Pokémon Sun & Moon: The Challenge of a Lifetime!

by NegaiFreak

The Ketchum twins are now 10 years old! That means they can travel the world as Pokémon trainers! And their adventure has just begun as they head off to the Alola region to make new discoveries with their family and friends! Pokémon X Fairy Tail Crossover! SHIPPINGS INCLUDED! PLEASE READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY! THANKS FOR OVER 45,000 VIEWS!

17. Royale Pains!

NegaiFreak: Alola, everyone! We're back again with another chapter of "The Challenge of a Lifetime"!

Calvin Ketchum: Today we're gonna get to see my attempt at the Brooklet Hill trial!

Erika Ketchum: And what I'm doing next!

NegaiFreak: So without further delay… let's get back into it!

POKÉMON SUN & MOON

THE CHALLENGE OF A LIFETIME

Calvin adjusted his cap as he looked into the mirror of the bathroom. He gave off a confident grin before exiting.

"Hey cuz!" Hau greeted as he was packing up his backpack with some malasada bags, "You excited to take that trial today?" he asked after standing up.

"Yeah," Calvin replied, grabbing his own backpack and putting the straps over his shoulders, "But are you sure you don't wanna go first?" he asked him, getting his attention.

"Nah, I'll wait!" he replied, "Besides, after hearing what Eri said about it last night, I think I need a bit more training…" he admitted as he sheepishly scratched at his cheek. Calvin chuckled.

'Can't blame Hau…' he inwardly noted, 'Erika did say it was really tough…' he recalled.

FLASHBACK

"And it turned out Lana was making us fight all those Wishiwashi in order to make the Totem!" Erika finished as Rotom was showing off an image of the Small Fry Pokémon in his schooled form upon its screen as they were dressed in their pajamas inside their room.

"Whoa…" Hau uttered in surprise. He was a little shaken by the story.

"So the trial is basically setting up the trial?" Calvin inquired with an arched eyebrow.

"Pretty much, I guess…" his twin sister replied with a shrug, "She just told me to go investigate all the splashing in the brooklet before we got to the end," she explained to them.

"Hmmm…" her brother hummed in thought, looking over at the trio of Poké Balls sitting at his bed. None of his three Pokémon held an advantage over Water types. Heck, Torracat was at a huge disadvantage! Especially with rain!

"So did a Pokémon make the rain start?" Hau inquired, catching Erika's attention.

"I'm… not sure…" she admitted as she glanced up.

"It'zzz quite possible," Rotom chimed in, "Rain Dance could've been used by the Wishiwashi in order to strengthen his Water type moves," it explained. Calvin was still stuck in his thoughts. The reason Erika was able to complete her trial was thanks in part to Fomantis and Brionne being able to resist the Water type moves their opponents dealt out. Not to mention, the former of the two had a type advantage, while the latter had the ability to use a Z-Move.

"I need another Pokémon," he realized, catching the others' attentions, "Whether I end up finding a Grass type or Electric type," he continued, "I'll need someone who can handle Water type moves," he concluded, clenching his right fist.

"Cal…" Hau uttered, not expecting his cousin to have to think so much about this. He was in a better position to take the trial, after all. He had Dartrix AND Pikachu on his side! So maybe he didn't have room to suggest anything…

"Well you're gonna do great, Calvin," Erika assured, putting her hand onto her brother's shoulder, "New Pokémon or not, you've got an awesome team at your back!" she pointed out with a pump of her fist.

"Erika…" he uttered out in surprise.

"Besides, you've basically got the advantage of knowing what the trial is!" Erika mentioned as she pulled her hand back, placing both of them at her hips. Calvin laughed in agreement. He really shouldn't have been overthinking things… But unbeknownst to the trio, Lana had overheard their conversation, letting off a devious grin as her eyes gave off a glint of confidence…

END FLASHBACK

"Cal, you ready to go?" Hau asked, snapping his cousin away from his thoughts.

"Oh, uh, yeah!" he stammered in reply, grabbing his backpack and heading out of the room with him. Moments later, they entered the Pokémon Center lobby to see Erika waving her arms in sync with Brionne, appearing to practice the Z-Move pose Lana had shown her yesterday. Said trial captain was observing the dance, nodding at how well Erika was performing it.

"I think you've got it down," she noted with a thumbs-up.

"Really?!" Erika exclaimed excitedly.

"Breeah!" Brionne yipped, clapping her flippers.

"Then all that's left is for you to test it out!" Lana exclaimed, "I'd recommend going back to the ranch and-" She stopped herself upon noticing Calvin and Hau enter the room. A devious smirk crossed her face.

"Hey Lana!" Hau greeted with a wave, "Cal's ready to head out!" he noted, gesturing towards his cousin.

"Oh, good," the trial captain responded, "Are you sure you won't be staying to take the trial next?" she inquired to Hau.

"Nah!" he replied, "I gotta get some more training in with my team," he admitted as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "And I know exactly where to go!" he added before racing off through the sliding doors, "See ya there, Eri!" he called out as he left.

"Ah, hey!" Erika yelped, quickly returning Brionne to her Poké Ball in a beam of red light, "Sorry to run, Lana…" she apologized in advance, heading out, "Good luck, Cal!" she yelled before leaving.

"See ya later, zzt!" Rotom cried out, floating after Erika.

"Thanks!" Calvin shouted back while waving alongside the trial captain. A glint appeared in her eye as she glanced over at the trial-goer.

"So… you think you're really ready to take on my trial, are you?" she wondered aloud in an ominous voice, causing Calvin to flinch. Her shift in tone completely caught him off guard.

"Uh… yeah?" he answered back, now sounding a little unsure. Lana grasped his wrist with her left hand tightly.

"Then let's go!" she advised with a bubbly smile, walking him out the doors in a yelp as she hummed a tune. He just blinked in shock.

'Why do I get the feeling this isn't gonna be easy…?' he wondered inwardly with a sigh of resentment.

OPENING

"High Hopes" by Panic! At the Disco

0:00 – 0:10 = Opens with Calvin and Erika getting their hats and shoes on before stepping outside a Pokémon Center to start their days on Akala Island.

0:11 – 0:34 = Continues with the twins running down a pathway, being joined by Hau, Paige, Pyrrha, and Trent as their respective starter Pokémon run alongside them. Meanwhile, Ash and Mirajane are out on the front porch of their vacation home with Pikachu, hoping for the best of their kids.

0:35 – 0:45 = Shows Calvin with Torracat, Yungoos, and Trumbeak resting beneath a shady tree, with the Fire Cat Pokémon sleeping contently on her trainer's lap.

0:46 – 0:57 = Cuts to Erika training with Brionne and Rockruff, while Fomantis is asleep on the sunny grass. It's only when Oricorio decides to stand beside her that she wakes up, mad that the Dancing Pokémon is blocking out the sunlight.

0:58 – 1:10 = We see Calvin and Erika entering the Battle Royal Dome, awing the spectacle before they're introduced to the Masked Royal, who Calvin fawns over while Erika instantly recognizes him as Kukui in disguise, giving off a blank look.

1:11 – 1:33 = Calvin commands Torracat as she jumps into the ring, attacking Gladion's Null with Fire Fang. Erika's Brionne uses Aqua Jet to knock back Paige's Combusken into the ropes, followed by blasting her with Bubble Beam. Hau's Pikachu and Trent's Frogadier race each other with Quick Attack before they use Electro Ball and Water Pulse respectively, colliding their attacks with each other in a fierce explosion.

1:35 – 1:44 = Continues with Calvin and Erika going along and visiting the landmarks of Akala, seeing the Paniola Ranch, Brooklet Hill, Wela Volcano Park, the Lush Jungle, Konikoni City, the Ruins of Life, and the Hano Grand Resort. But as they journey on, Calvin notices that his sister is getting further ahead of him.

1:45 – 1:55 = Erika is then approached by Plumeria, whose Salandit climbs up her shoulder before they both smirk at her deviously.

1:56 – 2:18 = We then cut to scenes of Lana fishing at Brooklet Hill with her Araquanid, Kiawe overseeing his trial site atop Wela Volcano with his Alolan Marowak, and Mallow picking out ingredients alongside her Steenee. The scene changes to show Olivia and her Midnight Lycanroc turning around and grinning at the Ketchum twins, being a wall for them to overcome.

2:19 – 2:42 = Erika sends out her Brionne in rainy weather to face a Wishiwashi in his schooling form, while Calvin has Trumbeak use Pluck on a Lurantis.

2:43 – 3:12 – The opening closes off with the Ketchum twins standing with their respective teams, smiling at each other, though Torracat and Brionne scoff and look away. We then get a glimpse of Lillie and Nebby at the Ruins of Life, a scene of Tapu Lele floating about excitedly, and finally a scene featuring the Aether Foundation with Faba, Wicke, and Lusamine.

Royale Pains!

"I… HATE… RUNNING…!" an exhausted Erika yelled out before falling over onto her face along the dirt pathway. Hau had already gotten well ahead of her as they were heading down to Route 6. She didn't think he'd bother to check back and see if she was still behind him.

"Maybe we zzzhould stop at the Pokémon Center for some water…" Rotom suggested as it floated over to Erika, who pushed herself up as she got back onto her feet.

"No, let's just walk…" she said, wiping the sweat away from her forehead, "Besides, I still wanna practice more with those Z-Move poses," she pointed out, "I might have the Water one almost down, but I still need to work on the Flying one," she noted. She then tried performing the pose, waving her arms around and making sure her left was over her right whenever they crossed, followed by squatting down, flapping her arms like a bird's wings, and then raising her right fist up into the air. "Is that it?" she guessed to Rotom.

"…Wrong arm, zzt…" it buzzed bluntly in response, causing her to slouch in frustration as she groaned.

"Can you move already?!" a voice screamed in frustration from afar, causing the two to perk up in surprise.

'That voice…' Erika uttered inwardly, having recognized it. Moments later, she and Rotom arrived at the pathway leading to Route 6. She smiled upon seeing who was in her path.

"Hey, Mimo!" she cried out, catching the little girl's attention along with the little boy she was beside.

"Oh, Erika!" she yelped excitedly as she waved to her. The boy looked over as well. He wore a white t-shirt and blue shorts with sandals, having scruffy grayish-black hair with brown skin. A Poké Ball hung down at his chest from a string around his neck.

"What'zzz going on here?" Rotom asked.

"Yeah, we heard you yelling…" Erika pointed out to Mimo, who sheepishly blushed as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Sorry 'bout that…" she apologized, "Josh here wanted my big brother to help deal with these two…" she explained, gesturing towards what was ahead of them on the pathway. Erika blinked in confusion. It was a pair of Sudowoodo, both of whom were standing extremely still, obviously trying to pose as trees.

"Huh?" Erika uttered out. Meanwhile, Rotom loaded an image of the Imitation Pokémon on its screen.

"Sudowoodo, the Imitation Pokémon," it began, "Apparently, the larger the green parts of this Pokémon, the more collectors value them. They're a particular favorite among elderly people. The result of them holding the same pose all the time is arms that have become supple yet strong," it explained thoroughly.

"So they're just posing to get stronger?" Erika inquired with a raised eyebrow, "I don't see what the problem is…" she admitted as she scratched at her cheek.

"They're blocking the road!" Josh yelled, making her flinch in surprise.

"It might not look like much of a problem," Mimo chimed in, catching their attentions, "but there are gonna be a lot of cars coming through wanting to head to the Battle Royal Dome!" she pointed out worriedly.

'Battle Royal Dome?' Erika repeated through her thoughts.

"Normally, my big bro or Miss Lana deal with the Sudowoodo that pop up here now and again," Mimo explained, "but of course they're dealing with trials today…" she muttered out.

"When Miss Lana deals with 'em, she usually just uses that Z-Power of hers…" Josh recalled. Erika blinked.

"Z-Power, huh?" she uttered out… letting off a devious smirk, "I've got an idea," she said, causing the two kids to blink in surprise. A blue and white light spilled out onto the ground moments later, forming before dissipating to reveal Brionne.

"Breeeahh!" she cried out happily. The Sudowoodo pair flinched. Erika then made sure her Waterium Z was set onto her Z-Ring before walking up to the posing duo.

"You guys recognize this?" she guessed, seeing the two Imitation Pokémon sweating madly as their lips quivered, "I haven't gotten the chance to actually use it yet…" she admitted as Brionne hopped out in front of her, grinning as well.

"Suh… s-s-suuu…" one of the Sudowoodo stammered out nervously.

"Think you're strong enough to take it?" Erika wondered aloud as she chuckled, about to cross her arms.

"SSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!" the two Sudowoodo screamed, racing off into the distance. Erika blinked.

"Huh," she uttered out, "And I was hoping to try that Z-Move out, too…" she grumbled, putting her hands at her hips.

"But the Sudowoodo are gone, zzt!" Rotom buzzed excitedly.

"Wow…" Josh uttered out in astonishment.

"I didn't know you cleared Lana's trial already, Erika!" Mimo noted as she approached the trial-goer, "You and your team must really be something!" she realized. Erika blushed at the compliments. Josh just stared over at her in wonder.

'That lady…' he uttered inwardly as he clenched his right fist, 'Maybe she could…' he started to realize as a small smile started to form on his face.

X

Calvin felt his wrist swell from how firm Lana's grasp was. She had basically dragged him down to the brooklet without giving him so much as a chance to ask a few questions. There was a devious nature behind the smile she was wearing. Calvin could only gulp.

'Did… she change the trial?' he wondered. Now that he thought about it, that would seem logical. If trial-goers were coming one by one in groups like him, then Lana would have to make sure that her trial was consistently altered to catch each challenger by surprise. It was the exact same when he had to take the trial at Verdant Cavern at night, while his twin sister technically took hers during the day. 'How would she make it different though?' he asked himself, putting his free left hand onto his chin. It didn't seem like there was much you could do in the brooklet that acted as a trial… All he knew was that there'd be a totem Pokémon to face at the end. 'Is there a different totem this time?' he questioned through his thoughts.

"Here we are!" Lana's voice exclaimed, snapping Calvin away from his many questions as he saw that they had arrived at the first water body of the brooklet. She also finally let go of his wrist, allowing him to rub it. The redness proved that the trial captain had quite the firm hold on him.

"So… my trial's gonna be to get the Wishiwashi down to the end of the brooklet, right?" he inquired to her.

"Mmhmm!" she answered with a simple nod, "But before that, I'd like you to do something for me," she requested. Calvin blinked. Was this going to be the same ruse she used to get Erika to chase down the Wishiwashi in the first place? To his surprise, Lana handed him a fishing rod and a Poké Ball. He noticed that the latter of the two objects was different than the regular ones he'd been using. Its top half was turquoise instead of red, lined with black lines that were like a net. Calvin blinked again upon recognizing it.

"This is a Net Ball, right?" he inquired, receiving a nod in reply from the trial captain, "My older sister uses one for her Walrein…" he recalled, "So… what do you want me to do?" he asked, confused about what Lana was planning.

"I want you to catch yourself a new Pokémon before we start your trial," she answered. Calvin blinked again.

"Huh?" he uttered out.

"I'm letting you catch yourself a new Pokémon to have yourself another ally for the trial ahead," Lana emphasized, "However," she continued, making Calvin perk up, "you can only catch the Pokémon you find with that Net Ball there," she instructed as she pointed at the special Poké Ball.

'So it is a test…' Calvin inwardly realized, staring back at the Net Ball. He then went over to the shore, readying the fishing rod he'd been given. 'I've practiced fishing with dad plenty of times… so this should be easy!' he claimed to himself, reeling his arms back before swinging them forward, sending the line into the water as the Magikarp-shaped lure sank down. At the bottom of the water body was a group of particular Pokémon trudging about. They resembled spiders with water bubbles over their heads. That and most of their abdomens were dark gray, while their thoraxes and six legs were light green. All of their legs were thin with a knobby joint in the middle, and three of their legs were seemingly used to anchor the bubbles on their heads. The green on their thoraxes extended onto their abdomens in three triangular markings. There were also several triangular flaps that extended upward and attach to the bubbles over their heads. The heads themselves had large light blue eyes with darker pupils and sclera, two blue bumps on top, and light green mouths similar to a spinneret. There was an actual spinneret on the tip of their abdomens. As they trekked along the bottom of the lake, one took notice of the Magikarp lure.

"Doo?" he uttered in confusion, blinking as he crawled away from his group and got closer to the lure, "Py derr…" he said, poking at it curiously.

"Doo, doo pyy!" one of the other spider-like Pokémon yelled, causing him to shiver, "Py der, pyy!" he shouted, pointing towards the rest of the group as they were crawling off down deeper into the brooklet.

"P-Py derr!" he promised with a stutter. He was still inspecting the lure curiously, poking and prodding at it. All of a sudden, he ended up tripping on the wet sand beneath his legs, becoming entangled in the line. "D-D-DOOO!" he screeched, trying to catch the attentions of his friends… only to see that they had already departed, "Dooohh…" he whimpered as his eyes started watering. Up on the water's surface, the rippling caught Calvin's attention.

"Hey, I got something!" he exclaimed, causing Lana to perk up. He quickly reeled in the line, followed by swinging the rod back as hard as he could. The line came up with a splash.

"Ah…!" Lana gasped lightly, seeing the spider-like Pokémon entangled in the line, "A Dewpider!" she cried out.

"Dewpider?" Calvin repeated in confusion. He'd never seen one before…

"Dooh!" the Water Bubble Pokémon yelped as he landed upon the shore, managing to stand up despite still being entangled.

"Quick, catch him!" Lana yelled to Calvin, causing him to perk up.

"R-Right!" he stuttered, readying the Net Ball he had as he set down the fishing rod. He side-armed the spherical container, having it hit the Dewpider at his abdomen.

"Dooooh-!" His screech was cut short as his body suddenly turned into red light and zoomed into the Net Ball as it popped open, closing the second that all the light was gathered. It hit the ground, with its button blinking a bright red as it shook. Calvin gulped, hoping that the Net Ball was enough despite not weakening Dewpider beforehand. The container then stopped shaking with the sound of a click.

"You got him!" Lana exclaimed with a pump of her fist.

"Phew…" Calvin exhaled in relief, going over and picking up the Net Ball with his right hand.

'Feels like forever since I caught another Pokémon…' he noted to himself.

"Come on out, Dewpider!" he called out, tossing the Net Ball up into the air. It popped open, with the blue and white light from it spilling onto the ground, coming into form and dissipating to reveal the Water Bubble Pokémon there.

"D-Doo?" he stuttered out, looking over to see Calvin there.

"Nice to meet ya, Dewpider!" he greeted. The Water Bubble Pokémon blinked, noticing the Net Ball in the trial-goer's hand. He paled in realization.

"DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he shrieked, falling onto his abdomen as he started to cry.

"Wh-What…?" Calvin stammered, immediately confused.

"Oh dear…" Lana uttered in realization, placing her hand onto her cheek, "It seems like this little one's a part of a nest," she noted.

"A nest?" Calvin repeated as he looked back at her.

"Mm-hmm," she responded with a nod, "Normally, Dewpiders live at the bottom of clean lakes or reservoirs like here in the brooklet," she explained, "This one must've been moving along with his nest before getting caught up in your line," she noted as Calvin looked back at the sad Water Bubble Pokémon. Knowing that he was part of a family essentially and ended up being taken away made the capture… feel less than special. It was like he stole him…

'I wonder if Yungoos or Trumbeak had families, too…' he said inwardly, grimacing a little. The thought about the families of the Pokémon he had captured made his stomach twist. But at the same time, he knew Yungoos and Trumbeak loved being alongside him. Maybe Dewpider could, too… He reached his hand out to the Water/Bug type.

"Dooo…?" he whimpered out in confusion as Calvin gently placed his hand atop the bubble over his head.

"Don't worry," he assured, "I'll take you back to your nest after I've finished my trial," he promised with a grin.

"D-D-Dooohh…" Dewpider stammered out as his eyes continued to water, "DOOOH PYYYY!" he screeched, hugging Calvin's right leg as he yelped a little in surprise. He then chuckled.

"It's okay, it's okay…" he repeated reassuringly as Lana looked on in surprise, "Hey, it's fine if he goes home after the trial, right?" he asked of her, catching her attention. She grinned.

"I guess so," she responded with a mere shrug.

'This boy is so kindhearted…' she noted inwardly, 'I bet that Dewpider'll have a hard time trying to leave him after today…' she mentioned through her thoughts.

X

"So it's called the Battle Royal Dome?" Erika questioned, walking alongside Josh on the dirt path.

"Yeah!" he replied, "I've always wanted to get the chance to take part in a Battle Royal one day…" he confessed as he held the Poké Ball upon his necklace, "Since I'm too young, I can't yet…" he admitted with a sheepish grin.

"Do you have a Pokémon though?" Erika asked.

"Yeah, my Drifloon!" Josh answered, "He gets super excited whenever we go out to the dome to see the matches!" he pointed out happily, "And he usually goes on ahead of me to get there…" he mentioned in embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his head.

"A Drifloon, huh?" Erika said, "Hey, Rotodex-"

"Leave it to me, zzt!" Rotom buzzed, interjecting its owner as an image of the Balloon Pokémon came up on its screen, "Drifloon, the Balloon Pokémon," it began, "If for some reason his body bursts, his soul spills out with a screaming sound. Wandering souls gathered together to form this Pokémon. When trying to make friends with children, Drifloon grabs them by the hand," it explained thoroughly.

"Huh…" Josh sighed, "I should've just let Drifloon fly me over there…" he realized as he slouched his shoulders.

"But isn't it rumored that Drifloon drag kids to the after-!" Erika quickly smacked Rotom from behind, interjecting its comment. "Hey! What wazzz that for, zzt?!" it asked angrily.

"Don't worry, Josh," Erika assured, ignoring her Pokédex, "I'm sure your Drifloon's probably waiting at the dome for you," she pointed out.

"Heh, yeah!" Josh laughed in agreement, letting off a wide grin. Moments later, the both he and Erika arrived at a fork in the road. To their left, the dirt path ended at the paved roadway ahead, where they noticed a group of people appearing to be in somewhat of a standoff.

"What'zzz going on?" Rotom wondered aloud as it blinked. Josh blinked… and then gasped.

"Ah, hey!" he yelled, racing over.

"Josh, wait up!" Erika called out, hurrying after him. There at the fork were E and F, with the former holding a Drifloon by his stringy arms as he appeared to be in pain. Standing off with them was a young girl with grey eyes, black hair and grey gloves. She wore a khaki outfit, with purple kneecaps, black boots and a purple bonnet. Also, she had a purple scarf around her neck and carried a purple bag around her waist.

Next to her was a large, equine Pokémon with short, brown fur and a black-and-red mane and tail. He had heavy-lidded, black eyes with a red rim along the bottom, a red blaze on his muzzle, and long, pointed black ears with brown insides. His mane extended down around his eyes. Along the top of his neck, his mane was black with red at the tip and stood up straight. On either side of his neck, the mane formed three thick structures similar to dreadlocks with red mud around the tips. The mane extended all the way down his back in a thin line before becoming his tail. The tail appeared similar to his dreadlocks, but was much larger and had several black notches missing from the mud around the tip. Around his hooves was a protective coating of red mud, which had three notches around the bottom. Upon his back was a blue saddle with two handles for a rider to grip.

"Yo, little girls should just butt outta adult business!" E remarked, tightening her hold on Drifloon's arms.

"Foo-ffoooo…" he stuttered out in pain. The so-called little girl narrowed her eyes onto the Team Skull grunts.

"Even when that Pokémon there is in pain?" she inquired rhetorically.

"We're trainin' him up for the Battle Royal later!" F claimed, grabbing Drifloon by the cloud-like mass atop his head, "Ain't that right, buddy?" he asked the Balloon Pokémon, who could only shudder.

"Hey!" Josh's voice yelled, catching their attentions as they looked to see him run over, "Give my Drifloon back, you Team Skull jerks!" he demanded angrily.

"Huh?" F uttered out, seeing the angered look on Josh's face, "Get lost, kid," he advised with a wave of his hand, "This here's our Drifloon, got it?" he mentioned. Josh growled angrily.

"If ya don't get lost soon…" E began, pulling out a Poké Ball from her belt, "you're gonna be in for a whoopin'…" she threatened.

"Not while I'm here!" Erika shouted, catching their attentions as she approached, "You Skull jerks aren't gonna do this!" she proclaimed while taking out her own Poké Ball.

"Hey, that brat…" E started to realize, recognizing the girl, "She was there when that other kid beat Gladion!" she exclaimed in surprise, widening her eyes.

"So she's another trial-goer, huh?" F guessed, taking out a Poké Ball and enlarging it by pressing its center button, "Hah!" he laughed, "Taking one of these brats down'll prove we're ready for the Battle Royal!" he claimed proudly, "Hey, get that balloon out there to fight!" he commanded to E.

"Yeah, yeah… whatever…" she muttered in reply. Drifloon didn't take too kindly to the remarks, starting to puff up out of anger. E noticed, widening her eyes in shock. "Uh, F?" she uttered out, catching his attention. He gasped to see what the Balloon Pokémon was doing.

"FFOOOOOOOOONNNN!" he exhaled, unleashing a strong gust of wind onto the two Team Skull members, knocking them both down while also freeing himself from the woman's grip. However, he ended up floating high into the air.

"Ah, Drifloon!" Josh gasped. Erika quickly reacted, jumping up and catching the Balloon Pokémon in her arms.

"What the…?!" F exclaimed in disbelief. Everyone was shocked by how high Erika had jumped, including the farmer girl as she saw her land back down.

"You okay, Drifloon?" she asked of the Balloon Pokémon, who seemed a bit dizzied.

"Fooo!" he squeaked happily, much to the trial-goer's relief.

"That girl…" the bonneted girl uttered, narrowing her eyes curiously onto Erika.

"Just because you can jump around like an Aipom doesn't mean we're scared of you!" F proclaimed as he reeled his arm back.

"Yeah, let's get her!" E agreed, ready to throw her Poké Ball.

"Mudsdale," the bonneted girl said.

"MUHHHHHH!" the horse-like Pokémon neighed.

"Whoa, what Pokémon is that?" Erika wondered aloud.

"Mudsdale, the Draft Horse Pokémon, and the evolved form of Mudbray," Rotom chimed in, catching her attention as she looked over to see an image of the creature upon its screen, "His heavy, mud-covered kicks are his best means of attack, and he can reduce large trucks to scrap without breaking a sweat. He can trudge mountain roads without rest for three days and three nights, all while dragging a ten-ton load," it explained thoroughly. The Mudsdale stepped in front of his trainer, letting off a huff of steam from his nostrils.

"I am Hapu," the girl behind him said, putting her hands at her hips, "We won't let you thieves have your way," she declared firmly.

"Yeah, right!" F retorted, "Salandit, go!" he called out, throwing his Poké Ball.

"Fomantis, get 'em!" E yelled as she threw her container. Both popped open, having lights spill out onto the ground. They came into form, with one dissipating to reveal a Fomantis. The other dissipated as well, revealing a small, black Pokémon that resembled a salamander. His body was dark gray with a black head and feet. Along his back and down his tail was an orange-red line. The marking split into four short lines with round tips at the base of his tail. At the base of his neck were two short, flat spines, which created the impression of a mask or bandanna tied around his head. His eyes were light purple with slit pupils and there were several tooth-like protrusions along His upper jaw. Each foot had four pointed toes.

"Salllaaaahhh…" he hissed, licking his lips.

"Ehh…" Erika uttered out, grimacing a little. Rotom loaded an image of the Toxic Lizard Pokémon upon its screen.

"Salandit, the Toxic Lizard Pokémon," it began, "Volcanoes or dry, craggy places are his home. He emanates a sweet-smelling poisonous gas that attracts bug Pokémon, then attacks them. He weakens opponents and sends them reeling with his poisonous gas. Salandit doesn't deal well with Spinda, since they're always reeling," it explained thoroughly.

"Heh, heh…" F chuckled, "My Salandit's poison'll knock your Mudsdale out cold!" he proclaimed.

"Are big city folk always this uptight?" Hapu mockingly wondered aloud with a tilt of her head.

"HUHHHH?!" F exclaimed angrily as several tick marks appeared around his head while clenching his fists.

"Miss, let me help out!" Erika yelled, reeling her arm back, "Go Fomantis!" she cried out, throwing her Poké Ball.

"She's got a Fomantis, too?!" E yelped in shock. The Poké Ball popped open, with its light forming upon the ground, dissipating to reveal the Sickle Grass Pokémon… standing up asleep. "…Huh?" the female Team Skull grunt uttered in confusion.

"Fohh?" her Fomantis squeaked, blinking in confusion.

"AH, NOT AGAIN!" Erika screamed out of frustration, grabbing at her head as she gnashed her teeth.

"Fomantis really likes zzzleeping in the zzzunlight after all…" Rotom noted blankly.

"Well, that makes things twice as easy!" E concurred with an excited chuckle, "Fomantis, get 'er with Fury Cutter!" she commanded.

"Mahn tee!" her Sickle Grass Pokémon responded, making his blade-like arms glow a yellowish-green before lunging out towards his sleeping foe.

"Fomantis, look out!" Erika screamed.

"You gotta move, zzt!" Rotom cried out. Unfortunately, the Sickle Grass Pokémon was still fast asleep, not hearing her trainer's warning.

"Fooo…" Drifloon uttered worriedly before developing a serious expression, "Fooonn!" he squeaked, floating out of Erika's arms.

"Hey, Drifloon!" she yelped in surprise. Taking a deep breath, the Balloon Pokémon exhaled a huge gust of wind from his mouth that blew away the oncoming Fomantis before he could strike, causing him to tumble across the ground.

"Nice one!" Josh complimented from afar.

"That wazzz Drifloon's Gust, zzt!" Rotom buzzed in exclamation.

"Wow…" Erika uttered out, sounding impressed. Just then, a shadow came over her Fomantis.

"Foh…?" she uttered out tiredly, looking up. Drifloon was floating overhead, casting a shadow onto her. "FOH!" Fomantis yelled, catching his attention, "Man, mahn tee mah!" she shouted, swiping at him with her blade-like arms. She was unable to reach him though.

"Fufufufuu!" he giggled in amusement.

"Mahh…" Fomantis growled angrily.

"At least she'zzz awake now…" Rotom noted, while Erika let out a sigh of relief.

"Ugh!" E groaned loudly in frustration, "Get both of them with Fury Cutter!" she demanded to her Fomantis, who lunged out instantly at his foes with both of his arms glowing yellowish-green.

"Use your Fury Cutter, Fomantis!" Erika quickly ordered. Her Sickle Grass Pokémon made only her right arm glow the same color as her brethren's, swinging it back as he approached. She then made a rapid slice as he was passing by. He fell over behind her in a heap, having swirls in his eyes.

"Mahhh…" he moaned in agony.

"Wha-?! No way!" E exclaimed, stunned to see her partner go down so easily.

"Don't worry, E!" F assured, "I'll help you take down that brat after we beat this hick chick…" he proclaimed, clenching his fists, "Salandit, Dragon Rage!" he commanded. Reeling his head back, the Toxic Lizard Pokémon fired off a powerful blast of blue and black energy in the shape of a dragon's head towards Mudsdale and Hapu.

"Hey, watch out!" Erika yelled. The dragon-like energy struck the Draft Horse Pokémon in a massive explosion of dust.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" F cackled, "How's that?!" he shouted, "Now it's your turn, girlie!" he threatened to Erika, who gritted her teeth angrily.

"Brrrff…" a familiar voice huffed from within the cloud of dust, catching their attentions as they widened their eyes. As the dust settled, it revealed that Mudsdale was still standing, seemingly unscathed. A reddish aura flowed up his body as well before dissipating.

"H-How?!" F exclaimed in disbelief.

"You really think my Mudsdale is weak enough to fall to just one attack?" Hapu inquired rhetorically, causing F to grimace a little, "Well…" she continued, letting off a grin, "let's see if your Salandit is strong enough to handle our attack!" she challenged as she clenched her right fist, "Mudsdale, High Horsepower!" she commanded.

"MUHHHHHHH!" the Draft Horse Pokémon neighed loudly, cloaking himself in an orange aura as he stood on his hind legs, looming over Salandit.

"S-S-Sal?" he stuttered out worriedly, sweating bullets. Mudsdale then slammed his front feet down, charging forwards. Salandit immediately flinched, turning away in fright. The Draft Horse Pokémon screeched to a halt, pivoting around and slamming his hind legs into his target, sending him flying into F's face.

"Ugh…" he groaned as he fell over onto his back. He was as dizzied as his Pokémon.

"F!" E cried out as she picked up her Fomantis. Just then, Drifloon floated over, puffing himself up angrily. The Team Skull grunt started sweating madly in fright. "All right, we give!" she yelled, "Just take your dumb balloon and get outta here!" she shouted, running over to grab F by the back of his tank top before dragging him and his Salandit off quickly.

"Huh…" Hapu sighed deeply, "Big city folk aren't too bright, are they?" she wondered.

"Muhh…" Mudsdale agreed with a nod.

"That was amazing!" Erika exclaimed, catching her attention, "Your Mudsdale took that Salandit down in less than a second!" she noted with an excited look in her eyes. Hapu blinked… and then grinned.

"You weren't too bad yourself, ya know," she complimented, followed by noticing something in the background, "At least when your Pokémon wasn't asleep…" she mentioned sheepishly.

"Huh?" Erika uttered in confusion, turning around and seeing that Fomantis had fallen back asleep, now lying on the ground upon her stomach, "Oh, come on!" she shouted, totally frustrated with the antics of the Sickle Grass Pokémon. Drifloon floated over and started casting a shadow onto her. She opened her eyes, seeing the teasing look on the Balloon Pokémon's face.

"Maahhnnn…" she growled angrily, having several tick marks appear along her head.

"Fufufufufuu!" Drifloon giggled. Fomantis then lunged up to try and swipe at him, but he floated off to the side to evade her. As she continued attacking, the others looked on.

"So Fomantis getzzz cranky when the sunlight'zzz blocked out…" Rotom realized.

"Huh…" Erika sighed deeply, taking out her Poké Ball, "Take a rest, Fomantis," she advised, returning the Sickle Grass Pokémon to the container in a beam of red light just before she could catch Drifloon.

"Hmm…" Hapu hummed curiously. Erika had certainly caught her interest. She noticed the island challenge amulet on her bag, letting off a grin.

"What's your name, girl?" she asked, catching the trial-goer's attention.

"Oh, I'm Erika!" she introduced sheepishly, "Sorry about all that fuss…" she apologized, rubbing the back of her head, "You said you're Hapu, right?" she inquired, receiving a nod in response.

"I think you oughta' try your hand at a Battle Royal or two," the bonneted girl advised to her, "Even Mudsdale here thinks you'd be suited to it," she mentioned, turning to her partner.

"Muhhh!" he neighed in agreement. Erika beamed as a big smile graced her face. To get the kind of praise from a complete stranger… made her elated.

"I'll definitely give it a shot!" she declared with a confident pump of her fist. Josh looked on at her in wonder. Despite only meeting her today, he saw that she was a capable trainer in her own right and could easily handle herself. He grinned.

'Okay, it's settled!' he inwardly decided.

"Well, do take care on your journey, Erika," Hapu advised as she mounted her Mudsdale's blue saddle, gripping onto the handles.

"You too!" the trial-goer replied with a quick wave, "Thanks for your help!" she cried out as the Draft Horse Pokémon started to carry his trainer off.

"Anytime!" Hapu responded as she waved back, heading off towards the ranch in the distance.

'I wonder if we could beat her in a battle…' Erika inwardly said, smiling still.

"So what Pokémon are you gonna use, zzt?" Rotom asked, catching her attention.

"Well, if it's like how dad and balloon boobs did it back at the festival…" she started to answer, "I guess I'll have Oricorio-"

"Excuse me, Miss Erika?" Josh chimed in, interrupting her as she looked over at him and Drifloon approaching, "I have a favor to ask…" he said.

"Huh?" Erika uttered in surprise, arching an eyebrow.

"Would you please use my Drifloon in the Battle Royal?!" he pleaded, bowing to her with his hands clapped together. Erika blinked.

"HUHHHHHH?!" she exclaimed in shock.

X

"Torracat, Double Kick!" Calvin ordered.

"Torraaaahhh!" the Fire Cat Pokémon roared, whipping around and kicking at a Wishiwashi with her hind legs.

"Sheee…!" the Small Fry Pokémon squeaked before falling into the water with a splash. A couple more started swimming downstream, having been scared off as Torracat landed upon a slab of rock over the water.

"Nice job, Torracat!" Calvin complimented, now dressed in his swim trunks and life vest, along with his Hawlucha-like helmet. Upon starting his Brooklet Hill trial, he decided to have Torracat battle the Wishiwashi in the water to not only get her some training, but save energy for his other Pokémon. Knowing how tough the Totem Pokémon was for his sister, Calvin decided to play it safe for now with his plan.

'Gotta make sure Dewpider gets back to his friends, too…' he remembered, looking over at the Water Bubble Pokémon.

"Doo, doooh!" he cheered as Torracat jumped back onto the shore.

"Torrraaahhh…" she purred happily, glad to be praised.

"I'm impressed, Calvin!" Lana exclaimed, catching his attention as he saw her approach, "You've already managed to make most of the Wishiwashi head downstream," she pointed out, "All that's left is for you to face the totem, I suppose…" she noted curiously.

"Whoa, already?!" Calvin yelped in surprise.

"Rraaahh!" Torracat roared excitedly.

"Mm-hmm," Lana responded with a nod, "We'll be heading to the end of the lake now, if you don't mind," she instructed.

"R-Right!" Calvin stuttered, quickly taking out his Ride Pager and unhooking the silver Poké Ball. Moments later, they arrived at the last body of water leading to the ocean. The trial-goer curiously looked up at the sky, seeing how clear it still was.

'Didn't Erika say it was raining the last time?' he wondered inwardly, arching an eyebrow.

"Ah…" Lana exhaled contently, catching his attention, "I always love coming out here, trial or no trial…" she admitted as the sea breeze raced by, waving through her hair, "It reminds of the first time I went fishing," she said, looking back at Calvin. He blinked.

"You really love the water, don't you?" he guessed, eliciting a nod from the trial captain.

"Ever since I was little, I always wanted to travel the ocean to discover the rarest of Water type Pokémon," she explained, "Kyogre, Manaphy…" she listed off, "I know there are many more like them I'd want to meet!" she noted excitedly. Calvin smiled. It was nice to know that someone like Lana had other ambitions aside from being a trial captain. He wondered if Ilima had his own ambitions, too… A raindrop fell down.

"Mrah?" Torracat uttered out, catching his attention. Another raindrop came down and hit her head gently. Gradually, more raindrops began falling from the now cloudy sky. "Mrrraaahhhh…" the Fire Cat Pokémon complained, hurrying over to place herself underneath her trainer's body, hoping he would shield her from the brunt of the falling rain. He was quite surprised himself. One second ago, the sky was completely clear.

"Oh, so I guess it's ready now…" Lana noted with a grin, "Are you ready, Calvin?" she asked the trial-goer. He froze in realization.

'SHE WAS… STALLING FOR THE TOTEM?!' he exclaimed inwardly as his jaw went slack. Lana blinked.

"Is something wrong?" she asked curiously. Calvin quickly shook his head to regain himself.

"N-No, I'm fine…" he sheepishly claimed with a wave of his hands.

'So that's why Trent thinks she's such a trickster…' he realized through his thoughts, taking out a Poké Ball from his pocket and aiming it at Torracat.

"Take a nice long rest, little girl," he advised, returning her to the Poké Ball in a beam of red light, relieving her of the rainfall. As he put that container away, he then unclipped the silver one from the Ride Pager.

"Dooh, doo py?" Dewpider squeaked as he trotted up to Calvin, getting his attention.

"You stay here with Lana, Dewpider," he advised, petting the Water Bubble Pokémon gently, "I wouldn't want you getting hurt before we find all your friends…" he mentioned as he then walked towards the water.

"Dooh…" Dewpider uttered, sounding somewhat upset.

"Come out, Mantine!" Calvin yelled, letting the silver Poké Ball open as its light formed upon the water, dissipating to reveal the Kite Pokémon as he landed upon the water.

"Maaaauuuuu!" he exclaimed in delight, enjoying the rainfall. Calvin got aboard his harness, looking out to see the small spout of water near the center of the lake.

'So the Wishiwashi are forming a school to battle us…' he noted inwardly, 'Not to mention they've got the rain to power up their Water type attacks…' he realized. A shot of thunder echoed.

"M-Maauuuhhh…" Mantine moaned as he was getting closer to the spout. The rain was starting to come down harder.

"It's okay, Mantine," Calvin assured to the Kite Pokémon, rubbing his head gently, "We just need to beat the totem and we'll be done," he told him. As the Wishiwashi were gathering underwater, none of them seemed to notice a pair of glowing blue eyes starting at them from afar.

'Erika did say the Wishiwashi had an Alomomola helping him out during the battle…' Calvin recalled as he narrowed his eyes onto the water spout, 'But then again, there's no telling if we'll even be battling a Wishiwashi…' he noted to himself, wondering what kind of Pokémon he'd face if it wasn't the one his twin sister faced. Just then, the water spout disappeared completely.

"Huh?" he uttered out in surprise, blinking. The water began to shift and ripple, pushing him and Mantine back as something was slowly emerging from it.

"Waaaahhhhh…" a voice growled as Calvin spotted a pair of fish-shaped eyes under the water's surface.

"There's the Wishiwashi!" he exclaimed, quickly taking out a Poké Ball from his pocket, "All right, go-!" The rumbling water interjected him as he looked down. The silhouette of the schooled Small Fry Pokémon seemed to be… coming apart… All of a sudden, six long, spider-like legs shot up from the water, along with several Wishiwashi as they swam off in fright. "Wh-Wh-WHAT?!" Calvin stuttered out in shock. The tips of the spider-like legs touched the water's surface gently, bending as the trial-goer noticed they were all connected to a large body slowly emerging from it. From afar, Lana snickered.

"Caught you by surprise, didn't I?" she noted, while Dewpider's eyes were widened in disbelief at what he was seeing. Standing upon the water was an arachnoid Pokémon with a water bubble around his head. The majority of his body was dark gray with accents of yellow green and light brown. Her had large, blue eyes with a paler wavy line through the centers. Above his eyes were light brown markings similar to eyebrows. He had three pointed, blue bumps on top of his head and four fang-like projections underneath. Both the bumps and his eyes were glowing. His abdomen was a light brown stripe down the center of his back with two horizontal lines crossing it. There were several light brown extensions at his neck that flared out and connected to the bubble around his head. At the end of his abdomen was a light green spinneret. He had six light green legs with opaque bubbles around the joints. The tips of his legs were dark gray.

"WAAAAAATTTTAAAAAAHHHH!" he screeched. Calvin clenched his teeth nervously. This wasn't what he was expecting…

X

"You want me to use your Drifloon in the Battle Royal?!" Erika inquired out of shock at a table in the Pokémon Center, sitting with Josh as he drank a cup of milk.

"Mm-hmm!" he answered with a nod, "Like I said, I'm not old enough to do the Battle Royal yet," he pointed out, "but you can!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Uh, I dunno…" Erika responded nervously, glancing over to see Drifloon playing with Brionne, Rockruff, Oricorio, and Fomantis in the corner of the café, with the latter getting annoyed as the Balloon Pokémon kept floating over her, blocking out the sunlight she was trying to absorb.

"Come on, please!" Josh begged, clapping his hands together, "It'll be just for this one time only!" he added.

"Hmm…" Erika hummed in thought. She did want to participate in a Battle Royal, though with her own Pokémon. But at the same time, she knew Josh wasn't going to let this chance go. And from what she'd seen from Drifloon earlier, he had potential to be a great battler.

"It'd be good to practice with another Flying type, right, zzt?" Rotom chimed in, catching her attention as she widened her eyes slightly.

"Oh, yeah!" she realized in response. She still hadn't mastered the Flyinium Z Kahili had given her, so maybe trying with a Pokémon aside from Oricorio would help. Then again, part of the reason Calvin's Fightinium Z was shattered was because he and Torracat hadn't practiced the Z-Move properly together beforehand.

"Foooohh!" Drifloon squeaked as he floated over. Erika could tell he was excited about fighting in the Battle Royal. What kind of person would she be to take that chance away from him?

"Okay, I'll do it," she finally said. Josh and Drifloon beamed excitedly.

"Really?!" the former exclaimed with sparkles in his eyes. Erika nodded.

"It'd be mean of me to say no when your Drifloon really wants to try," she pointed out.

"Foofoo!" the Balloon Pokémon squeaked in delight, floating over and rubbing against the trial-goer's cheek affectionately. She giggled, while Josh looked on in awe. This girl that he'd only met today… was doing so much for him and Drifloon.

"I guess we better get to that… Battle Royal Dome before the next match starts," Erika noted as she stood up, "You mind if I take Drifloon's Poké Ball?" she asked of Josh, who blinked.

"Yeah, of course!" he replied, taking the container off of his necklace and giving it to the trial-goer.

"Okay team," she began, catching the attentions of her four Pokémon, "let's hit the Battle Royal!" she declared with a pump of her fist. All of them cried out excitedly, hurrying over to her. The group then left the Pokémon Center, heading for the large dome in the distance with several balloon shaped like various creatures hanging nearby. As they were on their way though, Oricorio noticed several pink flower bushes in the courtyard they were passing by. A pink nectar was dripping out from some flowers, which caught her eyes as she came to a stop, unbeknownst to anyone.

"Korreeee…" she chirped quietly before venturing over to the flowers. Meanwhile, the others ventured into the dome's entrance.

"Whoa…" Erika uttered out in awe, letting off an excited smile. The lobby of the arena was filled with several people, with some getting their tickets checked to enter the stands, while others were waiting in line to get food at some booths.

"Hey, Eri!" a familiar voice cried out, catching her attention as she looked over to see Hau there with his Dartrix.

"Hau!" she exclaimed, running over to him.

"What took you so long?" he asked with a cheeky grin. Erika's right eye twitched.

"You know I'm not good at running after someone like you!" she shouted at him. He held his hands up in a placating manner.

"I got it, I got it…" he repeated as he made a pushing gesture in an attempt to calm her down.

"Foo!" Drifloon squeaked as he floated up to his temporary trainer's side. Hau blinked in surprise.

"Did you… catch a new Pokémon?" he guessed, pointing at the Ghost/Flying type.

"Oh, no!" Erika quickly responded, "Josh here's letting me borrow Drifloon for the Battle Royal since he's not old enough to do it," she explained, gesturing toward the boy that came up to her alongside Brionne, Rockruff, and Fomantis.

"Miss Erika's really nice for helping us out like this!" he said with a wide grin.

"Breeahh!" Brionne yipped in agreement.

"Ruf!" Rockruff barked. Fomantis' eyes were drooping a little, indicating she was a little sleepy.

"Well, we better register before the next round starts!" Hau advised excitedly, racing off toward the registry booth.

"Hey, wait up!" Erika yelled, chasing after him.

"Bree, breeahh…" Brionne sighed with a shrug.

"Treee!" Dartrix trilled, brushing his leaf-like feather over his eyes back with his right wing. As the two trainers registered themselves for the next round of the Battle Royal, Erika spotted a familiar blonde haircut not too far away.

"Is that…?" she began to wonder, narrowing her eyes before the figure came closer, confirming her suspicions, "Gladion?!" she exclaimed in shock, catching Hau's attention as he gasped to see the Team Skull enforcer there.

"What the heck are you doing here?!" the ponytailed boy asked as he pointed at him accusingly.

"Are you that dense?" he retorted in question, looking over at the screen over the arena entrance, "Why else do you think I'd be here?" he asked rhetorically. Erika blinked in surprise. But it made sense. He was a trainer. And like anyone other, he'd want to battle.

"Well if we face each other, I'm not holding anything back!" Hau declared firmly as he pumped his right fist.

"Hmph," Gladion scoffed, walking by him as he approached Erika, "You're that other kid's sister, right?" he guessed, narrowing his eyes. Erika balled her fists, glaring right back at him.

"So what if I am?" she asked back. Gladion just stuffed his hands into his pockets, walking past her as he bumped her shoulder.

"Don't disappoint then," he advised as he went on his way.

"Tch… Jerk…" Erika muttered as she glared daggers at Gladion's back.

"Eazzzy, Erika…" Rotom buzzed in an attempt to calm her down.

"Hey, look at that!" Josh exclaimed, pointing toward the large screen over the entrance to the locker rooms. The trial-goers and their Pokémon looked up to see the next match being scheduled. So far, three slots had been filled. And Hau and Erika saw their names.

"Awesome!" the ponytailed boy exclaimed excitedly, "Guess we're goin' sooner than we thought, huh?" he inquired to his cousin, who chuckled.

"Yeah," she agreed. She noticed Gladion's name there as well.

'I bet he'll be using that Null Pokémon like before…' she realized inwardly, remembering how tough of an opponent it had been for her brother's Torracat before their battle ended in a draw. Would Drifloon even stand a chance? She looked over to see the excitement building in the Balloon Pokémon's eyes. It didn't matter if they won or lost the match. Erika realized he just wanted to compete like Josh had said.

"There's still a space open for whoever's next…" Hau noted, eyeing the board curiously.

"I wonder who's gonna fill it…" Josh added as he blinked. Erika assumed some random trainer would take the fourth and final spot. Then a shadow came over her from behind.

"I'll gladly take that spot!" a manly voice proclaimed, causing her to turn around and widen her eyes. Standing there was a young man with a muscular physique, donning a pair of black wrestler tights with a white trim that three Poké Ball designs on each side and white, knee-high wrestling boots. He also wore a brown elbow band on his right elbow and two matching black wristbands with a white trim on his wrists. To complete the outfit, he bore a red flame designed wrestling mask with green and light blue with blue designs at the back of it. As soon as Josh and Hau noticed him, they beamed excitedly.

"THE MASKED ROYAL!" they screamed in delight. Erika had a very different reaction. She blinked twice, noticing his familiar beard and physique.

"…Professor?" she uttered out, arching an eyebrow. The man before her appeared to grimace and widen his eyes.

'Yeah, it's him all right…' she muttered inwardly.

"Eri, did you say you saw the professor somewhere?" Hau wondered, having overheard her.

"Uh… he's right here…" she said, pointing at the masked man. Hau blinked.

"Eri, that's the Masked Royal, not the professor!" he corrected with a chuckle. Erika could feel her left eye twitch. Surely her cousin couldn't be this oblivious… could he?

"Well, now that we're all set with the matchup, let's head out there, shall we?" the Masked Royal suggested with a wide grin. Erika sighed deeply, wondering why in the world Kukui was disguising himself in such a way. But at the same time, she was a little excited. She'd never seen Kukui battle before, so it was a good opportunity to gauge how strong he was, too. Plus, Drifloon seemed really excited about the prospect.

"Hey, the Masked Royal's gonna be in the next battle!" one person yelled out.

"What?! No way!" another exclaimed. Pretty soon, the majority of the soon-to-be spectators were all shouted excitedly over the masked professor's eventual participation.

"Looks like we're getting quite the audience today!" he noted with his hands at his hips, "Good luck out there!" he remarked to his opponents.

"You too, Mister Royal!" Hau called out in farewell as he waved. Erika just sighed, dismissing the fact that she knew it was Kukui in disguise. She had a feeling it'd be a fun battle either way.

"Josh, look after my team, okay?" she requested to the little boy.

"You got it, Miss Erika!" he replied with a nod. Her Pokémon present cheered excitedly.

"Let's get ready, Drifloon!" she called out to her temporary teammate.

"Fooo!" he squeaked, floating after her with Rotom as she headed toward the locker room.

"Hey, wait up!" Hau called out as he headed after her. In the meantime, Josh picked up Fomantis and Rockruff in his arms, heading up the stairs to the stands. Brionne was about to follow, but then noticed that Oricorio wasn't there.

"Bree?" she uttered in confusion, tilting her head to the side, "Breeahh…" she sighed with a shrug, thinking she was probably caught up with something else at the moment. A while passed before Erika was placed in her separate locker from the other competing trainers. She and Drifloon were practicing the poses for the Flying type Z-Move, mimicking each other as best as they could. The Balloon Pokémon was waving his stringy arms, raising the left one up in sync with Erika.

"You've got it, zzt!" Rotom buzzed excitedly. Erika grinned excitedly.

"Now all that's left is to know what moves you got!" she noted to Drifloon, "Rotodex?" she said.

"Leave it to me!" it replied quickly, scanning the Balloon Pokémon, "Analyzing… analyzing…" it repeated before a checkmark appeared on its screen, "He'zzz got Gust, Focus Energy, Payback, and Ominous Wind!" it listed off.

"Huh," Erika uttered, recognizing two of the moves as ones she'd seen in the past, more recently Ominous Wind from Hau's Dartrix, "Well, guess that means we'll have a great battle!" she declared confidently with a pump of her fist. Inside of the arena, Josh, Fomantis, Rockruff, and Brionne took their seats. The Pop Star Pokémon was starting to get worried that Oricorio was nowhere to be found, glancing around nervously for a sign of her.

"HELLLLLLOOOO, EVERYONE~!" a voice suddenly boomed over the loudspeakers, causing everyone in the crowd to perk up and look down at the center of the arena. There was a square boxing ring with its four corners distinctly shaded in red, yellow, blue, and green. Leading up to those corners were pathways to pedestals leading out of tunnels that were the mouths of Charizard, Haxorus, Gyarados, and Tyranitar respectively. "It's time for the next exciting edition of the Battle Royal!" the announcer's voice exclaimed through the loudspeakers. The crowd was getting easily fired up as they roared with excitement. "Coming out in the red corner to make his Battle Royal debut, we have Hau!" the announcer introduced as the ponytailed boy made his way through the tunnel, heading to his pedestal, "In the blue corner, also making his debut, is Gladion!" he mentioned as the unenthusiastic boy walked out of the Gyarados tunnel with his hands still in his pockets, "And making her debut in the ring as well from the yellow corner, we have Erika!" he added. The girl herself entered the arena through the Haxorus tunnel, awing the sight of how amazing the arena was. It was like seeing her sister's matches when she was younger…

"Wow…" she uttered out before stopping atop her pedestal.

"And now…" the announcer continued as the spotlights shined towards the Tyranitar tunnel, "coming into the green corner is the famous trainer himself and amazing pro wrestler…" he kept going as the figure of the final competitor came into view, "Give it up for the Masked Royal!" he screamed into the microphone as the man entered the arena. The whole crowd erupted in a frenzy of cheers. Erika blinked in shock. Was Kukui's alter-ego really this popular? He walked over to his pedestal, standing upon it.

"All right, kids!" he called out to his opponent, "This is a free-for-all that only ends when there's one left standing!" he loudly told them, taking out a Poké Ball and enlarging it in his hand, "Show me all what you got!" he challenged.

"Will do, Mister Royal!" Hau replied as he reeled his arm back, "Dartrix, go!" he exclaimed, firing his Poké Ball up into the air. It popped open, and the light that spilled out from it formed upon the ring, dissipating to reveal the Blade Quill Pokémon.

"Doaaarrr!" he trilled, brushing his leaf-like feather over his right eye back.

"Hmph," Gladion scoffed as he enlarged his Premier Ball by pressing its center button, "Null," he said, underarming the spherical container. Upon bursting open, the blue and white that emerged from it formed onto the ring, dissipating to reveal the chimera-like creature.

"Rrrrrr…" it growled underneath its helmet. A multitude of surprised gasps emerged from the audience. They'd never seen a Pokémon like that before…

"What's it even called?" Josh wondered as he blinked.

"Gladion called it Null, zzt," Rotom buzzed as it floated over beside him, "I've got no real data on it, but it'zzz incredibly strong…" it mentioned, narrowing its eyes onto the creature. Erika readied her Poké Ball.

"Do your best," she whispered to it, letting off a grin as she reeled her arm back, throwing the ball up into the air. As it popped open, the light spilled out of it into midair, coming into form and dissipating to reveal Drifloon.

"Foooo!" he squeaked excitedly.

"The challengers have all revealed their Pokémon of choice!" the announcer exclaimed, "Now which Pokémon will our beloved Masked Royal choose?!" he wondered excitedly. The masked man chuckled as he readied his Poké Ball.

"Go!" he exclaimed upon throwing it up into the air. It popped open, and the light that came out formed upon the ring, dissipating to reveal a Rockruff.

"Rah!" he barked excitedly, grinning at his future opponents.

"It looks like the Masked Royal has brought a new partner in his Rockruff today!" the announcer exclaimed, "Ladies and gentlemen, I think we're in for a good one!" he added excitedly.

'So he's battling with Rockruff, huh?' Erika inwardly noted, letting off a grin, 'Guess we'll finally get to see what the professor can do!' she realized as she balled her fists, ready to start the royale rumble…

X

Calvin was completely floored. It wasn't the Wishiwashi he was going up against, but rather an arachnoid-like Pokémon that had a yellow aura flaring up around his body.

"QUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" he screeched loudly. Calvin grimaced.

'What… even is that?!' he wondered through his thoughts, 'Looks like Dewpider if he evolved…' he noted to himself. For obvious reasons, he didn't have his phone on his person at the moment, so he couldn't check to see what kind of Pokémon the totem was.

"Waaaahhh…" he began, arching his head up.

"Huh?" Calvin uttered in confusion as he blinked. All of a sudden, the totem fired off a steady stream of bubbles towards them. "Mantine, watch out!" the trial-goer screamed.

"Maaauuu!" Mantine shrieked, quickly swimming away to evade the bubble.

"Aqquaaaaahhh!" the totem called out angrily.

"Ergh…" Calvin growled in frustration. He looked over towards the shore to see Lana and Dewpider.

'I bet she planned this from the start…' he realized with an annoyed look on his face, 'No wonder Erika seemed to be so glad to come back from her trial…' he remembered. However, he disregarded those thoughts. He just needed to know exactly what he was up against in this situation.

"Lana, what Pokémon is that?!" he called out, pointing towards the totem standing upon the water.

"An Araquanid, Calvin," she answered simply amidst the falling rain, "As you've probably guessed, he's Dewpider's evolved form," she mentioned as she gestured to the pre-evolved Water Bubble Pokémon.

"Tch…" Calvin grunted out in frustration. It was bad enough that the totem had completely caught him off guard. Now he discovered the Araquanid was actually Dewpider's evolved form!

'Wait a sec…' he uttered inwardly, starting to remember something. If Araquanid was Dewpider's evolution… then he would still be a Water and Bug type, right? No grin crossed his face, but he had a plan now, readying a Poké Ball quickly.

"Trumbeak, go!" he called out as he flung the container out into the rainy air. It popped opened, and the light that shot out of it formed in midair, dissipating to reveal the Bugle Beak Pokémon.

"Trrrruuuummmm!" he squawked, flapping his wings.

"Araaaaahhhhh…" Araquanid growled, firing out another steady stream of bubbles from his mouth.

"Dodge and use Pluck!" Calvin called out. Evading the bubbles, Trumbeak made his beak glow a bright blue before it extended out. He then flew towards Araquanid, zooming down and pecking at his back rapidly, causing him to fall over onto the water in a huge splash. "Alright!" Calvin exclaimed with a pump of his fist.

"Waaaatttaaaahhh…!" the Water Bubble Pokémon growled as he stood back up, glaring over at Trumbeak as he was flying around him.

'We have to be careful in case a Pokémon like Alomomola comes along to help out Araquanid…' Calvin realized, looking at the water beneath him to see if there was any such Pokémon around. He couldn't tell…

"Trumbeak, Pluck!" he commanded quickly. With his beak still glowing, Trumbeak thrusted it out at the side of Araquanid's abdomen, striking it several times as he slid back.

"Aaaqqqquuuuaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" he bellowed, raising its front right leg as the bubble upon it glowed.

"Huh?" Calvin uttered in surprise as he blinked. All of a sudden, the Water Bubble Pokémon fired off a multicolored beam of light from the bubble. It hit Trumbeak, causing him to fall out of air in a squawk as he was heading towards the water. "Trumbeak!" Calvin screamed. Mantine quickly swam over for the trial-goer to catch the Bugle Beak Pokémon in his arms. "Are you okay?!" he asked worriedly.

"Trumm…!" Trumbeak squawked out in reply reassuringly. Calvin gritted his teeth in frustration.

'That was an Aurora Beam, wasn't it?' he guessed through his thoughts, 'If Araquanid has a move to counter Flying types, he'll be much harder to deal with…' he realized.

"AAAAAHHHHQQUUUAAAAAHHHH!" Araquanid bellowed, firing off more bubbles towards them.

"Mantine!" Calvin yelled.

"Maaauuuu!" the Kite Pokémon wailed, quickly swimming away before they could be struck.

'So far he's used Bubble and Aurora Beam…' Calvin noted inwardly, 'Not to mention the rain's boosting his Water type attacks…' he recalled. Just then, he noticed a slab of land nearby in the middle of the basin. 'If I'm gonna need everyone's help, those two'll have to fight on solid ground!' he concluded through his thoughts, readying a pair of Poké Balls.

"Torracat, Yungoos! Go!" he called out, throwing them out towards the land slab. The Poké Balls opened with a click, as the lights from them formed upon the rocky land, dissipating to reveal Torracat and Yungoos.

"Toraaahhhh…" the Fire Cat Pokémon groaned in frustration as she saw that it was still raining.

"Yuh-yunnng?" Yungoos stuttered out upon seeing Araquanid, sweating madly.

"I need you two to help cover Trumbeak!" Calvin instructed to his teammates quickly.

"Rraaahhh!" Torracat roared in response with a nod. The Totem Pokémon glared down his enemies, putting his focus onto those on land.

"RRRRAAAAAAQQQUUAAAAAAHHHH!" he bellowed, firing out more bubbles from his mouth.

"Dodge and use Ember!" Calvin yelled. Both Torracat and Yungoos jumped back to avoid the bubbles. The former of the two then had the bell-like organ at her neck flare up before she launched a fireball from her mouth. It sizzled through the rain, striking Araquanid's head in a steamy explosion. But as the steam quickly subsided, it looked as if the Water Bubble Pokémon was completely unfazed!

"Mrah…?!" Torracat gasped in shock, while her trainer widened his eyes. From afar, Lana sighed.

"Fire type moves are even more useless on Araquanid…" she noted, "With his Water Bubble ability, he takes half the damage he normally would from those attacks," she explained to no one in particular, "And with that, he can never get burned," she mentioned. Dewpider was looking on with shaking eyes.

"Dooohh…" he squeaked worriedly. He obviously knew of his evolution's capabilities, feeling guilty that he wasn't helping. Even though Calvin had promised to get him back to his friends, he still couldn't help but think about trying to help him in return. But seeing as they were up against Araquanid, he was somewhat paralyzed with fear. "D-Dooohhh…" he whimpered out. Just then, the Totem Pokémon started charging toward the land slab.

"Here he comes!" Calvin yelled, enticing his two grounded teammates to take ready stances, "Trumbeak, when they give you an opening, use Pluck," he instructed to the Bugle Beak Pokémon.

"Beeek!" he chirped in reply, flying out of his trainer's arms. The teeth-like protrusions on the bottom of Araquanid's head glowed a bright yellowish-green as he lunged out at Torracat and Yungoos.

"Watch out!" Calvin screamed. Both of his grounded Pokémon quickly jumped back, evading the Water Bubble Pokémon as his teeth crashed into the slab fiercely.

'Now he's using Bug Bite…' the trial-goer realized as he clenched his teeth, 'And how is he so fast?!' he asked inwardly. Just then, he noticed something. The raindrops from above were splashing against his body from a diagonal angle due to the wind blowing toward him. 'That's weird…' he noted to himself, 'It might be raining, but I don't remember feeling the wind go this fast…' he recalled through his thoughts. Meanwhile, Trumbeak flew overhead, seeing Araquanid firing off another multicolored ray of light towards Torracat, who quickly dodged it as it struck the ground in a misty explosion. The Bugle Beak Pokémon made his beak glow a bright blue and extend, about to dive down toward his target as an opening was created for him. However, he didn't notice a figure flying overhead.

"Masss…" a voice buzzed, catching his attention too late as he was suddenly caught up in a cloud of orange powder.

"BEEEEEKKKK!" he screeched as he fell, causing his trainer to perk up.

"Trumbeak!" he cried out. Mantine quickly swam over, allowing Calvin to catch the Bugle Beak Pokémon in his arms again.

"Trummm…" he squawked weakly as electricity sparked around his body.

'He's paralyzed…' Calvin realized, gritting his teeth in frustration, 'Who did this?!' he wondered in frustration, looking upwards. In the rainy air overhead was a Masquerain, who flapped her wings rapidly as she stared back at her foes.

"Kerrraaiinnn~!" she sang out, making her antennae glow a bright blue she unleashed a powerful gust of wind downwards from behind toward Araquanid. The wind didn't make him budge as the basin water rippled, but he then lunged out rapidly at Torracat and Yungoos, making his teeth glow yellowish-green again.

"Torahhh!" the Fire Cat Pokémon yelled to her teammate her, enticing him to get behind her as she spun around and attempted to kick Araquanid with her hind paws… only for her to be caught in his teeth as they went through the bubble around his head. "MRRAAAAHHH!" she cried out in agony, hissing through her teeth that she clenched.

"AkkQUUAAAAAAA!" Araquanid bellowed as he tossed Torracat aside, having her splash into the basin.

"Ah, Torracat!" Calvin gasped.

"Y-Y-Yungg…" Yungoos stammered, shivering with fright as he was now on his own to face the Totem Pokémon.

"With Masquerain's Stun Spore and Tailwind helping out, Araquanid's basically unstoppable now…" Lana noted to herself, letting off a grin, "You shouldn't have asked your sister about the trial, Calvin…" she said as Dewpider listened on, "I might've made it just a little easier for you…" she mentioned ominously.

"D-Dooo…" Dewpider squeaked out worriedly. Calvin was definitely in a panic. Trumbeak was paralyzed in his arms, Torracat had been tossed into the water, and Yungoos was now cornered by Araquanid.

'Think, Cal! Think!' he pleaded to himself, 'Erika was able to beat her trial with just two Pokémon, so we have to adapt to what we're up against!' he concluded through his thoughts. Though it was easier said than done. The Masquerain up above could easily hinder both Torracat and Yungoos with her Stun Spore. Not to mention that with the Tailwind in effect, Araquanid was much faster than he'd normally be. 'So if this trial's testing our team's speed…' Calvin started to ponder, 'then we'll counter it with power!' he declared inwardly.

"Yungoos, Bide!" he yelled out to the Loitering Pokémon, getting his attention.

"Yung!" he responded, making a reddish aura appear around his form right before being bombarded by bubbles shout out from Araquanid's mouth. He endured them as best as he could, sliding back just a few steps.

"That's it, Yungoos! Hang in there!" Calvin cheered, though his teeth were clenched. He wasn't sure the Loitering Pokémon would be able to hold out for long against Araquanid. But the reddish aura around his body grew, indicating that he was still standing strong. At that moment, Masquerain started to dive down toward the slab, appearing to target Yungoos.

"Uh oh!" Calvin gasped in realization. At that moment though, he saw Torracat emerge from the water with a splash.

"Torrah…!" she moaned angrily, spitting water out from her mouth.

"Torracat, use Ember on Masquerain!" Calvin quickly commanded. Noticing the Eyeball Pokémon flying by as she was ready to help her ally, Torracat growled. She made the bell-like organ at her neck flare up again, causing the water to bubble before she fired off a fireball from her mouth that managed to strike Masquerain from behind.

"Maaassss!" she screeched, barely managing to stay airborne.

"Nice job, Torracat!" Calvin complimented as he pumped his fist.

"Trrrummm!" Trumbeak chirped excitedly. Meanwhile, the reddish aura around Yungoos had grown extensively as he grinned, despite looking rather ragged from enduring several attacks. The bombardment of bubbles from Araquanid had stopped for a moment, so he was ready to unleash his power. But at that very moment, another stream of bubbles struck him from the right, engulfing him in a steamy explosion.

"Ah!" Calvin gasped in surprise, while Torracat and Trumbeak widened their eyes. The red aura had completely dissipated as the steam cleared, revealing Yungoos lying on the ground in a daze with his eyes in swirls. He was completely defeated. "No way…!" Calvin voiced out, unable to comprehend what had just happened. That last barrage of bubbles hadn't come from either Araquanid or Masquerain. Instead they were from… "A Dewpider?!" Calvin exclaimed as he saw a Water Bubble Pokémon with his floating above the water, grinning at his work. From the shore, Dewpider blinked in surprise, recognizing him as the one who yelled at him to stay in line earlier in the day.

"Torraaahhhh…!" Torracat growled as she got aboard Mantine, gritting her teeth as she glared at the enemy Dewpider.

"Dang it…" Calvin muttered in frustration as he trembled. His plan had already faltered. With Yungoos unable to battle, he'd have to rely on just Torracat and Trumbeak, with the latter already dealing with paralysis. And with three opponents to face, one of which being the Totem Pokémon, there seemed to be no way to win.

"Pyyy…" the enemy Dewpider began, arching his head back before firing off another stream of bubbles toward Calvin and the others.

'There's no way…!' the trial-goer said through his thoughts, shutting his eyes as he braced for the bubbles' impact. But it never came. Instead, the bubbles were intercepted by another rapid stream off to the left, resulting in another steam-filled explosion.

"Ah!" Calvin gasped, while everyone else's eyes widened. They looked over to see who was there… and it was Dewpider.

"Doo pyy!" he squeaked angrily as his head floated over surface of the basin water, glaring at his brethren.

"D-Doo…?" he stammered in surprise.

"Oh my…" Lana uttered from afar. She too was caught off guard when the pre-evolved Water Bubble Pokémon jumped out to save Calvin and his teammates.

"Dewpider…" the trial-goer said with shaking eyes. The Water Bubble Pokémon grinned at Calvin, giving him a nod of approval. He smiled in realization, nodding back. Now another plan had formed. "Yungoos, thanks for the hard work!" he cried out, aiming the Loitering Pokémon's Poké Ball at him, "Take a good rest!" he advised, returning him to the container in a beam of red light.

"Doooohhh pyyyy…" the enemy Dewpider growled as he glared at his brethren. He was sweating a little, but wasn't ready to back down. He was the first to lunge out, racing along the water at a breakneck speed. His enemy was swimming the same way, leaving behind a rippling trail in his wake. The two collided fiercely, with their bubbled heads pressing against each other. However, the former of the two then made his teeth glow a yellowish-green, reaching down and grasping onto one of his foe's legs with them.

"D-D-D-D-DOOOHHH!" the enemy Dewpider stammered, trying to pry himself free desperately. His opponent quickly took advantage, spinning him around rapidly before tossing him up into the air.

"Py, py derr!" he cried out suddenly toward Calvin and the others.

"Huh?" the trial-goer uttered in confusion.

"Trummm!" Trumbeak suddenly squawked as he flew up out of Calvin's arms. Despite the electricity crackling around him, he still soared toward the airborne Water Bubble Pokémon. Calvin grinned in realization.

"Trumbeak, Pluck!" he commanded with a pump of his fist. Making his beak glow a bright blue and extend, the Bugle Beak Pokémon dashed out and rapidly pecked at the enemy Dewpider. The bubble around his head popped in the process before he slammed into the rock wall next to the basin.

"D-Doooooh…" he weakly squeaked before falling into the water in a heap.

"Alright!" Calvin exclaimed excitedly. That was one down.

"Mraw, mroww!" Torracat yelled, catching his attention as he saw Masquerain zooming towards them, unleashing an orange power from her body towards them.

"The Stun Spore!" Calvin exclaimed with widened eyes. They'd have no way to dodge…

"Doo!" Dewpider squeaked, sticking his spinneret out to fire off another rapid stream of bubbles, striking the orange cloud of powder and making it dissipate completely.

"Thanks, Dewpider!" the trial-goer cried out in gratitude.

"Dooohh…" the Water Bubble Pokémon uttered sheepishly, happy to be praised.

"Now Torracat, Fire Fang!" Calvin ordered. The Fire Cat Pokémon grinned as she lunged upwards off of Mantine's fin, setting her mouth ablaze as her teeth glowed red, followed by biting down on Masquerain in a fierce and fiery explosion.

"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" she shrieked in pain, flailing around to try and get Torracat off of her. She managed to fling her off up into the rainy air after a moment, wincing in agony from the burn marks on the lower part of her body.

"Ember!" Calvin yelled out. Making her bell-like organ flare up once more, Torracat spat out another fireball that zoomed straight down and struck the unaware Masquerain in a fiery blast.

"Maaaahhhhsss…" she uttered out as she fell out from the smoke in a daze, thankfully landing upon the rock slab with her eyes in swirls.

"Nice one!" Calvin complimented to Torracat as she landed on the rock slab herself.

"Mrraaahhh…!" she purred delightedly… though still annoyed by the rain. Lana genuinely couldn't believe it. At one moment the trial seemed impossible for Calvin and his team to hurdle… and now they had a fighting chance! And it was all because Dewpider decided to help…

"Araaahhkkkuu…" Araquanid growled, causing the trial-goer and his Pokémon to all perk up in surprise, "RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKK!" he roared, causing them to all flinch as they braced themselves from the force of the wind that blew by.

'Guess Masquerain's Tailwind is still up…' Calvin realized with clenched teeth, 'But that won't matter if we can land those final blows!' he noted inwardly as he balled his fists.

"Trumbeak, get him with Supersonic!" he called out.

"Trummm!" the Bugle Beak Pokémon squawked, about to bend his beak… only for electricity to start sparking around his body, ceasing his movements.

"Ah! Trumbeak!" Calvin gasped.

"Mraww!" Torracat cried out. Upon noticing his flying foe, Araquanid readied his front right leg, aiming it toward Trumbeak as a multicolored aura began to build upon it.

"Not good…!" Calvin realized aloud, knowing that it was another Aurora Beam the Totem Pokémon was about to fire. A multicolored ray was shot out toward Trumbeak by him, but was intercepted as Dewpider leapt out of the water, taking the attack head on. "Dewpider!" Calvin screamed.

"Doooohhh…" he squeaked weakly as the ray subsided, falling towards the water below. Thankfully, Mantine swam over quickly enough for Calvin to catch him in his arms.

"Torracat, Bite!" he commanded to the Fire Cat Pokémon.

"Torrraaahhh!" she roared in response, making her teeth glow a bright white before she lunged out at Araquanid and bit into his middle right leg.

"Akwaaaahhh!" he screeched, flailing around to try and swing her off.

"Doo py…" Dewpider squeaked out as he awoke.

"You okay, Dewpider?" Calvin asked upon noticing.

"Dooh!" he replied reassuringly with a nod, much to his relief as he smiled for a moment. However, he looked back to see Torracat get flung back onto the rock slab by Araquanid.

"Mraahhh…" she grunted out as she slowly stood back up.

"Ergh…" Calvin growled in frustration, "We're not gonna be able to do anything if we can't hold him down long enough…" he noted aloud, clenching his teeth. Overhearing him, Dewpider blinked in realization.

"Dooh! Doo, doopid!" he squeaked, catching the trial-goer's attention as he looked over at him.

"What is it?" he asked. All of a sudden, the Water Bubble Pokémon leapt out and fired off multiple sticky threads from his spinneret, forming a giant web that entrapped his large evolution.

"Akwaaaaaaahhhh!" he screeched in anger, trying desperately to break free. Calvin blinked in surprise… and then grinned.

"Trumbeak, Supersonic!" he yelled as he pumped his right fist back. Finding his bearings and enduring the electricity sparking over his body, the Bugle Beak Pokémon bent his beak before unleashing a powerful sound wave from it that struck Araquanid.

"QUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" he shrieked, flailing about crazily.

"Now Pluck!" Calvin ordered.

"Doo, dooh py der!" Dewpider instructed, gesturing towards his bubbled head.

"Trumm!" Trumbeak squawked, making his beak glow a bright blue and extending it out. He then dove down, thrusting his beak into the bubble around Araquanid's head, popping it.

"QUUAAA?!" he yelled in surprise, right before being bombarded with several pecks to the head from the Bugle Beak Pokémon. He fell over onto the water in a huge splash, completely dazed.

"Trum, trumm beeeek!" Trumbeak chirped delightedly.

"Torraaahhh…" Torracat sighed in relief as she lied down on the ground. The rain overhead finally stopped, and the clouds cleared to reveal the sunny sky. Calvin smiled in realization. They had cleared the trial.

"ALRIGHT!" he exclaimed happily. From afar, Lana could only grin.

'I guess I shouldn't have underestimated him…' she noted inwardly, 'He is Ash's son after all…' she recalled, letting off an uncommon giggle. Moments later, Calvin and his Pokémon had come back ashore, with Torracat shaking the remaining water off of her body. What resulted from that was her fur puffing out crazily.

"Mrraaahhh…" she groaned in frustration, while Trumbeak chuckled.

"Congratulations, Calvin," Lana complimented as the trial-goer was returning Mantine to the Ride Pager Poké Ball in a beam of red light, "I'm sorry for tricking you, but…"

"You made the trial harder because I asked Erika about it," Calvin finished for her with a grin, much to her surprise as she blinked.

"I would've changed it regardless…" she admitted sheepishly, "but you made it a little harder on yourself by asking…" she pointed out, causing him to chuckle nervously, "Anyways," she continued, reaching into her pocket and pulling something out, "Here's your Waterium Z," she said, offering him the Z-Crystal. He beamed.

"Thank you so much!" he replied in gratitude as he took the Z-Crystal into his hands.

"I'll also let you take this fishing rod," Lana added, collapsing the metal rod and handing it to the trial-goer, "You seem to be really good at fishing, so I wouldn't want you to miss out on doing more," she mentioned as he smiled brightly.

"I appreciate it!" he responded with a chuckle.

"Dooh, doo py!" Dewpider squeaked in delight, catching his attention.

"Thanks for your help back there, Dewpider," he said in gratitude as he knelt down and petted the Water Bubble Pokémon's bubble over his head, "If it weren't for you, we might've never won back there…" he admitted.

"Dooohh…" Dewpider uttered in surprise as he blinked, right before pulling off a big grin.

"Well, I promised I'd get you home to your buddies, so-"

"Dooh!" Dewpider suddenly squeaked with a shake of his head.

"Huh?" Calvin said, arching an eyebrow.

"Doo, dooh pyy, py derr!" the Water Bubble Pokémon exclaimed emphatically. The trial-goer blinked in surprise.

"You… wanna come with me instead?" he guessed, pointing at himself.

"Dooh!" Dewpider answered with a nod. Calvin widened his eyes… and smiled.

"Okay!" he replied with a nod, much to the Water Bubble Pokémon's delight as his eyes sparkled.

"Mraw, mrroww!" Torracat greeted as she trotted over.

"Trumm!" Trumbeak squawked as a welcome, petting Dewpider's bubble with his beak. However, he accidentally made it pop in the process.

"D-D-Dooohh…" he weakly stammered as he fell over, rolling around on the ground as he looked to be struggling to breathe.

"Dewpider?!" Calvin exclaimed in shock.

"Oh dear…" Lana uttered out, "Dewpider usually have bubbles over their heads because they can only breathe underwater…" she explained.

"So when they pop…" Calvin started to realize, only for the Water Bubble to quickly jump into the basin water with a splash. He hopped out seconds later, now with a new bubble over his head.

"DOO, DOO PY!" he shouted angrily at Trumbeak, who flinched in surprise.

"T-Trumm…" he apologized with an embarrassed stutter. Calvin laughed at the scene. He was glad to have cleared another trial while also obtaining a new teammate. Meanwhile, Lana pulled out her smartphone, perking up as she noticed something.

"Calvin!" she exclaimed, catching his attention, "If we hurry, we can see your sister in the Battle Royal!" she pointed out excitedly. Calvin widened his eyes.

"Then let's go!" he requested with a smile. He quickly returned Torracat and Trumbeak to their Poké Balls in beams of red light. Dewpider blinked in surprise as he hadn't been called back to his. "Hop on!" his new trainer beckoned, catching his attention as he saw him gesturing toward his right shoulder, "I wanna introduce you to my sister, after all!" he noted with a wide grin. Dewpider's eyes shook.

"Dooh!" he squeaked, jumping onto his trainer's shoulder before they hurried off after Lana.

X

"Ominous Wind!" both Hau and Erika commanded from their pedestals in the Battle Royal Dome. Dartrix and Drifloon unleashed purple gusts of wind at each other, with the former swinging out his wings, while the latter inflated and blew the air out of his mouth. The two gusts collided, creating a tornado that blew up to the ceiling of the dome before dissipating completely.

"WOW!" the announcer exclaimed through the microphone, "WE'VE ALREADY GOT QUITE A BATTLE AHEAD OF US!" his voice roared as the audience cheered.

"Hmph," Gladion scoffed.

'So she's not using that Oricorio she tried to battle us with the other day?' he wondered inwardly, sounding disappointed, 'Whatever…' he muttered to himself, 'We'll focus on taking down this masked showboat first,' he declared through his thoughts, balling his fists.

"Null, Tri Attack!" he ordered.

"RRRRAAAAHHHH!" the chimera-like creature roared, forming three balls of energy in the colors of yellow, light blue, and orange respectively in front of its face in the shape of a triangle. The yellow ball unleashed a bolt of lightning, the light blue ball unleashed zigzagging beams of cold energy, and the orange ball unleashed flames. They all headed for Rockruff, who stood his ground.

"Protect!" the Masked Royal exclaimed.

"Rahf!" Rockruff responded, suddenly forming a turquoise force field of energy in front of himself, taking the three rays of energy and making them break apart upon impact.

"Ergh…!" Gladion growled in frustration.

"Dartrix, Razor Leaf!" Hau yelled as he swung his left arm. With a glint in his eye, the Blade Quill Pokémon, threw out his wings, firing off several of his bladed feathers toward the other three Pokémon around him. Rockruff ran off to the side to evade them, while Drifloon floated upward. However, Null felt himself get nicked by the feathers, stumbling back.

"Tch," Gladion scoffed, "Null, Aerial Ace!" he ordered. Putting his focus onto Dartrix, the chimera-like creature lunged out in an instant, slamming into him with all of his might. The Blade Quill Pokémon ended up flying into the railing, stretching it back as he clutched it with his talons. Hau grinned.

"Use Pluck!" he yelled.

"Treee!" Dartrix trilled. He shot out at Null instantly like a pebble from a slingshot, making his beak glow a bright blue before it extended out slightly. He jabbed it against Null's chest, making him grimace in agony as he slid back a few yards.

"Rrrr…" he growled, breathing somewhat heavily.

"Now that Dartrix is something else!" the announcer noted excitedly, "Seems like he's already a natural in this ring!" he added.

'He's right…' Erika realized inwardly as she saw her cousin yell out another command for Dartrix to fire off more of his bladed quills toward his opponents, which they all narrowly managed to evade, 'Hau's probably been training for this ever since we came to the island…' she noted to herself.

"Rockruff, Bite!" the Masked Royal ordered suddenly, causing her to snap away from her thoughts. The Puppy Pokémon was running toward Drifloon, leaping up with his teeth glowing a bright white. He chomped down on the Balloon Pokémon's stringy right arm.

"Fooo…!" he squeaked out in agony.

"Shake him off!" Erika yelled in a panic. Try as he might though, Drifloon couldn't seem to get Rockruff off of him. His grip was too strong.

"Uh oh!" the announcer exclaimed, "Looks like the Masked Royal's Rockruff is giving Erika's Drifloon a tough time with those teeth!" he pointed out to the crowd.

"Come on, Drifloon! Erika!" Josh cheered from the stands with the trial-goer's Pokémon. Back by the ring, she grimaced.

'What do we do?' she wondered, trying to come with a solution. Then she recalled what Rotom told her about Drifloon and his moves…

"Drifloon, Payback!" she called out.

"Foo!" he squeaked in response. A dark red aura shrouded his form before he slammed his head against Rockruff's, knocking him off as he let go of his arm.

"And Drifloon strikes back with a Payback!" the announcer yelled as the Puppy Pokémon tumbled back over the ring floor before regaining his footing, "Looks like he's just as eager to prove himself in this ring!" he added excitedly.

'Not bad, Erika…' the Masked Royal commented inwardly, letting off a grin.

"Rockruff, Rock Tomb!" he commanded as he pumped his right fist.

"Rahff!" the Puppy Pokémon barked, making gray rocks outlined in white energy suddenly appear out of thin air just over his tail. He jumped up, swinging his tail to fire the rocks toward Drifloon.

"Dodge it!" Erika screamed. The Balloon Pokémon narrowly managed to evade each rock flung his way, sweating a little. His temporary trainer knew they were at a type disadvantage, gritting her teeth in frustration.

"Rah…" her Rockruff uttered in shock from afar, astonished by the power of his brethren.

"Amazing…" Josh said as his eyes shook.

"You zzzure your Drifloon'zzz gonna be okay?" Rotom wondered out of concern. The boy grinned.

"Yeah, he'll be fine," he assured, clenching his fists over his knees. In the meantime, Null and Dartrix collided fiercely, with the latter's feet going against the former's head. They then jumped back, landing at their respective corners of the ring.

"Null, Work Up!" Gladion yelled as he clutched his left wrist.

"RRRRRRRRR!" the chimera-like creature growled as steam emitted from its body, followed by a reddish aura flowing up around it.

"Getting ready to land the final blow, huh?" Hau guessed as he balled his fists, "Well, we're not givin' in that easily!" he declared, crossing his arms over his chest, causing the Normalium Z upon his Z-Ring to glow.

"A Z-Move?!" Erika gasped upon noticing. Hau swung his arms around. Dartrix mimicked his trainer's movements perfectly, right down to the z-shaped pose at the end. An orange energy then flowed out from Hau to the Blade Quill Pokémon, causing the Z-Move symbol to flash in front of him.

"Hmph," Gladion scoffed, "Null, Aerial Ace!" he ordered with a swing of his arm. The chimera-like creature's eyes locked onto Dartrix before he dashed out towards.

"Here goes!" Hau exclaimed as he pumped out his right fist, "Breakneck Blitz!" he yelled, enticing Dartrix to glide out at full speed toward Null.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" the announcer yelped repeatedly, "We're about to witness a Z-Move versus pure power!" he noted with excitement in his voice, "Who'll come out on top?!" he wondered loudly. Unfortunately, he wouldn't get to see that yet…

"Rock Tomb!" the Masked Royal ordered suddenly. More gray rocks with white energy outlines appeared over Rockruff's tail, which he then swung to fire them out. They crashed in between the two Pokémon who were on a collision, causing them to widen their eyes and halt themselves immediately.

"Whoa!" Josh yelped as he stood up in surprise. Brionne, Rockruff, Fomantis, and Rotom were just as stunned.

"Can't have one of you go down on us yet!" the Masked Royal yelled to the two boys, catching their attentions, "We've still got a lot more battling to go!" he declared as he waved his hand in a challenging manner.

"Tch," Gladion scoffed, "If you want a battle, we'll give you one…" he muttered out in frustration, "Null, Tri Attack!" he commanded. Forming the three orbs of energy like before, the chimera-like creature unleashed rays of energy from them, all heading for Rockruff.

"Protect!" the Masked Royal called out. Another turquoise energy barrier appeared in front of the Puppy Pokémon, shielding him from the rays as they dissipated moments after striking it.

"Ergh…" Gladion growled, while the Masked Royal smirked.

"Aw, man…" Hau groaned, "We already wasted our Z-Move for nothin'…" he grumbled, "Oh well…" he sighed, letting off a grin, "Guess we'll try and take you on, Erika!" he declared, catching his cousin's attention.

"Doaarrr!" Dartrix squawked, taking a ready stance as he spread out his wings.

"Fooh!" Drifloon squeaked in challenge, puffing up.

"Ominous Wind!" Hau commanded with a pump of his fist.

"Drifloon, Gust!" Erika ordered quickly. Dartrix flapped his wings rapidly, creating a purple gust of air that was heading for the Balloon Pokémon. He countered by exhaling a powerful wind, creating another tornado once the two collided, which dissipated quickly.

"The wind's certainly blowing for those two!" the announcer pointed out excitedly, "Who'll come out on top?!" he wondered loudly.

"Hmm…" Erika hummed nervously, glancing down at her Flyinium Z.

'I wanna try to use the Z-Move if there's no other choice, but not like this…' she told herself, wiping the sweat trickling down her right cheek with her arm, 'So for now…' she started to plan…

"Drifloon, use Focus Energy!" she called out.

"Fooonn!" the Balloon Pokémon squeaked, making an orange aura outline his form.

"You're lookin' to take us down quick, too, Eri?" Hau inquired, arching an eyebrow, "Well, we're not goin' down without a fight!" he declared firmly, "Dartrix, Razor Leaf!" he commanded. Folding his wings inward, the Blade Quill Pokémon spread them out to fire off several dart-like, orange feathers toward Drifloon.

"Blow 'em away with Gust!" Erika ordered.

"FOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Drifloon exhaled, unleashing a powerful gust of wind from his mouth to blow the feathers away instantly. Hau grinned.

"Use Pluck!" he yelled out as he pumped his right fist. Dartrix made his stubby beak glow a bright blue again as he glided out at Drifloon. Before he could react, the Blade Quill Pokémon pecked his head multiple times, blowing him back.

"Drifloon!" Erika cried out.

"Ah!" Josh gasped from the stands as he stood up.

"And it looks like Dartrix has the upper hand on Drifloon!" the announcer noted loudly, "Will he be the first one to fall?!" he wondered.

"Dartrix, Razor Leaf!" Hau commanded. The Blade Quill Pokémon quickly fired off more dart-like feathers from his wings.

"Dodge it!" Erika screamed. Drifloon tried to float out of the way of the incoming feathers, but ended up getting nicked by a few that rushed by.

"Fooo…" he squeaked out weakly as he floated low to the floor.

"Drifloon!" Erika cried out worriedly.

"Alright!" Hau exclaimed excitedly, "Let's finish things off with an Ominous Wind!" he ordered as he threw out his right arm.

"Doaaarrrr!" Dartrix squawked, flapping his wings to unleash a powerful gust of purple wind toward Drifloon.

"Counter with your own!" Erika yelled. Puffing himself up, Drifloon exhaled his own purple breeze to cancel out Dartrix's in a huge burst of wind that blew by Rockruff and Null nearby.

"Foo… foo…" the Balloon Pokémon breathed heavily, evidently exhausted. But then a reddish aura suddenly flowed up his body, much to his surprise.

"Huh?!" Erika gasped as her eyes widened.

"No way!" Hau exclaimed.

"Hey, hey, what happened?!" Josh asked from the stands.

"Analyzing… analyzing…" Rotom repeated as a loading marking was upon its screen, "Drifloon's stats all increased from using Ominous Wind!" it suddenly exclaimed.

"Whoa!" Josh yelped as he blinked rapidly, "I didn't know he could do that…" he admitted with shaking eyes. Erika was bringing out the potential of his Pokémon better than he ever could've. And that made him wonder…

'Guess it's all or nothing now!' Erika realized, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Drifloon, let's do this!" she cried out, catching his attention as he saw her Flyinium Z glow brightly.

"Another Z-Move?!" Gladion yelped from afar, while the Masked Royal widened his eyes.

"HEY! HEY! HEEYYYYYYYYYYYY!" the announcer screamed repeatedly in excitement, "We're about to see a second Z-Move, folks!" he cried out, "Hope you're all on the edge of your seats, 'cause I sure am!" he added. Erika swung her arms around, and Drifloon mimicked her. She then squatted down, waving her arms like wings before standing up tall and pumping her left fist into the air. A sky blue aura shrouded her body before it flowed out to the Balloon Pokémon, who absorbed it. The Z-Move symbol flashed in front of his body.

"A Flying type Z-Move, huh?" Hau inquired, maintaining his grin, "Well, we're not gonna lose that easily!" he proclaimed, "Dartrix, Pluck!" he commanded. Making his beak glow again and extend outward, the Blade Quill Pokémon dashed toward Drifloon. Suddenly though, the Balloon Pokémon took off high into the air, reaching the roof of the dome. Erika smirked.

"Take our full power, Hau!" she yelled out, pumping her right fist, "SUPERSONIC SKYSTRIKE!" she screamed as Drifloon soared down rapidly from above. Dartrix barely had a second to look up, widening his eyes before the Balloon Pokémon crashed into him fiercely in an explosion of dust that spread throughout the ring.

"OH MY!" the announcer yelled, "Who's gonna come out of that collision?!" he wondered loudly. When the dust finally did clear, everyone gasped. Dartrix was lying on his back, completely dazed as swirls were in his eyes, while Drifloon floated over him. A bell went off. "Dartrix is down! DARTRIX IS DOWWWWWWNNNNN!" the announcer screamed as the crowd began cheering wildly.

"Rahk, rah!" Rockruff yipped excitedly.

"Fomah!" Fomantis squeaked in joy.

"Breeeah~!" Brionne sang out, clapping her flippers.

"They pull off the Z-Move, zzt!" Rotom buzzed excitedly. Meanwhile, Josh's look of shock slowly formed into a big smile. His Pokémon's dream had finally come true… and he'd won a battle in the ring.

"We did it, Drifloon!" Erika exclaimed as she balled her fists.

"Foo! Foofoon!" the Balloon Pokémon squeaked in delight, turning back to his temporary trainer.

'That was awesome…' she inwardly noted, looking down at her Z-Ring to see that the Flyinium Z hadn't been affected, 'I wonder if that Kahili lady saw that…' she said to herself, remembering how the golfer had taught her the pose to the Z-Move.

"You left yourself wide open," Gladion's voice remarked, causing her to snap away from her thoughts, "Null, Pursuit," he instructed. All of a sudden, the chimera-like creature had a dark aura shroud its body before it disappeared… followed by reappearing right in front of Drifloon, smacking him with its tail.

"Ah, Drifloon!" Erika gasped in shock.

"Foooo…" he squeaked out weakly.

"Too bad for you," Gladion commented, sounding disappointed, "One win in this setting isn't going to get you-!" Without warning, Drifloon glowed a bright white and then exploded! And the blast caught Null, too! "Ah!" Gladion gasped, while the Masked Royal blinked in surprise.

"What just happened?!" Josh exclaimed in shock.

"That wazzz Drifloon'zzz Aftermath!" Rotom replied.

"Aftermath?" Josh repeated with an arched eyebrow.

"It's an ability that when a Pokémon makes physical contact with Drifloon, he explodezzz!" the Pokédex explained in response, "But that also meanzzz…" it continued as they looked back at the ring, seeing the smoke clear.

"Fooooohhh…" Drifloon squeaked out with his eyes in swirls, lying on the ring floor next to Dartrix.

"And Drifloon is DOWN!" the announcer screamed as the bell went off twice, "We're now down to just two, folks!" he exclaimed to the excited crowd, "Who will come out on top?!" he wondered.

"Rrrr…" Null growled, shaking its head. The explosion was strong, but not strong enough to take it down. It turned toward Rockruff, who kept a ready stance.

'That was close…' Gladion muttered inwardly, grasping his left wrist as his arm was shaking, 'I should've known that her Drifloon had that kind of ability…' he reprimanded to himself.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, old man," he remarked toward the Masked Royal, getting his attention, "But your reign ends here!" he proclaimed, "Null, Aerial Ace!" he commanded.

"Sivaaaahhhh!" the chimera-like creature roared as it speedily lunged out at the Puppy Pokémon.

"A move that never misses, huh?" the Masked Royal noted as he cracked a grin, "Well, we'll take that on!" he declared, "Rockruff, Rock Climb!" he ordered with a pump of his fist. Making his paws glow a bright white, the Puppy Pokémon lunged out and slammed into Null head on, making him stumble back in surprise.

"RrrRRrrr…" he groaned in agony, stumbling around still.

"Null!" Gladion cried out, "Use Tri Attack!" he yelled. However, Null didn't respond, still flailing about.

"Rockruff's Rock Climb must've confuzzzed him!" Rotom buzzed in realization from the stands.

"Now let's have ourselves a fantastic finale!" the Masked Royal proclaimed, "Rock Tomb!" he commanded. Rockruff had several gray rocks outlined by a whitish glow orbit around his tail as he jumped up and fired them down at Null, with some striking him while the rest entrapped him on all sides.

"No way…!" Gladion gasped as he clenched his teeth.

"Use Bite!" the Masked Royal ordered. With his teeth glowing a bright white, Rockruff dove down and bit onto the axe-like blade at the top of Null's head, creating a fierce burst of dust that flowed throughout the ring.

"Ergh…!" Erika grunted as she and Hau endured the force of the blast. When the dust settled, everyone gasped. Null fell over onto its side as Rockruff stood tall, grinning all the while. The bell went off three times.

"NULL IS DOWN! NULL IS DOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!" the announcer screamed repeatedly in excitement. The whole crowd roared. "Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this fantastic Battle Royal is none other than our undefeated champion himself…" the announcer continued, "THE MASKED ROYAAAAAALLLLLLLL!" he exclaimed through the loudspeakers with glee. The Masked Royal raised his fist into the air.

"Thanks for such a wonderful time!" he called out in gratitude to his opponents, "You enjoyed it too, right Rockruff?" he inquired to his partner.

"Rahk, rah!" he barked in response. All of a sudden, he started to glow in a brilliant blue light. The crowd gasped.

"Is he… evolving?!" Hau exclaimed in shock.

"No way…" Erika uttered out. Her own Rockruff widened his eyes, looking on with anticipation. His brethren's body grew, with his tail becoming longer along with his snout. As the light subsided, it revealed his evolved form. He now resembled a quadruped, light brown wolf. He had a white underbelly that extended up around his muzzle and eyes in a mask-like marking. He also had pointed ears now with dark brown tips and pink insides, big blue eyes, and a triangular, dark brown nose. There were four sharp fangs in his mouth: two in the upper jaw and two in the lower. Large tufts of brown fur extended from the sides of his head; three on each side. A bushy, white mane covered his neck. Four dark brown rocks poked out of his mane, creating a shape similar to a stylized sun. The lower portions of his legs were white, and each foot had three dark brown claws. He also had a long, fluffy white tail.

"LYYYYYCCAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNN!" he howled into the air.

"INCREDIBLLLLLEEEE!" the announcer's voice screamed, "The Masked Royal's Rockruff has evolved into Lycanroc!" he pointed out to the already excited crowd.

"Awesome!" Josh exclaimed with sparkles in his eyes. Meanwhile, Rotom had an image of the Wolf Pokémon appear upon its screen.

"Lycanroc, the Wolf Pokémon, Midday Form, and the evolved form of Rockruff," it began, catching the attentions of those around it, "When properly raised from a young age, he will become a trustworthy partner that will absolutely never betray his Trainer. The rocks in his mane are sharper than a knife. Fragments that break off are treasured as good luck charms," it explained thoroughly. Back at the ring, Erika's eyes shook at the sight of the Wolf Pokémon. She grinned.

'Kukui and Lycanroc are super strong…' she realized, balling her hands into fists, 'so we'll catch up to them!' she inwardly declared. Meanwhile, at the standing area of the stadium, there was a young, muscular, dark-skinned boy. He had red and brown hair in a style resembling fire. He wore red shorts with a black outline and sandals with the same color scheme. No shirt was upon him, though he did have some black cloth strips on his shoulders bound to his necklace, which had a small, clover-shaped badge with a red marking and feather decorations. He grinned as he was looking at the ring.

"What a fiery battle…" he noted.

X

"It seems like we missed it…" Lana noted disappointedly as she and Calvin were standing just outside the Battle Royal Dome as a lot of people were filing out.

"Aw, man…" Calvin groaned as he slouched over. If he hadn't gone to the Pokémon Center beforehand, he might've seen his twin sister's match…

"I wouldn't feel too bad, Calvin," Lana assured, placing a hand onto his shoulder, "After all, you wanted to make sure your team was rested up well from the trial," she mentioned with a giggle.

"Guess you're right…" he responded, sheepishly scratching at his right cheek.

"Doo, doopid!" Dewpider squeaked, catching their attentions as they looked to see a particular group of figures coming toward them. Calvin smiled.

"Erika! Hau!" he called out, catching the attentions of his approaching twin sister and his cousin.

"Cal!" they both exclaimed, seeing him run up to them.

"How was the Battle Royal?" he asked the two.

"It was awesome!" Hau exclaimed with a pump of his fist, "We both got to battle the Masked Royal!" he mentioned excitedly.

"The… Masked Royal?" Calvin repeated in confusion. Erika sighed with a smile, deciding not to tell her brother about who the mysterious Battle Royal champion really was.

"So anyways, did you pass your trial?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Heh," Calvin chuckled, pulling out his newly obtained Waterium Z, "We did!" he noted happily. Both Erika and Hau gasped with smiles on their faces.

"Guess that means we'll need to catch up, now!" Hau realized as Dartrix walked up beside him, "Right, Dartrix?" he guessed to him.

"Treee!" he trilled, brushing back the leaf-like feather over his right eye. At that moment, Erika took notice of Dewpider.

"Hey, who's that?" she asked curiously. Before her brother could reply, Rotom floated over.

"Dewpider, the Water Bubble Pokémon," it began, catching their attentions as an image of the creature appeared upon its screen, "When he comes across enemies or potential prey, this Pokémon smashes his water-bubble-covered head into them. He can only breathe oxygen that has dissolved in water, so he wears a water bubble on his head when he walks around on land," it explained thoroughly.

"Leave it to Rotom to tell ya everything you need to know!" Hau chimed in with a cheeky chuckle.

"Guess so…" Calvin agreed with a shrug.

"So you caught a Dewpider!" Erika realized, squatting down to the Water Bubble Pokémon's eye level, "Nice to meet you!" she greeted, "I'm Calvin's sister," she pointed out, gesturing toward herself.

"Dooh!" Dewpider squeaked in reply.

"So how'd the battle go?" Calvin asked curiously.

"We both lost…" Hau admitted sheepishly in reply, much to his cousin's surprise, "But it was really cool to see the Masked Royal come out on top!" he pointed out excitedly.

"Wait, so you two battled with this Masked Royal person… and who else?" Calvin wondered, arching an eyebrow. Before he could get an answer, he noticed a familiar figure walking by. "Gladion?!" he exclaimed, causing the Team Skull enforcer to stop, looking back at the group. A long, awkward silence passed between them.

"Hey…" Erika finally chimed in, "what's the deal with you acting so serious all the time?" she wondered, catching his attention, "Why can't you just have fun with the rest of us?" she asked him. He blinked before turning away, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Because Null and I have to make it on our own, no matter what," he muttered out in response, walking off into the distance.

"Jeez…" Hau uttered, "He's just a real ray of sunshine, isn't he?" he inquired sarcastically, folding his arms behind his head.

"I think he enjoyed that battle more than he let on," another voice chimed in, catching their attentions as they looked to see the dark-skinned boy approach, "He seemed to have a blazing fire in his heart, too…" he pointed out.

"Oh, Kiawe!" Lana exclaimed with a smile.

"Hey Lana," he greeted as he trotted over, "You look well," he noted as he grinned.

"You too!" she replied.

"Wait… Kiawe?" Calvin uttered, having remembered the name, "Aren't you the trial captain at the volcano?" he inquired, catching his attention.

"Yeah, that's right," he responded with a nod, "And it seems to me like you've got a fire in you, too…" he mentioned as he curiously looked on at Calvin.

"Uh… th-thanks?" he stuttered back as a reply, chuckling nervously.

"Calvin's team's got a lotta power!" another voice added, causing everyone to look and see Kukui approach, "I don't I'd go selling him short, either," he noted with a chuckle.

"Professor Kukui!" Calvin exclaimed in surprise.

"Where'd you come from?" Hau wondered aloud. Erika felt her eye twitch.

'How does he NOT KNOW?!' she inwardly screamed, glaring at her cousin.

"Since you've got your first trial of Akala down, why not try taking on the second?" Kukui offered to Calvin, "Fair warning though," he continued, "Kiawe's not one to go easy on trial-goers," he warned. The capped boy looked back at the new trial captain he'd just met, seeing the grin on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. He grinned back.

"We'll take it on!" he declared as he closed his right hand into a fist.

"Doo!" Dewpider squeaked in agreement. Everyone smiled at Calvin's eagerness to take the next trial.

"Miss Erika!" Josh's voice cried out, catching everyone's attention as they looked to see him waving to them with Brionne, Rockruff, Fomantis, and Drifloon alongside him. Erika smiled, jogging over.

"Thanks for looking after my team, Josh," she said in gratitude.

"Thank you for making Drifloon's dream come true!" he replied with a wide grin, "That Z-Move was awesome!" he mentioned excitedly.

"Well, you should probably get back home before it gets late," she advised, noticing that the sun was starting to set, "Here," she offered, handing Josh Drifloon's Poké Ball. However, to her surprise, he pushed her hand back.

"Keep it," he said, "In fact, I want you to take Drifloon," he requested.

"…WHAT?!" Erika screeched out after a moment, "Wh-Why would you want me to-?!"

"I'm still not old enough to go on my own journeys," Josh interjected, "The island challenge, the Battle Royals…" he listed off, "Drifloon can't do that with me right now…" he pointed out solemnly, "but he could with you!" he exclaimed, "And after seeing you two do that amazing Z-Move together…" he kept going, "I knew I couldn't just keep him down with me," he said.

"Josh…" Erika uttered, stunned by his proposition. He was quivering with sadness, but he steeled himself, putting on a big smile for his partner.

"Drifloon, help Miss Erika out, okay?" he requested of his now former partner, who had tears in his eyes.

"Foofooh!" he promised with a nod.

"Huh…" Erika sighed in acceptance, "I promise I'll take good care of him, Josh," she assured to the boy. He just smiled, turning around and heading off as he waved goodbye.

"Well that was something…" Kukui noted as he sauntered over, catching Erika's attention, "but you know, that willingness and trust he had in you to give Drifloon up shows that you're quite the dependable person," he pointed out to her. She blinked in surprise before grinning, looking back to see the Balloon Pokémon once again annoying Fomantis by floating over her, blocking her from absorbing the sunlight. She blinked again upon noticing something else.

"Hey, where's Oricorio?" she wondered aloud, catching the attentions of her teammates.

"Breeah…!" Brionne gasped, realizing she forgot to go find the Dancing Pokémon.

"Korreeo~!" a familiar voice sang, catching their attentions.

"Oh, Oricori-! Huh?" Erika uttered, interjecting herself as she saw what was approaching the group. Swaying over was an avian Pokémon with a light pink beak, thin legs, and dark eyes with white pupils. However, she had pink feathers. Her main body was a dark pink, while most of her other feathers were varying shades of pink. A fan of three feathers tipped each wing: two light pink with a whitish-pink on in the center. On the top of her head was an arrangement of feathers resembling a headdress: a ring of fluffy, light pink feathers with larger, paler feathers standing up from the center. There was a larger, similar group of feathers around her waist like a skirt.

"Korreee~…" she chirped as she waved her wings slowly.

"Uh… who's that Pokémon?" Erika asked, pointing at her.

"It'zzz an Oricorio!" Rotom buzzed in reply. Its owner blinked.

"B-But that doesn't look like…" she stuttered, looking back at the avian creature in front of her. An image of the Pokémon came up on Rotom's screen.

"Oricorio, the Dancing Pokémon, Pa'u Style," it began, "This Oricorio has sipped pink nectar. Her enemies' hearts melt at the sight of her gently swaying hips. She gets so caught up in her dancing that she sometimes doesn't hear her trainer's orders," it explained thoroughly. Erika blinked once more.

"So… that means…" she started to realize, turning back toward the Dancing Pokémon.

"Ree~!" she chirped delightedly.

"WWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTT?!" her trainer screeched in disbelief. There was still a lot for her to learn, it seemed…

ENDING

"Cascade" by Unlimits

0:00 – 0:11 = Opens with Calvin and Erika as children, playing together in their shared room while a happy Leslie watches. She starts to reminisce about all the good times she's had before her siblings arrived…

0:12 – 0:18 = Cuts to various scenes of the landmarks in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and Galar.

0:19 – 0:31 = We continue with Leslie receiving a Snivy as her first Pokémon from her parents, followed by being wished off as she decided to travel to Unova. There, she battles her new rival, Hugh, and his Tepig.

0:32 – 0:47 = Leslie is walking down a pathway with Snivy following her, but the scene constantly changes with Riolu, Magnemite, Magby, Sandile, and Spheal appearing beside her, evolving into their final forms. Leslie then comes to a stop as she spots Team Plasma's ship overhead, taking on a serious expression in preparation for battle.

0:48 – 1:01 = Cuts to her Walrein using Ice Beam to freeze up some of Team Plasma's Pokémon aboard the ship, followed by Magnezone discharging bolts of electricity. Magmortar blasts back a Weavile with a stream of flames, while Lucario fights hand-to-hand with an Absol before blowing him away with an Aura Sphere. We then see Leslie go up against Black Kyurem and Ghetsis with Serperior and Krookodile by her side. She smiles confidently, commanding them into battle as they lunge out at Kyurem.

1:02 – 1:07 = What follows is a scene of Calvin and Erika excitedly being escorted into a stadium by their parents to watch their big sister's battle for the Unova Championship.

1:08 – 1:19 = As Iris and Leslie take their respective positions on the large battlefield, the Ketchum girl adjusts her visor and gives off a wave to her parents. She then takes out a Poké Ball and fires it onto the field.

1:20 – 1:30 = Cut to today where Leslie sees her brother and sister battling in a stadium, smiling happily out of how proud she is of them…

END ENDING

NegaiFreak: I did it…! *faints*

Blake Belladonna: *picks him up* Been a while since you've gone all-out for a chapter like this…

Ben Tennyson: Well, there was a lot to cover here.

NegaiFreak: *regains consciousness* Fortunately, the later chapters shouldn't be too complicated going forward…

Tanjiro Kamado: Be glad that you did so much though! Your fans are patiently waiting for your return, too!

Nezuko Kamado: Mm-hmm!

NegaiFreak: Thanks, guys. Anyways, here's the summary for the next chapter!

SUMMARY

Kiawe's trial on Wela Volcano turns out to be quite a challenge for Calvin, as he can't figure out the differences between the dances the Marowak are doing! Can he overcome this hurdle and succeed in clearing the trial?!

Meanwhile, Erika runs into Paige, Pyrrha and Trent again! As they train through the Battle Royal though, Erika starts noticing how aggressive Rockruff is being… Could this be a sign of things to come?!

END SUMMARY

NegaiFreak: Next up will be new chapters of "RWBY: Omni Force"!

Ruby Rose: Look forward to it, everybody!