Po Town was as miserable-looking as ever; the walled area was eternally shrouded in dreary skies, and the torrential downpour that fell upon Team Skull's former hideout was constant and unwavering. Rows of dilapidated and abandoned houses lined the streets, devoid of power. Not even the Pokémon Center, with its backup generator, was functioning these days. The cobblestone footpaths of the town lay in disrepair, the graffiti adorning them shimmering and shining in the rain.
A lone figure was making its way through the rain towards the most northern part of town, a young man with blonde hair that covered most of his face. His black clothing was torn in several places, and he had a slight air of neglect about him, as though he had fallen on hard times recently. The boy appeared to be walking through town with a mixture of determination and slight trepidation, turning his head every which way looking for any sign of movement.
The boy reached the northern edge of town and stopped walking. Several rusted trucks were parked outside a large, stone-brick building with opulent windows. A once-stately mansion, the Shady House now stood looking as forsaken as the rest of the buildings in town. The boy stood eyeing the house for several seconds and was about to enter, when the giant wooden doors swung open. The boy raised his eyebrows but stood firm as he watched a solitary figure emerge from the mansion.
The figure was that of a hunched old man, his grey hair resting flatly on his head. He wore a police officer's uniform and (despite the chilly, rainy weather) flip-flops on his feet. His face bore a permanently dour expression, and he was making his way down the small steps of the Shady House's front porch. The blonde boy stood at the end of the cobblestone path, a fair distance away from the front door of the mansion, looking towards the old man with a renewed sense of purpose.
"Officer Nanu..." the boy whispered quietly.
Despite the deluge of rain and the sound of rumbling thunder above, the old man seemed to hear these words. He stopped and looked towards the blonde boy, locking eyes with him as the boy looked taken aback. The boy rearranged his face into one absolute determination as the old man named Nanu headed for the boy in black.
"Well, well," Nanu said as he approached, "it's been a while, boy. Tell me, how're your mother and sister doing?"
The boy averted his eyes to the ground with a slight grimace and raised his hand to his temple.
"They haven't come back from Kanto yet," he said, sounding slightly resigned. "Mother's... Lusamine's condition is definitely improving, but it's a slow process and they want to make sure she's completely healthy before moving her again."
Nanu dug his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "She's getting better, at least," he said flatly. "That's something."
The boy said nothing. The two of them stood in silence for several long seconds, until Nanu shrugged again.
"Nice chat," he said sarcastically, as he walked past the boy, back towards the entrance of town. "Goodbye, Gladion."
"I've been looking for you, Officer Nanu," the boy named Gladion called out suddenly.
Nanu stopped and turned back to face Gladion, who was eyeing the old man intently. "Is that what you're doing in a dump like this?" Nanu asked, one of his thick eyebrows raised. "Looking for a wretch like me?" Gladion nodded, and Nanu shrugged. "...and here I thought you were just looking for some of your old Team Skull pals," the old man continued, "they're all gone, I'm afraid."
Gladion looked stung by this comment, but pressed on. "No," he said forcefully, "I'm here looking for you. I'm here to show you, to prove to you..."
Gladion's voice trailed off. Nanu stood staring back at the boy with a fathomless expression on his face. Gladion closed his eyes and sighed.
"Do you remember... what you said to me... back then?" Gladion asked, opening his eyes and fixing them on Nanu.
"I asked you why you were relying on Team Skull for strength," Nanu answered.
Gladion nodded. "I took what you said to heart, old man," he continued, refusing to break eye contact with Nanu. "I set out in search of my own strength, and now... I'm here to show you what I've learned... in battle!"
Lightning flashed overhead, and thunder soon followed. Gladion stood fixed to the spot, his green eyes piercing Nanu's red ones. Finally, a wry smile appeared on Nanu's lined face.
"Well shoot," Nanu said, removing an Ultra Ball from his pocket. Gladion smiled eagerly and removed a Poké Ball from his own pocket. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious to see how far you've come. Just do me a favour," Nanu requested, tossing his Ultra Ball lazily out in front of him, "...don't take it too serious, now."
The battle raged on in tandem with the thunderstorm. The unyielding downpour did not play much part in the battle however, as neither Trainer's team truly benefited from the rain's effects.
Gladion recalled his fainted Pokémon, as Nanu did the same. Though both Trainers were down to their last Pokémon, the difference in their demeanours was evident; Nanu seemed as stoic and impassive as ever, undeterred by the rain or the loss of Pokémon. On the other hand, Gladion was panting heavily and his arm was shaking uncontrollably. As his water-logged clothing chilled him to the bone, Gladion lamented on the fact that his family and rain never got on well, before reaching into his pocket for his last Pokémon. Gladion looked down at the ball in his hand and gripped it tightly. "This is it, partner," he whispered to the ball, as a short distance away Nanu was readying his own Ultra Ball.
Gladion and Nanu sent their Pokémon out onto the battlefield simultaneously.
"Let's do it, Silvally!" Gladion shouted.
"Persian..." Nanu said in a bored voice.
The balls burst open, and both Pokémon appeared in front of their Trainers. On Nanu's side of the battlefield, a slender black cat with a round face stood licking its paws, the blue gem set in its forehead giving off a soft glow. On Gladion's end, a chimeric Pokémon with sharp front claws and a fish-like tail stood poised for battle, its metallic nostrils flaring. The Pokémon possessed a large crest on the top of its head, and this crest (along with the Pokémon's tail and eyes) were all the same shade of slightly faded pink.
"Well well," Nanu remarked, eyeing the Pokémon's crest, "this is an interesting development."
"I've fitted Silvally with a Fairy Memory for this battle," Gladion told Nanu defiantly. "Looks like I've got the advantage here."
Nanu gave another wry smile. "Don't count us out just yet, boy," he told Gladion, before turning his attention to Persian. "Persian, Power Gem!" he ordered.
The Classy Cat Pokémon obeyed, leaping into the air at an incredible speed and launching several hard, glowing gems in Silvally's direction. The Rock-type attack connected with its target, but Silvally seemed relatively unfazed.
"They won't be using their strong Dark-type attacks, not while we resist them," Gladion called to his Pokémon. He thrust his arm toward Nanu's Persian and shouted, "Silvally, Multi Attack!"
Silvally gave a roar and rushed towards Persian, its sharp green claws glowing with the same pink light in its eyes. It slashed out at Nanu's Persian, scoring a super effective hit and sending the cat flying back.
"Well done, Silvally!" Gladion called out encouragingly, but his face fell slightly when he re-examined the battlefield.
There was no doubt that the Fairy-type attack had done a considerable amount of damage to Nanu's Persian. However, Nanu's Pokémon was back up on its feet quicker than Gladion had expected, and the look in its eyes suggested that it still had quite a lot of fight left in it.
"What?" Gladion whispered. "The attack should have done way more than that..."
"It's because of Persian's Ability," Nanu answered in response to the confused look on Gladion's face (or perhaps he overheard Gladion's whispers over the tumultuous sound of the rain again). "Thanks to Persian's lustrous Fur Coat, it can weather physical attacks quite well. No pun intended," he added, gesturing around at the rain.
Persian meowed in a gloating sort of way. Silvally glared at the cat Pokémon and gave a low growl of irritation.
"Tch," Gladion remarked, who was equally as annoyed as his Pokémon. "That may be true, but Fur Coat or not, you won't be able to survive a repeated assault!"
"We'll see," Nanu said simply, before commanding Persian to use another Power Gem.
Just as before, Persian launched a barrage of glowing rock in Silvally's direction, and just as before, the attack landed a direct hit. Gladion looked out toward his Pokémon; while Silvally was nowhere close to giving up, Gladion could see that his Pokémon could not withstand a prolonged assault any more than Nanu's could. As Silvally shook off the attack, Gladion commanded: "Go for another Multi Attack, Silvally!"
Silvally ran full speed at Persian once again, this time running in a serpentine pattern. Persian tried to follow the Synthetic Pokémon, but its movements were too random. Before Persian could get a proper fix on Silvally, the Multi Attack had connected once more. Persian was knocked to the ground by the force of the super effective attack once more, only this time it was slower to get up.
Gladion hid his feelings of triumph behind a face of commanding calm. "Well done, Silvally," he called out to his Pokémon. "One more hit should do it."
Silvally nodded in agreement, hiding its own eagerness for victory behind a face of steely concentration.
Back over on Nanu's end of the battlefield, Persian winced slightly as it placed its weight on its front paw. It looked to its Trainer for reassurance, and Nanu returned its look with yet another wry smile.
"I think it's time for the beginning of the end, don't you, Persian?" he asked his Pokémon slyly. Persian smiled and nodded, turning to face its opponents again as Nanu cricked his neck. "It's been a long time since we've gone for one of these," he said matter-of-factly, as he crossed his arms out in front of himself. The feelings of elation that filled Gladion and his Pokémon were replaced by feelings of confusion as Nanu bent his whole upper body towards the ground, bringing it back up in a sickly, malevolent pose.
"A Z-Move's not going to work!" Gladion called out derisively, as Nanu's Persian became enveloped in Z-Power. "Even a fully-powered Black Hole Eclipse won't be strong enough to defeat us!"
"There's more than one way to utilize a Z-Crystal, boy," Nanu said simply over the sound of the rain. "Persian... Z-Torment."
Gladion looked on in endless confusion as Persian absorbed the Z-Power into its body, glowing with an eerie light. At the same time, it let out a baleful cry in Silvally's direction. Silvally became enraged by the menacing screech, but seemed otherwise unharmed. The cry stopped as suddenly as it had started, and the glow around Persian ceased. There were several seconds of silence, save for the continuous rainfall. Silvally turned back to look at Gladion, both sharing a look of utter confusion. No attack seemed to have connected with Silvally, and no apparent changes had manifested themselves on the battlefield.
Had the attack failed? Gladion refused to believe that an Island Kahuna could make such an egregious mistake, yet there was no apparent damage done to Silvally… Gladion cleared his throat and said in a firm, clear voice: "Stay alert, Silvally! I'm not sure what that Z-move did, but we can't let our guard down!"
Silvally noticed the tone of its Trainer's voice. It shook off its misgivings and nodded in agreement. Silvally trusted Gladion completely, and if Gladion wasn't going to show any signs of confusion or uncertainly, then neither was the Synthetic Pokémon.
"Remember," Gladion continued, "we just need one more hit to end this battle. So… Silvally, Multi Attack!"
Silvally let out a tumultuous battle cry, and ran headlong at Persian. Rather than try and track its opponent's movements this time, Persian stood completely still, bracing itself for the impact. Silvally reached its target, and with a mighty swing unleashed a full-forced Multi-Attack on Persian. The cat Pokémon went flying through the air, landing with a dull wet thud in front of Nanu.
We did it, Silvally, Gladion found himself thinking, we won.
Gladion's private celebration was short-lived however, as within seconds Persian had risen from the ground. It looked extremely miserable, battered and bruised and swaying on the spot, but it was still conscious. Hissing loudly, Persian launched another Power Gem at Silvally, who was blown back by the attack. Gladion's face could not hide his shock as Silvally got back to its feet, letting out a disappointed and agitated growl.
"But, how...?" Gladion stammered.
"It was my Z-Move, boy," Nanu explained flatly, "Persian's defenses were bolstered by the Z-Move's power, allowing it to withstand another one of your attacks."
Gladion shook his head and frowned, his temper rising slightly. "That's pretty impressive," he said fiercely, turning to look at Silvally, "but it just delays the inevitable. Silvally, one more Multi Attack!"
Gladion extended his arm towards Nanu as he issued his command. He expected to see Silvally jump towards Persian once more, delivering the final blow. However, Silvally remained rooted to the spot, a strained look on its face. Gladion lowered his arm and called out to his Pokémon, "Silvally? Silvally! What's wrong?!"
"It'll be the Z-Move again," Nanu continued in the same monotonous voice. "Persian's Torment won't allow your Pokémon to use the same attack twice in a row, you see."
Gladion stood staring at Nanu, anger and embarrassment bubbling up inside him; he had been outmaneuvered by the Kahuna at every turn, despite the type advantage Silvally possessed against the opposing team. Gladion's temper continued to rise as he cried out in rage, "Forget the super effective attack, Silvally! Finish this with a Slash instead!"
Upon issuing the new command, Silvally came back to its senses. It charged recklessly towards Persian, and although its claws no longer glowed with the light of its signature move, it delivered a powerful blow that struck the cat directly in the face. However, Persian did not succumb to the attack; its Ability combined with its heightened defenses allowed it to survive the neutral hit. Persian turned its eyes back on its attacker with a menacing glare, and Silvally faltered slightly.
"Persian, Iron Tail," Nanu commanded quietly.
Persian's tail glowed with a white light, as it turned its body and struck Silvally with full force. The chimeric Pokémon was not ready to take a super effective attack at such close range, and was dealt a critical hit. Silvally soared through the air, landing with a loud wet thud in front of its Trainer.
"We… lost…" Gladion muttered, cradling his head in his hands and falling to his knees.
Nanu returned his tired Persian to its Ultra Ball and walked over to the boy. Gladion remained kneeling on the cold wet ground, his head in his hands.
"C'mon now, up you get," Nanu said, extending his arm for Gladion to take. "Nobody's likes a crybaby."
Gladion scowled behind his hands, but allowed himself to be helped up by Nanu. He returned Silvally to its Poké Ball and put his hand to his temple again.
"We lost," Gladion repeated morosely. "All those days that we struggled to get stronger… Was it all for nothing? Is that it?"
Nanu shook his head. "Just because you lose doesn't mean you're not strong," he said. "You learn a lot from losing, you know... It helps you see how to get stronger."
Gladion closed his eyes and considered Nanu's words. Finally, his mouth stretched into a smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he admitted.
"Now let's do ourselves a favour and get out of this rain," Nanu insisted, as the two of them made their way back to Po Town's entrance. They had barely made it five steps when they saw a young girl with purple hair and a tattered dress running towards them.
"Uncle Nanu!" the girl called cheerily.
"Why am I getting a feeling of déjà vu?" Nanu asked, exasperated. The girl stopped in front of the two Trainers, and her eyes met Gladion.
"Alola, Gladion!" she said, waving one of her hands in a customary greeting.
"Hello, Acerola," Gladion responded. The girl name Acerola smiled, then turned back to Nanu with a scowl on her face and her hands on her hips.
"I've been looking everywhere for you!" she scolded. "What are you doing here in Po Town?"
"Just checking up on the old Team Skull haunt," Nanu answered.
The scowl on Acerola's face evaporated and was replaced by a cheery smile. "That's just like you, isn't it, Uncle?" she trilled happily. "Keeping an eye out for Team Skull in case they try to cause trouble again! Why else would you be in a place like this?"
Nanu shrugged. "I need a bigger house," he said simply.
Acerola shook her head disbelievingly. "That's what you say, Uncle, but I know deep down you're just a big softie!"
Acerola smiled again as Nanu rolled his eyes. Gladion looked back and forth between the two of them, slightly amused.
"Always with the noise from you," Nanu said irritably. "Why were you even looking for me in the first place?"
Acerola's smile faded and she gasped. "Oh, that's right!" she said. "The other Kahunas sent me to come find you!"
"I must have missed another meeting," Nanu sighed. "No doubt I'll be punished again…"
Acerola shook her head vigorously. "No no," she said, "That's not it at all! Hapu said she found something suspicious at the alter on Poni Island!"
Nanu's eyes narrowed. "Suspicious? What do you mean, 'suspicious?'"
Acerola scrunched up her face in concentration. "I think she said something about strange glowing cracks appearing on the altar?" she said, somewhat uncertain.
Nanu remained silent, but he turned to Gladion, whose eyes were wide with trepidation.
"You don't suppose it could be..?" he started to ask Nanu.
"There's only one way to find out," the old man said as he headed southward at a brisk pace, the other two following closely behind. Nanu had experienced glowing white fissures several times before, and he had never liked what emerged from their depths.