Calem's Alola Adenture
Chapter 11
By: Gandire
Professor Kukui brings Calem to the observatory entrance where they spot one of the engineers making adjustments to the door. "Hey there!"
The person turns around with a knowing smile, "You're still fired up as ever, eh, "Royal"?"
"Ha! Calem, lemme introduce you. This is Molayne. He runs the observatory here, and also manages the PC boxes, but he's not Hokulani's captain."
Molayne shakes his head. The sigh that escapes him is one full of joyful memories. "But I was the captain once, my masked friend." He turns to Calem, "It's Calem, right? Thanks for coming all the way up Hokulani to visit us. A lot of our employees were amazed to see you and Ponyta zip past our road side cameras. They even started a little cheer squad for you. Heck, the first guy spit his coffee upon seeing you. Anyway, our Captain Sophocles is a busy young man. Always calculating comets' paths or planning festivals… So, I'll just determine whether you're qualified to take on the trial."
Calem takes a breath and muses on Professor Kukui's words, "A world of good…" His journey hasn't been long. Two weeks haven't even gone by since he left home with Mawile. Yet all the different people he's met in that short time… It's almost like when he set off on his first adventure back in Kalos: the strict but kind elder blocking the bridge to route two, trainer Joey who lost his ratatta in the Santalune Forest, lass Anna with a pikachu who flirted with him just so he'd buy her lunch, and Alexa the photographer …
He shakes the image of their corpses from his head. That won't happen again. He won't let it happen.
Those thoughts happen every time he meets someone new. It's one of the reasons he stopped leaving his room. But now that he's doing this journey, he doesn't want to let that stop him anymore. A grim determination crosses his face as he says, "Let's do this, Noibat."
Molayne, oblivious to Calem's inner turmoil, grins. "I'll gladly show you the skills of a trainer who toughened up while adventuring alongside Kukui back in the day. Metang!"
"Supersonic!" Metang is a bad matchup for Noibat. Calem has keep the momentum and end this battle as soon as possible. Metang's two random punches into the air show Calem how well trained the steel type pokemon is. Those punches had perfect form. Getting hit once is dangerous. "Dragon pulse!"
Noibat, who's keeping his distance from Metang, zips towards the steel type. A purple shock wave blasts from his mouth. Metang is forced onto the ground, but levitates itself back up after a few seconds. Worse, from the sharpness of its stare, it's no longer confused. "Agility, acrobatics!"
Noibat's quick reactions let him dodge Metang's "metal claw," and "zen headbutt." When Molayne says, "Confusion!" the attack, "Dragon pulse," comes from Calem's mouth before he can register the situation. His instinctual decision proves sound judgement. They canceled each other out.
"Supersonic!"
Metang, with "magnet rise," deflects the sound waves with electromagnetism. That leaves him open for, "Heat wave!"
Metang takes the hit. It's hurt, but still able to continue. Molayne says, "Bullet punch!"
"Supersonic!"
Metang, committed to its attack, cannot deflect Noibat's with magnet rise. With its aim thrown off by the sudden confusion, its fist grazes Noibat's wing. Noibat tumbles to the ground. He acts tough as he scurries about, but from the way he tries not to move his shoulder, he can't fly anymore.
Molayne tells Metang to "body slam" the ground, but Metang throws punches in front of itself, and blasts a psychic skyward. Once Noibat gets underneath the steel pokemon, "Heat wave!"
Metang could withstand an attack from the front, but with nothing to defend itself from below, it's knocked out and falls to the ground with a thud.
Calem lifts Noibat who rubs himself against Calem's face, "Great job, all that training is paying off!"
"Noi!"
Molayne recalls his pokemon. "Looks like Kukui brought along a good trainer. You certainly seem qualified to take on the trial."
Professor Kukui says, "Yeah, I think he's even stronger than we were at this point of our island challenge, relatively speaking, woo. One more thing, cousin- the name's Kukui! Who's this Masked Royal you're talking about?"
Calem says, "He's Professor Burnet's favorite battler at the Battle Royal. She kept going on and on about how cool and handsome he is the other day. Every two or three sentences, she'd say that he must look dreamy underneath his mask."
Professor Kukui fights back his shock as he says, "Di- did she now?"
"She was showering him in praises. Better be careful, Professor, or she might be stolen away from you."
"I- I see… Well, cousin, I'm heading back to Malie Garden. Hau should be done with his date by now, assuming he hasn't moved on to a second, yeah. Either way, I'll make sure he makes it up here, too."
Molayne watches Professor Kukui walk away and says, "That guy's as interesting as ever. My old buddy! Anyway, welcome to our observatory, Calem!"
Calem enters through the front doors as Rotom gives him some encouragement, "I think you'd better go with Molayne there, pal. See what Hokulani Observatory haszzz to offer."
Sophocles, a fat ginger, is in the center of the observatory. Calem's first thoughts upon passing through the recently refurbished door, What a comfortable life…
Sophocles looks at Calem in hesitation for a few seconds before saying, "You're getting close to your goals. I imagine that you must have come here to attempt the trial, huh? So… uh… you coming to the festival?"
"What festival?"
"To celebrate the opening of the League, of course."
"Maybe, I guess."
"Oh… okay then. Well, let's get started."
Calem looks around at the fancy and expensive equipment filling the room. "Here?"
"Right here, right now. All trial involve summoning the totem pokemon and fighting it. So I'll just call the totem here from the start. I tried some of this and that and whipped up a device that summons the totem pokemon. It works by emitting a sound only they can hear. Time for the second test. Ping Totem Pokemon 2.0, engage!"
A large Vikavolt smashes through the door. Electric sparks emit from her body as she roars and snaps her teeth at Calem. Calem points at a speaker. "That the device calling the pokemon?"
"Yeah."
Calem tosses Mawile's premier ball at the device. She smashes it with her second mouth upon emerging from her ball. Sophocles's jaw drops. Calem cuts him off before he can complain, "Your device causes her pain. You just can't hear it."
"Maw!"
Sophocles makes an annoyed face. "You could have just said something. Ilima and Hapu were right… you are just a punk."
A flaming red aura surround Vikavolt as she snaps her teeth at Calem. She's grateful for having destroyed the irritation and will show her appreciation by going full out in this battle.
Calem says, "Then let's not keep her waiting, Mawile. Taunt!"
Vikavolt opens her scissor like jaws to attack with X-scissor, but Mawile redirects her to the side with a sucker punch from below. She then catches the bug-type pokemon with fire fang and slams her against the ground.
Vikavolt cries out and summons Charjabug to her aid. Vikavolt picks her helper up with her legs and charges a thunder bolt. From the color of the sparks it emits, this attack will be more powerful than a normal one. Vikavolt's using Charjabug to boost her electricity…
Calem says, "Don't let it touch you!" Mawile uses her second mouth to rip out a piece of the floor and throws it into the path of the electricity. She then dashes forward and swings the second mouth for, "Iron head!"
Vikavolt bends her body and swerves around Mawile's attack. While Vikavolt attacks from behind, Mawile continues throwing her second mouth forward. She slams the mouth into the ground and flips herself into the air by the stem. Upon landing on Vikavolt's back, she lifts up her second mouth and forces Vikavolt to carry all of her weight. Then, just as she and Calem planned, "Fire fang!"
Mawile defeats Vikavolt and Charjabug before any of them can use discharge.
Molayne runs into the room as Vikavolt scurries away with Charjabug. "Soffy…"
Sophocles says, "Big Mo!"
"Nice work, Captain! You helped Calem through his trial, and your experiment was a success!"
Sophocles says, "Yeah, but I didn't consider how it makes Vikavolt feel. Hey, Calem, I'll give you this Electrium Z to reward you for beating the Totem pokemon. You were thinking about the pokemon first, so I'll forgive what you did. But seriously, next time say something!"
Molayne says, "Congratulations on clearing your trial! And you, Sophocles, you did well as captain. Don't worry, I'm sure I made the right choice in naming you captain. Even if you are my cousin." He turns to Calem and says, "Usually it's the Island Kahuna who appoint the captains. Ula'ula Island, er, has some unusual circumstances. Here, Calem, let me reward you as well. This is the Steelium Z. That's one of the Z-crystals I collected long ago during my island challenge. By the way, could I ask you to do a favor for me? Professor Kukui forgot this."
Calem puts a mask that looks exactly like Mask Royal's into his bag while Molayne continues, "He said he'd be going back to Malie Garden. Could you take it to him?"
"Sure."
Calem is mounting Ponyta to descend the mountain when he realizes the Sophocles never showed him the Electrium Z dance. He shrugs, learning it is pointless without the Z-ring.
The sun begins to set by the time they reach Malie City. After stopping to make sure Ponyta has had enough to drink from a stream, he continues for the garden. He catches Professor Kukui confronting a pair of Team Skull thugs by one of the garden bridges. Calem ignores the developing battle and calls out to Kukui. "Professor, you forgot your mask."
"Battle Royal, huh? Nice idea there, Kukui. You can bear down three pokemon at once, huh?" A man's voice carries from the bridge. He must be talking about the conversation Professor Kukui was having with the two thugs. Calem doesn't spare him a glance and keeps his attention on Professor Kukui.
One of the thugs says to Calem, "Hey, that's Guzma! Show our boss some respect!"
Taking a cue from the Professor, Calem turns his head towards the Guzma. "Urgh." The face he makes is full of repugnance. Unlike most trainers Calem's encountered, Guzma doesn't have a Z-ring. Another note is that while the Team Skull thugs remind Calem of Team Flare, Guzma doesn't remind me of Lysander. Also, looking at him doesn't evoke the same anger from his minions. Instead, he's overwhelmed by irritation and disgust. Both feelings are familiar to him, but nothing he can associate them with comes to mind.
Guzma lords over Calem. "The hated boss who beats you down, and beats you down, and never lets up… Yeah. Big bad Guzma is here!" He then steps back and laughs. "Greetings, cowering public! We have an exciting bout for you tonight! In the opposing corner, the pokemon Professor Kukui! And in this corner, the boss of Team Skull and the hardest guy around, Guzma!"
Mawile burst from her premier ball at Calem's waist. "Maw!" Calem nod and steps forward. His voice comes out cold, empty, and tinged with revulsion. Nothing that would be expect from someone as young as him. "You're fighting us, instead."
Guzma sneers. "Buzz off. This is a battle between fellow rejects who never could become captains." He turns back to Professor Kukui, "These moldy old traditions- the Kahuna, the captains… cutting out that silly garbage and make something new for ourselves. I get what you're saying, Kukui, but we don't need a league! After all, everyone already knows who the strongest trainer is on these islands!"
Professor Kukui chuckles. "Speak for yourself, Guzma. I chose not to become a captain. I had different dreams. I'd tell you about them, but I don't think he'll wait any longer, yeah."
Guzma glances towards Calem in time to hear, "Iron head." Guzma throws a pokeball as he jumps back. Golisopod catches Mawile's second mouth with his six arms. A struggle develops with Mawile trying to break free and Golisopod trying to hold her mouth.
Guzma says, "You don't have even have a Z-ring. This has nothing to do with you! What do you care?"
"Faux, Z-power just wasn't for me!"
"That's what they all say! Then, what? What'd you get out of all this?"
"I want to see it! I want to see the establishment of a new Pokemon League and you're in the way! But in all honesty, you just tick me off! Mawile, thunder fang!"
Golisopod jumps away as the mouth he's holding shocks him. He then charges forward with, "Razor shell!"
Mawile takes hit with "Iron defense" without budging. Her second mouth swings for Golisopod's side with thunder fang. The water pokemon scurries back and away from the attack. That pokemon runs away whenever faced with a dangerous attack.
Mawile follows after him with, "Taunt!" Golisopod throws itself at Mawile with rock smash, but she redirects his blow with sucker punch. Then, as Golisopod is off balance, "Thunder fang!"
Guzma calls back his pokemon. He then grabs his head and flails it around while shouting, "Guzma! What is wrong with you? Now's the time for your vaunted team to let loose and destroy everything! You're name's Calem, right? I'll remember you… as someone I'll be happy to beat down anytime!" Guzma leaves and his two thugs run after him.
Calem's expression is full of loathing and distain as he watches them. The emotions remain even after they're out of sight. Professor Kukui breaks his concentration with a clap on his back, "Team Skull will have to go and lick their wounds now! Getting beat by a child just doing his trials! So, Mahina is the person you passed your Z-ring to, yeah? I was wondering what happened to it and then ran into her not too long ago, woo. Still, even without Z-power, those were some nice moves, cousin! My soul is still shaking, woo! By the way, that mask you got there… Molayne gave you that, yeah? I'll take it, if you don't mind. I can make sure it gets back to the Masked Royal safe and sound… By the way, where's Lillie, yeah? You lose her or something?"
Calem shakes his head. "She probably at the library with Serena, Lana, and Acerola." They separate and Calem proceeds to check in at the pokemon center for the night. In the café are Serena, Lillie, Lana, Acerola, and to his surprise Mahina. If Hau knew about this, he'd would probably sacrifice an arm and leg to be there.
The five chat with bright smiles on their faces. At their sides are bags of new clothes. Lillie in particular looks very excited. They bonded over shopping? Serena notices Calem by the entrance and calls him over. "Mizzy! How'd it go? You won, right?"
Mahina jumps and looks from Calem to everyone else. "You guys all know him too?"
Calem draws a chair to the table, "Le monde est petit. Although, I didn't expect to run into you this soon."
"Maybe me being here isn't as impressive as you think? This is my second island." She then glances towards Lana, "Although…"
Lana giggles, "Under oath to my position as a captain, I promise to return to my trial ground in a few days. Please challenge Kiawe and Mallow until then. Right now, I plan to stay here and study."
Acerola says, "Then the rest of us can head to the next trial in the morning."
Lana says, "Calem, make sure to be careful, okay?"
Acerola says, "I don't know, Lana. Men who take risks have a certain appeal about them too."
Everyone laughs as Lana shakes her bright red face. "No, no, no, no! I don't mean it like that!"
…..
Rocky terrain from a mud slide blocks the path on route 12. Walking over it would be dangerous and slow. Acerola pulls a ride pager out from within her dress with a sigh. "I really thought they'd have cleared this by now. Well, looks like there's been some progress at least…"
Calem and Serena watch as Lillie and Mahina also pull out ride pagers. Acerola notices and says, "Don't you two have ride pagers? Here, I'll call an extra pair of pokemon for you."
Ponyta bursts from his pokeball at Calem's waist. He jumps up on his hind legs and neighs his complaint.
Calem pacifies Ponyta while saying, "We're good, we're good. Ponyta will get jealous if I ride anyone other than him." Ponyta snorts and juts his head to accent Calem's claim.
Serena says, "I have heard about the ride system, but how does it work? Do you just sit here and wait for the pokemon to arrive?"
Acerola gives a bright smile and says, "That's right. How long you wait depends on where you are and what pokemon you call. Although, it's a really great service. The longest anyone ever has to wait is 30 minutes. So, Serena, do you need me to call you one?"
Serena shakes her head. She turns to Calem's Ponyta and says, "My ride is right here."
Calem says, "You're not even going to ask?"
"Would you actually say no?"
Calem shrugs and begins to brush Ponyta. Serena pulls out some berries from her bag and feeds the fire pokemon.
Mahina walks up to them while holding her hands behind her back. "Calem, did you and Ponyta run up Mount Hokulani yesterday? I was taking the bus down when-"
Ponyta gives a triumphant huff of his lips. Calem pats his neck while giving a chiding sigh, "Yeah, that was us."
Three Mudsdale arrive as Calem finishes preparing Ponyta with his riding gear. Serena slips a pair of pants up underneath her skirt as he mounts the fire pokemon. Then, accepting his hand, she hops on behind him. Calem pats Ponyta's neck as she wraps her arms tight around him. "Hey, Ponyta, we've got an important guest with us today. Don't hold anything back and go full out."
Ponyta neighs and jumps up onto its hind legs. After flailing his front legs, he jumps onto them and kicks out his hind legs. He bucks around and then gallops for the rock covered path. He reaches the end of the road and leaps. He clears the blocked path in a single bound. He then turns to the three mudsdale carrying Lillie, Acerola, and Mahina and taunts them to hurry up with a neigh.
Calem swats Ponyta's neck, "Hey, don't be rude! You're built for speed, Mudsdale for power. You can't compare yourself against them."
Ponyta snorts in dissatisfaction, but doesn't say anything else.
Serena relaxes her grip around Calem as they wait for the others. "You meant Mahina, right? She's so similar to Tierno, it's scary."
"Should you really be talking with contractions?"
"Please, there's no one around to hear me. Just 'cause I'm still wearing the mantel doesn't mean I'm not allowed to stop being the Final Champion of Kalos and just be Serena." She slumps the side of her face against Calem's back with a sigh, "Apparently, she got her Z-ring from a passing trainer. To commemorate the event, said trainer's egg hatched."
Serena chuckles and adds, "We found a whole batch buried in mud a year after everything happened. Then you said that one was still alive. We all thought you were crazy, but you… you've been nursing that guy for years."
"I know dead, I'll recognize it when I see it. Noibat was struggling to stay alive."
Once Acerola, Lillie, and Mahina catch up, Ponyta neighs and gallops to where the next mudslide blocks the road. He leaps onto the side of the mountain, trots a few steps horizontal and hops down where the road begins anew. As they wait for the others to catch up again, Serena laughs and says, "Show off."
Ponyta gives a proud neigh.
They leap over the final landslide and continue into a settlement on route 13. As Ponyta slows to a stop, Hau calls out to Calem. Surprise and jealousy color his face upon seeing Serena riding behind Calem. "Let me guess, you're on a date?"
The two turn to each other as the comment takes them by surprise. Serena says, "No one has accused us of being a couple in years."
Calem says, "Yeah, hearing it is a weird mixture of happy and sad." He passes the reins to Serena and hops off Ponyta. To Hau, "So, what's up?"
Hau shakes his head, "Nothing, just wanted to say I heard you beat Sophocles. He kept grumbling about how you broke his totem-calling machine or whatever. He really didn't like having to do things the old fashioned way. Anyway, looks like we're both getting stronger!"
Gladion steps out from a building. He notices them in front of Ponyta, "You only have one volume, don't you? Haven't you ever heard the expression that silence is golden?"
Hau's taken aback by his appearance, but summons up the nerve to say, "But speech is silver!"
Gladion clicks his tongue, "Whatever, that's not important. Listen, Team Skull is looking for a pokemon called Cosmog… Do you two know anything?"
Hau gaze shifts to the side, "W-what? N-not that we'd tell you!"
Serena says, "Hau, you are a terrible liar."
Calem says, "I pegged you a smooth talker with all the girls you pick up."
Gladion shakes his head, "Look… Cosmog isn't a strong pokemon. It has the potential to summon pokemon so terrifyingly strong that you don't even know. If something like that happened, it would be a disaster for Alola…"
Hau says, "A disaster? Like… a real disaster? Then what're we supposed to do about it?"
Calem doesn't say anything. Instead, his hand slips to the black pokeball on his belt while recalling the Ultra Beast appearing at Aether Paradise.
Gladion says, "Protect it! If you do know where Cosmog is or if you do find anything out… just keep it safe! I know I might be working for Team Skull right now, so you may not trust me or care but… I'm going to tell you this just once. You have to protect Cosmog… no matter what!"
Calem says, "What about Lillie?"
Surprise flashes through Gladion's eyes for a moment, but he hardens his stare. "Just keep them safe. I don't understand how Team Skull found out about Cosmog in the first place, but it can't be anything good."
As Gladion walks off, Hau says, "What does he mean no matter what? Anyway, do you think Lillie is in danger? Well, things will be fine as long as we keep her safe, right?"
"Put short, yeah."
"Then, I'm gonna take on my next trial and get even stronger. Tapu Koko is gonna recognize my strength and make me the next Kahuna." Hau makes a loud declaration and fist pumps, but it's just a performance. He gives off a faint reluctance to committing to what he just said.
Calem ignores it and says, "What's so good about being a bug pokemon?"
"Kahuna! Not Kakuna!"
As Hau walks off, Serena says, "Were you fishing for information? The resemblance between him and Lillie is quite uncanny."
Calem looks up to Serena who's still mounted on Ponyta's back. "How long are you going to sit up there?"
Serena blushes and speaks with a soft voice. "I- I am stuck. I can no longer move my legs…"
Calem strokes Ponyta's neck. "You hear that? Great job." He then holds out his arms towards Serena. She bends down to place her arms into his so he can pull her off. She winces as she slides off of Ponyta's back. Even a loud cracking sound ringing out from one of her legs follows. Calem lets her fall onto him and hugs her to prevent her from falling over. She steps away from him, but remains latched to his arm for support.
"That was fun, but I forgot how bad it can hurt afterwards."
"You know, I've heard people complain about that, but never actually felt that pain."
Serena narrows her eyes, "Well, you sure are a lucky one."
Acerola calls out to them as she, Lillie, and Mahina catch up. All three have dismounted from Mudsdale and travel on foot. "What's going on you guys?" She gasps upon seeing Serena's posture and how close she stands to Calem. Her face turns a bit red as she says, "You two… We couldn't have taken more than 20 minutes. Are you going to cheat behind Lana's back?"
Calem turns to Serena. She is standing really close to him. Judging by the way she's standing, from what he recalls through conversations with first time riders, she won't be able to walk straight for a few days. "It'll hurt for a while, but should pass once you start walking."
Serena shakes her head. "You completely misunderstood her… Just… just shut up or I will make you carry me the rest of the way."
Lillie says once they resume walking, "This… this might be a bit rude…. but… what kind of relationship do you two have?"
The answer Calem and Serena give are in complete sync, a testament to the number of times they've answered that question. "Neighbors since before we could walk. Rivals in pokemon."
Mahina says, "Are you still rivals?"
Serena says, "Of course, our bonds will not break that easily."
A mischievous smirk crosses Acerola face as she says, "Okay, but how do you feel about each other as lovers?"
Calem says, "Impossible." As everyone stares at him, he realizes he needs to explain himself. "Kalos is still too heavy on my mind to think about anything else."
Acerola says, "So, hypothetically, let's say a girl does like you. What would you do?"
Serena stops him from answering. "No, it will come out wrong if you say it." To the others, "Mizzy is not blind. He can be very smooth and has turned down plenty of dates before. His words were, "They just wanted brag about how they dated a trainer with their city gym badge." Now, if someone actually interested does come along, he would probably turn her down for the reason he just gave us. In other words, she is going to need patience." She winks and says, "Please let her know that as well."
Acerola says, "I- I see… Oh, this is Tapu Village. Over there is the entrance to Mount Lanakila. It's closed while they build the Pokemon League, but to celebrate its opening, there's going to be a seven day festival here full of pokemon battles and dancing. I can't wait!"
Serena looks at Calem's face and sighs. She separates herself from his arm and says, "Try not to go too high, okay?"
Lillie says, "Wait… what's going on? Calem, you're not… going to try and sneak past them, are you?"
Calem says, "I'll catch up with all of you later." He doubles back and calls out Ponyta. They sneak as close as they can to Mount Lanakila and jump over all the barriers impeding their progress and then upward. Ponyta springs towards the sky each time his hooves touch the mountainside.
Ponyta stops after ten hops. They are up high enough that no one from below should notice him. He still wants to go higher, all the way to the top, but that would take a lot more time than he has. He also doesn't have the right clothes for such a trek. He's dressed for summer while up there, for all intents and purposes, is winter.
He doesn't walk long when he comes across a sandslash. Unlike the ones from Kalos, this one is blue and has ice spikes growing from its back. Rotom says, "Fleeing volcanic eruption, it szzetled on a szzznowy mountain. Itszzz body adapted to the cold by becoming an ice and szzzteel type."
Calem calls out Noibat. "Supersonic!" This battle will be good training for him. "Steel wing!"
Sandslash rolls onto her feet and retaliates with icicle spear. Confused from supersonic, her aim doesn't come close to Noibat. The flying pokemon flaps his wings in place and waits for Calem's next instruction. Looks like they need to experience more battles together before their thoughts can sync during all battles.
"Dragon pulse." Calem throws a pokeball as the attack hits. It shakes once, twice, thrice, and holds still. Noibat lands on his shoulder as he picks up the pokeball. He pets the pokemon nuzzling against his neck, "I know, I know, it's cold. We're leaving, we're leaving."
A/N: Sorry for the delay everyone. Last week was a bit hectic for me, but have no fear! The weekly updates shall now resume! I hope you all liked this chapter. Honestly, part of it got a lot darker than I originally intended. I'm a bit surprised by that. So, are there any guesses as to why Calem hates Guzma? I haven't given many clues, if any, as to why, so I'll place one here. It has something to do with Calem's adventure in Kalos. Another clue, Calem's adventure in Kalos is a bit different from what happened in the games. This will all be revealed later, but until then, can any of you figure out the mystery?
Thanks for reading, leave a review,
-Gandire
