FEARFUL OF THE NIGHT

By: Cy Mendoza

CHAPTER 5

ROTOM'S FIRST BATTLE

Chip's eyes lit up slightly as he realized he could see a light in the darkness. Multiple lights, actually—porch lights. "We're close! I can see the lab from here!" He pushed some tall grass aside, heart racing. So far, they'd been lucky… no wild pokemon had attacked them. Ideally, Chip wanted it to stay that way. "Roro, look!"

"Why do you keep calling me that? Zzr?" Rotom asked, a confused look on its face.

"Because," Chip said, poking the center of its screen. Rotom giggled. "That's what you say when you try speaking in your normal form. So that's what I'm going to call you. It's cute."

"A name? For me?" Rotom looked utterly bewildered. "I've never had a name... the professor just called me Rotom."

"Yeah! Why not? You're my partner now, right?" Chip asked. A delighted look crossed the ghost's face. Chip smiled and poked its screen again, earning another few giggles. "Can you feel that? When I'm touching the PokeDex?"

"Sure can, zzzr." Rotom floated around him in a circle, still smiling. It looked completely pleased, so opposite to its fearful state just an hour or so before. Chip had picked through the grass carefully, checking before he moved, and gradually Rotom became less tense and frightened of an upcoming battle. Chip seemed to know how to move quietly, and so far he'd avoided any wild pokemon. There were still worries in the back of Rotom's mind, but it tried to quell them. Being with Chip made it happy, so why not focus on that?

"Huh." Chip poked it again, pulling Rotom out of its thoughts. "But it's metal. How do you feel metal?"

"When I possess something, my body getzzz embedded into it. So the machine izzz me," Rotom said. "Why do you keep poking me? I thought my map wazzz already up?"

"Because you giggle when I do it." He reached to poke at Rotom again. "Why are you always laughing?"

Rotom spun a little in delight. "Because I'm happy!"

That seemed like a good enough reason to Chip. "I'm happy too, Roro… happy that you're my partner."

Rotom's screen turned slightly pink. "Ah… the honor's all mine, Chip."

Chip reached to pull the ghost closer to him, giving it a brief hug, then looked at the screen. The map was up at the moment, but there was a clock in the top right corner as well. The clock informed him that it was early evening. It meant he must have been unconscious for an hour or two; there was no other way to explain how sunset had come and gone so quickly. At least he hadn't lost too much time—there was that much to be grateful for.

He took another step, then paused when he heard something rustling in the grass. Instinctively, Rotom darted back toward Chip's shoulder, holding on there as it stared at the moving patch of grass. A wiggling nose slipped out from the grass first, followed by a dark gray and brown body. It was a rattata, drawn by the sound of their voices with the hope they might have some snacks to steal. It reared onto its back legs, squinting at them, then dropped back down onto all four legs and snarled.

"Roro," Chip whispered, taking a slow, cautious step back. "It's a normal type, right? It can't touch you, you'll be fine."

"It's dark type!" Rotom squeaked. "Ghost types are weak against dark!"

The rattata lowered its head, then growled and charged at the two. Its huge incisors glinted in the moonlight as it let out a cry of anger and hunger. Chip jumped back with a yelp, a bolt of terror slicing through him as he imagined those huge teeth cutting through his skin.

His brother's stories flitted through his mind. "You know what Team Rocket would do, when they really wanted someone to talk? They'd take a colony of rattata and starve them until they were desperate for food. Then they'd dangle the person over it. The threat of being eaten alive would convince even the most stubborn detractor."

"ZZZR!" Rotom popped out of the PokeDex, leaving the machine to fall to the grass. With an angry squeak, it dashed in front of Chip, immediately launching a Thunder Shock attack. The electricity stopped the rattata in its tracks as it shook its head, eyes glinting with fury. The snarl that followed caused Rotom to freeze. It had attacked a dark-type pokemon and every cell of its body was screaming at it to run.

"There you go! Good job!" Chip called out, clapping his hands. The sound was enough to jolt Rotom out of its paralysis, and it jerked back, trying to put distance between itself and the rattata. Chip wanted to encourage Rotom, but at the same time, he worried it would be overwhelmed by terror and run again. He had to have faith in his pokemon—Rotom wouldn't run away, it wouldn't leave him vulnerable to an attack by an angry rattata.

Rotom looked back at him in worry. "Ro… RO-TO!"

The rat launched itself at Rotom. An aura of dark energy surrounded it; it was trying to chomp down on Rotom with its dark-type Bite move. Rotom was fast, though, and it darted out of the way, its electric aura sporadically twisting and flailing in fear. Chip understood; Rotom had no battle experience and a strike from that rattata with a dark-type move would certainly cause it to faint. He felt like his anxiety was ramping up just watching the poor ghost try to avoid the dark-type move.

Chip sucked in a breath. "Thunder Wave, Rotom! You're already fast, paralyze it, and then it shouldn't be able to attack you! You'll be able to dodge all its moves!"

Rotom was panicking, though, and didn't seem to hear him. It darted back and forth, trying desperately to avoid the rattata's dark-type move. The rattata landed back onto the ground after another failed attempt at biting Rotom, hissed, and swung its tail around in a Sand Attack move. Rotom winced, blinking heavily through the sand that clung to its plasma body. Bits of debris sparked and hissed with smoke in Rotom's electric aura.

"Roto… to-to-to-" it backed up toward Chip, trying to brush the sand from its eyes with its electric aura. The rattata sent another wave of debris at it with Sand Attack, coating Chip as well. He put an arm over his face to protect his face, feeling the sting of sand against exposed skin.

"Rotom! Listen to me, use Thunder Wave!" Chip called out, but Rotom was still distracted. It darted off to the side, then bolted forward with a streak of black and purple energy as it used its Astonish attack. The ghost-type move, however, passed straight through the rattata with no visible effect, and it shook its head lightly, unaffected by the attack.

Damn it! Chip thought, biting his bottom lip. Rotom was in full panic mode and using attacks that weren't even effective against the rattata! Chip needed to get its attention, or the rattata would eventually land one of its Bite attacks—doing tons of damage to Rotom that Chip wasn't sure it could recover emotionally from, even if he did find a pokemon center. It was already scared, and he didn't know how Rotom would react if it got hurt and fainted in a battle.

And Chip didn't know what would happen to him if Rotom fainted, either.

"Do you think a rattata would really eat a human? They wouldn't, right?"

"When something gets desperate enough, I think it'll do anything it needs to to survive."

"ROTOM!" Chip yelled. He took a deep breath. "RORO!" The sound of its nickname seemed to ground Rotom as it finally looked back at him, terror in its eyes. "Roro! Use Thunder Wave! If you paralyze it, you'll be able to win the battle!"

Rotom jittered back and forth, but managed to calm down enough to follow Chip's directions, a zap of electricity whirling out from it and striking the rat pokemon. The rattata stiffened, then gritted its teeth, struggling to make its limbs move.

"Good job, now use Thunder Shock! I think one more hit and it'll faint!"

A burst of electricity sent the rattata reeling. It struggled to try standing up again, barely making it to its feet, then scrambled back into the brush in retreat. Chip stared for a long couple of moments then let out a whoop of pride, running up to Rotom with a big smile on his face. It turned to look at him, dazed, but his happiness was infectious, and soon Rotom was darting around like a ricocheting bullet, a huge grin on its face.

Chip grabbed the PokeDex from the ground, and as if by instinct, Rotom made a u-turn and dashed into the machine. It booted up, and Rotom's appendages flailed around in excitement the moment they popped out. "I did it! Zzz!"

"See, I told you! It was dark type, and you still beat it." Chip held Rotom up, smiling at it. The tension slowly leaked out of his limbs as he saw the happy way Rotom looked at him. "You just had to believe in yourself. You're fast. You can dodge attacks, and that put you at an advantage."

Rotom blushed. "I feel stronger already, zz."

"It was your first battle and you did great. You did freeze up there, so just… um, try to focus more on what I'm saying, okay?" Chip said. Rotom nodded, though Chip worried if they had a battle where Rotom got hurt, it might ignore him again out of fear. All the same, Chip felt like he could help Rotom get stronger and more confident. Nothing would change its timid nature, but maybe he could draw out its strength and protectiveness as a partner. He'd seen the way Rotom immediately jumped to his aid when the rattata lunged for him. It'd been scared, but it'd put that aside to protect him.

"You're really proud? Zzz?" Rotom asked quietly, looking up at Chip.

"Really really," Chip said with a confirming smile. Rotom took the words in, then smiled back. Its smile was gentler this time, a mixture between thankful and relieved. "Oh… I was also going to ask, so you really can't battle in the PokeDex?"

Rotom shrugged. "The profezzzor told me to be careful with the PokeDex, and if I fight in a battle with it, it could get damaged. Besidezzz, it's slow. I don't think I would feel comfortable battling in it."

Well, that made sense. "I guess I appreciate that, because it'd kinda suck if my PokeDex didn't work… this map is pretty useful, honestly." He purposely poked Rotom's screen a few times to make it wiggle, then smiled. "Assuming we don't run into any more rattatas, we should be able to get to the lab without any problems."

Chip's words proved true as he dashed up toward the entrance way of the professor's lab. His heart pounded as he opened the door, feeling like he'd get drawn into a battle with a wild pokemon at any moment until he finally crossed that threshold. When he closed the door behind him, he let out a sigh of relief, closing his eyes and leaning back against the door. When he opened them, he noticed Lillie was laying on the loft bed, a book in her hands. She had lowered the book and was looking at him.

"Hi, Chip," Lillie said. "How was training?"

"Pew!" Cosmog squeaked, waving its arms at Chip.

Oh god. Chip realized if he told Lillie his pokemon had been stolen, she would be even more paranoid about Cosmog's safety. He didn't want to worry her more, but at the same time, he didn't want to lie to her. He rubbed a hand against his face, letting out a long sigh. "Do you mind if I come up for the moment?"

She put the book down. "Of course, if you'd like to."

Chip glanced at Rotom, glad his partner hadn't blurted anything out. He would have to break this delicately to Lillie, and even so, he wasn't sure how he was going to phrase it. Rotom just looked at Chip uncertainly, like it was wondering whether he wanted it to explain the situation, but he shook his head lightly. He climbed the loft ladder then plopped onto the bed beside Lillie with yet another sigh. Rotom followed after him, and landed gently on his head.

"Your Rotom Dex looks so cute when it does that," Lillie said, pointing to it and giggling. "So you have Popplio in a PokeBall right now? If you get some rest, it'll recover from any battle damage it might have taken, unless the damage is serious… then you'd need the experts at the pokemon center to help."

"Lillie…"

She frowned, sitting up and wrapping her arms around her knees. She looked at Chip with worry. "What's wrong? Did something happen? Oh, Chip, you have a black eye… Do you need me to show you where the pokemon center is? They can help people, too. There's a hospital for people and pokemon inside each one."

"Lillie…" Chip hesitated. "Popplio… was… stolen from me."

"What?!" Lillie jumped up, a horrified look on her face. "It was stolen?!"

"It was Team Skull," Chip said, feeling a sinking sensation in his stomach. He didn't want to go back over this, but part of him knew he would be telling this story multiple times. The professor would want to know, and so would the kahuna. Just the thought of having to repeat his loss of Popplio to so many people made him feel numb. "They attacked Popplio with two pokemon, and it lost… when it fainted, they took it from me…"

Lillie put her hands on her face, then slowly sat down on the loft again. "Chip… I'm so, so sorry. Those Team Skull thugs have been threatening to steal pokemon for so long… they're...they're one of the reasons why I'm so careful with Nebby, b-but… I never thought that would happen to you. Did they hurt you?" But the moment the words slipped out of her mouth, she shook her head and gently reached for Chip's face, though her fingers didn't brush the purplish skin around his eye. "Why am I asking that, I can see your black eye right here… are you okay?"

"About as okay as I can be," Chip said with a sigh. The pain was rooting deep inside him, threatening to overtake the numb feeling. He didn't want that. He didn't want to feel that crushing agony again; he would take the numbness over anything.

"Are you going to get another pokemon from the kahuna?" she asked.

"I… I have a new partner now," Chip said.

Lillie frowned. "Who?"

Chip pointed up.

"Rotom?" Lillie's mouth hung open slightly. "But it's… it's a PokeDex."

"It's not always in the PokeDex," Chip said. He then reached up and poked Rotom. "Can you show her what you look like when you're not in the PokeDex?"

"Zzr? Okay," Rotom said. It floated down so it was in Chip's lap, so he could hold onto the PokeDex when it left the machine. A moment later, the PokeDex went dark, and Chip sat it down beside him on the loft bed while Rotom buzzed around his head, coming to a halt beside his shoulder. Its wide eyes stared at Lillie. Would she think it wasn't good enough to be Chip's partner? Rotom wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. It was lucky it could convince Chip into thinking it could be a good partner, but surely no one else would be fooled.

"Oh… it's so cute," Lillie said, smiling softly as she looked at Rotom. She reached out to touch it, then eyed the electric aura around it hesitantly. "Chip… do you still have those gloves the kahuna gave you last night?"

"What? Um, I think they're in my backpack," Chip said, leaning down to dig into it. A moment later, he produced the black gloves.

"It's surrounded by electricity… right?" Lillie said. She took the gloves and slipped them on, then reached to cup Rotom gently in her hands. Rotom looked at the gloves in bewilderment, then at Lillie, like it couldn't fathom it was being touched. "It looks like you can hold Rotom if you're wearing these gloves… because they're made of rubber…"

"...That doesn't make any sense," Chip said. "I thought Rotom's body was made of plasma? I mean, it's a ghost."

"Ro-to-to," Rotom said, nodding.

"I think ghost pokemon can change the density of their bodies at will…it's how they turn invisible," Lillie said, stroking her fingers over Rotom's head. "That's what I read in a book in the professor's basement about gastly, haunter, and gengar… the book said they're capable of turning corporeal, so there's nothing saying Rotom can't do it too…"

Lillie moved her hands away from Rotom, and the ghost started floating again. She took the gloves off and offered them to Chip. Now that curiosity was getting the better of him, he put the gloves on as well, and reached to touch Rotom with his fingertips. It was so weird—he could faintly feel the boundaries of Rotom's body, where the air ended and the plasma began like some sort of psychic field kept it together. Chip feared if he pressed too hard, his fingers might go straight through it; it was like a very thin film. He didn't know if that would hurt Rotom, so he decided it was best to be careful, holding the ghost in his hands like a delicate piece of china.

"Zzzm?" Rotom's electric limb touched one of the rubber gloves in surprise. Chip smiled, then tickled under its chin. Chip didn't feel he was making contact with much, but the electric Pokemon squealed out a giggle, bursting out of his hands and zapping to the other side of the room, where it floated with a grin on its face. "RO-TO!"

"Oh-" Lillie laughed, covering her mouth with one hand. "I think your rotom's ticklish."

Rotom shook its head with a pout. "Zzr!"

"What do you mean, no?" Chip said as Rotom floated back over toward him. "You giggle every time I poke you." Rotom rolled its eyes, then floated over Chip's shoulder, its blue aura barely touching him. Chip turned his head slightly and looked at the ghost, smiling as Rotom made a quiet trilling noise.

Lillie looked at them both with a bittersweet smile on her face. "It seems very attached to you already. I'm sure you'll be great friends... it must have really liked you to step in where… where Popplio was."

Chip felt a rush of cold flood through his body at the mention of Popplio. God, would he feel that way forever? Every time Popplio's name was mentioned he felt like he was going to be sick. "Yeah."

"Kzzrt..." Rotom looked at Chip, worried by the tone of his voice.

"...Rotom," Lillie said. The ghost looked at her, blinking. "Please take care of Chip. I don't want him hurt again… I don't like seeing anyone get hurt. And that Team Skull, I… I just…" She squeezed her hands into fists, frustration on her features. "I wish there was something we could do about them. No one should have to go through this. No one."

"Yeah, well, I don't exactly have the best luck," Chip said, gritting his teeth a little bit. He leaned his head back against the loft wall, rubbing his face. He'd thought his luck was turning around after meeting the professor, but he shouldn't have been so naive. Nothing good lasted forever, not for him. Chip hated being negative, but it was hard not to be when the universe seemed to want to beat him down so badly.

Lillie frowned and opened her mouth to comfort him when the door swung open. Both jolted and looked toward the entrance way, where the professor strode in with Rockruff following after him. Their eyes were bright and clear, though both were dirty, like they'd been training most of the afternoon and early evening.

"Oh, you two are both home!" Kukui called out, sounding delighted. "I was thinking that the three of us could held over to Hau'Oli City and check out their diner. What do you think? I'm pretty hungry—Rockruff and I really built up an appetite."

"Ruff!" Rockruff barked in agreement, bouncing at the mention of food.

When Chip and Lillie didn't immediately respond with delight, the professor frowned and looked at them, moving over to the loft ladder. "Is something wrong? Hey, why is Rotom out of the PokeDex?"

"It's… it's a long story," Chip said. This was exactly what he'd been fearing, that he'd have to tell the story over and over. He tried to come up with something concise, so he wouldn't feel like he was drowning when he tried to explain the situation. Something firm, something to the point. "I got attacked by Team Skull. They stole Popplio from me."

"Excuse me?" Kukui said in disbelief. "They did what?"

"They cheated by attacking Popplio with two pokemon," Chip said, his mouth feeling dry again. He swallowed and tried to continue. The more detail he had to give, the worse he felt, but he knew the professor would want those details. "And when it fainted, they just took its PokeBall… there wasn't anything I could do."

The professor's eyes hardened. Chip had never seen the jovial man looking so furious, but Kukui looked like he was going to blow his top. "Let's go, Chip. We'll get Popplio back for you. This just happened, right? Then they're still in the vicinity, and I assure you, Rockruff can destroy anything they try sending our way." He moved toward the entrance way. "Lillie, you stay here, just in case they're still out there. You'll be safe here."

Chip slowly shook his head. "They knocked me out when they left… it was… over an hour ago. They could be anywhere now."

Kukui took a deep breath. For a moment, Chip wasn't sure if he was going to explode on him for giving him that news. But a moment later, the professor exhaled slowly. "Okay. Then we should get you a new partner."

"I have one," Chip said softly.

"You—...wait, Rotom?" It didn't take the professor long to connect the dots between Chip's statement and the fact that Rotom was out of its PokeDex. "That rotom's your partner now?"

Despite the anger still brewing in Kukui's eyes, he took the moment to look at the two. Rotom had glanced at him briefly, but it was spending most of its time looking at Chip, as if it was worried for him. Amazement slowly overcame the professor's anger. "The kahuna always says a pokemon and its trainer choose each other…." He murmured. "Chip, I know it doesn't make up for losing Popplio, but… I can see this rotom cares about you. The two of you have something really special, even though you've just met."

Chip glanced at Rotom, realizing it'd been looking at him. "Rotom's super sweet, professor… I care a lot about it too."

Rotom blushed and glanced down. "Ro-ro, ro-to-to."

The blond bit his lip a little, then turned toward the professor. "Professor, I feel like Rotom thinks it's not good enough to be my partner. But you know what? It was there for me when all of this happened. It protected me from a rattata even though it'd never fought before, despite being in a dangerous type match-up. I'm honored to have it as my partner… and I swear to god, Team Skull is never touching my rotom. Never."

Rotom was shocked at Chip's words. The boy had nailed exactly how it felt; it really didn't feel like it was good enough to be his partner. But despite that, it was glowing with pride. It knew Chip probably meant to flatter it, but it still couldn't help twirling in the air with happiness, leaving streaks of blue energy in its wake as it whirled around Chip. Could Rotom dare to believe it could be strong? That it could protect Chip? It'd accepted it would never be loved like a partner pokemon, but maybe it'd been wrong. Maybe Chip would.

"I'm so happy I gave you that PokeDex," Kukui said. "I'm glad Rotom was with you. I don't want to think of what would have happened if it hadn't been." He paused, then moved toward the door again. "Let's go talk to the kahuna about this, okay? It's important that he know what Team Skull's doing on his island. After that, I think it'd be nice for us to still go to that diner, if you feel up to it."

Chip glanced at Lillie. "Do you want to?"

Lillie nodded lightly. "I think a meal might help get your mind off things… and telling the kahuna is something we should probably do, yes…"

"Rotom, do you wanna go back in the PokeDex?" Chip asked.

"Zzr!" Rotom nodded, arcing around Chip until it struck the PokeDex. A moment later, the familiar blue eyes and smile of the ghost appeared on the PokeDex, and it floated up until it was beside Chip again.

Admittedly, Rotom worried that the kahuna would insist on giving Chip another one of the pokemon he had. It knew there was still a litten and a rowlet up for grabs (if the kahuna didn't have more popplios), and the possibility of being replaced echoed in Rotom's mind. It tried to ignore those feelings, though, if the kahuna decided to give Chip another pokemon, it wouldn't complain. It wasn't Rotom's place to prevent Chip from getting another strong starter pokemon, but god if it didn't feel utterly depressed at the thought of it.

Chip and Lillie descended from the loft and followed the professor toward the door. Rockruff dashed along beside them, while Chip could hear quiet noises coming from Lillie's gym bag. Rotom had landed on Chip's head again, its arms gently pressed against his temples. He reached up to touch one of Rotom's arms, gently running his thumb along the metal. It was slightly warm.

Kukui and Lillie stepped out the door, but the moment Chip reached that threshold, he felt a noose tighten around his heart. He stood there, hesitating, as he looked out at the darkness around him.

"Zz-zz? Are you okay?" Rotom asked, looking down at him with a frown.

Chip felt like his throat had tightened. He closed his eyes briefly, then forced them open again. His voice came out in a hoarse whisper. "I just feel like they could be hiding out there. And that it'll happen again."

The burning rage that he'd felt before was still there, but slathered under layers of fear and anxiety. It was such a struggle to bring himself to step outside the lab and into the darkness beyond when he didn't know what lie ahead. God, he'd never felt this way before, but he could swear that their eyes were peering from around every corner. Team Skull—watching, waiting for the opportunity to beat him up again and take Rotom from him.

"Chip?" Kukui called out. He and Lillie were already by the base of the hill, where they were waiting for Chip to catch up. "Did you forget something?"

"If you're with your friendzzz, nothing bad can happen," Rotom said quietly. "I know I let you down before, but I'd never let anyone hurt you again."

A bittersweet smile came to Chip's face. He gave a slight nod, then closed the door to the professor's home behind him. Kukui and Lillie were barely visible in the darkness, but he kept their faces in his vision as he walked, stiff and tense. Rotom was right, he shouldn't feel unsafe when he was with Kukui and Lillie, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that Team Skull was watching.

The walk to Iki Town was quiet and uneventful. It seemed everyone in the party was preoccupied by thoughts of their own. When they reached the thatched house that Chip recognized as the kahuna's, he felt an abrupt sense of relief that he'd finally be away from the darkness outside. It was threatening to strangle him, even when surrounded by his closest friends.

Kukui knocked on the door. There was a faint stirring inside, then the sound of a lock click as Hala opened the door.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you three here so quickly," Hala said, stepping back to invite the three in. The professor entered, then Lillie, then finally Chip, drawn like a moth to flame by the lights inside. Rotom floated away from Chip's head so it wouldn't impact the top of the doorway, then drifted beside him. The kahuna turned to smile at them as he closed the door. "Chip, how are those injuries doing? Did you change the bandages?"

"Um…" Chip looked down at his shirt. "No, I forgot. When I got back, I just fell asleep… then when morning came, I ran out to train Popplio..."

"Well, you're here, so we might as well handle them. What happened to your eye?"

Lillie sat down on the couch and looked at her bag, resting her hands over it gently. The professor paced a little as Rockruff hopped up onto the couch and leaned against Lillie. Hala seemed to notice the agitated state Kukui was in, watching his pacing with a slight frown before he looked back over at Chip.

"Is there something I'm missing?" he asked. Chip prepared himself for another iteration of his story, slipping his jacket off so his bandages could be changed, when Hala made a noise of surprise, looking at him with wide eyes. "Chip! The bracelet on your wrist… let me see that, please."

The professor looked over, halting his pacing. "Wait… Is that what I think it is?"

"Pardon?" Lillie asked.

She looked about as confused as Chip felt as he looked down at the bracelet clasped around his wrist. He'd completely forgotten about the items he and Rotom had found after it had pledged to be his partner. He looked at Rotom, but the pokemon looked just as bewildered as he felt, so he shrugged and undid the clasp on the bracelet and held it out to Hala. The kahuna was silent, expression serious, as he took the bracelet. He slowly turned it around in his fingers, studying it in intense detail.

"What izzz he doing?" Rotom asked, tilting to one side as it watched the kahuna.

"This is the Z-Bracelet that went missing today," Hala said. "Where did you get it?"

"Missing?" Chip was taken aback. Surely the kahuna didn't think that he stole it? "Rotom and I found it in the forest, right after we decided to become partners—"

"You and Rotom became partners?" Hala asked, a mystified look on his face. "What about Popplio?"

Chip felt like he was ready to tell the story this time, or at least as ready as he'd ever be, so he took a deep breath and recounted what had happened to him. The kahuna's expression grew more and more serious as he spoke, until he'd reached the end, when he'd found the two items in the forest. At first, he didn't reply right away, he simply looked down at the bracelet, his face a shade darker from anger. Chip wondered with a spike of anxiety if the kahuna was angry at him for having the bracelet when Hala finally spoke.

"I cannot believe Team Skull is stealing pokemon," the Kahuna said, a little growl in his voice. "Chip, please don't worry. I'll set them straight and get your popplio back as soon as I find them. They'll quickly learn why we kahunas are assigned protection over our islands. They won't be continuing any more of that nonsense."

"That's the Z-Bracelet you made for Hau, isn't it?" Kukui asked.

"Yes. I had discovered a pair of shining stones back when I was on my own island challenge. One of them was made into a Z-Bracelet for myself, and the other I decided to keep. I fashioned a Z-Bracelet for him out of the remaining stone as a gift for his eleventh birthday, even if it was a bit belated, but… it had been stolen today."

"I didn't take it," Chip said. "Honestly, I found it in the forest."

"He'zzz telling the truth," Rotom said. "It wazzz left there with this feather."

"I'm not saying I don't believe you," the kahuna said. He took a moment to look at the necklace around Rotom, and the feather that dangled at the end of it. The feather still sparked with electricity. Realization slowly dawned on Hala's features. "…I understand now. The bracelet, this feather… You were visited by the island guardian, Tapu Koko, the deity of Melemele Island. This feather your Rotom is carrying, it's a feather from the crest of Tapu Koko."

Chip stared, dumbfounded, at the kahuna. "What?"

"Tapu Koko?" Rotom's digital jaw dropped.

"You're serious?" Professor Kukui said. "Tapu Koko visited him?"

"Do you mean the pokemon that lives in the ruins?" Lillie asked.

The kahuna just continued, as if they hadn't even spoken. "And this bracelet you found… you said you found it along with the feather?"

"Yeah," Chip said. "They were both under a tree…. I saw some eyes there first, but then the eyes disappeared… the eyes were blue, with a little pink? Something like that… I thought it was just another wild pokemon watching us from the forest."

"That was the island deity. It took this Z-Bracelet from my home and gave it to you. Do you know what a Z-Bracelet is?" The blank look on Chip's face must have indicated he didn't have a clue. "A Z-Bracelet is a rare item that lets you harness the powers of the Z-Crystals. You can get them when you complete island challenges." Hala shook his head a little. "This Z-Bracelet, the feather from its crest… the fact that it went through the trouble of breaking into my home to get the bracelet… Tapu Koko is very interested in you, Chip. Both you and your rotom."

"I don't get it. A deity was watching me? Like, a pokemon god?" Chip asked.

"Tapu Koko is a land spirit pokemon," Rotom said, showing a picture of it on its screen. "It izzz the guardian deity of Melemele Island, but though it's called a guardian deity, it will not necessarily come to your aid if you need help."

"So you're saying this thing could have protected Popplio? It could have prevented it from being stolen?" The surge of anger was impossible to deny. Chip clenched his fists a little, the anger pulsing through him. This deity could have stopped all this?

"Chip…" Lillie said, worry in her gaze.

The kahuna sighed. "Tapu Koko works in mysterious ways. It might not have wanted to help before… but since it left you a feather, one that boosts electric-type moves, it clearly has taken interest in you and your rotom. It may be because of your circumstance, no one can really understand why Tapu Koko does what it does, but you've caught its attention. And it wants to help you now, hence why it left these items for you." Hala handed Chip back the bracelet. He took it, fingers numb as he shakily put the bracelet back onto his wrist. "I'm going to have a wonderful time explaining to my grandson why he won't be getting a Z-Bracelet when I promised him one, though."

"You want me to keep it?" Chip asked. "But… but it's his, right? Maybe it's best if I give it back to him… if it belongs to him, then it's not right for me to take it."

"Don't be silly," Hala said. "If Tapu Koko took this bracelet and gave it to you, then you are who it is meant to be with. We cannot defy the will of the gods. Hau will be disappointed, but… if he's meant to have a bracelet as well, then the deity will bless him with a shining stone of his own."

"Hau is fairly laidback when it comes to battling and the island challenge," Kukui said. "I don't think he'll be that disappointed."

"I'd really like for him to meet you, Chip. The two of you are the same age," the kahuna said. "But when he chose a starter a few days before you arrived, he ran off immediately to challenge the Verdant Cavern. I think that's where you should go as well. Ensure your rotom is strong enough, then go and face the challenge in the Verdant Cavern as well. Your friendship will be tested, as well as your rotom's strength, but… if Tapu Koko has this much faith in you, I think you will succeed."

Chip still felt numb, but he nodded. "Okay. I'll do it, Roro and I will challenge the first trial."

He didn't know what made him feel worse: the fact that he had lost Popplio, or that some deity had watched him lose his partner and didn't bother intervening. It could have done something, but it hadn't found him important enough… not until he forged his partnership with Rotom. Chip didn't know what that meant, but there was still part of him that felt furious about it. He wished he could yell at Tapu Koko, ask it why—why? Why didn't it do anything?

But he knew he would never come face to face with a deity. And who was he to demand answers of a god, anyway?

"Chip?" Rotom sounded uncertain. "Do you want me prepare a map with a path to Verdant Cavern? Zzz? I can have it ready for when you'd like to go."

"Y-Yeah," Chip said, stirring out of his thoughts.

"Ilima's the one who runs that trial," Kukui said. "At least I think it's him—he was promoted right after graduating from that trainer school, right? He's a very sweet fellow — he'll help you in any way he can. The Verdant Cavern is just north of Hau'oli City—oh! Speaking of Hau, have you heard if he's passed the Verdant Cavern? It seems like he's rushing."

"He does tend to do that. And no, I haven't heard from him," the kahuna said with a sigh. He reached to put a hand on Chip's shoulder. "Chip… I know this is difficult for you. You and Popplio had a bond, I could see that when you chose each other. But I can see just as clearly that you and this rotom chose each other too. And I suspect the bond you two have is even stronger than the one you had with Popplio, as hard as it is to believe. Please don't let your sorrow for Popplio damper your trust in your rotom. It's easy to lose faith, but it's much harder to build back trust once you do. Tapu Koko believes in you and Rotom. Never forget that."

"I won't forget it." Chip reached out for Rotom, holding it gently in his arms. Rotom looked up at him and smiled, a depth of emotion in its blue eyes.

Hala watched the way Rotom looked at Chip. He had never seen a pokemon look at its trainer that way—not so early in their relationship. If he didn't know better, he might have assumed that rotom already loved its trainer... at the very least, he could tell their bond was immensely strong, and it would make harnessing the power of the Z-Crystals all the more easier. Something special would become of those two, he simply knew it.

"Well, Hala… we were planning on going to the Hau'Oli Diner, if you'd like to come with us," Kukui said. "We're all starved, and there's no better discussion than one held over dinner. I bet between the two of us, we can come up with a plan to thrash those Team Skull cowards. I still can't believe they dared to steal a pokemon under your watch."

"Oh yes, I'd be happy to join you," Hala said. "And you're very right. Team Skull is going to wish they never stepped foot on Melemele Island."

A/N: How do you think Rotom did in its first battle? If you were Rotom's trainer, how would you encourage it to fight? Comment below and let me know what you think!