Damn, it's been a while since I updated this story, huh? Sorry about that. Life's kinda keeping me busy, and this chapter was quite a feat to write. You'll see what I mean once you start reading. On another note, I also got Ultra Moon! Yay! Except...the story wasn't as good as Moon, admittedly. Maybe it's because I've already been through the story that it didn't impact me as much. However, I do know that I didn't like how it turned out. I remember how in Moon when I saw Lusamine smile, even though I knew right away that she was evil, it was still pretty shocking when she truly revealed her nature. In Ultra Moon, on the other hand...well, again I was pretty disappointed. I was pleasantly surprised though how much fun Mantine Surf was...that mini-game is fun as hell for some reason...
But anyways, this story is still going to be a Pokémon Sun and Moon novelization. I also decided a while ago that this is actually going to be a part of a series so yes, at some point I will be incorporating Ultra Sun and Moon plot points in later stories. The series is probably contain at least 3 stories. When I'm going to finish it, I'm not sure considering the other Pokémon story I kind of stupidly and impatiently started to write, but I will try. But anyways, enough of my idiotic talks. I'll let you guys go ahead and start reading. Hope you enjoy, and hope you guys don't get...too tired by the end.
Trouble Meeting You
The moment they walked past the school's gates, a large shout greeted them, "Hey, Sun! Lillie!" The two children exchanged a curious look before looking towards the school. They were both surprised to see Professor Kukui waving at them. A young woman wearing a white, polo shirt with tan pants and glasses stood next to him. An air of professionalism surrounded her, making Sun surmise that perhaps she was a teacher. After all, they were at a school. He snapped out of his thoughts as he followed after Lillie towards the professor.
Lillie asked in a surprised tone, "Professor! How did you get here before us?"
"Yeah. Last we saw you, you were still studying Rockruff's stylin' moves," Sun chuckled cheerfully. The professor joined in with his own laughter.
"I must have passed you two somehow. But that doesn't matter! Welcome to the Trainers' School, the place to learn how to be a Pokémon Trainer!" Professor Kukui waved his arm with a slight flourish, drawing Sun and Lillie's attention to the large building before them. Sun studied the place with interest, noting its height of three stories. Courts with distinct white marks outlining battle boxes surrounded the school. Even a couple of grasses where wild Pokémon ran grew in the schoolyard. Overall it seemed like a comfortable place for an aspiring trainer to study how to be the very best. Not that Sun needed it. He felt that it would be much better for him to learn on the job. After all, that's what his parents and their friends and many others did.
Sun snapped out of his analytical thinking just in time to hear the teacher ask Professor Kukui, "Is this the child you told me about?"
"Yeah. Put him through the wringer, Teach!"
"Hello, I'm Teacher Emily," the lady introduced herself. She extended a hand, which Sun took and shook firmly.
"I'm Sun."
"Professor Kukui complimented on your skills, and I wanted to see it for myself. I would appreciate it if you battle four of my students. I'm certain the experience would do you good."
The right side of Sun's mouth twitched. Cloud could immediately tell that his trainer was about to say something pretty insulting. However, like all the other times, there was nothing the pikachu could do about it. Hopefully the teacher wouldn't be too offended. "Are you sure about that? I wouldn't want to…dishearten your students in any way." At those words, Professor Kukui laughed.
"She may not look all that tough, but Emily trains her kids right! One of her students is even a trial captain!"
Sun raised a slight eyebrow at that. One of her students is in charge of a trial, huh? He wondered if that particular student would also be battling him. If so, then perhaps this trip to the school wouldn't be a complete waste of time after all. The boy turned his smile on the teacher, who was smiling proudly herself. Sun unclipped a pokeball from his belt and easily tossed it into the air. "Then I should accept your challenge then, huh? After all, the experience would do me good," he parroted.
"Great!" Emily clapped her hands together. The sparkle in her eyes told Sun that she understood how the boy believed him to be better than her students yet she was determined to prove him wrong. She pointed over to one of the battle courts. "I'll meet you over there shortly with my students." With that the woman walked into the building. Meanwhile Sun, Lillie, and Kukui made their way over to where the teacher pointed. As they walked, Lillie quickened her pace to walk alongside Sun. Once she was close enough she whispered:
"Are you sure about this, Sun? Professor Kukui doesn't lie about a trainer's capabilities."
"Of course I'm sure," Sun replied as he got into position in the far box away from the school. "Don't watch if you don't want to." Despite the sickening sensation in her stomach, Lillie smiled at her friend to show how much she appreciated his concern with her.
"Don't worry about me. I should be fine. If anything, I can always look away."
"Hehe, be careful when you look away then. Otherwise, you won't see Nebby leaving your bag," the boy chuckled as he pointed to the side of her. Lillie's eyes widened as she immediately looked to where Sun directed. Sure enough, the mysterious Pokémon floated right next to a smiling Professor Kukui, cheering while waving its clouds in the air.
Lillie gasped just a bit as she rushed over to her companion. "Get back in the bag, Nebby! You know you shouldn't be wandering around like this! What if somebody saw you?"
"Don't worry, Lillie," the professor said as he ushered the little creature comfortably into Lillie's bag. Even so, Nebby squeaked in slight protest at having his freedom taken away so quickly. At least Kukui left the zipper open so it could watch Sun battle like it had initially wanted. "There's nobody around, so it couldn't have been spotted." Lillie looked into her bag uncertainly. She wanted to believe what the professor told her. However she couldn't help but feel that maybe, just maybe, somebody saw Nebby floating next to her benefactor. She glanced around them, yet nobody was in the vicinity. Lillie unconsciously let out a sigh of relief. Still, maybe that same somebody ran off before they could see them. The girl hoped that wasn't the case.
A sudden movement at the door of the school caught Lillie's attention. She saw how Sun also looked at the approaching group of Teacher Emily and her students carefully. Even his Pokémon seemed to be measuring their soon-to-be opponents. Dexter floated right next to Cloud, electrical zaps sparking from it.
"Eh! Thoze ztudentz don't look zo tough! Battle 'em hard and beat 'em zcared, Governor!" the rotom cheered. Cloud added his own cheer with his little paw, balled in a fist, pumped into the air. Sun giggled at his Pokémon's enthusiasm before glancing back at the group. He was slightly disappointed to see that the trial captain was not among them. He didn't know how he knew. Perhaps it was instinct that told him there was no air of a confidence befitting a high-ranking trainer. He mentally shrugged. Sun had hoped to have a chance to battle the trial captain. Unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case, and he couldn't back out on his word now.
Soon enough, the group stood before Sun. They looked at him curiously, the question whether he was to be their opponent clear in their eyes. Sun knew that they were sizing him up the same way he sized them up. However he barely cared about what they thought of him. "These are my students, Hiromi, Mia, Joey, and Joseph." Emily introduced each student in turn. While the first three waved and smiled at Sun, the last one, Joseph, simply looked at him with a superior grin. "Students, this is Sun, whom Professor Kukui told us about."
"It's very nice to meet you guys. Perhaps you could teach me something in our battles today," Sun said, not at all dropping his smile. While one might take this as a statement of humbleness from the boy, Cloud knew better. His trainer was taunting the other trainers to show him what they got. His opponents exchanged knowing grins before one of them stepped forward.
"Then I'll be your first opponent, if that's okay," Hiromi said. Sun noted with some approval that she already held her pokeball ready in her hand. He nodded his agreement. Emily ushered her other students to stand with Professor Kukui and Lillie, leaving the two battlers to face each other. Sun rolled the pokeball he had in his hands. However, before he could throw it to call out his chosen Pokémon, Professor Kukui called out to him, or rather, the machine next to him:
"Dexter, could you come over here? It wouldn't be fair for you to be with Sun and giving him advice during the battle."
At that, the rotom visibly pouted. The sight of it made the two youngest students giggle. Even Emily couldn't help but smile at Dexter's expression. "But I want to ztay here! And why don't you call Cloud over too?"
"Because I might use Cloud in this battle," Sun lied. "But Professor Kukui does raise a good point. Who knows what kind of secrets you could tell me about my opponent's Pokémon? That wouldn't be fair at all. I promise though, you'll be able to do that in the future," the boy whispered the last part to Dexter. The rotom still pouted but acknowledged its trainer's statement. It would be way too easy for it to scan Hiromi's Pokémon and relay the information to Sun. Still, one of the reasons why it wanted stay there was to observe its new trainer at closer quarters. Perhaps in the future it would be able to do that as Sun promised. For now though, Dextor would float over to be sandwiched between Lillie and Kukui. Lillie's bag was also underneath the rotom, so it could interact with Nebby if it wanted to. Dexter greeted the cosmog with a "zzt!" Nebby responded with its own "pew!"
"Ready?" Hiromi called from the opposite box. Sun nodded in reply. "Okay then! Go, Pikipek!" The student threw the pokeball in the air. A flash of white, and a birdlike Pokémon flew in the air. She stayed there for a few seconds before landing gracefully on the ground. Even from this distance, Sun could hear Dexter scanning a new entry in:
Pikipek, the woodpecker Pokémon. It can peck at a rate of 16 times a second to drill holes in trees. This Pokémon stores food and builds nests in those holes. After eating its berries, it fires its leftover seeds as ammunition from its mouth.
"Interesting," Sun muttered to himself. He had no doubt that Dexter deliberately turned up the volume so he could hear. Devious, little Pokémon. The young trainer tossed his pokeball lightly in the air. Catching it again once it fell, he threw it forward calmly. "Come out, Gaffe."
Lillie straightened up when she heard that specific name. She thought for sure that Sun would use Blue Doll instead. She watched carefully as the Alolan meowth appeared from the white. Gaffe shook his head for a moment before looking around. His smug eyes narrowed slightly when he saw his trainer. Crossing his arms, the Alolan meowth turned away with a "humph". The girl felt her heart dropping at that disdainful action. While Sun had told her that he wanted to give Gaffe some time to cool off, it didn't seem as though it worked. Lillie switched her attention back to Sun. She only saw Sun's smile twitch slightly. Other than that, his expression remained relatively unchanged. Lillie jumped a bit when she heard somebody to her left speak out.
"It doesn't look like your meowth likes you," Joseph commented. To his surprise, Sun said rather bluntly:
"He doesn't."
The student raised a disbelieving eyebrow at that statement. "Then why are you using him? He's just going to disobey you."
"Perhaps. But I made a promise. So I would be battling with Gaffe," the strange boy said firmly. Joseph thought about that for a moment before shrugging. He looked over at Hiromi.
"This should be an easy win then."
Sun's smile twitched a bit. "We'll see about that, won't we, Cloud?" he whispered to his starter.
"Pika…" Although Cloud had no doubt about Sun's capabilities to beat these students in a battle, even he worried about Gaffe's performance. After all, the only time Sun used the Alolan meowth to battle was during Tapu Koko's celebration. He truly wondered how exactly his trainer would deal with Gaffe's apparent misbehavior. The pikachu snapped out of his thoughts as the teacher stepped forward to act as the referee.
"This is a one-on-one battle between Hiromi's pikipek and Sun's meowth. The battle is over once the Pokémon from either side cannot continue. Let the battle, begin!" Emily said, raising both hands in the air to signal the battle's start.
Hiromi pointed towards Gaffe with a determined smile on her face, "Pikipek, use Peck!" The woodpecker Pokémon chirped in confirmation before flying quickly towards her opponent. Without Sun even telling him to, Gaffe jumped out of the way. He then Growled loudly at the pikipek, lowering her attack. The status move shook the little bird quite a bit as she fluttered in the air uncertainly. However her confusion soon cleared when her trainer spoke again:
"Counter with your own Growl!"
Pikipek opened its beak to return the sound, almost acting like a mirror to bounce the effects back to Gaffe. Similarly to when the move affected the pikipek, the Alolan meowth hissed in slight duress as he pawed at his ears. Gritting his teeth Gaffe charged through the sound to leap at his opponent. His long claws caught the light of the sun as he Scratched furiously at the bird. While Pikipek did her best to dodge the attack, Gaffe was simply too fast for her. She chirped in constant pain while fluttering backwards.
"Pikipek, no! Use Peck!" Hiromi tried to save her slipping chance of victory. Her Pokémon had a determined look in her eyes. She suddenly jabbed her sharp beak right at Gaffe's right paw when he left a slight opening. That told dark-type Pokémon to back off already, a warning that he quickly heeded. Gaffe leapt a good distance away to ensure no surprise attacks. He held that paw close to him with a deep glare aimed towards the pikipek and her trainer.
Emily couldn't help but frown at the battle so far. At the beginning, she thought that Sun was simply joking about Gaffe not liking him. Now, seeing how the boy hadn't even utter an entire command throughout this whole fight so far, the teacher had to question why he would use such an assumingly headstrong and disobedient Pokémon. She recalled him mentioning a promise, but what was that about? She wanted to turn to Professor Kukui to ask but as judge she had a responsibility to constantly watch the battle. If she had turned around, perhaps Emily might have noticed how tightly Lillie gripped the strap of her bag in concern.
The girl honestly feared how this battle was going to turn out. For all of Sun's big talk of beating the students easily, he wasn't delivering at all. Lillie stared at the boy with his arms crossed and that constant smile on his face. She did notice the right side of Sun's smile twitching, something she began to notice day in and out. She truly hoped that her friend would be able to win this. While it didn't look like he had a chance with his defiant Pokémon, Lillie had a feeling that somehow Sun would make it. Despite her confidence, the knot in her stomach said otherwise.
"Good job, Pikipek! Now use Echoed Voice!" the trainer demanded.
The bird Pokémon unleashed an echoing sound that made even the spectators cover their ears. If it was that bad for humans, then it was five times worse for Gaffe with his superior senses. He yowled loudly as he covered his ears again. Unlike the Growl, this move was actually quite damaging. Even he wanted to stop it with a Scratch attack, he was too far from the pikipek to strike. The only thing it seemed Gaffe could do was to wait out the attack. However when it finally ended for the enemy to take a deep breath, the Alolan meowth could only take three steps before having to cover his ears again. This time around, the move seemed to be even worse. At this rate Gaffe wouldn't be able to defeat this insolent bird Pokémon. It would be a huge blow to his pride how he couldn't win against the very prey he hunted back in his wild days.
Then came a chilly voice that somehow managed to cut through the Echoed Voice:
"Growl."
With no other options open to him, Gaffe opened his mouth to Growl once again. The attack did manage to counter the Echoed Voice somewhat, although Pikipek's sound waves still rang in the Alolan meowth's ears. The chilly voice cut through the attack again:
"Bite."
By now, Gaffe understood that it was Sun who was giving him orders. While the Alolan meowth had no intention to obey each and every command Sun wanted, he begrudgingly admitted to himself that he was impressed with how calm his supposed trainer was. This time he could afford to listen to the boy for a bit, especially with how his main paw ached from the Peck attack. Not only did the earlier Growl weaken his resolve to attack, the point of injury would also hamper his Scratch attack. If Gaffe wanted to win this particular fight, he would have to attack with Bite, which was following Sun's orders.
"Meowrr!" Gaffe screeched as he ran towards the pikipek. The normal-and-flying type hadn't expected the dark type to plow through her attack. As a result she shrieked in both shock and pain when Gaffe leapt upwards to catch her wing in his jaws. The Alolan meowth's weight proved to be too much for the bird, and she quickly descended on the ground.
"Use Peck!"
"Scratch, Gaffe," Sun countered.
Gaffe almost ignored that command. After all, the pikipek was downed by his Bite attack. He could afford to keep the bird in his jaws. However he saw the beak coming for him again, this time towards his cheek. The Alolan meowth deflected the move with his claws from his Scratch. The force of the clash jerked Pikipek's head backwards. That gave Gaffe the opportunity to Scratch at her with his uninjured paw. The pikipek gave one last chirp before she fainted. Though the swirls in her eyes should have been enough to signal her defeat, Gaffe shook the bird once just to be on the safe side. With only a weak squawk as an answer, the Alolan meowth finally released the pikipek and walked away with a smug smile on his face. However he made sure not to meet Sun's gaze.
"Pikipek is unable to battle! This battle goes to Sun and his meowth!" Emily announced as Hiromi returned her Pokémon. While Lillie gave a sigh of relief that the battle went well, Professor Kukui nodded with a grin on his face, impressed with how calm and collected Sun remained despite Gaffe doing his own thing initially. The new trainer was able to quickly turn the tide in his favor when it looked like his opponent had the upper hand. While the result of the first battle might have discouraged some trainers, Emily's students looked quite eager to test their own skills against this formidable opponent. Even Joseph began to study Gaffe intently to devise a way to beat him. One of the teacher's students was so eager to start his battle that he ran to the battle box even though Hiromi had yet to leave it.
"Let me battle next! Let me battle next!" Joey said excitedly with his pokeball in hand. The right side of Sun's smile twitched slightly as he nodded his agreement. He waved a good-natured hand in Hiromi's direction to signify a good battle overall. The girl smiled back and returned her own wave in a show of good sportsmanship.
While it might have seemed that Sun was more or less accepting the Alolan meowth on his team, Lillie couldn't help but notice that the trainer didn't clean up and shower the Pokémon with affection like he did with Blue Doll. Perhaps it was to not keep the eager youngster waiting but Lillie believed that Sun still had yet to truly form a bond with Gaffe. That seemed to prove true when the boy held out Gaffe's pokeball.
"Gaffe, return," he said. However the Alolan meowth hissed angrily at Sun. His fur all puffed up, Gaffe still wanted to fight. He wanted to prove that he didn't need this impudent human's help to defeat another Pokémon. He was not at all perturbed when he noticed the left side of Sun's mouth convulsing crazily. What did it matter to him what the boy thought? When the red laser flashed from the pokeball, Gaffe quickly jumped out of the way, still hissing. Cloud shook his head with a disapproving frown. The spectators mirrored that expression albeit with some confusion at the sudden show of disobedience from the Alolan meowth. Even so they were surprised to still see that smile on Sun's face, still twitching madly away.
Sun did not try to recall the catlike Pokémon a second time. Instead, he hooked the pokeball back on his belt. "All right. I don't mind fighting with a handicap anyway," he whispered to Cloud. During the initial battle, he could tell that Gaffe had learned a new move. However said move could only be performed under certain circumstances. Gaffe was stuck using the same old moves to fight. And with Joey suddenly calling out his metapod, Sun surmised that this battle would take a bit longer. He heard Dexter beep again:
Metapod, the cocoon Pokémon and evolved form of Caterpie. Its hard shell is filled with its soft innards. It doesn't move much due to the risk of it accidentally spilling its innards out, so intense battles with it should be avoided.
"Metapod, use Tackle!" Joey shouted. Apparently the kid didn't pay much attention to the pokedex entry as he had his Pokémon hop across the battlefield to slam into his opponent. Gaffe arrogantly walked to the side, making the move miss him entirely. He unsheathed his claws to Scratch the metapod. Even Sun winced slightly when he saw the seemingly deep marks in the bug shell. Thankfully the attack wasn't enough to tear through. Otherwise the janitor would have had a disgusting field day cleaning up.
"Be careful, Joey!" the other young student, Mia, called. He waved to her in response.
"I know! Harden!"
"Don't let it," Sun said simply. He didn't bother to specify a move, knowing that the trivial situation wouldn't force Gaffe into obeying him. The Alolan meowth seemingly ignored the command and continued to Scratch at the metapod. At one point he attempted to clap his paws together to create a shockwave to stop his opponent from moving. However it infuriated him that the move had no effect. Sun had a feeling that his Pokémon would have attempted Fake Out in this battle. That was one of the reasons why he wanted to switch Gaffe out. Didn't matter. He could always switch to use Gaffe in another battle, if he really wanted to.
Despite the metapod's best efforts, he couldn't continue to defend. When his trainer told him to use String Shot, Gaffe easily ripped the silk to shreds with his claws. When Joey commanded the Bug Bite attack, Gaffe proved to be too fast for Metapod's hit to land. Eventually even Metapod couldn't muster up enough strength to Harden his shell. At that point Gaffe switched from Scratch to Bite. The moment his fangs sunk into the other Pokémon, Gaffe's opponent shut his eyes tightly in pain.
"Stop, stop! This battle goes to Sun and his meowth!" Emily quickly cut in before Gaffe could do any more serious damage to her student's Pokémon. At the official call for the end of the battle, Joey quickly returned his metapod, saving him. While he didn't like how the fight went especially since it seemed so short compared to his fellow student's, he still appreciated the experience. Even so he wished that the opposing trainer showed some restraint. Sun was still smiling with the left side of his smile twitching a lot. The student started walking back when Joseph spoke up.
"Teacher, are you sure this battle should go to Sun? I mean, he didn't even tell his meowth to do anything. The meowth was just doing its own thing."
"Oh?" Sun asked softly. Before his own Pokémon could react, the trainer whipped out Gaffe's pokeball. The laser quickly hit the Alolan meowth, returning him without much fuss. Cloud couldn't stop his little heart from pounding rapidly when he saw how tightly his trainer held onto the pokeball. Thankfully, Sun didn't possess the strength to grind the capsule to dust. Instead he hooked it back onto his belt and faced the arrogant student. "Perhaps you'd like a turn to battle me now? I'll be more than happy to show you how incompetent you are."
Joseph simply smiled, somehow managing to keep his anger from boiling over. "Nah. You have to prove that you deserve to battle me. I'm the best of Teacher's students after all."
"Unfortunately I find that very hard to believe," Sun said as his grin twitched slightly on its right side in amusement. "But sure. I'll play your little game. I'll make this next battle quick." The boy tossed a pokeball into the air and caught it at the right moment it fell back down. "And I'll make our battle even quicker."
"I'll like to see you try!" the student shot back. Sun retained his smile. Good. He got on his future opponent's nerves.
"Now, now." Emily finally stepped in between the argument. "These battles are for fun and experience, not beating your opponent into a pulp. If you two cannot control your tongues, we won't be continuing today. That includes you, Sun."
The boy's mouth twitched slightly in annoyance. He knew that the teacher couldn't do much to him should he decide to disobey her. However he decided he'd listen for now. Joseph also begrudgingly agreed.
Professor Kukui laughed. "A little rivalry is good and all, but Teach has a point. If you don't show good sportsmanship, then battles won't be any fun at all, yeah!"
"I'll keep that in mind, Professor," Sun said cheerfully albeit with a cold light in his eyes. He looked over at the last student before Joseph. It amused him so how frightened she looked as she gripped the ends of her dress tightly with her little hands. "Come on. Let's get this battle started."
Mia tightened her mouth as she shook her head. This made Hiromi bend down and whisper a few words into her ear. Whatever the older student said seemed to have driven away some of the little girl's fright as she shuffled to the opposite circle. Her opponent continued to smile at her, creeping her out. Still, she swallowed her fear and threw her pokeball.
"G-go, Bonsly!"
The moment the rock-type Pokémon appeared and looked at Sun, she started crying. Said trainer couldn't help but rub his temples in annoyance as Cloud covered his ears to block out the sound. He almost couldn't hear Dexter's entry:
Bonsly, the bonsai Pokémon. It does not deal well with water, so it lives in dry locales. For its eyes, it can expel excess moisture from its body. This liquid is similar in composition to human sweat.
It was difficult to know which was worse, Pikipek's Echoed Voice or Bonsly's crying. Fortunately, Mia managed to calm her Pokémon down though Bonsly continued to sniffle and hiccup. It was a good thing that Sun decided to switch Gaffe out; otherwise this battle against the bonsly would definitely take longer than the other two battles.
"Blue Doll, let's go," Sun said as he released his Alolan starter. The popplio barked happily on his appearance, earning a wide smile from his own trainer. Upon surveying the area, Blue Doll saw the opposing Pokémon on the other side. He quickly guessed that his trainer wanted him to battle, and that was just fine with him. Both sides waited until the teacher's official call. The moment she uttered similar words for the third time, Sun started off in contrast to the other times he waited. "Blue Doll, Disarming Voice!"
His popplio obeyed immediately as he opened his mouth to fire a beam of purple hearts at his opponent. Unlike most Pokémon, Bonsly wasn't able to run away quick enough. The attack slammed into her and knocked her down. The bonsly sat up and began crying again, to which Mia also began to fluster.
"Come on, Mia! You can do it!" Hiromi called from the stands. The little student looked over in surprise before nodding warily. The support seemed to have done the trick as Mia switched her focus back on the battle.
She pointed to Blue Doll and commanded, "Bonsly, use Fake Tears!" Sun couldn't help but think that the opposing Pokémon didn't need to be told that. Still, the status attack had some use. Blue Doll hesitated in performing another Water Gun as Bonsly cried harder to lower his special defense. The popplio looked at his trainer uncertainly, feeling uncomfortable about attacking a defenseless opponent.
"Bwark?"
"It's fine, Blue Doll. Use Pound."
"Bwark!" Blue Doll refocused on the bonsly and sprung towards her. With a tough fin, he smacked the bonsai Pokémon away. Bonsly bounced on the ground a couple of times like a ball. Once she finally landed on her back, she stayed there for a bit before hopping up to run around in circles, tears in her eyes once again. Even if she was a rock-type, the attack still hurt her somewhat.
"I-It's okay, Bonsly!" Mia stammered nervously. "Use your Flail attack!" Somehow her Pokémon managed to hear her command through the sobs. Bonsly ran towards Blue Doll and tackled him in flailing motions. Blue Doll yelped in some pain as he struggled to get away from his opponent.
"That's enough. Water Gun."
The popplio stared the bonsly down. With a deep breath, Blue Doll fired off the super effective attack towards Bonsly. The rock-type Pokémon had no time to react at all, and the sudden rush of water swept her off her feet. The Water Gun's pressure pushed Bonsly back until she landed close to her trainer. Unlike the other time, Bonsly didn't get up. It took a moment for Mia to realize that her Pokémon fainted but when she did, tears began to swell up in her eyes as well. Thankfully, for Sun, the girl managed to hold it in as she whispered a "good job" to her bonsly in a shaky voice. Mia returned her Pokémon and quickly retreated to the safe company of her fellow students while Emily announced Sun's win for the third time in a row.
The teacher looked at Sun, clearly impressed with how he was holding up so far. "Good job. You're much better than I thought you would be." Sun's smile didn't falter. He nodded as if her praise meant something to him while patting Blue Doll on the head along with giving him a blue poke bean. However he was more concerned with the problem standing next to her, and he wasted no time addressing it.
"Oh, look. It's time for you to battle me. Unless…you're scared," Sun taunted. This time, nobody berated the trainer. While Cloud usually didn't encourage his trainer's taunting, he didn't mind it this time as Joseph's attitude also got on his nerves.
"Pika," Cloud agreed with sparks flying around his cheeks. Even Blue Doll seemed to have gotten the hint despite his naïve nature as the popplio stared at the last student with determination. Joseph only smiled back. If he was nervous for the upcoming battle, he didn't show it. The student didn't respond as he walked over to his position in the box. His fellow classmates and teacher said nothing with only their eyes speaking volumes of their anticipation. Professor Kukui, on the other hand, rubbed his hands together in sheer delight while Lillie tightened her lips in worry.
"Grimer, show them what you're made of!" Joseph shouted. He threw his pokeball into the air. At the mention of a familiar Pokémon, Sun half-expected a purple sludge to appear. He was caught slightly off-guard when he saw a green sludge with yellow lips and crystal teeth materialize instead. As ever, Dexter came to his rescue with information on this variant of grimer.
Grimer, the sludge Pokémon. This form developed when a Grimer was brought in to solve a problem with garbage. The crystals are lumps of toxins and lethal poisons leak out if one falls off.
"Never thought grimer of all Pokémon would have an Alolan variant," Sun whispered to Cloud. His pikachu nodded in agreement as they examined the opposing Pokémon. It seemed to still be a poison-type. That much was clear. However, Sun knew that it had a second typing as well. If Dexter was closer, perhaps they could have seen exactly what that typing was. Fortunately that wasn't much of a problem as Sun also knew that Blue Doll could handle anything that came at him.
"Let the battle begin!"
"Grimer, use Bite!"
"Baby-Doll Eyes, Blue Doll."
The Alolan grimer tried to make his way over to the sea lion Pokémon in order to attack. However Blue Doll moved too fast for Grimer to catch him. Once he was a good distance away, he stared at the other Pokémon with large, cute eyes to lower his opponent's attack stat. The slightly dopey face on Grimer's face changed to that of a grimace. Sun's smile widened slightly when he saw his opponent gritting his teeth slightly. While the move and its typing were pretty new to him, Sun found it much more useful than Growl, especially with its increased priority. Too bad for his opponent. Speaking of which, Joseph swiped the air in front of him angrily.
"Use Bite again!"
"Water Gun." Blue Doll responded before Grimer could even move. He shot the blast of water at the Alolan variant. Somehow the slimy Pokémon held his own and wasn't washed away by the powerful stream. He tried to slug right towards the sea lion Pokémon but every time the Alolan grimer got too close, Blue Doll slid away to continue his watery barrage. Sun nodded to himself in delight at Blue Doll's performance. Their training paid off much more than he expected.
He was still curious about Alolan grimer's potential, second typing. Grimer seemed to take normal damage from the Water Gun, so no grass, water, dragon, fire, ground, or rock-type. That also meant that Pound would do normal damage. Even though Sun read that fairy-type moves were not effective against fire, steel, and poison-types, he also knew that fairy-type moves were effective against dragon, dark, and fighting-types. The Alolan grimer didn't look to be part fighting or part steel. So now there was a one out of eight chance that Disarming Voice would inflict normal damage. Yup, those odds looked good to him.
Despite whatever the distraught grimer did, his opponent kept sliding out of his range. Joseph had to change tactics quickly. Unfortunately his grimer only knew physical moves. So he could only do indirect damage, if his next move even hit. "Poison Gas attack!"
"Grime..mer!" The Alolan grimer inhaled deeply and exhaled a thick brown toxic gas. Immediately the spectators covered the mouths and noses to avoid breathing in the fumes. Sun's smile twitched wildly on its left side when he saw his popplio coughing, signaling that Blue Doll had unluckily breathed in the toxin. Cloud's worried cry also confirmed it. Joseph attempted to use this moment of time to attack.
"Now use Bite!"
Sun countered instantly.
"Disarming Voice."
Blue Doll gritted his teeth from the pain of the poison. He almost didn't make it in time as Grimer closed in. However he managed to squeeze his eyes shut and shriek the beam of purple hearts towards his opponent. Its properties ensured that the attack landed, the small distance separating the two Pokémon only serving to inflict more damage. Grimer whimpered slightly from the torturous sounds. Seeing how affected the grimer was by the attack, Sun guessed rightly that Alolan grimer's second typing was dark. That was just fine. It didn't matter. He had to end it now, before the poison did any more damage to his precious Blue Doll. Cloud shivered slightly when he saw his trainer point towards the Alolan grimer.
"Water Gun. Don't let up." The popplio obeyed instantly. He shot another stream of water towards Grimer. For some reason, the attack this time dealt more damage. Even when Grimer attempted to move out of the way, Blue Doll wouldn't let him dodge. The grimer finally couldn't take it anymore and slumped in defeat. The ending came so fast, it took a moment for everyone to process it.
"No way!" Joseph shouted in disbelief. He stared angrily at his fainted Pokémon before glaring at Sun. The right side of that infuriating smile twitched slightly on Sun's face as he called Blue Doll over to him. The popplio cried out happily while flopping over to his trainer. He immediately received loving pats and rubs along with a squeak of congratulations from Cloud. Sun took out an antidote to spray on his Pokémon. Even as Blue Doll squealed slightly in discomfort, the boy firmly continued to administer the antidote. When the poison looked to be fully dispelled from Blue Doll's system, Sun picked up his Pokémon in order to hug him tightly.
"Great job, Blue Doll! You were amazing out there!"
"Bwark! Bwark!" the popplio squealed in delight. The happy Pokémon also turned his grin on Cloud when the pikachu offered his own congratulations. Sun's smile widened before he looked over at his former opponent. By that time, Joseph had already returned his Alolan grimer. The student's face still showed his anger as he shoved his fists into his pants pocket. He was about to move towards his other classmates but hesitated for a moment. Before his teacher could say anything, Joseph marched over to Sun.
Sun kept his smile stock-still as his opponent thrust a hand towards him. "Good battle," he muttered. Even though he could tell Joseph thought no such thing, Sun accepted the hand for the good sportsmanship the student went for.
"Yes, it was." He thought about rubbing his win in for a moment but in a surprising show of good grace decided not to.
"I'll say!" Professor Kukui's voice suddenly boomed. "You both got a real sense for how to use moves. You should be proud of yourselves."
"Yes, you did a good job, Joseph, and an even better job afterwards." Teacher Emily nodded in appreciation of Joseph's action. Now that he was put on the spot, the student scratched his head sheepishly. Then she turned her attention to Sun. "Sun, I can't believe you beat all four of my students! Fantastic! After seeing such a performance, I think I'll like to battle you myself!" She smiled as she pulled out a pokeball. "What do you say? Are you ready to take me on?" Her students looked at each other excitedly. They, especially one specific student, truly wanted to see their teacher in action and put this outsider in his place.
Sun looked at his Pokémon in question. Blue Doll looked at him curiously, a smile still on his adorable face. Cloud, on the other hand, shrugged.
"Pika. Pikachu. Pi pi," Cloud muttered. Sun nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes, I can always use you in case things don't work out. But I would rather everybody else, yes, including Gaffe, get the experience."
His pikachu nodded. He had a feeling his trainer would say that. He honestly didn't mind, but he was always ready just in case Sun needed extra firepower. Still… "Pikachu, pi, pi. Chu."
"Of course." Then the boy raised his voice. "Of course, I accept your challenge, Teacher Emily. But first, I would like to heal my Pokémon. After all, fighting an exhausted team isn't the way to go, isn't it?"
"I understand. Do you need potions or anything?"
"I can help him, Teacher," Lillie piped up. She quickly made her way over to Sun. Dexter tagged along to dash all around his master excitedly. Unzipping a separate compartment from Nebby's slot, the girl pulled out a couple of potions. "Your Pokémon did a great job, Sun," she whispered as she handed him the potions.
"That waz amazing, Governor!" Dexter's eyes and screen lit up brightly. "I never zaw anything like it! And we got zooo much new information too!" Sun's smile widened at the praise.
"Thanks," he said in response to both compliments along with the healing items. "But I probably could have done better with Gaffe, right?" Lillie bit her lips at the remark. Although she did want to agree with her friend, for some reason she felt awkward doing so. She looked up indignantly when she heard Sun chuckling a bit. He couldn't help it. The girl just looked so uncomfortable at the possibility of scolding him. "It's fine, Lillie. I know. Anyways…" He pulled out said Pokémon's pokeball and released said Pokémon.
Gaffe shook his head quickly before realizing he was outside again. Immediately he hissed at Sun, still slighted from the trainer suddenly returning him. Even a dangerous look in the boy's eyes couldn't deter him from voicing his offense. It was only until Cloud squeaked a warning with sparks flying around his cheeks that Gaffe crossed his arms and looked away. Seeing how the Alolan meowth obviously held even more resentment towards him, Sun handed Lillie one of the potions.
"I'm sorry to ask, but can you take care of him? At this rate, he would scratch me and Cloud would shock him."
Lillie wanted to protest since she wanted Sun to practice getting used to Gaffe. However what he said made sense. If that were to happen, then the potion would have gone to waste. And besides, the teacher was waiting on them. They shouldn't drag this any longer than they needed. While Sun took care of Blue Doll, Lillie reached for Gaffe. Cloud jumped from Sun's shoulders to walk around to where Gaffe faced. The Alolan meowth scowled when he saw the mouse Pokémon. He also noticed the blonde girl moving closer to him. He hissed at her, causing her to stop.
"Pika pika. Pi. Chu," Cloud warned. Gaffe looked at the pikachu and saw that he wasn't playing any games. When it seemed safe, Lillie reached out to the injured arm from before. She sprayed the potion, stopping occasionally Gaffe hissed in pain. At least he bore with it until she was done. Lillie smiled brightly even though the Alolan meowth couldn't see it.
"There! Good as new."
Since it didn't seem like Gaffe was going to thank her, Cloud did so instead. "Pika." She smiled in appreciation.
"Thanks, Lillie." Sun also finished caring for Blue Doll. He returned Gaffe before the Pokémon could voice any protest, surprising Lillie for a moment. "Don't worry. I plan to use him later."
"…okay, if you say so…" the girl muttered as she gathered herself. She gave Sun one last look before returning to her spot next to Professor Kukui. Sun's smile moved slightly on its right side. Although he was touched by her concern, he also couldn't help but be amused by it. He then refocused his attention on his opponent now standing opposite of him. Emily held a pokeball proudly in her hand. Her eyes, though reflecting excitement, also displayed a steely determination to show this arrogant trainer her capabilities.
"Are you ready, Sun?"
"I'm always ready," the trainer replied.
Emily smiled. Drawing her arm back, she snapped it forward quickly to throw the capsule. "Go, Magnemite!" The electric-and-steel type floated in the air. Its single eye stared at Sun blankly, but he could feel the magnemite examining him closely.
Magnemite, the magnet Pokémon. They gather in places where electricity is available, such as steel towers used to support power lines. It eats that electricity, and it sends out electromagnetic waves that let it float through the air and shock you.
Sun crossed his arms with a hand at his chin. No doubt both Blue Doll and Gaffe would struggle in this matchup. However he wanted to use one of them rather than relying on Cloud.
After a moment's thought, he finally decided on his choice. "Blue Doll, you're up!" He ignored the curious murmurs at the sidelines. He didn't have time to be distracted by unimportant people's opinions about his choices.
The water-type cheered happily as he made his way forward onto the battlefield again. Once he was ready Blue Doll stared down the magnemite, unwilling to fall to type advantage. If magnemite had a mouth, Sun was certain that this one would be smirking right now.
"Thunder Shock!" The teacher wasted no time as she ordered the super effective move. Likewise Magnemite swung its magnet arms around to generate said electricity. With a loud buzz, the magnet Pokémon shot the attack towards Blue Doll. The starter could not react quickly enough, and his pained cry shot through Sun's heart.
"Blue Doll!" It was the first time Lillie heard some sort of panic in Sun's voice, and that scared her. Even though she had only known Sun for a short time, she saw him as such a strong and unshakable person. The fact that he was able to display some sort of fear unconsciously reassured her that he was still human, that he felt other emotions just like everybody else.
The slight panic caused Sun's smile to fade slightly. Then it returned to its original shape, but it twitched wildly on its left side, expressing the boy's anger at the pain his beloved Pokémon went through. Other than that sign of his fury, he kept his wits about him. Sun felt something digging into his shoulders, and he realized that Cloud clutched his paws so tightly in regret that he couldn't take the electricity for his comrade. Eyes ablaze, the boy pointed to the opposing Pokémon. "Water Gun."
The popplio inhaled deeply before blasting water towards Magnemite. The attack hit the magnet Pokémon square in the eye as it didn't expect its opponent to react so soon and so violently. It staggered in the air before shaking to clear its sight of water. Once Magnemite could open its eye again, it buzzed in surprise at the sudden blue fin in its vision. Blue Doll knocked Magnemite down towards the ground. It bounced once like a regular ball. Then, using its electromagnetic waves to pull itself back into the air, Magnemite glared at its opponent.
"I'm surprised. Your popplio is very resilient. I don't remember too many water-types surviving my magnemite's Thunder Shock," Emily praised. Sun smiled in response though it didn't seem as though he accepted her statement. The left side of his mouth still convulsed wildly.
"We work hard," he simply said.
"I can certainly see that. Magnemite, use Thunder Shock again!" Emily ordered.
"Baby-Doll Eyes."
Before the magnet Pokémon could obey its trainer's command, Blue Doll opened his eyes wide and stared at Magnemite cutely. Despite itself it couldn't bring itself to attack such an adorable face so violently. Emily gritted her teeth in slight anger. Even though that specific attack shouldn't really do much considering that Thunder Shock was a special attack, Sun somehow managed to find a different use for the attack-lowering move.
"Let's try a Thunder Wave, Magnemite!"
"Use Aqua Jet, Blue Doll," Sun countered. Lillie heard an appreciative sound from the Pokémon professor next to her. When she looked over to the man, he had a wide grin while his eyes reflected a slightly surprised light.
"Wow. Didn't think Sun's popplio would learn that awesome move already, yeah."
"What do you mean, Professor?"
Professor Kukui chuckled. "It just means that Sun and Blue Doll have been battling more than I expected." He pointed to the field, drawing the girl's attention back to the battle. Lillie's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw Blue Doll, wrapped in a jet of water, slam into Magnemite like a rocket. The attack did a lot more damage than Blue Doll's initial Pound as the magnemite shook itself free of water again. Sparks flew from the electric and steel type, its one eye narrowed.
"Supersonic!"
"Disarming Voice."
Magnemite pointed its magnets towards the seal Pokémon as he inhaled deeply. Simultaneously they released their attacks, causing nearly everybody to plug their ears at the combined screeching. Sun felt slightly guilty when he heard Cloud squeak in pain, and even Dexter sizzled in irritation. However the move had to be done in order to avoid the scenario Teacher Emily wanted for Blue Doll. The two moves collided and caused a small dust cloud to cover the battle area. Hands moved from ears to eyes as the wind attempted to clean up the small explosion. When the cloud cleared, both Pokémon still seemed to stand strong. Magnemite failed to confuse Blue Doll, and Blue Doll failed to do any more damage. However, the magnemite sizzled slightly, its one eye staring at the popplio warily while the seal Pokémon himself tried to hold his ground.
"Aqua Jet."
Surrounding himself in water once again, Blue Doll rocketed towards Magnemite with all the intention of causing it to faint. The popplio moved too fast for Magnemite to dodge without some damage inflicted. And that certainly would have been the case if Teacher Emily didn't do anything.
However she wasn't ready to lose just yet. If she got lucky, she could either defeat Sun's popplio here or end things in a draw. She told her magnemite to remain steady. Once the teacher judged that the opponent was close enough that he wouldn't be able to change direction, she shouted, "Thunder Shock now!"
Magnemite charged up the electricity needed for its attack. The moment the popplio hit his opponent, he felt a scary, familiar energy surge painfully through his body. Despite the agony he felt, Blue Doll understood that this was his moment. If he didn't end it now, Magnemite would be able to turn things around. The water starter gritted his teeth to bear the super effective move for the second time. He mustered his strength for the sake of his trainer and somehow managed to put even more force into his Aqua Jet.
Blue Doll knocked Magnemite out of the air for the third time today. However, unlike the other times, Magnemite couldn't find enough electromagnetic waves to keep itself afloat again. Rather it struggled for a brief second before it fainted. The popplio landed a meter away from the fainted Pokémon. He panted in exhaustion at how much energy he had to exert to finish this fight. Yet a wide smile lit his face when he heard Sun praising him.
"Great job, Blue Doll!" Sun yelled as he spread his arms out.
"Bwark!" With newfound, miraculous vigor, Blue Doll flopped his way to his trainer. Happiness almost made the popplio burst once Sun picked him up and hugged him close. He constantly clapped his flippers in joy at the care his trainer gave him. While the boy and his Pokémon celebrated their victory, it took Teacher Emily a moment to take in what had happened. Her shocked expression disappeared as she smiled sadly at Magnemite.
"Magnemite, return." The red laser from the pokeball returned the fainted Pokémon. Emily looked at the pokeball gratefully. "You earned a nice, long rest. Well, well, well, Sun. I certainly didn't expect your popplio to defeat Magnemite so easily, especially with Magnemite's advantage."
Sun looked up to smile widely at the teacher. He patted Blue Doll's head in adoration before saying, "It was no easy feat, believe me. You gave us quite a challenge." Despite his truthful statement, he didn't want to waste any more time here. He wanted to continue his journey already yet he made sure to keep the impatience out of his voice. "I'm ready when you are."
"Haha, I'm definitely ready. I think this next battle will prove to be as interesting as the first! Go, Meowth!" Emily threw her second pokeball into the air. The second he heard that name, Sun's smile twitched slightly. True to her words an Alolan meowth appeared. The female Pokémon crossed her arms and smiled snootily at Sun. She could already sense the animosity from the opposing trainer, something that didn't bother her the slightest.
Sun gave Blue Doll one loving squeeze before returning him for a well-deserved rest. Cloud looked at him curiously with a questioning squeak. Although the pikachu doubted that Sun would use him as much as both of them wanted to wipe that smug-ass grin off the meowth, it still didn't hurt to ask.
The trainer shook his head in response. Again he wanted his newer Pokémon to get the experience as Cloud already had enough for the time being. His pikachu nodded in acknowledgement. Despite that desire though, Sun still couldn't stop the distaste from filling his mouth when he slightly reluctantly released Gaffe.
As always, the Alolan meowth hissed angrily at Sun. However this time Sun didn't let his Pokémon do as he pleased. They were battling against an experienced foe, and Sun had no wish to destroy his winning streak now because Gaffe disobeyed him.
"I am not in the mood to tolerate anything, Gaffe," Sun said only loud enough for the offender and nearby bystander to hear. "I suggest you listen to all my orders, or else." He saw Gaffe's back shiver slightly at the threat but the meowth still tried to play it cool. Gaffe looked at his opponent, mirroring her expression of hauteur. The trainer could only assume that his Pokémon would obey his commands now. Only one way to find out, and Sun never thought he could stomach the sight of two meowths in front of him, with one of them belonging to him no less. However he placed his hatred for the Pokémon aside in favor of the battle ahead.
"Fake Out!" both trainers called out at the same time. As if controlled by the same entity, both meowth rushed forward. They clapped their paws together to form a recoiling shockwave. Comically they flinched at the same time from the other's attack. The start wasn't really that bad in Sun's mind though. It looked like Gaffe took only a little bit more damage than the other meowth. The other meowth also seemed a bit faster than Gaffe as when Emily ordered a Scratch attack, Sun's meowth barely had time to react.
He yowled in slight pain, reeling away from his opponent with his paws covering his face. When he uncovered his face, Sun's smile twitched slightly on its right at the sight of three red, scratch marks right across Gaffe's face. While he enjoyed seeing the Alolan meowth in pain, he reminded himself he was there to win. The young trainer pointed towards the opposing Pokémon. "Use Scratch."
Gaffe unsheathed his own claws to swipe at the other Pokémon. Meowth dodged the first strike but she couldn't escape from the second and third Scratches that came after.
"Growl."
Sun's Alolan meowth scowled. He wanted to continue attacking the other scratch cat Pokémon to show who was truly better. However with great difficulty he suppressed his instinct and obeyed the command. Gaffe leapt away, Growled loudly, and lowered Meowth's attack. Meowth gritted her teeth as she flattened her ears to block out the horrible sound. Despite that, she still heard it and her trainer's new order.
"Use your own Growl!"
"Bite."
The moment Meowth opened her mouth to counter the stat change, Gaffe rushed in with his fangs glistening. Rather than a Growl a pained shriek escaped from Meowth's mouth. The female cat attempted to Scratch at Gaffe's face again. However, Gaffe skillfully swerved away and continued to use Bite on her tail.
"Try Growl again!" Emily said. Meowth gritted her teeth to bear the pain before Growling loudly. Gaffe hissed in annoyance as the attack drove him away from the other meowth. In his escape he had to dodge another Scratch attack that Meowth attempted to use on him. "Now use Bite!"
"Mmwwrrr!" Meowth raced towards Gaffe to give him a taste of his own medicine.
"Dodge it," Sun ordered. Gaffe hissed though it was difficult to tell whether he directed it at Sun or the opposing Alolan meowth. Either way, when his opponent got close enough, Gaffe easily leapt out of the way. In an impressive reverse of directions, Meowth turned to catch Gaffe unawares. She then clamped her teeth down on Gaffe's shoulders, smirking slightly at his agonized screech. The audience cringed at the rather savage cat fight. It was interesting to see how calm the two trainers were as they directed their Pokémon to battle.
Emily smiled. "Good job, Meowth." She saw her Pokémon's tail swish in acknowledgement of the praise. The teacher then turned her attention to her opponent, noting how unperturbed he seemed to be. Compared to how he reacted when his popplio got hurt, Sun barely showed any signs of distress upon seeing Gaffe struggle. Even his pikachu couldn't help but look at the scratch cat Pokémon worriedly. It was a bit jarring and confusing to Emily how a trainer could clearly love one of his Pokémon but obviously loathe another Pokémon. She had to wonder why he bothered using Gaffe in the first place if he acted like he didn't care for the Alolan meowth's wellbeing. Either way, she was determined to win this battle, especially since Sun had no qualms with how much Gaffe got hurt. The teacher swiped her arm in command. "Now use Scratch!"
"Scratch attack, Gaffe," Sun said coldly.
While the teacher's meowth still bit into Gaffe's shoulder, she raised her paw in order to Scratch him as well. However Gaffe reacted quickly to Sun's command, faster than anybody remembered him doing so. The male meowth managed to deflect the female meowth's paw away partially because she struck at an awkward angle. He used his other claws to slash at his opponent, prompting her to relinquish her hold on him. Before she could react though, Gaffe quickly closed the distance between them to Scratch her again. Meowth cried out in pain and took several steps backwards as she clutched her chest. That made her wide open to Gaffe's sudden kick that sent her backwards to crash onto the ground. The end arrived so fast that it took a moment for everybody to realize it.
Stunned silence filled the air before claps resonated to drive it away. Sun turned to see who created the noise, and his heart nearly stopped.
Hope you guys understand now why this chapter took so damn long. A single battle between two people, even with a lot of Pokémon, I think would be better than this...but anyways, I'll see you guys next time.