Plot-Scorbunny 9: The Boy With The Ancient Pokéball Part 1

Sapphire Silverlock had never felt so nervous in her life.

She was the girl who had won the heart of Unova's former Champion and was still dating her even now, she had made it to the semi-finals of the Galar League on the first try, had managed to beat her girlfriend during said semi-finals and she'd managed to clear the Isle of Armour with little difficulty. And on top of all that, she'd managed to stop an evil Zeraora from killing her current mentor! So why was this the thing of all things that was making her nervous?

Today was a big day for Sapphire. As the Dojo Master in-training, she was being trained and mentored by Mustard and his wife Honey to take over from the old man and become the new Dojo Master. Today was going to be her first day running a class by herself while Mustard and Honey played silent witness. She was going to show them that she was cut-out to be Mustard's successor and could be a teacher to future generations of Pokémon trainers. Maybe that was why she felt like her stomach was trying to knot itself. She had to prove not only to herself, but to her mentors that she could do this. Sapphire looked herself over in the mirror for the millionth time. She was wearing her own personal uniform that she would be required to wear as the Dojo Master. She'd chosen to wear a short gold coloured kimono with the same sword and shield logo as the Pokémon League and what Mustard wore on his own uniform. The kimono only came down to halfway up her thighs so that she'd be able to move freely. This job would require a lot of running and a more traditional kimono would only trip her up if she wore one. Along with the kimono, she also wore black shorts and black flats. To make herself look smart, Sapphire had decided to straighten her hair out and tie it behind her in a large ponytail. Ashley Benson had been the one to help her tie it. Ashley peeked over her girlfriend's shoulder as she admired herself over.

"I dunno who that cute girl in the mirror is Sapph, but I think she might give ya some stiff competition." she teased.

"Why don't you run off and marry her then?" Sapphire teased back.

The two girls giggled at their jokes. Sapphire looked back at the mirror again and ran a hand through her hair.

"You sure I look alright Ash? Nothing's out of place or anything?" the black girl asked.

"For the last time hon, ya look great now quit yer fretting!" Ashley cried in exasperation, "Yer only gonna stress yerself out if ya don't relax for a minute and take it easy!"

Sapphire sighed heavily as she straightened the collar of her kimono.

"I'm sorry Ashley. I'm just so nervous about today, that's all." she said solemnly, "I know I've been training for this, but it still feels unreal that it's actually happening! I…I just don't want to mess anything up. I'd never live it down if I made a fool of myself in front of all those students and embarrassed Mustard and Honey. I want to do this perfectly! But…I don't know if I can."

She looked down at her feet glumly. Ashley shook her head and patted Sapphire on the shoulders.

"You'll be fine, hon. I know ya will." the brunette teen insisted, "The Sapph I know would never make a fool of herself. You've done some great things in the past Sapph, and yer gonna do it again today. You'll be a great teacher and I think yer training will pay off! Now how's about we perk ourselves up and be a little more confident in ourselves, OK?"

Sapphire at least managed to smile in spite of her nerves. She hugged Ashley back gratefully.

"Once again, you're always having more faith in me than I am in myself." the blue-haired girl whispered gratefully, "Thanks so much Ashley. I'd be nothing without you."

"Just being the best girlfriend ever Sapphire." Ashley said kindly, "And ya deserve it for saving my ass back in Unova!"

Sapphire just smiled modestly. It had already been a couple of months since her holiday in Unova and the memory was still fresh in her mind. She still thought back to when she'd saved Ashley from falling into a portal that would've corrupted her and made her a dark version of herself. It had been a close call and both had nearly lost to Ghetsis during their battle but he was gone forever and they were still here to enjoy life as a couple and as Pokémon trainers. The Galarian teen now found herself with a new boost of confidence. If she could save her girlfriend from Team Plasma, then she could teach a new school of students!

"So, yer finally ready?" Ashley asked.

"I'm ready. Let's get started." Sapphire declared, sounding surer of herself than before.

With a deep breath and a confident smile across her face, Sapphire left the dressing room and entered the main hall. The new batch of students starting this term at the Isle of Armour were already gathered together and waiting for her. Mustard and Honey had already welcomed them all and explained what was going on so the students were aware beforehand that they had a new teacher for this term. Sapphire could see that her old friends Abigail and Sanjay were back for another term. Her old rival-turned-friend Klara was nowhere to be seen. Klara had graduated the previous year and was training hard to be a Poison-type Gym Leader. Last Sapphire had heard, Klara was in the minor league but was working her way up to make her Gym more popular. Maybe someday, the Galar League would include Klara's Gym as part of its circuit. The three waved to her encouragingly from the crowd.

"And now please give a warm welcome to your new teacher." Mustard said jovially, "Some of you will know her well for she has been in-training to succeed me as Dojo Master for the last year or so. Now it is time for her to take the reins from me and show us all how well she may do as Dojo Master. Let us give a friendly applause to Sapphire Silverlock."

The students all clapped for Sapphire and gave friendly smiles to her. Sapphire wondered if they were trying to make her feel more welcome in the role by doing so. The blue-haired girl bowed in response and cleared her throat.

"Thank you, thank you. That was very kind of you all." the master in-training said, trying not to sound shy, "Greetings students of the Master Dojo. My name, as you all heard, is Sapphire Silverlock. I will be the Dojo Master for this term. This will be my first time in the role so I will ask, as nicely as I can, that you all cooperate and work with me. I would hate it if anyone tried to give me a hard time because of my inexperience. As is, I swear that I will teach you all with the wisdom, compassion and honour that my tutor has done in the past. I doubt I'll live up to the legacy of Mustard, but I at least hope that I will be a worthy successor."

The students applauded her again. Honey beamed encouragingly at Sapphire and Ashley clasped her hands together in awe.

"That was great Sapph! Very sweet." she complimented.

"Thanks very much Ashley." Sapphire replied graciously, "Now first order of business: many of you are returning students from previous terms at the Isle of Armour but there are some new faces among us so let us introduce everyone to each other."

Mustard handed Sapphire a list containing the names of the new students. She unrolled the list and read aloud.

"Please welcome to the Isle of Armour Liko Suzuki, Roy Terasaki…" she said as she read the list of names.

Liko smiled shyly as her name was read out while Roy just waved to everyone in greeting. It had only been a couple of months since Liko had last visited Galar and had gotten caught up in another battle with The Explorers over her pendant in which Emerald Silverlock had helped her get through. And now here she was as a student in the Isle of Armour being tutored by one of Emerald's sisters! The Isle of Armour was even Emerald's idea to begin with. After watching Ruby's battle with Alain, Liko had gone back to the Brave Asagi with the Rising Volt Tacklers and as Emerald and Tony had been saying goodbye to her, Emerald had suggested she come back to Galar soon and visit the Isle of Armour. Liko had read up about the island and what it had to offer and thought going there sounded like a good idea. The Isle of Armour was all about training up and coming Pokémon trainers so why not go? She wanted to get stronger to protect those she loved and her pendant and she couldn't run from The Explorers forever. She needed to become better at battling and the Isle of Armour sounded like a great place to start. Knowing that one of Emerald's sisters was being mentored there also helped sway her decision. Liko was interested to meet Sapphire after learning who she was and what she was doing on the island. She'd been especially fascinated by the story about her saving the island from a vengeful Zeraora about a year ago. How did this trio of sisters end up living such extraordinary lives and achieving so much as trainers?! She wanted to be as strong as they were!

In the two months that had passed since Liko's adventure with Emerald, she and the Rising Volt Tacklers had met a boy from the Kanto region named Roy. Roy was dark skinned with a tuft of magenta hair on his forehead that stood in sharp contrast to the rest of his hair as it was dark brown in colour. His eyes were dark magenta in colour and he usually dressed in a red t-shirt with white sleeves and a yellow Unown R across the body, brown shorts, white and black sandals, a black and white cap and a black sleeveless hoodie. Like everyone else, he was instead wearing the Dojo Uniform this time. Roy had lived on an island just off the coast of Kanto and on that island, he'd spent much of his life throwing stones on the beach, building secret forts out in the forest and living with his grandfather. He'd had to attend school remotely as the island didn't even have one and he had a fascination with Pokémon but had never been able to become a trainer until the time Liko and her friends had met him. He'd befriended a Fuecoco that lived on the Brave Asagi and the two were as inseparable as Liko and her Sprigatito. Roy had been invited to join the Rising Volt Tacklers and had marvelled at the sight of new regions beyond his island home. He was enjoying his visit to Galar immensely and was excited to get started with the Isle of Armour's trials.

Once Sapphire had finished with introductions, she moved onto the rules.

"Of course, there are some ground rules we have to establish while you're staying here in the Master Dojo." she explained, "I hope that you will follow these rules to the letter so we assure a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.

Rule 1: No bullying. In this dojo, we accept everyone regardless of their abilities, race, gender or beliefs. Any bullying will result in strict punishment.

Rule 2: No cheating in Pokémon battles or armour trials. The idea is to learn how to be a better Pokémon trainer and to become stronger in battle. Nobody learns anything by cheating. If you're going to cheat then why even come here in the first place?

And finally Rule 3: Nobody is permitted to leave the island without my permission or without Mustard and Honey's permissions either. It's my responsibility to look after you all and it would be horrible for not just me but for your parents too if any of you got lost out to sea because you tried to leave the island. If you wish to leave the island for any given reason, come straight to me and I'll arrange a Flying Taxi to take you home. Are we clear?"

"Yes Sapphire!" the students chorused back in unison.

"Thank you very much everyone!" Sapphire said, allowing herself to drop back into her usual more cheerful attitude now the rules were over with, "I hope you'll all have a great time here on the island and I look forward to teaching you all! Now who's ready for the first trial?"

"Me! Me! Me and Fuecoco are ready for anything!" Roy hollered.

"I'm ready too!" Liko said eagerly, holding up her hand.

Several other students expressed similar enthusiasm. Sapphire smiled gleefully. This day was going to go better than she'd expected. Everyone seemed happy to be here and nobody seemed eager to cause trouble for her first day on the job. Maybe this was going to be more pleasant than she thought…

"Excellent students! Then let's begin the first trial!" Sapphire said enthusiastically, "And this is one I think will test your minds very well. It sure did for me when I did it back when I was a student here."

Mustard and Honey just winked knowingly at the master in-training.

"But first, I see we have a student who's not in uniform yet." Sapphire went on, "Lucas, could you step forward please?"

A black boy separated himself from the crowd and approached Sapphire, feeling a little awkward that he was being singled out like so. Liko and Roy were curious on the whole situation.

So why is he the only one with no uniform? Liko murmured in her thoughts, It seems very strange that we're all dressed up for the occasion and Lucas isn't. What's Sapphire's game here?

As soon as Lucas reached Sapphire, the blue-haired girl handed over a Dojo Uniform to him.

"I must apologize Lucas. We were rather late getting this one ready for you." she said apologetically, "Here you go."

"Thanks master." Lucas said with a bow, "Once I'm dressed, I'll be ready…"

WHOOSH!

The audience gasped as a pink and yellow blur flashed past Lucas and swiped his uniform out from his hands! Lucas recoiled incredulously. Liko and Roy gasped and blinked furiously in astonishment.

"What the heck was that?!" Roy exclaimed.

"That was so fast!" Liko shrieked, "What could possibly move at that speed?!"

They soon got their answer for standing just a few feet away from the students were a trio of Galarian Slowpoke. Some students recognized what was happening for they'd done this trial before. Abigail and Sanjay especially remembered from when they'd done it back during Sapphire's time as a student. The Slowpoke had the uniform in their mouths with one holding the jacket, one holding the shorts and the third holding the shoes. They looked back to the students dopily. Lucas stared at them, trying to comprehend what had happened.

"Hang about…did those Slowpoke do that?!" he cried.

"You better believe it, mate." Sapphire said with a sly grin on her face.

"But I thought Slowpoke were slow?" Liko put in, "How can they possibly move that fast? Is that a trait unique to Galarian Slowpoke or something?"

"Good question Liko." Sapphire acknowledged, "But no, Galarian Slowpoke are no faster than their Kantonian cousins. My mentor trained those Slowpoke himself so they're as fast as they are now."

"And you better believe they're hard to catch!" Mustard chortled with a mischievous grin on his wrinkled lips, "Even Sapphire had to work hard to catch them in the end!"

"Quite so." Sapphire agreed, "Now students, here is your trial: you must catch the three Slowpoke and get back Lucas's uniform. The first person to do so wins the trial."

"We'll catch them no problem!" Roy declared, "Let's go!"

"That's the spirit Roy!" Sapphire said cheerfully, "OK students, you may begin the trial! Good luck to you all! You'll ALL need it…" she added ominously.

The Slowpoke charged out of the dojo with the uniform in their mouths. They bolted across the fields and up over the hill, moving at an incredible speed. Their stubby legs moved so fast that they could hardly be seen and they kicked up clouds of dust behind them as they ran. The students took off after them to try and chase them down. Roy and Fuecoco were already whooping with excitement and ready for action while Liko and Sprigatito tailed behind them not feeling quite as confident.

This is some trial! Chasing after some speedy Slowpoke? Emerald never told me this was what was in store for us on the island! the Paldean teen exclaimed.

Soon the Slowpoke reached the Soothing Wetlands and rushed around in three different directions, forcing the students to split up to try chasing after them. Lucas ran after one Slowpoke, panting heavily as he sprinted. Liko and Roy watched the students chase after the Slowpoke, wondering which one they should tackle first. They could see already that this trial wasn't going to be easy. The Slowpoke moved so fast that it seemed impossible to chase after them. While neither of them doubted their own fitness, Liko and Roy were certain they couldn't catch the Slowpoke themselves.

"I think we should use our Pokémon for this!" Liko declared, "Sprigatito's Quick Attack will help us catch the Slowpoke!"

"Oh yeah!" Roy agreed, "And I think Fuecoco might have a way to deal with them too. You take the one on the left, I'll go right! We'll catch the third one later!"

Liko nodded agreeably. She sprinted to the left while Roy went to the right. The Paldean girl could see one of the Slowpoke up ahead. This one had the jacket in its mouth. Liko knew she had no chance of catching the Slowpoke. Even with how fast she ran, it was nowhere near fast enough to catch it. But she wouldn't need to catch it.

"Just as we planned Sprigatito! Chase it down with Quick Attack!" Liko commanded.

"Meow!" Sprigatito mewed obediently.

The Grass Cat Pokémon was surrounded by a streak of white light as it sprinted on all fours and charged after Slowpoke as if it had been fired from a gun. Sprigatito had learned Quick Attack during a training session with Captain Pikachu a while back and had defeated Fuecoco when Liko and Roy had a training match together. Sprigatito rocketed through the wetlands, moving so fast that the entire wetlands became a blur to it. It was as if the world had become a mess of colours all around it. The Slowpoke looked back and stared in disbelief as it saw this strange new Pokémon from outside of Galar charging towards it. It kept on running but Sprigatito kept up the pace. Eventually, it caught up to the Slowpoke and used Scratch on its tail. The Slowpoke yelped in pain and dropped the jacket. It skidded to a halt and ran over to the jacket. Sprigatito got to it first and arched its back in a battle ready stance. It hissed furiously, warning Slowpoke to back off or else. The Psychic/Poison Pokémon refused to budge. It wasn't letting Sprigatito win so easily! Liko caught up to her Pokémon and quickly saw that both Pokémon were ready to fight.

"Looks like it's not giving up without a fight." Liko observed, "Then we fight too! Sprigatito, use Quick Attack now!"

Sprigatito charged straight into Slowpoke again, moving so fast that even the speedy Pokémon didn't have time to react. Sprigatito collided into it and pushed the Slowpoke backwards. The pink and yellow Pokémon retaliated by charging forwards in a speedy sprint and barging into Sprigatito. While it wasn't using Quick Attack because the species was unable to learn that move, it was staggeringly close to the actual move. The green kitten was knocked off its feet but it was back up again in no time and growling viciously. Liko felt a little anxious about the Slowpoke's strength but she refused to give in. She was strong and she would show that Slowpoke just how strong she was!

"We can do it Sprigatito!" Liko said encouragingly, "Blind it with Leafage!"

Sprigatito conjured up a flurry of magical leaves from around its neck and launched them straight at the Slowpoke. But the leaves never hit their target as Slowpoke just stopped them with its Psychic attack. The leaves halted just in front of its face and then Slowpoke turned the leaves back around and launched them back at Sprigatito. The leaves had no effect on Sprigatito but Liko's attempt to blind the Slowpoke only ended up blinding Sprigatito for the moment. With its Leafage blowing back in its face, it couldn't see for the moment and Slowpoke was now free to attack it again with its fast charge. The Grass Cat Pokémon yowled in pain from the blow and crashed down onto its side. Liko began to feel nervous. This trial was looking as if it might be too much for her. The Slowpoke was just too strong! But maybe strength wasn't the answer here? The Paldean girl thought for a moment.

Think Liko! How did Ruby win that Championship battle against Alain again? she mused, She wasn't just strong…she was smart too. Maybe we have to fight smarter, not stronger here. And remember what Captain Pikachu taught you. We have to watch our opponent's movements…

And so she kept a close eye on the Slowpoke to see what its next move would be. Once she got an idea, she'd be able to plan accordingly. At first, nobody move for a few seconds. Then suddenly, the Slowpoke dashed forwards in another mad charge. That was when she got her next idea.

"Leafage again!" Liko commanded.

Now the Slowpoke was charging, it wouldn't be able to react in time and stop Sprigatito's attack. The kitten Pokémon threw a cloud of leaves into Slowpoke's face again and this time scored a direct hit. The Slowpoke was moving too fast to dodge and the leaves ended up whooshing into its face, covering its eyes and blinding it. The Slowpoke yelped in alarm and tripped over, scrambling furiously for it couldn't see. Now it was down, Liko ordered her partner to use Bite next. Sprigatito jumped onto Slowpoke's back and bit down on it. The Psychic/Poison Pokémon cried out in pain and then collapsed onto the ground, no longer having the strength to continue fighting. It was down at last and Liko could take the Dojo jacket back. She picked it up and draped it over her shoulder. Then she ran over to Sprigatito and scooped it up happily.

"Hooray, we did it! We did it!" the black-and-blue haired girl cheered excitedly, "Great job Sprigatito!"

"Meow-ha!" Sprigatito mewed happily.

"OK we got the jacket back." Liko observed, "And there's two more Slowpoke to catch. I wonder if Roy's got the second one yet…"

Roy hadn't caught his Slowpoke yet but he was making the effort. Further up the Wetlands, he and Fuecoco were running after the second Slowpoke. This one had the shorts in its mouth. The Slowpoke ran as fast as it could, its little legs moving rapidly as they carried its plump body across the wetlands. Roy was a fast runner but not fast enough to catch the Slowpoke. Fuecoco was no better for this kind of thing either. They weren't particularly fast Pokémon and its stubby legs weren't the best for running. But they weren't trying to catch it yet. They were following it to see where it ran and then they would plan accordingly. The duo could see that the Slowpoke was heading towards a nearby hill. It wouldn't be able to climb and if it stayed around here, that only allowed Roy and Fuecoco to corner it. Roy observed this and knew that he was in a good position to make his move.

"It'll probably turn around and come back this way now there's nowhere to run." he deduced, "Once it tries to run past us, you use Stomping Tantrum to throw it off its feet!"

"Fue, fue!" Fuecoco cried excitedly. It thought Roy had a good plan and it was bound to work.

The two watched the Slowpoke run up towards the hill. As predicted, it turned around and began running back the way it had come. Slowpoke were dopey by nature but even this one was smart enough to know it couldn't climb this hill. It was too steep and Slowpoke's claws weren't adept for climbing. The Psychic/Poison Pokémon charged towards Roy and Fuecoco. It thought it would be too fast for them to try and catch it and was going to dart to one side the moment they made a leap for it. But that never happened. Instead, Fuecoco began stamping its feet furiously on the ground as if throwing a tantrum. The resulting stamping created a tremor that punched into Slowpoke and tripped it up. It let out a dopey sounding cry as it found itself whisked off its feet by the underground shockwave and it crashed down onto its stomach. The Slowpoke dropped the shorts and winced from the pain of the impact. Its half Poison typing also made it weak to Ground attacks so Fuecoco had managed to land a super-effective hit on the speedy Pokémon. Roy cheered ecstatically.

"Aw yeah! What a hit! We got it!" he cried, "Now we can get those shorts and go after the other Slowpoke!"

Fuecoco cheered excitedly, feeling very pleased with itself. Roy reached down to grab the shorts but just before he could grab them, the Slowpoke stood back up again and smacked his hands with its tail. Roy yelped in pain and recoiled, his fingers throbbing from the attack. The Slowpoke stood over the shorts with a defiant glare in its dopey eyes. The message was clear: fight me or you're never getting those shorts! Roy could see it wouldn't be as easy as he thought. Simply grabbing those shorts wasn't enough and he would fight for them if it meant winning the trial.

"OK, now we fight!" Roy declared, "Fuecoco, hit it with Ember! Fue, fue! Fue, fue co, co!" he chanted.

Fuecoco opened its jaws and fired a small fireball directly at Slowpoke. Ember struck Slowpoke full on in the face and left it wincing in pain from the searing heat for a moment. But the attack wasn't very strong and it shook it off very quickly. In response, Slowpoke moved quickly again and charged into Fuecoco. It slammed into the fiery crocodile Pokémon with its head and sent it flying backwards into a nearby sludgy puddle. Fuecoco grimaced in pain and coughed. The impact had literally knocked the wind out of it. The Fire Croc Pokémon picked itself up and shook the mud off its body. It growled angrily at Slowpoke and began stamping its feet again, clearly aiming to use Stomping Tantrum a second time. Roy gave the command and Fuecoco stamped down hard. Despite its small size, it created a large tremor that packed a powerful punch for Slowpoke. The Psychic/Poison Pokémon cried out as it was hit by the Ground attack and it fell over onto its back. Roy punched the air ecstatically. It seemed this trial was as good as his!

"We've got it on its back! Now Tackle it!" Roy commanded.

Fuecoco sprinted towards Slowpoke as it scrambled furiously to get back up again. Just as the pink and yellow Pokémon rolled over onto its belly again, Fuecoco tackled it with so much force that it knocked Slowpoke aside and sent it crashing into a nearby tree. Even Roy was impressed at how hard Fuecoco had tackled its opponent. Even the small Pokémon could be a powerhouse in battle! The Slowpoke was stunned for the moment which gave Roy the chance to grab the shorts before anything else could happen. The Slowpoke watched this happened and gave a groan of defeat. Why even bother continuing to fight when it was clear it had lost?

"And that's us done! We got the shorts back!" Roy cheered, patting Fuecoco on the head in congratulations, "I wonder how Liko's doing?"

He didn't wait long for the answer for his friend caught up to him again and saw that he'd been successful in his mission. She explained that she'd been successful in her's too, showing Roy the retrieved jacket.

"So that just leaves one Slowpoke left and we've cleared the trial." Liko acknowledged, "But how will Sapphire declare the winner if we both have some of the uniform?"

"Dunno. Maybe she'll give it to whoever has the most items?" Roy suggested, "Now where's that last Slowpoke…?"

"SHOOOOOOOOOOES!" yelled a dopey sounding voice.

Liko and Roy cried out as a pink and yellow blur tackled them in the legs and tripped them up. They crashed down onto their backs and grunted as the wind was knocked out of them. They were amazed their ankles hadn't been obliterated by that charge! They sat back up and watched the Slowpoke run off further into the wetlands. There was their target and they had only the shoes left of the uniform to get and they were done. Liko and Roy picked themselves up and brushed dirt off their bottoms.

"There it goes! After it!" Roy cried.

"Of course!" Liko agreed, "Sprigatito, chase it down with Quick Attack like we did the first one!"

Sprigatito sprinted after the Slowpoke in a flash of light. The two teens ran after the speeding cat so they could keep up the battle once they'd caught up. Slowpoke was well ahead but Sprigatito was gaining fast. It ran through a sludgy puddle in the hopes it would slow Sprigatito down but the Grass Cat Pokémon simply jumped over the puddle to avoid stepping into it. As it kept up the chase, Slowpoke suddenly stopped running and stood its ground, allowing its pursuer to catch up to it. Then suddenly, it caught Sprigatito off-guard by immobilizing the feline Pokémon with Psychic. Sprigatito yowled in shock and tried to move but it couldn't. Liko and Roy saw what had happened and Roy ordered Fuecoco to use Ember to get Slowpoke to put Sprigatito down. The reptilian Pokémon launched its attack but the Slowpoke very craftily used Psychic to move Sprigatito in harm's way. The poor Pokémon was hit by Ember instead of Slowpoke and Sprigatito screeched in anguish as it was burnt by the attack. Roy balked in horror.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" he cried.

"It's OK Roy! You didn't mean that to happen." Liko insisted, "That Slowpoke's not as dopy as it seems. It seems more cunning than the species usually is…"

"Then I guess we need to be cunning too!" Roy declared, "But what can we do?"

"Remember our training back on the ship." Liko reminded, "That'll help us win this match."

Roy nodded. What was it Captain Pikachu and Professor Friede had taught him and Liko again? Watch their opponent's movements. So he would watch this Slowpoke's movements and see what to do from there. Liko watched as well. Both teens watched with baited breath to see what Slowpoke would do next. At first, it didn't seem like it was going to move. But then suddenly, it turned around and tried to run away.

"Oh no you don't!" Roy cried, "Stop it with Stomping Tantrum!"

Fuecoco stomped down on the ground again and hit the Slowpoke in its bottom with an underground shockwave. Slowpoke cried out, more surprised than hurt by the blow. It felt as if the ground itself had given him a boot up the backside. As soon as it was hit, Liko made the next move by ordering Sprigatito to use Quick Attack to snatch the shoes from its mouth. The Grass Cat Pokémon whooshed towards Slowpoke and grabbed onto the shoes. Slowpoke bit down on them, refusing to let Sprigatito take them.

"SHOOOOOOOOOOOES!" it yelled through gritted teeth.

Soon both Pokémon were in a tug-of-war match as both of them tried to yank the shoes away. The Slowpoke was clearly stronger than Sprigatito and was pulling it along effortlessly but Sprigatito had a firm grip on the shoes with its mouth so Slowpoke couldn't get it to let go. Liko then had an idea to win this match. She ordered her Pokémon to scratch Slowpoke across the face. Sprigatito used Scratch on Slowpoke, its sharp claws raking across its opponent's face. Slowpoke wailed in anguish and let go of the shoes as a result. Sprigatito ran back to Liko to give her the shoes while Roy ordered Fuecoco to use Ember on Slowpoke. The Fire Croc Pokémon landed a blazing hit on Slowpoke and left it crying out from the burning attack. Then to finish off, but Fuecoco and Sprigatito used Leafage and Ember together to bring Slowpoke down once and for all. Both attacks hit the Psychic/Poison Pokémon and Slowpoke was left battered and beaten on the ground. Liko and Roy jumped up for joy.

"Hooray, we did it! We beat all the Slowpoke and got the uniform back!" Liko cheered.

"We best get back to the Master Dojo and let Sapphire know about this!" Roy cried.

Liko nodded. But before they left, she handed one of the shoes over to Roy. If the winner was determined by who had the most clothes then this would hopefully make it a tie. She didn't think it would be fair if she won the trial when both she and Roy together had put in the effort to win this battle. It was their victory to share in her eyes. The Paldean and Kantonian teens sprinted back to the Master Dojo. Sapphire had just been talking with Honey as they ran in. The master in-training turned around to see the duo and she smiled at them.

"Hey, you're back!" she said brightly, "Did you retrieve the uniform?"

"We did! Me and Roy got it back between us!" Liko panted.

"So does this mean we both win?" Roy gasped.

The two handed the uniform back to Sapphire and took a moment to catch their breath. All that running had left them feeling exhausted and ready for a rest. Sapphire waited for them to recover before she gave her verdict. She was impressed that both these newbies had managed to get it back between them.

"Normally we only have one winner in this trial." Sapphire explained, "But given you got back an equal number of items, I think it's fair if we give you BOTH a pass. Congratulations Liko and Roy! You're the winners!"

"Yay!" they both cheered.

"So how did you do it dears?" Honey inquired.

Liko and Roy explained their battle strategies and how they'd worked in unison with their Pokémon to get back the uniform. Sapphire listened with great interest. She was especially intrigued to hear about where they'd picked up their ideas from.

"You're both learning well from your crew it seems." she murmured, "It was very clever of you both to observe the Slowpoke and plan accordingly. Most students take a straight forward direct approach and it's often why they fail. But not you two. I myself went for brains over brawn to win this trial and I'm glad you did it too. I think you'll both do brilliantly as students here."

"Thank you very much Sapphire." Liko said gratefully.

"We're gonna get SO much stronger when we're done here! I just know it!" Roy cried eagerly, "We'll soon be able to catch the Black Rayquaza and get it back in my ancient Pokéball!"

"Fuecoco!" Fuecoco cheered enthusiastically.

"Black Rayquaza? What Black Rayquaza?" Sapphire asked curiously.

"What's this about an ancient Pokéball?" Honey asked, equally as curious.

"Oh, you don't know about that?" Liko put in, "I guess I should let Roy explain everything."

Roy nodded and he excused himself for a moment so he could slip his backpack off his back and fish out his ancient Pokéball. He took it out and showed the Dojo Matron and master in-training.

"During a battle on the beach with the Explorers, a black Rayquaza came out of this Pokéball." Roy explained, "My grandfather found it washed up on a beach years ago and passed it down to me. I seriously thought it was empty! But no, a black Rayquaza was in there and now I want to get it back! Just like the ancient adventurer in the stories I've heard much about!"

Sapphire and Honey were astonished by this story.

"So you had a Rayquaza in that ball this whole time and you never knew? And not only that, it's a Rayquaza of a different colour?!" Sapphire exclaimed, "And I thought the story Emerald told me about Liko's pendant was amazing…"

"Curiously enough, my pendant seems to react with Roy's Pokéball." Liko added, "In fact, that's what caused it to open in the first place. It's why we're adventuring as we are today, to find out what the connection is and what's so special about my pendant."

"Is that so?" Sapphire murmured, "Very intriguing…I bet Ruby and Emerald would be equally as fascinated if they were here. Well, if training here on the island will help you achieve that goal, I'll be happy to teach you whatever I can to help you catch that Rayquaza." she offered kindly.

"Thanks so much!" Roy said eagerly, "And we'll train to get really strong using all that you teach us! Won't we Fuecoco?" he asked, turning to his partner.

The fiery crocodile could only cheer and hop up and down excitedly in agreement. Sapphire chuckled and turned to Liko.

"That Roy sure is bursting with enthusiasm. I see why you like him." she said kindly.

"Oh yes. He's been a very good friend to me since we first met. My days with the Rising Volt Tacklers were fun already but Roy makes them more so." Liko said with a warm smile on her face.

"No doubt." Sapphire agreed, "So are you and him together or…?"

"Huh? N-N-NO! No! No of course not! Nothing like that!" the Paldean girl babbled, blushing bright red, "We're just friends! That's all! Though there was one time where I thought he was crushing on me when he said "I had to see that face again" only for it to turn out he meant Fuecoco's…" she murmured.

"Oh gosh! I bet that took you by surprise!" Sapphire giggled, "Well whether you two are just friends or you become more than friends, I'll support you both whatever you choose."

"That's nice of you. Thank you." Liko said appreciatively.

"Anytime. Now you both get some rest for the time being." Sapphire instructed, "We'll let the other students return first and then we'll break for lunch. Honey's making her famous Max Soup today and you're going to love it." she declared.

"You haven't tasted anything like my Max Soup, believe me." Honey said with a wink.


Soon the first trial was completed and Liko and Roy were declared the winners to the entire class. As Sapphire said, lunch time was next and everyone was treated to a delicious bowl of Max Soup. Liko, Roy, Sprigatito and Fuecoco were all given a chance to try the famous soup and they all loved it. They learned that certain Pokémon could drink Max Soup and gain the ability to Gigantamax, but they shouldn't get their hopes up as it was currently unknown if Sprigatito and Fuecoco's final forms had a Gigantamax form or not. Roy was determined to find that out should Fuecoco ever evolve and it was during lunch when he made a big suggestion to Liko.

"How's about me and you have a battle together?" he suggested, "We could Dynamax our Pokémon and have a super-sized battle!"

"Oh, we could?" Liko mused, "I'm sure it'll be fun but don't we need something special to be able to Dynamax our Pokémon?"

"Yes you do." Sapphire answered, "See this that most of us have on our wrists?" she added, showing off her Dynamax band, "We need this band in order to Dynamax our Pokémon. If you want to Dynamax, you'll have to borrow someone else's band for the time being."

"We can lend them ours if that's OK." Abigail and Sanjay both suggested.

"That's very kind of you." Sapphire complimented, "OK then, after lunch we'll arrange this training battle for you both. I'm honestly keen to see what a Dynamaxed Sprigatito and Fuecoco will look like…" she added with great interest.

And so here they were with Liko and Roy out in the battle arena out behind the dojo. Sapphire, Ashley, Mustard and Honey were going to watch and judge the battle. Liko and Roy stood opposite each other with Abigail and Sanjay's Dynamax bands around their wrists and their partners ready to duke it out in battle together. Before the battle could start, Liko had a question.

"Wait a minute. If we Dynamax our Pokémon, don't their moves change?" she asked, "I remember when Ruby battled Alain, she would give different attack names than what her Charizard usually used."

"Very observant of you Liko Suzuki!" Sapphire complimented, "You really will make a fine trainer! Anyway, yes, your Pokémon's moves become Max Moves when they Dynamax. What moves can your Pokémon currently use?"

"Sprigatito knows Leafage, Bite, Scratch and Quick Attack." Liko answered.

"Fuecoco only knows Ember, Tackle and Stomping Tantrum. He hasn't got a fourth move yet." Roy explained.

"SO for you Liko, Sprigatito can use Max Overgrowth, Max Darkness and Max Strike." Sapphire informed, "And Roy, your Fuecoco can use Max Flare, Max Quake and Max Strike. Remember those names well when calling your attacks as you wouldn't want to call the wrong moves in a Dynamax battle."

"Right!" Liko and Roy both replied.

"This should be fun ta watch." Ashley said with a smile of interest on her face, "I'm sure the newbies will do just fine for their first Dynamax battle."

"Well love, we'll soon see won't we?" Sapphire agreed, "When you're ready Liko and Roy, we can let the battle commence!" the master-in-training called.

"OK, let's see how this works!" Roy cried, "Fuecoco, Dynamax!"

"You too Sprigatito!" Liko commanded.

Both of them held out their Dynamax bands and stared open-mouthed in awe as Dynamax energy swirled up into their bands. Usually the Pokémon would be inside a Pokéball at the time but as Sprigatito and Fuecoco were already on the field, they instantly started to grow bigger and bigger with no need to throw a giant-sized Pokéball. Their bodies glowed with a pinkish-red outline and the tiny Pokémon began to grow to huge sizes. At first, Sprigatito and Fuecoco had barely reached up to their partner's calves. Now they towered over them and looked as if they could smash through a house. The Grass Cat and Fire Croc Pokémon loomed over their trainers and let out an amplified cry that echoed around the arena as the Dynamax process made their voices deeper and louder as a result. Liko and Roy were left utterly spellbound by what they'd witnessed. Terastilizing back in Paldea was cool enough but this was something else completely! Sprigatito and Fuecoco took a moment to look over themselves and see what had happened. They both let out surprised gasps as if to say "Oh my gosh, I'm huge now!" Sapphire, Ashley, Mustard and Honey couldn't help but chuckle.

"Bless them. Just about any Pokémon that Dynamaxes for the first time has that reaction." Mustard laughed.

"Gotta say, they look cool giant-sized." Ashley observed, "Who knew cute Pokémon like them could suddenly look intimidating just by being bigger?"

"Imagine how it'll look if we ever see a Dynamaxed Skeledirge or Meowscarada." Sapphire noted.

Liko and Roy took a moment to let the incredible sight they'd just witnessed settle in before they finally made a move.

"Hooray, we're Dynamaxed now! Look how big you are!" Roy commented, "Now let's see how strong you are too! Use Max Flare!"

Fuecoco opened its jaws and blasted a huge fireball towards Sprigatito. Before its Ember attacks looked pretty weak. But using Max Flare in this form, it now looked way more powerful and like it would give even the Explorers a reason to hesitate. Fuecoco fired its Max Flare and the giant fireball whooshed across the arena towards Sprigatito. Liko wasn't sure how to respond at first. If this was a normal battle then Sprigatito could dodge with Quick Attack but that was out of the question here. She just had to hope there was a way to block it.

"Counter with Max Strike and fast!" the Paldean teen yelled.

Sprigatito jumped up and crashed back down again, creating a fissure of white sparks that trialled across the arena towards Fuecoco. Once the sparks reached Fuecoco, they erupted underneath it and caused Fuecoco to cry out and stumble from the blow. But it didn't stop Max Flare from hitting Sprigatito. Both Pokémon were hit by their attacks with Fuecoco's doing more damage than Sprigatito's thanks to it being super-effective. Both Pokémon stumbled back for a bit but they soon recovered and stood back up again. The Dynamaxed Pokémon stared each other down and prepared to attack again.

"Go for it Fuecoco! Another Max Flare!" Roy commanded.

"Counter with Max Darkness this time!" Liko ordered.

Fuecoco geared up to launch another blazing attack but this time, Sprigatito was able to stop it. The grassy kitten conjured up a swirling mass of dark energy that suddenly lashed out and struck Fuecoco. The resulting clash caused the Max Flare to die in its throat and knock it down backwards. The arena shuddered and Roy fought to keep his balance. Liko cheered in excitement.

"We did it! Great shot Sprigatito!" Liko cheered.

"Meow-ha!" Sprigatito mewed, its voice booming all over the arena.

"It was a good call on Liko's behalf to start with that Max Strike." Sapphire observed, "Unbeknownst to her, she's made it easier for her to beat that Fuecoco for we all know what Max Strike's side-effect does."

"Quite so my child." Mustard agreed, "With Fuecoco's speed lowered, Liko's Sprigatito will be able to land a hit before Fuecoco can attack."

"So despite the type-disadvantage, the Paldean kid's gonna win it seems." Ashley murmured, "But that other kid's not gonna give up. I can see it in his eyes that he ain't no quitter. He'll fight back with everything he's got no matter what."

"I'd agree on that Ashley." Honey concurred, "That boy wants to catch a Black Rayquaza after all so he knows he has to put his all in every move he makes if he's going to succeed."

Ashley and Honey were both right on that front. Even if Liko seemed to be in a better place for now, Roy wasn't going to give up easily. Once Fuecoco stood back up again, he made his next move.

"Gotta try something else instead!" the Kanto boy deduced, "Try Max Quake this time!"

"You use Max Overgrowth!" Liko commanded.

Sprigatito and Fuecoco made their moves. Fuecoco raised its huge, clumpy foot and stamped down on the ground while Sprigatito stood up as straight as it could and fired some giant seeds out of its mouth. Fuecoco's stomp caused a huge shockwave that punched into Sprigatito and knocked it back while Sprigatito's seeds landed all around Fuecoco and grew into huge blades of grass and mushrooms that sapped away some of Fuecoco's energy. It was if the two Pokémon were being attacked by the ground and a magical forest respectively. Neither attacks were particularly effective but Sprigatito's Max Overgrowth caused a Grassy Terrain to appear. Grass grew all around the arena and blades of grass even began to blow around in the wind as it swept over the terrain. Sapphire wasn't sure if Liko planned for this, but yet again she was in an advantageous position. Grassy Terrain would boost Sprigatito's Grass-type moves and also heal it slightly over time. On the other hand, Grass-type moves didn't do much against Fire-types so it would be unlikely to make a difference. Sprigatito and Fuecoco were stunned for the moment and just before anything else could happen, the Dynamax energy in their bodies dissipated and they returned to their normal sizes. At first Liko thought this meant the battle was over and they couldn't fight anymore but she and Roy soon saw their Pokémon were still able to fight. They stood up again and looked over themselves in confusion, wondering why they were back to being small again.

"Huh? What happened? We didn't break our bands, did we?" Roy asked worriedly.

"I don't think so…?" Liko said as she looked at her Dynamax band, "Sapphire, what happened? I thought Dynamax ended once a Pokémon was unable to battle anymore?"

"Oh no, that's not always the case." Sapphire confirmed, "Dynamaxing only lasts about three turns for both sides. It's limited in use so it's always best to end a fight as quickly as possible."

"Oh, it doesn't last long? That sucks." Roy muttered, "I was really enjoying this battle of giant Pokémon!"

"We can still enjoy this one!" Liko declared happily, "Pokémon battles are fun after all so let's keep having fun!"

"You got it!" Roy concurred, "Fuecoco, use Ember again!"

"Sprigatito, use Leafage!" Liko commanded.

But neither side got the chance to attack. Just as Sprigatito and Fuecoco were about to fight again, a huge meteor crashed down in the middle of the arena and made them screech in fright. They quickly ran back to their trainers. Everybody wobbled from the earth-shaking tremor that the meteor's impact had caused. Sapphire and Ashley grabbed onto each other while Honey grabbed onto Mustard so he wouldn't fall over. Once the earth stopped shaking, everybody let out a sigh of relief and looked over each other to make sure no one was hurt.

"What the hell was that?!" Ashley exclaimed, "I didn't hear any reports about a meteor strike happening today!"

"That didn't come from outer space." Sapphire noted, "I think it came…from that!"

She pointed up at the sky, her purple eyes wide with shock. Everybody followed her gaze to see what she'd spotted. Liko and Roy gasped incredulously. They thought their hearts had stopped for a split-second. There in the sky, looming over the humans and glaring down at them with fearsome yellow eyes…was a black Rayquaza!


Liko and Roy have been doing well in the Isle of Armour's trials, but their biggest trial has just begun as now they're facing the Black Rayquaza that Roy's been after! Do our heroes even stand a chance against such a powerful Pokémon?! Tune in to Part 2 next time and find out...

Trivia: As you can see, it's Roy's time to shine as he's here now! After Episode 6 revealed what was in his mysterious Pokéball, the entire story just wrote itself from there. In this universe it happens the same as in the show but the second meeting with Black Rayquaza happens here over the Isle of Armour while the show itself's indicating we might be seeing it over in Paldea pretty soon. Also not to sound like an arrogant snob or anything, but I called it that Roy's Pokéball contained the Shiny Rayquaza. I'm not even surprised I was right in the end. XD

Liko's Sprigatito learned Quick Attack in Pokémon Horizons Episode 7 so naturally, I'm reflecting that by showing it learned Quick Attack some time after Liko's meeting with Emerald while also having Liko and Roy acknowledge that episode's lesson.

Roy's Fuecoco recently learned Stomping Tantrum in Episode 10 of the series, hence it also knows Stomping Tantrum here. As you can imagine, this worked out wondrously for me as I can write some more interesting battles and strategies now Roy's Fuecoco knows more than two moves. :)

Oh and before you ask, no, Liko and Roy have no confirmed surnames in Pokémon Horizons. Their last names of Suzuki and Terasaki are yet again references to their Japanese voice actors.

And lastly, sorry for the long delay. I was on holiday for a week and last week I really struggled in finding time or motivation to write so this took longer than I wanted. Better late than never, eh? ^^