Welcome to Book 8! I'm Purim, the author! I won't waste your time with much, just a few housekeeping notes:
* First, this story and the next three books all take place before JN113 "Chasing to the Finish!" (Japanese: ラストミッション！ レジエレキ・レジドラゴをゲットせよ！！ The Last Mission! Catch Regieleki and Regidorago!). Events from episodes up to that point will be referenced, so here's your spoiler warning.
* Second, I would like to thank pennychu_, and mezamun for beta reading and helping me catch errors.
* Third, the cover art below was drawn by the talented jessu_uu on Twitter! Please give her a visit and check out her incredible art!
Without further ado...
Pocket Monsters, or as they're more commonly called, Pokémon.
They are the truly, wonderfully mysterious creatures that inhabit this world. Goh knew that as a fact. Pokémon came in all shapes and sizes, from the small Eevee running around his feet to the giant Golurk who watched over Cerise Park. There were fast ones, slow ones, strong ones, weak ones, ones with incredibly soft and plush fur and ones whose hides were as hard as diamonds.
And most importantly, Goh knew that Pokémon lived all over the world. In every single, possible corner of it. If there was a way for something to live there, he would find Pokémon there.
The further he searched from civilization, the more rare or difficult to find Pokémon there are. There were supposed to be legendary Pokémon who lived in the lava vents at the bottom of the ocean, and mythical Pokémon that lived in outer space. Flying through the highest clouds, crawling in the deepest caves, and hiding in the darkest parts of the sea, there would be Pokémon no matter what.
This was the thought that guided him as he moved the crystalline card across the weathered map he had on the table, revealing the true map beneath the strange encoding used by the Pokélantian people. Because as the map came into view, being slowly assembled on the solid light projector in the heart of the Cerise Pokémon Laboratory, he saw landmasses and islands coming into view.
His heart was racing. He could hardly believe that, after all this time, things had come to this moment. From the trip down to the temple in Stone Town and the collection of the Clear Wing, every moment along this path had lead Goh to this moment.
But even though this was a moment for his triumph, he knew that his heart wasn't pounding alone.
Standing on one of his shoulders was the Grass-type Pokémon Grookey, who was watching Goh manipulate the crystal card over the map with wide, curious eyes. And standing at his side opposite Grookey with her hand comfortingly on his shoulder was Chloe Cerise, his long-time childhood friend whom he finally got the courage to confess his deep feelings to only a few months ago.
Also watching him was his best friend Ash Ketchum, who had his partner, Pikachu, on his shoulder. A glance up at Ash's eyes showed them absolutely brimming with excitement, because wherever this map would point them would be the destination of the greatest adventure they had gone on so far. And if there was anything that could make Ash more excited than a brand new adventure, he hadn't seen it yet.
Working the holographic projector was Chloe's father, Professor Raymond Cerise. He was working as quickly as he could, recording the data from the ancient map as Goh continued to compile it. At their desks were Chrysa and Ren, the professor's reliable supporters as they helped him enter in the data for their advanced computer system to process.
Everyone in the lab had gone through trials and tribulations, going from being targeted by Team Rocket to being attacked by legendary Pokémon. There were many close calls and tight scrapes, but all of them had always come out of the other side victorious, the three teenagers especially. While pursuing the legend of One who Chases the Rainbow, Goh's friendship and bonds with both Chloe and Ash were tested, but each trial had only proved how much they all trusted in and cared about each other. And that's not to mention the bonds they all had with their beloved Pokémon, from Ash's squad of experienced and battle-hardened creatures to Goh's vast collection with various strengths and weaknesses. Even Chloe's Eevee, who was standing on her hindlegs as her forepaws held onto the edge of the table watching Goh work, was a Pokémon who concealed just as many paths to the future as she did mysteries.
With the best friends and loved ones that anyone could ask for around him, Goh moved the crystalline card to the final spot on the map and looked up at Professor Cerise, who entered in this last bit of data.
Everyone in the room held in their breath as the full map came into view.
To Goh, it looked like maybe he had the wrong idea at first. There was a bit of coastline that he could sort of make out as the southeastern area of the Kanto Region, that was true, but the majority of the map seemed to be open ocean. Even the closest islands to Kanto, the Seafoam Islands and Cinnabar Island, didn't appear, being further west than the map would show.
But the ocean was far from helpful. There were a few clusters of islands scattered about it, as well as other landmasses that Goh wasn't quite sure where they were (he was mentally kicking himself for his lack of geography expertise and wishing he'd paid more attention to those lessons in school). But at the center of the map, there was a single symbol written on what seemed to be a small island.
The word was written in the script of the ancient Pokélantians, but Goh recognized the word immediately. He knew it from the walls of the Stone Temple as well as the murals in the Pokélantian ruins he and his friends had just returned from.
"God."
Goh's utterance of the word was the first thing spoken since they had begun deciphering the map.
Everyone turned their eyes to Goh.
"That's it. That's where this all leads. This map really was a map that led to the god of Pokélantis. The god of Rota."
He swallowed before forming the word with his lips. That familiar, monosyllabic word that brought him such joy and such pain. The one he had felt like he had been chasing for years at this point.
"Mew."
"Okay, but…"
Chloe frowned, looking at the map, and as sure as he was of how his childhood friend felt about him, he knew exactly what she was going to ask. It was the question at the heart of deciphering the map, after all.
"...where is that?"
Her father adjusted his glasses and turned to his assistants. "Ren, can you run this map through all of the geographical data we can find? We at least know the map shows southeastern Kanto in the upper-left, so we just need to find where this island is."
"Right on it, Professor," Ren said.
He began typing rapidly, collating the data together and trying to match several other maps to this one. Everyone watched Ren work his magic with the computer, but it didn't take long for trouble to begin. Every map he seemed to check didn't perfectly match any known maps of the world, and so he turned to Chrysa and asked her to assist him as well. The two researchers began working at twice the speed, but even still, none of the information seemed to perfectly line up.
Eventually, Ren just collapsed over his keyboard. "Augh, it's hopeless, Professor!" he cried out. "This map doesn't reflect anything…!"
Chrysa sighed, taking a tissue out of a Psyduck-shaped dispenser. "I think so, too," she said. "While the Kanto part is fairly easy to line up, and a few of the other islands seem to be in relatively the same place, the further you get from Kanto, the more things seem to be skewed, and it's not even uniform."
Every human in the lab sighed, with Pikachu, Grookey, and Eevee all patting their trainers with their paws to try and comfort them.
"Well, it's pretty much what I would expect," Chloe said, frowning. "The map is really old, after all. They probably didn't have super precise equipment for mapmaking back then."
Ash groaned. "Aw, man… so the map's useless…?"
"Pikachu…" the mouse cooed.
"Not necessarily," Professor Cerise said. "Even if we can't tell exactly where these islands are, they can still act as guides. We just have to find something on the map that looks familiar, so everyone, keep looking at it very closely."
Everyone turned their attention back to the map and focused their gazes upon it. Goh scanned the islands for any sense of familiarity, but he was coming up with nothing as he stared at it.
"Hey… wait a second…" Ash said, frowning. "What about those four islands right there? All the way on the right?"
Goh turned his gaze towards them. "...Yeah, those? What about them?"
Chloe frowned. "I guess they kind of ring a bell…"
"That's the Alola Region," Ash said. "I'm sure of it."
"Alola? Right there?" Ren asked incredulously. "It'd have to be moved way out from where Alola actually is to appear that close to Kanto on the map, though…"
"I'm sure that's Alola," Ash said, doubling down. "I've flown from island to island a ton of times, so I know what they look like from above. And those four are definitely Alola!"
"The Alola Region, huh…?"
Goh had gone there with Ash a few times and with Chloe tagging along once. He wasn't as familiar with the place as Ash was, but now that his friend had mentioned it, Goh could see the resemblance.
"If that is Alola," Chloe said, sounding doubtful, "then where would we even start asking if anyone's ever heard of this other, incredibly faraway island?"
"That's a good question…" Goh replied, turning to Ash. "Well? You've been all over Alola and they even cheered for you and called you the Champion last time we were there, right? Do you know anyone that might know?"
Ash frowned, scratching his chin. "You know… maybe a few people might have heard something. There's a library in Malie City on Ula'Ula Island that might have some info… and the Kahunas also know a lot, so maybe askin' them wouldn't be a bad idea either."
"Pikapi?" Pikachu asked, tilting his head.
"It definitely sounds like there's way more than one thing we need to check, but I'm not sure we have the time to check things out one at a time like we usually do," Chloe said. "After all, that Lawrence guy is looking for that weapon."
Goh had met the eccentric collector, Lawrence, in the Pokélantian ruins in the north-western area of Kanto, north of Pewter City. He was a man who seemed obsessed with collecting things and he wanted to find and collect a rare item that no-one had ever obtained before, and he was willing to do whatever he could to obtain a rare weapon, said to be used by the mythical Mew to destroy the kingdom of Pokélantis, and he had attempted to doom Goh and the others to win his prize.
And even if he might be struggling to forge his piece of iridescent kaleidium into the same crystalline structure that their smaller piece had taken on, he would surely not be far behind.
They needed to hurry. Letting Lawrence get his hands on something so destructive wasn't something he could allow, and so Goh began running through the possibilities in his head.
"We need more people…" he groaned.
Already, he had come up with a solution, but he wasn't keen on jumping to that. But even as he wanted to turn away from the thought, his mind brought up the mural depicting the destruction of Pokélantis in his mind, and he shuddered.
No one should have power like that.
"Goh…?"
Chloe's worried tone brought him out of his thoughts and he sighed.
"I'm alright," he said. "We just need to make a call."
"A call?"
She furrowed her brows at him.
Goh turned to Chrysa. "Can you please make a call to Professor Amaranth's craft? I think this is the best way to continue from here."
"Professor Amaranth?" Ash asked as Chrysa nodded and began typing in the phone number.
"Professor Amaranth is the head of Project Mew, and all of this comes back to Mew. The ruins, the legend, even the weapon. And so, we should ask them for help with this. They're the experts in this case."
He felt his hands tense into fists as he explained it, because his thoughts had already advanced to the reaction of the Chasers, Amaranth's hand-selected chosen explorers who would help him explore Table Mountain in only a few months time.
The screen opened as one of those chasers answered the call immediately. A stern young man in the earliest years of his adulthood stared with piercing red eyes at Goh, ignoring everyone else in the Cerise Laboratory.
"Challenger Goh," said Quillon, "what do you have to report?"
"A lot," he said, not missing a beat. "So please, let me explain everything."
And so, he did.
Goh explained to Quillon everything that had occurred and what they had learned since he, Chloe, and Ash headed out to the Kingdom of Rota and all they had learned. They had learned that the Rota held a very deep secret; the entire kingdom's prosperity seemed to hinge on the existence of a living mountain made of special crystals and a Mew who lived there in a symbiotic relationship with it. This relationship helped the tree grow and prosper, but the people of Rota treated Mew as though they were a god, and it was the fickle nature of this god that had split Rota from its sister kingdom, called Pokélantis, in centuries past.
He explained how Pokélantis made war on Rota, and how Mew was used by the Rotans to destroy their enemies, apparently wielding some sort of weapon. He left out the mention of Rota's legendary hero Sir Aaron and the role he played in putting Mew to the task of saving Rota by destroying Pokélantis, partially because it was small potatoes compared to everything else, and partially for Ash's sake, since he had become the 'hero' a few years back by winning a tournament.
But most of all, he talked about Lawrence and his plans to get his hands on something so dangerous, and their plan to locate the island and secure whatever was there first before he could get his hands on it.
Quillon listened silently through it all, though not in a way that seemed to Goh to be inattentive. In fact, it felt like the Chaser was staring a hole through him in a way that made him very uneasy.
Goh finished his explanation and fell silent.
"So you've contacted us for help? You believe this isn't something that you as a Challenger can handle on your own?"
Quillon's words cut straight to the heart of the matter. This is exactly the response he was afraid of.
"It's not that," Goh said. "This is bigger than becoming a Chaser. If Lawrence gets his hands on this weapon, the people and Pokémon I love could be at risk. The whole world could be in danger! So, even if you disapprove, I have to ask for help. I'm sorry."
There was another moment of silence where Quillon appeared to be thinking about what he would say before another voice chimed in.
"It sounds like you've been working hard."
Quillon looked over in surprise and took a step over to allow Professor Amaranth to step into view.
"Professor!" Goh said, standing rigidly at attention.
Professor Amaranth smirked. "Really, you took this whole thing and ran with it, didn't you?" he asked. "Excellent work, Goh."
"Thank you, sir!"
"I don't think all this hard work should go unrewarded," Amaranth added. "But it sounds like we have bigger problems that have to be addressed, don't we?"
Goh tried to keep his excitement in check at the prospect of earning a few tokens. "R-Right! We need to head to the Alola Region and try to track down any leads we can!"
Amaranth looked away from the display at something on his own side. "That makes sense. How about we all meet up in the Seafolk Village on Poni Island? It'll make a decent enough base of operations as we plan our next move."
Quillon nodded and stepped away, presumably to tell Danika, the other Chaser, the news of their next destination.
"That's fine by us, right?" Goh said, looking at his friends.
Chloe and Ash both nodded in sync. "We'll do whatever we can to help out, too!" Chloe said.
"That's right! We'll stop Lawrence from gettin' his hands on it to help all Pokémon and people!"
"Pikachu!"
"Eievui!"
"Grooki!"
All of the Pokémon also threw in their support, wanting to assist Goh with his mission.
Amaranth nodded. "Very good. When we next speak, it'll be under Alolan sunshine."
With that, the screen closed off and Goh exhaled, releasing all the tension he was carrying.
"Well then," Professor Cerise said with a smile and a shrug, "I guess I better get you three ready for a trip to the Alola Region!"
Chloe frowned. "At this time of night? Do they even have any flights that go out this late?"
"I'm sure we'll be able to get something going," Goh said, smiling at her. "You are coming, right?"
She rolled her eyes, but the smile on her lips betrayed her true feelings. "Well, I guess I have to be the one to keep helping you out when things come to this, right?"
"Everyone's needed, after all!" Ash cheered.
Ash held out his fist towards Goh and Chloe, and the two of them met his fist with their own, the three meeting in the middle.
"Seafolk Village, let's-"
Goh's cheer was interrupted by his phone beginning to beep loudly in his pocket. He pulled it out and unlocked it, looking at the screen.
"What is it, Goh?" Chloe asked.
Before Goh could respond, the Project Mew app opened, and he was immediately greeted with two spinning tokens emblazoned with the likeness of Mew.
"ALRIGHT! PROFESSOR AMARANTH GAVE ME THESE TWO TOKENS FOR ALL MY HARD WORK RESEARCHING THIS!"
"Ow!" Chloe snapped, putting her hands over her ears. "Loud! Too loud! C'mon, Goh!"
Even with his girlfriend's protests, he couldn't help but be incredibly happy. Two more tokens this close to the Project Mew deadline was incredible.
Things were looking up for this trip to the Alola Region, and their pursuit of the weapon that the map allegedly pointed towards.
The earliest flight they could book was sometime the next afternoon, but because of time differences between Alola and Kanto, Goh, Chloe, and Ash ended up arriving in mid-morning the next day in Alola after sleeping on the plane. From landing in Hau'oli City, they caught a ferry from Melemele Island to Poni Island and were there before the Alolan sun rose directly overhead. The ferry took them to Poni Island, but even before the ferry pulled up to the dock, Goh, Chloe, and Ash were standing on the front of the ship, each of them with their partners Grookey, Eevee, and Pikachu.
Goh saw that the harbor was filled with an eclectic assortment of ships in various sizes and shapes; many of them even resembled Pokémon. The time he spent not asleep on the plane was spent researching the Seafolk Village, since that was the destination where they were to meet with Professor Amaranth and Project Mew at.
He spotted Amaranth's helicarrier easily enough, floating in the sea at the pier like it was one of these ships. That the professor arrived first wasn't surprising to Goh, but standing on the pier watching for him were the two Chasers, Quillon and Danika.
Goh felt his stomach twist, but he put on a brave face for them, only for Grookey and Chloe to both notice his nervousness.
"It'll be okay," Chloe said. "Ash and I are here with you."
"Grooki!"
The chimp's call made her giggle. "And Grookey and Eevee and Pikachu are too."
He tried to relax, but he was worried that if he let up even a little, he wouldn't be able to muster his confidence again, so he just smiled at Chloe, took her hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze.
As the three teens approached the floating aircraft, Quillon turned to them and focused his eyes on Goh. "You're late," he said stoically, though Goh understood this to mean that he had failed in Quillon's estimation.
Next to him Danika, a young woman with dark skin and blue hair and dressed as much for adventure in her blue and tan outfit as Quillon was with his red and tan jumpsuit. She was trying her hardest not to laugh. "Hardly," she said, undercutting Quillon's jab with her own rib. "Given how far Kanto is from here, they definitely made good time. We haven't been here THAT long and we didn't have to buy plane tickets."
Quillon grunted, but he didn't say anything to countermand her. Instead, he turned his eyes towards Chloe. "And who are you?"
Chloe took a step forward, holding her Eevee in her arms. "I'm Chloe Cerise. I've been helping Goh whenever he's encountered the language of the lost civilization of Pokélantis. I came just in case we needed to decode any more of their language."
While that was technically the reason Chloe came, Goh much preferred her here, where she could give support under Quillon's withering gaze, rather than leaving her back home in Vermilion City.
"She's Professor Cerise's daughter," Danika added. "The Cerise Laboratory is where Goh operates out of."
Quillon looked like he was about to say something, but rather than open his mouth he merely glanced at Danika and sighed. "As long as she's helpful, I don't really care."
This just made the young woman laugh before she turned her own attention to Chloe. "Welcome aboard, young lady," she said, offering Chloe a handshake, which she accepted while keeping Eevee held in one arm.
As they shook, the door to the helicarrier opened, and a ramp was extended to reach the pier. Stepping out of the airship was the familiar Professor Amaranth with his wispy mustache and goatee and his tan jacket with a tie. On his shoulder was a Pokémon that Chloe raised her phone to scan.
A picture of the pink Pokémon appeared on her screen. "Mime Jr., the Mime Pokémon. A Psychic- and Fairy-type. Mime Jr. does its absolute best to mimic the movements and expressions of its opponents, but it's still not very good at it."
Goh made a mental note that the queen of Rota, the kingdom that treated Mew as a god, also had a Mime Jr. when they visited.
"It's good to see you here in Alola," Professor Amaranth said, his characteristic smile on his face. "Now, we've already done a bit of hard work while we were here, but we seem to have hit a dead end."
Goh raised an eyebrow. "What sort of dead end?" he asked.
Professor Amaranth turned to all the ships. "Quillon and Danika asked everyone here to share their information about the surrounding sea to look for clues about this faraway island you saw on the map, but it seems that no one's seen anything so far. At least, among those currently mooring here."
"Really? Nothing?"
Goh asked the question on reflex, but he knew the professor had no reason to lie.
"Well, there's still the library in Malie City that Acerola runs," Ash said, "but that's on Ula'Ula Island, not here on Poni Island."
"Didn't you mention the Kahunas, too?" Goh asked. "You said they seem to know a lot."
His friend nodded. "Yeah. I still think that the library might be the best bet, but we shouldn't pass up asking the Kahunas either. I met all the Kahunas while I was in Alola doing the Island Challenge, so I could definitely talk to them and see if they know anything."
"Would you mind writing a note of introduction for us, Ash?" Amaranth asked. "For Acerola in the Malie Library."
The professor took a notepad and pen from his pockets and handed them to Ash, who nodded and began scribbling down something in what Goh could only assume was his poor handwriting.
"Okay, but since we're here, why don't we ask Poni Island's Kahuna if they know anything?" Chloe asked. "After all, no reason we can't split up and cover more ground that way, right?"
"Exactly what I was thinking," Amaranth replied as Ash handed him the notepad back, which he turned and gave to Danika. "Head to Ula'Ula Island and see if this Acerola can help find any information on distant islands in the area."
"I'm on it," she said, taking the notepad from him before looking to Ash. "Thanks for the help, Ash. I'll be back before too long," said before heading past the Kantonians and towards the ferry to request passage to Ula'Ula.
"I'll go to meet the Kahuna of Poni Island," Quillon said to Professor Amaranth. He turned quickly on his heels away from the group. "Hopefully they'll be able to give us something."
Goh frowned, glancing first at Danika's leaving and then at Qullion. "Wait, what about me? What am I going to do?"
Quillon glared at him as though he had spoken out of turn. "You got your tokens. You should instead be focusing on your next Trial Mission. Thank you for your information, but I don't think you're needed here."
Goh clenched his teeth. "H-Hey! If it wasn't for all the hard work I've done, you wouldn't even know about this!"
"Grooki!" the chimp added, waving his stick in the air.
Quillon glared at him with his red eyes, but Goh found his resolve and stared back.
"I don't know if you've somehow forgotten but this hasn't been given to you as a Trial Mission. This is high-level research regarding the mythical Pokémon Mew, and is thus under the purview of Project Mew and those who have earned the rank of Chaser." He glared down Goh across his nose with a vicious scowl.
"You are not a Chaser. Go home before you get hurt."
"Maybe not," Goh shouted, holding his arms down at his side, "but I am a research fellow, and Professor Cerise's goal is to learn everything there is to know about Pokémon, so if this is a Pokémon-related mystery, then you can bet that I'm going to be there and help crack it open!"
"Grooki!"
Quillon sighed, being the one to look away from Goh's strengthened resolve with a 'tch'.
"Quillon," Amaranth spoke, dropping his ordinary relaxed demeanor as he spoke to the young man, "if we were to cut off Goh from looking into this, we would lose the resources that are his friends Ash and Chloe. Even if you're trying to protect them, doing so under the auspices of practicality is just as bad as lying. We need them."
Quillon sighed, but nodded. "...yes, professor."
"And besides," Amaranth added, turning towards Goh, "I doubt Goh here would let you research it without him after coming this far. You want to go meet the Kahuna as well, don't you?"
Goh, who had been holding his gaze on the Chaser, nodded. "Right. Like I said, there's no way I'm gonna be left out after all of this! I'm going to help uncover this mystery, no matter what!"
"Then it's settled," Amaranth said. "You four, go ahead and visit the Kahuna of Poni Island. I'll reach out to the Aether Foundation to see if they've uncovered any information as well. I can't let you all do all the hard work, after all."
"Got it," Goh said before turning towards Ash. "Where can we find the Kahuna?"
Ash turned and began walking up the pier towards the island proper. "C'mon, I'll lead the way."
"Pikachu!"
Ash broke into a light jog, which Quillon matched as Professor Amaranth returned towards his helicarrier. Before he could take a step himself, Goh felt Chloe take his hand and squeeze it.
When he looked up at her, he saw her gentle smile and sparkling emerald eyes. "Goh, that was really cool, the way you stared him down. That kind of confidence just makes you that much more handsome." She leaned in for a quick peck on his cheek before dashing ahead herself, dropping Eevee to let her run alongside her.
Goh put a hand on his cheek where he had been kissed and smiled before giving chase after her.
After departing the Seafolk Village, Ash led them through an area that could only be described as a wilderness. The Poni Wilds, as Ash called them, weren't like the routes or the roads between towns in the Kanto region. Instead, they were more like a forest directly connected to the village. Given his research on Poni Island, though, Goh knew that this was due to Poni Island having no settlements other than the Seafolk Village on its shores. It was easily the least populated of the four of Alola's great islands, but that wasn't the part of the trip that was causing him the most anxiety.
He could hear wild Pokémon buzzing in the tall grass, and he caught a glimpse of one hiding itself in a pile of berries beneath a tree as the four of them walked past. And though he never saw which kinds of Pokémon they exactly were, he felt in his bones that they were rare Alolan Pokémon he hadn't registered in his Pokédex yet, and that was reason enough for him to want to catch them as they walked past.
But he restrained himself. Not only would Quillon certainly give him an attitude for delaying them, but he knew himself that time was of the essence. And so, he kept his hands in his pockets where he wouldn't be tempted to even throw a ball. Instead, they followed the winding path through the wilds until they came to an incline.
As they walked uphill, Goh noticed that there were ruins in this area as well, though they looked to be made of brick and mortar rather than ancient stone blocks. The further they climbed, the more he noticed these ancient looking buildings.
Wanting to distract himself, he decided to strike up a conversation with Ash. "So the Kahuna lives all the way out here? They must be pretty ancient themselves, right?"
Ash shook his head. "Actually, Hapu became a Kahuna only right before we had our battle," he said. "She took over for her grandfather after he passed away, but don't worry! She definitely knows a lot!."
"You say that like she's pretty young," Goh said, his confidence slipping a tad. "What, is she in her twenties?"
"I dunno her age 'cause I didn't ask," he replied as they kept walking, "but I'm pretty sure she's about our age. Maybe even younger."
"You're kidding," Chloe said. "She's younger than we are?"
"I said maybe," Ash said with a shrug. "Maybe she's just short."
"Less talking, more walking," Quillon said, pulling ahead of the teens and forcing them to keep up with his heightened pace.
As they reached the top of the hill, they came to a small house that seemed to have a thriving vegetable garden in front of it. The house was still an ancient-looking structure, but the presence of the garden told Goh that there had to be someone living here, and if it was indeed this Kahuna Hapu.
"Alright then," Goh said, stepping through the garden towards the front door. "Let's just cut through."
"Goh, wait-!"
Chloe's warning was too late.
Rising behind the building was a large Pokémon that looked to be an ancient Pokémon made of clay and animated by the glowing spectral furnace in their chest. The Pokémon that Goh recognized as a Golurk, raised a hand towards Goh and fired a blast of shadowy energy towards him. He held up his arms to shield himself, but the blast didn't seem to hurt him when it struck.
At least, not immediately.
His backpack became wreathed in phantasmal flames and rose into the air as though grabbed by a poltergeist and so Goh was lifted with it, shouting in surprise.
"There you are!"
An unfamiliar voice came from the feet of the Golurk, and Goh turned his attention to it.
Standing at Golurk's feet was a young girl with long black hair pulled into twin ponytails that went down her back. She was dressed in overalls with work gloves and rubber boots on her feet - the same sorts of clothing Goh remembered wearing when he worked on a farm for a day. On her head was a purple bonnet, and her cover-alls had short sleeves and purple patches on the knees. Glittering in the sunshine on her wrist was a Z-Ring with a brown, earthy crystal embedded in it.
The young woman pointed at Goh accusingly.
"So you finally show yourself, radish thief!"