Chapter 3: Verdant Cavern! The Home of Llima's Trial and lots of Yungoos! Part 1
The next instalment is here. Sorry, but life and other stories get in the way. Here is the pokemon list:
Ash's Pokémon:
Rowlet
Pikachu:
Drifloon:
Hau's Pokémon :
Litten
Ghastly
Krystal's Pokémon:
Leaf (Rowlet)
Petal Flabébé)
Rowan (Growlithe)
Luna's Pokémon:
Ivy (Ponyta)
Missy (Misdreavus)
I am removing the moves because I copied this off an earlier chapter and I couldn't be bothered working out what they would have known. It will come back later on though. Also, do you want the sequel with the continue to be together, or split? Don't forget, Ash's journey is AU, because he has only gone to some regions.
I have changed my mind about pairings, and I am going to do a poll, okay? I am going to have the ability for two choices, one for Ash and one for Luna. I am happy with keeping Hau and Krystal together :)
The next morning, Luna and Krystal both slept in, having had a late night. When Luna woke up, she was feeling a little confused. She had had a dream where a woman was singing to her, then it morphed into her being carried in a pelipper's beak, which in typical dream fashion then turned into something random: her and Ash watching Hau and Krystal dance as if they were drunk. Luna hoped that didn't happen any time soon.
Luna than thought about the song: the woman, whoever she was, wasn't singing any song, it was a song in an unknown language, or one unknown to Luna. Luna had no idea who the woman was, but she assumed it was her mother, or a babysitter, or something along those lines. She would like to know though.
"Luna, are you alright? You have been staring at the mirror for a while now. There is nothing wrong with how you look if that's what your thinking," Krystal said, coming up behind her.
Luna jumped: she had no idea Krystal was up! Luna shook herself, then said, "Just thinking about a dream I had, that's all." Luna noticed Krystal was still in her nightclothes while Luna was fully dressed. Luna almost laughed at herself at being so much in thought she didn't hear her friend slash cousin get up.
"Oh? What happened in it?" Krystal asked, curious.
"You know how I sometimes start talking in a foreign language and have no idea what I am saying?" Krystal nodded. "Well, I had a dream where a woman was singing to me in that language."
"Really? That's weird. Maybe, your dreams are trying to tell you something?" Krystal suggested.
"Maybe, but what?" Luna asked feeling very confused.
"Who knows? When you go to find out who you are, maybe you can find out about your dreams, too: maybe they're the key to finding out about yourself? Anyway, ready to get up and continue to Verdant Cavern?" Krystal asked.
"Yes, let's go," Luna nodded. She was ready to leave but not so ready for the trial they were going to.
The room they were in had a small balcony, and the room was quite long and skinny. There were two single beds, a small area for Pokémon to sleep, a shared bedside table, a small kitchenette and a few wardrobes and cupboards. Apart from the door out, there was only one other noteworthy thing, which was the bathroom which was very small and cramped.
They grabbed their stuff, and returned their Pokémon to their balls, they glanced over the room one more time then left, hoping they might run into the others.
Professor Kukui, Ash, and Hau had just left their room as the girls came out. They were in the room opposite. Hau said, "Perfect timing, eh?" It was quite unbelievable they had gotten ready and come out at basically the same time.
"Seems that way," Krystal nodded. She, like Luna and Ash were finding this incredible. Hau and the Professor didn't really think about it.
"Shall we continue onward, kids?" Professor Kukui suggested.
"Yep! But first, breakfast!" Ash said, sounding full of energy. He was almost bouncing off the walls.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu said to agree with Ash.
They went into the restaurant part of the hotel and got their breakfast. As they ate, Luna asked Ash, "Remind me again: you have finished this Island, right?"
"Yep! Right! You're a good guesser or reader of what people say though, Luna. I didn't actually directly tell you that," Ash said.
"Oh. Have to have something going for me," Luna said shrugging.
"You have plenty going for you, Luna!" Krystal argued.
"Yes, Krystal's right; you do have plenty going for you," Professor Kukui said.
"Really you guys think so?" Luna asked with a shy, but hopeful smile.
"Yes! We think so!" Hau said cheerfully.
"Yep! You just lack confidence and self-esteem, Luna. But, those things will come, I'm sure," Ash said. He was going through/had gone through a bit of that himself.
"Wow, thanks!" Luna said smiling.
When they finished breakfast, they hit the road again. As they passed what looked like a farm of sorts, Professor Kukui stopped and asked, "Wanna go visit the Berry farm? It's pretty small, and there isn't a lot to see, so we won't be there for too long."
"Okay! Sounds fun!" Hau said, jumping up and down: none of them knew how he had so much energy.
"Sure, why not?" Krystal nodded.
"Last time I went to the berry farm it was great!" Ash cried.
Then a red and white bird Pokémon came out of the farm. When it saw them it came running up to them squeaking, "Deli! Delibird!"
"Huh?" Luna said turning around with the others. Then she realised this Pokémon was upset about something!
"Hey there, Delibird, what's the rush?" Professor Kukui asked, but then the pokémon, Delibird, grabbed his coat and pulled.
"Now, now, no time for that," Professor Kukui said, trying to get the Delibird off his coat.
Curious about this new Pokémon, Krystal pulled her Pokédex out! She thought she had seen the creature once before in the Kanto region.
Delibird, the Delivery Pokémon.
Type is ice/flying. Although it naturally prefers cooler locales, Delibird in Alola seem able to withstand the heat to a certain extent.
"Hey, Krystal! Pokédexes don't normally give information before you catch Pokémon?" Hau asked.
"Oh! That one did belong to someone else, Mohn Esterlin. I must have not wiped its memory properly when I got it back. Most pokédexes I have these days are well looked after second-hand ones," Professor Kukui said, still trying to deal with the delibird who was still trying to pull him off somewhere.
"it's alright, Professor: I don't mind. I quite like it in fact," Krystal said, giggling as the Delibird tried to drag the Professor off.
"I think we should follow it!" Luna said determinedly. She had been watching it, and something was wrong, she could tell. Ash was coming to a similar realisation.
"I agree with Luna. It looks like it wants to show us something," Ash said, nodding. Luna beamed.
"Deli! Delibird!" Delibird agreed.
"Yezz! That is what Delibird says, zzt! Trouble at the berry farm. Let's hurry! I want to make sure my berry supply is okay!" the Rotom dex said, appearing.
"Seriously, Rotom? Your berries are the only thing you care about? And you could have come to help us work out what was wrong earlier," Krystal exclaimed, then she scolded it a little.
"Pikacha!" Pikachu said agreeing with Krystal. Then he rolled his eyes at Rotom.
"Alright. Delibird, lead the way!" Professor Kukui said, and the Delibird nodded, then led them inside the berry farm.
As they followed Delibird, the trainers looked around: the berry farm was a lovely place! There were berry trees with berries on them, and there were some with flowers on them. Among the ones with flowers, there were heaps of butterfree and beautifly! Or at least, that's what Ash said they were. Luna and Krystal remembered seeing butterfree in the Kanto region when they lived there.
When they reached an area with a mulch machine, wheelbarrows, shovels and a tree with berries underneath. They saw two people who looked like a cross between delinquents and punks, talking to an older man who had two Delibird behind him.
"They're from Team Skull! They must be grunts," Ash said, pointing at the punks cross delinquents.
"Now you mention it, they do look like them! They are them!" Professor Kukui stated. He knew what they looked like, but sometimes these things slipped your mind.
"Who and what is 'Team Skull/?'" asked Krystal.
"Are they similar to Team Rocket?" Luna asked.
"Yep! They are similar to Team Rocket but very different at the same time," Ash explained.
"Butzz, what are they doing here?" Rotom asked.
"Getting berries, what else?" Hau said cheerfully.
"More like stealing berries," Ash said dryly.
"Come on! That guy looks like he needs a hand!" Krystal cried, pointing to the older man.
"Yeah," Hau said, and they headed over to the Skull grunts.
As they approached, one of the grunts was saying, "Hand over those berries, yo! We're hungry!"
"Yeah, yo! We wanna nab us some berries," the other grunt said.
"I'm sorry, but my berries are only for Pokémon," the berry man said, frowning at them.
"Oh? Do you think I am lower than a Pokémon, then? Come on! I already have Self-esteem issues!" The first grunt said, clearly upset.
"Ohh dear," Krystal moaned. The two grunts spoke in a way she hated: it was hard to keep track of.
"Hey, Professor! What are you doing here?" the berry man asked, ignoring the grunts temporarily.
The two Skull grunts jumped and turned around in surprise. The second one said, "Hey, it's the kid with the Pikachu again!"
"Yeah, and he's replaced his friends," the second one said.
"Professor! It's nice to see you, but you should probably leave. Don't worry about me, I can handle these Numskulls," The berry man said.
"Even if they're outlaws, it's not nice to call them Numskulls," Luna said quietly.
"True, but you do get mighty sick of them after a while," the berry man said.
"Wait a minute! They're not going anywhere, right, homie?" the first grunt said.
"Nope! They're not going anywhere!" The second one said.
"Luna, what do you say we battle them?" Krystal asked.
"Okay, let's do it!" Luna said, nodding. She suddenly felt very confident.
"You want a battle, eh? Well, bring it on!" The two grunts said. Then they sent out their Pokémon, a black (Alolan) rattata and a zubat (according to Luna and Krystal's pokédexes).
Luna and Krystal sent out Ivy and Petal (Krystal's Flabebé,) and the battle began. Krystal whispered to Luna, "You take care of the bat. I'll take the rat!"
"Okay," Luna nodded, agreeing.
"Zubat! Use Poison Sting on the flower!" One grunt called.
"Zu!" Zubat cried, then it sent a Poison Sting at Petal.
"Ivy! Quick! Flame Charge!" Luna called.
At the same time, Krystal was saying, "Petal! Get out of the way!"
"Flea!" responded Petal.
"Mah!" Ivy said as she started charging at the Zubat.
Petal managed to get out of the way of the Poison Sting, and Ivy's Flame Charge hit the target. "ZUBAAA!" The Zubat loudly cried, obviously in pain, which caused everyone to flinch.
"Rattata! Use bite on the Ponyta, now!" the Rattata grunt called.
"Ivy! Get out of the way!" Luna cried while Krystal ordered Petal, "Fairy wind, quickly!"
Before Ivy could get out of the way, the Rattata had used bite and hit her leg, and had a good hold. Petal's fairy wind didn't go too well, either. It did hit the rattata, and the rattata let go of Ivy, but because of that, Ivy took the brunt of the attack as she was not able to get out of the way. Ivy's HP was lowered quite a bit.
"This isn't going too well," Ash said, looking worried.
"Do you think they will need a hand?" Hau asked. For the first time in a while, Hau had an expression on his face which was not excitement or cheerfulness.
"No, we can't. Even if the team skull grunts are rebels, bordering on bad guys, it would be against normal battle rules if we did intervene," Professor Kukui said, shaking his head sadly.
"We just have to hope they pick it back up and win," Ash said. He was getting a little stressed about the outcome of the battle, but trying not to show it.
"Ivy! Are you alright?" Luna called to Ivy. She was feeling so terrible. If only she had paid more attention to the battle and not on how she was going to look like a beginner battler, she might have been able to get Ivy to avoid that attack.
"Nah!" Ivy called, sounding strong.
"Okay! Jump high, Ivy!" Luna said quickly forming a plan in her mind. Then she said to Krystal, "Krystal, quick! Get Petal to use fairy wind all over the battlefield! But, just make sure it doesn't go as high as Ivy is."
"Okay! Petal, Fairy Wind on the triple!" Krystal called as Ivy did a massive leap into the sky.
"Fleur! Fea!" Petal cried as she used a fairy wind attack.
The fairy wind covered the whole battlefield which meant neither Zubat or Rattata could avoid the attack. Because of the Fairy Wind earlier, and them both being super effective, rattata fainted!
"Ugh! Rattata!" cried it's a grunt in frustration, and he did a few things which were flamboyant. Then he returned rattata to its Pokéball.
Then, Ivy came down on Zubat. Zubat had been weakened from previous attacks, so it fainted. It's trainer's reaction was identical to the other ones.
"What was that Ivy used on that Zubat!? It was cool!" Hau cried.
"Zrt! It was a move; but that pokémon didn't know a move like that before, zrr!" Rotom supplied.
"Ivy must have just learnt it then," Ash nodded.
"Yes, probably. That move was Bounce, and a pretty sweet one too!" Professor Kukui stated.
"What! Seriously? We were beaten by the Pikachu kid's replacement friends?" grunt A exclaimed.
"This is so low! Come on, let's get out of here before we get our skull's whacked even more!" grunt B said.
"Yeah! Let's go and mess with Llima at Verdant Cavern!" grunt A cried. Then they ran off at a surprising and alarming speed.
"That didn't sound good," Krystal said when they were gone.
"No, it didn't," Luna agreed wholeheartedly. Then she ran over to Ivy.
Krystal went over to Petal while the berry man, Professor Kukui, Ash and Hau, came to them as they thanked and patted their partners. They wondered what the berry man's name was. "Well done! Ivy learnt Bounce! It's pretty cool when your Pokémon learns a new move!" Professor Kukui exclaimed.
"Yes, it is," agreed Luna.
"Hold on, let me see to them," Professor Kukui offered quickly.
"Thanks Professor!" Krystal said.
"Yeah, thanks," Luna nodded. They handed the Professor their balls and got to healing them.
"I want to thank you, kids, for helping me out. You two girls did well against them, since from the sounds of it your new trainers," The berry man said giving them a warm smile.
"That's right!" Krystal exclaimed while Luna merely nodded.
Then the berry man said, jesting towards the pile of berries beneath the tree, "Feel free to help yourself to these. Unfortunately, that is the best I can give you at the moment. Now, I have to clean up after those two troublemakers."
"That's fine! We better hit the road again, anyway," Professor Kukui said.
"Yeah, gotta keep moving!" Hau said excitedly.
Luna facepalmed as she said, "Are you never not excited or happy?"
"Nope! Not always!" Hau said grinning broadly.
"Thank you, Mr berry man," Ash said.
"Yes, thank you," Luna said, agreeing.
"Same: thanks," Krystal and Hau both nodded.
"No problem, glad I can give you something. Well, I better get started: good luck for your Island Challenge!" the berry man called.
"Thanks, friend! Come on, guys, we better get a move on!" Professor Kukui said, then the four children quickly gathered up some berries. The Professor handed the girls their pokeballs back.
When they had done that, they said goodbye to the berry man and continued on. As they continued to Verdant Cavern, a red with black stripes dog-like Pokémon appeared out of the bushes and started barking aggressively at them. It was cute rather than aggressive though.
At the sight of this Pokémon, four Pokédexes appeared, (by themselves and pulled out) and read off that this Pokémon was called Growlithe, and it was a fire type.
"Oh yeah, I remember them! A Kanto native," Ash said.
"Do you mind if I try and catch it? it's just, I have always wanted one," Krystal asked.
"Sure, go ahead, Krys," Luna said quietly with a small smile.
"Yeah, sure! Even if I did want one, I'm sure there are more out there!" Hau said putting his hands behind his head and smiling with his eyes closed.
"Go ahead, you saw it first," Ash said nodding.
"Alright: Petal! Go!" Krystal said, sending Petal out.
"Fla!" Petal cried as she was released from her ball.
"Alright! Use Fairy Wind to daze it!" Krystal asked.
"Flea!" Petal cried, and she sent a full-strength fairy wind at the Growlithe.
"Zzt! I'm glad that's not coming at me," Rotom said floating next to Ash's head, making him jump.
"Rotom! Would you please let me know you're there!" Ash cried. Then he gave a small huff.
Pikachu grinned evilly at Rotom, then when Rotom returned to watching the battle as Krystal asked for a tackle attack, Pikachu gently whacked Rotom on the back of the head with his tail.
"Hey! Pikachu!" Rotom cried.
"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu laughed.
"Oh? That was revenge for giving Ash a fright, zzt? Okay, I'll let this one pass," Rotom said, understanding.
"I think, Rotom, you should return to Ash's bag before anything else happens," Luna suggested.
"Good idea, Luna, zzzt!" Rotom agreed, then he returned to the bag as Petal was hit with an Ember, which was a critical hit.
"Come on, Petal! You can do it!" Hau urged, jumping up and down with a stupid grin on his face.
"Yes, Hau's right, Petal! Try another Tackle! And keep tackling until you hit," Krystal ordered, and Petal nodded as she did so.
Nearly five minutes later, Petal hit the Growlithe with a strong Tackle, which was enough to stun it, so Krystal threw a ball at it. After nearly catching it twice, (but without the Growlithe leaving the ball) Growlithe was finally caught.
Krystal breathed a sigh of relief as she went over to the ball. Then she cried, with Petal crying something happy at the same time, "Yay! I caught a Growlithe! This one will be called Rowan."
"Well done!" Luna said placed her hands together in prayer position.
"Yes! Some pretty sweet moves went on there," Professor Kukui exclaimed.
"Good for you, Krystal," Ash said smiling.
"Shall we move on? The Pokémon Centre near Verdant Cavern can't be too far away," Professor Kukui suggested.
"Yeah, lets," Ash agreed.
"Yeah! I can't wait to do my first trial!" Hau said enthusiastically.
"I can: it sounds scary," said Luna quietly.
"Don't worry, Luna," Professor Kukui started as he placed his hand on Luna's shoulder, causing her to tighten up. "It's not as scary as it sounds. From the way we've seen you battle, you'll be fine."
"Yes, the Professor's right, Luna: you'll be fine!" Krystal said grinning.
"Maybe you're right: but that thing when we were battling Team Skull was just some determination from the fact I disliked how much trouble they caused," Luna said smiling a little.
Krystal gave Luna knowing look, but she didn't say anything. As they continued on, a Rising Star Male came up to Ash and said, "Hey you! You were one of those people who stopped Team Flare, weren't you?"
"Yes, I was," said Ash (sounding like he wished he wasn't,) to the surprise of Hau, Krystal, Luna, and Professor Kukui.
"Thought so. Let's battle!" The Rising Star said with triumph.
"Sure. I'm Ash! How does a three on three sound?" Ash asked, knowing he wasn't going to get out of it.
"Sounds good! I'm Nathen!" Nathen said.
"Alright, I'll referee," Professor Kukui said, stepping forward as Luna, Hau and Krystal moved to where the sidelines would be.
"Thanks, Professor!" Nathen and Ash chorused at the same time.
"Alright! This is a three on three Pokémon battle: the battle will be over when all three Pokémon on either side are unable to battle. Ready?" Professor Kukui asked.
"Drifloon! GO!" Ash cried throwing Drifloon's pokéball.
"Floon!" Drifloon cried as it came out. At the sight of it, Krystal quickly ducked behind Luna.
"Alright! Growlithe! Show this punk who's boss!" Nathen cried, throwing a Pokéball which revealed a growlithe.
"Begin," Professor Kukui responded, and drifloon and growlithe sprang into battle.
After a while of going head to head, Luna said, "Wow, Ash and… Nathen, wasn't it? Anyway, they are really asking their Pokémon to give it their all."
"Yeah, and they aren't even the strongest ones," Krystal nodded.
"This is getting really heated, isn't it?" Hau asked, jumping up and down doing something weird with his arms.
"Yeah! And their moves get better by the minute, too!" Professor Kukui said nodding.
Just then, Drifloon landed an Astonish which made Growlithe faint. Nathen quickly returned growlithe to its Pokéball. Then he sent out a Houndour, and the battle started once again.
Because of her previous battle, and the houndour knew moves which are super effective against ghosts, Drifloon didn't last long against Houndour. Ash was happy with how his ghost-type did, though.
"Well done, Drifloon; have a good rest. Rowlet! Come out!" Ash called, throwing Rowlet's pokéball.
"Roa!" cried Rowlet as he came out of his ball.
Rowlet tried his best, but due to the massive type disadvantage, he only managed to knock out Houndour at the same time he fainted. Ash thought this was a bit unfortunate, but quite lucky, too.
"Alright! Whoever wins this last battle will be the winner! Good luck!" Professor Kukui called.
"Pikachu? Ready?" Ash asked, turning to Pikachu.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried, springing onto the battlefield. As a passing Backpacker walked by, she decided to stop and watch.
"Litten! Go!" Nathen called, sounding a little unsure.
As Pikachu and Litten charged into battle, Luna said to Krystal and Hau, "You know, I think Nathen was a bit full of his own importance and big for his boots at the start. Now, Ash has put him back in his boots."
"That wouldn't surprise me; Rising Stars are notorious for that," Krystal remarked.
"Ash better explain about stopping Team Flare, though! It sounds really interesting, and he hasn't told us one thing about it!" Hau cried.
"Yeah! He hasn't mentioned it! When we reach that Pokémon Centre just up here, Ash will sit down and won't move until he has told us all about it," Krystal agreed.
A little later, Pikachu landed a Thunderbolt, which caused Nathen's Litten to faint. "The Battle is over! Ash wins." Professor Kukui declared.
"Thank you, Professor," Ash said nodding respectfully.
"Well done!" said the Backpacker, who then continued on her way.
"Zrrt! Good job, Pal!" Rotom said appearing, then disappearing.
"Well done, Ash: your really something else. But, thank you. You have made me realise I still have a long way to go! When we finished our Island challenge, will you battle me again?" Nathen asked, holding his Litten.
"Sure. Since the Pokémon Centre isn't too far away; how about you come with us there?" Ash asked as Pikachu jumped on his shoulder.
"Sure: my sister is waiting for me there too," Nathen nodded, then he, Ash, Luna, Krystal, Hau and Professor Kukui went onward to the Pokémon centre.
When they arrived, they went in and gave all their Pokémon to Nurse Joy, who was going to look them over.
"It was nice meeting you all, but I better go over to my sister over there before she goes onward without me! If we meet again, you will have to battle her!" Nathen said. Being still on the road, his pokémon were just healed, which took a few seconds, rather than being given a proper examination. Then he ran over to a lass who was just near the door.
"Yes, it was nice. See you, Nathen!" Ash said: he shook hands before the boy had ran off.
"Bye!" The others cried, then Nathen and his sister went outside. Before Krystal, Luna, the professor or Hau could even move, Ash made a Beeline for the phone.
Almost an hour later, Ash got off the phone finally. Hau and Krystal grabbed Ash and pulled him over to a table and chairs with Luna and Professor Kukui following, perplexed.
"You two, sit! Ash, tell us everything to do with this 'stopping Team Flare' business," Krystal ordered.
"Alright, only if someone orders food though," Ash said begrudgingly as he sat down.
"Come on, Professor: since we're up, we can do it," Luna said, and Professor Kukui nodded, so they went to order some food.
When they came back and had sat down, Rotom appeared and said, "Zrrt! Come on, Ash! No more excuses zzz!"
"Alright, I'll tell you all about what Nathen was meaning. So…" Ash said, then he jumped into a rapid explanation about his adventures in Kalos, the people he met, the adventures he had, and then finally all about Team Flare. During this time, their food came, but that didn't stop Ash from talking: he was on a mission, so he ate and talked.
When Ash finished, their food was finished too. Krystal cried, "Wow! That, that's amazing!"
"Yeah! I would have liked to have been there!" Hau said grinning (as usual).
"Thanks for sharing that, Ash," Luna said softly.
"Yeah! Thanks!" Professor Kukui said.
"Zrrt! That's a pretty sweet adventure, Pal!" Rotom said.
"Yes, I agree with Rotom," someone said, they all turned around to see that someone was Llima.
"Ah, Llima! How are you?" Professor Kukui asked.
"Fine thanks, Professor," Llima said smiling.
"Thanks, Llima," Ash said.
"So, are you guys coming to do your first trial?" Llima asked Luna, Krystal and Hau.
"Yep! That's right!" Hau said, (still) grinning.
"Yes, we are," Luna answered.
"Yes! Can't wait!" Krystal cried.
"Hey, Ash, Llima: after Luna, Hau and Krystal have done their trial here, how about you have a battle?" Professor Kukui asked.
"Yes! That would be interesting!" Krystal said.
"Oh, yes; that would be cool!" Luna nodded, but sounding as though she was daring herself to say it.
"Okay, why not?" Ash nodded.
"Yes, good idea, Professor. So, you'll all come tomorrow?" Llima asked.
"Yes, I will bring them all tomorrow," Professor Kukui nodded.
"Alright, see you then!" Llima said, then they said goodbye, and he left.
"Zzz! I really like that Llima character!" Rotom said.
"Yes, he is a nice kid," Professor Kukui said. Then he continued, "He used to dress like a girl and try to look like one because his parents had wanted a daughter during his school years. Several of us, myself included, have been working to make him accept and be happy with himself. You can still see some of that lingering, though."
"That's sad," Luna said, feeling sympathetic.
"Sure is," Ash nodded, agreeing with Luna.
"Ash, Hau, Luna, Krystal, professor: here are your Pokémon," Nurse Joy said, bring a trolley with their Pokéballs and Pikachu over.
As soon as Pikachu saw Ash, he jumped off and ran over to him. "Hey, Buddy! And thanks, Nurse Joy!" Ash said, giving Pikachu a hug.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy," said Luna getting up and collecting Missy and Ivy's Pokéballs.
"Yes, thanks," Krystal said doing the same for Rowan, Leaf and Petal.
"Yes! Thanks a million!" Hau said collecting Litten and Ghastly's.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy," said Professor Kukui collecting his and Ash's Pokeballs.
"No problem!" Nurse Joy said, then she went off.
As Professor Kukui handed Ash his Pokémon, Ash said, "Thank you, Professor."
"So, Professor Kukui! What Pokémon do you have?" Hau asked.
"How about we battle, and I show you?" suggested Professor Kukui.
"Errr, okay," Hau said, looking taken aback.
They went out to one of the Pokémon Centre's battlefields, and Hau and Professor Kukui stood at opposite ends while Ash, Luna and Krystal stood on the edge of the field in the middle.
"Does two on two sound okay to you, Hau?" Professor Kukui called.
"Well, that is all the Pokémon I have!" Hau called back.
Ash called to them, "Ready?"
"Yep!" they both called.
"Begin!" Ash cried.
Then Rotom appeared out of Ash's back. "You want to watch, do you, Rotom?" Ash asked.
"ZZep'!" Rotom replied.
Hau went to send out one Pokémon, but Litten popped out instead. "Oh, alright, Litten!" Hau said smiling.
Professor Kukui sent out a Rockruff, which was very cute. Ash said, "it's official, I am so going to catch one of those!"
"Thought you might say that," Krystal commented.
As they watched Litten and Rockruff battle, Ash, Luna and Krystal all noticed one thing, Litten had a lot of fire, and he would never back down, which is why he beat Rockruff.
Professor Kukui sent out Papplio then. Despite all its fire and determination, Litten still fell to Papplio's water attacks. Hau sent Gastly out then. However, due to Gastly been a new Pokémon for Hau and he hadn't really done any training with it, it fell to Papplio, too.
"Wow! Good job!" Luna said.
"Yes, good job, Hau. I would suggest doing some training with Gastly, particularly this afternoon though, just so that you all are a bit stronger for your trial. I think you should all do that, actually," Professor Kukui said.
"Me included?" Ash asked.
"Yep, even you. How about you three start training while Hau and I get out Pokémon fixed up?" Professor Kukui asked.
"Sounds good!" Krystal agreed. So, Hau and Professor Kukui went back into the Pokémon Centre, while Krystal, Luna and Ash sent their Pokémon out for training.
They practice their moves, battle strategies, and combo moves, too. About then Hau and Professor Kukui came out, and Hau joined their training with the Professor watching on.
At the end of the day as the sun began to set, Professor Kukui said, "You are all looking good! I think you will do fine in your trial."
"Thank you, Professor, Professor Kukui!" Luna said whilst looking relieved.
"Rowlet!" Ash's Rowlet cried, then something about him changed ever so slightly.
"Ash, I think your Rowlet is going to evolve soon," Krystal said.
"Your right, Krystal! But, when Nurse Joy takes your Pokémon for a check-up this evening, I would ask, Ash," Professor Kukui said.
"Really? That's exciting!" Ash exclaimed.
"Yes, very, Ash," Luna said with a big smile.
"Wow! Do you think he will evolve in your battle with Llima, tomorrow?" Hau asked Ash.
"Maybe," Ash said. Then, his stomach growled.
"I think we should head in now. We should have an early night, anyway," Professor Kukui suggested. The others nodded, and they went in.
They gave their Pokémon to Nurse Joy to be healed and for her to give Rowlet a check-up, then they got rooms and went to put their stuff in them. When they came back down, Nurse Joy called them over. She handing them their Pokéballs and Pikachu. "All your Pokémon are in good form for your trial tomorrow. Good luck! And Ash, your Rowlet is very close to evolving."
"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Luna said taking Ivy and Missy's balls.
"Yes, thanks! Ash, that is exciting!" Krystal said enthusiastically.
"I'll say. Thanks, Nurse Joy!" Hau said taking his Pokémon at the same time as Ash and Krystal.
Professor Kukui took his Pokéballs, and he and Ash said at the same time, "Thank you, Nurse Joy."
"No problem: always a pleasure," Nurse Joy said smiling broadly.
Then they went to get dinner. Being on a journey, the food for them and the Pokémon was always provided for free at Pokémon Centres. Krystal was a bit scared of eating with the three ghosts nearby, but she slowly got used to it.
All of their Pokémon were starving hungry; Luna and Krystal had to go and get seconds for them all. But Professor Kukui said, when Ash was disbelieving about how fast they had eaten, "They did work hard, Ash; so it isn't surprising."
"Yeah! I'm that hungry and I haven't done as much as them," said Hau with a face full of food.
Krystal and Luna had come back by that point, and Luna said, "Hau! That is rude to speak with your mouth full!"
"Luna, give it a rest," said Hau not with his mouth full.
"Sorry, Hau, she's right," Ash said as Luna and Krystal bent down to give the Pokémon their seconds.
"Ugh! No one's on my side today," complained Hau. Ash found it interesting Krystal didn't comment.
After the humans and pokémon had eaten their fill, they sat around talking for about half an hour, then they retired to their rooms, where Luna, Krystal and their Pokémon talked for another half hour whilst the TV played. The boys watched an episode of the Pokémon Ranger Show on television at the moment.
Luna struggled to sleep that night, so she got up and crept out to the balcony they had in their room. Luna looked up at the sky and sighed; something about the sky reminded her of the times when she star gazed with her Bulbasaur. Then she wondered how he was doing. Was he being treated well? Luna hoped so.
Then Ivy, Petal, and Missy joined her, stargazing at the constellation called Orion. Luna was surprised Krystal's pokémon had come out too.
"Can't sleep either, guys?" Luna asked softly.
"Nah!"
"Mis!" Her two Pokémon cried in agreement.
"Fla!" Petal shook her head.
"What's it for you? I can't sleep because of silly nervous," Luna sighed.
Missy and Ivy both nodded, Petal shrugged to say don't know. Luna asked, "Same for you, huh? Well, since I'm up, do you want to hear the rhyme which I have been hearing in my dreams recently?"
"Nah! Nah!" Ivy said excitedly, and Missy had much the same reaction. Petal just nodded.
"Alright, give me a sec, and I'll start," Luna said. Then she started to sing in the same language she could speak without having learnt it.
"Miss?" Missy asked.
"In the dreams, a woman, I believe it is my mother, sings that. But, there is a part she has never sang, which I think is the second verse, what do you think about hearing it? I saw it written on a stone in the Team Rocket base. I'll just speak it: I'm not much of a singer," Luna said.
"Nah! Nah!" Ivy said jumping up and down.
"Okay, Okay. Here it is:
"When Tomorrow comes, I will be grown. I will remember you when we met, and when I am with you again, I will be complete. I have a journey, a long one. Come with me, and you shall watch, even if we have to fight, we will still be friends.
I know with my heart, I am a warrior and fighter; and I want to protect you all. Sometimes I miss you, and I want to find you again. I may be lost, but someday I will be back."
"And there we are; the second part of it," Luna said quietly.
"Nah," Ivy replied sleepily.
"Huh? Oh, it's made me feel sleepy too!" Luna yawned.
"Misdeavus!" Missy responded, not sounding sleepy.
"Come on guys, let's head back to bed," Luna said softly.
"Miss!"
"Nah!"
Then they went back to bed. Unbeknownst to any of them, something or someone heard Luna and was now very curious about her.
Thanks for reading, see you later, Edit: poll is now displayed.