Episode 176: Some Like It Hot
A few days had passed since Mallow had added her new Vileplume and Bellossom to the team. She felt happy since Vileplume and Bellossom aren't native to the Alola region like Bounsweet, Steenee, and Tsareena are; and they would be considered to be rare.
As the group made a stop to catch a break, Kairi had prepared some lunch for the group. Vileplume and Bellossom had fallen in love in the Pokémon food she had made for them. Mallow challenged Kairi into a battle to test them out. Kairi had taken out two of her Pokéballs.
"Go! Abra and Tangela!" Kairi shouted. Abra and Tangela entered the battle against Vileplume and Bellossom. "Wanna make the first move, Mallow?"
"Gladly," Mallow nodded. "Vileplume! Bellossom! Stun Spore!" Vileplume and Bellossom sprinkled Stun Spore right at Kairi's Pokémon.
"Abra! Doge by using Teleport! And Tangela, jump in the air and fire Bullet Seed on Bellossom!" Kairi ordered. Abra Teleports out of range of Stun Spore and Tangela jumps into the air and fires a barrage of seeds right at Bellossom.
"Vileplume! You use Sludge Bomb! Bellossom! You use Magical Leaf!" Mallow ordered. Vilplume fores a huge ball of sludge while Bellossom fires multicolored leaves right at their opponents.
"Abra! Block it with Psychic!" Kairi ordered. Abra blocks the attacks with Psychic and sends it back to their owners. Vileplume gets hit by Sludge Bomb and Bellossom gets hit by Magical Leaf. "Finish them with Vine Whip and Mega Punch!" Tangela smacks the flower Pokémon with Vine Whip and Abra lands a Mega Punch onto Vileplume, finishing them both off. Mallow gasped when Kairi had taken down her two newest Pokémon. She went up to Vileplume and Bellossom.
"Are you okay?" Mallow asked with concern.
"Vileplume," Vileplume said.
"Bellossom," Bellossom added.
"You both need a good long rest; you've earned it," Mallow said, calling Vileplume and Bellossom back into their Pokéballs.
The group continued on their way to Blackthorn City. As they went through, the group came across a wild Growlithe. It was a little bigger than the one Sora had before evolving him into an Arcanine, unitentionally. Kiawe now had the chance to make this Growlithe his own. Kiawe takes out Marowak's Pokéball to battle against Growlithe.
"Okay Growlithe, enjoy your last breath of freedom because you are going to be mine," Kiawe said. "Marowak! Go!" Marowak twirls his bone upon entry. Growlithe turns to see the Alolan Marowak. The puppy Pokémon growls at the invader. "Marowak! Shadow Bone!" Marowak starts off swinging his bone, emitting a shadowy aura. The Growlithe dodges by jumping out of the way before Marowak could land a hit. Growlithe comes at Marowak with a Fire Fang. Growlithe's Fire Fang manages to bite Marowak on the arm.
"That Growlithe is tough," Sophocles said.
"Sora's Growlithe was just a puppy, but this one is just plain mean," Lana said.
"Yeah," Mina said.
"That won't stop Marowak. This match just makes Marowak wanna win even more," Lillie said. And she was right, because Marowak bats Growlithe off his arm and smacks it hard with his bone.
"Okay Marowak! Flame Wheel!" Kiawe ordered. Marowak comes at Growlithe with green flames and slams into Growlithe, landing a bif blow. "Now use Shadow Bone!" Marowak swings his bone at Growlithe and the puppy Pokémon lands on the ground beaten. Kiawe takes out a Pokéball and threw it at the wild Growlithe. The Pokéball bumps into Growlithe and flows inside it. The Pokéball wobbles around for a bit and stars swirls around the Pokéball, confirming the catch. Kiawe felt proud to have his own Growlithe. "Yes! I have myself a Growlithe!"
After Kiawe had captured his own Growlithe, the group made their way through some rugged terrain, said to be homes for volcanoes, hot springs, and some Fire Type Pokémon to dwell in them. And to add to the terrain is warm weather and the group was about to find out.
"Man, I sweating just like a fat pig in a barbeque spit," Sophocles said, wiping off some sweat.
"Me too. It's so hot, I can even feel it through my boots," Hapu said. "And I don't think even Mudsdale could take it."
"This terrain is said to home volcanoes and hot springs around here," Illima said.
"Hot spings? I could go for a dip in one those," Mallow beamed.
"Me too. I would do anything to wash this sweat off," Lana said.
"I wouldn't recommend it," Illima said.
"Why not?" Mallow asked.
"Because many of the hot springs here are also hot steaming geysers. Though, it'll be unforfunate for anyone who would be occupying them now," Illima said.
"It's a good thing we didn't get to those hot springs, because I don't wanna know what it's like to come out as hot water in a shower," Sora said.
"I don't think I want to either," Kairi said.
The group continued their way through the mountain terrain getting hotter the deeper they went.
"I'm hot," Sophocles said.
"You're hot? I'm boiling!" Acerola said.
"Would you guys stop complaining? It's only making it worse!" Kiawe said.
"I'm with Kiawe. There's already enough hot air without you guys complaining," Sora said.
"I can't help it! It's so hot!" Sophocles groaned.
"I know it's hot! And just like Kiawe said, it's making it worse for us!" Sora groaned.
The group were about to keep going when they came across a wild Slugma and Magcargo.
"Slugma," the Slugma said.
"Magcargo," the Magcargo said.
"Slugma and Magcargo?" Sora asked. He and the rest of the group saw a bunch of Slugma and Magcargo looking right at them.
"They all must live here," Kairi said.
"And they all like this heat," Acerola said. The Slugma and Magcargo crawl off. One Slugma eyes the auburn haired girl and went up to her. Kairi looked right at the Slugma.
"Hi there," Kairi greeted.
"Slugma, Slugma, Slug," Slugma greeted back.
"I think you're a nice Pokémon, but we should be going," Kairi said. She and the rest of the group kept going down the path, but the Slugma wasn't going to let them out of its sight.
"I think it's starting to cool down," Sora said.
"About time, because I don't wanna think about how burnt I was going to get," Mallow said.
"Me neither," Mina said.
"Me neither," Lana said.
"After going through the terrain, I now know how a meatloaf feels," Sophocles said.
"Pichu," the Shiny Pichu chirped.
Everyone stopped in their tracks when they saw a huge Magcargo sleeping right in their path. A snot bubble inflates and deflates as the giant Magcargo sleeps.
"Would you look at?" Lana asked.
"That is a pretty huge Magcargo," Sora said.
"Strange place for a nap," Illima said.
"How are we gonna be able to get by this giant roadblock?" Hapu asked.
"I think I have an idea how," Sophocles said, taking out a ruler. He gently pokes it at the magma snail Pokémon, trying to wake it up. "Wakey-wakey, Magcargo. Rise and shine." Sophocles manages to pop the snot bubble, waking up the sleeping Magcargo. "Sorry to wake you up, but we need to get pass here, so if you don't mind, you could have your nap somewhere else." Sora, Kairi, and the rest of the Alolan nine winced when they saw Magcargo puff up its cheeks, knowing what it was about to do.
"Sophocles," Sora said nervously.
"What?" Sophocles asked. He got his answer when he saw how Magcargo was angry for having to be waken up from its nap. He ran with his friends as Magcargo fired Flamethrower right at them.
"Hit the dirt!" Hapu shouted. Everyone dove to the ground, not wanting to get burned. She turns to Sophocles with an angry expression. "You just had to piss it off just by waking it up!"
"I didn't see any of you coming up with a better idea!" Sophocles snapped at her.
"And arguing solves the problem how?" Sora asked with sarcasm. Magcargo fires another Flamethrower at the group. "Talking about grouchy."
"Well, you'd be grouchy too if you were rudely waken up from your nap," Acerola said.
"Grouchy," Mina repeated.
"More likely that big snail has some issues," Kiawe snarled. Magcargo yawns and falls right back to sleep.
"I don't think he's going to move," Kairi said.
"Well, I'm going to make him move," Kiawe said. He took out Turtonator's Pokéball. "Get ready Magcargo, because you're gonna be sorry for brushing us off!" He threw his Pokéball. "Go! Turtonator!" The Pokéball opens and Turtonator shoots out a stream of Flamethrower upon entry. "Turtonator! Flamethrower!" Turtonator fires Flamethrower and Magcargo hides in his shell. "Turtonator! Dragon Tail!" Turtonator's tail glows orange and grows in size. Turtonator heads towards Magcargo, but it responds by firing Rock Slide right at the blast turtle Pokémon. Turtonator gets pass the rocks and tries to smack Magcargo with it. Magcargo jumps in the air and comes right down towards Turtonator.
"He's using Body Slam!" Lillie gasped.
"Turtonator! Shell Trap!" Kiawe ordered. Turtonator's shell spikes orange and an explosion occurs when the attack makes contact. Magcargo fires a powerful Flamethrower into Turtonator's face and he falls to the ground, beaten. "Turtonator!" Kiawe ran up to his fallen partner. "Are you alright?"
"Turtonator," Turtonator responded weakly. Kiawe pulls out his Pokéball.
"Take a good rest, Turtonator, you'll need it," Kiawe said, calling Turtonator back inside. A boy's laughter is heard and the group turned to see a boy with brown hair styled with the yop in opposite directions and bushy eyebrows. He wore a black shirt under a red vest, dark green jean shirts and blue shoes.
"I've been checking out your attack moves ever since the battle started; I guess you gave it your shot, but man-oh-man, were you shaky?" That offended Kiawe.
"Who the hell made you the expert in my battling skills?" Kiawe growled at him.
"Cool your jets there, dude; I'll be over in a flash!" The boy said preparing to jump. He hesitates to jump, seeing how big a fall to make.
"Sometime before we start growing old there, kid!" Kiawe called out.
"Don't rush me! I've got Fire Spirit!" The boy said, jumping off the ledge and falls right on his face. Sophocles went over to the boy.
"Are you still alive, kid?" Sophocles asked. He got up on his feet.
"What? That? That was nothing! Just a clever ploy to get my opponents to lower their guard," the boy said.
"If you say so," Sophocles said.
"Okay there, Mr. Expert. Tell me about my battling skills," Kiawe dared him. "I'm all ears."
"It's so obvious, it's not even funny. Are you gonna win if you keep running away?" The boy said.
"I didn't run, you little lair!" Kiawe shouted.
"Oh no? Then I'll show you how it's done!" The boy turned to face the large Magcargo. "Come on, Magcargo!" He saw the giant Magcargo was crawling away to find a much quieter place to sleep. "Wait up, Magcargo! Wait up for me!" Magcargo was out of his sight completely. "Oh, just look at what he's done." He turns to Kiawe. "This is all your fault for being such a loser-class battler?"
"Loser-class battler? Are you serious? I heard a better insult from a ham sandwich," Kiawe said. "That was the weakest insult I have ever heard."
"Weakest insult? That was a pretty good insult!" The boy snapped at the Fire Type trainer.
"Is it? How was that good? Huh? How was it good?" Kiawe asked. The boy was about to come up with an excuse to taunt him, but he decided against it.
"Oh, I don't have time to deal with the likes of you!" The boy said.
"The least you could do is tell me your name!" Kiawe said.
"Egen's the name; and Fire Type Pokémon is my game!" Egen introduced himself. "I am known as the Fire Prince!"
"Fire Prince? You? Don't make me laugh," Kiawe said.
"Why is that funny?" Egen hissed.
"No, it's just lame," Kiawe said.
"You're calling me lame? You take that back!" Egen snapped at him.
"Why should I take it back?" Kiawe asked.
"If this keeps up, we could be here all day," Lana groaned.
"And in case you're wondering, my name is Kiawe and I also specialize with Fire Type Pokémon the same as you. The Fire Guardian of Akala Island's Wela Volcano!" Kiawe stated.
"Guardian of Wela Volcano?" Sora asked.
"Did he just come up with that himself?" Kairi asked.
"Don't you look at me," Hapu deadpanned.
Unknown to them, the Slugma from before had caught up with the group.
"I would battle you Volcano boy, but I don't have time to battle against some loser trainer. And especially if he's the guardian of some stupid volcano on some stupid spit of land!" That made Kiawe's blood boil.
"Care to repeat that?" Kiawe dared him.
"I would, but I have a Magcargo to catch! Later!" Egen said, running off.
"Hey! Get back here, little burning turd!" Kiawe shouted. Kiawe ran after him.
"Well, the good news that Magcargo moved out of the way for us," Sora said.
"But, the bad news is Kiawe ran right after him," Illima said.
"We better go after him too," Hapu said.
"I agree. It'll turn ugly if we don't find him," Lillie said.
Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, Togepi, the Pichu, and the rest of the Alolan nine went looking for Kiawe when the Slugma continued to follow the group.
Kiawe ran through the terrain, searching for Egen, but he saw no signs of him.
"Where are you, you little loudmouth?" Kiawe asked, looking around for him.
"Kiawe!" Sora called out. The group ran up to their friend. "What's the deal, Kiawe?"
"That snot-nosed punk just insulted my battling skills and I won't let him get away with it! And to add, he direspected the Wela Volcano and Akala Island. This insult won't stand!" Kiawe stated.
"You weren't taking it personal when he called you a loser-class battler," Sophocles said.
"I didn't care about that. I only care if he made fun of my skills as a trainer and that's when I do care," Kiawe said.
"We don't doubt that you're a talented trainer, but you shouldn't take it personally when someone makes fun of you," Sora said.
"Oh, you mean like when Gary was making fun of you?" Kiawe snapped at him.
"Hey! That's crossing the line!" Sora yelled.
"I bet you didn't need Riku to step up when he was calling you a loser in your face!" Kiawe taunted.
"Why are you turning this on me? Since when did it get to be about me and Gary? What did I do to get you to turn on me?!" Sora exclaimed. Kiawe realized he was taking his anger out on Sora when he didn't do a thing.
"Nothing. You're right, Sora. Sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean to take it out on you. You forgive me?" Sora thought for a minute and displayed a playful grin.
"Gee, I don't know. Should I?" Sora joked. That made Kiawe laugh.
"I can accept that," Kiawe said. "Thanks for making me feel better, Sora."
"Just glad to be of assistance, Kiawe," Sora said. Just when they were about to keep going, Egen comes out from a cave. He turned to the same group.
"Have any of you seen that giant Magcargo go by here?" Egen asked.
"Still after it, huh?" Kiawe asked. Egen started to rage up.
"Are you making fun of me?!" Egen snapped at him.
"Just asking," Kiawe said, pretending not to care.
Egen was about to snap at Kiawe again when the same Magcargo from before came crawling by.
"There he is!" Kairi said.
"Huh?" Egen asked as he turned around and saw that Magcargo. "Hey! Magcargo! Stop! Today's the day, you're gonna get caught!" Egen takes out his Pokéball. "We're ready, are you?" Magcargo glares at the arrogant trainer, accepting the challenge. Egen threw his Pokéball. "Flareon! Let's do it!" The Pokéball opens and Flareon enters the battle against the giant Magcargo. Slugma shows up just in time to witness the battle. "Flamethrower now, Flareon!" Flareon fires Flamethrower right at the magma snail Pokémon and Magcargo withdraws into his shell. Egen began to get frustrated.
"That Magcargo did the same thing with me," Kiawe said in his thoughts. Magcargo forms some rocks and sends them right at the Fire Type Eeveelution.
"Flareon! Dodge it by using Quick Attack!" Egen ordered. Flareon dodges each one of the rocks, but wasn't fast enough to dodge that last one. Flareon falls down to Egen's feet. "You gotta get up, Flareon!" Flareon struggles to get back up. "Let's turn up the heat with Flamethrower!" Flareon fired Flamethrower and Magcargo withdraws into his shell once more. "Hiding in your shell is a loser's way to battle, you know!"
"Magcargo is raising his defense! That's what Withdraw does to a Pokémon with that move!" Kiawe said.
"You stay out of this! Flareon! Flame Charge!" Egen ordered. Flareon charges towards Magcargo while covered in flames, but Magcargo slams into Flareon with Body Slam again. Magcargo grabs Flareon by the tail again with his mouth and swings the flame Pokémon aroud. Flareon was getting dizzy from the swinging and Magcargo tosses Flareon right back at Egen, knocking Flareon out. Magcargo retreats once again. Egen gets back up, while holding Flareon. "Come on, Flareon. You're okay, right?" Flareon sqeuaks in response. He takes out Flareon's Pokéball and calls Flareon back inside. "You should rest up for a while."
"So, so close," Sophocles said.
"Not really," Hapu said.
"Hapu!" Sophocles chided her.
"Don't give me that! That kid lost before he even started! At least Kiawe had a plan of attack before going in!" Hapu said.
"That Magcargo still creamed Turtonator like corn," Sophocles said.
"Yeah," Mina agreed.
"Of course, but Kiawe actually did it right when that little moron just rushed in without a plan!" Hapu said.
"Who are you calling a moron?" Egen snapped at Hapu, forgetting about Kiawe.
"I'm sorry, did I hurt your feelings? And what are you going to do? Are you going to cry just like a little baby?" Hapu taunted.
"I don't think taunting him is going to help him regain his confidence," Sora said.
"Are you calling me a crybaby?!" Egen snapped at the Ground Type trainer.
"Well, that's something on the list of things I can think of," Hapu said, making fun of him. Egen growls in anger.
"I'm glad I'm not mad at him anymore," Kiawe said. Sora stepped in.
"Enough bickering, you two," Sora said, breaking them up. "If you can't play nice like good little children, then you're both going in for a timeout!" Kairi stepped in.
"Now, now, don't be so hard on them, Sora. Maybe they could feel a lot better after a good hardy meal," Kairi suggested.
"How right you are, Kairi. A full tummy means a happy tummy," Sora agreed.
"I'm down with that, because it's perfect timing anyway. I'm starving more than a Munchlax," Sophocles said.
"Well, I'm not that hungry, anyway, but I wouldn't wanna be rude," Egen said. His stomach suddenly growls and he covers it in embarrassment.
"Not that hungry, huh?" Hapu teased.
"Shut up! Who asked you?!" Egen exclaimed.
Everyone had set up for lunch as Kairi and Mallow got started cooking. While Sora was waiting, He accessed his Pokédex and he swapped Feraligatr and Meganium for Fearow and Noctowl since he'll never know when some eyes in the skies would be useful. Once Kairi and Mallow was finished, everyone dugged into their meal. Egen was sitting by himself since he was used to being by himself. Once everyone was finished.
"Tasty as always, Kairi," Sora complimented.
"Thank you so very much, Sora. I just love seeing you enjoy it so much, Sora," Kairi said lovingly. Kairi kisses Sora on the cheeck and he kisses on the forehead. Flareon is happily eating the Pokémon food she had made.
"I see your Flareon is enjoying his meal," Kiawe said, taking his seat next to him.
"Yeah. Flareon had to be very hungry, especially after that battle," Egen said. "You know, I felt kinda bad about how I kept pushing Flareon so hard when he was too tired."
"It happens to the best of us," Kiawe said. Egen turns to Kiawe. "I was just like that when I was first starting out."
"Really? You?" Egen asked.
"Yeah. My grandpa was the one who taught so much about how to training Fire Type Pokémon," Kiawe said. "He would always tell me to keep a cool in even in the heat of the battle. When I saw you battling that Magcargo, I saw a bit of myself in you."
"A bit of yourself? No way," Egen said.
"I don't expect you to take my word for it, but it's true," Kiawe said.
"Just how were you like me?" Egen asked.
"Like you, I rushed in without a plan. I battled with my grandpa's Charizard and I lost to a Magmar; another Fire Type," Kiawe said.
"What happened?" Egen asked.
"I just thought I would find an easy win, but I was sadly mistaken. My very first opponent saw how green I was and used it against me. I didn't wanna admit, but I lost the battle before I even got started," kiawe said.
"Was your grandpa watching?" Egen asked. Kiawe's face almost turned pale when he was asked that.
"Man, was he watching? He took note on all of my mistakes. And after that, his Charizard lost what respect he had for me," Kiawe said. "But, he didn't give up on me."
"What's your grandpa like?" Egen asked.
"He was a wise man; the wisest that I knew," Kiawe said. "Like me, he shares a passion for Fire Type Pokémon and hoped that I would one day, follow in his footsteps."
"What did you mean was?" Egen asked.
"He died a long time ago. It was hard on me and Charizard," Kiawe said.
"Oh," Egen realized what he meant. "Sorry to hear that," Egen said.
"Don't worry about. It doesn't bother me as much as it used to," Kiawe said.
"Hey Kiawe," Egen said. He turned to the younger Fire Type trainer. "Sorry about what I said before. I was just so caught up about catching that Magcargo, I just felt like making fun of someone else."
"Don't worry about it. I almost turned your words into weapons," Kiawe said.
"Words can turn into weapons?" Egen asked.
"They can depending on what's said. When you started to taunt me and insulted my homeland, I couldn't let that stand. And what's worse, I turned on my friends when they were trying to help me," Kiawe said. "And to be honest, I wanted to beat you senseless and knock out everyone of your teeth. I'm just glad Sora stopped me from doing it. And I would have been a much bigger jerk than you were." Egen took a little offense to that statement.
"Oh, gee, thanks!" Egen said. Kiawe laughed a bit. "What's so funny?"
"What you just said," Kiawe said laughing some more. Egen laughed along with him.
"I need to know, how did you keep your cool like that? Whenever I go into battle, the fire inside of me gets hotter and hotter; and if I don't keep up the attacks, then I'll burn up." Flareon climbs onto Egen's lap and took a nap.
"I know how you feel. The key to it is don't get overheated in the heat of the battle. You have to keep your flames steady even in the toughest of situations. That is something me and the others had taught Sora and Kairi from day one."
"Really?" Egen asked.
"Yeah. Whenever you go into battle, just feed your fire your passion, but don't feed too much, because you'll get what you experienced today," Kiawe said.
"Wow, that's pretty sound advice," Egen said.
"My grandpa taught me that," Kiawe said.
"You know, Kiawe, I thinbk you're a bit like him," Egen said.
"You're not the first one to say that. Pretty much everyone I knew back on Akala Island said the same thing; especially my mom," Kiawe said. "I'm just disappointed that he isn't here to see how far I came since I began my Pokémon training." Egen looked right at him and he had a request.
"Hey Kiawe. If it's okay with you, I would like to practice with you. I wanna catch that Magcargo bad and I'm going to need your help," Egen said. Kiawe smiled.
"Sure. Just don't expect it to be a walk in the park," Kiawe warned him. Egen was willing to try anything once, even swallowing his pride and allow someone to help him.
Just after their talk, Kiawe and Egen had their practice battle. Kiawe instructed Turtonator to withdraw into his shell like Magcargo did. In the meantime, Sora had sent out Noctowl and Fearow to search for Magcargo and report back when they find him.
"Flareon! Flamethrower!" Egen ordered. Flareon fired Flamethrower right at Turtonator and Turtonator sticks his head into his shell.
"Magcargo is just going to keep using that! Try to find a flaw into it!" Kiawe said.
"Flareon! Flame Charge!" Egen ordered. Flareon charges with flames covering his body and Turtonator withdraws into his shell again. Egen tried, but every measure he did wasn't enough. "Man, every time I try to land a hit, that Turtonator sticks its head into its shell." Egen then thought of something. "Wait a minute! That's it!" Kiawe blinked twice, hoping that he learned something. "Flareon! Get onto Turtonator's shell!" Flareon gets onto the blast turtle Pokémon's shell being careful not to touch the spikes. Turtonator sticks his head out of his shell. "Now use Flamethrower!" Flareon fired a full blast Flamethrower into Turtonator's face. Kiawe just smiled.
"Well done! You found the chink in the armor," Kiawe said. "Magcargo will stick its head into its shell and you struck when the time was right." Egen grinned as he chuckled. "You're gonna have to work on the timing on Magcargo's Rock Slide."
"Right," Egen said.
"Okay Turtonator. Dragon Tail on that wall," Kiawe instructed. Turtonator swung his tail right at the wall and rocks began to fall to the side. Flareon dodged the falling rocks using his speed. Flareon manages to accomplish it, despite a few mistakes here and there.
"Way to go, Flareon!" Egen praised.
"Excellent work," Kiawe said.
The rest of the group watched proudly seeing how good a teacher Kiawe is being. After training a few more minutes, Noctowl and Fearow flew back reporting to Sora.
"Did you guys find something?" Sora asked the bird Pokémon. Noctowl and Fearow nodded and gestured the group to follow them. The bird Pokémon led the group to the giant Magcargo, crawling about. Fearow let out his loud cry, drawing them right towards the large snail Pokémon. At the same time, Slugma had finally caught up with them again. "Good work, you guys."
"This is it. You were lucky so far, and now your luck has run out," Egen stated. Magcargo felt annoyed, but he knew he had to battle Egen again to get him to leave him alone. He threw his Pokéball. "Flareon! Let's get busy!" The Pokéball opens and Flareon takes a stance. Magcargo forms some rocks above him and sends them right at the Fire Type Eeveelution. Egen saw that coming thanks to Kiawe's teachings. "Flareon! Check out the rhythm of the rocks and dodge when the time is right!" Flareon waited for the right moment to dodge them. Once the rocks were close enough, Flareon used Quick Attack to dodge each one of the rocks. "Now use Flamethrower!" Flareon fired Flamethrower right at Magcargo, bur he withdrew into his shell.
"Old defense, but a new twist coming up," Sora said.
"Flareon! Get on Macargo's shell!" Egen called out. Flareon jumped onto Magcargo's shell. Once he poked his head out, Magcargo looked around for Flareon, oblivious to the flame Pokémon being on the back. "Flamethrower now!" Flareon fired Flamethrower right behind his head.
"That's the way, Egen!" Kiawe praised. Magcargo trys to shake Flareon off once he was aware where Flareon is.
"Hold on, Flareon! Use Flamethrower again!" Flareon fired Flamethrower again and Magcargo withdrew into his shell again.
"He's back in it's shell!" Kairi said.
"Not a problem! Flareon! Flame Charge!" Egen ordered. Flareon jumped off of Magcargo and charged right at Magcargo covered in flames. Flareon struck the magma snail Pokémon hard and hit the wall behind him. Magcargo comes out of his shell, shaking off his fatique. "Finish this thing up with Flamethrower!" Flareon fired a full powered Flamethrower and fell to the ground, knocked out from the battle. Egen got his Pokéball ready and threw it right at Magcargo. He flows inisde it once it strikes him. The Pokéball wobbles around and around for a bit, knowing he won't be able to stay in for quite long. Stars swirls around the Pokéball confirming the catch. Egen and Flareon celebrated that he achieved his accomplishment. Kiawe went up to Egen.
"Congrats, Egen," Kiawe praised. "Now that you have Magcargo, I have nothing left to teach you."
"Thanks Kiawe. Now I can able to think clearer thanks to you," Egen said.
"Just remember what I taught you and you'll do fine," Kiawe said. With that being aid, Kiawe and Egen shook hands and went their seperate ways. Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, Togepi, the Pichu, and the Alolan nine all went outside of the terrain, unaware of the same Slugma following them.
"Slugma, Slug!" The group all turned to see the Slugma from before.
"Is that Slugma following us?" Sophocles asked.
"I think that Slugma was following us the whole time," Lillie said.
"Why?" Mina asked.
Slugma crawled right up to Kairi and looked right at her. She recognized the Slugma right in front of her.
"I know you. We met earlier today. Did you follow us because you wanna be with me?" Kairi asked.
"Ma," Slugma nodded.
"Okay, if that's what you want," Kairi said, taking out a Pokéball. Slugma taps the button on the Pokéball and flows inside it. Stars swirls around the Pokéball confirming the catch. Sora hands Kairi his Pokédex and it asks her if she wants to keep Slugma with her. She chose to keep Slugma in exchange for Tangela. She hands Sora his Pokédex and he smiles right at her.
Now Kairi had a new Pokémon under her belt, expanding her team along with Sora and the rest of her friends. The group continued on their way to Blackthorn City for Sora's final Johto Gym challenge and one step closer to the Johto Pokémon League tournament. More adventures were just around the corner.