Chapter 8: Rowlet's Leafage! A New Bond!
Last time on "Pokémon Alola Journey", Kazuma reunited with his old friend King Kaisuke, who is known to be the King of the Alolan Sea. Kaisuke reminded Kazuma of their promise together to return Kaito and the rest of the Shirogane family to his undersea kingdom.
Realizing that Kazuma will be left alone again, Kaisuke offers to let Kazuma be part of the royal family, leaving the former father of Kaito to be thinking about the offer.
Meanwhile, Ash and Kaito were still trying to search for their first Pokémon that they could catch! They and their classmates runs into the same Grubbin that the boys chased on the day they met together! As Ash tries to catch it with Pikachu at his side, it ends up in a failure, resulting in Pikachu's defeat.
Parting from the others, Kaito heads to the sea and to his and Buizel's secret hiding spot where the Alola boy heals his best friend with his strange healing powers. As the healing was done, the two dive down the sea again for some treasure hunting only to result in finding nothing special.
When Kaito is requested by Lana to search for the Rockruff that he and Buizel battled before, they get joined by Shiho and Seita as they wanted to explore as well! Finding the Rockruff again, it runs off again as Kaito and the others chase it to meet Rockruff's pack, which is where Rockruff gets attacked by two Midnight Form Lycanroc!
Helping Rockruff and meeting the leader, who is Rockruff's father, the Puppy Pokémon then challenged Kaito and Buizel to a battle, which ends in his loss again, thanks to the two performing their Z-Move, Hydro Vortex. Then, respecting Kaito and Buizel's bond together, Lycanroc approves of his son going with his new human friend.
With Kaito and Lana leaving the forest with their new friend at their side, they didn't know that they would meet a similar, but different situation.
Kaito watched as his two siblings began to play with Rockruff as the usual tough Puppy Pokémon seemed to be having fun playing with the two young ones, causing the older brother to smile to see that both Seita and Shiho made a new friend to Rockruff.
Buizel chuckled, as he was witnessing another side of Rockruff as Lana and Popplio smiled as well. Walking besides her classmate, she made a reminder to the Alola boy of how Rockruff was be a great addition to his team. "I think it was great of you to catch Rockruff like that." Lana said, earning a nod from the Alola boy.
"Yeah... And not only Rockruff is already getting comfortable around us, Shiho and Seita made a new friend out of him. And look at him! The tough guy we knew is showing his playful side to us, thanks to them." Kaito said.
"Bu bui!" Buizel said in agreement. Just as they were all planning to leave the forest, Buizel spotted something up in the air! He pointed it out, letting his human brother, Lana, and his good friend know by pointing up! "Bui! Bu bui! Bui!" Buizel cried out, catching everyone else's attention.
They all looked up to see a owl-looking Pokémon that seemed to be carrying a watermelon with its talons! Shiho and Seita looked up as well as Shiho was confused as to who it was. "Big brother! What Pokémon is that?" Shiho asked as Kaito recognized the name of it.
"Oh wow... That's a Rowlet! A Grass and Flying Type! I believe it's one of the starters Trainer can get in the Alola region right here when they're starting on a Pokémon journey." Kaito explained as Lana looked up, confused as to why Rowlet was holding a watermelon.
"But, it's holding a watermelon. Did it take something from the marketplace?" Lana asked as Kaito noticed the fruit as well. Just before he could speak, someone called out to him in warning! "AH! Kai! Look out! Out of the way!" Ash's voice cried out, catching both Kaito and Lana by surprise!
They both turned to see Ash and Mallow running towards them, with Pikachu, Bounsweet, and Rotom at their side. Ash however, seemed to be moving too fast as he was heading straight to where Kaito was standing at! The Alola boy widened his eyes as he couldn't move away fast enough!
SMACK!
The boys collided with each other as they both fell onto the ground on opposite sides! Mallow and Lana gasped as they called for them to see if they were alright or not.
"Kai! Are you alright!?" "Ash! Are you alright!?" The girls cried out together as they helped the two up, with Pikachu and Rotom hurrying over to the Kanto trainer while Buizel and Rockruff ran over to the Alola boy.
"Big brother!?" "Whoa! What just happened there!?" Shiho and Seita cried out as they ran to see if their eldest brother was alright or not. "That collision just now was sure to leave a bruise on the two of you!" Rotom buzzed as Kaito was the first to recover from the collision.
"Ugh... You don't need to tell us, Rotom. I know that one hit really hard..." grunted Kaito as he managed to stand up, with Ash following suit. "Man oh man... That hurts..." Ash groaned as he sat up as well to see the Alola boy walking over to him and offering a hand.
"You okay, Ash?" Kaito asked as the Kanto trainer gave a sheepish grin to the Alola boy. "I should be asking you that myself! I mean, I'm the one that caused us to collide like that..." Ash said sheepishly as he accepted the hand, letting the Alola boy pull him up to his feet.
"Well, I wasn't fast enough to get out of the way..." Kaito said as the two boys chuckled together nervously, leaving Pikachu and Buizel to both sigh in relief, with Lana and Mallow sighing as well. Popplio, Rockruff, Bounsweet, and Rotom all shook their heads in disbelief while Shiho and Seita chuckled towards the two.
"Anyways, what were you and Mallow running for, Ash?" Kaito asked as Rotom buzzed in, explaining the reason for the big rush.
"Ash wanted to catch that Rowlet that was flying ahead of us! It took the watermelon away for an unknown reason, though..." Rotom buzzed as Kaito blinked before he smiled in amusement. Buizel seemed to feel the same as the two knew that the Kanto trainer was that determined to catch one of the starters in the Alola region.
"That's great! Meet a new friend of mine, Ash." Kaito said as he gestured to his scar-eyed Rockruff, who barked at the Kanto trainer and the Grass Type girl in greeting. "Oh wow! You caught a Rockruff, Kai?" Ash asked as Mallow blinked in realization.
"Say... Isn't this..." Mallow started to say as Lana confirmed it with a smile and a nod. "Yes. It's the same one that challenged Kai and Buizel to a battle yesterday. They managed to win and recruit Rockruff into their team now!" Lana said as Mallow was happy to see her friend succeed finally.
"Oh wow! Congrats, Kai!" Mallow said, earning a small nod of thanks from the Alola boy. "Thanks, Mallow." Kaito said as Rockruff played around with both Pikachu and Bounsweet, as he immediately grew attached to his new friends.
That was when Rotom buzzed in, giving the reminder to Ash about the Grass-Flying Type! "Hey, Ash? Weren't you running in the forest to go after Rowlet?" Rotom buzzed, as the Kanto trainer widened his eyes before he began to run off again!
"AH! I completely forgot! Sorry, guys! Mallow and I need to go on ahead! We're gonna lose Rowlet if we stay right now!" Ash said frantically as Kaito smirked, before he requested to tag along. "Mind if the four of us tag along too? We'd like to see where Rowlet is going as well!" Kaito explained.
"Yeah! Can we please come?" Shiho asked happily as Seita was ecstatic about meeting one of the starters in Alola.
"Yeah! Me too! I want to come! I want to come!" Seita said happily as Mallow gave out a giggle. "Alright! The more, the merrier!" Mallow said as the two siblings of Kaito cheered before they ran ahead, causing Ash, Kaito, Lana, and Mallow to all follow along, with their Pokémon partners at their side.
Soon, the six humans and their Pokémon friends ran up to the spot where Rowlet seemed to have landed. As they all got there, everyone looked as they all widened their eyes in surprise! In front of them seemed to be a giant nest, where there were lots of tiny Bird Pokémon nestled on there!
"There it is! Over there!" Ash cried out in amazement. On the giant nest, there seemed to be the chicks, the mother of the chicks, and the leader, who could also be the father as well! Rowlet seemed to be a part of them as it hooted happily to its new friends, before seeing some new friends to get along with!
"Oh wow... It's a giant nest, big brother! There are lots of Flying Types there, too!" Seita said in amazement, as Kaito nodded in agreement as he was seeing the Pokémon as well. "Yeah... Pikipek, Trumbeak, and a Toucannon! An evolutionary family, to be exact." Kaito said as Rotom floated over.
"Here's where I come in!" Rotom buzzed as he scanned the Pikipeks first, explaining their information.
"Pikipek, the Woodpecker Pokémon. A Normal and Flying Type. It can unleash sixteen pecks per second to drill a hole into a tree where it stores its food." Rotom buzzed as he then turned to Trumbeak!
"Trumbeak, the Bugle Beak Pokémon, and the evolved form of Pikipek! It attacks its opponents by firing seeds stored in its beak." Rotom buzzed as he then floated over to Toucannon, who was the last evolved from for Pikipek to evolve into.
"Toucannon, the Cannon Pokémon, and the evolved form of Trumbeak! Its beak heats up to over 200 degrees and its Peck can inflict a serious burn." Rotom buzzed until he noticed that the beak of Toucannon wasn't hot at all!
He flew over, confused as he tapped on it several times, only to be irritating Toucannon for every tap.
"What's this? It's not hot at all! That's strange..." Rotom said as he didn't notice the heat rising up until it was too late! The Rotom-Dex buzzed painfully with the burn it felt as Kaito sweat dropped at the scene.
"You just had to get your curiosity level up that high, huh..." Kaito said with an unimpressed tone as Rowlet flew over to the Kanto trainer, happy to see his human friend again. Ash laughed, enjoying the happiness Rowlet was giving off as he watched Rowlet go into his backpack.
"Wow! I had no idea you had so many awesome friends!" Ash said as Rowlet made himself comfortable inside the bag. Kaito gave a glance to see that Toucannon didn't seem pleased to have humans into its territory as he didn't seem to be making any word, due to Rowlet being friends with them.
But just then, a net came out of nowhere, trapping the Pikipek chicks! Toucannon and Trumbeak both widened their eyes in surprise as they shot Bullet Seed at the unknown enemy, only for them to be trapped in the net as well!
Kaito widened his eyes as Ash and the others turned to see Rowlet's family being captured as Ash was the first to ask what was going on. At the same time, both Shiho and Seita hid behind their brother, both scared and worried on what was going on with the Flying Type family.
"What's going on!?" Ash gasped as he and the others noticed four familiar figures as three of them began saying their words in a familiar motto!
"Did someone ask something? We're here to find out!"
"Noble answers are what we're all about!"
"The beauty so radiant, the flowers and moon hide in shame..."
"A single flower of evil in this fleeting world: Jessie!"
"The nobly heroic man of our times!"
"The master of darkness fighting back against a tragic world! It's James!"
"It's all for one and one for all! A glittering dark star that always shines bright!.
"Dig it, while Meowth takes flight!"
"Team Rocket, let's fight!"
"That's right!"
"Wobbuffet!"
At the sight of the evil trio once again, Kaito, Ash, Lana, and Mallow all glared at them as the Alola boy and the two girls recognized the group from yesterday when they were exploring the forest behind the Pokémon School. "You morons again!?" Kaito snapped as Mallow snapped as well.
"You're those guys from the other day!" Mallow snapped as Lana pouted angrily at seeing them appear before them again.
"The same guys that Kai kept criticizing for your idiotic acts..." Lana said coldly as Ash snapped at his old enemies for their old tricks again. "Team Rocket! Let Pikipek and the rest go!" demanded Ash.
"Sorry, but the twerp loses again! They shoplifted Bewear's food and that's a no-no!" Jessie snapped back as Kaito face palmed, seeing how dense the group were for the Alola region culture. "And we're here to take it back! That way, we can pay it back!" James added along.
"Are you a pack of imbeciles? The reason Pikipek took Bewear's food because that's how the Alola region works when it comes to the abundance of nature!" Kaito snapped as this caused the evil trio to sweat drop from what the Alola boy had said just now.
"James, do you get what the criticizing twerp is saying...?" Jessie asked as James sweat dropped, as he was clueless as well. "No... Not a single word..." James said as both Mallow and Lana stepped up to support their friend.
"What Kai is saying that that's how the Alola region goes by! During this week of the year, the Pikipek flock comes by to take the berries so that the sharing of nature works!" Mallow said as Lana agreed with Popplio in her arms.
"That's right. So whatever they did to those berries wasn't stealing. It was something that they're supposed to do every year!" Lana added as Bounsweet, Popplio, and Buizel joined in with the words, as they all glared at the evil trio.
"Pop Popplio!" "Bounsweet! Boun!" "Bui bui!" The three all cried together, only to tick Meowth off as he bellowed at them to keep their mouths shut! "OH, JUST SHUT YOUR YAPS! We don't care about the abundance of nature, so that's that! The only thing I go is by going boom!" Meowth yelled.
He shot the cannon net, taking the berries as well, much to Lana and Mallow's shock, as they couldn't of what Meowth said. Kaito on the other hand, shook his head as the evil trio was starting to piss him off very badly.
"Don't care about the abundance of nature, huh...?" Kaito thought darkly as Jessie sneered, pointing at Pikachu, before she turned to Buizel as well. "And we're going to give your Pikachu and that Buizel as perfect presents to the Boss! Take it away, Mimikyu!" Jessie laughed with a sadistic look.
At the call, the Disguise Pokémon appeared out of the Luxury Ball as Pikachu got ready to battle! Buizel joined the Electric Type as the two faced Mimikyu, who hissed at the second it had spotted Pikachu! Rockruff joined as well, not wanting to be left out as he still felt okay to battle.
Amused by this, Jessie laughed, ordering Mimikyu to go on a rampage!
"Mimikyu! Take care of them the way you know how!" Jessie laughed as Mimikyu obeyed, by first launching a Shadow Ball! Meowth noticed this and was amazed with the power Mimikyu was giving off. "That was Shadow Ball!" Meowth said in surprise.
"Pikachu! Electro Ball!" Ash cried out as Pikachu launched his ball of electricity towards the Shadow Ball, as Kaito aided the attacks to counter back. "Buizel, you use Ice Punch! And Rockruff, send them flying with Rock Slide!" Kaito cried out.
The two immediately obeyed orders as they roared to land their attacks onto Mimikyu as the Shadow Ball was negated from Pikachu's Electro Ball attack! While Kaito and his two Pokémon were doing that, the Kanto trainer gave the signal for Rowlet to go and help his family.
"Rowlet, now's your chance to save your friends and family!" Ash cried out. Rowlet gave a hoot of thanks before it flew over to the Pikipek, Trumbeak, and Toucannon as Ash and Kaito kept fighting on. The Rock Slide from Rockruff bashed Mimikyu away before the Ice Punch from Buizel froze Mimikyu to a popsicle!
"Kyah! Mimikyu!?" Jessie shrieked as she watched in horror to see Mimikyu frozen until the Disguise Pokémon broke itself free! With the determination to destroy Pikachu, it wouldn't stop, no matter what the situation it would get into. Buizel and Rockruff both widened their eyes to see their attacks not working.
"Ice Punch and Rock Slide didn't do much!?" Kaito said in surprise as Ash charged in ahead, wanting to help the Alola boy out.
"I'll get this one, Kai! Alright, Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Ash cried out as Pikachu did so, as he lunged towards Mimikyu to land the Steel Type attack hard! However, Mimikyu didn't feel a thing as its "neck" broke, letting his ability to take the damage for it!
Because of that, Mimikyu felt no pain as it hissed at Pikachu, much to the Electric Type's surprise.
Meanwhile, Rowlet swooped down and cut the net down to size, freeing the Pikipek from their bonds! Rotom noticed this and was amazed with the attempt it took for Rowlet to free his friends.
"Rowlet cut through that rope with just one kick!" Rotom buzzed as James was the first Tomb show his surprise at losing a few of their targets. "Ah!? What happened!?" James gasped as Meowth expressed his surprise as well.
"It's one of them!?" Meowth gasped as Kaito scoffed, feeling less impressed with the evil trio even more. "I can't believe it took you morons that long to just notice that... Rockruff, Rock Slide once more!" Kaito cried out as Rockruff did so, summoning more boulders to trap Mimikyu!
Noticing this, Jessie tried to get Mimikyu to counterattack! "Mimikyu! Quick, attack once more time!" Jessie said frantically.
At the call, Mimikyu managed to steer out of its way of all the boulders before it bashed Rockruff away with a dark glowing claw! "That was Shadow Ball! Groovy!" Meowth said ecstatically as Rockruff skidded back to both Buizel and Kaito as the Alola boy Kanto down to him in worry.
"Rockruff!? You okay!? You still haven't recovered from the many battles you had with Buizel and with your pack earlier!" Kaito said I'm worry as Rockruff gritted his teeth, struggling to stand up until he realized he had reached his limits from his previous battles.
Leaving it to the Sea Weasel Pokémon, the Puppy Pokémon growled at him, telling him to fight on and to not let the morons win. By the time he said that, the Puppy Pokémon was returned to its Pokéball to get some rest.
Understanding on how his rival felt, Buizel nodded as he turned back to face Mimikyu and the rest of the evil trio! Shiho and Seita stayed close to Kaito as Shiho turned to her big brother. "B-Big brother? Who are those weirdos...?" Shiho asked as Kaito explained with a serious look on his face.
"They're bad guys who love to steal Pokémon. They're here to try and steal the Pikipek family away!" Kaito explained as this enraged Seita as he snapped at the evil trio for their evil deeds as thieves and criminals of the Pokémon world.
"Bad guys!? I'll show them! You stop that right now, you big bullies! Just leave Toucannon, Trumbeak, and the Pikipek all alone!" Seita snapped angrily, until Kaito pulled him back. What Meowth said next made the Alola boy snap as the obnoxious member laughed at the small threat.
"HA! Sorry, you twerpy little brat, but we're the bad guys around here! And we love to steal! So just shut your little trap and watch what happens to those that defy us!" Meowth said obnoxiously.
At hearing Meowth insult his little brother, Kaito stood up and gave a dangerous glare to the evil trio, causing them to freak out a little. Ash, Lana, and Mallow all noticed this as they backed off a little, with Buizel getting ready to fight even more.
"Who... are you... telling my brother... to shut up!? Don't you dare insult him like yet, you little pipsqueak! Buizel, let's teach those morons a lesson and show them what happens should they talk trash about our family!" Kaito bellowed out loud in both anger and determination.
"BUI!" Buizel yelled in agreement as Kaito pointed up to the sky, calling for a move.
"Rain Dance, let's go!" Kaito cried out as Buizel raised his orange paws up high to summon up dark rain clouds, causing rain to pour down as Lana watched in amazement. "The rain... It's pouring even harder than before!" Lana said as James and Meowth struggled to dodge the rains pouring down at them!
Mimikyu paid no attention to Buizel and dove towards Pikachu! It smacked and fought Pikachu hard, beating him up as hard as it could! Meowth noticed this and expressed his amazement to the Ghost-Fairy Type's power. "Check out Mimikyu's Play Rough!. Meowth said in amazement.
Buizel turned in surprise to see that his opponent wasn't paying attention to him, but to Pikachu and Pikachu only! Frustrated at his friend being attacked, Buizel turned to Kaito, who nodded in understanding. "Right, Aqua Jet, Buizel!" Kaito cried out as Buizel surrounded himself with water!
He charged towards Mimikyu, only for Mimikyu to see it coming and dodge out of the way, causing Pikachu to take the hit and surprise the Sea Weasel Pokémon at the same time! Both boys gasped as their two starters fell from a large height, btoh falling to the ground below!
"Ah! Pikachu!" "No! Buizel!" Both Ash and Kaito gasped together as the rain stopped, due to Buizel losing his concentration to control the weather! Rowlet turned in surprise, alert to see both Buizel and Pikachu knocked down by Mimikyu's trickery!
"Mimikyu! Wrap it up!" Jessie laughed as Mimikyu jumped, before it prepared to use Shadow Claw! It dove down to strike both Pikachu for its hatred, and Buizel for the interference! "You okay, Pikachu!?" "Buizel, stay strong!" Ash and Kaito cried out together as their partners struggled to get up!
Rowlet hooted in surprise before it launched a whirlwind attack with leaves! It blew a strong wind, surrounding both Pikachu and Buizel as Kaito, Ash, Mallow, and Lana all looked up in surprise. "I know that move! Leafage!" Mallow said in surprise.
Shiho and Seita both watched in amazement as well as Rowlet flew down, saving both Pikachu and Buizel by getting them out of Mimikyu's way, though it took some hard work as carrying the both of them at the same time was too troubling. Kaito and Ash both smiled in relief to see their partners okay.
"Nice job, Rowlet! Pikachu, you okay?" Ash asked as the Electric Type shook his head before he nodded to Ash affirmatively, allowing the Kanto trainer to call one final move to surprise Mimikyu! "Then Thunderbolt, let's go!" Ash said as Buizel shook his head, as he also recovered from the collision.
"How are you feeling, Bui? Can you still fight?" Kaito asked as Buizel glanced back with a determined look on his face. He gave a serious nod as Kaito nodded back in understanding. As the Thunderbolt struck Mimikyu, Jessie shrieked while James watched in horror to see Mimikyu get shocked badly.
"AH!" "Mimikyu!?" The two cried out as Mimikyu managed to withstand the attack! By the time it took the hit, Rowlet managed to free both Trumbeak and Toucannon, as the two were pleased and happy to be free from their uncomfortable bonds of the net.
But for Mimikyu, the Disguise Pokémon was completely furious with the pain it was being dealt with, making the Ghost-Fairy Type now out for blood! It jumped up high into the air to meet with Pikachu, aiming to use Shadow Ball! But by that time, Kaito took this chance to make his turn to attack!
"Hold it right there! Buizel, stop it with Aqua Jet!" Kaito yelled as Buizel did so! Surrounding himself with water again, he bashed Mimikyu multiple times and back to back, much to Jessie's horror as she could only watch her new Pokémon be tortured.
"No no no! You can't do that to my Mimikyu, twerp! It's just not fair!" Jessie shrieked as Kaito glared back at her with a dangerous look in his eyes, causing Jessie to blink before she took a step back in shock.
"What's not really fair... is that you're attacking Rowlet's home while ignoring Alola's cultural times!" Kaito said angrily as Buizel made the finishing touch with Aqua Jet! Mimikyu was smashed to the ground as it couldn't move much, due to the critical hits it took from the back to back Aqua Jets.
As Jessie tried to order Mimikyu to attack again, she felt herself be pulled away! The first was Wobbuffet and the berries, the second being Meowth, and the third being herself! James was followed suit as the beaten up Mimikyu was the last to be picked up.
Kaito and the others blinked in surprise to see a familiar pink bear Pokémon holding the evil trio and their Pokémon tight, enough to prevent its captives from escaping! The evil trio sweat dropped as they began to dread on who was carrying them.
"Ugh... Is this...?" Jessie started as James gulped.
"... a déja vu?" James finished as they all turned to see that it was as they feared. "Bewear again!?" The two cried out as Meowth watched with a pained and feared look on his face! Bewear on the other hand, remained calm as it trudged off, as Jessie complained to it for the early dismissal.
"Cool your jets, bub! We're just trying to pay you back for the food and shelter you gave us!" Jessie snapped as Bewear kept on walking, seemingly not caring of what Jessie just said, or it was just ignoring her complaints.
"OFF WITH A NEW BLAST!" Team Rocket cried out together as they were carried out by Bewear, leaving Kaito and the others to sweat drop and see their enemies disappear deep inside the forest. "They're all gone..." Mallow said as Ash gave a sheepish smile. "Yeah..." Ash said as Lana cocked her head in confusion.
"Could that Bewear be thinking that it's Team Rocket's Guardian?" Lana asked as Kaito scratched the back of his head. "Don't know, Lana, but what I hope for, is that we never seen them again... At least not for a while..." Kaito said with a sigh. "Bu bui..." Buizel said, hoping for the same thing.
"Are the bad guys gone? Did they run away, big bro?" Seita asked as Kaito looked down at his little brother before he nodded with a smile on his face. "Yeah... That Bewear practically saved the day." Kaito said as Shiho sighed in relief while Seita smirked, feeling confident for the win.
For Rowlet, it was being admired by the Pikipek chicks, as Rey were happy for their young hero that saved them while Trumbeak hugged the young outsider as Toucannon nodded in approval. Seeing how happy and proud Rowlet looked, Ash smiled, feeling relieved for the Grass-Flying Type.
"Rowlet looks so happy." Ash said as Mallow nodded in agreement.
"It's wonderful." Mallow said as Lana smiled, seeing how happy the family seem to be, even with most of their food gone. "They're like a happy family altogether..." Lana added with Popplio saying its agreement.
Pikachu, Bounsweet, and Buizel nodded along as Kaito turned to Ash, who walked over to the Grass Quill Pokémon.
"Rowlet?" Ash called, catching Rowlet's attention as he flew over to meet with his human friend. Landing on his shoulder, Rowlet nudged himself to Ash's left cheek as the Kanto trainer said his thanks.
"Rowlet, thanks! Everybody is fine, thanks to you." Ash said, making the Grass Quill Pokémon feel proud for the hard work he had done earlier and the battle it had won just now. "Pika Pika!" "Bu bui!" Pikachu and Buizel said together as they complimented for the power Rowlet had shown earlier.
Even Rotom seemed impressed as he floated over to the Grass Quill Pokémon. "That was a powerful kick!" Rotom added, putting more pride inside the Grass-Flying Type as Kaito gave a small chuckle.
"Don't say that, you know that's going to increase a Pokémon's overconfidence if you say too many compliments at once..." Kaito said bitterly, despite of him smiling. The others laughed along as Touncannon watched, mostly at Rowlet closely as Ash let the Grass Quill down.
"Heh... See you." Ash said, making Rowlet look up at the Kanto trainer in question as even Pikachu seemed confused. Buizel, Popplio, and Bounsweet followed with their confused looks, as the others were confused as well.
"Okay guys, let's go home..." Ash said, leaving Kaito, Mallow, and Lana surprised at his decision. Rotom buzzed in, confused as to why Ash wasn't catching Rowlet when he had planned to earlier.
"Going home? I thought you were going to catch Rowlet." Rotom buzzed as Ash sheepishly nodded before his face darkened under his hat. From Kaito's perspective, he knew that Ash was trying to hide his true emotions of leaving Rowlet be.
"It's okay..." Ash said as this made Rotom even more confused.
"Does not compute..." Rotom buzzed as Kaito frowned. "Are you sure about this, Ash? You know there is no turning back if you do this..." Kaito said as the Kanto trainer nodded in understanding.
"Yeah... I'm sure. The thing is... Rowlet has a lot of friends. Look at them! They're a family." Ash said as Kaito gave a serious look to his Kanto friend. He knew what Ash was trying to do was to make Rowlet happy... But from what he was seeing, Rowlet seems to be more sad than feeling satisfied.
"So it's all fine..." Ash said as he slowly began to walk off. Mallow hesitantly followed as Lana frowned. She looked at Kaito, who shook his head, causing the Water Type girl to follow her two friends, leaving Kaito and his two siblings behind. Shiho frowned while Seita was confused on what was going on.
"Big brother...? Why does Ash look so sad?" Shiho asked as Kaito smiled softly, before he gave a glance at Rowlet, who seemed sad to see his human friend go. Looking back to his worried little sister, the Alola boy began to explain with Buizel at his side.
"Because... Ash wanted to be friends with Rowlet by catching him... But now that Ash saw Rowlet living with a family, he wants Rowlet to be happy with his family. Taking someone away from a family precious to them would be wrong, right?" Kaito asked, with Buizel nodding along in agreement.
Hearing of what the Alola boy said, Rowlet widened his eyes in surprise as Toucannon closed his eyes, figuring out on how to deal with this situation as Shiho frowned. "So, because Rowlet is a part of the family, Ash doesn't want to catch him now?" Shiho asked, still feeling worried.
"Yeah... and he's only doing it so Rowlet can be happy." Kaito said, earning a small nod of understanding from his little sister while Seita blinked, before he noticed Toucannon urging Rowlet to go with the Kanto trainer.
"Big brother...? I think Rowlet prefers to be with Ash." Seita said, catching both Kaito and Shiho by surprise. They and Buizel all turned to see Toucannon urging Rowlet to be Ash's friend, causing the Grass Quill Pokémon to be happy as he flew over, diving into Ash's backpack for a surprise!
The Kanto trainer blinked before he turned back to see Rowlet right next to him with a happy face!
Kaito let out a chuckle as Ash was surprised with this. "Rowlet? What's up?" Ash asked as Kaito explained with an amused smile on his face. "I think that's how Rowlet is saying... that he wants go with you and Pikachu. Am I right?" Kaito asked, earning a happy hoot and a nod from the Grass Quill Pokémon!
Ash blinked in surprise before he turned to see Rowlet saying his farewell to his family, leaving the Kanto trainer confused and hopeful as he tried to confirm it with his new friend.
"Rowlet? Is what Kai saying true? Are you saying you really wanna come with me?" Ash asked. He didn't have to ask twice as Rowlet happily nudged his face onto Ash's cheek, showing proof enough that he wanted to go with his human friend, causing Ash to be overjoyed and excited for a new friend.
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu said as Popplio and Bounsweet expressed their happiness and relief while Buizel only gave an amused smile. Rotom on the other hand was shocked at the news.
"Unbelievable!" Rotom buzzed in shock as Ash expressed his happiness to the Grass Quill Pokémon. "Awesome! I really wanted you to be with me as well, Rowlet!" Ash said, causing Lana and Mallow to giggle until Rowlet flew up, facing Ash as the Kanto trainer blinked for a moment, until he knew what Rowlet wanted.
"What's Rowlet doing?" Rotom asked as Ash smirked, before he took out an empty Pokéball.
"What do you think? You want me to catch you, right?" Ash asked, earning an affirmative hoot from the Grass-Flying Type! "Alright! Then here we go, Rowlet! Go, Pokéball!" Ash called as he threw the empty Pokéball towards the Grass Quill Pokémon.
Once the ball sucked the excited Grass-Flying Type in, Ash caught it in his hand again, watching it shake a little before there was a click, indicating that the capture was a success! Excited to have a new friend on his team, Ash raised the ball excitedly in the air.
"Alright! I just caught... a Rowlet!" Ash cried out as Pikachu celebrated along. For Rotom, he was both shocked and confused again to see this occur. "WHAT!? It's possible to catch Pokémon like that!?" Rotom said in disbelief.
"Of course it counts!" Ash said, with Pikachu agreeing. At hearing his, Kaito lets out a small laugh.
"Ha ha... I guess when it comes to befriending a Pokémon that grows attached to you, Ash Ketchum, you don't miss a beat!" Kaito said, making his compliment as Buizel climbed up his shoulder again. "Bu Bui!" Buizel said, saying his congratulations to the Kanto trainer and Pikachu.
"Wow, that's great! Though, I think Ash has done this before..." Mallow said happily as Lana just smiled.
Taking out Rowlet's Pokéball, the Kanto trainer called for him, sending him out! "Okay Rowlet! Come on out!" Ash called as the Grass Quill Pokémon came out again as he happily tucked himself inside Ash's backpack, leaving the Kanto trainer surprised for a moment before he smiled at the behavior.
"Nice! I guess you like my backpack, right, Rowlet?" Ash asked, earning an affirmative hoot from his new Pokémon.
Pikachu and Buizel watched in amusement as Rotom took several pictures to take more data of turn Grass-Flying Type. "A Rowlet that likes backpacks. Must update data." Rotom buzzed as he watched Ash and Pikachu bond with Rowlet.
Kairo watched as he closed his eyes before he felt Buizel nudging his cheek with his furry cheek. The Alola boy smiled before he rubbed Buizel's head to show his affection back, causing the Sea Weasel Pokémon to groan happily, immediately liking the affection he is feeling back.
What the two didn't know however, was that this was one step of their journey together, along with the path to the painful and shocking truth.
Meanwhile...
Kazuma remained speechless and shocked from what Kaisuke had offered him as the former father of Kaito was hesitant on what to decide or on what to think as he shook his head before he placed a hand on his forehead. Kaisuke noticed this and frowned.
"Are you feeling alright, Kazuma?" Kaisuke asked as the former father of Kaito shook his head, unsure on how to speak for himself or how to speak back until he found his voice and spoke his words to the King of the Alolan Sea.
"Forgive me, Kaisuke... I... I can't decide this now... I need to ponder about this for a while... After remembering of what happened, and how this is starting to happen... I just... can't think straight right now..." Kazuma said, earning a small nod of understanding from the Sea King.
"I understand... Hearing this now must've been a shock for you, since you've just regained the memories I've temporarily sealed away..." Kaisuke said, earning a weak nod from the former father of Kaito.
"Very well... I will give you a month to decide... By then, I will expect to hear the true answer from you, Kazuma." Kaisuke said as he began to walk back to the water, where he began to transform into his merman self, with water surrounding him like a small whirlpool. His clothes were gone, replaced by his golden pendant, armbands and his crown.
His trident appeared from the glowing golden light out of nowhere as the King of the Alolan Sea grasped it. Along with that, his legs were immediately replaced by an aqua tail with sky-blue fins. He splashed into the water before he rose up to the surface to see Kazuma, who remained unsure of what to think or what to say.
"Farewell for now, Kazuma... Until we meet again. By the time that happens, I hope that you reach to a good decision, old friend." Kaisuke said as he dove back underwater, heading back to his undersea kingdom.
As Kaisuke was gone, Kazuma looked up at the evening orange sky, as he couldn't figure what the best answer or decision would be for his family, as they would leave him be once they all return to the Alola Kingdom.
That night...
Kaito was lying on his bed, with Buizel at his side as he felt uneasy about something. It didn't have anything to do with what happened earlier today, but it happened when he had arrived at home during sunset with Shiho and Seita.
When he arrived, he felt something uneasy in his body, as if something was telling him to go out to the shore and feel the water with his feet and his body. At first, Kaito ignored those thoughts, but these feelings grew stronger as the night went on, before the time became midnight.
Unable to pass away these urges, the Alola boy gave one glance at his sleeping Sea Weasel Pokémon before he slipped out of bed and put his swim trunks on, while keeping his Z-Ring on.
Quietly as he could, he snuck out of the house, heading to the place where the voice inside him was telling him to go. As he arrived at the beach, the urges to go to the ocean overpowered his resistance as he slowly walked over to the shore, where the ocean water came and leave every time.
Closing his eyes, the Alola boy felt something soothing and peaceful, which was coming from the ocean. Raising his arms slowly, he didn't notice his Waterium-Z glowing, along with his eyes glowing from blue to icy-blue when he opened them. As he did so, he widened his eyes in disbelief.
There was a giant wave rising up and being suspended in the air! Kaito widened his eyes as he lost his focus, causing the wave to splash down, returning the shore's waves to its original states. The Alola boy blinked before he gulped. Focusing on his concentration, he tried it again.
This time, without letting himself be shocked, he raised his arms, only to show some of the ocean water rising up, becoming a giant suspended wave that looked like it was obeying his every command. Letting the waves down, the Alola boy made the waves calm again as he shook his head.
"What's... going on with me?" Kaito asked as he took notice of the blue moon shining radiantly in the sky. As he took a moment to glance at him, another uneasy feeling came to his body, as he felt something sting him emotionally when he took one glance at the blue moon.
He didn't know it himself, but this was a step to becoming his true self... His true self as... the lost Prince of the Alolan Sea.
To be continued...
Kaito's Team:
Buizel (M): (Ice Punch, Agility, Rain Dance, Aqua Jet)
Rockruff (M): (Bite, Sand Attack, Rock Slide, Howl)
Next chapters:
Chapter 9: The Balloon Dream! Go, Popplio!
Chapter 10: The Water Pokémon to Charm!
Chapter 11: House Mess to Shopping Spree!
Chapter 12: The Maze of the Trapped Mall!
Chapter 13: The Sneaky Cat Thief, Litten!
Next chapter preview:
Kaito: That dream is still going strong huh, Lan-Lan? Popplio must be wanting to help you, too.
Lana: You're right. I'd like to see the world under the sea where all Water Type Pokémon would be.
Kaito: If that's the case, then Buizel and I will support you two in anyway we can so we can see it for ourselves!
Ash: I want to see it, too! You can do it, Popplio! Make your water balloon as big as you can!
Harper/Sarah: Welcome home, Lana! Is big bro Kaito your boyfriend now?
Lana: Eek! NO! WE'RE NOT! WE'RE NOT! WE'RE NOT! WE'RE NOT! WE'RE NOT!
Events that occurred:
- Ash catches Rowlet into his team
- Kaito regains some of his abilities as the Prince of the Alolan Sea