Chapter 41: The Seafolk Village
Ash stepped off the ferry, breathing in the fresh Alola air.
"Ah, you smell that, buddy? That's the smell of new adventures!"
"Pika!"
Lillie and Illima chuckled at their friend's excitement.
"Good old Ash, always ready for adventure."
"Can you blame him? The Island Trial Challenge is perfect for someone like him."
The trio strolled through the docks. In truth, the village was barely a mile long, with small boats docked along it serving as either houseboats, shops, or restaurants. A few people walked about, but it was by no means busy. Among them was somebody Ash and Illima recognized, to Lillie's shock.
"Gladion! Hi!"
"Gladion?"
Sure enough, Gladion was sitting on a bench sharing a malassada with his Lycanroc. He looked up to see Ash running towards him.
"Oh, its you."
"How have you been? What you've been up to?"
"Trying to find meaning in this eternal vortex of despair I call life."
"Oh...that's great, I guess."
"Hi, Gladion."
Gladion looked up in shock to see Lillie walking awkwardly up to them.
"Lillie?"
"Wait, you know this guy Lillie?"
"Gladion is...my older brother."
Ash and Gladion's jaws dropped in shock.
"Your brother? Why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"We haven't seen each other in a long time."
Gladion sat up, ready to leave.
"Nice seeing you."
"Gladion, wait!"
"Hmm?"
"How about a Pokemon battle? My team's gotten a lot stronger since we last met."
Gladion paused, considering the proposal, before turning around.
"Alright, lets do it."
The group of four moved to a meadow outside of the village before making ample room for a battle.
"Three on three, deal?"
"As you wish. Go, Golbat!"
"Trumbeak, I choose you!"
The two flying types emerged, glaring at eachother as they flapped aloft.
"Golbat, use Acrobatics."
"Dodge, then use Aerial Ace, Trumbeak!"
Golbat swooped back and forth, nearly making Trumbeak dizzy. Fortunately, it just barely managed to duck beneath his opponent's attack before strking it with its wing, sending the bat spiraling before it realigned itself.
"Leech Life, Golbat, and don't let go."
"Hit him with Steel Wing, Trumbeak!"
Golbat swooped in headfirst, fangs barred and glistening. Trumbeak struck it with its shiny wing...
Giving his opponent the perfect place to strike, biting down hard on the wing, sucking Trumbeak's energy as it cried in pain.
"Keep it up, Golbat."
"Shake him off, Trumbeak! Use Peck!"
Trumbeak glared before pummeling Golbat's eye with his beak, causing the bat to growl in pain before releasing its grip, trying to nurse its eye with its wing.
"Rock blast, Trumbeak!"
While Golbat tried to recover, Trumbeak swooped down and collected stones in his mouth. At last, Golbat had eased the pain and was ready for battle once more...
Only to be hit by a barrage of rocks, sending it to the ground unconscious. Gladion remained emotionless, returning it to its Pokeball before drawing another.
"Go, Sneasel."
The Dark Ice Type swiped at Ash, trying to intimidate him. Realizing he was at a disadvantage, Ash returned his Trumbeak.
"Return, Trumbeak. Get a good rest. Go, Croconaw!"
Ash's Croconaw snapped at its opponent, trying its best to be intimidating.
"Sneasel, use Freeze-Dry."
Before Croconaw could even move, he was blasted by an icy wind, causing it to shiver to Lillie's surprise.
"I thought Water type Pokemon resisted Ice Type moves? Why is Croconaw taking such a hard hit?"
"Normally you'd be correct, Lillie, but Freeze-Dry is the exception. Its super effective against water types, and since that's the only type Croconaw has, Ash needs to be careful."
"Shake it off, Croconaw, and use Water gun!"
Managing to power through, Croconaw shot a stream of water right through the wind, hitting Sneasel and pushing it back, ending the barrage of ice.
"Use Ice Claw, Sneasel."
"Meet him with Aqual Tail!"
Sneasel charged forward, claws encased with ice, only to be swatted back by Croconaw's swinging tail. It tried again, the two limbs clashing in the middle before both retreated, no worse for wear.
"Blizzard, Sneasel."
"Use Brick Break to destroy the ice!"
Sneasel breathed a massive wave of cold air, icicles forming into little spears. Croconaw smirked, using his reflexes and strength to break them apart easily. Eventually, Sneasel became to worn out to continue, Croconaw not suffering any damage aside from patches of frost.
"Finish this with Super Power, Croconaw!"
Before Sneasel could recover, Croconaw ran up to it, swooped it off its feet, and spun it around before slamming it into the ground with such force that it cracked. Sneaseld groaned before passing out. Once more, Gladion wordlessly returned it, pausing slightly before sending out his last Pokemon.
"Hope your'e ready for this. Go, Type:Null!"
The bizarre creature slammed onto the ground, snorting as it clawed at the ground. Ash could only gasp in horror.
"That's the Pokemon that beat Pikachu! Watch out, Croconaw."
Gladion smirked, an idea coming into his head.
"If you want, you can send out your other two as well."
"Huh? Are you sure?"
"I'm sure Null would like the practice. But rest assure, it won't make a difference."
Intrigued by the idea, Ash nodded before taking out Trumbeak's Pokeball, Pikachu leaping off his shoulder.
"If you insist. Go, Trumbeak, Pikachu!"
The three Pokemon glared at their opponent, who shared the animosity.
"Alright guys, we can do this! Pikachu, use Electro Web! Trumbeak, you use Gust, and Croconaw, you use Hydro Pump!"
Pikachu lead the charge, shooting a web of sparks that ensnared Type:Null, shocking it and causing it to groan in pain. Croconaw followed behind, hitting it with a large burst of water that combined with the electricity caused it even greater pain, while the large gusts of wind from Trumbeak made it dificult to move. Gladion, however, remained calm.
"Break out of it."
To everyone's surprise, Type: Null did just that, shaking its fur to regain focus.
"No way!"
"Use Sandstorm."
Type:Null's eyes glowed as a massive wave of sand flowed over the field, making it difficult to see.
"You guys alright in there?"
"Pika!"
"Croconaw!"
"Beak!"
"Use Rock Slide."
Before Trumbeak could make another move, large rocks pelted it from above.
"Dragon Claw."
Croconaw turned, hearing a noise, only to be slapped right across the face hard.
"Crush Claw."
Pikachu darted its gaze, hearing its allies' cries of pain...
Only to be struck while its gaze was averted, sendig it spiraling.
"Finish this with Swift."
Stars struck the trio like daggers, sending them flying out of the sandstorm. When they landed on the ground, they were all unconscious. Ash was shocked, but recovered quickly, returning Trumbeak and Croconaw and Trumbeak before picking up Pikachu.
"Pika."
"Its alright buddy, you did great."
Gladion walked over, the smallest of smirks on his face.
"Not bad. Type:Null has never had to put so much effort into a battle before."
"Thanks, Gladion. Hey, why don't you travel with us?"
Gladion shook his head, making to leave.
"Thanks, but I prefer to travel alone. No one to slow me down. But tell me something: have you heard of the Pokemon Cosmog?"
Ash and Illima were puzzled, while Lillie grew anxious.
"It seems not. Trust me, you'll know it when you see it. Just whatever you do, protect it. No matter what."
With that, he walked away, leaving Ash and Co. in stunned silence.
Unbeknownst to them, two mysterious individuals were just out of sight, having witnessed the whole thing.
"Did you catch all of that?"
"Sure did. That's definately the Beast Killer we've been hunting."
"Excellent, time to report back to headquarters. Once we catch it and Cosmog, nothing can stop us!"
