Episode 240: Lisia and Ali
After a good walk from Foothill to Verdanturf Town, Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, Angel, May, and Max had finally in the Pokémon Center to rest up for the night. Upon arriving, they bumped into a couple of familiar faces.
"Riku? Naminé?" Sora asked.
"Sora, hey!" Riku greeted, giving him a high-five. "Haven't seen you since Slateport City."
"Right back you!" Sora replied.
"Hi Naminé!" Kairi greeted.
"Hello Kairi!" Naminé greeted back. "I missed you like crazy!" She gave her friend a good hug. "Say hi, Azurill!"
"Azu, Azu!" Azurill said, hopping on her tail with joy.
"Hi Azurill!" Kairi greeted.
Pikachu smiled as he saw his friend and rival again. Eevee walked to the mouse Pokémon and bumped paws.
"Good to see you again, Pikachu." - Eevee subtitle.
"You took the words right out of my mouth, Eevee." - Pikachu subtitle. Eevee saw the other Eevee with him.
"Who's she?" - Eevee subtitle. Pikachu knew who he was talking about.
"Right. This Eevee here is Angel; she's Kairi's Eevee. Angel, this is the Eevee that I was telling you about." - Pikachu subtitle.
"I'm so glad to finally meet you!" - Angel subtitle. Eevee looked between the female Eevee and right at Pikachu and he knew it was Sora and Kairi all over again.
"So, not only have you battling hard, as I don't doubt, but you got yourself a lady yourself?" - Eevee subtitle. Pikachu blushes heavily. Eevee laughs.
"Pi," Pikachu said while blushing.
"You are a lucky Pokémon, Pikachu, because she's quite a cutie." - Eevee subtitle. Kairi's Eevee blushes.
"How do I know you're not interested?" - Pikachu subtitle.
"Because she's interested in you. I can tell how you two are so chummy like Sora and Kairi were before they became a pair." - Eevee subtitle. Pikachu knew Eevee was right since she is so beautiful in his eyes. Eevee grinned as he pushes Pikachu right into her and Angel ends up at the bottom and Pikachu on the top, with both of them blushing. Pikachu quickly got up.
"I'm sorry, Angel! I didn't mean anything by it!" - Pikachu subtitle. Angel was still blushing.
"I-It's okay, Pikachu, I'm not mad at you. I promise." - Angel subtitle. Pikachu turned and he saw her not mad at him. She put on a smile that made Pikachu's heart beat faster. Eevee chuckled a bit.
"I wish Incineroar and the others were here, because they would love this!" - Eevee subtitle. He laughed some more. Over to the trainers, Riku notices the siblings with them.
"Who are they, Sora?" Riku asked. Sora turned to May and Max.
"Riku, this would be May and her little brother Max," Sora introduced. "May, Max, this is Riku, and his girlfriend, Naminé."
"It's so nice to meet you," May said.
"You too," Naminé said. Max spotted Riku's Eevee with Pikachu and Angel.
"Whoa, an Eevee! So cool!" Max said. He went over to pet Eevee, but he backs away. "Don't be afraid, Eevee, I just want to be your friend." The evolution Pokémon jumps right onto Riku's shoulder as Max attempts to pet him.
"Eevee isn't afraid of anyone or anything. He's just only used to me and Naminé," Riku said.
"Eevee," Eevee said. May notices the similar hairstyles the trainer and Pokémon were sharing.
"Um, I don't mean to stare, but why does your Eevee have the same haircut as you?" May asked.
"Just so Eevee would look cool. Besides, Eevee likes it," Riku said.
"I always thought Eevee was cute with that little haircut. Just like his trainer," Naminé cooed. Both Riku and Eevee blushed.
"So, just how do you and Riku know each other?" May asked.
"Kairi and I met Riku at Cerulean City when we were on our way to Celadon City after winning the Thunder Badge from Lt. Surge in Vermillion City. He challenged me into a Pokémon battle and I lost against him," Sora said.
"You lost to him?" Max asked, surprised.
"Yeah, but I could tell how much stronger he turned out when we battled again in the P-1 Grand Prix," Riku said. "His Primeape was nothing to sneeze at."
"The same with your Incineroar, Riku," Sora said. Riku chuckled. "Our first battle in Cerulean City was how Kairi and I met Lillie and the others." He looked to his partner. "Pikachu did put up a good fight against his Eevee, though."
"Pika," Pikachu said. He remembered their first battle well. Angel was surprised to hear Pikachu losing to him at first, but she knew he gotten stronger by then.
As they spoke, they caught up as Sora explains that he has earned four Badges and on their way go Petalburg City for his fifth, and May and Max were tagging along to see their parents. Riku was a little surprised to hear their dad is a Gym Leader.
"So, that's it," Riku said. "Gotta hand it to you, Sora, you're coming a long way."
"Tell me something I don't know," Sora said.
"You think you're going to win your next Gym challenge, Sora?" Naminé asked. Max scoffs at the question.
"I doubt it. Sora may be the Pokémon League Champian, but he won't stand a chance against my dad," Max said.
"Now, hold on, Max. You may never know," May said. Max turned to his sister. "You were there when Sora had that battle with Roxanne, and he might surprise you."
"What is that supposed to mean, May? Are you saying he's going to lose?" Max asked.
"I'm not saying that, Max. I'm just saying, there's a chance," May said.
"A chance for Sora to win? No way! Sora doesn't stand a chance against him! And how could not have faith in him? I mean, he's your dad too!" Max said.
"I do have faith in him, Max! You shouldn't underestimate him! We seen him battle before and the trainers he battled were nothing to sneeze at," May said. Max was about to argue more when Riku spoke up.
"That's enough, you two!" Riku said. The siblings looked at the silver-haired trainer. "The way I see it, you both make a very good point. That might battle might go either way. Sora never let anything stop him from being the trainer that he is today."
"He's right, you two. Hayner even gave me a run for my money and I still won the Earth Badge from him," Sora said.
"I guess," Max said.
On the very next morning, Sora decided to get some training done. Sora decided to exchange Torchic, Marshtomp and Torkoal for Grubbin, Whismur and Slakoth since he hadn't used them yet. Sora threw their Pokéballs and lets them out for some excercise.
"Okay guys, you up for some training?" Sora asked. Whismur and Slakoth both nodded. "Great! Now, let's get started. Slakoth, you use Scratch and Whismur, you use Pound. Go!" Slakoth came at Whismur to land a scratch while Whismur blocks it with Pound. "That's good, guys! Okay, Whismur, try your Uproar!" Whismur started to use Uproar, making Sora, Pikachu, and Slakoth cover their ears. "OKAY, STOP USING UPROAR NOW!" Whismur kept going and going for a few minutes before eventually, he calmed down. Sora dug in his ear with his finger. "I tell ya, Whismur, you're much louder than I remember." Whismur looked right at Sora. "But, that Uproar was pretty cool though." Whismur beamed having to have his attack being called cool. Sora and his Pokémon trained for a couple of hours before they headed back to the Pokémon Center. Just as he and Pikachu were walking by, he bumped into a girl wearing a trenchcoat, a fedora hat, and a pair of sunglasses. "Sorry about that." She looked right at his face and she blushed.
"Excuse me," the girl said. She dashes off. That left Sora completely confused on why she just run off like she did, but at least it was nothing like the greeting he got from Silver.
"Oookay," Sora said. He looked over to his partner. "Let's head back, Pikachu. Kairi is probably waiting for us to come back."
"Pika," Pikachu said nodded in agreement. They started walking back to the Pokémon Center, unaware of the girl from before was watching from afar. She lowered her shades to reveal she has turquoise eyes.
"That was him. That was Sora Ketchum," the girl said while blushing. "He's even better looking than I thought." Her heart beats pretty fast like a jackhammer having to meet him for a brief moment.
"Lisia!" A new voice called out. "Lisia!" She turned to see a man wearing a blue suit looking for her. He spots her. "Oh, there you are! I've been looking for you everywhere. You have to make an appearance at the Contest Hall within an hour! It'll be bad for your image if you are late."
"You're right. Uncle Wallace never kept anyone waiting when he was the Sootopolis City Gym Leader," Lisia agreed. She went with the man and headed for the Contest Hall. Sora and Pikachu were heading back to the Pokémon Center when Pikachu spotted a flower, sticking out of the grass. Its petals were blue and it smelled rather nicely. He thought Angel would love it since it was from Pikachu. So, Pikachu picked the flower and carried it in his mouth. Sora grinned as he saw the flower in his partner's mouth.
"So Pikachu, is that flower for Kairi or for Angel?" Sora teased. Pikachu blushed at the question. He saw the blush on the mouse Pokémon's cheeks. "Ooh, you have it bad for her, don't you?" Pikachu just turned away. He knew Sora was right and he knew his trainer can see right through him. "You know it's not any different than me and Kairi, right? You remember it was the same thing, don't you?"
"Chu," Pikachu agreed sadly.
"I'm sure Angel feels the same way for you, Pikachu. All you have to do is confess your feelings for her and just do a better job than I did," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu replied.
The duo made their way back to the Pokémon Center to rest up. Upon arriving, Kairi, Angel, Naminé, Azurill and Max were sitting on a bench as they were about to watch Riku and May battle.
"Sora, you're just in time!" Kairi said.
"What's up?" Sora asked.
"May asked Riku for a practice battle and he accepted," Naminé said.
"This should be interesting," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu agreed.
May was all set for her practice battle; the same can said for Riku. She knew he was good just by hearing about him from Sora and Kairi, but she wondered how good. Riku took out a Pokéball.
"Okay May, just because this is a practice battle, doesn't mean that I'm gonna be pulling my punches with you! I expect you to give me what you've got," Riku said.
"I'm ready when you are," May said. Riku grinned.
"Music to my ears," Riku said. He threw his Pokéball. "Okay Dusclops! Go!" Riku threw it and it lets out a ghost Pokémon with a gray oval body and stubby legs. The mask it had as a Duskull is fused to its mummy-like face. It has a single red eye, earning its name. It has three light gray wisps on its body: one on each side and the other on top of its head. It also has two light gray hands with five fingers each.
"So cool, a Dusclops!" Max said, getting excited. Sora took out his Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon.
Dusclops, the Beckon Pokémon
The evolved form of Duskull
Type: GhostDusclops's body is completely hollow—there is nothing at all inside. It is said that its body is like a black hole. This Pokémon will absorb anything into its body, but nothing will ever come back out.
"When did Riku get that?" Sora asked.
"A few weeks ago. He had him since Dusclops was a Duskull and evolved in a battle just a few days ago," Naminé explained. May took out a Pokéball and threw it.
"Skitty! Take the stage!" May called out. Her Skitty emerged from the Pokéball and began to chase around her own tail. Riku was unphased by Skitty's antics, was Eevee.
"Just you know, May, Dusclops is a Ghost Type Pokémon, so Normal Type attacks will have zero effect on him," Riku said.
"Don't worry, I know that. And I know which attack I'm gonna use. Skitty! Blizzard!" May ordered. Skitty fires Blizzard from her mouth and it headed for Dusclops.
"Okay Dusclops! Will-O-Wisp!" Riku ordered. Dusclops forms a blue sinister flame and it blocks Skitty's Blizzard. Skitty was shocked to see Dusclops had successfully blocked the attack.
"No way!" May exclaimed in shock.
"Skitty's Blizzard was blocked by Dusclops's Will-O-Wisp!" Max said.
"What other surpsrises does he have for her?" Sora asked in his thoughts.
"Okay Dusclops! Confuse Ray!" Riku ordered. Dusclops fires an orange ray of energy and it heads for Skitty.
"Dodge it, Skitty!" May called out. The kitten Pokémon avoids Dusclops's Confuse Ray. "Now use Assist!" Skitty raises her paws and a white orb appears and fires Ember from inside it. Dusclops gets hit by the fire attack. "Now use Assist again!" Skitty did use it again, but this time, it came out as Gust and it it struck Dusclops. "Assist once more!" Skitty uses Assist and it cam out as String Shot and it ties the ghostly Pokémon in string. Dusclops breaks out of the strings.
"I wasn't expecting that. But, it'll take more than that to catch my Dusclops off guard like that. Dusclops! Use Psychic!" Riku ordered. Dusclops raises Skitty in a telepathic hold.
"Skitty!" May gasped. Dusclops drops Skitty and and she hits the ground. Skitty gets back up on her feet. She ran to her Skitty. "Are you alright, Skitty?" May's Skitty nods.
"That's enough Dusclops," Riku said. His Dusclops obeyed. "Not bad, May."
"What do you mean, not bad? I was doing my best to beat you and I ended up losing," May said.
"I didn't say that you had to win, May. I just said to you to give me everything you've got and that's what you did. The way your Skitty used her Assist to deal damage to Dusclops was something. Also, I noticed how slow Dusclops was when he was using Psychic," Riku said. He took off a piece of string and shows it to her. "See?"
"That was from Beautifly's String Shot," May pointed out. "You think I have what it takes, Riku?"
"I know you do, May. You just have to trust in your Pokémon. They'll do their best when you do your best. That is something your dad the Gym Leader would know," Riku said. May was glad that she had an opponent who was very respectful to her even when she lost to him. WHen it was over, Pikachu walked up to Angel and he ehld out the flower he picked and held it out to her.
"I just picked this flower for you only because I thought of you." - Pikachu subtitle. Angel smiled as she accepted the gift.
"Thank you, Pikachu. I love it." - Angel subtitle. She gave him a nuzzle on the cheek, making him blush madly. Riku's Eevee watched the whole scene and he smiled.
Riku, Naminé, Eevee, and Azurill said their goodbyes to their friends and took their leave of them. Just as they went down the way, they noticed a crowd gathering around for some big event.
"What's going on?" Sora asked.
"You think there's an event going on or something?" Max asked.
"We're not going to find out just by standing here," Sora said.
"He's right. It would be worth looking into," Kairi said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
The group followed the crowd to see what the hubbub was about. They reached the Contest hall as the crowd were all anxious for something.
"What's going on?" Sora asked.
"Didn't you hear? Lisia is here in town, making an appearence! And we get to see her in person!" A fan boy answered.
"Who's Lisia?" Sora asked.
"What are you, part Trapinch? She is a Contest Idol!" The fan boy said.
"Contest Idol?" Sora, Kairi, May, and Max all asked.
"It is a rank of Pokémon Coordinator that is a tad higher than Top Coordinator, so I heard," another boy said. "Not only that, but she is the niece of the former Sootopolis Gym Leader Wallace."
"A Gym Leader's niece?" Max asked.
The crowd went wild as they all saw Lisia make an entrance, riding on her Altaria. She is revealed to have turquoise hair large bangs, clipped by a barrette that holds her Mega Keystone. She wore a sleeveless blue top with a blue ribbon design that exposes her navel. She wore white shorts that are laced with two large blue and white frills that mimic a skirt. Lisia wore a pare of diamond-designed anklets around her light blue high-heeled shoes, which make her look like she is somewhat taller than an average person. On her left leg, Lisia wore a blue and white striped stocking. To further match her Altaria, Lisia wore cotton puffs on her forearms, on the back of her neck, and just above her shoes. She smiles warmly as she faces the audience. Her Altaria had a Mega Stone worn as a necklace.
"Hello there, everyone! I hope you're having yourselves a good day!" Lisia greeted the crowd. The crowd goes wild as they cheered.
"It's always a good day with you around, Lisi!" One fan said.
"I love you, Lisi!" Another fan said with heart pupils. She waved as she turned to her Altaria.
"Okay Ali, it's time for a Dragon Dance!" Lisia said. Her Altaria called Ali flew in the air and and she presses the Mega Stone on her barrette, making her Altaria glow. Sora and Kairi knew it was Mega Evolution. Her Altaria took on a new form. Its cloud-like feathers are now located on top of its head, back, and its wings. Its breast area has become exposed and its tail feathers became longer. Ali performs a dance, captivating the crowd.
"So cool. This is the first time I have ever seen Mega Evolution," Max said. Sora remebered seeing in action when he first saw Edgar use it against Gary during the Indigo Plateau and when he battled Prince Wesleyan during the finals. He also remembered seeing it when he and Kairi battled Archer when the Team Rocket executives tried to have their revenge against the couple by kidnapping the Alolan nine.
"Now, use Dazzling Gleam!" Lisia ordered. Ali used its Dazzling Gleam and created a rainbow beam, catching the audience at awe. She noticed Sora in the crowd and she was stunned and happy to see Sora there. She couldn't let it distract her, so she had to keep her cool. Lisia had carried out with her performance and the crowd loved it. Everyone applauded once it was over. Ali reverted back to normal once it was done. "Thank you, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the show!" All of her fans roared with excitement as she took her bow. Everyone started to take their leave, but before Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, Angel, May, and Max could go further, the man from before came up to Sora.
"Excuse me," the man said. "Lisia said she would like to speak with you."
"Speak with me?" Sora asked, surprised.
"Yes. I'm not really sure why, but she said she wishes to meet you, if that's not too much trouble," the man said.
"I don't know. Me and my friends are on our way so-" Sora said.
"It will only take a little bit of your time," the man said, taking Sora by the hand. Kairi didn't like how some Contest Idol wanting to see her boyfriend, so she took him by the hand as well, just to make sure. Pikachu and Angel followed afterwards as did May and Max. Once inside the building, Sora knocked on the door.
"Come in," Lisia said from inside. The group stepped inside to find Lisia dressed in casual clothes. She wore a sky blue sleeveless shirt, exposing her navel and a pair of jean shorts, reach down to her knees, wearing white frilly socks and a pair of pink shoes. She was surprised to see she got more than she expected. "You're Sora Ketchum, aren't you?"
"Um, yeah," Sora said.
"That's good, because I wanted to meet you for a long time," Lisia said, twirling her bangs with her index finger. Kairi puffed her cheeks in jealousy. Max started to snicker a bit, but May pinched him lightly. Max looked at her with a sour look and she shook her head.
"Don't laugh, Max," May whispered.
"So,what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Sora asked. Lisia looked at him with a dreamy look her face.
"Just thought maybe, I could have a private talk, but it looks like it has been derailed," she said, gesturing to Kairi and the siblings. Sora turned to them and chuckled.
"They just happen to tag along," Sora said. "My girlfriend here wouldn't want to think you might be asking me out or something." Sora chuckled. Lisia snapped out of her daze.
"Girlfriend?" Lisia asked. "You mean, you're spoken for?"
"Yes he is," Kairi said, taking her boyfriend by the arm. She started to laugh and she went up to them. Sora and Kairi were slightly confused.
"I had no idea," Lisia laughed. "And I thought this photo was photoshopped or something." She laughed some more with Sora and Kairi kissing. "To be honest, I thought you looked familiar. Kairi wasn't it?" Kairi blinked twice.
"Y-Yeah," Kairi said.
"Sorry about that," Lisia apologized. "Hope you're not too sore about it." She laughed some more. Once Lisia stopped laughing, Sora and Kairi filled her in on how they met and about their travels. "Wow, you two certainly have gone through so much."
"You'd be even more surprised than now," Sora stated.
"So, why did you call Sora over here?" May asked. Lisia blushed.
"Well, I'm going to be completely honest with all of you. The truth is I kinda sorta had a crush on Sora for a while," Lisia admitted. She looked at Sora. "It was only until now that I didn't know you already were in a relationship with someone else." Sora was taken aback to her admitting her crush on Sora. Kairi rolled her eyes since she wasn't surprised, because Sora did attract the attention of girls, when he wasn't trying to. She even remembered how a bunch of girls had chased him around at the Goldenrod Galleria. She looked at Kairi. "I want you to know that I'm not gonna do anything to steal Sora from you, Kairi. Promise."
"Thank you. I appreciate it," Kairi said, still feeling a little jealous.
"Also, I have been watching each of your Contests and I have to say, you both amazed me," Lisia said.
"We have?" May asked.
"Yes. Just by the way you performed at the Pokémon Contests, I could tell how well you have done," Lisia said.
"So, why did you decide to become a Pokémon Coordinator, Lisia?" Max asked.
"Because, I think there's more to Pokémon rather than battling them. Pokémon Contests should rather be more about making friends, rather than rivals. I only had fun in my Constest performances," Lisia said.
"I never thought of it that way," Kairi said.
"Me neither," May added.
"It wasn't fun having to battle other Coordinators since many of them worked hard to make it so far. But, it had to be done as my uncle Wallace told me," Lisia said.
"About that. The former Gym Leader Wallace is your uncle. Why did he resign as Gym Leader?" Sora asked.
"Uncle Wallace was visited by an old friend of his, Steven I think his name was. I'm not exactly sure what it was about, but it didn't sound too good. When I asked him about it, he just told me that I shouldn't worry about it," Lisia explained.
"I see," Kairi saidm
"I was able to keep myself from worrying, but I just can't help but worry. Uncle Wallace has been gone for months and I don't know if he's even okay," Lisia said.
The group knew something was definitely wrong. Could it be Team Magma or Team Aqua's activities occurring? For Lisia's sake, they hoped not. Lisia invited Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, Angel, May, and Max to her hotel suite for the night. After eating a hearty breakfast, they started to head on their way to Petalburg City. Lisia was also raring to go.
"Lisia?" Sora asked surprised.
"Why are you accompanying us?" Kairi asked.
"Well, I figured I tag along since I would like to get to know you. Also, it's fun to travel, isn't it?" Lisia asked. Sora and Kairi both agreed and welcomed her to come along.
"You can come," Sora said. With that said, the group started to head for Rusturf Tunnel to make it to Rustboro City and head for Petalburg City.
As they started to get a move on, they make a brief stop for some lunch since all of them had rumbling stomachs.
"This looks like a good spot to make a stop, doesn't it?" Kairi asked.
"It does actually," Sora agreed. They set up to get the meal started. Lisia smiled as she watched the couple work together to make the meal. Ali makes a perch on a log as Grubbin crawls onto the Altaria's back and she gets him off. Once the meal was prepared, it was an Alolan stew, shared by Mallow.
"Come and get it!" Kairi said. She had set up some Pokémon food and the Pokémon all dug in. Grubbin was eating much faster than usual. When he attempted to make it to Treecko's food, the wood gecko Pokémon just batted him away with his tail. Ali took a bite and liked it in an instant. Grubbin climbed up a tree and started to eat all of the peaches that grew out of the trees, leaving behind the seeds. Grubbin climbed back down and started to evolve, catching everyone's attention.
"Grubbin?" Sora asked.
"What's going on?" May asked.
"Grubbin is evolving!" Lisia said astounded. Grubbin finished evolving and has become a Charjabug. "Grubbin has evolved into a Charjabug!"
"You don't think Grubbin was so hungry, it caused Grubbin to evolve, do you?" May asked.
"I think it's pretty common with larvae Pokémon like Wurmple and Caterpie. They do tend to eat a lot," Max said.
"I know the Wurmple I had had a pretty strong appetite," Kairi said.
"And the appetite the Wurmple I had before evolving all the way to Dustox wasn't like that," Sora said.
"Judging by how your Charjabug looks, I would say it'll evolve into a strong Vikavolt," Lisia said.
"Don't doubt it," Sora said, taking his newly evolved Charjabug in his arms and he shocks him. "It's quite a shocking development." Max and the girls could only laugh.
Sora's Grubbin had evolved into a Charjabug and things are going smoothly for the group. A new friend unexpectedly joins them on their way. Petalburg City isn't so far, but many more adventures awaits them up ahead.