(In this chapter, we're gonna be stepping into the fire, for the Fire Trial! It's gonna be interesting to see how we do this since ten times out of ten, Mudbray just up and dumpsters this trial free.
The Reviews
Megan Romero: Yeah, it's crazy how long it's been since Sun and Moon released. It only feels like it was yesterday sometimes.
LogBook27062000: This chapter was a hotbed for exciting battles, and it was a blast to write. Now here's hoping I can make this otherwise easy trial a fun challenge.)
By the time Aubrey returned to the locker room, she'd find Hunter was sleeping next to the egg incubator, and saw Jake and Hau entering as well.
"Oh. Hey guys. Um...how much of that fight did you see?" Aubrey asked. "Not that I'm embarrassed or anything, Masked Royal is legit."
"We saw a bit of it really." Jake said with a small smile. "I think that finishing move was particularly impressive." Forrest seemed a little dour though, still having a lot on his mind from what they found out and his more open emotions easily being read by Aubrey.
"It sure was...is something troubling you?" Aubrey picked up on Forrest's mood.
"Well...we found some things out. Not sure if it's good news or bad news," Hau explained.
"Okay, lay it on me," The ranger requested.
"Well firstly, we found out Aether has a lot more information on Team Skull than we realized. It's so commonplace apparently it's been in books and online. The leader of Team Skull is a Bug specialist named Guzma and they formed around all being people who failed the Island Trial that we're doing right now," Jake said, looking at the egg incubator. He wasn't sure how Aubrey would take this and thus wanted to avoid her reaction since he knew he reacted badly to the news.
Aubrey was quiet at first, letting this all sink in for her. It wasn't until Hau spoke up that she would respond.
"There was also something else...if Aether knows that Team Skull is filled with Island Trial rejects, why aren't they trying to reform them in any way?" The young lad mentioned.
"Yeah...that is a good question..." Aubrey shook her head. "Not everyone who commits crimes does it with purely malicious intentions."
Seeing it was safe to look, Jake looked to Aubrey and gave his response, "Traditionally, no one in any of the regions has tried to reform the Teams. I think the only Team that essentially stepped down was Team Galactic. Rocket is still active, Plasma certainly carried forward with their ruthless agenda, and Flare was simply apprehended. So that would be the base answer as to why this Team hasn't been stopped nor reformed yet. Though Hau is right that this situation is unique as there's plenty of opportunities to step in and do something about Team Skull and they don't. I would hope it's not a symptom of the region but..."
"I wish I knew the answer to that, Jake," Hau frowned, but quickly turned it around. "But hey, if it's any consolation, if Aether can't do it, who's to say that the Ranger Union can't do it?"
"So you're suggesting we provide them the resources to get back on their feet?" Aubrey asked.
"Bingo!" Hau beamed.
"Well if I ever find that grunt I dunked back in Paniola, I'll definitely apologize for that," The ranger sheepishly mentioned. "Had I known that they're just trying to get by I'd have put the kid gloves on."
Jake smiled, reassured by both of his friend's compliments. "That's right, we'll do what Alola lacks the balls to do." He decided. "It now makes more sense too why Gladion is working with them as they both have mutual motivations to try to get by and work together. We should start by investigating this Big Brother Aether as to why they know so much but do so little." Jake punched his fist into his other hand to show he was ready and determined.
"Dartrix." Forrest nodded in agreement. They believed it was best to do something to help those who really needed it before it was too late.
"Right!" Then Hau remembered something. "Oh yeah, Aubrey. You might wanna call Vanessa before we leave here. Get it taken care of before the Fire Trial."
"Oooh...yeah, I'll do that." Nudging Hunter gently to wake her up, Aubrey would recall the Lillipup and grab the incubator. "I'll be at the Pokemon Center so Jake and I can prepare for the trial."
"Alright! I'll try and find out what I can. If I figure anything out, you two will be the first to know," Hau promised.
"Thanks Hau. You really are the man of the hour," Jake grinned. Once Hau left, Aubrey would ask Jake to step out of the locker room so she could take this call personally. She'd wait for Vanessa to pick up, twirling a bit of her hair as she waited.
"Hello?" Vanessa would answer, looking a bit ruffled but otherwise fine. "Oh, hey Brey!"
"Van! What have you been up to?" Aubrey asked. "You look like me after a burly brawl!"
"Oh, just getting out of the Team Rocket Hideout and saving the Cubone," Vanessa answered.
"So...I take it you beat the crap out of them, right?" Aubrey guessed, chuckling. "I think I already know the answer, I just wanna make sure."
"Those I had to, yes," Vanessa responded. "They mostly got stunned."
Flashback…
As Vanessa descended into the Rocket Hideout, it wouldn't take long for her to get spotted by a grunt.
"What the- how did you get in here!?" He exclaimed, reaching for a Poke Ball.
Vanessa would pull out her stun gun and shoot him in the shoulder knocking him to the ground. The grunt howled out in pain, dropping to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
"Well I overheard some of your members say it was behind that poster. So I looked there and oh look, a staircase!" Vanessa answered. Needless to say, this did catch the attention of the other grunts on the floor, and before Vanessa knew it, the alarm was more or less raised.
"Oh, looks like I got all of the attention I wanted!" Vanessa would give the grunts a look to say they were all in a lot of trouble.
"We've got the numbers on our side kid!" One of the grunts shouted. "Get her! Don't let her escape!"
"Well, might as well show you the mess you all just found yourself in." Vanessa would get in a fighting stance, ready to throw down.
The fight starts with one of the Grunts going after Vanessa only to get kicked in the face and knocked out. Another two tried to get her from behind but she ducked under their punches to do a leg sweep to both of them, and put in two shots with her stun gun to get them to stay down. The next grunt decided to send out his Koffing. This Koffing proceeded to get pacified by her Capture Styler. This caused all the grunts to stop and realize what exactly they were trying to take down.
"S...She's a Ranger..." One of them stammered.
"We need to alert the boss right away!" Another exclaimed fearfully, volunteering themselves for the role and running down the stairs.
"Yeah, I usually get that reaction." Vanessa was smirking. "Vanessa Parker. Top Ranger of the Union. And you all are going to be under arrest for the crimes of stealing Pokemon and using them for criminal deeds."
"As if!" Another grunt sent out a Koffing with full intent of envenoming her with Poison Gas.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Her Pikachu Partner jumps off her shoulder and proceeds to Paralyze the Koffing with a Thunderbolt, preventing the Poison Gas from going off. She then fired her stun gun at that grunt, then directed a kick at another grunt who was coming at her from the right while Pikachu finished the Koffing with a Quick Attack. Upon seeing the group of unconscious grunts before her, Vanessa chuckled.
"Soooo anyone else? I barely broke a sweat there!" She boasted.
End Flashback…
Aubrey chuckled. "Atta girl! So what'd you wanna call me about?"
"Well, from what I heard from Jake and Hau, you got physical with a Team Skull grunt messing with an Alolan Vulpix and ended up pushing him into a pool, yes?" Vanessa would ask.
"Err...more like...tossing him into a pond, yeah," Aubrey clarified.
"Now I'm not upset at you for that," Vanessa informed. "We're Rangers, that is part of the job. I'm more upset that you kinda managed to scare the crap out of Jake and Hau when you did that."
"Didn't mean to..." Aubrey sighed. "Like really, I didn't mean to scare them like that."
"It's fine. Really," Vanessa assured her. "Just apologize to them alright? I'm not exactly there to keep you from doing something stupid. Or to patch you up afterwards."
"Don't worry. It was already on the list, Brey. We are partners after all," Vanessa replied.
"Thanks." Aubrey paused for a moment. "So...about Team Skull...what exactly did you find out from Aether about them? Is the Island Challenge really that brutal? Or is the standard of living here in Alola that expensive?"
"Ah I looked through the Union database," Vanessa explained. "Aether sends the Union reports on Alola once a month. Mainly about the climate and natural wild Pokemon. They come up every now and then and clarify it all in a report."
"Oh yeah, I guess I could've looked at that..." Aubrey sheepishly mentioned. "Still, Hau's wondering why Aether hasn't bothered to try and help Team Skull if they know they're only acting this way because there ain't no rest for the wicked."
"Hmm...that I do not know…" Vanessa was admittedly stumped on that, thinking of a potential answer. "I know three of the executives in charge based on them being the ones to send the reports."
"Well it's worth investigating sometime soon. I'll look into them once I get a chance," Aubrey said. "Because if all this is true about Team Skull, it's not a very good look for Aether..."
"No it is not," Vanessa agreed. "Anyway, the executive you are most likely to run into is a guy called Faba. He apparently is the one who goes around and checks on Aether's various stations on the Islands."
"Faba...okay, got it. Anything else you wanna tell me? I need to get ready for the Fire trial," Aubrey requested.
"Hmm nothing off the top of my head no...I need to head back up into this Haunted Tower myself," Vanessa responded.
"Alright. See ya soon!" Aubrey signed off, knowing that Vanessa wouldn't take much longer with her efficiency on the clock.
Aubrey would leave the locker room, meeting up with Jake outside the Pokemon Center. "So uh, I'm gonna wait till we see Hau again to properly apologize for scaring the pants off you two with my...heavy-handed approach."
"I wasn't so scared of you since I knew you'd never hurt me...I'm more scared of what you would do to others. Or how violent and careless you could possibly become if you were to do that at the worst time." Jake confessed, arms folded but looking at Aubrey calmly. "Especially now that we know Team Skull is far from an enemy who deserves the same kind of beatdown as other, more ruthless Teams."
"Like, if I knew that they were doing it more for survival, I wouldn't have done that. Ugh, I sound like a broken record saying that..." Aubrey shook her head. "If anything, I should be directing something like that towards Aether. Because like...seriously? They know they're poor and trying to scrape together a living, but do they even try to help them not have to resort to a life of crime? No, no they don't."
Jake regarded Aubrey's distress and realized maybe she didn't buy into the fact Jake had forgiven her already about her actions. He took a parental approach and walked over and hugged Aubrey to comfort her. Without even needing any words, Aubrey understood Jake related so deeply to her plight and would always have Jake in her corner and to help her out the same way she had helped him out before.
"We're on the same wavelength, huh?" Aubrey guessed, awkwardly returning the hug.
"You bet. Besides...this is less about Alola than it is about individuals and people we have to do what's right for," Jake reaffirmed. "Gladion doesn't deserve this. Team Skull doesn't deserve it either. Besides, it freaks me out knowing Aether has all this dirt like they are watching us at this very moment. If anything is ruining Alola's reputation it's likely them."
"And yet, the two of us don't know much about them," Aubrey commented. "For all we know, the middlemen are probably just rank and file following orders and are doing genuinely good work. The ones at the top, based on my experience, are the ones we should look at more."
"Exactly!" Jake pulled away from Aubrey. "So are you going to stay calm, cool, and collected from now on my Luchadoress?" Aubrey could tell he was referencing her bout with the Masked Royal. She couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"Alright, alright. I'll try and rein it in for you. But I'm only gonna say this once - if anyone tries to get physical with me, I'm not going to just stand there and be a heavy bag." Her voice tone made it come across as a promise with how stern it came across.
"Nah, that's when you use your Pokemon, bash them on the head, tear out their entrails, and cackle triumphantly," Jake said with a flat voice and smirk as his dark humor landed.
"...Guess I'm not the only one who can think with the comical nature of a gallows." Aubrey shrugged, walking towards the Pokemon Center. "C'mon, we got some trial prep to do."
"My humor is versatile and works best for the situation at hand!" Jake winked. As they headed to the center, Jake took the time to ask, "So what else did Vanessa say?"
"Something about this Faba guy who goes around checking on the stations around Aether," Aubrey mentioned. "We're most likely gonna run into him, so we oughta keep an eye out."
"Faba? Can't be that Fab then," Jake snarked. Soon they were in the Pokemon Center and healing up and checking on their Pokemon. "Also what stations does she mean? We haven't really seen any stations that I can think of like a train station."
"Um...probably like little field offices or something of that sort," The ranger guessed.
"Interesting." After a few, he'd take his team's Poke Balls. "Ok, I think my dream team is ready for action! What about you?" Jake asked as he snacked on a granola bar.
"My team's doing fine," Aubrey responded, having a nice dinner since the sun was setting. "I think if we're going into some volcano park, I'm sticking with my ranger uniform. No idea how it can withstand both heat and cold, since like...wouldn't you wear one thing for heat and one thing for cold?"
"Totally. Welp, I can't afford to go around in a speedo, so I'll have to settle for something very lightweight then," Jake admitted.
"You wanna change while I eat?" Aubrey offered.
"You betcha! Thanks!" Jake said and went to go and do that. By the time Aubrey was finished with her dinner, Jake returned in a tank-top Aubrey had seen him wear before, silky navy blue shorts, and no-show socks with tennis shoes.
"Looking good man." Aubrey wiped her mouth off with a napkin and stood up. "Let's get going."
"Yeah. Dew, Belle, and Forrest got this Trial on lock!" Jake snapped his fingers as they made their way towards the next Trial.
The duo would make their way to Route 7, Aubrey looking out to the ocean. "Think we've got some time to get our team up to scratch before we go in?"
"I don't see why not! Too bad we don't have a Fishing Rod handy," Jake said.
"Yeah...though you can find Pokemon in the sea just by riding around on Lapras, yeah?" Aubrey wondered. "Normally I'd just find them swimming about, minding their own business."
"Ah, good old-fashioned Surf. Heh, I heard Trainers can be gone for a whole day looking for treasure and diving under the water back in Hoenn and so they pack their own meals when they go on such trips." Jake reminisced fondly. "Alright then, let's do it."
"Plus it'd be a nice change of pace to ride around on the back of a Lapras," Aubrey smiled. The two would call upon their Lapras with the Ride Pager, paddling around in the waters as they worked on toughening up their teams.
Knowing that Water-Types were Belle's major weakness, Jake did the old 'put Pokemon first and then switch for a stronger one' trick, or 'Switch Training', by having Forrest do much of the grinding to help Belle get some experience. Jake did have a few feverish battles with Dew as well as he soon found Dew found battle to be a genuine thrill to him and something that gave him immense pride. As they battled, Hunter would undergo some physical changes - evolution!
Her new form was that of a light brown canine Pokemon with a short black snout. Her face had long, cream fur, forming a mustache and a three-pointed crest. Her ears were large and perked, and had shaggy blue fur on her body accompanied by a short tail.
"Herrrrrdier!" Hunter barked happily.
"Hey, Hunter evolved!" Aubrey smiled.
"Awesome! Now we got a doggo big enough to play fetch with!" Jake grinned.
"Herdi! Herdier!" Hunter heard that, insisting she was already big enough to play fetch. Aubrey laughed at this.
"Aww, it's alright girl." She rubbed Hunter's head. "You'll be a bigger help to us now, at least."
"Herr!" Hunter agreed.
After a few more battles, Jake took a rest on their Lapras as Dew, Belle, and Forrest surrounded him. "So we got some levels up in my team. Are you ready yet to move on Aubrey?"
"Ready when you are, man. Hunter mostly needed to play catch up with the others," Aubrey answered, sharing the saddle with her Herdier.
"I am ready! Hunter, let's go fetch Aubrey and I a new victory!" Jake cheered excitedly and perhaps also low-key apologize for disrespecting Hunter.
"Dierrrr!" Hunter sounded ready as the two headed inside Wela Volcano Park, ready to go. Jake looked around Wela Volcano Park and noticed...
"Yeah, I'm already sweating around here." Jake whimpered. He let Belle out since he knew Dew was able to be resilient in these kinds of temperatures compared to Forrest and Dew.
"Ever had anything like this back in Hoenn? I think there was a volcano there." Aubrey didn't seem bothered by the heat here, wiping a bit of sweat off her brow.
"Oh yeah, Mt. Chimney. That place always made me worried about the environment to be honest. Ash and all." Jake said with a nervous happiness. "It's not really that hot though, warm but unless you get up close to the volcanos, you should be fine. This is a lot more humid and also more up close."
"Yeah. Sounds about right," Aubrey agreed. "Brought some water for us if you need it."
"Thanks Aub! So who or what are we hoping to find here to get this Trial started anyway?" Jake looked around anxiously.
"From what I heard, we're looking for the captain Kiawe. He should be at the top of this place," Aubrey answered. "Hopefully it shouldn't be that hard to get to the top."
"Heh. I could climb as much as I need to to get to him." Jake smiled brightly. Belle looked as though she would've gladly flown up to find him for her trainer but knew she couldn't bring Kiawe down with her.
"Well, let's see you put your money where your mouth is, dude," Aubrey chuckled teasingly, passing him a water bottle. Jake gladly opened it, took a chug out of the water bottle before closing it back up. Then, with vigorous steps, he went about continuing the trek upward.
It'd take a little while to get to the top, but by the time they did, the egg in Aubrey's possession was rattling around in its incubator, about to hatch.
"Huh?" The ranger took notice of this.
"Eh? Aubrey? Something going on?" Jake stopped and paused as he saw Aubrey soon pull out the egg from it's incubator, gasping. "The egg!"
"Oh shoot!" Aubrey would go to take the egg out of the incubator, just as it glowed, hatching open to reveal what was inside.
"...Veeee?" An Eevee had hatched from the egg, opening its eyes for the first time and looking at Aubrey, who had worked up a good sweat from hiking up the mountain with Jake. "Vee vee!" It nuzzled against her ranger, a smile on its face.
"Aww, it's an Eevee!" Aubrey beamed.
"Yes! The ultimate transformation!" Jake jumped up in excitement and Belle looked very excited. "Now you have a perfectly perfect Pokemon for filling your team's versatility with! Although I have to admit this is an odd place to birth a Pokemon. Maybe it'll evolve into a Flareon by the end of this."
"Doesn't Flareon need a Fire Stone for that?" Aubrey reminded, noting how the Eevee was affectionately looking at her.
"Ee! Eevee!" It smiled.
"Um...I think it views me as its mama for some reason," The ranger chuckled. "Though uh, I'm not sure I'd want to just throw a newborn Pokemon into battle so quickly." She closed her eyes in thought and came up with an idea. "Well...Van has a Pikachu as her Partner Pokemon in Kanto if I remember right..." She looked at the Eevee. "Hey little guy...or, little girl, wanna be my Partner Pokemon?"
"Veee?" The Eevee looked curious. What was a Partner Pokemon, it wondered.
"Partner Pokemon?" Jake looked puzzled too.
"Remember how I mentioned I have Van taking care of a Skarmory for me?" Aubrey reminded. "Typically, a Partner Pokemon is the only one rangers are allowed to own and accompany us on our journeys. Though I don't remember anything against having multiple, and keeping others in the care of a trusted individual..."
"Ahhh...so basically like a rotating on the dial Pokemon that's not part of your main team," The Hoenn trainer realized.
"Pretty much, yeah," Aubrey answered. "Skarmory helps with captures when we're together by taking the aggro from the Pokemon if there is any. Though with this little guy..." She'd note the optimistic, cheerful look that this Eevee was giving her. "I think it'll be the other way around."
"It'll make all Pokemon submit to their absolute adorableness?" Jake winked at the Eevee.
"Vee vee!" The Eevee seemed to agree with Jake's thought process.
"Well, what're we gonna name you?" Aubrey wondered, looking at Jake. "Could you check if it's a boy or girl for me?"
Jake used Rotom Dex to verify. "A Pokemon many would spend dollars to buy, this beautiful Eevee is solely a guy!" Said the charismatic device.
"Alright, so it's a boy...mmm..." Aubrey looked to the sky for what to name her new partner. "Well, his infectious optimism reminds me of this one mission from the Union's past..."
"A mission? So...Bond?" Jake suggested innocently enough.
"It was in the Almia region," Aubrey explained. "The Union was launching an all out assault on the Altru Building, and from what I remember hearing, these guys were developing something called Gigaremos that could control Pokemon into acting all aggressive and being unable to be befriended by the Capture Styler. They called it Operation Brighton."
"So basically another stupid evil plot of the day," Jake said. Belle looked deeply and comically unimpressed. "Funny how similar it sounds to Gigamax."
"No idea what that is," Aubrey mentioned. "Anyway, they used this special Styler that could break through the hypnosis of those Gigaremos. It had a cool name of some sorts, I think it was...Vatonage Styler."
"Vatonage...it is iconic and distinct like a music artist," Jake pointed out.
"And considering how this little cutie seems to have some sort of bond with me like I'm his mommy..." Aubrey rubbed the Eevee's head. "How's the name Vatonage sound for you, little guy?"
"Vee...Eev! Eevee!" The newborn Normal type seemed to approve, eyes lighting up from hearing the short version of that story.
"I'm glad for you, Vatonage," Jake smiled as Belle did.
"Now..." Aubrey would see the markers for the trial site ahead. "Shall we?"
"Heck yeah! Let's all-out assault this!" Jake nodded and looked fired up.
With Vatonage riding on Aubrey's head, the two would pass the trial gate and head up to where Kiawe was. He was accompanied by three Alolan Marowak, waiting for the duo to arrive.
"Hot as the volcano I see for his age," Jake chuckled warmly.
"I've been expecting you. I am Kiawe," The trial captain greeted. "I witnessed your battle with the Masked Royal back on the avenue. Hopefully you'll be able to bring that same fire to this trial."
Jake looked amused. "Implying these Trials are all the same format in the first place."
"For this trial, you will be shown three dances," Kiawe informed. "Each dance will be done twice. Your goal is to discern the difference between the two dances. Do that, and beat the Totem Pokemon, and the Firium-Z is yours."
"Let's do this!" Setting Vatonage down, Aubrey would strike her Ranger Pose. Vatonage, not really knowing what was going on, ran around Aubrey excitedly and bounced around.
"Ooh I love dancing! This'll be a cinch!" Jake matched Aubrey pose for pose as he was excited. Belle floated around Vatonage excitedly in the meantime.
"Let the first dance begin!" Kiawe instructed.
The Marowak started their dance, twirling their bone clubs around till they struck a pose for the two.
"Fabulous!" Jake applauded for them. After a moment of allowing Aubrey and Jake to memorize the poses, the Marowak went again, making sure only one thing was changed about this dance.
"What is different about this dance than the last?" Kiawe asked.
"An easy one Kiawe. The finishing pose of the middle Marowak is different between the two routines." Jake snapped his fingers in success.
"Impressive! And to add to the spectacle...come, Marowak!" Kiawe exclaimed.
"Wa wakkk!" The Marowak moved forward to fight.
"I can handle this one. Don, come on out!" Aubrey called forth her Mudbray, who shook his body a couple times to get loose and limber for the trial ahead.
"Stomp the yard!" Jake raised his arms in excited support for Aubrey. Despite Marowak's best efforts, it was no match for Don and his Bulldoze attacks, stomping the yard indeed.
"Great work Aubrey and Don!" Jake congratulated. Don would give a whinny, as the Marowaks got set up for the next dance.
"Let the second dance begin!" Kiawe instructed, having tended to the Marowak.
Once again they would strike a pose at the end of their routine for the two to memorize.
"Okay yeah, I can dig this!" Aubrey mused.
"How long does it take to learn these dances Kiawe?" Jake asked, interested.
"My Marowak and I are students of the ancient dances that have been passed down for generations. As for how long it takes them...generally, it takes a while to get the basics down, but once you do, the rest comes easy," Kiawe answered. "Like a slow burn, in other words."
"Cool, you should record some and post them online for some more followers if you ever feel the tradition is dying down. I'd know some sick performers who'd love to try out this style." Jake smiled.
"Hmm...that would definitely be an idea," Kiawe agreed.
When the Marowak did the dance again, they'd find a fourth 'performer' was included in this dance. Aubrey would quickly point this out with laughter.
"What's up with that hiker looking dude photobombing here?" The ranger snickered.
"Mmm, a quick observation. And to add to that...come, Hiker!" Kiawe ordered.
"Alola!" The hiker waved.
"...Alola?" Jake asked, more stupefied than amused. He and Belle both tilted their heads curiously with comic timing.
When Aubrey stepped up to battle the hiker, she decided to keep Don out, seeing a Magmar come out from the hiker's Poke Ball.
"Clear the path!" Jake narrated like a dramatic fighting game character.
"You know what to do, Don!" Aubrey instructed. Second verse, same as the first! The hiker was beaten but won't be in a hearse.
"You're a fool if you dance...and a fool if you just look on!" The hiker had some sort of non-sequitur for them as he recalled his defeated Magmar.
"Sounds counterintuitive," Jake pointed out out of feeling bad for them.
Kiawe chuckled in an amused fashion. "My Hiker friend was simply impressed by your prowess that he just had to battle you," He said. "Now...for the final dance!" The pose that the Marowaks - and the Hiker included - looked like they were taking a group photo instead of doing some stylish dance pose.
"Click click snap," Jake chuckled, holding his hands and arms out as though he was taking a picture himself.
"Heh heh, don't forget me!" Aubrey struck her pose as if Jake was taking her picture.
When they did the dance again, there were two things worth noting - one was a bigger Marowak than the other two, and the second was a strange looking Pokemon behind them, photobombing the whole thing.
"...A gecko-looking thing?" Jake raised an eyebrow and checked on Rotom Dex regarding the Pokemon.
"Salazzle, the Toxic Lizard Pokemon, and the evolved form of Salandit. For some reason, only females have been found. It creates a reverse harem of male Salandit that it lives with." The Rotom Dex read.
"So uh...what's a harem?" Aubrey wondered innocently.
Jake instantly blushed and even sputtered in confusion and surprise at the idea. After taking a moment to recompose himself, he explained. "It's like when one lover has a bunch of lovers fawning and following their lead."
"Ah...okay. Well Kiawe, there's two Totem Pokemon here for us to fight. Is that what's different about this dance?" Aubrey stood ready.
"Right you are. Come, Totem Pokemon!" Kiawe exclaimed.
"Salaaaa!" The Salazzle was ready to throw down.
"Wa-wa-wakkk!" The Marowak twirled his bone club, flaring up with spectral fire as they stood ready.
Jake returned Nox and summoned Dew on the double, knowing the real opponents had shown up. Dew didn't look daunted by the Toxic Lizard Pokemon and even seemed to taunt her with a 'Bring it! sounding "Dewpider!"
"Let's do a lovely rondo and secure that Z-Crystal Aubrey!" Jake exclaimed.
"Got it. Don, still ready to roll?" Aubrey asked.
"Breyy!" The Mudbray whinnied.
"Get aggressive with Bubble Beam!" Jake ordered Dew to fire a powerful stream of bubbles at Totem Salazzle.
With the Salazzle jumping up, it spat out a poisonous gas down at the two, with Marowak using Detect to protect itself from the tactic.
Aubrey had an idea as she covered her nose and mouth. "Jake! Remember what Dew did at the Battle Royal? I need you to do that for me!"
Jake nodded. "Dew, make a web that can get us to higher ground!" After putting his own hand over his mouth, he had Dew weave rapidly a sturdy and tall web accentuated by stairs for him and for Don to take to get to a higher level of distance away from the Poison Gas. As the area was more barren and without any walls, Jake and Dew both knew they had to improvise carefully. And with a Salandit and Salazzle called it, Aubrey knew she needed to get aggressive.
"Don, jump down and use Bulldoze!" She ordered.
The Mudbray jumped down, landing with aplomb as the move struck all four of the Pokemon, taking down the Salandit immediately, staggering the Totem Salazzle greatly, and leaving the other Salazzle ripe to be pacified with Aubrey's Styler.
Marowak on the other hand, seeing this, shot a Hex right up at Dew, having recovered from stumbling due to Don's offensive.
Dew took the Hex but didn't seem bothered by the attack significantly, as he sent an Infestation of bugs to distract and pester Marowak while obscuring the Totem Pokemon's vision.
Deciding to both attack and get rid of the bugs, Marowak went for a Flame Wheel towards Don, burning the bugs of the Infestation and ramming into the Mudbray full pelt.
Don stood his ground, but with narrowly managing to avoid a Venoshock from Totem Salazzle and coughing up a fit, Aubrey needed to do something to get the heat off of him. As she thought about this, she would get her answer with Hunter coming out of her Poke Ball, and charging Totem Marowak with a strong Bite attack!
Dew smirked and with the precision of a sniper, sent a honed in, focused Bubblebeam against the Totem Salazle who was distracted by trying to use Venoshock again. Dew would get his hit in, bringing down one of the Totems.
When Totem Marowak went to attack Hunter with Brick Break, Don would kick his hind legs at it to block the attack, giving Hunter another chance to hit it with Bite. The intensity in her eyes showed she was protecting her lifelong friend, and wasn't going to let a super effective move deter her.
"Ok then, Dew, help the BFFS out with another Bubblebeam!" Dew nodded obediently and shot forth another Bubblebeam at the Totem Marowak.
With all their combined efforts, Totem Marowak would eventually go down, and Don would fall over, fainted from exerting himself against the mighty Marowak.
Hunter would nudge Don, who gave a soft neigh to show he would be okay.
"Thanks for the save, Hunter...and the support, Dew!" Aubrey beamed.
"Bwoof!" Hunter happily barked as the ranger recalled her Mudbray.
Dew leapt off of the web dramatically, doing a backflip even and then started glowing white. "Oh whoa...! Dew's evolving...! That's... unexpectedly quick..." Jake looked on in awe as the figure of Dew clad in white light grew much bigger and with much more pronounced long legs as it floated gently down. Finally when the light settled, a new, more powerful Bug-Water type was in Dew's place and landed surprisingly lightly on the ground. The Water Bubble Pokemon.
"Araquanid!" Dew cried as he stomped two of his six legs on the ground powerfully as a show of dominance.
Rotom would pop out of Aubrey's bag to give her the information. "Araquanid, the Water Bubble Pokemon, and the evolved form of Dewpider. It delivers headbutts with the water bubble on its head. Small Pokémon get sucked into the bubble, where they drown."
"...Well that's not morbid," Aubrey chuckled.
"...Strangely enough that sounds appropriately Alola." Jake shrugged as Dew crawled over to his trainer and bowed in respect. Perhaps Dew's way of showing his allegiance was still with Jake and would always be loyal to his command only as he was obviously stronger than Aubrey's Pokemon in his mind.
"Hey you did great out there Dew. You get a good rest now." Jake cautiously pet around Dew's bubble head and returned him to his Net Ball.
"Yeah, same to you, Hunter," Aubrey smiled. "Even if you did jump in to help for only a bit."
"So Kiawe, do we deserve an encore?" Jake looked over to face the Fire Trial Leader as the dust finally settled.
"You said it!" Kiawe was blown away by their tag team tactics. "With your keen observations, you were able to determine the best course of action for tackling two Totems at once! Very well. The Firium-Z, is now yours." They would get a red gem with an open fire decal in the center.
"Another one down!" Aubrey cheered.
"Whoo! We're making great progress at this speed," Jake cheered before going straight into his victory pose.
"And with that, I have another gift for you. Seeing as it's late and walking back to Royal Avenue would be exhausting..." Kiawe would ask for their Ride Pagers, adding another summon to their list. "Any major settlement you've visited, the Ride Pokemon Charizard can take you there in a flash."
"Yay! The Charizard Express!" Jake clasped his hands gleefully.
"I take it you're going to retire for the evening now?" Kiawe would ask.
"Yeah, I could use a shower," Aubrey replied.
"Very well. Past the park here will take you down Route 8 towards Lush Jungle. There you will have one more trial to face before you fight the Kahuna," Kiawe explained. "May you have success in your future battles."
"Thanks man! Alright Jake, let's get back to the avenue." Aubrey would summon Charizard from her Ride Pager to head back there.
Jake hopped onto Charizard's stomach, wrapping his arms and legs around him and got ready for takeoff. "Ready for liftoff!"
Kiawe and Aubrey could only laugh as the two trainers flew back to Royal Avenue, landing in front of the Pokemon Center.
"Phew...what a day," Aubrey chuckled.
Jake got off of Charizard and patted him on the head kindly before walking into the Pokemon Center, "You said it Aubrey, though it feels great to get a lot done."
"A hard day's work is one of the greatest feelings out there," The ranger mused. "Makes me feel accomplished."
"And I even got another evolution under my belt and more useful information on everything going on in this region. Though I still have to know what this whole Trial thing really is about if it's caused people to go under." Jake thought back to the revelations about Team Skull. "I'd only ask the Kahuna or our Professor about it at this point."
"My money's on the expenses of the journey," Aubrey wagered. "Ya know? Because going on a Pokemon journey isn't cheap. It's why I couldn't go when I wanted to go through the Sinnoh region."
"...Wait, you don't get paid as a Ranger? You couldn't go to Sinnoh?" Jake looked surprised and interested in this story.
"No, no no no no," Aubrey responded. "I'll tell ya after we're done showering and getting ready for bed."
"Tease!" Jake nyeh'd with his tongue at her.
"No really, because we could use a shower," Aubrey deadpanned, heading off to the Pokemon Center dorm's bathroom to get herself cleaned off.
"I know, I know." Eventually, the two of them did get to showering and unwinding in their pajamas. Jake then looked at Aubrey attentively for more details on the story.
Aubrey was laying down on her sleeping bag, arms folded behind her head. "So lemme start from the beginning. I was born in Summerland, I'm a native of the Fiore region. And when I was a kid, I always had big dreams of going on a Pokemon journey to see the world. My Skarmory was a gift from my folks when I was a little girl," She began. "I thought that I'd be able to go on the journey with their blessing once I reached the age of ten because of that...but then I found out that we wouldn't be able to afford me going on that trip."
"...Yeah, I know you can get your journey started at age ten but it's become increasingly less and less prominent for trainers to start their journey at that age nowadays because things get more expensive over time." Jake said in a sympathetic tone. "Rarely would parents trust their kids to go on their own during that journey or having enough funds or sense of using funds to do it."
"Couple that with the fact that I had siblings to help look after, being the oldest of three siblings, I couldn't really make the trip," Aubrey responded. "I wasn't mad at my parents when they told me. Yeah, it was a little heart breaking, but I still loved their concern for me and my siblings." She paused with a smile. "That being said, one day when I was thinking of what to do now, having worked with Skarmory to train him well, I saw our town's Ranger Depot, and I got an idea. If I couldn't be a trainer, I thought that I could go for the next best thing, since rangers get to see the world too."
"That they do. Even better, they get to see and really understand the natural world better than what you can get from a Pokedex. No offense Rotomdex." Jake said. Aubrey looked touched at how Jake seemed to fully resonate with her Ranger lifestyle at this point and was thinking of it so highly. Not everyone would take the role of a Ranger that seriously.
"None taken, zzt!" Rotom chimed, before going back in Aubrey's bag for bed.
"Not only that, but once I was old enough, everyone in the family scrounged up the cash to send me off to school," Aubrey continued. "Both my brothers and sister were a big help, and my parents were fully on board with the idea I had. Once I graduated, I became an Area Ranger for Summerland, and uh...heh..." She chuckled. "They really needed someone to help whip them into shape."
"Summerland was slacking?" Jake asked, crossing his legs and looking really into this story.
"Well, seeing as the leader of the Summerland rangers, Cameron, spent most of his time goofing off with the Marine Capture Challenge, yeah," Aubrey answered. "Some of the stuff I had to show the others there was some basic things. Not that I minded of course. They were really grateful for my help."
"That and your personality would've definitely won them over as friends and reliable teammates," Jake mused.
"Right." Aubrey nodded. "So after a while, I finally got promoted to Top Ranger, became partners with Van, and the rest is history. So yes, the Union does pay me, and it's a steady, livable income for me and my folks."
"And now you finally got to have a Pokemon journey here in Alola instead of Sinnoh," Jake grinned. "I'm glad for it because otherwise we wouldn't have met."
Aubrey chuckled. "I wouldn't exactly call it a journey, but rather working to protect both people and Pokemon," She hummed. "But it's still a vacation to me. If you work in a job you love, every day's a vacation."
"Yeah! We've eaten enough gourmet goodies for this to be called a vacation!" Jake optimistically responded.
"We've got more 'work' ahead of us tomorrow..." Aubrey stretched, letting out a yawn and getting in her sleeping bag. "Night man...sweet dreams." She'd close her eyes and drift off to sleep.
"Pleasant rest and dreams, Aubrey," Jake said in return, falling asleep soon after.
A new island, two trials, and new information about the organizations were the discoveries and adventures Aubrey and Jake had on their third day traveling together. Though her mind was buzzing with questions and potential ideas on everything she had learned. Was a Pokemon journey something Team Skull couldn't afford? What was the Aether Foundation really up to? And what is the real deal with Gladion? She wasn't sure about the answers to all these questions, but Aubrey was sure ready to take the next day by the horns.
(And with that, Day 3 is complete! Next time, we meet an old face from a past adventure, have our first encounter with the Aether Foundation, and have more trials to tackle! It's gonna be fun, see ya then! Bye for now!)