Upon reaching Ula'ula Island, where they arrived was rather interesting. Like Konikoni City, this city called Malie City, had an Asian theme to it. In fact...
"Wait a minute, I recognize the architecture style." Misty realized. "It's based off of Ecruteak City in the Johto region."
"You've been there?" Ash asked.
"Yeah. I'd... rather not talk about it though." She mumbled. Ash said no more. Once the ferry reached the docks, Hau jumped down and yelled,
"Land ahoy! All right, terra firma under foot again! Wow, seeing this place up close and personal, this city is unlike any other on Melemele or Akala, huh?"
"I certainly feels different." Ash commented.
"Let's get some sleep first. I'm rather tired from two big days in a row." Misty yawned.
"Yeah, makes sense." Hau agreed as he yawned as well. "Let's go see the Professor tomorrow morning. Let's remember we have to go to Malie garden. Why do you think he would he want us to go to a garden?"
"I don't know." Ash yawned. "Let's just go to the Pokemon Center." Once they reached the Pokemon Center, the teenagers got a well earned rest. In the morning, the trio found out they had to change clothes into that of the Malien City culture. Ash now wore a blue haori jacket, loose cyan pants and wooden sandals that had two blocks under the soles giving him some extra height. Hau wore yellow shorts, a dark green haori and an Asian style straw hat.
"I wonder if I've got this stuff on right?" Ash pondered.
"These do feel rather stiff." Hau commented on them.
"Well, what do you think?" Misty's voice called to them. Directing their view to her, the boys were shocked by her apparent transformation. Misty always looked like a tomboy with her crop-top, overall shorts and side ponytail, but now she was beautiful in a traditional sense as she wore a pink kimono with a pattern of red Goldeen on it. And her hair was down and brushed straight, almost reaching her shoulders. However, she looked uncertain.
"Wow, you look fabulous!" Hau complimented right away with a thumbs up. Ash, however, was more careful. He knew Misty had a beauty complex since she was always compared to her, by her account, more beautiful sisters and didn't want to say it was only now she was beautiful. So he went with something more nuanced.
"You wear those clothes really nicely." Ash said cautiously. The girl smiled though in appreciation.
"Thank you Ash. You too Hau." While she expressed her gratitude genuinely to both, she really appreciated Ash not saying a typical beauty compliment. Something which he picked up on when she winked at him.
"Eevee!" Misty's Pokemon complimented as well.
"Aw, thank you sweetie! We're going to have a fun day out." The redhead cooed as she picked up and snuggled her baby.
"Now'zzz the time!" Rotom came out of Ash's bag which was placed on a bench. "For a quick commemorative picture! Say cheese!"
"Cheese!" The three cheered as Rotom took a picture of Hau giving a peace sign on the left, Misty smiling with her eyes closed while holding her Eevee to also smile to the camera and Ash giving a big grin as he slung an arm around her shoulder.
When they soon went to the garden, they were in awe at how beautiful the garden was. It was well maintained, it had a large lake in the center and there was a tea shop. A tower loomed in one of the corners.
"That must be the tea shop we've heard on the way." Hau pointed towards it.
"I can't believe how high quality this garden is. It smells so good and fresh. Good thing it's mid-spring." Misty commented as she and Eevee took a deep breath. What do you think?"
"Eevee!"
"I can't stand it anymore! Let's explore the garden!" Hau said all giddily and excited, filled with too much anticipation. They saw many wondrous things, such as guided lines of water moving around artistically next to a bridge from Octrillery sprinklers in the water, carriages pulled by Hariyama, a surprise jump scare from a Gyarados dummy and being served some tea. Ash and Hau got brainfreeze from ice cream that they were wolfing down which lead to Misty and Eevee laughing at them. Eating some nice hot, sweet and spicy covered breakfast balls on a stick helped with that. Eventually they found Professor Kukui, whom was wearing a white haori and grey shorts extremely similar to his normal attire, sitting at a table enjoying the atmosphere.
"Hey, Professor Kukui!" Hau greeted. Kukui opened his eyes with a grin.
"Hey there. What's going on, cousins? Your eyes are shining extra bright today."
"It's this garden that's going on!" Hau laughed. "It's so great!"
"I've never seen a park so beautiful." Misty said.
"Eevee!"
"And the food is delicious!" Ash added while rubbing his stomach.
"And we encountered the most amazing thing ever last night!" Hau was practially shouting. "An Ultra Wormhole opened up right in front of us and a jellyfish came out and we used Z-moves and we won and-"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down Hau!" Profossor Kukui chuckled by how fast and excited he was speaking. "Take a deep breath, and tell me slower and more coherently." Once all three were able to describe in detail what they just experienced, the professor's eyes opened wide.
"Woo! You got to see all that?! That is amazing, oh yeah! Sounds like an even better reason to train harder, yeah, on your island challenge! Maybe we'll even get to go through those Ultra Wormholes. Alright! Now, your next trial is up on Mount Hokulani. You can catch the bus to get there. Just head to the bus stop on Route 10, yeah?"
"Ash, how about you go and take the trial first? I still want to hang in this park some more!"
"Thanks Hau." Ash grinned in appreciation.
"Well then, let's go." Misty suggested. Heading back to the entrance, Ash and Misty went to the bus stop, but along the way they met Lillie!
"Hi Lillie." Ash greeted her.
"Hello. Oh, what interesting clothes. You look good in those." Lillie complimented. Ash chuckled while Misty blushed with a smile. "How was your trip?" She asked them.
"It was so cool."
"And the conservation room was quite beautiful." Misty told her.
"Yeah, I like that room." The blonde said, but she never smiled. "So how was she? The president of the Aether Foundation I mean?"
"We were all surprised by how tall she was." Ash laughed.
"I've never seen a woman so tall. She must have to bend down through door frames in those heels. She and Miss Wicke were so nice."
"The president must be nice. She's trying to protect Pokemon, isn't she? Umm... what I really wanted to ask you about was..."
"Is it about Nebby?" Misty asked, trying to finish her question.
"Or the ruins?"
"Yes. I want to take Nebby to visit Ula'ula's ruins, but they are located deep in a large desert. I don't want to ask that much of you. Right now I plan on visiting the library. There's a book that I want to look for there. Maybe you'd even be willing to help me?"
"Sure, we'd be glad to help." Misty agreed.
"Eevee!" The normal type agreed.
"Thank you. I know that Malie Library is here within the city of Malie somewhere... Even I should be able to find it. I can do this!"
"You don't have to look for it yourself. We can find it together." Ash suggested. Lillie finally smiled.
"Thank you." And with their help, Misty and Ash were able to help Lillie find the library without getting lost. "Ash, Misty... thank you for guiding me here. I didn't realize it was just around the corner."
"It's no problem." Misty chuckled.
"Yeah, don't sweat it." Ash agreed.
"Nyeeeeh!" A horse neigh called out to them, startling the three teens as a Mudsdale galloped to them. Lillie shrieked from shock as she hid behind Ash. Hapu followed shortly behind.
"Ah, so we meet again so soon." The little girl said. "Looks like your island challenge is comming along favorably." She smiled. "That must be pleasing to the tapu. So, who might this brightly dressed girl be?"
"I'm... I'm Lillie. Hello." The blonde answered, still startled from Mudsdale but was able to return a smile and step away from Ash's back.
"My apologies if Mudsdale spooked you just now. Doesn't seem like you're a trial-goer. What are you up to?
"I'm studying each of the tapu's ruins. For... various reasons of my own."
"Well, that's some fine initiative!" Hapu chuckled. "I'd be happy to show you the way whenever you'd like to go. My Mudsdale here is as sturdy as all get out. She can easily carry two."
"Thank you for your offer." Lillie said as Hapu petted Mudsdale's leg. With a nod, she and her Pokemon left. "Well, let's check the library first before heading to the ruins."
"So, what kind of book are you looking for?" Misty asked.
"The book I'm looking for is very old. It's an old book that contains old myths and legends that Professor Burnet told me about. Those tales seem to suggest that Alola's legendary Pokemon came from another world."
"Then we can just ask for where they history or mythological books are." Ash said before he went to an attendant. "Excuse me, do you know where we can find books on Alolan myths?"
"Yes. You'll find them upstairs."
"Thank you." He and the girls then did as the attendant said and went up stairs.
"It must be a very valuable book, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to take it out of the library." Lillie sighed, but heard a chuckle and turned towards a girl about as young as Hapu, holding an old red book. She has purple hair and a ragged blue dress.
"Is this what you're looking for, Princess? Give it a read."
"Oh!" The blonde girl gasped, though making sure not to be too loud. "Th-thank you." Heading to a table, the girl laid the book down to Lillie. "The Light of Alola. I'll just... um... read it allowed, shall I?" Lillie coughed before she began to read. "The broken sky broke asunder, a hole appearing where there had been none. A single beast appeared from it: it was named the beast that calls from the moon. The king of Alola bowed before it: the beast that stole all heavens' light. The island guardians fought against it, but in the end they lost the fight. Then did the beast that brings the dark cast its pall on the line of kings. So would the beast that had won mark the path for all such finished things. Beast of sun and beast of moon. Through their union they brought new life. A fagile heir in Alola born that island guardians would keep from strife. The ancient kinds sang their thanks for Lunala with song and flute. Two songs sang across the alter-a perfect pair, even after mute."
"Isn't it great?" The girl asked with a wide and proud grin. "My dad's books are all great!"
"What? I mean, yes, it is. But when you say your father...?" Lillie began to ask. "...Isn't this book very old?"
"Yeah, it belonged to my dad. I know I don't look like it, but my family used to be pretty much royalty. I had to have all of my dad's books moved here so that they didn't get ruined by the Pokemon. I can tell you lots of other old stories about Alola too. You interested?" Lillie's eyes sparkled while she smiled.
"That would be wonderful. I would be delighted if you did." She turned to Ash and Misty. "I think I'll stay here, but you two can go on. I've heard that there's a Kanto style gym around."
"A Kanto style gym?" Ash repeated, curious about what something like that was doing here. "I guess I'll have to check it out."
"Me too. I'd also like to see what it's like." With that, Ash and Misty went to the part of the city which had the tower they saw earlier.
"Hello dear tourists!" A voice greeted them, which confused the two until a ninja appeared from sudden smoke. "I'm Charlie, and I'll be your guide of the Kantonian gym! This gym was modeled to be just like one of the gyms from Kanto!" Unfortunately, both of the Kantonian trainers were unimpressed.
"Hmm, I don't remember a gym in Kanto looking like that." Ash admitted.
"Yeah, they're more rectangle shaped with only a single floor and brown roofs. Not all of them but most." Misty described, which shocked Charlie.
"Huh?! Are you saying you two know about Kanto?!"
"We were both born there. I'm from Pallet Town."
"And I'm from Cerulean City."
"Whoa, this is a huge deal!" Charlie exclaimed, just as a pink cloth and mesh covered kunoichi dropped down from above, along with, two other male ninja in black and mustard yellow cloth as well.
"Wow, from Pallet Town?! That's the residency of Professor Oak!"
"So what kind of place is the real Kanto?!"
"Are our Kanto inspired outfits completely on the mark?!"
"Tell us, come on, please, pretty please?!"
"Now hold on!" Misty yelled at them to back off. "We can't just explain what Kanto is in some general sense, and the only place where ninjas are common in is the Fuchsia City gym, Janine Sugiyama."
"Ah, yes! The great gym leader daughter of legendary Johto Elite Four ninja Koga Sugiyama!" The black clothed ninja recognized. "But, their gym is the only place where ninjas are common in Kanto?"
"Yep." All of the ninja slumped in disappointment while Charlie spoke on their behalf,
"Sorry, we tend to get excited."
"We beg for your forgiveness."
"Pleased to meet true Kantonians. We're workers of the Kantonian Gym." The yellow ninja praised.
"We're such big fans of the gyms in Kanto." The kunoichi told them. "So it's exciting for us to actually meet someone from Kanto."
"We're glad to have you here. We hope you like our gym."
"So does this mean I can have a Pokemon battle?" Ash asked excitedly.
"Well, if you want to have a Pokemon battle, you'll have to beat all of us at ninja based games on each floor." Charlie explained. "Only by beating all four of us can you be allowed to face our boss."
"Alright, I'm still going for it." The trainer agreed.
"I'd like to try too please." Misty requested.
"Got it! Fantastic!" Charlie, and two of his friends then threw down smoke bombs, disappearing.
"Whoa, they actually are ninja!" Ash gasped in amazement, unaware they just ran to hide behind a wide pillar.
"Hmm." Misty hummed about it, not really buying it because of her background.
"So then, if you're ready, time for the first game. You may call me Farley, and this is my floor." Opening the doors, the two got to witness a beautiful pool with sparkling water and little fountains for decoration.
"It's beautiful." Misty gasped.
"Eevee."
"What are we going to be doing in here?" Ash wondered.
"Have you heard of a thing called water crossing?"
"No."
"But this pool is way too small to ride on water jet skies." Misty pointed out.
"Haha, it may sound confusing at first, but I'm not talking about the sport. The thing is you don't need anything but your feet. You're going to cross the water by walking over it. Here are some ninja tools for the job. Or you can use your Pokemon to reach the other side."
"Alright, let me try." Ash volunteered first as he put on the wooden flotation shoes and took his first step... straight into the water, splashing around and asking for help. Misty rolled her eyes as she and Farley pulled the drenched boy out.
"My turn. Staryu, Pelliper, my steadies!" The water trainer threw out her first two water Pokemon. "Please help me get across this lake." They obliged as Misty got on Staryu while holding onto Pelliper's feet so that she could be pulled forward while the Star Shape Pokemon also pushed her feet forward at the same rate. "Ta da." Misty giggled.
"Oh yeah, well I can use my Pokemon too!" Ash cried out as he tried to regain his honor. "Brionne, use Icy Wind!" His water starter, upon being released, breathed out a chilling gust which managed to freeze the surface of the water. While the ice was thin enough to crack, the shoes did give a wide enough area to not spear through it like his feet would, and Ash clumsily made his way across, while Brionne playfully glided across.
"Thanks Brionne." Ash laughed.
"First floor cleared! Excellent work!" A hidden staircase came down from the ceiling and lowered itself so that they could access it. "Now it's time for the main floor." Upon reaching the second floor, Misty and Ash saw the mustard colored ninja have light shine upon him.
"Kudos on making it here! I'm Darley, the guardian of the second floor!"
"Wait. Charlie, Farley, Darley... you all seem to have the same ending pronunciation." Misty realized.
"Haha, almost! Our kunoichi doesn't! Alright, get ready for your second challenge! Time to eat your body's worth!" He presented them a buffet table.
"Alright!" Ash jumped with joy as he was about to dig in when Misty caught his haori.
"Hold it Ash! This is enough food for six starving people! We can't eat that much!"
"Then we'll have help! Time to eat everyone!" Ash threw out his pokeballs, and all six of his Pokemon were let out. They marveled at the food that they could chow down on and rushed to the table. Misty sighed in weary amusement before smiling wholeheartedly as she brought out the rest of her Pokemon. With the help of 10 Pokemon, it was very easy to make a large six person buffet into nothing but crumbs, plates and empty cups of tea.
"Oh man that was so good!" Ash patted his stomach. The rest of his Pokemon made noises of food fulfilled content.
"You had a good lunch, didn't you Eevee?" Misty asked her baby.
"Eevee." She agreed. Pelliper and Slowbro were sleeping together after finishing their courses, having gotten sleepy from that much eating.
"You've passed the second floor with flying colors! Nobody ever thinks of using their Pokemon!"
"So, what was this game for? It was just eating." Misty asked the ninja.
"The point was showing you all of what Malie City has to offer."
"Well it worked 100%! We enjoyed this!" Ash laughed.
"That's good, because from here on out things won't be so easy. Get ready."
"Alright."
"Yeah, bring it on!" Ash cheered. Once a set of staircase revealed themselves, Ash and Misty returned whatever Pokemon were sleeping, and left the rest out in case they needed further help.
"Hey there! My name is Shirataki! On this floor, you'll deal with a target challenge. In front of you you'll find tourist and children safe shuriken." And indeed, unlike genuine throwing stars, these were pink plastic stars with wheels surrounding the star with 'teeth' which are meant to keep them stuck in whatever they were thrown at.
"If you hit the target three times, you'll advance to the next floor."
"Yes!" Ash laughed as he picked up three stars and managed to land them all. One even in the bullseye! "Wow, I got one in the center!" Brionne and Hawlucha requested if they could throw some too. "Sure, go ahead." Ash allowed them by giving Hawlucha three stars and throwing the stars for Brionne up in the air. Crossing his cape like wings, the Wrestling Pokemon spread his arms wide while throwing them while the Pop Star Pokemon did flips to use her tail for batting the stars towards the targets. They each got all three stars on the targets.
"Congratulations! You all pass!" Shirataki cheered. "Third floor clear!" The next set of stairs became available. And this time it was Charlie in front of a huge curtain.
"I'm impressed you're here."
"So if we win here, we can have a Pokemon battle, right?" Ash asked.
"You bet we can! The forth floor challenge..." The curtain fell away. "Is an obstacle course! If you can clear this, you've earned a chance for a Pokemon battle! This time, only one of you can proceed." Upon hearing that, Ash and Misty looked at each other before they proceeded to fight to see who went first.
"It's my turn to go!"
"Haven't you heard of ladies first!" Misty barked. Taking hold of his haori jacket, Misty proceeded to wrap his head with the oversized shirt while taking his loose sleeves to tie a knot so that he couldn't escape by himself. "Time for me to shine!" Misty laughed as she went on ahead.
"Hey no fair!" Ash cried out as she jumped across the platforms over some water, climbed a net, ran over a spinning log, swung across some bars and finally reached a platform which had a narrow wooden beam for balancing.
"All too easy, a perfect performance." She giggled. Charlie grinned at her over confidence. Ash was finally able to get free from his shirt to see the platform she was standing on tilt a full 90 degrees upward, bashing Misty in the back. The girl screamed as she tried to keep balance, only for a giant pink ball to come out of nowhere. She shrieked as the ball slammed into her, knocking her into the upturned platform before falling in water below.
"Hahahahaha! That's karma for ya Misty!" He and his Pokemon were laughing at her misfortune while Eevee went to her imprinted mother, worried she might've been hurt along with Staryu.
"Eevee?!"
"Ugh, it's okay Eevee. I was just getting too full of myself there." The girl said with hurt pride.
"My turn!" Ash cheered as he went through the course just as easily as she did, followed by Hawlucha. By the end, he got on the beam as soon as possible, and ducked under the ball. With that he completed his game. "Yes!"
"Hawlucha!" His fighting/flying type said his name in triumph by flexing.
"Ash, you passed the forth floor challenge! Now it's finally time for what you've been waiting for!" Going on up the stairs when it revealed itself, Ash soon found himself on a battlefield. Smoke erupted from a stage, where a red eye glowed.
"You can watch the battle here Misty." Charlie led the still wet redhead girl to the stands on the side.
"A shame I couldn't win." She sighed in disappointment. From the smoke, a figure who did not look like a ninja stepped out and yelled into a mike, wearing a red and yellow rock band outfit with black spikes.
"Who dares to challenge the great and mighty Ryuki?!" Both Ash and Misty were extremely weirded out by this change of pace. "My name is Ryuki Furushima, famous star! I'm forging my own path, with no intention of ever changing my style! After all, I am a star!"
"Boss, Ash there is your challenger." Charlie told Ryuki, but he just screamed,
"Boss is such a lame name! Call me leader! Leader!"
"Sorry, the leader refuses to do with anything with the ninja style."
"Subtly is certainly not his thing." The redhead commented.
"Alright challenger, come and get me! The star will see you now!"
"I will act as referee!" Charlie spoke. "The gym battle between gym leader Ryuki and challenger Ash will now begin! This will be a three-on-three battle! Whoever is unable to continue wins the match! Begin!"
"Time to meet my band! Come on, hit the scene Turtonator!" A red and yellow colored turtle like Pokemon with brown spikes on its back appeared.
("With that red and yellow coloring, it must be at least part fire type. In that case...") Ash thought to himself before pointing out, "Let's go Mudbray!" The ground type walked onto the battlefield, neighing a little. "Use High Horsepower!" Standing on her hind legs, she let out a neigh as she glowed orange, and then began to run towards the Blast Turtle Pokemon.
"Counter with Iron Defense!" The fire/dragon type's shell gained a metallic shine in which when Mudbray rammed into the back of the Pokemon, it didn't have as much as an impact as they were hoping. "Now use Flamethrower!" Turning its head around, Turtonator breathed noxious fire from its nose, bathing the ground type in fire strong enough even she was not liking the attack.
"High Horsepower, again!" Due to being up close, Mudbray was able to tackle the fire/dragon type again, glowing her orange aura within the flame, but that still didn't take Turtonator down.
"Counter with Flail!" Waving its tail around, now at near defeat by mere seconds, its tail smacking the hurt Donkey Pokemon in the face with enough to strength to knock her out before even being able to make a sound. She collapsed on the ground with a heavy thud.
"Mudbray is unable to battle! The winner is Turtonator!"
"Mudbray, return!" Upon returning his Pokemon, he sighed. "We almost had it. Thank you." "Alright Hawlucha, you're up."
"Hawlucha." He nodded as he stepped up.
"Use Flying Press!" The fighting/flying type jumped up, glowing with power as he went for a dive bomb.
"Counter with Protect!" Ryuki retaliated. Turtonator generated a green force field which caused Hawlucha to fall smack dab into it hard with a grunt. "Flamethrower!" Letting down the shield, the Wrestling Pokemon then got blasted by fire just like Mudbray and was pushed back.
"Aerial Ace!" Grunting with determination, Hawlucha then pushed through the flames, glowing with white streaks as he slammed into Turtonator. Having been dealt with three powerful attacks even with Iron Defense, it was too much damage as the fire/dragon type fell on its back.
"Turtonator is unable to battle! The winner is Hawlucha!"
"Hmph, so you managed to take the heat, but now it's time to show you an classic rockin' dragon! Drampa, come on and hit the scene!" Ryuki let out a Pokemon that was light blue and had white hair that indicated age.
"That's a... weird looking dragon." Misty said, confused by its appearance.
"Don't be fooled by its old looks. It might be aged but it's got the spirit of rock! Drampa, use Dragon Breath!"
"Dodge with Flying Press!" Leaping up over the incoming purple flamed attack, the Wrestling Pokemon glowed with energy as he dive bombed into the Pokemon so hard the floor splintered underneath them. Hawlucha stood up, flexing over his fallen foe.
"Drampa is unable to battle! The winner is Hawlucha!"
"Huh. Strong Pokemon." Ryuki blinked out of surprise. "Well then, I guess I'll have to retire Drampa for this match! But now we're going to get dangerous here! Come on and hit the scene Gabite!" Returning his Drampa, the gym leader sent out a blue colored dragon with a red underbelly.
"Hawlucha, come on back here!" Walking back to his impressed team, Ash looked down to his Brionne. "I'd you to go out there now." Clapping, the Pop Star Pokemon hopped onto the field.
"Begin!"
"Gabite, use Slash!"
"Counter with Icy Wind!" Ash requested. Although she couldn't act fast enough to block or dodge the incoming Cave Pokemon's attack, screaming from being hit by a strong attack before flipping back and breathing her icy breath against the ground/dragon type, dealing some extreme damage. Even with it trying to cross its arms, the move was too strong as it was pushed back with a shout, and fell down hard, defeated.
"Gabite is unable to battle! The winner is Ash!"
"Yeah, way to go Brionne!"
"You two are incredible!" Misty congratulated her friend. All of Ash's Pokemon cheered for him.
"Hmph, I can see and feel your fiery rock and roll spirit! So as a symbol of your victory..."
"I get a badge?!" Ash gasped.
"Uh huh! With my star studded face on it to boot!" Admittedly it was just more of a button than anything resembling a real and creative badge, but Ash took it anyway. Ash and Misty were taken aback by how... Ryuki it was. "Show it off to your friends! After all, you beat rock star Ryuki Furushima!"
"Hehe, thank you." Ash awkwardly chuckled.
A/N: Well, that happened. And the first time I could adapt something from the Sun and Moon anime. I wasn't sure if I could accomplish that but at least now the two are mixed together. How was it, and how are you readers liking the story? Review down below if you readers would like.