Alola, everyone! Excited for another dose of Pokémon action from the Ketchum twins? When we last left off, both found themselves with brand new creatures in their hands, and they're now being led somewhere! We're about to find out where right now!
Enjoy!
POKÉMON SUN & MOON
THE CHALLENGE OF A LIFETIME
"Hey, wait a sec!" Erika cried out as she caught the seal-like creature she had pursuing in her arms, "You wanna at least tell me where the heck you're off to after that?" she inquired, while the Water type squirmed furiously, prying herself free as she hopped onto the ground.
"Ar, arf!" she barked, gesturing to her left. The girl she was with glanced over in the direction, blinking in surprise to see the faint lights of torches in the distance, flickering dimly.
"Isn't that where that festival's supposed to be?" she asked, putting her hands at her hips.
"Pua!" the Sea Lion Pokémon replied with a nod. To her astonishment though, she saw the aspiring kunoichi puff out her cheeks in frustration, glancing away.
"You can go there yourself…" she muttered, turning her head, "I'm not dealing with my dumb parents or balloon sister…" she grumbled as she crossed her arms.
"Ar?" the being with her uttered in confusion, tilting her head to the side.
"Mrow!" another voice cried out, catching their attentions as they saw the cat-like creature running up to them with Calvin, who had put his cap on.
"Erika!" he exclaimed upon seeing her, coming to a stop, "Where the heck were you?" he asked curiously, "I heard Mom calling for you before she and everyone else left…" he noted as he scratched his chin.
"So I ran out for some fresh air at the beach…" she admitted while folding her arms behind her head, "Not like it's a big deal or anything…" she grumbled in frustration.
"Uh… sure…" her twin brother responded, evidently confused by her behavior.
"Lit…" the voice of the Fire type growled, causing the two perk up as they looked to see the pair of creatures beside them glaring at each other.
"Arf ar arrr!" the blue of the two barked angrily.
"Mrroww!" the Fire Cat Pokémon shouted back as they clenched their teeth fiercely.
"What's with them?" the short haired girl questioned, arching an eyebrow as her sibling squatted down to reach the eye level of the two.
"Maybe these guys are old friends that don't get along…" he suggested while putting his hand onto his chin.
"RRAAWWHHRRR!" the cat-like being hissed angrily, making him flinch as he held his hands out in front of himself.
"Girls… sorry…" he corrected apologetically with a sigh.
"Well, I guess we should start getting home and wait for everyone else there…" Erika realized as she was walking away, much to the dismay of the Water type, who was lowering her head a little.
"Start?" the lightning mage uttered, looking back at the pair of beings as he narrowed his eyes in thought. He reached deeper into the recesses of his mind to try and pinpoint the information about them he had, however little it was. During his ten years of living in Pallet Town, he and his sister were homeschooled and taught the basics of everything from their mother, including several things about certain Pokémon. What he was recalling involved the creatures that trainers would be first given at the beginnings of their journeys. He let out a sharp gasp in realization, causing the aspiring kunoichi to stop and turn around.
"What's wrong?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"These girls are the starter Pokémon that trainers choose here in Alola!" he responded quickly, sounding very panicked, "And they're supposed to be at the festival!" he added. The girl before him blinked before tilting her head to the side.
"So?" she questioned, causing him to let a drop of sweat roll down his face out of exasperation.
"So that means they could be one of the Pokémon Hau wants to pick, but they aren't there!" he answered, picking up the Fire type, "We gotta get 'em there pronto!" he exclaimed, racing up the hilly path that they were beside, "You take that one!" he advised as he hurried off into the distance.
"Uh…" his sibling uttered, about to say something until the Sea Lion Pokémon jumped into her arms.
"Pua!" she barked happily, letting her eyes sparkle in wonder at her.
"Huh…" Erika sighed deeply, "Guess I do owe you one for saving me earlier…" she admitted, running off with her in her arms as they headed towards the festival.
CHALLENGE COMMENCED
Hala anxiously tapped his foot against the ground as he stood nearby the wooden stage at the center of town. He had been looking rather stressed since meeting with the large group earlier, as they had gone off long ago.
"Sorry…" a familiar voice chimed in apologetically, catching his attention as he looked to see Ash and Mirajane approach alongside Pikachu, "We couldn't find either of them around…" the former admitted to him.
"Pika pi…" the Mouse Pokémon added as he shrugged.
"Ah, it's fine," the Kahuna reassured, seeing his son and his wife approach along with Alain and Fluttershy, "I doubt you'd even be able to spot anything at this time of night," he noted as he scratched his cheek.
"So… what are you going to do?" Lisanna asked out of concern, holding her hands together in front of herself.
"Hmm…" her father in-law hummed, reaching down and pulling out a shrunk Poké Ball from his jacket, enlarging it by pressing its center button before throwing it up into the air. It popped open, and the bluish white light that streaked out of it formed upon the wooden stage, dissipating to reveal what was inside. It was a small, avian creature resembling a young owl with a round body and short legs. His plumage was primarily brown with a white underside and facial disc. The facial disc itself was in the shape of two overlapping circles. He had large black eyes and a stubby beak. The top part of his beak was white, while the lower half was an orange-brown. His feet had two forward-facing toes and one backward facing toe; they were the same color as the lower half of his beak. Two leaves were sprouted from his chest, arranged so that they resembled a bowtie. Additional leaves lined the undersides of his wings and form his tail.
"Koo!" he chirped happily as he spread his wings out, followed by being gently patted on the head by his keeper.
"Young Rowlet here would be more than happy to be Hau's choice for his first Pokémon…" he pointed out as he stood back up, "but I would at least like for him to have a choice…" he confessed while folding his arms over his chest.
"Roo?" the Grass/Flying type cooed in confusion, twisting his facial disc to the right.
"Hey, where are Dylan and Leslie?" the Equestrian magic user asked, having noticed that the two young adults were missing.
"Over here!" the latter's voice cried out, getting their attentions as they saw the pair approach with a Talonflame flapping his wings above them in midair.
"Leslie, where were you?" her mother asked.
"We took a shortcut back to the house to see if Calvin had spotted them," she responded as they both came to a stop, "Not only did we not find them…" she kept going rather reluctantly while glancing off to the side, "I think Cal ran off, too…" she confessed, causing the elder take-over wizard to gasp in fright.
"Are you sure?" Ash asked, placing his hands onto his wife's shoulders to keep her calm.
"Yeah, we checked," the young man beside her replied, walking over to them, "Dad, you think we should have a wider search?" he guessed, getting his attention.
"Yeah, maybe…" he agreed as he narrowed his eyes in thought.
"Everything okay here, cousins?" a somewhat deep voice chimed in, causing them to perk up and see a man approaching them. He had black eyes, and black hair tied into a bun underneath a white cap with a rainbow symbol upon the middle. He wore glasses with green frames, a white lab coat with rolled-up sleeves, grey baggy pants with a green garter and white ribbon in the middle, and sported a pair of green shoes with white outlines. He also had a grey ring on his ring finger.
"Kukui!" Hala exclaimed in surprise as he came to a stop, "You wouldn't happened to have seen a Litten and a Popplio scurrying about?" he inquired to him while arching an eyebrow.
"They run off on you again?" he guessed back, making him sigh deeply.
"Those two get into arguments more than a pair of Pikipek fighting over berries…" he noted, folding his arms over his chest, "At this rate, the event may have to be cancelled…" he confessed, causing the rest of the group to gasp in surprise.
"Oh no…" Lisanna uttered in disbelief as both she and Sawyer glanced back at their son, who was happily eating some food on a bench.
"We can't give up that easily," the raven haired man of the group stated as he clenched his right fist, "Alain, Sawyer," he began to his fellow Omni Force members, "let's head down to Hau'oli City and see if the kids wound up there," he advised as they nodded in agreement, "Mira, Lisanna," he continued to the mages, "you can search from the skies around Verdant Cavern and Ten Carat Hill," he recommended as they too agreed by nodding, "As for everyone else," he kept going, "go-"
"Hey!" Calvin's voice yelled in the distance, causing everyone to gasp and turn to see him running up the steps to the group with the cat-like creature in his hands.
"Calvin!" his mother cried out happily as she rushed over to him. The Kahuna followed, laughing out of relief upon seeing the Fire type in the boy's hands.
"Am I late?" he asked, while everyone went over to him.
"Right in the nick of time, boy!" Hala answered as he chuckled heartily, "Where did you find this little one?" he asked curiously as the Fire Cat Pokémon jumped down onto the ground.
"This little guy was up on the roof of our summer house fighting a Murkrow…" the Ketchum boy answered, making the being beside him perk up.
"Mrraaarrr!" she yelped angrily at him as he flinched.
"Uh… sorry… girl…" he corrected in apology, sheepishly scratching his cheek.
"Ha!" the Kahuna laughed again, catching his attention, "So Litten's already gotten to know you, eh?" he guessed, much to his surprise as he blinked.
"Litten?" he uttered in confusion, looking back at the feline, "Is that your name?" he asked her.
"Mraw!" she answered with a simple nod, smiling.
"So you figured to bring Litten here after that happened…" Ash concurred as his hand was at his chin.
"Yeah," his son replied with a nod, "I ran into Erika on the way and she had one of these guys with her, too," he mentioned, squatting down to pet the Fire type as she puffed out her cheeks in frustration.
"Erika did?" Mirajane questioned in surprise as she blinked.
"How did you get here so fast?!" the young girl's voice yelled towards her twin sibling, making them all turn to see her running up to them with the Sea Lion Pokémon in her arms, breathing heavily once she stopped in front of them.
"Erika!" her mother exclaimed happily, embracing her warmly from her side, "I'm so glad you're all right…" she confessed, causing her to smile a little, "but you and I and are going to have a little chat when we get home…" she added in a menacing tone, sounding much deeper than normal as her eyes glowed ominously.
"Yeah, yeah…" her younger daughter repeated in understanding, blushing a little in embarrassment, "I know I'm in trouble…" she realized while glancing over at Leslie. She merely let off a small grin towards her, glad to see that she had come.
"Pua!" the seal-like creature barked happily as she jumped out of the aspiring kunoichi's arms and waddled up to Hala, allowing him to pet her as well.
"I'm glad you're well, Popplio!" he noted as he scratched her chin, making her coo in delight, "Thank you both for this," he said in gratitude to the twins as he stood up firm, "As Kahuna of the island, I'm humbly grateful for your help," he confessed while bowing to them.
"Uh… it was no problem, really," Calvin responded rather modestly as he rubbed the back of his head.
"We just did what anyone would do," his sister bluntly added, folding her arms behind her head in a bored manner. Her older sibling just giggled, while Dylan returned his Talonflame to his Poké Ball in a beam of red light beside her.
"Cal! Erika!" Hau's voice cried out, causing the two to perk up before they each felt an arm wrap around them, being their cousin as he squished his way in between them, "I didn't think either of you would make it to the festival tonight!" he pointed out, smiling gleefully, "This is great!" he exclaimed. Seeing the smile on his relative's face caused the male of the two to grin as well, glad that he had helped. The aspiring kunoichi was somewhat perplexed, but smiled herself as she knew that she done something to make the ponytailed boy happy.
"Guess now we can get on with the festival," Kukui stated, causing Hala to nod in agreement. A while later, all three of the starter Pokémon were gathered upon the stage, standing beside each other. While the owl-like creature was eagerly chirping, the other two were eyeing one another out of frustration from earlier. A crowd had formed as they saw the soon-to-be trainer standing before his choices, with his grandfather right beside him.
"Everyone, today we have the pleasure of witnessing my grandson begin his quest to become a strong trainer who will take up the Island Challenge someday!" he declared, while everyone watched in anticipation, "I do apologize for stalling this event for so long since young Litten and young Popplio took off on me earlier…" he sheepishly admitted, rubbing the back of his head as laughs echoed around him, "Now which of these three will you choose?" he asked the boy, who was eagerly smiling as he looked at the trio of Pokémon before him on the stage. While both the Fire Cat Pokémon and the Sea Lion Pokémon continued to glare at each other, Rowlet just ruffled the feathers of his wings, anticipating the boy to make his decision in a moment. He stood firmly afterwards, turning to face the island kahuna.
"Tutu..." he began as everyone else looked on, "if you let me know what happened with Popplio and Litten, you wouldn't have had to go through all the trouble of stalling..." he pointed out with a tilted head, much to confusion of the stocky man, "I wanted Rowlet from the start anyways!" he declared happily.
"Roo?" the Grass Quill Pokémon cooed out of surprise as his new owner picked him up into his arms. Meanwhile, the man there just blanked out in absolute shock along with the other two starters, as they did not expect him to make such a blunt decision. The people in the crowd were just as stunned, remembering how the Water and the Fire types had gotten away from Melemele's strongest trainer earlier in the day. However, they started cheering soon afterwards by applauding the brand new trainer, who let his partner perch himself onto his right shoulder.
"W-Well then..." his grandfather stammered, clapping himself before letting out a cough, "I suppose we should-" All of a sudden, the other two creatures jumped off of the stage and took off towards the crowd, interjecting his sentence as he saw them jump into the arms of Calvin and Erika respectively.
"Huh?" the latter of the two Ketchum twins uttered in surprise as she blinked, seeing the Sea Lion Pokémon happily nuzzle against her. The cat-like being crawled onto the right shoulder of the lightning mage, purring contently as she rested herself down.
"Well, well!" Hala exclaimed as he laughed while walking towards the family, "Seems as if there's more than one new trainer coming of age on this night," he noted with a grin.
"H-Hold on!" the boy of the group stuttered out, "It was only a coincidence that me and Erika ran into these guys..." he pointed out nervously.
"MRRROWWW!" Litten growled angrily, causing him to flinch in surprise.
"Uh... girls..." he corrected after recomposing himself, "Sorry..." he apologized sheepishly.
"It may not be a coincidence that you two met these Pokémon," the kahuna stated, placing his hand onto his chin, "Perhaps Tapu Koko would like to see how capable you all are as new trainers..." he concurred, much to their father's surprise as he perked up, "Hau!" he called out to his grandson, who immediately rushed over, "How would you like to have your first battle against one of your cousins?" he suggested with a hearty smile. The boy's eyes sparkled in excitement as he turned to face his relatives.
"Yeah, that'd be great!" he agreed, pumping his fists, "You two up for it?" he asked them eagerly. The twins glanced over at each other and then their new Pokémon, wondering if it was such a good idea.
"Okay, I guess..." Erika answered nervously after a moment, much to the surprise of everyone else.
"Pua, pua!" Popplio barked excitedly.
"Rrrooooh!" Rowlet chirped in anticipation, flapping his wings as he flew beside his owner, prepared to engage in his first battle.
X
"Well, isn't this something?" Dylan inquired to his parents as they looked over at him, "Feels like only yesterday I had my first battle against a close friend of mine…" he pointed out, winking at Leslie. She blushed madly, turning her head away in a huff.
"Who do you think will win?" she asked her father, getting his attention.
"I might be rooting for the twins…" he sheepishly admitted while scratching his cheek, "but…" he kept going reluctantly.
"I don't think they're as in the know about Pokémon as Hau might be," Mirajane chimed in to finish for her husband, "He is Sawyer's child after all," she mentioned. Upon the wooden stage, the ponytailed boy stood behind his new partner, who stepped forwards as he was prepared to battle. On the other side, Erika was standing next to Popplio, sweating a little as she saw the enormous crowd watching them.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Hala's voice suddenly boomed, causing everyone to perk up and see him come between the eventual fighters, "Tonight, we honor our sacred island guardian with battles between my grandson," he started to explain, gesturing his right hand to him, "and the children of the Kanto Champion Master, Ash Ketchum," he finished, pointing out the presence of the aspiring kunoichi and her twin brother standing just offstage behind her.
"Whoa, the Kanto Champion Master's kids?!" one person exclaimed in surprise.
"I bet they're destined to be as strong as their father!" a woman proclaimed rather excitedly.
"This'll really be fun to watch!" another added. Calvin's ears caught their words as he blinked in confusion, wondering if they were expecting much of him and his sibling.
"You may now begin!" the Kahuna bellowed, swinging his right arm down.
"Let's go, Rowlet!" the eccentric boy onstage called out to his teammate, enticing him to spread out his wings and take to the night sky quickly.
"Roo!" he chirped as he glanced down at his opponent, who hopped out before her new trainer.
"Okay, let's do this…" she muttered, seemingly not as excited as her cousin.
"Tackle!" he commanded, enticing the Grass/Flying type to dive down towards his enemy. She blinked in surprise before crossing her flippers over her face to shield herself, getting struck and slid back by him as he flew off.
"Ar…" she growled, shaking her head to regain herself.
"Okay then…" her trainer uttered as she closed her right hand into a fist, "Tackle him back!" she demanded to her.
"Bwark?" she barked in confusion, turning to look at her with a tilted head.
"Huh?" she said, blinking as she did not know why the Sea Lion Pokémon was not attacking as told to.
"Now use Leafage!" Hau ordered while pumping his fist.
"Krrroooohhh!" the Grass Quill Pokémon sounded off, making his wings glow a bright green as he span around, unleashing a plethora of leaves that zoomed towards his adversary like a gust of wind. She was hit multiple times by them, trying to protect herself with merely her front flippers.
"Pua!" she yelped as she then tumbled back, landing on her belly as she groaned a little.
"Aw, what's going on?!" Erika yelled, evidently flabbergasted at how poorly her first battle was going.
"Oh dear…" her mother sighed from the crowd worriedly.
"Erika!" Leslie called out, catching her little sister's attention, "Not all Pokémon have the same moves, ya know!" she noted, causing her to grunt in frustration.
"Well sorry for not being an ace at battling, balloon boobs!" she mock apologized, making her gasp in shock and blush out of embarrassment as she lowered her head. Calvin could hear the crowd mumbling in confusion and astonishment, wondering why his twin sibling was having a hard time with battling when she was the child of a famous trainer.
"Leafage again!" Hau yelled, making his new teammate ready his wings as they shined, flapping them to fire down more leaves at the Water type.
"Uh… do that water attack you did before!" the aspiring kunoichi cried out quickly.
"Arf!" her new partner barked back as she nodded, taking a deep breath of air. She then unleashed a gush of water from her nostrils, having it collide with the oncoming leaves as they both burst apart into thin air.
"Oh, a Water Gun, huh?" the eccentric boy realized as he grinned, "Well, let's see if you can handle this!" he challenged, "Tackle!" he commanded again.
"Rowwwlll!" Rowlet screeched as he dove down at his foe with his talons aimed towards her.
"Uh, stop it with… another attack or something!" her trainer shouted, stuttering a little.
"Pua!" she barked in understanding with a nod, leaping up high. She then made her right flipper glow a bright white, swinging it out to counter her enemy's left foot. They clashed in midair for a moment before the latter landed back onto the stage.
"And that was Popplio's Pound attack…" Ash pointed out as he placed his hand onto his chin.
"At least she knows her moves now…" his wife added cheekily as she laughed a little. Her elder daughter, on the other hand, was evidently worried as her little sister continued her first battle.
"Okay, do the Water Gun thing again!" she ordered while raising her arm. Jumping up once more, the Sea Lion Pokémon reeled her head back, firing a gush of water from her nostrils that zoomed at her foe.
"Leafage!" Hau called out quickly. Rowlet's wings glowed a bright green as he spun around, making a torrent of leaves fly around him, shielding him from the blast of water as it struck.
"Now hit him with Pound!" Erika yelled, smiling as she thought she had gained the upper hand. Ceasing her ranged attack and making both of her flippers shine a bright white, the Water type headed towards her foe, prepared to strike him through the leaves he had veiled himself in. To her surprise though as she made her attempt, he had disappeared.
"B-Bw-Bwark?!" she stammered in shock, while her master seemed just as stunned.
"We gotcha' now!" the ponytailed boy declared as he grinned, "Use Tackle!" he commanded. All of sudden, Rowlet slammed his feet into the back of his enemy from above, sending her crashing down onto the stage in a yelp. Everyone gasped in surprise, while Sawyer let off a smile at his son's efforts.
"Pa…" Popplio barked in agony as she tried to get up, as her owner watched on in awe.
"How did he do that…?" she wondered, more amazed by her opponent's movements than worried about her own partner.
"Finish it with Leafage!" the eccentric boy shouted, enticing his teammate to ready another torrent of green shining leaves that rained down onto his adversary, striking her as she became enveloped in a cloud of smoke. Hala quickly stepped out afterwards, narrowing his eyes to see if he would decide a winner. The veil cleared to reveal the seal-like creature groaning in agony as her eyes were dizzied.
"Popplio is unable to continue!" the official bellowed as he raised his right arm into the air, "Rowlet is the winner!" he declared, while the Grass Quill Pokémon happily perched himself onto Hau's shoulder, making him smile.
"Way to go, Hau!" his mother cheered with the crowd, who all clapped for the victor.
"I lost, huh…" the aspiring kunoichi muttered as she went up and knelt down to her new partner, who arose from fainting.
"Ar…" she moaned in defeat, ashamed and sorry for losing to the slight surprise of the girl before her.
"Hey, it was my first ever battle," she pointed out in a reassuring tone, "No need to be down on yourself," she mentioned while picking her up and heading off with her. She still seemed saddened though, causing Calvin to grimace a little upon noticing. He could hear the judgements from the people around him, with some shocked to know that the child of a famous trainer had lost so embarrassingly. However, she did not seem to care as she came down to her brother. "Guess I caught a tough break there," she admitted in a bored tone, "It is Hau's day though," she pointed out, seeing him feed the Grass/Flying type an Oran Berry.
"Yeah…" her twin sibling agreed, glancing over to see the upset expression on Popplio's face.
"Well good luck, Cal," Erika said as she walked over to her family, where her elder sister had a cross look towards her. Meanwhile, the lightning mage closed his right hand into a fist, catching the attention of Litten.
"Mrow?" she purred in confusion, blinking at him.
"Let's do this, little girl," he advised, trotting onto the stage with her.
X
The crowd cheers erupted once more as the trainers were about to engage in the second battle of the festival. Rowlet flew up beside his trainer, while his opponent stepped forward and got into a ready stance, growling a little.
"Do your best, Calvin!" Mirajane cried out as she clapped. He blushed out of flattery, remembering how excited she and rest of the crowd was earlier. However, he also recalled how surprised the people were to see how unaware his twin sister seemed during her first and did not want the same to happen.
"Uh… Dad?" he uttered, catching Ash's attention as he blinked in surprise, "Do you what Litten's moves are?" he asked while trotting over to the side of the stage.
"Scratch and Ember, cousin," Kukui chimed in, standing next to the boy's father as he winked at him.
"Oh, uh, thank you…" he responded in gratitude as he bowed to him, causing him to chuckle.
"Now if both trainers are ready…" Hala started to say, raising his right hand into the air, "you may begin!" he bellowed while swinging it down.
"Rowlet, Tackle!" Hau commanded quickly.
"Rrrooohh!" the owl-like creature cooed loudly as he dashed forward.
"Scratch, Litten!" the lightning mage yelled. The Fire Cat Pokémon extended her claws from her front paws, leaping and countering her foe with a swipe from her right one as it shined a bright white.
"Mraw!" she purred excitedly as she landed back on the stage, retracting her claws.
"Atta' boy, Cal!" Leslie cheered, much to her sister's surprise as she glanced over at her.
"Now use Ember!" the capped boy onstage called out as he pumped his right fist. The spiked tufts on his partner's back arose as she reeled her head back and coughed up a fireball that zoomed at her adversary.
"Quick, use Leafage!" the ponytailed boy shouted, enticing the Grass/Flying type to make his wings glow a bright green. However, the leaves he blasted out were burned away by the fireball as it struck him in an explosion, blowing him down.
"Yes!" Calvin exclaimed excitedly, smiling all the while.
"Nice move," Kukui commented, placing his hand onto his chin, "If Rowlet got that Leafage off in time, he might've gotten Litten like he did with Popplio," he explained.
"What?" Erika uttered in confusion, having overheard him as the Water type in her arms lowered her head ashamedly.
"Ember again!" her brother ordered, enticing the Fire type to unleash yet another flame from her mouth.
"Leafage!" Hau commanded. This time, the Grass Quill Pokémon managed to shoot off a torrent of leaves, having them collide with the fireball as it burst into black smoke.
"Lit, lrrooww!" his opponent shouted angrily as she glanced around. Meanwhile, her master did the same, sweating a little.
'Last time that happened, he came out of nowhere to attack…' he inwardly recalled, 'so we have to be ready!' he declared to himself.
"Litten, use Scratch when you see him!" he advised to his partner.
"Mrow!" she responded with a nod, preparing her claws again. All of a sudden, her foe sneaked in from behind her, much to her and her owner's shock as they did not even spot him for a moment.
"Now Tackle!" the ponytailed boy demanded. Quickly turning around, the Fire Cat Pokémon managed to soften the strong kick from her enemy's talons as she was only blown back a few yards along the stage.
"How'd that even happen?" the aspiring kunoichi asked, evidently amazed as the lab coat wearing man beside her grinned.
"Rowlet's known to glide in pretty silently when fighting," he explained to her in response as she listened, quite intrigued, "By using those leaves as cover, he can sneak around and attack," he added.
"Just like a ninja…!" Erika realized excitedly as her eyes sparkled, much to the dismay of the Sea Lion Pokémon.
"Litten, use Scratch again!" Calvin commanded as he pumped his right fist. Making her claws glow a bright white, the Fire type leapt up at her foe. He dashed towards her, suddenly becoming enveloped in a light green aura in the shape of a bird as he slammed into her beak first, making her flail helplessly before striking the ground hard.
"Whoa, awesome!" Hau exclaimed as his teammate landed down gently in front of him afterwards, "That was Peck, wasn't it?" he guessed to him.
"Koo!" he chirped happily in response, making him chuckle.
"He used another move?" the aspiring kunoichi questioned as she blinked rapidly.
"Pokémon all gain experience from battles," Kukui stated, causing her to look over at him again, "Whether they win or lose, they all get to learn something and grow," he mentioned while putting his hands into his coat pockets.
"Ergh…" the lightning mage growled in frustration as he continued to sweat a little, "Use Ember!" he ordered.
"Mraw!" the Fire Cat Pokémon roared out, letting her tufts spike up along her spine as she shot out another fireball from her mouth.
"Dodge and use Tackle!" the ponytailed boy yelled quickly. Gliding past the flame, Rowlet charged in and kicked his opponent away with one mighty swing of his right talon, sending her sliding to the edge of the stage. Everyone chattered in shock as they saw her breathing heavily with scrapes all over her body.
"Come on, Litten!" Leslie cheered, while Dylan stood beside her and folded his arms over his chest.
"Finish it with Peck!" the eccentric boy ordered as he swung out his right arm.
"Use Ember one more time!" his cousin commanded to his partner. The Grass Quill Pokémon shrouded himself in the light green once more, diving down at his adversary. Meanwhile, she gritted her teeth, beginning to glow in a reddish aura as her tufts spiked up once more.
"Li… TENNNN!" she roared, opening her mouth to try and shoot out a fireball, which came into contact with her enemy at the moment he was about to strike her, enveloping them both in a large explosion of smoke. The entire crowd gasped, wondering what had resulted as the black veil still lingered. The Kahuna trotted over to check and suddenly saw the Grass/Flying type soar out of the cloud with burn marks and soot all over his feathers, landing down gently on the stage while breathing heavily. When the smoke finally did clear, it revealed Litten lying down upon her stomach as her eyes were in swirls.
"Litten is unable to battle!" Hala declared as he raised his arm up, "Rowlet is the winner, and the victory goes to Hau!" he bellowed as the owl-like creature perched himself onto his master's shoulder, waving with him to the crowd as they applauded him. In the meantime, Calvin trembled in shock from what had happened, glancing down ashamedly.
"H-How did I…?" he started to question, clenching his teeth before running over to his teammate, who stood up.
"Mraw?" she purred in confusion, seeing him drop to his knees in front of her.
"I'm sorry…" he apologized, causing her to blink. She merely went over and licked his right hand, making him perk up and see the smile on her face.
"Mroww!" she exclaimed, hopping onto his shoulder happily. He was astonished by how okay she seemed with losing, but grinned himself as he felt her nuzzle against his cheek.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please give a round of applause to these new trainers!" the Kahuna advised to the crowd, "Whether they won or lost their first battles," he kept going, "I have faith that they will one day become the most amazing trainers in Alola!" he declared passionately. Everyone clapped in glee afterwards, but the lightning mage still frowned from having lost. He not only felt that he had let himself and his new partner down, but his family as well.
X
"Pika… CHU!" Pikachu exclaimed as he slammed his tail, which was glowing in a silvery white light, into the face of a Lucario.
"Rah!" he grunted as he slid back towards Leslie, who was battling against her father as they were both smiling excitedly on the large stage. Sawyer and Alain were there as well, with the former's Sceptile and the latter's Charizard slashing at each other as their hands were cloaked in a claw-like aura.
"Lucarus, Ice Punch on Sceptile!" the Unova Champion Master commanded, enticing her teammate to cloak his right fist in an icy aura before charging towards the Forest Pokémon.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Charizard!" Ash ordered to his longtime partner.
"Pi… ka… CHU!" the Electric type screamed as he unleashed a massive bolt of lightning towards the Flame Pokémon. It struck him fiercely as he cried out in agony, becoming enveloped in a burst of smoke afterwards. Meanwhile, the Steel/Fighting type punched his target in the torso with his glowing extremity, causing him to slide across the stage, while ice began to form upon him.
"Woohoo!" one of the members of the crowd cheered as the battle continued.
"This year's Battle Royal is amazing!" another exclaimed, getting a lot of sounds of agreement. After the festival's opening matches, Hala selected Leslie to be the fourth trainer to compete in the main event, pitting her against her father and his rivals in a free for all match. In the meantime, the men's wives all watched on curiously, giggling all the while.
"Excuse me, ladies," Kukui chimed in, getting their attentions as they looked to see him there.
"Oh, Kukui!" Mirajane yelped as she went over to him, "How have you been?" she asked politely.
"Just fine," he responded while putting his hands into his pockets, "Anyways, I wanted to talk to your husbands about something," he explained, changing his expression into a serious one to their surprise, "But I guess you should hear about what happened, too…" he admitted as they all glanced at each other in concern. Elsewhere in town, Calvin had sat down on a bench with Litten on his lap, petting her gently as she yawned.
"Huh…" he sighed deeply, remembering the moment he lost and how stunning it was. He wondered if his parents or even his older sister felt the same way when they experienced their own first losses. To him, it felt shameful to lose as the son of a Champion Master and even more so in front of many people. He never asked to become a trainer, but was in a position where he did not want to give it up.
"What's the matter?" Erika's voice asked, causing him to perk up and see her with Popplio in her arms, who still looked depressed.
"We embarrassed ourselves out there…" her twin brother replied as he looked at the ground, while she sat down beside him, "Don't you think we should've done better?" he asked, closing his hands into fists.
"Cal, we weren't experts at this," the aspiring kunoichi replied as she leaned against her seat, "A loss is just a loss and there's no need to go crying about it," she explained while setting the Water type she had down right beside her.
"I guess so…" the lightning mage agreed as he took a deep breath of air. The Fire Cat Pokémon upon him batted open an eye, noticing a figure trotting into the woods beyond the edge of the town.
"Mrow?" she uttered in confusion as she stood up, hopping off of her master's lap and running over to the edge of the woodland area.
"Litten, what's wrong?" he asked, seeing her narrow her eyes onto the trees to try and spot something.
"Li, liten ten," she replied as the Sea Lion Pokémon hopped over to her.
"Ar?" she questioned, tilting her head to the side. Their respective trainers went up to them, and the female of the two heard a rustling sound amidst the flickering flames of the torches.
"Is someone there?" she wondered, blinking in confusion. Her twin brother developed a determined expression before running off into the woods, making her gasp in surprise. "Hey, wait!" she cried out, chasing after him with their teammates. In the meantime, Hau trotted over with Rowlet perched on his shoulder, both eating a sugary, dough-like treat together. He had brought over a paper bag with more inside, heading towards the empty bench.
"Hey Cal, I thought you'd want some snacks to cheer up, so I-!" He stopped his sentence at the moment he saw that no one was there, blinking in surprise.
"Koo?" the Grass Quill Pokémon chirped, twisting his face to the right. His master wondered where his cousins had gone off to, not knowing that they were heading up the wood steps on the hillside.
"Where does this even go?" Erika asked as they trotted along.
"I dunno…" her sibling replied as they made their way up to another section, suddenly hearing the sound of a branch snap ahead of them.
"Why do you wanna go to the ruins so badly?" a feminine voice asked from afar, enticing the group to stop.
'A girl?' Calvin inwardly inquired, jogging up the pathway a little more quickly, leaving the rest of the group behind as they walked after him. At the end of the path itself, the girl with the sunhat was trudging with her duffel bag in hand, appearing to be pulled by it towards the rickety bridge in the distance.
"Er, stop it!" she demanded quietly as her bag wriggled rather violently. All of a sudden, something jumped out of it, being a small Pokémon with a gaseous body similar to a nebula. It had two wisp-like extensions that seemed to serve as arms and an ellipse running down its body. Its front and back were black in color. To top it off, it had yellow eyes and two blue cheeks. It smiled happily as it soared onto the middle of the bridge away from its protector. "Nebby, wait!" she cried out, while the lightning mage had arrived on the scene. He saw her long blonde hair sway in the wind, causing his mouth to gape open as his eyes widened.
"Um… are you okay?" he asked, sounding nervous as he blushed a little. She immediately gasped and turned around to see him, staring into his brown eyes with hers of hazel.
"Speeeeerrr!" a voice suddenly squawked, catching their attentions as they saw a flock of three Spearow swoop in and zoom towards the gaseous creature. It saw them coming and cowered in fear, lowering itself onto a single plank while shivering. The group of Tiny Bird Pokémon surrounded it, sometimes diving down to attack. Seeing the events and understanding what may have happened, the capped boy immediately ran out onto the bridge.
"Oh, wait!" the girl there cried out, but was too late to stop him as he had already gotten onto the bridge, which wobbled as he took a big step.
"Whoa!" he yelped, grasping the ropes on each side to find his balance. Once he did, he breathed out in relief, slowly making his way over to the frightened being. In the meantime, his twin sister had finally arrived with Popplio and Litten, seeing him continue to go along the bridge.
"What is he doing?" she asked, running over. As he finally got closer to the smog-like creature, he realized that he would have to scare the Normal/Flying types off.
"Hey, shoo!" he yelled, waving his hands at them to get their attentions. However, they didn't take too kindly to his words as they began attacking him, striking him with their beaks and talons as he cried out in pain.
"Oh no…" the sunhat wearing girl uttered frightfully, clasping her hands over her mouth. Calvin gritted his teeth, seeing the cowering creature below him. He bent over onto his knees and covered it, protecting hit more any more harm as the Spearow continued to attack them.
"Don't worry, little guy…" he reassured while grimacing in agony from the cuts he was suffering, "I'll protect you…" he promised. As he said that, the three bird-like creatures were zooming in for one final attack to try and get their target. Extremely frightened, the gaseous being glowed in a bright blue light before unleashing a massive blast of energy that blew the bridge apart and sent the enemies flying back.
"Calvin!" Erika screamed in fright, while the other girl there gasped.
"AAAAAHHH!" he yelled, plummeting with the being towards the river below, where sharp rocks were waiting. However, he suddenly saw a rope wrap around his torso, saving him and the creature that was in his arms as it kept him from falling further. He opened his eyes and gasped happily to see the aspiring kunoichi having caught him with a line attached to the end of a kunai that she held tightly.
"Darn it, Cal!" she yelled in frustration, grunting as she tried to reel him in, "Wait for us next time!" she advised, still struggling. Both Litten and Popplio bit into the line to try and help, tugging as hard as they could. Meanwhile, the blonde haired girl just looked on in awe, evidently astonished by what happened. "Hey, give us a hand here!" the Ketchum girl demanded, catching her attention as she yelped in surprise.
"U-Um… I…." she stuttered out, shivering in fear. All of a sudden, the line snapped, leading to the lightning mage plummeting again.
"NO!" his twin sister screamed.
"MRRRAAAAWWWW!" the Fire Cat Pokémon screeched fearfully. As the flock of Tiny Bird Pokémon snickered at their work, they did not notice the figure sparking in electricity coming down from above. It zapped them while passing by, causing them to all hurry off. It then dove and caught the boy just in the nick of time, much to shock of the girls and the creatures at the cliff. They saw it fly him back up to the edge, setting him down onto the ground gently before flipping back. Everyone looked to see that it was a god-like creature that had an electrical current running about it. Its head and torso were black with white markings on its chest, just above its eyes, and on top of its head. Extending from the top of its head was a large, orange plume with bristles along the back. There was a yellow marking covering the top bristle and half of the bristle below it. The bottom of the crest went all the way to its neck, where it divided its face in half and created a beak-like nose. It had small, blue eyes with yellow markings behind them. The lower half of its body was orange with four pointed projections: one short spine on the front and two short spines in the back, with one longer spine between them. The spines themselves resembled a bird's tail feathers. Its thin arms had round, yellow structures encircling its shoulders. On each arm is a shell that appears to be half of a bird mask, and its hands end in two large claws to create a beak for the mask. The mask itself was mostly yellow with black, orange, and white markings. There were three white triangular markings with black edges on the top of each half of the mask. The 'eyes' consisted of a white diamond connected to a slightly larger orange diamond, which was inside a larger yellow diamond. Each of the shapes was edged in black. On each half of its beak was an orange triangle with a white rim. There were wing-shaped structures on each side, toward the back.
"Huh… huh…" Calvin breathed out, realizing that could have very well been killed from the fall had it not been for the being that saved him, "Th-Thank you…" he stammered in gratitude. All it did was stare over at the gaseous creature in his hands before glancing back at him.
"Koh…" he uttered, "KOKOHHHHH!" he screeched before launching himself up into the air in an instant.
"Whoa…" Erika said as her legs were quivering. Everyone else seemed just as stunned, especially the lightning mage as he looked back at the smog-like being in his hands.
"Pew?" it uttered, gesturing towards something that had ended up on the ground beside them. The boy looked over and found a mysterious stone that appeared to have a white object with a z-like marking embedded into it. He picked it up and glanced at it as it sparkled in the moonlight.
"Li, liten LLLIII!" Litten suddenly roared angrily at the gaseous creature in his arms, causing it to whimper in fright before hopping away back to the girl who carried it earlier, "Li…" she growled angrily.
"Easy, Litten," her trainer advised, petting her on the head, "I put myself into that situation, so I'm the only one to blame," he stated firmly, making her frown a little.
"Still, you could've helped, blondie!" his sister shouted, stomping over to her, "If it weren't for that… whatever," she continued in frustration, causing her to grimace, "my brother might've been dead!" she yelled.
"I-I-I…" the sunhat wearing girl stuttered, crying as she was lost for words.
"Lillie!" a familiar voice cried out, catching their attentions as they the large group of Kukui, Ash, Mirajane, Leslie, Alain, Fluttershy, Dylan, Sawyer, Lisanna, Hau, and Hala all running up to them.
"What in the world happened?!" the ponytailed boy of the group asked, seeing that the bridge had been destroyed.
"Are you two all right?!" the elder take-over wizard questioned quickly as she went over to the twins in immediate concern.
"We're fine now," Erika answered, folding her arms over her chest, "no thanks to this chick…" she muttered, causing the blonde haired girl to ashamedly lower her head.
"Cal, are you all right?" the Unova Champion Master asked as the Regulus man her age lifted her brother back onto his feet.
"Yeah…" he responded, holding Litten closely to himself, "I came up here with Erika because we heard something in the woods," he started to explain, "After I made it, I saw that this girl's Pokémon out on the bridge getting attacked by some Spearow," he told the group.
"Then it let off a huge explosion that blew the bridge apart and almost made Cal fall down to the river," the aspiring kunoichi mentioned, "If it weren't for that flying Pokémon that came outta nowhere, I don't know what would've happened…" she confessed, shuddering a little.
"What Pokémon?" her cousin asked in confusion.
"I think I may know," his grandfather chimed in, having caught a glimpse of the stone in the lightning mage's hands, "That bridge led to the Ruins of Conflict, where the island's guardian deity dwells," he explained to everyone.
"You mean Tapu Koko?" Ash inquired, getting a nod in response from him.
"Is… that what saved me?" the capped boy asked, looking up at the starry sky in wonder.
"Perhaps," the Kahuna replied with a mere chuckle, "It may have wanted to save that little one there," he pointed out as he looked over at the gaseous creature, which appeared to have calmed down, "but I think it deems you worthy since you have that stone in your hand," he stated, causing him to blink in surprise as he looked at the object he obtained.
"Hey, isn't that…?!" Mirajane started to guess, gasping a little with her sibling.
"Hm," Hala hummed as he took the stone from the boy after he offered it to him, "It appears we have an island challenger in the making!" he declared happily, "Fret not, Calvin," he advised to the boy, "I will properly return this to you soon," he promised while nodding.
"Huh…" Leslie breathed out, relieved that no one was apparently hurt. After a bit more discussion over what had happened, the group began to venture back down to Iki Town. As they started to leave, the lightning mage looked back up at the sky, catching a glimpse of the Electric/Fairy type that had saved him soaring about.
'Tapu Koko…' he inwardly uttered, amazed by its power. He then glanced over at the girl known as Lillie, seeing her regretful frown as they trudged down the hill.
END
WOW. I did my very best to give you guys a good chapter, and it doesn't look like it disappointed. I know some people are gonna call me out for not letting Calvin OR Erika win their first battle, but keep in mind that Sawyer is a strategist that probably taught Hau what he needed to know when becoming a trainer. Calvin and Erika just became trainers out of nowhere and were put into battle for the fun of it. Don't worry, they'll get better.
That said, I really enjoyed writing this and hopefully will be able to produce more over the coming semester. Stay tuned everyone!
SUMMARY
Calvin and Erika are officially trainers! To start off their journeys, they get to stay a day with Professor Kukui to learn some Pokémon basics and even learn to catch other Pokémon! While Calvin's more than willing to learn, Erika is still acting self-righteous and bored. She wants a challenge, so she sneaks out to try and find a new Pokémon at Ten Carat Hill! Will she succeed?!
END SUMMARY