Chapter 13: The Sneaky Cat Thief, Litten!
Kaito's POV
"I'm off!" I called out to my two siblings. I was headed out for my day at the Pokémon School as I said goodbye to both Shiho and Seita, as my little brother and sister watched me leave. For a moment, I thought I saw them pouting a little, before Shiho spoke up.
"Come back home soon, big bro... Okay?" Shiho asked worriedly, causing me to smile at her.
I couldn't blame her for being so worried, especially since I was brought home unconscious, with the Sea Gauntlet attached to my left arm yesterday. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Mom come home yesterday night.
Neither Shiho or Seita had seen her, as they said that she hadn't come home at all. That was where I began to worry. I mean, anyone can come home late if they were busy with something... But for Mom to not come home at all... That's worrying.
Nevertheless, I shoved that thought out of my mind when I had a small breakfast with my two siblings. Buizel and Rockruff were eating less for some reason, as they were more concerned about me.
Man... I told them that I was fine, even with the Sea Gauntlet attaching to my left arm. But they insisted on staying out of their Pokéballs for a while. So that's why they were walking with me right now, with Buizel on my left and Rockruff on my right.
I was currently headed out for the Pokémon School, where I would go back to class and learn more stuff about Alola...
Now that I think about it... Mallow, Sophocles, and Ash doesn't know anything about the Sea Gauntlet that's attached to my left arm. I wonder if Kiawe, Lillie, or Lana had told them at least something, but... I can't be sure since the four of us were together for a whole day yesterday.
To be honest, I still didn't understand on what happened yesterday...
The Sea Gauntlet suddenly gave me a vision about the Prince being born in the Alolan Sea Kingdom. I saw King Kaisuke... and his merpeople. But... I still didn't understand.
That confusion kept growing when the gauntlet suddenly attached itself to my left arm, replacing the Z-Ring in the process.
The Sea Gauntlet had a Z-Crystal shape symbol on the middle, which had the Waterium-Z on it.
I found it weird, now that I have a gauntlet instead of the Z-Ring. I tried to take it off... But it's like the others said when they tried to take it off the first time. The gauntlet is stuck, like it was attached to my left arm or something.
There was no telling when I was allowed to take it off. So, that made me uncomfortable as I realized that I would have to spend my days wearing this gauntlet, which could attract attention to many people, including morons that would think this is valuable.
By thinking that, I began to realize that I would have to be careful every second. Anyone can approach me or my Pokémon out of nowhere and attack, wanting to take possession of the Gauntlet of their own.
"Bui? Bu bu bui?" Buizel's questioning call snapped me out of my thoughts as I stopped to look down at my partner, which I would call... brother sometimes.
He had a worried expression, making me realize that he was close to me while we were walking all the way. Rockruff gave a small whine and a nudge to my right leg, catching my attention as both of my Pokémon were looking up to me with worried expressions.
I could only smile at the two, as I knelt to their level, before placing my two hands on top of their soft heads. They began to regain their smile as I rubbed their heads in comfort. They were content with the affection I was showing them as they pushed their heads into my hands more.
"I'm alright, you guys. I know that yesterday was really wild and unbelievable, but... I'll be fine. Now that I know some parts of the Alolan Sea Kingdom history, and part of its story, I think I can ease myself a little more." I said reassuringly, causing the two of them to smile at me.
"Bui..."
"Rock..."
They spoke their call out softly, as if they accepted the words I've said to them just now. Nodding to see that they understood, the three of us continued our way to the Pokémon School. But as we were getting there...
A small familiar figure came out of the bushes all of a sudden, facing me and my two Pokémon friends. I smiled at it, recognizing on who it was.
"Hey, Litten... How's life treating you right now?" I said to the little Fire Type sweetly, causing Litten to smile back, as Buizel greeted our Fire Type friend, while Rockruff just barked at its new friend with his own kind of greeting.
What did he want now? Did it have something to do with him and his old friend?
End POV
(Pokémon Opening: Sun and Moon English Subbed)
Ash - "I'm Ash of Pallet Town. My dream is to become a Pokémon Master. This is my partner, Pikachu! Let's all search for Pokémon with full force!"
(The Japanese opening title shows on the screen)
There's no use in just standing around all the time
(Both Kaito and Ash pant under the hot sun with Pikachu and Buizel)
(Lana, Mallow, Lillie, Kiawe, and Sophocles all run over to help them)
I want to try and set out on a head-turning adventure
(Mallow, Lana, Kiawe, Sophocles, and Lillie appear in different sections)
(Bounsweet, Popplio, Turtonator, and Togedemaru appear with their trainers)
With the sun, the moon, Pokémon, and Pikachu
(The friends all slide down the school slide)
(They slide before crashing into each other by Alolan Exeggutor)
(Yeah, yeah, yeah!)
(They all recover and make repeated steps together)
It never stops being surprising and refreshing
(Kaito, Ash, and Prof. Kukui runs for the school)
(Litten shrieks before shooting Ember at Ash's face, much to his startle)
I'm here! I'm there! I'm over there! I can't stay put!
(Kaito pops up, until Shiho and Seita pulls at his two arms)
(Buizel lands on his head as the two grin at each other)
C'mon, there's still so, so much more to see
(Kaito and Ash leads their friends and Pokémon across the island)
(Yeah, yeah, yeah!)
(Samson Oak dances a little, until Komala bashes him away)
In intense battles, I choose you!
(In intense battles, I choose you!)
(Ash, Kaito, Lana, Mallow, Sophocles, and Kiawe all appear with their Pokémon partners)
(A Pokémon Egg floats in front of Lillie)
And it's time to catch 'em all!
(And it's time to catch 'em all!)
(Kaito throws a Pokéball at a Rockruff, catching it with success)
(Ash throws a Pokéball at a Grubbin, catching it with success)
(Their classmate watch their success together)
(Go!)
(Ash sends Pikachu out for battle)
Burn brighter, sun!
Take off with your pulse burning! (Okay!)
(Pikachu defeats Mimikyu with Iron Tail)
(Pikachu then defeats Yungoos, Alolan Rattata, and Salandit with Thunderbolt)
(Solgaleo appears besides the little Electric Type)
Your courage is overflowing, moon!
You will light up the dreams!
(Kaito sinks underwater into the abyss, unconscious)
(Then, a bright light flashes, showing a silhouette that looks just like Kaito)
Come on, feel the maximum energy with your all
(Ash and Pikachu perform Gigavolt Havoc)
(Kaito and Buizel perform Hydro Vortex)
Shout it out, "Alola!"
(Both boys run to say their Alolan greeting in the school)
(Opening End)
Kaito met up with his little friend, Litten, who seemed content on seeing his human friend. Rockruff and Buizel had already said their greetings to the Fire Type, as the Alola boy looked down at it with a confused look on his face.
"Is there something that you need?" Kaito asked as Rockruff and Buizel looked at the Fire Type with questioning looks. Litten didn't move for a second, until he made a gesture to his mouth with his paw, causing the Alola boy to blink in realization.
"Food? You mean for you or... Ah... I see." Kaito started to say before he realized on who the Fire Type was talking about. Lowering himself to the Fire Cat Pokémon's level, he took out his backpack to see if he still had his lunch with him. Then at noticing it, he took it out and smiled at Litten.
"Make sure you give this to the old one, okay? He may be strong, but he can hardly move whenever he really needs to." Kaito said as he handed the small lunch bag to Litten, allowing the Fire Cat Pokémon to take it in his mouth, before he growled with thanks.
Once Litten was given the food, it took off, causing Rockruff to frown before he looked up at the Alola boy, uncertain whether Kaito's decision to give away his food was right or not. To that, he gave a small whine of uncertainty to his Trainer.
"Rock? Rock ruff rock...?" Rockruff asked as the Alola boy looked down at his Puppy Pokémon, before he smiled weakly.
"If you're asking why I gave my lunch away, Rockruff... That's because there's someone out there that really needs it more than I do. It's an old friend of Litten, who's gotten a little old to search food for himself." Kaito explained, as Buizel sided with his human brother.
"Bu bui!" Buizel piped up in agreement. But despite of Kaito's reassurance and Buizel's agreement, the Rock Type couldn't help but feel whether what Kaito did was right or not as he looked to where Litten had disappeared off to.
Later, at the Pokémon School...
"Alola!" Kaito called out to his friends. Lillie and Lana were the first ones to respond to his call as they said their greeting back to the Alola boy. Then came Kiawe and Sophocles' greeting. But as Kaito was headed for his seat, he heard Mallow speaking to Ash about something.
"Wow! So you finally met that Litten!" Mallow called out, catching Kaito's attention as he turned to see Ash talking with her.
The Kanto Trainer was surprised to hear this from her as he turned to the Grass Type user in surprise.
"Is it your friend?" "Pika?" Ash asked, with Pikachu asking along. But before he could get a proper response, Bounsweet suddenly began to rub Mallow's legs affectionately, as the Grass Type user explained.
"Litten comes up, asking for food like Bounsweet's doing! It's so cute! I love it when it does that!" Mallow said happily as Lana seemed to understand, as she had experienced the same thing.
"I fall for it every time!" Lana giggled as Popplio agreed happily. This only made Kaito sweat drop at the two. They were acting as if they enjoyed having their food taken away, as they didn't know that Litten was taking food for a good reason.
But Ash was more into the negative side as both he and Pikachu were annoyed.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu said in annoyance as Ash grumbled, before taking out... a small piece of a sandwich?
"I don't think it's so cute! Ugh... That's how I lost most of my croquette sandwich!" Ash said annoyingly, catching the Alola boy by surprise as he stood up to face his Kanto friend.
"You don't mean to say that... Litten stole it from you?" Kaito asked with a raised eyebrow, before Ash slumped down, confirming that it was true.
"You got it, Kai..." Ash groaned as the Alola boy blinked before he frowned. He folded his arms while Rockruff just growled angrily. At hearing of Ash's food being stolen, the Puppy Pokémon came to a belief that Litten was being greedy with the food so much that it even steals from others!
But for the Alola boy, he was confused as he began to speak to himself of what happened this morning before he arrived at the Pokémon School.
"That's kind of... funny. I already gave my lunch to Litten, so why would he bother to steal your sandwich...?" Kaito started to say until Ash grabbed his shoulders, interrupting the Alola boy with a shocked expression on his face.
"Wait... You GAVE your lunch to Litten? Are you sure it didn't steal it from you, Kai?!" Ash exclaimed, catching Kaito by surprise as he gave a nervous smile for the sudden shock Ash was expressing.
"Um... Yeah, why?" was the only thing Kaito could say as Ash bit his lips. Buizel frowned to see his human brother being questioned like this as the Kanto trainer began to feel even more annoyed with the Fire Cat Pokémon!
"Ugh...! If Litte already took your food, then why did it take mine! It doesn't make any sense!" Ash grumbled as he whacked his head several times, trying to get some sense into him as the Alola boy sweat dropped at the stunts the Kanto Trainer was doing right now.
"That sounds like our Litten, alright..." Lana said, with Mallow nodding in agreement.
"Litten's not the kind who enjoys dealing with people. It takes a long time for it to warm up to Trainers, too! They say it's not your average Pokémon." Sophocles explained, causing Ash to reach to a conclusion.
"So it's not too friendly at first..." Ash concluded, as Rotom turned to Sophocles.
"That's precisely what I explained to Ash earlier!" Rotom buzzed. Mallow could only giggle at that as she sighed.
"Wow... You could say Litten is the lone star of Pokémon, huh? It always seems to be hanging around at our restaurant!" Mallow giggled as Kiawe folded his arms, before adding in.
"I see it in the market, too. It steals all kinds of berries from the stands." Kiawe said, causing Kaito to frown. He sighed, before he slumped down at his desk. With the stunts Litten was pulling off, more people would gradually dislike it if it keeps up with its thieving work.
"Still... Litten is so incredibly cute, I just can't get angry at it!" Mallow giggled as Kiawe turned to the Kanto Trainer.
"So, do you have a plan to deal with Litten?" Kiawe asked, causing Kaito to turn to Ash. But as he did so, the Kanto Trainer was already planning to deal with Fire Cat Pokémon in an angry way as he showed his angry expression.
"SO MUCH TO TEACH IT! YOU DON'T MESS WITH A GUY'S SANDWICH!" Ash snapped, shocking Kaito a little as Pikachu looked up ar his human friend. Lillie on the other hand, was a little confused on what the Kanto Trainer was referring to.
"Wait, teach it? What are you talking about?" Lillie asked, causing Ash to stutter before he began to reach to a decision that left Kaito a little dismayed.
"Uh... I know just what to do! I'll catch it!" Ash called out, taking a Pokéball out. Pikachu expressed his surprise a little, as he didn't think Ash would plan that far ahead. But for the others and the Alola boy, they were shocked of the answer Ash had come up with.
For the Alola boy, he bit his lips, knowing what the consequences would be if the Kanto Trainer were to succeed on capturing Litten. But before he could try and reason with Ash, Sophocles suddenly expressed his surprise on the gauntlet that was on his left arm.
"Whoa! Kai, where did you get that thing!?" Sophocles gasped, causing the others to turn to Kaito as the Alola boy blinked, before he realized that Sophocles meant the Sea Gauntlet that had replaced his Z-Ring. Mallow and Ash were surprised too as they also looked to see.
Lillie, Lana, and Kiawe all blinked as Kaito gave them a little glare for not telling the others. At seeing the Alola boy's glare, the three gave sheepish and apologetic looks to him while Buizel and Rockruff stayed close to their Trainer.
"Whoa is right! What is that on your arm, Kai?" Ash asked as Mallow took a closer look.
"It looks like... some kind of armor piece! Like when a knight or warrior wears them to protect themselves from their enemies!" Mallow added as Kaito sweat dropped, realizing he had so much to explain for.
"It's called the Sea Gauntlet, guys... It's something that I picked up when I visited the Undersea Ruins. I was hoping that either Lana, Lillie, or Kiawe could've told you guys this..." Kaito said as he gave a little glare to his three companions from yesterday.
Lana only stuck out her tongue, while Kiawe scratched the back of his head. Lillie on the other hand, gave an apologetic look as Mallow turned to her in shock and surprise.
"What!? No way! You went along too, Lillie?! Weren't there Pokémon in the Undersea Ruins?!" Mallow cried out, seemingly worried for Lillie as the white-dressed girl gave a sheepish smile to her friend, before she gave a weak nod to her frantic questions.
"Yes, there were some... But a marine biologist named Mrs. Summers helped us get through the Ruins. I stuck by her at all times whenever we came across a Pokémon living in the Ruins." Lillie explained as Lana clapped her hands together with her eyes shining bright.
"The inside of the Ruins was so amazing! I was able to see many kinds of Water Type Pokémon inside there and the time before we were in the Ruins! That is, until a certain someone set off a booby trap to get us separated from Kai and Buizel..." Lana said, before she turned to Kiawe.
The Fire Type user flinched at her cold stare while Popplio clapped her hands together in joy, as she also remembered on how she enjoyed her time at the Ruins, too. Kiawe gave a cough before he expressed his opinion about the expedition yesterday.
"It kind of wasn't fun for me, since Turtonator wasn't able to withstand against Water Types that much..." Kiawe tried to say until Lana completed his words for him.
"You didn't do well down there, Kiawe." Lana said bluntly, catching the Fire Type user by surprise as he slumped down in defeat.
"The shame..." Kiawe could only say as the others chuckled at Kiawe's misfortune. Kaito on the other hand, watched as Ash came up to him, before he held up his arm which had the Gauntlet attached to it.
"So... Why is it still on you? Didn't the Sea Gauntlet belong to the Undersea Ruins?" Ash asked as Kaito blinked, before he glanced away. Then, turning to his three previous companions, they all nodded to him, causing the Alola boy to clear his throat before answering Ash's question.
"Do you remember when I first revealed my ability to control the ocean waves? You see, that's kind of why I was curious about the Undersea Ruins in the first place..." Kaito explained, causing Ash, Sophocles, and Mallow to listen in, along with their partners.
Lana, Lillie, and Kiawe helped the Alola boy explained as the four of them explained their parts of the story. Their meeting with Mrs. Summers, their trip down underwater and into the Ruins, and with Kaito's battle against Team Skull and the Golisopod guarding the Gauntlet.
"Wow... I didn't think Team Skull would be that interested in the Sea Gauntlet, too..." Sophocles admitted with a frown, as he held Togedemaru close to him.
"And to think there was a Guardian there to challenge you, Kai... It must've been a tough battle with the way you're speaking like that..." Mallow added, earning a nod from the Alola boy.
Buizel and Rockruff stayed close to their Trainer as Kaito glared at the Gauntlet for what it's doing right now.
"And on top of that, it won't come off, no matter what I do! Even both of Buizel and Rockruff's attacks couldn't make a dent on this thing..." Kaito said as he tried to pull his new "accessory" off of his left arm.
"Even the three of us couldn't pull it off... Mrs. Summers on the other hand said that she would continue researching onto why that is..." Lillie explained as Ash frowned, before he tried to help his Alola friend out by pulling onto the Sea Gauntlet.
"Well, we can't just sit here and do nothing! Guys, help me and Kai out! Maybe if we're in bigger numbers, then it just might come off!" Ash grunted as Kaito stood up and got ready to pull as well. Rockruff and Buizel held onto his legs to help.
Kiawe, Lana, Lillie, Sophocles, and Mallow all got behind Ash as they lined up to pull. With everyone in position, Kaito gave the call to start the pulling.
"Okay...! Three... Two... One... GO!" Kaito yelled as he began to tug on his arm. At the same time, the six classmates pulled onto the Gauntlet that was attached onto Kaito's left arm. All the Pokémon, including Rotom joined in to help as well!
But as they kept pulling harder and harder, it wasn't enough as the Sea Gauntlet wasn't moving an inch! It took a minute for the seven classmates to give up as they all fell back on the ground, as they were all bewildered for the Gauntlet still remaining perfectly attached.
"Okay... It won't come off..." Ash groaned as Kaito twitched his eyes at the golden Gauntlet. All the Pokémon were bewildered to see that their effort did to help didn't help at all as Buizel stood next to his human brother, while Rockruff just whined at the "accessory".
"Bu bui..."
"Rock..."
They were even more worried for the Alola boy, especially now that everyone's learned that it seemed impossible to remove the Sea Gauntlet from Kaito's left arm.
"What now...? I do not see any other ways to see how this Sea Gauntlet will come out! The chances of it coming out are-" Rotom started to say until Kaito frowned at it, feeling hopeful for Rotom's guess.
"Please tell me it's not zero percent..." Kaito groaned as Rotom sweat dropped before he made the answer.
"Unfortunately... It's close to zero percent... It's practically 0.000001% that it will come off someday." Rotom buzzed, making Kaito pale as he fell back onto the school floor as the others stood up and watched Kaito with pitiful looks on their faces.
"Just great... JUST GREAT! AM I GOING TO HAVE TO WEAR THIS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!?" Kaito yelled out loud, enough to let the whole school hear.
Later, after school...
After class at the Pokémon School, Kaito had revealed the Sea Gauntlet to Prof. Kukui and Principal Oak, as he knew he had to tell them of what he discovered yesterday. They were surprised, of course, to see that one of their students had made such a huge discovery.
But with the both of them realizing that Kaito would be more in danger, Principal Oak entrusted the Alola Professor to take Kaito home while taking Ash alongside with him, as the Alola boy's house was near the Professor's home.
The Alola boy felt awkward with this, but the Alola Professor didn't seem to mind as he asked him to help him and Ash shop for what they needed back at the house. Ash seemed satisfied to walk back home with Kaito as he still wanted to know more about what the Alola boy did yesterday.
While the shopping went on for the two students and the Alola Professor, they only needed one more thing in order for the shopping to be complete.
"All we have left is to buy soap!" Prof. Kukui said as Ash turned to the Alola Professor with a curious look.
"Yeah? What kind?" Ash asked, allowing the Alola Professor to explain.
"Tub and tile, kitchen, window cleaner, all refills!" Prof. Kukui said as the Alola boy sighed, as he had to help out as well. Buizel and Rockruff gave their Trainer a sheepish look as the Alola boy gave a glance to his teacher.
"Tell me something, Professor... Why did I have to get dragged into this house shopping business when it's not my house to deal with, but yours?" Kaito asked, as he expressed little annoyance for being dragged into the shopping spree.
"Sorry, Kaito... You remember what Principal Oak said, right? I'm to take you home, since there's a chance that other people might cause unwanted attention just by seeing your Gauntlet if you were to walk alone." Prof. Kukui said, causing Kaito to narrow his eyes.
He gave a small glance to the people they were passing by. He managed to see some of them eyeing on the Sea Gauntlet that was attached to his left arm. Some seemed amazed and bewildered, while some seemed shocked.
To the Alola boy's surprise, he didn't see any people having any malicious intent on snatching the Gauntlet from him... not that they could, of course. He remained cautious though, as he couldn't trust just any stranger with the treasure he was stuck with.
But as he started to turn his focus back onto the shopping, something ran past by him, Ash, and Prof. Kukui! Ash recognized on who it was as he angrily began to make chase while Rotom made an alert on who past by.
"Bzzt! A Litten sighting!" Rotom buzzed, catching Kaito's attention. The Alola boy widened his eyes as he watched Ash chase after Litten, with Pikachu at his side.
"Hey, wait up!" "Pika Pika!"
"Rock! Rockruff ruff!" Rockruff growled as he joined both Ash and Pikachu with the chase, catching the Alola boy by surprise as he and Buizel ran after the three pursuers.
"Ash, hold on! And Rockruff! What are you doing!?" Kaito cried out as he ran after his Kanto friend and his Rock Type, leaving the Alola Professor surprised and confused to see his two students making chase after the Fire Cat Pokémon.
"Ash! Kaito! What's the matter?" Prof. Kukui asked, causing Rotom to turn to him.
"Allow me to explain everything!" Rotom buzzed. With that, the Rotom-Dex began to explain everything to the Alola Professor of what happened to both Ash and the runaway Litten.
Meanwhile...
Both Kaito and Ash continued to make chase after the Fire Cat Pokémon, with the Alola boy catching up with his Kanto friend and his Puppy Pokémon.
"Hey! Where'd it go!?" Ash panted as he looked around with both Pikachu and Rockruff. The Alola boy panted a little before he turned to his Kanto friend with a frown.
"Don't you think... you're taking this a bit too far, Ash? I mean, it's just one croquette sandwich that Litten took off from you." Kaito said, while facing Ash as the Kanto Trainer frowned, before he kept looking around.
"Sorry, Kai... But it's not just me that Litten's been taking food from, it could've been stealing from others, too! And you know how bad stealing is!" Ash said as the Alola boy frowned, as he understood the truth behind Ash's words.
"That's true, but... I know Litten has a reason for taking food from others..." Kaito said, stopping Ash in his tracks as both he and Pikachu turned to the Alola boy. Rockruff, who was annoyed with Litten stopped looking around as well, before he turned to his Trainer in question.
Buizel gave a glance at his human brother, as the Alola boy started to explain. But before he could do so, an elderly woman called out to them with a small offer for them.
"Want to buy some berries, dears?" The woman asked, causing the boy to turn as Ash politely declined, before he explained.
"No thanks... We were looking for a Litten... Huh!? There it is!" Ash started, before he gasped to see the Fire Cat Pokémon right in front of him! Kaito blinked in surprise to see his Fire Type friend munching on some fruit that seemed to have been given to him.
Sighing in relief, the Alola boy watched to see Ash and Litten glaring at each other, as the grudge for the sandwich lingered on, until the woman tried to settle the two of them down.
"Now, you two... Let's play nice!" The woman said with a chuckle before she began to give an Oran Berry to the Fire Cat Pokémon. This left Ash a little bewildered to see this as he turned to the woman with a surprised question.
"Huh!? You give it food!?" Ash said, gaping as the woman smiled before she explained.
"In Alola, nature's bounty is for sharing!" The woman explained as Litten took the Berry in his mouth.
"Now dear, don't eat too fast. I love to feed Litten!" The woman giggled as Litten began to run off, leaving the boys and their Pokémon alone with the woman, just as Prof. Kukui and Rotom came by! Rockruff growled at it leaving as Kaito tried to calm him down.
"Come on, Rockruff... Just let it go." Kaito said softly as he stroked the rocky parts on Rockruff's neck, causing the Puppy Pokémon to ease his anger as he sighed in content, while Buizel watched with a small smirk.
"Does that Litten come here a lot?" Prof. Kukui asked as the woman smiled, before answering his question.
"All the time! I have it everyday! Honestly, I think Litten enjoys looking out for me. That's why I have berries waiting when it comes by for a visit!" The woman explained. Kaito could only frown, as he gave a glance to where Litten has run off to.
To think that his Fire Type friend had another person he could go to for some food... The Alola boy could only smile before shaking his head. Ash on the other hand, was still miffed when the woman asked him about his last encounter with the Fire Type.
"So, let me guess... I'd say Litten made off with some of your food, didn't it?" The woman asked as Ash nodded with an annoyed expression.
"It sure did! My croquette sandwich, specially made!" Ash snapped as Prof. Kukui turned to Ash with a sheepish smile.
"Ash, I can make you another one." Prof. Kukui said as Kaito gave a sheepish smile to his Kanto friend as well. The woman smiled, before she turned the subject as to where Litten could be living in.
"I haven't the slightest idea as to where Litten lives... but it certainly is a dear." The woman said with a smile. The Alola boy blinked before he smiled, understanding on what the woman meant as he thought of where the Fire Cat Pokémon could be going.
With that in mind, he began to go after the Fire Cat Pokémon, much to both Ash and Prof. Kukui's surprise!
"Kai!? Where are you going!?" Ash called out as Buizel and Rockruff quickly joined their Trainer with the run.
"I'm going to check on Litten! I think I know the reason why it snatches food from the others!" Kaito called out, much to Ash's surprise as he frowns. The Alola Professor scratched the back of his head before he gave a sheepish smile.
"Looks like he's going to be fine if he's taking off like that..." Prof. Kukui said as Ash just blinked, seeing Kaito running out of his sight. Even Pikachu was a little curious as to where the Alola boy could be running to with Buizel and Rockruff.
"He knows why Litten steals food...?" Ash asked himself, with Pikachu questioning himself as well.
"Pika?" Pikachu asked with a curious look.
Meanwhile...
The Alola boy kept on running until he reached an old abandoned house, as he panted for all the running he had to do. Buizel and Rockruff caught up with their Trainer as Rockruff blinked, confused as to why they were near the abandoned house in the first place.
"Rock? Rock ruff ruff?" Rockruff asked as Buizel smiled, answering the Puppy Pokémon's question.
"Bui! Bu bui! Bui bui!" Buizel explained, causing Rockruff to widen his eyes as Kaito realized on what his best friend said to the curious Rock Type as Kaito began to take a few steps towards the old house.
His two Pokémon followed as the Alola boy took a step inside to see his Fire Type friend grooming himself. That was, until Litten suddenly hissed to see who was intruding his and his old friend's home until he realized that it was just Kaito and his two Pokémon friends.
"Hey, Litten... How's old Stoutland doing?" Kaito asked as he turned to his right. Buizel approached the Fire Type with another greeting while Rockruff just scoffed to see the Fire Type in front of him as he turned his head away.
"Be nice, Rockruff." Kaito said sternly, as Rockruff gave a glance back to the Fire Type, who seemed annoyed for the rude greeting. But just before the Puppy Pokémon could say anything else to Litten, he heard a grunting noise coming from his right.
The Rock Type turned before he let out a yelp of surprise to see a large, but old Stoutland gazing at him, as if he was either intrigued or glaring at him for some reason! This intimidated the Puppy Pokémon until Kaito rubbed his head in comfort, along with a smile.
"Don't be so nervous, Rockruff... Old Stoutland here is a good friend, too. He can, well... look intimidating, especially his eyes." Kaito said reassuringly, easing Rockruff's uneasiness for a while. Buizel sat next to his human brother's left as Kaito took Litten into his arms.
Stroking Litten's chin, much to the Fire Cat Pokémon's content, the Alola boy began to think about the past as he gave a glance at Stoutland, who seemed to be satisfied with the boy bonding with his little Fire friend.
"To think... it was a year when we met each other the first time... Huh, Litten?" Kaito asked as Litten blinked, before the Fire Type nodded in understanding. He knew what his human friend meant as he began to think back when they met the first time.
One year ago...
Ten year old Kaito was having a fun time swimming with Buizel as they were going on with their swimming contest together again. Of course, Buizel would end up as the winner today... That is, if not for a little interference with their racing.
"Come on, Bui! Slow down!" Kaito complained as Buizel gave his human brother a smirk before he picked up speed, enough to annoy Kaito enough to swim faster.
"Alright, that's it! You really asked for it now!" Kaito snapped playfully as he picked up the pace, trying to catch up with the Sea Weasel Pokémon. That was, until something started to fall off a small cliff! A small shriek caught their attention as they saw someone falling off!
Immediately, Kaito forgot about the race and gave a desperate order for Buizel.
"Oh no! Buizel, catch it!" Kaito gasped, motivating Buizel to swim fast and catch the falling figure just in time before it fell into the water! Abandoning the race, the two quickly swam back to shore, where Buizel carefully laid the Pokémon onto the dry sand. Kaito blinked, recognizing on who this was.
"It's a Litten... But it seems injured..." Kaito said as he knelt down to see how bad the wounds were. There were some small scratches all over the Fire Cat Pokémon's body. It looked like it picked a fight with some nasty Pokémon.
But just before Kaito could try and help Litten out, Buizel gave a small hiss of warning to someone that was coming by. At the hiss, the Alola boy looked to see who was coming, only for it to be a group of Alolan Meowth, lead by an Alolan Persian!
This left the Alola boy stiff for a moment before his face darkened as he quietly stood up to confront the Dark Types, while Buizel watched. As Kaito took a step forward to the leader, he gave it an angry glare, while the Persian only sneered to see the human boy.
"You... Are you the ones that made Litten like this!?" Kaito hissed dangerously, causing some of the Alolan Meowth to flinch, while amusing the Persian as it yawned in boredom, which seemed to have convinced the Alola boy that it was true.
"I see... If that's the case... Buizel! Ice Punch!" Kaito yelled out suddenly. The Sea Weasel Pokémon didn't need to be told twice as he used his speed to bash Persian away with his Ice Type attack, catching the Classy Cat Pokémon by surprise as it skidded back!
Once Persian recovered from the blow, it hissed at Buizel, who only growled back. Kaito gave it a hateful glare as he stood with his Sea Weasel Pokémon. While he was doing so, Litten slowly began to wake up, recovering from the blows he had taken from the Dark Types.
The Fire Type managed to lift his head and watch in surprise to see a human child and his Buizel defending him from the Persian and his goons, as Kaito scoffed at the group.
"You arrogant Meowths and Persians are all the same! You attack anyone just for the fun of it, because you all think you're so cool yourselves! Well, guess what!? I hate arrogant ones, such as you all!" Kaito snapped, as Buizel let out an angry cry to the group as well.
"Bui! Bu bui bui! Bu bui! Bui!" Buizel hissed, causing some of the Meowth to hiss and growl while Persian unsheathed his claws, prepared to strike at the child. Now that he and his minions were insulted, the brat and his weasel wasn't going to get away with it!
"Now, Buizel! Aqua Jet! Back to back!" Kaito yelled out. At the order, Buizel charged towards the Persian, as Persian got ready to counter back with a Slash attack!
Later...
Persian shrieked in pain before it was bashed back to the ground, while the Meowth all watched in shock and disbelief! Their leader... Their strong leader that they admired... was beaten by a kid and his Water Type Pokémon!
Litten was also shocked to see how the battle had ended. But in truth, the Fire Type was a little touched in his heart, while mostly impressed on the outside. With all the efforts he tried to pull in taking the Persian down, it was something that he couldn't do!
But for some reason, this boy and his Buizel friend was somehow able to work together to defeat the Persian. The human child made the strategies, while the Buizel performed these actions as he was ordered to.
While he thought of this, the Persian gave a hiss before it weakly stood up! At taking another glare at both Kaito and Buizel, the leader began to run away, leaving his enemies and minions behind. At the process, the Meowth goons all began to follow their leader.
They didn't want to take chance to fight against the ones that defeated their leader with "some" effort!
While watching the group leave, Kaito sighed in relief before he turned to Litten, who was still stunned for the victory that both the Alola boy and the Sea Weasel Pokémon had pulled off.
"Are you okay, little guy? You took a lot of damage from those pesky Dark Types, right?" Kaito asked as he took Litten into his arms. At first, Litten wanted to fight the boy and get out of his grip.
But remembering that the boy and his partner were the ones that saved him from the pesky Persian, the Fire Cat Pokémon grumbled a little before he gave a small nod to the Alola boy.
"That's such a relief. It's a good thing Buizel caught you there before we got back here. Otherwise, there's a chance you might've drown..." Kaito said as Buizel climbed up to his human brother's shoulder.
"Bui! Bu bu bui!" Buizel said as Litten blinked. The Fire Type turned his surprised expression to a uncaring expression as it turned away from the Alola boy, causing Kaito to frown as he widened an eyebrow in amusement.
"Well, that's nice... Buizel and I save you from those Dark Types and this is the thanks we get? Well, I guess I can't blame you for not trusting us, considering that you're not used to humans..." Kaito sighed as he began to walk off the beach, much to Litten's protest.
"You can't walk around like this, especially with the condition you're given right now. Once Nurse Joy gives you a small checkup to mend your wounds, then you can explore around whenever you want." Kaito said, causing Litten to stop struggling this time.
The Fire Type gave a small glance to Buizel, who gave him a small smile. The Water Type spoke, telling Litten to trust in his human brother, catching Litten off guard as he asked Buizel why he called a young human his brother when they weren't the same.
At that question, Buizel spoke, explaining on why he considers Kaito as his human brother, enough to make Litten understand, but still skeptical of the two.
Flashback End
"You were still suspicious of both Buizel and me, until we brought you to the Pokémon Center so that Nurse Joy would look at you... Man, were you stubborn... Too stubborn to show how you truly felt." Kaito said as he stroke Litten's chin again, causing Litten to purr a little.
"Bu bu bui..." Buizel said in agreement, while giving his Fire Type friend an amused smile. Rockruff on the other hand, was a little in disbelief to hear that was how Kaito met Litten for the first time. But this changed his opinion of Litten a little as he didn't feel so annoyed with Litten anymore.
Stoutland only watched with a satisfied look to see the boy remembering his first meeting with Litten. Because after Kaito took care of Litten, it was at that same day when the two of them met each other.
Stoutland, unlike Litten, was more thankful for the Alola boy for helping out the little one, allowing both Kaito and Buizel to befriend the aging Normal Type easily. It was at that same day when the Alola boy established a bond between himself and the two Pokémon he befriended at that day.
Because of that day, Kaito was allowed to visit them more often when they moved to an old abandoned house. Of course, he didn't tell the others about this, as they didn't seem to be comfortable with other humans around, except for the Alola boy.
"Oh... I should probably get back now. Both Shiho and Seita could be worried right now for where I've been for a while." Kaito said as he looked outside to see the sun setting down. To that, the Alola boy stood up and smiled down at his Fire Cat Pokémon friend.
"I'll be back tomorrow. Stay well, okay?" Kaito asked, earning a small nod from Litten as the Fire Cat Pokémon gave a small nuzzle onto the Alola boy's leg. The Alola boy stroked his head once more, before turning to Stoutland.
"I'll be going now, big guy. I hope I can see you tomorrow, too." Kaito said softly, earning a small grunt from Stoutland, as if he was agreeing to see each other tomorrow whenever the young human had time.
The Alola boy gave a glance at both Buizel and Rockruff, who understood what their Trainer was saying, as they all began to make their leave as well by following Kaito. Before they went with him, they both said their farewell to both Litten and Stoutland, despite of Rockruff's hesitance to do so for Litten.
"Bui! Bu bui!"
"Ruff... Rock ruff."
Stoutland nodded to the two while Litten cried a small farewell back to Buizel, but spoke hesitantly to Rockruff as the Fire Cat Pokémon wasn't too comfortable with the Puppy Pokémon either, due to their unfriendly glares from before.
Leaving the old abandoned house, the Alola boy left for his home, with his two Pokémon at his side. By the time they arrived home, the sun had nearly set, almost becoming night. Shiho and Seita were already asleep when Kaito returned to his room.
But from their expressions on their faces, Kaito could only assume that they've been waiting for a long time for him to come home. The Alola boy frowned, realizing on how long he had made them wait, due to his long visit to Litten's old abandoned home.
"Looks like... they were waiting for a long time before they slept... I guess I should've been here a bit earlier, before I visited the little guy and the big guy..." Kaito said to himself, feeling guilt in his heart. Buizel looked up at his human brother, understanding his guilt while Rockruff headed inside.
Looking at both Shiho and Seita sleeping in their beds in the same room, Rockruff yawned a little before he made himself comfortable on the soft rug on the floor, choosing his spot to sleep in, much to the Alola boy's amusement.
"So you're sleeping there, huh? Look after them if they wake up, Rockruff... Okay?" Kaito asked, earning a yawning bark from the Rock Type. With that said, the Alola boy quietly closed his siblings' door, before making his way to his room, with Buizel at his side in order to get some sleep for tmmorw.
Unfortunately, what the Alola boy didn't know that for tomorrow, he would repeat the same actions he had done in the past, while revealing his secrets to Litten in the process.
The next day...
The school bell rung, allowing school to end as the students all began to make their leave. Ash offered Kaito for the two of them to walk together, which the Alola boy agreed to. With that settled, the boys said their goodbyes to their classmates before heading home.
"See you!" "Pikachu!"
"Take care, guys!" "Bu bui!"
With those words, the boys began to run their way back home, with Kaito hoping to make it back home earlier than he had yesterday. While they were running the way down, Ash gave a glance to his Alola friend with a question in mind.
"So, Kai! What did you figure out yesterday from Litten?" Ash asked, causing Kaito to blink in surprise. But before he could answer, both he and Buizel heard a familiar voice from not far! Ash, Pikachu, and Rotom seemed to have heard it as well as they all blinked.
With the voice coming to them, everyone headed to where the voice was coming from... which was soon to be Litten! But the Fire Cat Pokémon was cornered by... an Alolan Persian!?
Kaito widened his eyes as Ash pointed out Litten's current situation with Persian cornering him!
"It's Litten! Rotom, who's that Pokémon!?" Ash asked. But before Rotom could buzz to answer, Kaito made a hateful answer for his Kanto friend, his tone becoming dark and calm.
"That's... a Persian! An Alolan Persian!" Kaito snapped as he jumped across the fence to aid Litten out! Buizel glared before he followed as well, understanding on what the situation was for his Fire Type friend!
This startled Ash, along with Pikachu and Rotom as they tried to go after the Alola boy and his Sea Weasel Pokémon. They all slid down to where the two Pokémon were as Ash tried to question Kaito.
"Persian...? But, wait... It's not like any Persian I've seen before!" Ash asked as Rotom explained the data for the mean Dark Type.
"Let me show you, Ash! I'm sure you're familiar with this Persian! But an Alolan Persian looks different!" Rotom buzzed, as he showed the two differences to the Kanto Trainer, allowing Ash to understand a little.
"That's not the only thing that's different from a Kantonian Persian, Ash... This Persian... It's also a Dark Type, but a Pokémon that's even more cunning, arrogant, and more rude than the Persian you've fought before!" Kaito said as he gritted his teeth.
"Wait... More cunning and rude!? But, that means...!" Ash gasped as Persian struck to attack with Slash!
"Stop! Don't you dare!" Kaito yelled, only to be ignored as Persian slashed Litten away, causing the Fire Cat Pokémon to lose grip of the Sitrus Berry he was carrying! At seeing this, Kaito was ready to strike Persian hard, with Buizel at his side!
Ash on the other hand, tries to stop the fighting as he confronts the Persian first with a glare.
"This has gotta stop! Knock it off! For a single berry, you're being way too rough!" Ash snapped. But his snapping only annoyed Persian as it shot a Power Gem attack towards the Kanto Trainer and Pikachu, causing the both of them to dodge by jumping back!
"Ash! Pikachu!?" Kaito snapped out of his anger for a moment, before he turned back to see Persian hissing at Litten again deviously, as it backed Litten into a cliff! At seeing this, the Alola boy widened his eyes in both horror and anger as he remembered a situation like this.
The memory of Litten being thrown off a cliff by Persian and its group...
It came back to him, since this scene was very familiar with the memory from a year ago!
Clenching his fists, he didn't bother to notice his Waterium-Z glowing on his Sea Gauntlet as the Gauntlet began to glow weakly as well! Buizel snapped out of his hissing as well before he blinked to see his human brother's Sea Gauntlet glowing.
Looking back up, the Sea Weasel Pokemon could see the clear furious look on his human brother's face as Buizel knew what this could mean. And his thoughts were becoming true when he heard some waves crashing onto the cliff where they were on, hard.
As for Litten, the Fire Cat Pokémon struggled to stand and was almost close to falling off if one more attack were to land. The Alolan Persian sneered and got ready to use Slash again! But before it could do so...
"DON'T YOU DARE, YOU FREAK!" Kaito bellowed out loud, catching everyone else around him by surprise! For Litten, he gave a weak glance at his human friend as he watched Kaito raise his arms up, as if he was trying to use his determination and anger to throw something at Persian!
Ash, Pikachu, and Rotom all noticed this too, as the Kanto Trainer noticed some dark and grey clouds forming in the sky.
"Uh oh... Kai!? Hold on... Aren't you taking this a bit too far!?" Ash yelped as he watched Kaito still remaining focused.
Persian wasn't intimidated by this as he lunged at Kaito this time with Slash again! Litten yelled out for his human friend while Ash tried to reach for his Alola friend in shock.
"LIT!"
"KAI! LOOK OUT!"
"PIKA PIKA!"
"BU BUI!"
"It's about to use Slash!"
The warnings and cries from Ash and his Pokémon friends managed to awake Kaito from his concentration just in time as he let out a yell before using his arms to "throw" something towards Persian!
"HAAAAAH!" Kaito yelled out as he made a throwing movement. As soon as he did so, this came to the Persian's shock! Something did crash onto him when the human had thrown something. And that something was something wet, but heavy as Persian was slammed against the rocky wall!
The Classy Pokemon yowled in pain before it weakly glared to the boy who had caused him to be injured in the first place!
Everyone on the other hand, watched in surprise as they had witnessed the Alola boy summoning up a giant wave to crash it onto the Classy Cat Pokémon! For Buizel, he was more shocked as he looked up a time his human brother in disbelief.
It never came to the Sea Weasel Pokémon that Kaito could pull something like this off, even when he was still inexperienced with his powers that he discovered only a week ago! Ash and Pikachu felt the same thing, while Rotom was amazed.
"Wow..." was the only thing the Kanto Trainer could say as his Electric Type partner gave a soft cry of agreement. Litten on the other hand, managed to look shocked and amazed for the power his human friend had displayed to stop his enemy.
From what the Alola boy had done just now, everyone that was watching him, would realize that the Alolan Persian was in for a really rough and wet ride, thanks to Kaito's aquakinesis powers.
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 14: The Night Battle Against Persian!
Chapter 15: To Care an Egg! Kaito's Decision!
Chapter 16: Responsibility to Protect and Save
Chapter 17: The Chaos Involving a Raticate!
Chapter 18: Gumshoos and Yungoos to Bash!
Next chapter preview:
Kaito: How are you faring up, big guy? It's been a while since we last met, huh...
Ash: Hold on, Kai... You mean you know the little guy? And Stoutland, too!?
Kaito: I guess you can say that... The old guy here and Litten I have some history together.
Ash: History together, huh? Litten... You're that stubborn to give that berry to it, huh...
Kaito: Persian... Why did it have to be a Dark Type? There's so many reasons why I hate it!
Ash: Hold on, Kai! You don't have to go that far just to help Litten out!
Events that occurred:
- Kaito reveals to have met Litten and Stoutland in the past with Buizel
- Kaito is revealed to have an animosity towards Alolan Meowth and Persian