Jessie ended up winning the Solaceon Town Contest, we... let's just say that Dawn was not able to get on stage. Not that I blame her, neither was I. We were not ready yet. Luckily, the people in charge of the contest understood. Luckily, Zoey and Ash were there for my trainer. Their support was very important for Dawn. Even her mom called to assure her that there's no shame in taking her time to heal and recover. Even Kenny cooled down and was kind to her.
"I'm sorry guys, I'm a mess." Dawn laughed, watery, as she hugged me tightly.
We were all at Jessie and James' hotel room, having lunch. When I mean all, I meant: Ash, Pikachu-senpai, Meowth, James, Jessie, Kenny, Glameow, Zoey, Riley, and Lucario-senpai. The contest finished yesterday and everyone decided to stay another day in town to be there for Dawn.
"Have you ever thought of learning self-defense?" Jessie spoke up, completely ignoring Dawn's words. She was being kind in her own Jessie way, trying to have her focus on something else. "The first time on a mission... in my previous job, I was terrified. For a long time, I did not go back to the field, it was only when I decided to learn how to fight and defend myself that I was able to go back." We all turned to look at Jessie stunned. "Right now you are afraid to stand on a stage because you know that you won't be able to defend yourself. But if you can, maybe that will help you regain the courage that was stolen from you that day."
"That's a great idea," Ash said slowly, clearly still in shock.
"Why are you saying it like that!?" Jessie breathed flames.
"I would love to give you classes," Ash continued.
"Don't ignore me, twerp!" Jessie shouted.
"With Ash and I, you'll be ready in no time." Riley continued with a kind smile, blushing slightly when he said: 'Ash and I'.
"Before that why don't we take a detour to the Alola Festival?" Kenny jumped into the conversation, clearly not liking that Dawn's attention was somewhere else.
He can be such a kid, I sighed internally.
"What's that?" Dawn asked the question we all had.
"Alola is a tropical region made up of four islands, it's nearby Unova," Zoey replied. "But this is the first time I've heard of an Alola Festival in Sinnoh."
"Sinnoh has various festivals to educate about the culture of different regions. The most popular is the Johto Festival, later down the season. But there's a small town nearby Solaceon Town that does an annual festival to educate and celebrate Alola culture." Kenny answered. "It's something that only started a few years ago, so not many know about it yet. But I've heard it's pretty good. We can all go there and take a break, enjoying the festival."
"Alola is beautiful, James took me there for our honeymoon," Jessie commented, sighing dreamily.
James smiled, wrapping his arm around Jessie and cuddling her close to him. He turned to us and said: "We each captured a Pokemon, they are quite rare and have Pokemon that are only found there. It would be nice to visit it."
"Kenny," Dawn smiled softly at Kenny, whose face burned red. "Thank you."
So, like that, it was decided that we would attend the Alola Festival. I was happy because it gave us a distraction not to think about our failure at Solaceon Town and gave Dawn a reason to smile excitedly. But, of course, traveling with Ash can never be that simple. We ended up being dragged into Mountain Hut Maid Café by Jessie, while the fresh Miltank milk was delicious, we ended up being dragged to help train Autumn's new Miltank. Luckily, it ended up in a good outcome and us getting a lot of free Miltank milk.
We continued our journey after that small bump-speed until Dawn pointed at a town that seems to have something set up. We were finally there. When we got there we were greeted by two ladies in an alolan getup.
"Alola and welcome to the Alola Festival." The two ladies said as they put leis on all of us... there were a lot of leis going around.
The festival had lots of food tents, merchandising shops, presentations, and more. There we learned about the islands, alternate forms, island deities, z-moves, and kahunas and the island trial from a presentation. Dawn and I already knew about alternative forms, as we've met both Slowking and Slowbro, both being an alternative galarian form Pokemon. But what had us captivated were the many Pokemon that could only be found in Alola, Dawn herself was captivated by the Ribombee, wanting to go there and catch one. We could not believe a Bug-type Pokemon could be so cute!
Ash, on the other hand, was, of course, excited about the z-moves. The moment the guy in charge of the presentation realized who was asking the questions, he flipped. The rest of the crowd soon followed. I did not believe that many 'The Saint' screams could resonate at the same time. Humans are incredible. Ash soon was dragged in front and handed a z-ring.
"Ok, so z-moves can only be used when the trainer possesses both a z-ring and a z-crystals." The presenter explained, but his eyes were still looking directly at Ash, who was beaming back excitedly. Poor fella, he was gone. I sighed internally. "The z-crystals in your z-ring is an Electrium Z, which means that is an Electric-type crystal. That does not that only Electric-type Pokemon can use it. Z-crystal typing is connected to the type of moves known by the Pokemon."
"So, Pikachu knows Iron Tail, does that mean that he can use a Steel-type z-move?" Ash asked excitedly, eyes twinkling like stars.
"Poor guy," Zoey chuckled, while the rest of us laughed at the flushed face of the presenter.
"Y-yeah," he stuttered. "That would be a Steelium Z, the z-move that you can achieve with that z-crystal is Corkscrew Crash. Now, please copy my moves."
The presenter and Ash did some funny dance moves, that had Jessie, James, Meowth, and Kenny laughing.
"Now, who would like to see The Saint challenge the Alola Festival Director to a fight to try and win an Alola Starter Pokemon egg?!" The presenter asked the crowd, who as one rose to cheer. A tanned shirtless man with a lab coat appeared next to them both. "Everyone, Alola Regional Professor Kukui!"
"Alola everyone!" The man was as charismatic as Ash... dangerous.
"Alola!" We all replied, cheering louder. We were quite excited about the battle.
"This will be a 1 on 1 battle, I hope that's all right?" Professor Kukui inquired, looking at Ash.
"Bring it on!" Ash smiled. But this smile was different from his usual one. It had a sharper edge, almost animalistic. "It's been a while since we've had a good battle, isn't that right Pikachu?"
"This is gonna be fun!" Pikachu-senpai purred, cheeks sparkling as he perched himself on Ash's shoulder.
Next to us, James gasped, while Jessie gave out a low chuckle and Meowth purred: "Look at that-nya. It seems like-nya the Professor is a strong one-nya."
"He is using Pikachu?" Dawn murmured. "I don't think I've seen him use Pikachu outside of his work as a ranger."
"I've heard that his Pikachu took down a Regice on his own!" A kid next to us exclaimed to his friend.
"The guy is done for!" Her friend replied. "No one can defeat Pikachu!"
"Pikachu is not a Pokemon Ash can use lightly," Riley told Dawn's friend and us. "He is a powerful Pokemon, and they both know it. He can also be used against someone of Elite Level."
"That man is an Elite?!" Zoey asked Riley, surprised.
"He doesn't look it," Kenny commented, disbelief clear on his face and voice.
"Appearances can be deceiving, just look at Ash," Riley replied.
"He is strong," Jessie hummed. "But I think that Ash is jumping the gun here. Pikachu and he have not had a good fight in a while. So, they are taking the first strong guy they find for a spin. I hope they don't break him."
Is she... talking about Professor Kukui as if he was a toy? I thought a little bit perturbed. Then again, Pikachu-senpai did tell us that the trio have a dark past. Maybe it was normal behavior for them?
"Venusaur, get ready!" Suddenly a huge Venusaur appeared on the temporary battlefield. My eyes widened at the scene, that is one powerful Pokemon.
"Pikachu-senpai will have a hard time," I commented.
"Ha, you think-nya," Meowth chuckled. "This will be a piece of cake-nya."
They both stood silently, as if they were measuring each other, before shouting out orders at the same time: "Venusaur, Vine Whip!/Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
As one both Pokemon attacked. I was surprised when the Vine Whip was capable of withstanding a direct attack of Pikachu-senpai's Iron Tail. I've seen him cut through a barricade of Stone Edge attacks as if it was nothing. What followed were various Sludge Bomb attacks, not that Pikachu-senpai had anything to worry about, with his speed none of them were close to touching him.
"Pikachu! Electro Web to the ground! Make it a ton of them!" Ash rapidly shouted, he sounded... worried?
"What's happening?" I asked before I could stop myself.
"Look at the ground-nya," Meowth purred. "He poisoned it, smart-nya."
"The best way to stop a fast Pokemon like Pikachu is to prevent him from being able to run," Riley explained.
"How did he not see that coming?" Zoey asked, confused. "I don't see Ash making a mistake like that."
"He's gotten used to using Pikachu almost only in ranger missions," James answered.
"There's no field limit on those," continued Jessie.
By now the whole battlefield has been poisoned by the Sludge Bombs, but there was also an electric web intertwined, giving Pikachu-senpai the platform to run on. However, none of that seemed to matter when both Professor Kukui and Venusaur began to shine. A z-move!
"Ready, Venusaur?!" Professor Kukui called out, with an excited smile.
"Let's do it!" Venusaur grumbled, at a more sedated pace.
"Bloom Doom!/Bloom Doom!" They both shouted.
But, at the same time, Ash gave out his orders: "Pikachu! Agility! Use Iron Tail to push yourself to the air!"
Time seems to freeze... no! It seemed to move slower, as I watched Pikachu run towards Venusaur, trying to outrun the z-move. I could not believe my eyes. Were they insane?! Running towards the Pokemon about to attack them with a powerful move. Did they have a death wish? Even their opponents were startled by their course of action.
However, they wouldn't be Ash and Pikachu-senpai if they didn't;t prove of all wrong. Pikachu-senpai hit Venusaur dead center on his head, right before he released his attack, and prompt himself over the air, evading the attack uninjured. Just as Pikachu-senpai landed on the ground, now cleansed from the poison and electricity thanks to the z-move, neither of them allowed Professor Kukui and Venusaur any rest, reading themselves for their counterattack.
Both Ash and Pikachu-senpai did their z-attack. I tensed in Dawn's arms. I could taste the ozone in the air, power surrounded Ash, which later was passed down to Pikachu. I blinked at the sudden brightness that surrounded Pikachu-senpai.
"Gigavolt Havoc!/Gigavolt Havoc!" They both shouted at the same time and... let's just say that Venusaur was knocked out halfway through the attack.
Even the presenter was stunned into silence. The move was... so cool! As one the crowd came together to cheer for the amazing presentation. That was amazing! I want to try a z-move!
Professor Kukui recalled his Pokemon and stepped forward to congratulate Ash and Pikachu-senpai with a beaming smile. He gave him a green and brown Pokemon Egg, before rapidly leaving. Trying to get his Pokemon to be checked out by a Nurse Joy as fast as he can.
"That was awesome, Ash!" Dawn rushed forward, once the crowd finally had enough photos and autographs from them.
"Thanks!" Ash replied, with a small blush. "It's been a while since we've fought together just for fun. Did you have a good time, buddy?"
"Yep! We have to do it again!" Pikachu-senpai exclaimed.
The Pokemon laughed. We then decided to take a break and have some malasadas and pancakes. We were told they were the region's specialties. The Pokemon were even given Poke Beans. They were so good! We need to go to Alola if it's only for the food!
...
I've been spending a lot of time with Pikachu-senpai and Ash's Pokemon.
"Hey get back here!" A shopkeeper's scream got all of our attention. We got there in time to see a red and black Pokemon run away with a revival herb. "Who's Litten is that?" The shopkeeper yelled.
"I will go look," Ash said as he and Dawn ran after it.
Of course, that meant that Pikachu-senpai and I were dragged alongside. Not that I minded. I still did not like having Dawn go on her own. I need to be there to protect her if anything went astray. We followed the Litten to an abandoned warehouse. Inside we were met with the Litten trying to feed the revival herb to a large canine Pokemon.
"What Pokemon is that?" Dawn asked quietly.
"Stoutland, I have only seen them in pictures before, but something is off about this one," Ash answered.
It seems like even when whispering Litten was able to hear them, as he rapidly took on a battle pose ready to fend us off. But Stoutland said something and Litten calmed down. Whatever, he said I was not able to hear, as he said it so low. But my curiosity rapidly was turned into worry as Stoutland started coughing.
"What's wrong with Stoutland?" Dawn asked, worriedly.
Ash didn't answer instead called for Meganium. "You need something Ash?" Meganium asked before hearing Stoutland and turning to see him. "Sweet merciful Arceus' shiny bubble butt!" Meganium yelled as she rushed to get a better look at Stoutland and used Aromatherapy to help ease Stoutland a bit. However, the moves did nothing to help Stoutland. "This is bad. We need to get him to a Pokemon Center."
Even though Ash couldn't understand he did know the look Meganium gave him. So, he rapidly summoned his aura powers and raised Stoutland in his arms, and rushed him towards the Pokemon Center. Of course, even without the weight of a Stoutland, we were not able to keep the pace. Meganium, Pikachu-senpai, Dawn, and I reached the Pokemon Center at the same time Nurse Joy wheeled Stoutland in a private room.
Stoutland was hooked up to many wires as Nurse Joy, Chansey, and the newly joining Meganium did everything they could. Ash was holding Litten as he pawed at the observation window. The scene broke my heart. Otherwise, everything was tense and quiet until Nurse Joy allowed us into the room. Litten immediately jumped onto the bed and started nuzzling Stoutland.
"We did everything we can... but…" Nurse Joy didn't want to finish.
"How long does Stoutland have?" Ash asked.
"Hours at best. All we can do is keep him comfortable." Nurse Joy responded.
Meganium used her vine whips to take out one of Ash's Poke Balls and call out Espeon, who rapidly connected all of our minds. That is such a handy ability to have, making communication between Pokemon and humans much easier.
"Ah, so you must be the famous Saint I have been hearing about. Not to mention, the Chosen One of Shamotoi's Legend. Ash, if I am not mistaken." Stoutland spoke.
"As much as I hate the nickname, yes it is me to both of them." Ash sighed. "I am not surprised you've heard of me as The Saint, but I am curious about how you know about Shamotoi." Ash inquired.
"Word gets around surprisingly quick between Pokemon," Stoutland replied.
"We'll be leaving, to give you the time you need." Nurse Joy said and turned to Meganium. "Do let me know if anything happens." Nurse Joy requested to which Meganium nodded as the ladies left.
"I should explain more of who I am. Many years ago I belonged to a couple on a ranch in Alola. I was tasked with helping raise abandoned Pokemon eggs. Each time they hatched was a moment of joy I would not trade for anything. Some years later they both died, they were quite old you see. They did not have any other family so after finding a way to break my Poke Ball, I joined a community made up of wild Pokemon I helped raise. This went on for a while until they were either caught or started a family of their own and moved. I don't blame them, life goes on. But about a year ago I came across Litten's egg. But as I tried to get it, we both fell on a moving vehicle, which later parked inside a cruise ship that made port in Sinnoh. Still, I decided to raise Litten since the moment he hatched in the ship. However, because of my age, I couldn't provide us as much as I had before. Thankfully Litten was easy to teach and we lived off some fruit trees. Eventually, Litten was able to provide for us both. Which leads to now," Stoutland explained.
"Well, at least that explains what a Stoutland and Litten are doing in Sinnoh," Ash commented.
"Anyway, I don't have much time left. Will you grant me my final wish?" Stoutland asked
"Don't say things like that!" Litten cried.
My heart ached for the young boy. I might have been raised in captivity, but I understood the pain he was going on. It was the same pain I felt when I thought I had almost lost Dawn. No one should go through the pain of losing their loved ones.
"I'm sorry Litten. I wish I could spend more time with you, but we both know it's my time." Stoutland responded before turning to Ash. "My dying wish is to please take Litten with you." Stoutland requested, surprising us all.
"You want me to catch Litten?" Ash asked for clarification.
"Yes, I can tell from your Pikachu, Espeon, and Meganium that you are an extraordinary trainer. So, the rumors I've heard were true to an extent. I know that he will be taken care of and will be much stronger than he would on his own. Please. This would make me so happy." Stoutland pleaded.
"I would be more than happy to take Litten in. But it isn't up to me." Ash replied.
"I know," Stoutland said before turning to Litten, who was doing his best to hold back tears. "Litten, will you go with Ash?" Stoutland asked.
Litten looked at Ash for a moment before coming up with an answer. "I will," Litten responded before nuzzling Stoutland.
"Good. Litten, I am so proud of you. I always will be with you in spirit. Thank you for making my last days more enjoyable." Stoutland said before he closed his eyes and Espeon cut the psychic connection from Stoutland.
"Stoutland? STOUTLAND?!" Litten called for his father figure with no response as Meganium pushed a button to call Nurse Joy. The psychic connection was finally cut completely. Ash then grabbed Litten and gave him a hug confusing Litten. While Meganium checked on Stoutland's pulse.
"I'm here," Ash said gently Litten didn't need any more convincing and cried into Ash's shoulder. Ash silently took off his hat as Nurse Joy and Chansey ran into the room, as Meganium shook her head.
As Litten's cries resonated in the room, I could only think that this was what he was waiting for. He wanted to make sure Litten would be well taken care of before passing. My eyes were locked into the heart monitor, as Dawn hugged me while she cried, and one thought was going through my head: This could have been me.