why the professor had mentioned an aquarium smell in the basement. To the left, Chip noticed the loft, as well as a small kitchen. Boxes littered the floor, and more boxes had been stacked on tables randomly spread throughout the home. There was an odd sort of organization to the chaos, as if every stack of disheveled papers had been placed in a particular pile for a reason.

"This is more of my living quarters," Kukui said, quickly picking up a couple of dishes from the nearest table and moving them into the kitchen sink. "The basement is where the lab is, and it's also where you'll be going! But okay, where did I put that package from Clemont…"

As the professor checked the multiple packages strewn about the house, Chip watched the pokemon running around the premises. Rockruff had immediately left the professor's side to play with a polywag, and a silvery-gray meowth watched the two with relative disinterest from the height of the loft. Chip was about to ask why the meowth's fur was gray when the professor let out a noise of satisfaction and moved a box to the table.

"Ah, here it is! I should've looked for the electric-themed packing tape in the first place… anyway, Chip, are you familiar with the PokeDex? I'm sure Oak has told you about his invention before, right?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, he's mentioned it," Chip said, trotting over. He nearly tripped over Rockruff as the puppy dashed past him, the poliwag chasing after it. "Everyone in Kanto knows about the PokeDex, though they're really rare. Only the children of champions and rich families usually get them, because they're more likely to go everywhere in Kanto and fill it up… most people can't afford a journey like that. That's what my brother said, at least."

"They're rare here too," Kukui said as he pulled a deep red-colored machine from the box. He unwrapped the packing from it, setting styrofoam aside. "This is the Alola PokeDex, Chip. It's rare because it's the only one that's been manufactured, since its inventor is still working out the kinks. He's a lovely boy, that Clemont, but he has a gym to run so he can't always focus on the project. About a week ago, he sent me this prototype."

The professor held the PokeDex out to the boy. Chip took the PokeDex, looking it over in awe, then offered it back to the professor. Kukui shook his head, and Chip gasped. "Wait, you want to give it to me?"

"You said you wanted to visit all the islands to find your brother, right? That means the island challenge is perfect for you, and I intended on giving the next island challenger this PokeDex so that they can fill it up for my research."

Chip stared at the PokeDex with wide eyes. "It's so cool! It's so different from the Kanto one... it's shaped like a piece of bread!"

Kukui laughed abruptly. "Yeah, I suppose it is, cousin. But, you know, there's something really special about this PokeDex. It was designed to house a pokemon inside it, one that'll help you on your journey."

"What?" Chip looked at the PokeDex in bewilderment. It didn't look big enough to fit a pokemon! Besides, how would that even work? Chip looked back to the professor only to find him digging in the box again. Kukui pulled out an instruction manual and a block of styrofoam, then separated the halves to reveal a PokeBall inside. "Professor… um, I don't understand how a pokemon is going to fit in here."

"I figured you'd say that. Chip, how much do you know about rotom?"

"Huh?"

"Ah… rotom aren't native to Kanto, are they? I suppose you wouldn't know much about them… I just know Oak has one, so maybe you had seen his." But judging from Chip's expression, he must not have seen it. "Rotom is a plasma pokemon, electric and ghost. Its body is made of plasma, so it can possess electronics by embedding its body into them. The rotom in this PokeBall was bred by Oak, I think, from his own. He's been helping develop the project. Anyway, this is the first complete set Clemont's sent over, and I'm excited to see how it works out!"

"I didn't know the professor had a rotom… what do they look like?" Maybe he had seen it. Chip wasn't sure, Oak seemed to have a lot of pokemon, and not all of them were familiar to the blond.

Kukui grinned and held the PokeBall out to Chip. "Why don't you find out? Since I'm giving you this PokeDex, the ownership of this rotom will transfer to you as well. Just open the PokeBall, and it should go into the PokeDex. It was trained to do that."

Chip's heart pounded in excitement as he reached out to take the PokeBall, cupping it in his hands like a delicate, breakable artifact. Back home, there was no way he'd have been chosen to take a PokeDex. There was simply no way he could afford to travel through Kanto. Chip felt like he'd stumbled upon a huge stroke of luck: not only was Kukui letting him sleep in the basement, but he even entrusted him with this Alola PokeDex!

"All right! I'm going to try it!" Chip pressed the button in the center of the ball.

The ball popped open with a click, and a swirl of red energy exploded from inside. The energy reformed into an orange, circular pokemon. It was small, about eight inches from the top of its head spike, with a blue aura of electricity that formed into white and blue electric wings in the shape of lightning bolts. Blue eyes blinked open as the pokemon jerked, looking around with a startled expression, its electric wings furiously flitting up and down. "Zzzr?!"

"Oh man, look at that… it's so cute!" Chip reached out to touch it.

"I wouldn't—" Too late. Kukui watched with a raised eyebrow as the rotom shocked the boy when his hand brushed the electric aura surrounding it. Chip yelped, dropping the PokeDex as his arm fell to his side, numb and unmoving. The ghost darted off. It looked just as startled as Chip, its mouth turned downward in a frown as it zapped around the room.

"Rotom! Calm down—" Kukui called out. "Chip, are you okay?"

"My arm isn't moving!"

CRASH! A pile of boxes hit the ground as Rotom slammed into them. Papers scattered across the ground as Rotom ricocheted off everything it touched, little chirping noises of distress following its jagged movements. The professor put a hand to his forehead and sighed, then leaned down to pick up the PokeDex. He checked it for cracks, making sure it hadn't broken, then held it out. "I'm sorry we scared you, Rotom. Here, look—it's your favorite PokeDex!"

"Ro-to?" Rotom slowed its jolting around, looking at Kukui skeptically. Then, the frown on its face started to flicker until it became a smile. "Zzzrt!"

"I still can't feel my arm!...wait, no, my fingers are finally moving…" Chip said, grimacing as he wiggled his fingers. "It's really cute but kinda dangerous, huh?"

"It's an electric pokemon, Chip. You can't touch a rotom without getting shocked. You'll be fine, though, this rotom isn't very strong. It was bred to power the PokeDex." He waved the deep red machine in the air. "Come on, Rotom!"

Rotom bolted straight for the PokeDex. The professor's arm jerked back from the recoil as the pokemon slammed into the machine, but as its blue eyes blinked open on the PokeDex, the professor let it go, allowing it to float by itself in the blue aura of energy that surrounded it.

"It's really in there?" Chip asked, looking at the PokeDex curiously. As he watched, one rectangle-shaped limb popped out from the PokeDex, then the other, followed by a pair of feet. The screen turned white with a blue magnifying glass in the background. A smile formed on the screen as Chip stared, amazed. "Rotom? Is that you?"

A loading screen appeared. "Détection des préférencezzz de langue…"

"Oh, the PokeDex must still be set in Kalos's native language. Don't worry though, Rotom will recognize the language we're using and set it to that, cousin." Kukui picked up the instruction manual. The pages rustled as he flipped through them. They'd been stapled together, so the professor folded over the other pages when he found the one he was looking for. "It's also supposed to locate its owner and scan it as the 'user.' This is a pretty neat PokeDex! Clemont really went all out on these features."

"Language preference detected. Language hazzz been set to 'English,'" Rotom said. It floated over to Chip, then snapped a photo of him from the front camera. Chip's startled face was now on the screen as the blond boy stared—an unflattering photo, honestly. "Registering user Chip azzz PokeDex owner…"

"I…" Chip couldn't hide his bewilderment. Rotom could talk! He'd always known that pokemon could express thoughts to each other by saying their name, but he'd never imagined that they could hold a conversation with a human like this. Sure, he'd heard that rumor about Team Rocket having a talking meowth, but that was just a rumor! This rotom was real—right in front of him and speaking!

"Hello, Chip!" Rotom said cheerfully, moving in a circle around the boy. Its voice sounded a bit computer generated, but it still had a certain degree of personality. "I'm the Rotom PokeDex, zzzrt! But you can call me Rotom, if you'd like!"

"Pleasant little thing when it's not freaked out, huh?" Kukui said with a laugh. "Rotom, try not to shock Chip again, okay?"

"Zzzr!" Rotom put its hands to its mouth in embarrassment. Or, Chip figured those were like the equivalent of hands for the electric pokemon. "My apologiezzz! I didn't know what was going on, and my aura is electric, yes…"

"It's okay," Chip said. He reached out tentatively to touch the PokeDex, but hesitated before his fingers could touch the screen, shrinking back. Rotom frowned for a moment before its smile came back, and it floated closer until Chip's hand was pressed against it. Chip tensed, but nothing happened. "You're not going to shock me, right?"

"Of courzzze not! My job is to guide you through the island challenge and to log your pokemon encounters throughout your journey." Rotom grinned. "Though, zzzt, I do have an alarm clock function with a shock if you really need it…"

"No, no! I think I'll be fine," Chip said, waving his hands. "But what's an island challenge?"

"Oh, I didn't explain that, did I?" Kukui asked. He'd been flipping through the pages of the instruction manual, but set it down on the table for the moment. "The island challenge involves visiting every island of Alola and challenging the trials created by the island captains."

"Island captains? Trials?" Excitement continued building inside the boy as he looked at the professor. Rockruff had come back over and was pawing excitedly at Chip's leg. He looked down at the puppy and patted its head.

Rotom floated over and took a picture of Rockruff, much to the puppy pokemon's delight as it posed. "Chip, would you like me to read the PokeDex'zzz entry for this pokemon?" As Chip nodded, a more formal picture of Rockruff appeared on the PokeDex's screen. "Rockruff: the puppy pokemon. It shows its affection by rubbing the stones along its neck against its trainer. If not carefully polished, this rubbing can cause abrasions or cuts."

"I can attest to that," Kukui said with a laugh.

"How interesting, zzt!" Rotom prodded at Rockruff's neck with one arm until the puppy growled and knocked its arm away with one paw. Rotom glanced at its arm then let out a yelp of surprise. There was a scrape across it where the rocks had rubbed off some of the deep red paint of the PokeDex body. "See? What did I tell you? Zzr! Abrasions!"

"Oh, settle down," the professor said. He picked up a purple-gray spray bottle from one of the nearby tables and spritzed the ghost's arm. A moment later, the scrape disappeared. "You just took a minor amount of damage from the sharpness of Rockruff's neck stones. Be careful with that PokeDex, will you? It's one of a kind."

"Easy on the goodzzz, got it," Rotom said, nodding—or as much as it could nod, which amounted to moving its entire body.

"The PokeDex is so cool. I love how it has those little fun facts on different types of pokemon," Chip said. Rotom beamed, its screen turning slightly pink. "So you said tomorrow the kahuna will give me a pokemon to start my journey, right?"

Kukui rubbed his chin. "Hmm, well, if you're feeling really impatient—"

"I am!" Chip squeaked.

"—I think I might be able to talk him into having the ceremony tonight. Why don't you go check out the little bedroom I fashioned for you downstairs? You can get to know Rotom a little better too—oh, and read this instruction manual." The professor handed the stack of papers over to Chip and he took it, flipping through it eagerly. "Call Oak, too! In the meantime, I'll go talk to the kahuna. I'm sure he'll understand you passed your eleventh birthday already, and you're very excited to get started."

"Thanks, Professor Kukui! I really appreciate everything you've done for me… honestly, it means a lot." Chip hugged the papers in his arms a little. How had someone like him gotten so lucky? And here he'd thought his life was one endless string of unfortunate mishaps. Maybe his luck was turning around finally.

As the professor slipped out the front door, Chip smiled and scuttled down the stairs toward the basement, Rotom floating behind him. Downstairs, he could see the extension of the aquarium, where a corsola floated delightedly over a patch of seaweed. A massive library covered the back of the room, and just like the upper one, this floor had boxes scattered about as well. But what Chip noticed was a little cot had been fashioned off to the side, next to the aquarium. A sheet had been pulled from the aquarium to the bookshelf, affording a little privacy.

"This is pretty neat… oh!" Chip backed up in surprise when he realized there was a dark-feathered bird pokemon laying on the cot. It dashed away with an undignified squawk as soon as he took a step inside the little sequestered area. "Man, he has a lot of pokemon here…"

"Perfect for picture-taking, zzzt!" Rotom said. It was on the other side of the aquarium, trying to take pictures of the corsola. Soon as it was satisfied, it floated back over to the boy, hovering in front of him as he lay down on the cot. "If you don't mind me azzzking, why don't you have a home here in Alola?"

Chip fluffed the pillow up and leaned back against it. "I just moved here today. Um, from Kanto."

"So you are just visiting? Zzzr? Your home is in Kanto?"

"Not anymore." He turned onto his side and gazed at the electric pokemon.

"I don't underzzzstand," Rotom said, a question mark appearing on its screen.

"I used to live in Viridian City with my brother," Chip said, propping himself up with one elbow. A soft bark echoed on the other side of the sheet, then Rockruff nosed its way into the little corner Chip now called home. He smiled and held his arms out, and the puppy pokemon excitedly jumped into them. "Awww, Rockruff, you're so cute!"

"Did your brother come with you to Alola? Zzz?"

"No, he didn't. He left about a week before I did."

"So you have come to join him here? Zzr? But then why don't you live with him?" Rotom asked.

"He didn't leave his address."

"Why not?"

"That's what I wonder too, Rotom."

A sad emoji appeared on Rotom's screen. It seemed to understand the circumstances Chip had found himself in now. But the emoji disappeared just as quickly as it'd appeared as the smile returned to Rotom's screen. "I'm sure you'll find him, zzrt! You'll make tons of friendzzz here on Alola too!"

Chip lay back against the cot, snuggling into the blanket and Rockruff's earthy-smelling fur. "I sure hope so."

A/N: Are you a fan of Rotomdex? What was your favorite part of this chapter? Comment below and let me know!