Chapter 36: The Mysterious Trainer Named Tokio!
Last time on "Pokémon Alola Journey", the group was called in by Mallow as she wanted them to have a sample of her family restaurant's new dish, the legendary Alolan stew. While they were waiting, they met a new Trainer named Akira and his Rockruff.
But as everyone including Akira tasted the finished stew, it didn't turn out to be quite good as they thought it would be, due to Mallow using Pikachu's Thunderbolt instead of the Yellow Nectar that was supposed to be used for the real deal.
When told by Lillie that the Yellow Nectar wasn't in season, this didn't change Mallow's determination to complete the stew.
After saying goodbye to his classmates, Kaito guided Akira to where Prof. Kukui was living at, until Akira challenged him to a battle with his partner, Rockruff. As Kaito fought back, he discovered on how very little Akira's Rockruff seemed to know about fighting due to its moves being weaker than his scarred Rock Type.
But just before the battle could escalate any further, they were attacked by the same man that knocked Kaito away during the Iki Town Festival! His name is revealed to be Dulio, and a member of a new criminal organization called Team Kings.
Dulio attempts to strike at Kaito with his Golisopod striking at him and his three Pokémon, only for Zeraora to come to the rescue once again. Despite of Dulio's attempt to defeat Zeraora, the Thunderclap Pokémon proved to be more powerful than the man had thought it was.
At realizing that Golisopod would be outnumbered if this went on, Dulio runs off, while leaving the Alola boy irritated of what he had seen or heard of so far today.
"Hm..." Kaito sighed as he kept his face on his desk, feeling a bit irritated for the events that took place yesterday. While the day went crazy, it seemed to have ended a little "okay" after his confrontation against Dulio yesterday.
After Dulio fled out of sight with Zeraora no longer in his and Akira's sight, the Alola boy had taken Akira to Prof. Kukui's house, where the Alola Professor welcomed his nephew into his home, where Akira would be staying during his time in the Alola region.
After the escort, Kaito headed back to his own home, where he found out to see Shiho and Seita already asleep, making him prepare for bed and sleep with Buizel, as both Rockruff and Vulpix chose to sleep with the younger siblings.
And now, today... the Alola boy found it hard to concentrate on today's lesson as the events that occurred in the past were starting to bother him. He was paying attention as to when Prof. Kukui announced Akira as the new transfer student for their class.
Of course, everyone welcomed the newcomer to their class, as they had already become friends with Akira and his Rock Type partner yesterday when he came to visit Mallow's family restaurant.
And today, Prof. Kukui was lecturing everyone about the Pokémon that evolves at daytime and the Pokémon that evolves at nighttime. But the Alola boy wasn't paying attention much to class, remembering about what Dulio said before about Team Kings...
Flashback
"You brats just got lucky because of the Wanderer freak! The next time we meet, there will be nothing getting in my... No... Team Kings' way!" Dulio snapped before he threw a smoke bomb on the ground, causing the boys to lose sight of their attacker!
Flashback End
"Team Kings... Just who are they? From what I've heard yesterday and with the way that man said... They seem to be a criminal organization that is a lot similar to Team Skull and Team Rocket..." Kaito thought before he thought he heard the Professor calling to him.
"Kaito? Are you with us?" Prof. Kukui asked, catching the Alola boy's attention as he looked up to see the Professor and his classmates looking at him.
"H-Huh?" The Alola boy blinked several times to see the Alola Professor chuckling to see the Alola boy flustered at being called out.
"Kai... He was asking you a question about Lycanroc..." Lana whispered silently, causing the Alola boy to sweat drop and scratch the back of his head sheepishly.
"S-Sorry, Prof. Kukui... I wasn't really paying attention." Kaito said apologetically, causing Prof. Kukui to nod in understanding.
"It's fine! Although, I'm kind of surprised to see you not paying attention to this subject, since this also includes your Rockruff, which evolves depending on whether it's daytime or nighttime..." Prof. Kukui admitted with a small smile.
That left the Alola boy chuckling sheepishly before he sighed.
"Great... Now I'm having trouble in class due to my troubled thoughts..." Kaito thought before his face turned back to his grim expression once again. While the Professor went on with his lecture, the others looked at each other, before they looked back at the Alola boy in confusion.
Later...
"Really!? You and Akira were attacked by someone from another troublemaking group!?" Mallow exclaimed in shock.
After class had ended, Kaito explained of what he and Akira had to encounter when their battle was interrupted. Akira also filled in on the details, which surprised everyone, as they now discovered to know that their friends had some trouble with some criminal group.
"Yeah... And it was that same man who tried to get me out of the Festival Tournament. You guys remember, right?" Kaito asked, turning to Ash, Kiawe, and Sophocles, as they all nodded in agreement.
"Yeah... That guy looked really nasty, just by looking at him! And his attitude doesn't help, either!" Sophocles gulped, remembering on how Dulio looked for when he and the others encountered him the first time.
"Team Kings... Is it another group like Team Skull? Although, it sounds like they're more powerful than Team Skull, since that guy had a Z-Ring." Kiawe guessed, as he recalled that Kaito informed him of the man having a Z-Ring.
"It looked like it, but he never bothered using it. It's as if, he didn't think we were worthy enough to allow him to use our Z-Move on us..." Akira explained, only for Lillie to remind him on how good it was that he didn't use it.
"That's a good thing, though! You two would've gotten really hurt if that man had used the Z-Move against the both of you!" Lillie reminded as Camilla folded her arms, thinking about what she heard of about the new organization.
"Now that I think about it, I did see some shady men at the shopping district in my hometown... They looked like they were investigating for something. I believe they could be related to that man..." Camilla explained.
Hau nodded before he explained of what he had seen, too.
"Right! There was also the time for when Tutu had to battle against those goons early in the morning! They looked like they were trying to dominate Iki Town. But thanks to Tutu and his Hariyama, they never got the chance to do so!" Hau explained.
"They tried to dominate Iki Town...!?" Ash exclaimed in disbelief, earning a nod from the Kahuna's grandson.
"What's going on here...? Do they think the Alola region is just a place for them to take over just because they're just some big organization?" Kiawe asked, annoyed with the fact of what his friends had to go through.
Silence rose in the air, until Akira tried to clear the dark silence away with a sheepish grin on his face.
"A-Anyways! Let's just forget about this... This is getting us into a bad mood, so let's just think something else! Like what we learned today or what we're planning to do later on!" Akira suggested, causing the others to forget about their troubles.
"Yeah... Hey, Ash! You said you were going to help me with searching for the Yellow Nectar, right?" Mallow asked, causing the Kanto Trainer to nod before he and Mallow got ready to leave the school.
"Right! Let's go!" Ash exclaimed as the two said their goodbyes to the others before leaving. After they left, Kiawe was ready to leave as well, remembering on what he needed to do for his family farm.
"I need to help out at the farm again. And I'll also need to see if those goons are trying to terrorize my family farm there. I'll see you guys tomorrow?" Kiawe explained, earning nods from both Lana and Sophocles.
"Sure! See you tomorrow, Kiawe." Sophocles exclaimed, allowing the Fire Type user to make his leave as Camilla blinked, remembering what she had to do also.
"I need to head home, too. I'm going fishing with my Dad again, this time with my little brother." Camilla said as she got her bag and started to make her leave, with the others remaining saying goodbye to her as she left the room.
"What are you planning to do, Sophocles?" Hau asked, causing the Electric Type user to think it over before he came up with a plan.
"I'm going home. I want to research something over at my Sophocles Laboratory!" Sophocles said before he took and Togedemaru took their leave, after saying their goodbye to the ones still remaining in the classroom.
"Snowy, shall we get going?" Lillie asked, earning a coo from the Ice Type, as the timid student explained on how she wanted to buy some ingredients for some new Pokémon food that she wanted to make for Snowy, allowing the others to understand.
With that said, the timid student left with Snowy as that left Kaito, Akira, Lana, and Hau left in the classroom.
"You have any plans, Lan-Lan?" Kaito asked, earning a shaking head from the Water Type user.
"No... There's really nothing much for me to do back at home. What are you planning to do, Kai?" Lana asked, causing the Alola boy to think it over before Hau made another suggestion that the four of them can do together.
"How about a trip to the malasada shop? Maybe we can think of something of what we want to do once we're there!" Hau suggested cheekily, causing Kaito to sweat drop at the quick suggestion.
"Malasadas again...? Hau, you keep eating those... you're gonna end up as one of them." Kaito reminded with a raised eyebrow, causing the Kahuna's grandson to turn pale at the very thought of it happening.
"W-Wait, what!? Seriously!?" Hau exclaimed, causing Lana and Akira to both chuckle at the reaction the Kahuna's grandson gave off until Kaito chuckled at the expression, before he waved it off as a joke.
"I'm just kidding... Like that can ever happen." Kaito assured, causing Hau to sigh in relief before the four came in agreement to head for the malasada shop at the shopping center.
Meanwhile...
While the four students were heading for the malasada shop, they didn't notice a boy standing on top of ridge where it was higher than where the four was walking on. At the sight of Akira and Kaito, the boy gave a small smirk.
"So... those two are the ones Father had taken interest on. And there's even that Sea Gauntlet attached to that guy's arm..." The boy said calmly before he glanced to see a mysterious Pokémon behind him.
"Let's go give them a nice greeting, shall we?" The boy suggested, earning a grunt from the mysterious Pokémon.
With that decided, the boy made his leave, preparing to encounter the four students, mainly for both Kaito and Akira.
Back to Kaito and the others...
"The Thunderclap Wanderer came back again...?" Lana asked, surprised at what she heard from the Alola boy, earning a nod from him as Akira and Hau were busy chowing down on the malasadas given to them.
"Yeah... The more it shows up, the less I understand it... Why do you think it's so fond of me, protecting me from whatever danger I get into? You know this isn't the first time it done this before, right?" Kaito asked.
The Water Type user nodded, recalling of when she and Kaito got to encounter the Thunderclap Wanderer for the first time.
"The first time it was when Vulpix was still an Egg, right?" Lana asked, earning a nod from the Alola boy as he thought back to when their first encounter was done.
Flashback
Muk could only gape in surprise before he felt something leave his slimy hand as he widened his eyes in horror to see that the Egg was taken away from him by only a second!
For the Trainers and their three Pokémon, they all opened their eyes to see something suddenly appearing in front of them with high speed as it knelt down, handing Kaito the Egg it had taken from Muk.
Kaito could only blink before he looked at the eyes of the one who saved him and his friends, along with the Egg. It wasn't human, but some sort of... Pokémon. But it wasn't any kind of Pokémon that he had seen before in the Alola region.
It seemed to be an Electric Type, considering that its body was mostly yellow. It even had black underfur and yellow fur on its head, forearms, chest, hips, and upper legs. Blue fur can also be seen on its forehead, chest, and whiskers.
Its eyes and paw-pads are similarly blue. Black zigzagging stripes can be seen on its thighs and forearms. It also had four-fingered paws, while its feet have three toes each. A long, yellow, thunderbolt-shaped ponytail extends from the back of its head, giving the appearance of an actual tail.
"Who... are you?" Kaito asked in disbelief as the Pokémon only smiled down at him softly, as if it knew who Kaito was before it offered to give the Pokémon Egg back again.
Understanding this, the Alola boy took it in his arms, before looking at the Pokémon, feeling grateful for what it did just now.
Flashback End
"I really thought we were done for when that Muk unleashed its devastating attack on us..." Kaito admitted, causing the Water Type user to nod in agreement.
"Yeah, me too... Good thing that the Wanderer saved us in the nick of time..." Lana agreed, as Hau coughed. Catching the others' attention, he also brought up the time for when he and Kaito encountered the Wanderer.
"You're not the only one who got to see the Wanderer with Kai, Lana... We were almost ambushed badly by Team Skull when they suddenly came out of nowhere to steal our Pokémon..." Hau reminded, thinking back of when the Wanderer appeared.
Flashback
But before any of the grunts could make a command for an attack, a bolt of lightning struck in the middle, stopping both sides from letting a harsh battle begin!
"What in the...!? What's going on!?" Tupp snapped in surprise.
"What's happening!? What's with the lightning show!?" Zipp yelped in surprise.
"I don't know! But I don't think it means anything good!" Rapp added in worry.
Kaito remained quiet as he kept his eyes widened to see who had interfered in the harsh battle that was about to take place. When he noticed the figure that stood up from where the lightning struck, the Alola boy widened his eyes in shock and disbelief.
"No way..." Kaito breathed out as Hau just watched in amazement.
Buizel and Rockruff on the other hand, felt the same as their Trainer as they watched in shock to see their yellow savior from before standing up and glaring at the Team Skull grunts, seemingly by annoyance!
Eevee and Pichu were only amazed to see such a Pokémon as neither of them saw a Pokémon like this before.
"W-What is that Pokémon!?" Zipp asked in surprise.
"I've never seen such Pokémon before! Have you, Tupp?" Rapp asked, causing Tupp to deny it as he narrowed his eyes.
"No, but if none of us have seen it before, then it must be a rare Pokémon! All right, gang! New plan! Capture that Pokémon and hit it with everything that you've got!" Tupp called out, causing all the other grunts to cry out their agreement.
"YEAH!" The grunts all cried out. At hearing this, Kaito got ready to defend his yellow savior.
"No you don't! Buizel! Rockruff! Help it-" Kaito started to say only to see the Thunderclap Wanderer to stop him by raising its furry arm, as if it was asking him not to interfere before it glared back to its unfair opponents.
Flashback End
"Man... That Wanderer was REALLY strong! It took out those Team Skull numbskulls, as if they were nothing to worry about!" Hau chuckled with a grin, as he felt amazed for what he had seen from the Electric Type.
Nodding in agreement, the Alola boy then recalled of when he and Lillie were on the run from Team Rocket when they were being chased, due to the evil trio wanting to steal both Snowy and Vulpix from them.
"There was also that time when Team Rocket tried to steal both Snowy and Vulpix... The Wanderer came in the nick of time again..." Kaito explained, catching others' attention as he explained of his third encounter with the Thunderclap Wanderer.
Flashback
Just when it looked like they were going to fall, something caught the both of them before they fell down! The two Pokémon of Kaito's both gasped in surprise, as did both Ash and Mallow, along with Pikachu, Rotom, and Bounsweet!
As Kaito held Vulpix in his arms closely, he slowly opened his eyes to see who saved both him and the timid student, only to get a surprise as he recognized the savior...
"You're...!" Kaito breathed out as he had laid eyes on the Thunderclap Wanderer. The Wanderer gave the Alola boy a relieved smile before it placed both him and Lillie on the ground gently by the time Ash and Mallow ran over.
"Kai!"
"Lillie!" The two friends checked up on their friends as the timid student slowly opened her eyes to see who was behind her.
"Mallow...?" Lillie asked, confused as to why the Grass Type user was here with the Kanto Trainer.
"Just in time!" Mallow sighed in relief before Ash turned to the Alola boy.
"Kai, you okay?" Ash asked, causing the Alola boy to slowly nod before he looked back to where the Thunderclap Wanderer stood, its smile disappearing and its face expression showing how serious it was when it had noticed the two other human kids coming into the scene.
"Y-Yeah... Thanks to our savior over there..." Kaito grunted as he stood up, with the Fox Pokémon in his arms. The Fire Type cooed in worry, causing Kaito to smile at her before he heard Buizel and Rockruff calling to him as they ran over towards him.
"I'm fine, you two... It's all thanks to our friend over there." Kaito assured, as he referred to the Wanderer. Both of his Pokémon turned to see the Electric Type in front of them while Ash, Mallow, and Lillie watched in amazement.
"That's the Thunderclap Wanderer...? The one Kahuna Hala mentioned about?" Ash asked in surprise.
"Oh my..." Lillie breathed out while Snowy eyed the Electric Type in awe.
Flashback End
"I was wondering how Lillie was able to touch Snowy after the day she was born... I guess we should also be thanking the Wanderer for saving Lillie, since because of that experience... Lillie was able to touch Snowy." Lana said softly.
"Yeah... And let's not forget the time when that creep attacked us out of nowhere..." Kaito reminded, turning to Akira, who understood on what the Alola boy was talking about.
"You're talking about what happened yesterday, right?" Akira asked, earning a nod from the Alola boy.
Flashback
"Whoa! Who's that Pokémon!?" Akira exclaimed as Kaito breathed out the title belonging to the Thunderclap Pokémon.
"The Thunderclap Wanderer... It's here again. Just like those other times..." Kaito breathed out, catching Akira's attention as Dulio gritted his teeth in frustration as he pointed at the Wanderer who got in his way of his task.
"What the heck...!? Get out of my way, you freak! My business is with the kid and his Gauntlet, not you!" Dulio demanded angrily, irritating the Thunderclap Wanderer as it powered up its Thunder Punch attack before slamming Golisopod away!
The power from the Wanderer surprised the three humans witnessing this, as Golisopod tumbled back, before regaining its footing on the ground.
"Why you...! So you want to fight and get in my way, eh!? Fine! After I finish you, the kid is next! Golisopod, Swords Dance!" Dulio yelled, allowing Golisopod to raise its power level before switching for an attack.
"Now, use Liquidation!" Dulio exclaimed, causing Golisopod to knock the Thunderclap Pokémon into the air with a burst of water, shocking the boys as they watched the Wanderer get hit hard by the attack.
"Oh no!" Kaito exclaimed until he noticed the Wanderer having the determination remain on its face before it glared to where Golisopod stood. At making the perfect timing for a counterattack, the Thunderclap Wanderer shot electricity from its paw!
The move shocked Golisopod, causing it to roar in pain and surprise Dulio, who didn't expect a counterattack while the opponent was in mid-air.
Both boys gasped at the quick counterattack and recovery the Wanderer has made before it fell on the ground on its feet, growling at the enemy who was shocked by the counterattack the Wanderer had performed just now.
Flashback End
The four students became silent after the fourth encounter Kaito had, excluding the time for when Kaito had seen it training with Rockruff. Hau was scratching his head before he made up a guess on why the encounters went on.
"Hey... You don't think it's because... it thinks you're a friend? Maybe you two have met each other before you and Lana met that thing. I mean, that could be the reason why it could be fond of you, right?" Hau asked, causing the Alola boy to frown.
"That could be it... Friends, huh?" Kaito asked himself before he recalled the poking on the forehead the Wanderer had given him a few times during their encounters.
"That felt familiar, but..." Kaito started to think before Akira interrupted his thoughts with a groan.
"Ugh! Enough with the negative or complicated thoughts! We all came here to hang out together, right? So let's just enjoy with whatever time we have left today! Because the day will be over soon!" Akira reminded loudly.
That brought everyone out of their thinking before they all smiled at each other, all understanding on what the newcomer was trying to say.
"You're right, Akira... We all came here to bond with one another, so that we can be more comfortable with each other, right...?" Lana agreed, with Popplio giving a bark of agreement as she got onto Lana's lap.
"Yeah... Oh man! I ate all of them already!?" Hau started to agree before he took notice of his empty plate, filled with nothing but crumbs left.
"That's because you and Akira were both eating while Lana and I were talking back on the past..." Kaito reminded with a deadpanned expression, only for Hau to brighten up as Akira gave a bright suggestion to him.
"If that's the case, then how about we order some more! I'm down!" Akira suggested, allowing Hau to grin at the idea.
"Yeah! More malasadas, please!" Hau called to the waiter at the shop, only to be glared at by both Kaito and Lana, as they were starting to get a little irritated for how much both Akira and Hau were eating together.
"You both had enough! Now stop eating unless you REALLY want to turn into a malasada!" Kaito snapped, looking like he was steaming.
"You're both going to be fat like two Snorlax if you keep this up..." Lana spoke out bluntly, causing both Akira and Hau to pale at the reminder, as they both chuckled sheepishly at the glares their friends were giving them.
"Y-Yeah... I know! I was just kidding!" Akira assured sheepishly.
"R-Right! Me, too! I can save some for tomorrow or next week!" Hau agreed, causing their two classmates to lose their cold expressions.
"Well... That's nice." Kaito said simply, causing Hau to sweat drop at the immediate expression change.
"He went from steaming mad to cooling down!?" Hau thought as Akira gave a sheepish grin to Lana, who sighed at what she had gotten herself into.
Later...
With the sun starting to set, the four classmates began to walk back home together, all planning to part with one another when the time was up.
"Ugh... I don't think I can eat dinner tonight..." Hau said as he rubbed his stomach, with Kaito sighing.
"I told you not to overdo it... but you ended up doing it anyway. You better be thankful that Lana and I stopped you and Akira from overeating. Otherwise, you both would've had to struggle back home." Kaito reminded bluntly.
"That's true..." Hau mumbled while pouting as Akira put his hands on the back of his head.
"Hey, Kaito... Hau told me before that you defeated the Island Kahuna here in Melemele Island? Kahuna Hala, right?" Akira asked, earning a nod from the Alola boy.
"Yeah... But in order to start the Grand Trial, I had to face another Trial, which was to go up against a Totem Pokémon. A Totem Pokémon like Gumshoos and his friends of Gumshoos and Yungoos..." Kaito explained, recalling of when he and Ash faced the Normal Types together.
"Hm... So there are Totem Pokémon like Uncle Kukui said..." Akira said to himself as the four were approaching a fork in the road where they would soon part ways with one another. That was, until...
"Hey there!" A boy called out, catching everyone's attention.
They all turned to see a boy that seemed rather plain and calm. Although, he seemed to have a mysterious aura around him as Hau was the first one to greet him, unaware of the mysterious feeling he was getting.
"Hi! I don't think any of us have met you before! You live around Melemele Island?" Hau asked, causing the boy to scratch the back of his head.
"I guess you can say something like that... My name is Tokio. Are you all Pokémon Trainers, too?" The boy, now known as Tokio asked, causing the students to blink before Lana responded softly.
"Y-Yes, we are. We're also students from the Pokémon School. Is there something you want from us?" Lana asked, causing Tokio to smile before he turned to Akira, who blinked for the sudden attention he was getting.
"I was hoping to challenge one of you to a battle. You see, this Pokémon here in this Pokéball has been training for a while, so I wanted to test its strength on anyone who wants to fight. Would you like a challenge?" Tokio asked.
He directed this question to the newcomer of Alola, causing Akira and the others to blink before the newcomer smirked at the challenge.
"Alright... yeah! This is a good chance for a warmup so that I can get ready for the Island Challenge! Rockruff, you ready to go?" Akira asked, turning to the Puppy Pokémon, who barked in affirmation as he was ready for a fight.
Hau, Lana, and Kaito stepped back to watch the Pokémon battle begin as the boy sent out his Pokémon.
"Prepare yourself, then! This Pokémon is nothing like you guys have seen before! Come out, Type: Null!" Tokio called out as he sent out a Pokémon that looked rather... scary and peculiar.
Everyone besides Tokio had their eyes wide open in surprise as they had never seen a Pokémon like this before in their life.
The Pokémon looked like some sort of masked beast that looked like it would tear anything apart. The Pokémon looked rather strange, as its legs and tail were completely different to the main body.
"What the... What kind of a Pokémon is that?" Hau asked in disbelief, with Lana frowning.
"I don't know... but it looks kind of scary..." Lana admitted, with Popplio shivering in agreement.
Buizel just glared while the Alola boy frowned at the new, but mysterious Pokémon the Trainer had brought out.
"What kind of a Pokémon is this...?" Kaito asked, his tone feeling a little hesitant and dark at the same time. The presence this Pokémon was giving off was rather... ominous and cold... enough to make someone freeze up in fear at just the sight of it!
"This is Type: Null, known as the Synthetic Pokémon. Of course, I doubt any of you would know it since it's a Pokémon that is unique... There's only three of them in the Alola region right now, with me having one of them." Tokio explained.
"Only three...? That's similar to the Legendary Pokémon's number..." Hau breathed out in disbelief.
But for Akira, he didn't seem too fazed out as he gave a small grin, while feeling the pressure trying to push him down.
Akira: Rockruff VS Tokio: Type: Null
"I've never seen a Pokémon like that before, but... Then again, it's not like I expected any Pokémon to be ordinary like the ones I've seen back at my home region! Rockruff, you ready!?" Akira asked, earning an affirmative bark from the peculiar Rock Type.
"All right, let's go! Use Bite!" Akira shouted out.
With the first move called out, the Puppy Pokémon shot forward to bite onto Type: Null's leg. The move did make a hit, only for Akira to get a surprise when the Synthetic Pokémon didn't even flinch at the bite.
"Shake it off, and then use Swords Dance!" Tokio called out.
Knocking Rockruff away with its leg, the mysterious Pokémon roared a bit, with the roar being muffled by the mask it's covered in. Swords clashed together around it, raising its attack power by a lot!
"Swords Dance will make the physical attacks more stronger if it hits!" Kaito commented as Akira called for another attack.
"In that case, we'll keep attacking to make sure to wear you out! Use Rock Throw!" Akira called out. The peculiar Puppy Pokémon howled before throwing sharp rocks to hurt the Synthetic Pokémon, until Tokio countered with the same move!
"Swords Dance again..." Tokio called out, making Type: Null take the Rock Type attack before it raised its attack power more with Swords Dance!
"He used Swords Dance again..." Lana pointed out before Akira called for another attack.
"This is going to get tough, then...! Rockruff, use Double Team! Then, use Rock Tomb!" Akira called out, allowing the peculiar Puppy Pokémon to make clones of himself while creating boulders to crash onto where Type: Null stood!
"That's going to do a lot of damage if it gets hit!" Hau exclaimed until Tokio just smiled softly, but in a confident way.
"Use Swords Dance once more..." Tokio called out, allowing Type: Null to take the multiple Rock Type attacks before it raised its attack power to the maximum!
"Hey, what's with you? Can't you see your Pokémon could be hurting from the attacks you're giving it!? What's your problem!?" Akira snapped, annoyed with the strategy that Tokio seemed to be using as the boy smirked.
"Hurt? From attacks like that? Please... With Type: Null's ability, Battle Armor... No matter how many times you attack it, there can't be any direct hits onto it. Meaning, even if your attacks are powerful, they won't do critical hits..." Tokio explained softly with a smirk.
"Say what!?" Akira exclaimed in surprise with Lana surprised at such ability.
"I've never heard of such ability before..." Lana admitted as Tokio soon began to head for the offensive lines in battle.
"Now then... Since you've had your fun in attacking... I suppose it's fair if I take a turn, right?" Tokio asked darkly, catching the newcomer of Alola by surprise as the mysterious boy turned to his Synthetic Pokémon.
"Type: Null, show them your power with X-Scissor!" Tokio called out, allowing Type: Null to leap into the air, catching both Akira and Rockruff off guard! The others at the sidelines watched to see it happen as the Bug Type move started to reach for Rockruff.
"Not good! Double Team, Rockruff!" Akira exclaimed, allowing Rockruff to make clones of himself again, forcing the X-Scissor attack to miss until Tokio smirked.
"That won't save you... Aerial Ace!" Tokio called out, allowing Type: Null to use its glaring eyes before it slashed Rockruff away! The clones disappeared the moment the real one was struck away.
"What!?" Akira gasped, causing the others to gasp in shock.
"It already figured where Rockruff was at!? This Pokémon... This is no ordinary Pokémon, isn't it!?" Kaito thought as both Buizel and Popplio watched in horror to see the peculiar Rock Type get struck hard before he tumbled onto the ground.
"Rockruff!" Akira exclaimed as he ran over to check his Pokémon, only to find his Rock Type groaning in defeat.
"No way..." Hau breathed out as Akira held his defeated Rock Type, before he glared to where Tokio was standing with Type: Null.
Winner: Tokio
"Would you look at that... We won, Type: Null." Tokio said coolly, causing the Synthetic Pokémon to grunt in agreement as Kaito narrowed his eyes.
"What's with this guy? His expression from the start of the battle... Did he know that he was going to win the moment it started? Then why bother challenging Akira in the first place if he was that sure of his victory?" Kaito thought, a sweat starting to drip from his forehead.
As the Alola boy stared at the mysterious boy, Tokio turned his eyes on him, catching Kaito by surprise.
"Would you like to challenge Type: Null as well? Type: Null needs to get stronger so it can be ready to face off against any Pokémon... Even if those Pokémon are the Island Guardians or the Legendary Pokémon in Alola." Tokio explained.
"The Island Guardians and the Legendary Pokémon in Alola? He's planning to challenge them later?" Lana asked in concern as Kaito narrowed his eyes.
"Type: Null... A mysterious Pokémon with a unique ability and its strong physical attacks... I better be careful if I want to try and win against it." Kaito thought before he turned to Buizel, who looked ready to battle.
"Buizel, you up for it?" Kaito asked, earning a determined nod from the Sea Weasel Pokémon.
"Bui!" was all Kaito needed to hear before he took Akira's place, who joined up with Hau and Lana to tend to his partner's wounds.
"It's okay, Rockruff. You did your best... That's all that matters." Akira said softly, as he attempted to soothe his peculiar Puppy Pokémon's upset mood while trying to care for his wounds. Lana aided him in this task while Hau watched the next battle begin.
"You first." Tokio offered, allowing his opponent to make the first move.
Kaito: Buizel VS Tokio: Type: Null
(Metal Fight: King's Theme 2)
"Don't take us so lightly! Buizel, Agility!" Kaito exclaimed, causing the Sea Weasel Pokémon to speed up, as he sped around the field to confuse the Synthetic Pokémon, as Tokio smirked.
"Speed, huh? In that case, Type: Null! Swords Dance!" Tokio exclaimed, causing the mysterious Pokémon to boost its physical strength with the swords clashing around it! Lana frowned at the sight of it while helping Akira out.
"It's raising its attack power like the last battle!" Lana exclaimed as Kaito narrowed his eyes.
"In that case, Buizel! Use Rain Dance!" Kaito called out, allowing the Sea Weasel Pokémon to raise its orange paws up high in the air to summon rain clouds. Rain began to pour in as Tokio raised an eyebrow.
"Oh...?" was all Tokio said as the battle went on with the Alola boy making the next attack.
"Your Type: Null may have high attack power, but what would be the point of it if you won't be able to land a hit!? Buizel, Aqua Jet!" Kaito called out as Buizel did so by surrounding himself with water!
Then, thanks to Agility's power and the Rain Dance's power and speed boost effect with his ability, Swift Swim, the Sea Weasel Pokémon sped around the Synthetic Pokémon, much to its annoyance as it glanced around to see where Buizel is.
"So it's that trick, eh? Confusing Type: Null to make its guard down... Not very wise, if you ask me." Tokio sighed, causing Kaito to narrow his eyes.
"Say what...!?" Kaito grunted as Tokio made the next move.
"Aerial Ace, let's go!" Tokio shouted out, causing Type: Null to roar before it slashed to strike at Buizel. But despite of Aerial Ace's effect to never miss, the attack narrowly misses, making it hard for Buizel to continue his speed combo.
"Narrowly misses... If one of them hits Buizel, then it's going to be trouble! Buizel, make some distance! Attack with Ice Beam!" Kaito called out, forcing Buizel to cancel out his speed combo before he froze one of Type: Null's legs with the Ice Type attack.
That caught Tokio a little off guard as he scoffed to see his Pokémon's legs get trapped by the ice.
"Tch... That's rather cold and annoying..." Tokio commented as Hau grinned.
"Yeah! Now that's what we're talking about! Type: Null shouldn't be able to move around thanks to the ice trapping it!" Hau exclaimed as the battle went on, with the Alola boy calling out the next attack.
"Keep the pressure going, Buizel! Use Aqua Jet and Agility back to back!" Kaito called out, allowing the Sea Weasel Pokémon to strike at the Synthetic Pokémon several times. Although, the multiple attacks did very little as Type: Null just growled at the hits it was getting.
"It's still hanging in there! It's like it has a high defense or something!" Hau pointed out as Tokio narrowed his eyes.
"I've grown rather tired of this game. Shall we take this to another level so that it would end the battle even quicker?" Tokio asked, catching the four students by surprise as the mysterious boy smirked, before he called out another move.
"Iron Head!" Tokio called out, catching Akira by surprise as he pointed out the trapped Synthetic Pokémon.
"Wait, what!? But Type: Null shouldn't be able to move because of Buizel's Ice Beam freezing it in its tracks!" Akira exclaimed until he and the others watched to see the Synthetic Pokémon break free from the ice easily!
"No way..." Kaito breathed out as he watched the Steel Type move struck Buizel hard and cause him to skid on the ground!
"Buizel, no!" Kaito exclaimed, causing Popplio to call out for the Sea Weasel Pokémon. The same went for Akira's Rockruff, who barked weakly to cheer for his new Water Type friend.
"X-Scissor, let's go..." Tokio called out, causing the Synthetic Pokémon to jump and prepare to land the hard Bug Type attack to where Buizel struggled to stand!
"Get out of there with Aqua Jet, Buizel!" Kaito shouted out, allowing the Sea Weasel Pokémon to narrowly dodge until the mysterious Trainer ordered another attack for his Synthetic Pokémon to use.
"Use Aerial Ace and make the hit!" Tokio called out. At the order, Type: Null roared before slashing Buizel away, despite of the low speed it had on it!
"No!" Kaito gasped, causing the others to gasp in shock as well.
(End POV)
"Buizel's in trouble!" Hau exclaimed as he and the others watched to see the Sea Weasel Pokémon struggle to stand, interesting Tokio as he smirked at the Sea Weasel Pokémon that looked rather angry for what he had to endure so far.
"Oh? It's still standing? I gotta say, I'm rather impressed with the persistence your Buizel has itself." Tokio admitted softly, earning a glare from the Alola boy as he watched the Sea Weasel Pokémon struggle to stand and keep fighting as it glared at the Synthetic Pokémon.
Type: Null just growled as Tokio smirked in amusement, until Akira raised a question to the mysterious boy.
"You... You're no ordinary Trainer, are you!? Who are you really!? And why challenge us to a battle?" Akira snapped as Tokio smirked, before he explain of what his dream was for himself and the Pokémon.
"Let's just say... that I'm a Trainer who wishes to see the potential of every Pokémon. When ever a Pokémon gets hurt or when it gets very determining, they grow their potential, which is more than enough to take their strong opponent down." Tokio explained.
"A Pokémon's potential...?" Lana breathed out in disbelief.
"Is that the reason why you let your Type: Null take all that damage from Akira during your first battle with him!?" Kaito asked, earning a dark smirk from the mysterious Trainer.
"What I do is what I like to do... And Type: Null seems to agree with my methods when it comes to a battle like this. Isn't that right, Type: Null?" Tokio asked, directing his question to the Synthetic Pokémon, who gave a small nod and grunt in affirmation.
"So that Pokémon likes to take hits so that it can become stronger? That reminds me of a certain Pokémon that looked it wanted to get strong while taking serious damages at the same time..." Kaito breathed out, recalling of what Rockruff did during its training to face the Thunderclap Wanderer.
"Anyways, where were we? Oh, right... The battle. Type: Null, raise your powers once more with Swords Dance!" Tokio called out, until Kaito went on to strike back with the same moves but with a different approach.
"He's gonna raise his power more if this keeps up! In that case...!" Kaito started to think before he called for a countermove.
"Don't think I'll let you reach Buizel with your attacks! Use Ice Beam, Bui!" Kaito called out, allowing the Sea Weasel Pokémon to shoot the ice to where Type: Null was standing at, which caught the two off guard.
"What's this...?" Tokio asked as he watched the ice spread around where Type: Null stood as the Synthetic Pokémon tried to move, only to slip on the ice that Buizel created from his Ice Beam attack.
"This is new... Didn't think you'd pull that off." Tokio admitted before the attacks continued to go on, with the Alola boy making the first move first.
"This is where things get really started! Continue using Ice Beam!" Kaito shouted out, causing the Sea Weasel Pokémon to continue freezing the Synthetic Pokémon with the Ice Type attack, until it was completely frozen, leaving the head in the open!
"That's gotta be cold for that Pokémon... Even with that hard mask and body, it got to have felt that, right?" Hau commented, seeing how much ice froze the Synthetic Pokémon as Tokio scoffed in annoyance.
"How annoying... Breaking the ice will be a pain... Type: Null, don't waste any more time! Break free with Swords Dance!" Tokio called out, causing the masked Pokémon to roar before swords clashed around it!
At that point, the ice began to crack, catching everyone's attention before the ice completely shattered! Everyone gaped at the sight of it before Kaito realized what this meant if the attack power of Type: Null has increased to its maximum strength.
"That doesn't sound good... Buizel, let's try to wrap this up with a Z-Move!" Kaito called out, catching Tokio's interest as he smirked. As for Buizel, he gave a "Bui" of agreement before he and his human brother got ready to make the pose together.
With the Sea Gauntlet glowing in response to the two preparing their Z-Move, the Waterium-Z was glowing also, as the two made movements to make their Water Type Z-Move go on.
"Go hard! Hydro Vortex, let's go!" Kaito yelled as the Sea Weasel Pokémon let out a loud battle cry, before he launched himself to strike Type: Null, who took the hit without any resistance! As the attack went on, the Synthetic Pokémon took multiple damages, looking like it was really hurt!
With the Z-Move's work done, Buizel jumped and skidded back to where his human brother was standing. Kaito on the other hand, narrowed his eyes, hoping that his victory was assured from that Z-Move.
The others watched to what the results were as well, until...
"No way...!" Hau gasped in disbelief. Lana and Akira both widened their eyes in shock, as did Popplio, Akira's Rockruff, and Buizel! Kaito was the most shocked one as they all took notice at seeing Type: Null looking injured, but it remained strong at its feet.
Tokio narrowed his eyes at seeing how much damage the Z-Move had done as he bit his lips.
"To think it would cause that much damage... I guess I shouldn't be surprised. But still... it seems that you failed to get the job done." Tokio said coldly, catching Kaito off guard before the mysterious boy took out something familiar from his pocket.
Hau immediately recognized it as he widened his eyes.
"Hey! Isn't that...! A Z-Ring!?" Hau asked, catching everyone else's attention before they turned to see Tokio equipping his Z-Ring onto his left wrist.
"You have sharp eyes. And you're right. I got this Z-Ring as a gift from my father... Like you guys, I'm trying out the Island Challenge as well, hoping to encounter strong opponents and strong Pokémon..." Tokio explained.
As he was speaking, he equipped a Z-Crystal onto the Z-Ring, revealing it to be... a Steelium-Z.
"It's a Steel Type Z-Crystal..." Hau pointed out as Tokio began to form a pose.
"Since you showed me your Z-Move, I suppose it's fair if I showed you mine, right?" Tokio asked, causing both Kaito and Buizel to widen their eyes. With the amount of energy Buizel used for Hydro Vortex, the Alola boy knew that Buizel won't have the energy to dodge this!
And not to mention, with Type: Null's moves being mostly physical and with Swords Dance's effect raising its physical attack power to the maximum, there was no doubt that the Steel Type Z-Move would do a catastrophic amount of damage if Buizel were to get hit.
"Not good...!" Kaito gasped as he began to pale on what was about to happen.
"N-No way... Are we... losing!?" Kaito thought as the Z-Ring began to glow, allowing Tokio to prepare making the Z-Move pose. But just before he and Type: Null could unleash their devastating attack...
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP
A beeping noise caught everyone's attention as Tokio cancelled his pose, before he picked up what seems to be a phone from his pocket.
"Yes? Yes... Oh, I see... All right, then. I'll be on my way, then." Tokio said before he put his phone away, ending the call. Taking the Z-Ring off his wrist, he took out a Pokéball and recalled the Synthetic Pokémon back.
At this, the Alola boy and his friends all blinked at what the mysterious boy was doing.
"W-What are you...?!" Kaito started to ask until Tokio lost his cold expression, before replacing it with a calm smile.
"I've been called back home. It's a shame that our battle had to be interrupted this way, but... I had fun. I'm looking forward to our rematch." Tokio said as he began to make his leave, with no one noticing the small smirk he had on his face.
As the mysterious boy left, Akira, Lana, Popplio, Rockruff, and Hau ran over to where both Kaito and Buizel stood, with the Alola boy holding his wounded Sea Weasel Pokémon in his arms.
"Kai! Are you and Buizel okay?!" Lana asked with concern.
"Pop? Popplio...?" Popplio asked, having the same concern as Lana did. Kaito's face darkened as he fell to his knees, while trying to comfort his injured Water Type, catching the others by surprise.
"Kai...?" Hau started to ask before he noticed the Alola boy trembling a little. Whether if it's due to fear or anger, the Kahuna's grandson didn't know. Akira and Luna noticed this too, as did their Pokémon partners.
"We almost lost... So badly... I can't believe... that we played right into his hands... Even our Z-Move wasn't enough to finish the battle." Kaito breathed out, his tone starting to quiet down. But everyone was able to see his teeth gritting a little.
"Kaito..." Akira started to say before the Alola boy shook his head.
"This is just... insane...! So this... is the limit of our bond and strength together?" Kaito asked, catching Lana by surprise as she opened her mouth to say something. But at the sight of her good friend like that, nothing came out of her mouth.
"Kaito..." was all the Water Type user could say as she and the others watched Kaito hug the Sea Weasel Pokémon close, as Buizel weakly tried to comfort his human brother back by nudging his nose several times, along with a weak "Bui".
Aside from the injured Water Type, no one was able to see the tears starting to well up on the Alola boy's darkened face as Kaito gritted his teeth.
"How... am I supposed to solve the mysteries that I want to solve if this is the limit of our strength together...!?" Kaito thought before he kept his head down.
Silence rose in the air as the sun continued to set down in the dark orange sky.
Meanwhile...
Tokio walked on the path in the forest, thinking back to how his battle with Akira and Kaito went with Type: Null facing both Rockruff and Buizel separately.
"Those two... They definitely have potential in them. And to think Type: Null was about to get cornered badly as the battle went on. Looks like I severely underestimated them..." Tokio thought before he smirked.
"But then again... If it weren't for that call, I would've won that second battle against Kaito. That look on his face showed that he knew he was going to lose. But of course, as many people say... there is a benefit in losing. You get to learn from your mistakes." Tokio thought again.
With that thought in mind, the mysterious boy continued to make his way across the forest, heading to a place where he called home.
To be continued...
Kaito's Team:
Buizel (M): (Ice Beam, Agility, Rain Dance, Aqua Jet)
Rockruff (M): (Crunch, Dig, Rock Slide, Howl)
Vulpix (F): (Ember, Roar, Baby-Doll Eyes, Quick Attack)
Next chapters:
Chapter 37: The Training to Battle a Mythical!
Chapter 38: A Mythical and Guardian's Challenge!
Chapter 39: Off to Treasure Island! Kaito and Ash!
Chapter 40: It's a Tough Task! A Scared Eevee?
Chapter 41: Litten Returns! A New Life! Pt. 1
Next chapter preview:
Ash: Tapu Koko gave both of us the Z-Ring! So I want to show it on stronger Pikachu and I can get together!
Kaito: I have many questions that I need answered... One of them involves the Thunderclap Wanderer, who I've seen many times so far.
Hau: So you're saying you're going to battle against the Thunderclap Wanderer while Ash battles Tapu Koko!? That's crazy, but awesome!
Sophocles: If you're both battling Electric Types, then I'm your man! Why don't you two come to my house today?
Kaito: If it's no trouble, then thanks. If I battle the Wanderer, then there's a chance I might be able to remember more about it...
Ash: Tapu Koko and the Thunderclap Wanderer... I wonder which one of them is stronger? An Island Guardian and the Wanderer...
Events that occurred:
- Kaito, Hau, Lana, and Akira meets a mysterious Trainer named Tokio
- Tokio is revealed to have a mysterious Pokémon called Type: Null
- Akira challenges Tokio to a battle, but loses
- Kaito challenges Tokio to a battle, which ends with no result