Alola! Ready for more action from the world of Pokémon? After the shock that came about with Tapu Koko from the last chapter, our twin heroes are now faced with a brand new challenge of being trainers. What will they do now?
Let's find out in another chapter of "The Challenge of a Lifetime"!
THE CHALLENGE OF A LIFETIME
About a half an hour passed after the collapse of the bridge to the Ruins of Life as everyone had gathered back at Iki Town, where the festival was coming to a close. Kukui was speaking with the Omni Force Pokémon trainers about Lillie and the gaseous creature she carried. It turns out that the being was better known as Cosmog, having peaked Calvin's interest as it had caused the huge explosion from earlier. Meanwhile, his twin sister was more angered from the incident than anything from what could have happened. She also had a spiteful demeanor towards the blonde haired girl who did not even attempt to help save her brother. If it were not for the island's guardian deity, he may have died.
"Three months?" Ash uttered, arching an eyebrow.
"Yeah," the spectacled professor responded with a nod, "She was staying with Burnet for a while, but then came to me after promising to help look after the place," he explained to them.
"What about the Pokémon she has?" Sawyer questioned as he folded his arms over his chest.
"All she's said about Nebby is that certain people were trying to use it for something bad…" the bearded man responded as he rubbed the back of his head, glancing over to see Leslie and Dylan gathered with the sunhat wearing girl as they chatted with her about the mysterious being.
"Maybe it has something to do with what Cosmog is capable of…" the Kanto Champion Master implied, putting his hand onto his chin.
"What do you mean?" Alain asked curiously.
"Destroying a bridge like that isn't that mean of a feat…" the dark greenish haired man mentioned, wondering what his friend was trying to say.
"When I took the Island Challenge five years ago, I learned about the legends of Solgaleo and Lunala and how powerful they are," he explained in reply to the others, "I also learned about how… unique they are," he added, causing the others to perk up in surprise.
"Unique?" the fire demon slayer uttered, somewhat confused.
"Dear?" a certain feminine voice chimed in, catching his attention as he turned to see his wife there, "It's getting late, and I think we should have enough rest before our flight tomorrow…" she pointed out to him, causing him to blush in embarrassment.
"You got me there…" he sheepishly admitted, hearing the chuckles emanating from his comrades, "Let's try to meet up some time to talk more about this," he advised to the group he spoke with, receiving nods in response.
"Pew! Pew!" Nebby exclaimed cheerily as he floated about amongst the two young adults and its caretaker.
"Mrrr…" Litten growled from afar, still angry with the creature for putting her trainer in harm's way, almost even resulting in his demise. He, on the other hand, seemed to be lost in deep thought as he stared up at the stars in the sky. The mere presence of Tapu Koko would have been more than enough to get him intrigued, but there was also the being he helped to save, the mysterious stone he apparently received from the island guardian itself, and the girl he had just met. He glanced over at her, seeing the rather regretful and ashamed look in her eyes from earlier.
"Hey, Cal," his twin sister chimed in, catching his attention as he saw her approach him with Popplio trudging beside her, "you doing okay?" she asked in concern, surprising him a little as he blinked.
"Uh, yeah," he responded, looking back up at the sky, "I was just thinking about Tapu Koko…" he said as he arched his head back.
"You mean the thing that saved you?" she questioned, glancing towards the stars with him, "Yeah, that was something else…" she admitted in a bored tone, letting out a yawn, "I wanna go to bed…" she grumbled.
"Ar…" the Sea Lion Pokémon agreed as her eyelids drooped a little.
"Kids! Time to go!" Mirajane suddenly called out, catching their attentions as they saw her waving to them alongside their father and their older sister.
"Huh," the aspiring kunoichi breathed out in relief, "Finally…" she uttered, trotting over to them.
"Pua!" the Water type barked happily, hopping onto her right shoulder. She glanced back at her in confusion, perplexed by her happy expression before disregarding it. Her brother continued to watch the stars, trying to see if he could spot the deity Electric/Fairy type once more.
"Mraw?" the Fire Cat Pokémon purred, causing him to look down to see her beside him.
"Heh," he chuckled, squatting down to pick her up in his arms, "Don't worry, little girl," he reassured as he stood up and petted her head gently, "Someday, we'll see Tapu Koko again," he promised, walking over to his family.
"Li…" she concurred before closing her eyes, falling asleep. As all of the groups were about to head their separate ways, Leslie took notice of Dylan trotting up to her.
"Uh… hey…" she greeted nervously, blushing a little, "So… guess we're not gonna see each for a while again…" she realized as she rubbed the back of her head.
"You could always come visit," he pointed out with a smirk, causing her to puff out her cheeks in embarrassment.
"And why would I do that?" she asked while turning away and folding her arms over her chest in a huff.
"Come on, Les," the young Regulus man pleaded, placing his right hand onto her right shoulder, "You and I both need to do training sometimes," he told her, "What better way than to do it together?" he inquired with a shrug of his shoulders. She merely chuckled, turning to face him.
"You always were a terrible flirt," she noted mockingly.
"But it worked, didn't it?" he guessed, leaning his head to hers closely.
"Maybe…" she answered flirtatiously. The two then took notice of how little space there was between their faces, followed by the male stealing a quick kiss by pecking her on the lips.
"Catch ya later, Les," he promised, jogging off to join his family, while she blushed a little out of surprise before grinning.
"Hey, balloon boobs!" Erika yelled, causing her to immediately perk up, "You coming home or what?!" she yelled, making her seethe angrily as steam emitted from her ears.
"Coming…" she muttered out, heading off with her own family.
That evening, the Ketchum family arrived back at their home and went straight to bed. The Unova Champion Master snored loudly in her divan, which was quite a mess, while her parents slept peacefully in their own room. In the meantime, Calvin was at his desk, typing on his laptop and looking at blurred images of the Melemele guardian deity as apparently no one was ever able to capture a clear enough picture of it.
"Ugh…" his twin sister groaned, catching his attention as he saw that she had fallen asleep, letting a trail of drool trickle out from her lips.
"Ar?" Popplio barked in confusion, being at her bedside as she blinked. Litten was in the room as well, resting upon her master's bed until she noticed him still awake and hard at work.
"Huh…" he yawned deeply, evidently fatigued as his eyes started to droop a little, "Tapu Koko…" he uttered, viewing a more finite image of a painting depicting the Land Spirit Pokémon.
"Mrow…" the Fire type's voice suddenly purred pleadingly, making him look over to see her jump onto his shoulder, tugging at his shirt. He blinked in surprise before understanding her intent, grinning.
"Okay, let's get to bed," he concurred, closing his device and picking his partner up in his arms. He got under the covers of his divan moments later, letting out one final yawn before shutting his eyes. However, he perked up as he saw the kitten-like creature lie down beside his head, smiling at him. He smiled back before falling completely asleep.
A Rocky Start
Flocks of Wingull soared overhead at dawn, passing by the household as the sun was slowly rising. Ash and Mirajane had already woken up and were preparing breakfast, followed by their eldest daughter coming out of her room, having messy hair as she sat down on the living room couch, watching television as she awaited her meal. Inside the twins' room, Litten was the first to awaken, seeing the snoozing form of her trainer. She stood up and inched closer to him, licking his nose to cause him to stir. His eyes slowly opened to see her there, smiling happily.
"Good morning…" he greeted quietly, slowly arising from the bed as he yawned loudly.
"Mraw!" the Fire Cat Pokémon purred happily, jumping into his arms.
"Hugga bugga…" Erika's voice suddenly muttered, catching their attentions as they saw that she was still asleep, having a dopey smile as Popplio was beside her, already awake.
"Ar…" she grumbled, annoyed with how lazy her master seemed. She then raised her head, blowing out a bubble of water from her nose.
"Whoa!" Calvin yelped in surprise, seeing her release it from her nostrils as it floated over the aspiring kunoichi. It then popped, causing water to pour down onto her in an instant as it shocked her awake.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!" she shrieked loudly as her voice rang throughout the house.
"Sounds like someone got a rude awakening…" Leslie noted bluntly while changing the channel of the television with the remote. Just then, the door to her twin siblings' room burst open, with the Sea Lion Pokémon frightfully hurrying away from the female of the two.
"YOU LITTLE BRAT!" she screamed, having soaked hair as she was trying to catch her. The Water type hopped up onto the kitchen counter desperately, panicking as she saw the short haired girl drawing nearer.
"Erika!" Mirajane shouted, causing her to perk up and cringe to see the take-over wizard looming over her rather scarily, grinning while having an ominous aura surrounding her, "Now don't go starting a fight at the crack of dawn," she advised sweetly and menacingly at the same time.
"Y-Yes, m-m-mom…" she stammered in reply as she shrunk away in fear, while her twin brother had just gotten out of the room, snickering as he saw her go sit at the dining table beside their father, looking quite shocked.
'Mom's pretty much the only one who can keep her under control…' he inwardly noted. Moments later, the whole family was enjoying a hearty helping of pancakes for breakfast, while Pikachu, Popplio, and Litten ate their bits of Pokémon food from bowls. The latter two creatures glared over at each while chowing away, narrowing their eyes.
"Pi? Pika?" the Electric type among them squeaked in confusion, seeing them both turn away from each other in a huff.
"Those two don't get along, do they?" Mirajane inquired as she sat down beside her husband.
"Hala did say they weren't exactly chummy with each other…" he pointed out while scratching his cheek.
"You should've seen the water balloon Popplio made to wake up Erika earlier," Calvin chimed in after finishing a pancake, "It was huge!" he mentioned while outstretching his arms.
"Yeah…" his twin sister muttered as her hand was on her right cheek out of frustration, taking a quick glance at her elder sibling's chest before developing a wide smirk, "Almost as big as balloon boobs there…" she added mockingly, causing her to instantly widen her eyes and blush in embarrassment.
"Erika…!" she started to yell, clenching her teeth as she saw her giggle in amusement. All of a sudden though, they both saw a small water bubble float towards them, hovering over the aspiring kunoichi's head. It then popped right above her, drenching her hair in water as she yelped.
"Mmm…" she growled afterwards, glancing over to see the Water type laughing aloud as she clapped her flippers in delight.
"Mraw…" the kitten-like creature groaned with a roll of her eyes, going back to finishing her food. A while later as the family had all gotten themselves dressed for the day, the take-over hummed a soft tune as she cleaned the dishes alongside Ash. Everyone else was in the living room watching reruns of old Pokémon battles on the television. The Fire Cat and Sea Lion Pokémon both marveled the sight of their trainers' older sister in battle, commanding a Krookodile as he was up against an Aggron. The Ground/Dark type stamped his feet upon the ground, causing it to shatter and build up before striking his foe, knocking him down in an instant.
"Pua!" the seal-like creature cheered as she got up on her hind flippers and started clapping delightedly.
"Wasn't that way long ago?" Erika asked with her right hand upon her cheek as she lied down on the plush surface of the couch.
"Yeah," Leslie answered, smiling as she glanced up at the ceiling, "It was during the summer after my freshman year at CHS," she pointed out, looking to see herself recall the Intimidation Pokémon to his Poké Ball on the screen, "I fought Shauntal, Marshal, Grimsley, Caitlin, and Iris to get the chance to become Unova's Champion Master," she explained, letting out a giggle.
"I'm sure Iris was shocked to know you were your father's daughter," her mother chimed in, catching her attention as she grinned sheepishly.
"Hmph," the aspiring kunoichi scoffed, puffing out her cheeks in frustration. Just then, they all heard someone knock at the front door, causing them to all perk up.
"I got it!" Calvin declared, jumping up from his seat with Litten and jogging up to the door. He twisted the knob and opened it, blinking in surprise to see that Lillie was there, clutching the black strap of her duffel bag tightly.
"H-Hello…" she stuttered nervously in greeting as she turned her head away. Her bag rustled around a little, catching the Fire type's attention as she growled angrily, knowing what was inside.
"Mraaaww!" she roared angrily, hissing at whatever was inside.
"Hey that's enough, little girl," her master advised, squatting down to pick her up in his arms, "Sorry about that," he apologized with a grin, "I think she's still mad about last night…" he admitted, petting her gently.
"Oh, no!" the girl before him yelped, blushing a little, "I-I mean… I'm the one who got you into that situation in the first place…" she confessed with another stammer, "So… um… I should apologize…" she finished, bowing to him as if asking for forgiveness.
"It's fine," he replied, looking down at his partner, who finally let off a smile towards her after a moment.
"Good morning, Lillie!" Mirajane greeted, taking off her rubber gloves and placing them on the countertop before approaching her, "What brings you up here today?" she asked kindly.
"W-Well…" the blonde haired girl began to stutter as she stood up straight, "I'm here on Professor Kukui's behalf to speak to Calvin and Erika…" she explained, causing both of the twins to perk up in surprise. Moments later, the three children were gathered outside, with the lightning mage of the two adjusting his cap by using his right hand, while his left held onto the Fire Cat Pokémon.
"Mrr…" she growled, noticing the pair of eyes poking out of the sunhat wearing girl's duffel bag.
"So what does this Kukui guy wanna see us for?" the aspiring kunoichi questioned, folding her arms behind her head as Popplio was beside her.
"He just told me that he wanted to see you," Lillie answered, trotting off towards the beachfront. The twins glanced at each other, suspicious of what was going to happen. As they reached the sandy beach, they saw what seemed like a wooden shack with broken red fencing, patched holes in the green tiled roof that had solar panels, and what appeared to be a generator upon the side of the building.
"This is his lab?" the lightning mage guessed while arching an eyebrow, "I always thought it'd look more… uh… labby…" he admitted, unsure of the exact word to use.
"It looks much better from the inside…" the assistant noted with a light chuckle as she turned to face the Ketchum kids, "The professor's been letting me stay here and help him with his research for the time being," she explained, starting to develop a nervous expression, "Although…" she kept going, catching the attentions of those among her, "he does tend to cause some havoc…" she confessed.
"Havoc?" Calvin uttered in confusion, tilting his head to the side. Just then, the group heard a loud crash from inside the building, causing them to all flinch in surprise.
"Aw yeah, Rockruff!" the researcher's voice shouted from within the household, "Give me everything ya got!" he called out, making the blonde haired girl cringe in fright, "My body is ready!" he added.
"Huh…" his helper sighed deeply, slouching down as more sounds of banging and crashing were heard, "The professor's research focuses on Pokémon moves," she started to explain, "and he's mostly a…. 'hands-on' learner…" she mentioned, making the two blink in surprise before glancing at each other again.
"RAH!" a voice suddenly barked loudly, enticing the Sea Lion Pokémon to hop up the steps to the door. A thud was then heard as the others reached the door, with Erika opening it to see Kukui fall onto the floor back first, followed by a certain creature jumping onto him. The short haired girl's eyes widened and sparkled upon seeing what the being was. He was a quadruped, canine that was primarily light brown with a darker brown muzzle, paws, and ear tips. He had large blue eyes, button ears, a short muzzle with a triangular pink nose, and a short tuft of fur on each cheek. Around his neck was a ruff of grayish-white fur stubbed with dark brown pebbles. The dark brown markings on his paws extended to a thin point on each wrist and ankle. He had a grayish-white tail that curled tightly over his back and was covered in fluffy fur.
"A PUPPY!" the female viewing him squealed excitedly. Her reaction brought out a look of confusion from her brother, who had never seen her this giddy. Her teammate was just as perplexed, blinking rapidly.
"Heh heh…" the bearded man chuckled with a wide smile, noticing the trio of people in his home, "Hey there cousins!" he greeted, hopping up onto his feet as the Rock type jumped off of him, "Glad you could make it!" he exclaimed, turning to face them.
"Rah, rah!" his partner barked happily.
"Ar?" Popplio uttered in confusion, tilting her head to the side. Just then, her trainer picked up the Puppy Pokémon in her arms, staring at him intently with a goofy smile on her face.
"Can I keep him~?" she sang sweetly in question, holding him close. He squirmed his way free however though, landing onto the floor and glaring at her.
"Sorry, Eri," Kukui apologized, "but Rockruff here's my partner," he pointed out, allowing him to hop up onto his shoulder.
"Aw…" the aspiring kunoichi moaned disappointedly, much to the chagrin of the Water type as she puffed out her cheeks.
'What just happened?' Calvin asked himself, glancing down at Litten as she had her head tilted.
"So cousins," the professor began to the twins, catching their attentions, "you two ready to become real Pokémon trainers?" he asked them as they blinked in surprise.
X
The spectacled man's home was actually rather nice, having a fish tank filled with several sea Pokémon, a loft that appeared to belong to his assistant, and an all-around quaint yet comforting feel from the style it had. However, everyone had gathered in the basement, which was more lab-like as the lightning mage had expected. Both he and his sister had their pictures taken by the adult, who was at his desk typing away on his computer, processing their images on what appeared to be licenses.
"What are you making, Professor?" Lillie asked as Nebby popped out from her bag, roaming around the area.
"Their Trainer Passports," he answered, appearing to have finished working on them as he clicked an icon upon the screen by using his mouse, "If they're plannin' to roam around Alola with those two…" he kept going as he glanced over to see both the Water and Fire types playing with the Puppy Pokémon, while the former group's trainers watched them from afar, "then they're gonna need some certification," he stated, hearing something buzz from afar, being his printer as it put out the pictures with the information. After a while, he had finally prepared two booklets, handing them off to the twins.
"So these are our trainer licenses or something?" the male of the two asked as his sister put hers away into her pocket.
"Right on, cuz!" Kukui responded gleefully, standing up from his seat and trotting up to them, "And I got this for ya, too," he mentioned, reaching into his lab coat to pull out a pair of small boxes, opening them both to reveal that there were five shrunken Poké Balls in each one, "Now why don't we head out for a bit?" he suggested, handing the boxes to the new trainers before heading upstairs. Once again, they glanced at each other in confusion, wondering what was bound to happen.
X
"Mraw!" Litten roared as she unleashed a small fireball from her mouth with her red spikes sticking up. It struck the ground, causing several Wingull to scatter as they flew off.
"Nice one, Litten!" her master complimented, pumping his fist.
"Li!" she purred happily upon hearing his praise. They were out on the grasslands just beyond the shores of the Melemele Sea, practicing as the Fire Cat Pokémon extended her claws out, letting them glow a bright white as she slashed through the blades of grass, causing them to fall off and blow away with the wind.
"Those look like some good moves, cousin," the professor's voice chimed in, catching their attentions as they saw him trot over, "After seeing your first fight last night, I figured you could use some help getting those moves upgraded," he explained to the boy.
"And by that you mean training, right?" he inquired, receiving a nod in reply. Just then, they heard the grass rustling, enticing them to glance over and see a figure leap out to land in front of them.
"Yung!" the creature exclaimed, being a long-bodied Pokémon similar to a mongoose. He was covered in brown fur with a yellow stripe down his back and underside. He had short, rounded ears on the sides of his head, a short snout with a pink nose, and a large mouth full of pointed teeth. There were three black claws on each of his four short legs. Despite his length, the creature was thick bodied and had a wide, flat tail with longer fur on the tip. He growled at the kitten-like creature that stood in front of him, enticing her to get into a ready stance.
"Looks like that Yungoos there got stirred up by those hot moves," Kukui concurred as he placed his hand onto his chin, "Why not show him how hot they are?" he suggested to the Ketchum boy, who nodded upon understanding.
"Litten, Scratch!" he commanded to his partner.
"Mrow!" she replied, lunging out as her claws extended, using them to slash at the Normal type. He was sent sliding back across the ground, shaking his head before charging forwards.
"Dodge it!" Calvin cried out, causing the Fire Cat Pokémon to leap up and avoid the attempted strike, causing her foe to grind to a screeching halt, "Now use Ember!" her owner shouted. Letting the spikes on her back pop out, the Fire type shot out a small fireball from her mouth, having it collide head-on with her adversary as he tumbled across the dirt because of the resulting explosion.
"Not bad…" Kukui commented, sounding impressed as he glanced over to see the wide smile on the boy's face.
'His parents told me he never got this excited over a Pokémon battle…' he noted inwardly with a grin, 'Guess it's because he's the one doin' it now,' he realized.
"Mrawr!" Litten roared as she slashed at her opponent again, causing him to stumble back and keel over a little.
"All right!" the lightning mage exclaimed in delight, pumping his fists.
"Looks like you got him on the ropes," the professor pointed out, getting his attention, "How 'bout tryin' to catch the little guy?" he recommended.
"Catch him?" he responded, arching in eyebrow in confusion, "Oh!" he yelped out of realization, reaching down to the pocket of his shorts with his right hand to pull out a shrunken Poké Ball. He pressed its center button to enlarge it, while the Fire type ran back over to him. "Here goes…!" he grunted out upon tossing the spherical container towards the Loitering Pokémon. Before he could react properly, he was hit on the head by it, causing it to open up as his body became a red and white mass of light that shot into it. The containment closed up and landed upon the ground, shaking wildly as its button blinked a bright red. Both the new trainer and his partner watched on anxiously, awaiting either the ball to stop moving or for the mongoose-like creature to escape. They then heard the sound of a click, noticing that it had stopped shaking completely as they grinned excitedly.
"Nice one, cuz !" the bearded man complimented, patting Calvin on the back as he smiled gleefully, running over to pick up the spherical container.
"My first caught Pokémon…" he uttered as the Fire Cat Pokémon jumped up onto his left shoulder, catching his attention.
"Mrow!" she purred delightedly, licking his cheek and making him chuckle.
"H-Hey!" he stuttered out, still laughing as she continued to lick him, "Litten, c-cut it out!" he pleaded while laughing on, causing the researcher to crack a grin. All of a sudden though, he noticed the boy shiver for a moment. "I-I… can't… move…" he blurted out, starting to fall backwards until the spectacled man caught him from behind.
"Li, lit en!" Litten yelped worriedly, hopping down from her master's shoulder as he started to come back to his senses, standing up straight and rubbing his head.
"What just happened…?" he questioned, evidently confused.
"Looks to me like Litten just learned how to use Lick," the professor replied, catching their attentions.
"L-Lick?" Calvin stuttered, evidently confused as the man nodded.
"It's a Ghost type move that can sometimes paralyze opponents," he explained to him, "I guess you got the first dose of it there…" he noted jokingly, causing the lightning mage to crack a slight grin.
"By the way…" he began, catching the researcher's attention, "where'd you send Erika and Lillie?" he asked him. Elsewhere on the shores of the island closer to the household, Popplio was unleashing blasts of water through her nostrils onto groups of Slowpoke gathered at the shoreline. Some of them tried to retaliate with their own attacks by shooting water out of their mouths, but the Sea Lion Pokémon easily evaded them as she flipped up.
"Pua!" she barked before firing off another gush of water, blasting the Dopey Pokémon away as they slowly scurried away afterwards. The assistant was watching the Water type happily clap her front flippers upon being victorious.
"Popplio's amazing…" she commented.
"Yeah, she sure is…" a bored sounding voice agreed, being the aspiring kunoichi as she was leaning against a palm tree with her arms folded behind her head.
"Um…" the blonde haired girl started to utter, "aren't you going to try and catch a Pokémon like the Professor suggested?" she asked her, causing her to perk up slightly as she yawned.
"Nah…" she responded to her surprise, "All the ones here are either lame or weak," she pointed out as the seal-like creature was hopping back over to the girls, "I want someone cool and cute like that Rockruff the guy has!" she exclaimed, letting her eyes sparkle excitedly.
"Ar…" her partner moaned, feeling dejected as her head drooped down.
"Well… I don't know exactly where he caught Rockruff…" the girl she was with noted, sheepishly scratching the side of her cheek as the Cosmog popped out of her bag, floating towards Popplio as it giggled happily, "but I do know there's a place where a lot of strong Pokémon are," she told her.
"Really?! Where?!" she questioned, running up to her excitedly to her surprise as she blinked.
"O-Over there…" she stuttered out, gesturing towards the mountain in the distance, "The Professor's told me that it's called Ten Carat Hill," she explained to the short haired girl as they both were looking at it, "He said that it used to be an old trial site for trainers," she added.
"Trial site?" the Ketchum girl uttered in confusion, arching an eyebrow.
"Hey!" a familiar voice called out, catching their attentions along with those of the two creatures as they saw Calvin and Kukui approaching them with both Litten and Yungoos in tow. The latter of the two beings there caught the eye of the aspiring kunoichi, who cringed as she arched an eyebrow.
"What the heck… is that?" she asked slowly as they came to a stop before her, pointing at the Normal type.
"This little guy's name is Yungoos!" her brother responded, picking up the Loitering Pokémon in his arms to show her, "Me and Litten caught him earlier," he noted as he looked down at him.
"Yung!" he greeted, adjusting his lips to form a smile. The short haired girl grimaced still however, causing the professor to arch an eyebrow.
"Ahem," he coughed, getting their attention, "So do you have a new Pokémon to show us?" he inquired to the Ketchum girl upon trotting up to her.
"Oh… uh… no," she answered with a slight stutter, "I just… don't think any of the Pokémon here are my type…" she admitted while scratching her right cheek.
"Hm…" the bearded man hummed, placing his hand onto his chin curiously, "Well, where do you think you could find a Pokémon you'd like?" he questioned.
"In that mountain there!" Erika replied as she pointed over at the land mass, "Lillie told me there's plenty of strong Pokémon I could find there," she explained, seeing him place his hands into the pockets of his lab coat, "so maybe later I could-"
"No," the researched interrupted, causing her to blink in surprise, "Ten Carat Hill's full of strong Pokémon, sure," he began to explain, glancing over at the caverns that led into it, "but they're Pokémon that are tougher than yours or even Cal's," he noted to her as she widened her eyes slightly, "Besides," he kept going, putting his right hand onto her shoulder, "you can't go in there just yet," he advised. She was shocked that he would deny her the chance to find a strong creature, staring over at the opening as she subconsciously closed her left hand into a fist.
"Ar…" Popplio barked worriedly, wondering what her trainer was planning.
X
The day went on with Calvin eagerly training alongside his teammates up to sunset, while his sister just let her partner do what she wanted, eyeing the entrance to Ten Carat Hill closely. Upon getting confirmation from their parents, the twins were invited to stay at Kukui's lab for the evening, having a hearty dinner alongside their Pokémon. However, the aspiring kunoichi barely ate a thing as she was too curious about going back outside and entering the cavern into the mountain.
"Ah…" her brother yawned after finishing his meal, "I'm stuffed…" he muttered, noticing that both Litten and Yungoos appeared to be in the same state, lying upon the floor.
"Ha, ha!" Kukui laughed, going over to the group at the table and lifting the boy up by his shoulders, "Guess we better get you tucked in on the couch over there," he suggested, pulling him over towards the living room, "Lillie, you won't mind having Erika up in the loft there, will you?" he inquired to his assistant.
"Oh, not at all!" she replied, sounding delighted by the prospect, while the Ketchum girl frowned slightly.
"Pua?" Popplio uttered in confusion, tilting her head to the side. Later that evening, Calvin was fast asleep upon the couch with the Normal type and the Fire Cat Pokémon lying upon him and also sleeping. The professor was downstairs in the laboratory itself, snoring at his desk as a trickle of drool left his lips. Upstairs on the loft, the blonde haired girl was donning a nightgown as she rested under the covers upon the couch that stood beside the bookshelf, while the aspiring kunoichi was lying in a sleeping bag on the floor next to her. She could not go to sleep however, simply due to her inability to stop thinking about going to Ten Carat Hill. Despite the warning she received, she still wanted to try and find a new Pokémon there rather than those she had already encountered in the areas around the household. She glanced over to see her partner sleeping beside Nebby, snoozing soundly. Struggling to fall asleep herself, she arose from the floor and got out of her sleeping bag, standing up and tiptoeing over to put her sneakers on.
"Er…" she grunted quietly after slipping them onto her feet, causing the Water type to wake up.
"Ar?" she barked, perplexed to see her owner appearing as if she was going to leave.
"Sh…" she shushed, putting a finger to her lips to indicate that the Sea Lion Pokémon would need to be quiet, "You wanna find a new friend?" she asked her in a whisper with a wink. Reluctant at first, she looked over at the Cosmog sleeping beside her and then her caretaker, noting that they had both fallen sound asleep.
"Ar…" she finally agreed, hopping onto her master's shoulder as she giggled cheekily. As she slowly made her way down the ladder from the loft, the gaseous creature awoke, noticing that its friend was no longer next to her.
"Pew?" it squeaked in confusion, using its arms to crawl over to the ladder and see Erika sneaking out the front door, much to its confusion. Outside, the Ketchum girl turned on a flashlight, waving it around to see her surroundings before going down the steps onto the sandy earth.
"Po, pua?" the Water type questioned, catching her attention.
"I think you know where we're going…" she responded as she pointed the flashlight towards the caverns in the distance. Gulping in fright, Popplio held onto her closely as they ventured to the mountainside. Once they entered the cave, a whole colony of Zubat flew out.
"AAARRRR!" the seal-like creature shrieked in fright, hiding behind her trainer's leg as she shivered.
"Zubats, huh?" Erika muttered, frowning a little, "Meh…" she said, walking further into the tunnel.
"Pua?" her partner barked in confusion, seeing her go onwards, "Po-Po-Pouap!" she stuttered pleadingly, hopping after her. A while passed as they came across numerous different creatures, such as Roggenrola, Carbink, and even Sableye. Unfortunately, none of them seemed to remotely interest the aspiring kunoichi as she kept searching the area.
"Man…" she groaned, glancing around the dark and barren parts of the cave, "Where are all the cool Pokémon?!" she complained while Popplio was blasting away hordes of both the Mantle and the Jewel Pokémon with blasts of water shooting out from her nostrils.
"Pa… pa…" she breathed out, evidently fatigued from having to fight off so many foes.
"Hey, what's that?" her master questioned, catching her attention as she looked over to see her standing at an opening that led into what appeared to be a hollow where the moonlight shined brightly, "Whoa…" she uttered, stepping outside as her teammate trudged after her. She had never seen the moon at such an angle where it shone right above her. Her eyes actually sparkled at the beautiful sight, suddenly causing her to remember the previous night when she had met the Water type for the first time.
"Rah, rah ruff!" a voice barked loudly, snapping her away from her thoughts as she blinked in surprise.
"Bwar?" the Water type uttered in confusion, wondering if she had heard that voice somewhere before. Her trainer immediately started to run off in the direction she caught the sound from. As she made her way further into the clearing, she grinded to a halt and gasped delightedly upon what she saw. There was a Rockruff being attacked by both a Machop and a Spinda, growling in frustration. The Fighting type of the pair against him had both of his hands glow a bright white, attempting to chop at him as he quickly hopped away. In the meantime, the Spot Panda Pokémon began stumbling forward, trying to strike the dog-like creature herself, only to end up accidentally getting in the way as she was hit in the face by the Superpower Pokémon's right hand.
"Sp-Spin… da…" she stuttered out, wobbling back before falling onto her backside, evidently dizzied. Using the opening to attack, the Rock type had his teeth glow white as he bit into his male foe's tail. Before the humanoid creature could attempt to get him off, he started to swing him around wildly, throwing him away in an instant. He smashed into a rock, making a cloud of dust build up around him as Erika beamed excitedly. As it finally cleared, it revealed that Machop had fainted as his eyes were in swirls.
"Rahoooooo!" the Puppy Pokémon howled in victory.
"Awesome!" the aspiring kunoichi exclaimed, pumping her fist, "Okay Popplio, here's the deal…" she began while pulling out a shrunken Poké Ball from the pocket of her shorts, "you hit him with a Water Gun or two, and I-" She stopped talking at the moment she realized that her partner was not beside her, much to her surprise. "Popplio?" she uttered in confusion, glancing around, "Where the heck did you go?" she asked.
"AARRRR!" the Sea Lion Pokémon's voice cried out, causing her to immediately perk up along with the Rockruff.
"Popplio!" she yelped, running back to go and find her. The Rock type saw her heading off, tilting his head out of being perplexed. Back at the entrance to the hollow, the seal-like creature was being surrounded by a group of Sableye, who snickered and grinned eerily.
"Pua…" their opponent barked in frustration. She then leapt up, reeling her head back before letting out a high-pitched scream, releasing a beam of purple hearts that struck her foes in an explosion of dust. As she landed down within the veil though, she did not notice two of the Darkness Pokémon looming behind her, readying their claws. Before she could react properly, she was slashed repeatedly by them, being knocked out of the cloud as she tumbled across the ground. As she came to a stop, she struggled to get up as bruises and scratches were apparent all over her body. Her enemies laughed as they were about to strike, but then saw a shadow come over them, glancing up to see Erika come down and land in front of her teammate.
"What do you think you're doing to my Pokémon?!" she screamed angrily, wielding a kunai that she readied threateningly, enticing the Ghost/Dark types to back up in fright.
"Pa…" the Sea Lion Pokémon uttered, thankful for her trainer's arrival. However, it did not seem to intimidate the gremlin-like creatures for long as they started to close in on them.
"Rah!" a familiar voice suddenly roared, catching everyone's attention as they saw a figure leap into the fray and land before the girl, being the Puppy Pokémon from earlier.
"Rockruff?!" the aspiring kunoichi yelped in shock, while her teammate widened her eyes. Letting the stones around his neck glow a bright white, the dog-like creature jumped up as a multicolored orb of energy shrouded his tail. The orb itself then dissolved into multiple sparkles before turning into several rocks that shot out and struck the Sableye instantaneously. Both the Ketchum girl and the Water type had their mouths gape open in astonishment as they saw their adversaries retreat into the hollow, while their foe landed back on the ground.
"Ruff, ruff!" he yipped, panting tiredly as he trotted up to the short haired girl.
"You saved us…" she uttered, still stunned.
"Rah ruff!" he replied happily while smiling at her.
"Thanks a bunch," she said in gratitude, blinking in realization as she recalled something, "Hey, you wanna have a battle?" she questioned excitedly, surprising him as he blinked, "If we win, you can come with us!" she suggested, enlarging the shrunken Poké Ball she still had. Rockruff merely glanced over to see the fatigued look on Popplio's face, practically begging not to get involved in another battle until she was fully healed.
"Rah!" he yipped with a nod, jumping up and tapping the container with his head, causing it to suddenly pop open. He turned into red light and zoomed into it, making it close as Erika blinked in shock. It shook in her hand for a moment, beeping wildly until it stopped with a click, indicating that the capture was successful.
"Well that was easy…" she muttered, sounding somewhat disappointed. From hearing her tone, the Sea Lion Pokémon growled angrily, hopping up and whapping her on the back of the head with her glowing left flipper. "OW!" she yelped in pain, grabbing at it, "What's your deal?!" she yelled to the Water type.
"Bwar, ar!" she shouted back, pointing out her injuries. She blinked in surprise before realizing what she was upset about, developing a somber look as she picked her up in her arms.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, holding her close, "I should've kept an eye on you over finding a good Pokémon…" she concluded as she smiled at her.
"Bwark!" the seal-like creature barked happily in agreement, laughing with her as the moon continued to shine overhead.
X
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Kukui's voice bellowed from inside the household. His booming tone made Erika shiver as she had gotten back to find out that everyone had learned of her disappearance. Lillie and Calvin were helping tend to the cuts and bruises upon her partner, while her newly caught Rockruff was playfully introducing himself to the other creatures in the living room.
"I'm sorry, Professor…" the aspiring kunoichi apologized, lowering her head, "I should've just taken your advice and caught a Pokémon closer to the house…" she confessed as she closed her eyes.
"Huh…" the researcher sighed deeply, rubbing the back of his head, "Well at least you didn't get hurt…" he noted, putting his hands at his hips, "But remember that if it wasn't for that new Rockruff of yers, you and Popplio could've been in serious trouble," he pointed out seriously.
"Y-Yes, sir…" the short haired girl responded in a stutter with a nod.
"Your sister must really be something to come back from Ten Carat Hill," the assistant mentioned to the Ketchum boy.
"Well, she's usually that stubborn…" he pointed out, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Whaddaya mean stubborn?" Erika questioned, puffing out her cheeks and putting her hands at her hips.
"Now, now…" Kukui chimed in pleadingly, "Let's not shy away from the fact that you two are still new to the whole trainer thing," he told them, catching their attentions, "That's why you're both gonna be goin' to school tomorrow," he added with a smirk. The last few words caused the twins to both pale in fright, slowly turning to face the professor with stunned expressions.
"SCHOOL?!" they screamed simultaneously in disbelief.
END
Well, I'm sure some of you are surprised by the choices I made for this chapter, but I hope you can understand that it's what I planned out in my head. I wanted both Calvin and Erika to have at least one Pokémon before this upcoming mini-arc, so I think the choices were okay. I'm really excited to write more about what's ahead, but first I need to get through a week of exams. Here's a summary to hold you down in the meantime!
SUMMARY
After their stay with Professor Kukui, Calvin and Erika are enrolled in a school for brand new Pokémon trainers looking to take on the Island Challenge! While they start to make new friends with Hau, one boy challenges Calvin to a battle over wanting to prove that he's not worthy of taking the challenge. Will Calvin win?!
END SUMMARY
"Going Wild" is up next, everyone!