Authors Note: Hey everyone! Okay, during the months of October and November I wrote enough new material that can be broken down into three chapters! Originally I was going to have separate Grimsley and Nanu's scenes for Ch 6, but Nanu's scene got a bit long and so decided to put that for Ch 7. Hence why this chapter is on the shorter side. Ch8 is another Grimsley centric chapter which will have a couple quick battles and a fun Pokeani reference, how exciting!
So yeah, expect Chapters 7 and 8 fairly soon too. After that, I have ideas for some scenes and I have some prewritten material I can use as Ch 9 and 10, but there is a chance I'll restructure the later half of the story and see if that's feasible first. Thanks to bobandbill for the great betaing!
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Grimsley decided to stay in the Aether House for another night. After Becky healed his Pokémon with potions, Roulette and Raz curled up together and rested on the floor for an hour or so before going out to play with Gracie and Hunter's Pokémon. Kukui had been making several phone calls over preparations for the Pokémon League and other personal matters.
In the meantime, everyone was outside near the beach and Acerola and the children were teaching him the Z-move for the Ghostium-Z, Never Ending Nightmare. Each time he did it, he felt like a small child in a ghost costume going trick and treating.
"That wasn't scary enough!" Gracie said and pouted after Grimsley practiced the pose the fourth time already. "It gotta be like this!" Like earlier this morning, she picked herself up slowly and jumped forward.
"But I did just that!" Grimsley said, rolling his eyes. He glanced to see Roulette and Raz watching from the sidelines, giving baffled stares.
"You did the poses right, but it wouldn't hurt to be a little more menacing," Acerola said, and that earned her a glare from Grimsley.
"I'm sure Shauntal could pull this off better than I can," he said.
"She might have fun with that, I think!" Acerola giggled. "We've been practicing the poses for a while. Why don't I show you how it really looks like?" She pulled out a pokéball from her dress, and yelled out, "Go, Pebbles!"
After she tossed the ball, bright light burst out and a Pokémon that resembled a large sandcastle appeared. The shovel on its head began rotating like a radar machine.
"That's a peculiar-looking Pokémon," Grimsley said in a curious tone. Even his Pokémon tilted their heads with slight interest.
"Pebbles here is a Palossand!" Acerola said with a grin and patted Pebbles on the forehead. "Many Pokémon are scared of her because Sandygast and Palossand are known to swallow up everything, but she's well behaved."
As if agreeing, Pebbles hummed and stretched her body up and down like a wave. Grimsley blinked upon seeing that, but then he forced a smile.
"I'll take your word on that. So about that Z-move?"
"Right!" Her grin widening, Acerola showed Grimsley her purple Z-Ring bracelet on her wrist. "I'll be demonstrating my Z-move with Pebbles here. Watch closely!"
Acerola closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and struck her Z-move pose; Grimsley caught her bracelet glowing brightly like a star. Pebbles also attempted that move like her trainer did, and a golden aura surrounded them both.
The air grew colder, and purple flames burst out where Pebbles was. Grimsley and his Pokémon stirred when dark liquid oozed out on the ground and several tendrils, similar in appearance to Mimikins the totem Mimikyu's claws, grabbed and covered a tree which burst into flames. After that performance, Pebbles collapsed like a sinkhole and dragged out a heavy breath.
"That's awesome! I can't wait to try Z-moves with Elekid!" Hunter beamed, and he turned to Elekid who expressed the same joy by jumping up and down.
"Yeah, me too!" Gracie said, pumping her fist in the air.
"So that's a Z-move, huh? Not too bad," Grimsley said with a genuine smile.
"Thought you would be impressed! Z-moves can be used depending on the Z-crystal the Pokémon's holding and the move's typing. Makes sense?"
"I think I understand, yes. You would need a Z-ring too, correct?"
"Yup! Usually a kahuna is the one that can make a Z-ring. For instance, Uncle Nanu made mine!" Acerola's grin grew wider. "You'll have no trouble learning Black Hole Eclipse, though!"
"If I could get my hands on that Z-crystal and Z-ring, that is." Grimsley sighed and shook his head. He pressed his lips and folded his arms against his chest.
"Don't worry, you'll get those sooner than you think!" Acerola said with a wink. Behind her, the children giggled.
Frowning, Grimsley wasn't convinced that would happen anytime soon. He turned his head to see Kukui approaching everyone.
"Oh, practicing some Z-moves, yeah?" the professor asked when he reached them, and Acerola nodded.
"I've been teaching Grimsley how to do one of the poses and also showed him the Z-move Never Ending Nightmare!"
"Yeah, just saw that as I was getting out of the building! You come a long way since I first saw you battle."
"Thank you, that means a lot!" Acerola said and smiled back. Pebbles let out a pleased grunt.
Grimsley couldn't help but smile a little. He glanced at Kukui's arm and noticed he was wearing a Z-Ring on his wrist too.
"You know how to use Z-moves, too?" he asked, pointing at Kukui's Z-Ring.
A wide grin stretched across Kukui's face. "Of course, cousin! Otherwise I wouldn't call myself an expert on Pokémon moves, yeah!"
"Oh, can we see you do a Z-move too?" Hunter asked eagerly, bouncing on his feet.
"I wanna see, I wanna see!" Gracie chanted. Next to her, Yungoos, Mimikyu, and Elekid also screamed.
After considering the children's request for a moment, Kukui grinned. "Sure, why not! Come on out, Chavo!"
Kukui pulled out a pokéball from his lab coat and threw it up in the air. A burst of light exploded and a large bipedal feline Pokémon appeared. Chavo had turfs of red and black fur, a gray torso with stripes, and a solid muscular build that could rival a bodybuilder or a wrestler. He roared and released a blast of fire from the flaming belt around his waist. Grimsley and his Pokémon couldn't take their gazes off of him.
"You have an Incineroar?" Gracie asked, an awestruck expression on her face.
"Indeed!" Kukui said with a proud grin and patted his Pokémon's chest. "Chavo's my main ace and has been with me since I started my own island challenge, yeah!"
"Nice to see you again, Chavo!" Acerola said as she and Pebbles approached the Incineroar. Recognizing the two, Chavo flashed them a grin and gave a thumbs up.
"Say Acerola, I have an idea," Kukui said. "Why don't we do a mini battle, and then I'll show Grimsley and the kids Chavo's Z-move, yeah?"
"I'm fine with it if Pebbles is." Acerola turned to her Pokémon, who bobbed her head. The girl's grin widened. "She says yes!"
Grimsley moved to where the children and the Pokémon were. He sat between Roulette and Raz, giving them quick scratches on the chin. As Kukui and Acerola prepare their battle, they and their Pokémon stood on opposite sides.
"You can make the first move, Acerola!" Kukui said, hands on his sides.
"If you insist! Go for Earth Power, Pebbles!"
Pebbles grunted in acknowledgement and her body glowed a golden aura. She slammed her fist on the ground, causing the earth to fracture and bright light to spill out. The golden cracks traveled underneath Chavo and that led him to fly several feet and fall. Grimsley, the children, and the Pokémon stumbled as they felt the aftershock of that, too. After regaining his balance, he glanced to see Kukui was unfazed by that.
"Great! Now Sludge Bomb!"
"Counter with Darkest Lariat!" Kukui commanded.
Chavo picked himself quickly and spun himself while being engulfed in flames. Pebbles inhaled and spit out a large amount of purple liquid at her opponent, only for him to go through it as he continued to twirl like a lasso. Both Pokémon collided; Pebbles shrieked while Chavo backed away and shook off the sand and sludge from his arms and chest.
Acerola ordered Pebbles to use Stone Edge next, so the Palossand punched the ground once more and several stone pillars shot up. One of those pillars struck Chavo on the chest and he dropped to one knee. As he picked himself back up, his legs shook and a large bruise was visible on his chest. Despite that, he roared and launched himself at Pebbles. He sunk his teeth into her, which made her cry in pain and shake Chavo off of her. After being let go, Chavo spat the sand out of his mouth.
While seeing that part of the battle, Gracie and Hunter gasped while Grimsley grunted and tapped his finger on his chin. When Kukui grinned, he knew what would happen next.
"I think the audience has waited long enough. Why don't we end this with your Z-move, Chavo?" Kukui asked, and his Incineroar growled in response. He pumped his fist in the air. "Okay, get ready to make some noise! Malicious Moonsault, woo!"
Kukui pulled out a small red Z-crystal and put it into the slot of his Z-ring, which glowed like Acerola's own bracelet earlier. In quick succession, he moved his arms around, leaned himself back, and stretched his arms forward after he straightened himself back up. Chavo mimicked the exact same pose, and right after flames that resembled a wrestling ring sprung up and surrounded Pebbles.
"Brace yourself!" Acerola warned. Immediately Pebbles raised her arms and her body glowed blue. Grimsley assumed that must be Iron Defense.
Chavo let out his strongest roar and his body burst in flames. He jumped in the air and when he landed on Pebbles an explosion occurred. Smoke appeared briefly that made Grimsley and the others cough, and once the field was cleared Chavo took deep breaths but stood proud. Pebbles, meanwhile, squealed and collapsed like a sinkhole. Acerola rushed to her partner and hugged her.
"You did great there, Pebbles!" she said, and that led Pebbles to return the embrace.
"That battle is awesome!" Hunter said, beaming. His Elekid cheered in agreement.
"Your Incineroar is the best!" Gracie went and held Chavo's leg, who let out a startled growl. "Can Chavo play with us?"
Kukui chuckled and raised his chest up. "I don't see the problem with that if Chavo's okay with it!"
Chavo flashed Kukui another grin and gave him a thumbs up. Both Gracie and Hunter cheered, and then the children, their Pokémon, and Chavo raced to the shore.
Grimsley couldn't help but smile at the end result of the battle and the exchanges after. He glanced at his Pokémon to see their faces perked up, looking like they were impressed too. He faced back at Kukui and his face grew serious again.
"It's not often you see Pokémon researchers that are also competent battlers."
Kukui laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Nah, I'm far from a good trainer compared to you. The pose I did is actually the same one used for the Z-move Black Hole Eclipse, which Chavo can learn also."
"Black Hole Eclipse? So that means your Incineroar is a dual fire and dark type?"
"Yeah, cousin!" Kukui approached Grimsley and showed his Z-ring for him to see. Upon closer inspection, Grimsley noticed the Z-crystal having Chavo's face on it. "The Z-crystal is the Incinium-Z, which only an Incineroar can use."
"Some Pokémon have Z-crystals that only themselves can learn," Acerola said to Grimsley. "Mimikins is another Pokémon that has her own Z-crystal called the Mimikium-Z!"
Grimsley's eyes grew wide and he frowned. "Really? That Mimikyu is still full of surprises."
That caught Acerola off guard for a second, but then she grinned. "Speaking of surprises, professor you're not going to believe what happened to me and Grimsley a few days ago."
"Oh, and what that might be?" Kukui asked, raising a brow. Acerola began telling him how she, Grimsley, Nanu, and Becky met with Colress and the Ultra Recon Squad. When she mentioned that group, Kukui gave a shocked face. "Wait, the Ultra Recon Squad? I met them sometime before you guys did."
"Did you meet them at Tapu Village?" Grimsley asked, folding his arms against his chest. He recalled them taking a great interest in that place.
"I did, yeah. After checking in with the construction workers' progress on the Pokémon League, I was approached by those two and they seemed excited about Alola having that."
"Did they mention about Necrozma and coming from a different world?" Acerola asked, and Kukui nodded.
"They did, yeah. Apparently Necrozma is similar to what we call 'The Blind One' in our folklore and how we got our Z-crystals." Kukui paused a second to wipe his glasses. "I was a little surprised, but believed them due to Magnolia's research on Ultra Wormholes."
"Oh, you mean Professor Burnet!" Acerola said in a chirp-like voice.
Grimsley's brow quirked with great interest. "Professor Burnet? You mean the same Professor Burnet that worked with Professor Fennel's research on dreams?"
"Yeah! Take it you heard of her because she was from Unova?"
"Somewhat. I never met her in person, but I recalled her being good friends with Professor Fennel and Professor Juniper."
"Ah, I see! Yeah, she, Fennel, and Juniper go way back. I actually first met her while visiting Unova, and then sometime later she moved to Alola to work in the Dimensional Research Lab." A dazed gaze washed over Kukui's face when he added, "We only got married a couple years ago, but she's the most wonderful person I've ever met."
"Aw, how sweet!" Acerola said, clasping her hands and tiptoeing like a girl daydreaming.
"You said she studies Ultra Wormholes, correct?" Grimsley asked. "I believed there was one in Melemele Island a few days ago, shortly after I first stepped in this region."
Kukui nodded, his face set. "I was just calling her today and she mentioned an Ultra Wormhole popping up there around that time."
"If it isn't any trouble, I wouldn't mind reading some of her research." While Grimsley was already informed on Ultra Wormholes thanks to Zossie and Dulse, it wouldn't hurt to study on them more. Perhaps Professor Burnet's research might reveal new material.
"Sure, I can show you some of Magnolia's research. I can also have you meet her before you leave, yeah!"
Kukui bumped his elbow onto Grimsley's shoulder and winked at him. He stared blankly at him for a moment, then he smiled.
"Meeting her won't be necessary, but I appreciate the gesture nonetheless."
"I think that's enough lesson on Z-moves for today," Acerola said. "Why don't we join with Chavo and the kids for a bit?"
"Sounds like a plan!" Kukui said, his grin widening.
After Kukui and Acerola headed off, Grimsley and his Pokémon followed behind. He gazed at the sky, the sun barely beginning to set. He would just watch Kukui and Acerola play with the children and Pokémon, but that was fine as he could finally relax today.
Xxx
When evening came, everyone gathered inside the dining hall to eat and talk with one another. The children told Becky how Acerola and Kukui battled each other and used Z-moves, to which the Aether employee mused how she wished she could've seen that instead of working. Becky then asked Grimsley how was his Z-move training, and he responded that it went fine and that he enjoyed the demonstrations.
After everyone finished dinner, Acerola suggested to Grimsley that they call Iokua and let him know how the trip went. He agreed, and over the next several minutes they did just that. Acerola grabbed the tablet and had it up and running. They caught Iokua busy reading some journals at home, but otherwise he was delighted to see them safe and sound from the trip. They talked to him about what had occurred in the desert and Ruins of Abundance, Iokua looking very pleased.
"That's wonderful that all of you were able to see Tapu Bulu's totem," he said when their conversation was close to ending. "I take it you enjoyed the experience, Grimsley."
"I did," Grimsley said, smiling. "The desert and Ruins of Abundance reminded me of the Desert Resort in Unova."
"Oh, you mean the Relic Castle? Fascinating piece of Unovan history there." Iokua glanced around at the screen and frowned. "Is my father here with you two now?"
"Uncle Nanu needed to leave back to Po Town and feed his hundred Meowth," Acerola said, and that made Iokua chuckle.
"He doesn't want to admit it, but he does care for those Meowth. Speaking of which… Grimsley, have you talked to him about wanting a battle with him?"
"I did, but he's not interested at the moment. I even managed to get a Ghostinum-Z and he still refused."
Iokua's eyes grew wide. "Wait, so you took on the island challenge?"
"Not exactly. I tried to find my ring in the Thrifty Megamart, but then the totem Pokémon wanted me to battle her. She gave me the Z-crystal as thanks."
"Also get this," Acerola said with a pouting face. "Professor Kukui came here to ask Uncle Nanu if he would be willing to join as an Elite Four, and he refused!"
"Mhm, it doesn't surprise me he would decline the offer," Iokua said, nodding. He looked back at Grimsley. "Talk with him more and he'll have a change of heart."
Grimsley stared blankly at him, unconvinced that would happen anytime soon. And yet, he didn't want to give up just yet. "All right, I'll give it more time."
"Say, Uncle Iokua," Acerola said in a small voice that was odd for her, her eyes fluttering. "I've been thinking of seeing my mom and dad soon. It's been over a few months since I last saw them."
Frowning a little, Grimsley had an idea what she had meant. He already knew her father was gone and her mother was nowhere in sight, too. Loss was one experience they shared.
"You're going to visit their graves," he said, and Acerola's gaze fell on the floor.
"Yeah. They're resting at Memorial Hill over at Akala Island as that's where the royal family get buried at." She looked back up at Grimsley and beamed. "I know they're out here making sure Uncle Nanu and I take care of each other!"
"I feel the same way," Iokua said with a soft smile. He cleared his throat. "Anyways, I need to make sure Cora and the baby are doing all right. The both of you have a good night."
"Bye, Uncle Iokua! I'll make sure to give you a call before I leave to see you," Acerola said, and then she and Iokua hung up. She faced Grimsley. "I think I'll visit my parents the day after tomorrow."
"I'm sure they'll appreciate it," Grimsley said. His smile started to fade when he realized… "Wait, Iokua and his wife are expecting. Does that mean…"
"That Nanu's going to be a grandfather?" Professor Kukui said as he approached them, grinning. "He is, yeah!"
Grimsley imagined Nanu taking care of a baby, and that caused him to snicker. "I'm sorry, that just amuses me."
"Uncle Nanu doesn't act like it, but I'm sure he would make a great grandfather!" Acerola said.
Kukui grunted and nodded in agreement. He then said to Grimsley, "We can leave tomorrow morning and make a pit stop at Malie City. We'll then take a bus to Mount Hokulani and meet with the trainers I've chosen for the Elite Four, Molayne and Kahili."
"Tomorrow morning, got it," Grimsley said and nodded.
"Awesome, can't wait for you to meet them, yeah!" Kukui said, grinning. "I'll be heading out now, you guys have a great evening!"
"You too, Professor Kukui!" Acerola said as she and Grimsley waved to him goodbye.
Kukui returned the gesture and left the building. As soon as he was gone, Grimsley dropped on the sofa and sighed.
"Boy, am I exhausted!" he said, stretching his arms and staring at the ceiling. Acerola giggled.
"Well you did chase the Murkrow all around the store and battle against Mimikins," she said. When Mimikyu began tugging at her dress with her claws, she picked the Pokémon up and held her against her chest.
Grimsley glanced around to see the Pokémon playing together once more. Both Yungoos and Elekid cheerfully rode on Roulette and Raz respectively. After they finished with their race, Raz approached Roulette and licked her face, their tails intertwining. A warm smile tugged at Grimsley's lips.
"Looks like your Pokémon are having fun here!" Acerola said, beaming.
"They've been enjoying this region so far, I think." Grimsley leaned back against the sofa, his head behind his arms. "I must say, Alola has been full of surprises."
"How about the Pokémon League? You're excited to meet Alola's Elite Four?"
"I'm more curious what they're like if anything. Nonetheless, I look forward speaking with them."
"Ah, okay!" Acerola's grin grew wider. "I'm sure you'll have fun meeting them!"
Grimsley let out an indifferent grunt, and stared at the ceiling once more. When Kukui had asked him to help him with the league earlier, he was taken aback by that request because he was still sorting out his views on battling and feelings as an Elite Four. However, he thought lending a hand there could be worthwhile. Tomorrow was going to be interesting.