After Ash's Pokemon were trained by Misty so that Ash wasn't so far behind as Hau, if at all, he easily beat Kahuna Hala and finally made it to Akala Island. Training his Pokemon certainly helped by giving them vitamins early on, so that just made them better at what they're going to be. Though she couldn't get everything for everyone, which was deemed fine. Hau took his first step on the island.
"Land Ahoy! Or land ashore? Whatever you say! Alright, we made it to Akala Island!"
"This looks great!" Ash laughed. "Thanks again for waiting for me."
"It's cool! Watching you get stronger was so great! I've never seen Pokemon being trained so efficiently except for the Kahuna! How do you know Pokemon so well Misty?!" The redhead girl blushed as she waved her hand.
"Oh, I just have a thing with Pokemon, you know."
"Well you certainly know how to use a Mantine like a master! They're the best! I wonder how Professor Kukui and Lillie are doing? How about we split up and find them?" Hau then just ran off, leaving the two alone.
"So, should I also split or do you want me to stick around?" Misty asked Ash.
"It would be nice if I didn't feel alone." He admitted. The two blushed.
"Oh, okay. Sure, we can stay together." She accepted. That was when Rotom came out.
"You also have me, good looking. Uzzz on Akala Island, and you know what that meanzzz? It meanzzz more Pokemon to record, zzt! Try to find lotzzz of new Pokemon to fill up!"
"Well, we'll see." Ash shrugged as Rotom pocketed itself away, but not before saying,
"Come on buddy! Let's go find the Professor and Lillie!"
"Well, let's go look in the city there." Misty pointed to buildings to the South, so they went to HeaHea City. And turns out, it wouldn't take long before they spotted the two already!"
"Oh, hey cousins!" Professor Kukui greeted the two. "How were those Mantines, yeah?"
"They were awesome! Best thing I've ever experience here in Alola!" Misty gushed from how much she loved it.
"That's what I like to hear! Woo!" Kukui responded with a wide grin. "Tackle life with that same attitude!"
"Still haven't found a shirt to go with that lab coat, Kukui?" Someone asked. Ash and Misty turned to see two women. In Ash's eyes, one looked like an Alolan model given the way she was dressed, pink and purple skimpy clothes with lots of bands on her ankles, wrists and neck. The other was younger at around the same age as Ilima if not younger and looked like a farm girl. "I told you you're going to scare off strangers looking like that." The older, dark toned woman sighed.
"Nebby, back in the bag." Lillie whispered urgently to her Pokemon, shoving the Pokemon in her bag.
"Oh, why hello there." The woman addressed Misty and Ash. "It's nice to meet you two. I am Olivia Pohaku."
"Thanks for stopping by!" I'm Mallow Mahi'ai!" The other girl greeted. "I'm one of the Trial Captains here! My trial will be a chance for all the fine ingredients that make up your team to shine!" She then pointed and singled out Ash, whom was surprised by the gesture. "Especially you! Your Pokemon look ready to cook with gas!"
"Mallow isn't the only Captain on Akala Island, of course." Olivia brought up. "So, what's your plan now?"
"That's up to the kids, yeah. It's Ash's and Hau's Island Challenge after all."
"Oh, I bet Hau is still looking for the two of you." Misty chuckled, remembering.
"I've heard there was two from Melemele Island." Oliva mentioned. "Well then, enjoy the Island Challenge kids, along with your Pokemon. I'll be waiting for my chance to face you in battle when the time comes. I'm looking forward to see what you've got! Let's go Mallow."
"Okay, see ya!" Mallow said as she walked with Kahuna Olivia.
"I bet those two came to see you made it here safely. It can't just be coincidence that you'd meet them so soon." Kukui chuckled as he gave a pondering look. "But she'd never admit it. Hahaha! That's Olivia for you, but she is a caring Kahuna deep down. Now, unlike on Melemele Island, there are three trials here on Akala Island. If you want to take the challenge immediately, just head North past the beach then go right through Route 4 until you get to Paniola Town."
"I think I'd rather enjoy what fun we can find here first." Ash chose. "No need to rush into things."
"Well, I am getting hungry." Misty agreed.
"And maybe we can do some shopping!" Lillie suggested. "Then maybe I can find out about the ruins for Nebby's sake too..."
"Then what are we waiting for?!" Rotom blurted out. "Let'zzz have a wander around Heahea City! Lot'zzz of sightzzz to zzzee!"
"Haha, well enjoy yourselves then!" Kukui left the teens on their own then.
"What was that Lillie? Something about ruins?" Misty asked the shy blonde girl.
"Yes. This little fellow will hardly sit still for it. I think Nebby is interested in visiting the Ruins of Life. Apparently they house the sacred guardian of Akala Island, Tapu Lele. It'd be nice if we all went together. Nebby here really likes the both of you."
"Oh, haha, sure. Anything for Nebby." Misty chuckled nervously while scratching her blushing cheek.
"Hehe, yeah." Ash wasn't totally clueless as to what that sounded like in implication. Nebby itself sounded off in her bag with approval. Unfortunately though, it appeared that unlike Hau'oli City, Heahea City didn't have much for tourists. There was a shopping area but there weren't a lot of clothes they wanted, so just some simple knick knacks were bought.
"Hmm, it's too bad we couldn't find much fun here. But at least we spent some time together. I'll be at Tide Song Hotel while you go get Hau. I'm supposed to meet someone at the hotel as well. Someone very important to me... "
"Sure thing. See you later." Ash nodded. Lillie walked deeper into the city while Ash and Misty went back to the beach to find Hau.
"Oh, be careful of Team Skull!" They heard Lillie warn them from afar.
"We won't!" Misty responded back. As they walked up North through the city, a male and female tourist stopped them, giving them a startle.
"Stop right there!" The woman yelled, wearing a white tank top with a black undershirt and hot pants. The man had a yellow Exeggutor short and ripped jeans. They each wore blue and pink shades respectively, along with having blonde and black hair respectively.
"Ah ha ha! We didn't mean to surprise you two!" The man laughed. "You must be doing your island challenge. "I'm Dexio!"
"And I'm Sina! A beautiful name for a beautiful lady!" They both posed like they were super heroes, causing our two protagonists to sweat. They awkwardly stood like that for several seconds until they went back to normal positioning and Dexio spoke just as normally,
"We're here seeing the sights of Alola. It's unique tradition of Island Challenge... it's pretty fascinating, I've got to say."
"It certainly is." Ash agreed. Sina thought of something.
"Oh, I've got an idea! Why don't you test your skills with me?!" The sudden challenge from this stranger caught him off guard, but thinking about it, Misty helped train his Pokemon up. This would be the perfect way to demonstrate how far he's gone.
"Sure! I accept your challenge!"
"Okay! Let's get this show on the road!"
"Bagon, I choose you!" Ash sent out his Rock Head dragon type Pokemon.
"Go, Smoochum!" A baby like Pokemon came out with a pink and cream colored body along with a pink head covered by blond hair. She had cute eyes and big lips.
"Alright Ash, show her what our training has done for your Pokemon!" Misty encouraged him.
"Yeah! Bagon, use Bite!" At a speed he had never ran before, he was able to close the gap between him and Sina's ice/psychic type and bite down hard on the Kiss Pokemon's head. She cried out from the agonizing pain before fainting from the one attack.
"Oh my! Best be careful Sina!" Dexio warned with a chuckle. "He's fiercer than he looks."
"Quite indeed." She agreed as she returned her Kiss Pokemon. "Go, Glaceon!" She proceeded to send out one of the many eevelutions, this one of the ice variety as it looked like an femininely elegant ice blue dog with long blue ears and forehead crest.
"Use Headbutt!" Charging with great speed, the Rock Head Pokemon rammed into the Fresh Snow Pokemon. She grunted from the impact but was hardly down for the count.
"Counter with Icy Wind!" Spewing out chilling wind from her mouth, Bagon tried to resist, but the dragon type couldn't handle the chilling attack and was blown back with a cry, landing at Ash's feet in a defeated slump.
"Bagon, return!" Upon recalling his dragon type, he wondered what to do. As much as he wanted to use Hawlucha again, he pretty much stole the spotlight for the second half of Melemele Island. He had to give his other Pokemon turns to keep up with the best Pokemon of his current arsenal. Going through the strategies that he and Misty trained with, Ash sent out his next Pokemon.
"Grimer, I choose you!" Sending out his green colored Sludge Pokemon, he stretched out his arms, oozing with content.
"Use Icy Wind!" Using the same move as before, the ice type caused the poison/dark type's sludge like body to ripple and condense into a thicker viscosity. He frowned from the chilling temperature he felt for the first time in his existence.
"Use Acid Spray!" Regurgitating purple liquid, the move splashed onto Glaceon through the Icy Wind, and she hissed from the acid eating away her defense.
"No! Freeze Grimer cold!" Breathing another Icy Wind, this time she was able to actually freeze the Sludge Pokemon over, coating the Pokemon in a layer of ice.
"Grimer, return! Thanks, now I can probably win this. Popplio, I choose you!" The Sea Lion Pokemon cheered as she was let out to show her new stuff.
"Use Quick Attack!" Going faster than the eye can track, Glaceon rammed into the the water starter, whom yelped from the impact but simply rolled through the air and land on her tail elegantly, her eyes now determined aided by a frown.
"Use Water Gun!" Spewing out a gush of water, the Fresh Snow Pokemon was pushed back. She shook the water off her body with a quick shake.
"We can still do this! Use Icy Wind!" Sina commanded. As the ice type was going for the attack, Ash retaliated,
"Counter with Disarming Voice!" Singing out a pink shockwave in the shape of a heart, it was able to push back against the ice type attack, and the two attacks were able to push against the surprised Fresh Snow Pokemon before being blown back. She grunted as she crashed on the ground in front of Sina, knocked out.
"Whoa! I can tell your Pokemon are grown and mature!" Sina gasped and complimented. What she said turned out to be more than true as Popplio began to glow white.
"She's evolving!" Misty gasped with amazement. The water starter's body gained some ruffles down her body. Her ears extended into three spheres. When the white glow went away, her mostly dark blue design changed to being a light blue and white color scheme. She cheered and clapped upon her evolution.
"Whoa, an evolution!" Rotom exclaimed as it flew out of Ash's backpack. "Brionne, the Pop Star Pokemon: It cares deeply for its companions. When its Trainer is feeling down, it performs a cheery dance to try and help. It attacks by smacking its enemies with the exploding water balloons that it creates."
"Wow. You two are certainly close." Sina remarked. "Absolutely wonderful! I feel like I've been able to glimpse in the Island Challenge! Let me heal your Pokemon as thanks. I have Rawst berries to heal frozen Pokemon. Helps promote blood circulation. Or at least increase body temperature if the Pokemon doesn't have blood."
"Oh, thanks." Going over to the Pokemon spa, Brionne and Buneary enjoyed the spa while Hawlucha, Bagon and Grubbin received some massages. Grimer was getting special treatment from the staff considering his unique body composition. Misty's Staryu, Wingull, Slowpoke and her latest catch Psyduck were enjoying their soak or napping in a mineral rich pool designed as an onsen hot spring.
"I have to say Ash, your Pokemon are shaping up to be the best Alola has seen!" Dexio complimented. "I mean, any trainer with a starter is bound to be great, but a Hawlucha and a potential Salamence? You have the making of an unstoppable team!"
"Oh, uh... thanks." Ash chuckled, please to hear that he had a good team. He knew a Salamence was great to have, but he wasn't sure how his Wrestling Pokemon was compared to other Pokemon used like him, due to mostly being familiar with Kantonian Pokemon even though Pokemon crossing regions is a thing.
"You should probably train on Route 4 as well. There might be something there that will help your Pokemon even more and understand them even better. We'll be taking our leave now. Bon Voyage." With the two leaving with the Alolan hand sign, Misty recognized that phrase.
"Oh, I know where they come from! They're from Kalos! I've talked to a few trainers from there."
"Really? What are they like?"
"Relatively high class, somewhat snobbish but ultimately good people, and well cultured."
"Ah." Ash could see that, given what he's heard from Gary whom wished to travel there. Once their Pokemon were well and truly rested, Ash and Misty got their Pokemon back and set out for Route 4, it didn't take long before Ash encountered his first Pokemon of said route, which was a small brown and cream colored donkey like Pokemon with a black mane on its head and back.
"Oh, Ash, I recognize that from my study! That's a Mudbray! You should probably catch it if you want to handle Hau's Pikachu no sweat since it's a ground type."
"Oh, alright. Brionne, I choose you!" Ash brought out his water starter, whom clapped and yelped as she was good to go. "Use Water Gun!" Spewing out a good stream, the Pop Star Pokemon was able to push the Donkey Pokemon back as it honked with a surprised and hurt tone. "Go, Great Ball!" Throwing a blue and red ball, the sphere absorbed the ground type into itself and it wiggled back and forth a few times until it clicked. "Alright!"
"Zzzt, a new Pokemon!" Rotom exclaimed as it went and scanned the ball. "Mudbray, the Donkey Pokemon: Possessing mighty power, Mudbray can be loaded with 50 times its own body weight and will be totally fine."
"How much do Mudbray weigh?" Ash asked.
"242 pounds."
"From that three foot donkey?!" The trainer was shocked from this revelation. "They weight a little less than a Rhyhorn and yet can carry that much more weight?!"
"Yes, but it could never lift even a smidgen of our true love Ash, my peach. Good luck with your new Pokemon." Rotom went back into Ash's bag.
"So, which Pokemon do you think you'll replace with Mudbray with. Hopefully that gross bug you have."
"Hey, I'm keeping it! You never know when it'll come in handy!" Ash objected. "I think I'll have to replace Buneary. Loppuny are known as glass cannons, right?"
"Not necessarily, but if it's outpaced by a Pokemon then its normal typing certainly isn't going to help it much when it faces something that can tank hits and hit harder."
"Okay then." Buneary was devastated to hear the news though when they went back to the Pokemon Center and explained the situation and threw a huge frustration on everything, only really stopped when someone used Rock Smash on her. This made things very sad and awkward as the two left the Pokemon Center.
"Wow, I didn't expect that letting go of a Pokemon would get that dramatic."
"Some Pokemon don't like getting let go after they've been on a team for a while. It can be hard to do sometimes." Misty nodded.
"Have you ever had to go through it?"
"No. Never had more than six Pokemon." She answered. Going through Route 4: Ash spotted a sign that piqued his interest.
"Pikachu Valley?" The two teenagers questioned aloud. Shrugging, they went towards this valley, which wasn't a valley but more like a grove or a tropical clearing that was populated by nothing but Pikachus! The area echoed with a lot of their name call and a lot of them were either running around, jumping around, playing or sleeping. A random Pikachu ran up to them, inspecting the new visitors.
"Piiii-kachu!" He greeted.
"Welcome to Pikachu Valley!" An overweight man said as he approached the teenagers. "That's what he said. For coming here the first time, here's a Pikachu themed present to celebrate your first visit here." Ash and Misty got Pikachu themed picture frames, the back support resembling their lightning shaped tail and ears poking out the top corners.
"Oh uh... thanks." Ash could feel a returning sense of uncomfortableness coming to him, but he smiled regardless, not trying to be rude.
"Why is there a valley solely for Pikachus?" Misty asked.
"It's a place where they can hang out for fun. Some even went on to become stars! One of our greatest is even enjoying a relaxing vacation at Hano Grand Resort, I hear." A black woman in a cyan tee also walked up to them.
"Hey! Want to take a quiz? See what it takes to be a Pikachu professor!"
"I wouldn't mind taking it. I come from Pallet Town in Kanto so I know about Pikachu quite a bit."
"Excellent! There are five questions in total, so try to get every single one right. Question 1: By what part of a Pikachu's body can you tell whether it's a male or a female?" Looking around, he saw that the sole difference between any of them was a notch in their tail.
"The tail."
"Question 2: What are the particular parts of Pikachu's cheeks called?"
"Electric sacs." Ash sighed. "I was shocked by my own Pikachu when I started my failed journey in Kanto."
"Oh, sorry to hear that." The woman said sympathy. "Uh... anyway, question 3: What do you need to evolve a Pikachu into a Raichu?"
"A thunder stone."
"Question 4: How is a Shiny Pikachu different from more common Pikachu specimens?"
"They're darker in shade."
"Question 5: Now, it's known that Pikachu evolve from Pichu. But who was the first person to discover the existence of Pichu?"
"Professor Oak told me it was Professor Elm of Johto."
"Wow, 5 out of 5! You got them all right! Here's your prize! A Pikachu hat and shirt! You're a true Pikachu master!"
"Thanks." He said with a bow while holding his prizes. "Hey Misty, wait here while I change."
"Okay." She said as he went behind a tree. It only took a moment before he came back out while wearing the Pikachu merchandise.
"Well, how do I look?"
"You look like one of those Pokemon fans that keep around dolls." The girl giggled. "But you do look good in them."
"Thanks. I think I'll keep these on. It'll feel like my own Pikachu is going on this adventure with me in spirit."
"Now that's a very nice thought Ash." Misty nodded with approval to his kind thinking.