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!

18. Dancing Through Fire!

Alola, everyone! We're back with another chapter of "The Challenge of a Lifetime"! I know you might be wondering why I'm suddenly going right from the Brooklet Hill trial to the Wela Volcano trial.

Well, I want to make sure the trials are taken care of so that I may focus on the challenges ahead in the grand trials and chapters meant for character development and world building. Plus, there's bound to be a few surprises on the way. And I wanna do my best to keep you all surprised! So with all that said, here's the newest chapter!

POKÉMON SUN & MOON

THE CHALLENGE OF A LIFETIME

"Yungoos, Bite!" Calvin commanded.

"Dodge and use Air Cutter!" Erika called out. As Yungoos lunged out at Oricorio with his teeth glowing a bright white, she swayed to the side to evade him. She then made the pink feathers on the tips of her wings shine sky blue, swinging them out with a twirl to unleash several x-shaped blades of air towards the Loitering Pokémon. They struck him over and over, causing him to tumble back over the dirt field.

"Ergh…" Calvin growled in frustration. This wasn't how he wanted to start his morning…

"Yung… gooh!" Yungoos chattered as he got onto his feet, shaking his head to regain himself. In preparation for Kiawe's trial, he decided to start training with his twin sister first thing in the morning. She was more than happy to help out, especially since she wanted to see how Oricorio's battle style had changed since she took on her new form. They were out on the battlefield behind the Pokémon Center, with Kiawe and Kukui overseeing their battle as Rotom floated beside them.

"Bite again!" Calvin ordered. Yungoos' teeth glowed white once more as he jumped at Oricorio. She started swaying to the side in an attempt to evade him again, but he took notice, pivoting off the ground with his front feet to turn slightly to his left, lunging out and chomping onto the Dancing Pokémon's left wing.

"RREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" she screeched in agony.

"Ah, Oricorio!" Erika yelped in shock. Yungoos swung the Dancing Pokémon around rapidly before tossing her away. She bounced off of the ground hard, sliding to a stop in front of her trainer.

"Reee…" she weakly chirped, slowly standing up.

"Now Sand Attack!" Calvin called out. Yungoos ran forward and whipped around, brushing his tail against the ground to kick up dirt into Oricorio's face, blinding her as she squirmed, trying to wipe her eyes with her feathers.

"Eh, be careful, Oricorio!" Erika advised worriedly. She knew the Dancing Pokémon wasn't normally like this…

"Finish her off with Bite!" Calvin commanded with a pump of his right fist. Yungoos made his teeth glow once more as he launched himself at Oricorio, chomping her at her chest before tackling her to the ground in a flurry of dust. It took a moment for it to clear, revealing the Dancing Pokémon lying upon the ground with her eyes in swirls.

"Oricorio!" Erika cried out, rushing onto the field.

"Reeee…" the Dancing Pokémon chirped weakly as she sat up, evidently exhausted.

"Yungg, gooh!" Yungoos yelled excitedly, hopping up and down.

"Way to go, Yungoos!" Calvin complimented. He jogged over, kneeling down and patting the Loitering Pokémon atop his head. It had been a while since his last real victory…

"Nice work, Cal!" Kukui chimed in as he and Kiawe trotted over, "Seems like Lana's trial really Bulked Up that confidence of yours!" he remarked with a grin.

"Well, that was only thanks to Dewpider…" Calvin modestly replied, "but yeah, I'm feeling really excited about the trial," he confessed as he clenched his right fist.

"Looks like your sister's not as excited…" Kiawe noted, enticing him and the others to look over at Erika, who crossed her arms as she looked at her Oricorio worriedly.

"Man…" she groaned, "Oricorio used to be so quick when she had her Pom-Pom Style…" she pointed out, seeing the Dancing Pokémon sway about in a carefree manner.

"It'zzz like I said yesterday, zzt!" Rotom buzzed, catching her attention as it floated over, "The Pa'u Style Oricorio is laxer in comparison to her counterpartzzz," it told her.

"And it's not like Oricorio will have that style forever," Kukui chimed in, catching her attention as she saw him trot over.

"What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"An Oricorio hazzz four different stylezzz!" Rotom replied, "Each style hazzz a different type and a different dance!" it added.

"The Pa'u Style your Oricorio is now is a Psychic and Flying type," Kukui mentioned.

"Huh," Erika uttered as she folded her arms over her chest, "Well, it's gonna take some getting used to…" she admitted as she looked back at the swaying Dancing Pokémon.

"She might find another style she likes better!" Kukui pointed out with a chuckle. Erika let off a sigh.

"I'd rather not have that happen again…" she sheepishly confessed.

"Ree… ree~!" Oricorio sang as she continued to dance.

"That was a good battle, Calvin," Kiawe complimented, catching his attention, "It seems like you have the fire necessary to take on my trial today…" he concluded, sounding impressed.

"Thanks, Kiawe," Calvin replied, balling his fists, "And we'll be ready!" he promised, "Right, Yungoos?" he guessed to his teammates.

"Yung!" the Loitering Pokémon agreed with a nod. All of a sudden, he started glowing in a bright blue flash of light…

"Ah!" Calvin gasped as everyone widened their eyes.

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.

Dancing Through Fire!

The bright blue glow emitting from Yungoos shocked everyone as they saw his body grow, with some hairs along his head and chest protruding outward. When the light subsided, it revealed that he had become a Gumshoos!

"Guh!" he chattered out.

"Awesome!" his trainer exclaimed as he squatted down to his eye level, "You finally evolved!" he noted excitedly.

"Congrats, cousin!" Kukui complimented.

"Huh," Erika uttered out as she blinked, "I thought he'd be bigger…" she admitted as she scratched at her cheek, noticing how the Stakeout Pokémon was barely two feet tall.

"That'zzz because the one you fought wazzz a Totem Pokémon…" Rotom pointed out to her.

"Man, you must be hungry after battling and evolving…" Calvin realized, reaching into his backpack to pull out a white paper bag. He then took out a malasada from it. "Here you go!" he offered.

"Shoo!" Gumshoos refused, turning his head away.

"Huh?" his trainer uttered in surprise. That wasn't like the Stakeout Pokémon to completely reject the chance to eat. At least, not before he evolved…

"Unlike Yungoos, Gumshoos has a lot of patience," Kukui noted as he walked over, catching their attentions, "He'll usually try going a day or two without having so much as a bite of anything!" he mentioned with a chuckle.

"Wow…" Calvin uttered. His teammate had changed that drastically? Even so, he didn't want the Stakeout Pokémon to be battling on a potentially empty stomach. "Just have some, okay?" he requested, making Gumshoos perk up, "It's better to have something now than later," he pointed out. The Stakeout Pokémon's stomach growled.

"Guh-gum…" he stammered out in embarrassment, taking the malasada and eating it. His trainer chuckled.

"I like that compassion of yours, Calvin," Kiawe commented, crossing his arms over his chest, "I hope I get to see that during my trial…" he said.

"Yeah, we'll be sure to bring it!" Calvin declared in response.

"Guh shoo!" Gumshoos shouted in agreement.

"Cal! Eri!" a voice cried out, catching their attentions as they saw Hau coming towards them with Lana in tow, "Just wanted to wish you two luck before I head out!" he yelled with a big grin.

"Oh yeah, you're taking Lana's trial today," Erika remembered as she noticed the trial captain beside him.

"Good luck to you, too, cuz," Calvin remarked in farewell to his cousin, "Do your best," he added with a grin. Hau flashed one back.

"If you and Eri got it done, then it should be a snap!" he proclaimed as he snapped his fingers. Out of the corner of his eye, Calvin could see Lana let off a devious grin. She grabbed Hau by his left wrist.

"I suppose we should be going," she realized, starting to walk off, "Goodbye, everyone!" she called out, dragging the trial-goer away.

"Ah, ow!" he yelped, "Not so tight…!" he complained as he winced. A bead of sweat rolled down Calvin's head.

'Guess she's gonna make it hard for him, too…' he realized with a sigh.

"Calvin," Kiawe said, causing him to turn around and look at him, "I'll be waiting for you at the volcano's peak," he told him, heading off on his way as he waved goodbye. Calvin grinned.

"See you there, Kiawe!" he called out as he waved back.

"Looks like you're all set with where you're goin'," Kukui realized, "So what about you, Erika?" he asked, catching her attention, "Gonna stick around here until your brother beats his trial?" he guessed.

"Hmm… I guess so…" she admitted in response, looking over at Oricorio, "I wanna try and get used to battling with Oricorio in her new style, too," she mentioned, putting her hands at her hips.

"And maybe you can get Rockruff to evolve into a Lycanroc like the Masked Royal'zzz!" Rotom buzzed in addition.

"Oh yeah!" Erika realized excitedly as she pumped her fists, "Guess we better get to it then!" she stated firmly.

"Koree~…" Oricorio sang as she continued swaying without a care.

"Well, you better not burn any more daylight like a Will-O-Wisp!" Kukui pointed out to the twins, "Go ahead and get to it!" he advised with a grin.

"Right!" Calvin and Erika responded as they nodded. It was time for today's tasks to begin…

X

"Phew…" Calvin exhaled, wiping the sweat forming along his brow… only for more to start appearing. The Wela Volcano Park was as hot as he imagined. He could see the slow trails of lava flowing towards the ocean water below, steaming once it touched the surface. Despite the seemingly inhospitable environment, Calvin could see plenty of Pokémon roaming about the grasses close to the park's entrance. A trio of Fletchling flew off into his sight, much to his amazement.

'Might as well catch a new Pokémon while I'm here…' he decided through his thoughts, letting off a grin. Erika now had a fifth Pokémon, so why shouldn't he? There seemed to be a good variety of Pokémon he could choose to catch. 'I should try to find one that would be good for the trial…' he realized, narrowing his eyes onto the grasslands. Based on the area and how the trial was at the volcano's peak, it seemed obvious that the Pokémon who lived around the area were or related to Fire types.

"Kew!" a voice suddenly squeaked, catching his attention as he pushed aside some tall grass. He blinked in surprise to see a Cubone there waving his bone at a group of Salandit. He appeared to angry with the den of Toxic Lizard Pokémon, flailing his bone wildly to make them step back. Calvin took out his phone, activating his Pokédex app.

"Salandit, huh?" he uttered out upon seeing the information about the Toxic Lizard Pokémon. Then he heard a loud thud. He looked to see one of the Salandit with a massive bump on his head, knocked out completely.

"Kew, bone!" the Cubone yelled in a threatening manner, aiming his bone at the rest of the group.

"S-S-Saaaahhh…" one of the Salandit stuttered out as he hissed.

"BOH, BONE!" Cubone shouted angrily, striking them all with his bone without hesitation. Calvin widened his eyes. He had never seen a Pokémon this aggressive before! All of the Salandit scurried off in fright afterwards, not wanting to incur any more of the Lonely Pokémon's wrath. Calvin found himself sweating profusely.

'Okay… so maybe I shouldn't get that one…' he realized, starting to walk away. As he turned however, his hand brushed against the grass, catching the attention of the Cubone.

"Kewwww…" he growled. Calvin shuddered.

"Uh oh…" he uttered out in realization.

"BOHHHHH!" the Lonely Pokémon screeched as he lunged out at Calvin. He quickly ducked away from his attempted headbutt, looking to see him slam into a rock nearby. He cringed… but then gasped as he saw the rock shatter into pieces. "Bohhh…" the Cubone growled.

'How hard is that skull?!' Calvin screamed inwardly, running away out of fright.

"Kew, boh! Kew boh!" Cubone screeched, waving his bone around in a threatening manner as he chased after the trial-goer.

"What'd I even do to you?!" he wondered loudly as he hurried away, only to end up tripping over a rock and falling onto his stomach in a grunt.

"KEWWWWW BOHHHHH!" Cubone screamed in fury, jumping up and coming down, readying to strike the boy with his bone. Suddenly, a bluish white light shot out from Calvin's pants, coming into form and dissipating to reveal Dewpider, who tackled the Lonely Pokémon away.

"Ah, Dewpider!" his trainer gasped, seeing him land down on three of his legs, with the other three holding the water bubble over his head.

"Doo!" he squeaked angrily at Cubone, who stood back up.

"Boh, bohne!" he screeched back. He then rushed out at the Water Bubble Pokémon.

"Dewpider, Spider Web!" Calvin called out quickly. Aiming his spinneret forward, the Water Bubble fired off a sticky thread that split into a net that covered Cubone and stuck to the ground.

"Bohh…!" he growled, trying to break free.

"Now Bubble Beam!" Calvin commanded. Keeping his spinneret steadied, Dewpider fired off an array of bubbles that struck Cubone as he was still trapped. However, he glared on at the Water Bubble Pokémon. An orange light shrouded his form before he broke free of the sticky netting.

'That's Focus Energy!' Calvin realized, gritting his teeth as he saw the Lonely Pokémon charge towards Dewpider.

"Quick, Bubble Beam!" he ordered again. More bubbles were fired from Dewpider's spinneret. Cubone charged through them, letting them strike. "Huh…?" Calvin uttered in confusion. He had never seen a Pokémon act so recklessly…

"KEEEEUUUUUWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Cubone screeched as he leapt up, prepared to strike with his bone.

"Dodge it!" Calvin cried out quickly. Dewpider jumped back, narrowly evading the Lonely Pokémon smashed the ground with his bone, causing pieces of rock to fly about. "Jeez…" Calvin muttered with a gulp. This Cubone was definitely strong…

"Dooh, doopid!" Dewpider squeaked out, catching his attention. He nodded, regaining a serious expression.

"Yeah, let's settle this quick!" he concluded, balling his fists, "Bubble Beam!" he commanded. Dewpider jumped up and fired off more bubbles from his spinneret. They all struck Cubone, who seemed to be taking them head on!

"Kewwww…" he growled, stepping forward despite the bubbles continuing to strike him.

"Dooh pidd…" Dewpider grumbled before firing off an even more rapid flurry of bubbles, blasting the Lonely Pokémon in an explosion of white smoke.

"Is it over?" Calvin wondered aloud. A wind gust blew by, dissipating the remainder of the smoke.

"Bohh…" Cubone growled as he was still standing despite the obvious scrapes along his body.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Calvin muttered out. He was evidently exasperated by the persistence of the Lonely Pokémon.

"Doooh…" Dewpider growled, prepared to attack on command.

"Keww…!" Cubone began, raising his bone, "Bohhhh…" he groaned as he fell over backwards. Calvin blinked in surprise. Did the Lonely Pokémon tire himself out?

'Better hurry before he gets back up!' he realized, taking out an empty Poké Ball from his belt and enlarging it.

"Go!" he yelled as he threw it. The ball hit Cubone's torso, popping open afterwards. The Lonely Pokémon turned into red light that zoomed right into the Poké Ball, which quickly closed, landing upon the ground. It beeped and blinked red as it shook around for a few moments. Calvin and Dewpider looked on in anticipation. The Poké Ball then clicked as it stopped shaking. "Alright!" Calvin exclaimed in delight as he pumped his fist.

"Dooh!" Dewpider squeaked excitedly. They both went over to the Poké Ball, with the trial-goer picking it up.

'Feels like it's been a while since I caught a Pokémon like this…' he inwardly noted, squatting down and petting Dewpider atop his head, making him smile.

"All right…" he uttered out, aiming the Poké Ball forward, "Come out, Cubone!" he beckoned. The ball popped open, and the light that spilled out of it came into form upon the ground before dissipating to reveal the Lonely Pokémon.

"Keeuuu?" he said in confusion, turning around to see Calvin there.

"Hi there," he greeted warmly with a smile, "I know you were all fussy earlier, but I hope we can be friends now," he told him.

"Doohpid!" Dewpider agreed as he nodded. Cubone looked over at the Water Bubble Pokémon, glaring at him. He then raised his bone… and smacked the bubble atop Dewpider's head, effectively popping it. "Doooh…!" he gasped, falling down and rolling around, unable to breathe.

"Ah, Dewpider!" Calvin exclaimed, quickly rummaging through his backpack to pull out a bottle of water, "Here, I got you!" he assured, twisting off the cap and pouring water onto the Water Bubble Pokémon's head before hurrying off with him toward the nearest body of water. Cubone blinked.

"Boh?" he uttered in confusion, tilting his head to the side. A while later, Dewpider breathed a sigh of relief as he had a new bubble of water around his head. He was thankful for the nearby ocean despite not liking how salty the water was.

"What is your problem?!" Calvin yelled at Cubone, "You can't just go around attacking whoever you want!" he noted angrily.

"Boh…" the Lonely Pokémon huffed as he turned his head away.

"Jeez…" the trial-goer muttered out.

'I wonder if Mom or Dad had a Pokémon that ever acted this reckless…' he said through his thoughts, pulling out his phone, 'More importantly, aren't Cubone supposed to be more defensive?' he asked himself. For being described as the Lonely Pokémon, he certainly didn't act like someone who was lonely like Calvin imagined. Rather, he acted like a loner with a brash attitude.

"Huh…" the trial-goer sighed. It really couldn't be helped with how his new Pokémon was acting. At least not for now. He had a trial to get to.

"Excuse me?" a voice chimed in, catching his attention. He turned to see a dark-skinned woman with her brown hair in dreadlocks, wearing a bright turquoise t-shirt with a white hoodie tied around her waist over a pair of ripped jeans and white shoes. Calvin noticed immediately that her shirt had a symbol upon it similar to his island challenge amulet. "You're Calvin, right?" she guessed as she approached.

"Yeah, I am…" he nervously replied.

"Oh, we've been expecting you!" the woman exclaimed, "I'm Vanessa, a trial guide here," she introduced, holding out her hand for the boy to shake, which he did.

"So… you're like a guide to the trial site?" he guessed, arching an eyebrow.

"Mm-hmm!" she answered with a nod, "Trial guides like myself are seen in more dangerous locations such as the volcano here…" she pointed out, looking back towards the volcano's peak, "Even if it's inactive, the volcano can still be dangerous," she noted.

"Yeah…" Calvin agreed.

"Kew, keww boh!" Cubone shouted in frustration, causing the two to perk up.

"Cubone, knock it off…" Calvin muttered out with a sigh.

"I guess your Cubone really wants to get to that trial," Vanessa realized as she smiled, "Come on!" she beckoned, waving her arm before walking off.

'Cubone doesn't even know what we're doing…' Calvin inwardly noted, trudging after the trial guide. Dewpider kept his distance from the Lonely Pokémon, afraid of getting his bubble popped again. Unbeknownst to anyone, a couple of the Salandit were watching them from afar, aiming to get their revenge on Cubone…

X

"Koreee~! Koreeeoo~…" Oricorio sang as she swayed about the dirt field behind the Pokémon Center.

"Rahk!" Rockruff barked with his teeth glowing a bright white, jumping out and biting down on the Dancing Pokémon's left wing.

"RRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" she shrieked in pain, flailing around to try and get him off. He managed to land upon the ground, swinging Oricorio around before flinging her away. She tumbled across the dirt, rolling to a stop right in front of Erika. "Ree…" she weakly chirped.

"Breeah…" Brionne noted as she shook her head.

"Fooh…" Drifloon agreed. Fomantis was just standing asleep beside them, letting a snot bubble blow out from her nose.

"Huh…" Erika sighed, placing her hands at her hips, "It's like she's a different Pokémon entirely…" she pointed out.

"I did mention that Oricorio'zzz new form is relatively carefree…" Rotom buzzed as it floated beside Erika.

"Rah, rahk!" Rockruff barked again, catching their attentions as he was eagerly panting, apparently excited to keep training.

"Rockruff lookzzz zzzuper energetic today!" Rotom noted.

"Well, that's because he got to see his evolution yesterday!" Erika replied with a grin, walking over and squatting down to pet the Puppy Pokémon, "I'm sure he's ready to give it his all to try and evolve today, right?" she guessed.

"Ruff!" he yipped happily in response.

"Foh… foh…" Fomantis exhaled repeatedly as she continued to sleep. Drifloon started to float above her though, casting a shadow over her. Her snot bubble popped. "Fohh…" she growled, letting a tick mark appear upon her head before she tried to swat at the Balloon Pokémon.

"Some thingzzz never change…" Rotom noted as Erika giggled. As annoying as they were sometimes, her Pokémon all had their quirks that she found endearing. From Brionne's playfulness to Fomantis' sleepy nature, her team was an interesting bunch. Though… that also was posing a problem.

"Koreee~…" Oricorio sang as she had gotten back up and was dancing again, swaying freely without a care in the world.

"Huh…" Erika sighed, "If we got some of that yellow nectar from Melemele Meadow, we could get her back to normal…" she pointed out as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Do you really think she wants that though?" Rotom questioned, gesturing towards the Dancing Pokémon, "She lookzzz happy right now…" it noted curiously.

"I guess so…" Erika concluded as she shrugged. She wasn't exactly happy with Oricorio's sudden change in attitude along with her appearance, especially since she had been an especially active part of the team. But then again, that would mean Erika could spend time working with her other Pokémon.

"Hey, Erika!" a familiar voice called out. She looked over and gasped happily to see Pyrrha heading towards her alongside Trent and Paige.

"Pyrrha!" she yelled back, waving with her right arm. Moments later, the four of them were sitting at a table just beside the Pokémon Center.

"So you already tried out the Battle Royal?" Trent inquired, receiving a nod from Erika.

"And you got to battle the Masked Royal!" Paige pointed out with a sparkle in her eyes, "That's so cool!" she exclaimed as her fists were balled.

"Heh, yeah…" Erika chuckled.

'Guess she doesn't know either…' she inwardly noted, letting sweat drip down from her head.

"So anyways, I was gonna do so some more training around here before heading back to Brooklet Hill," Pyrrha chimed in, shifting the conversation.

"And then we heard about your Battle Royal since the Masked Royal was in it," Trent noted, "We figured we'd all do one together before we went our separate ways," he told Erika. She blinked in confusion.

"Huh?" she uttered out, tilting her head to the side, "Why say it like that?" she asked, knowing that Trent likely meant to say they'd head off on their own after a match. He blushed a little in embarrassment, scratching at his cheek.

"I still haven't taken my trial at Brooklet Hill yet," Pyrrha sheepishly admitted.

"And I haven't passed my trial at Wela Volcano, so I'm sticking around here…" Paige muttered in admittance.

"What about you?" Erika asked Trent curiously.

"I just finished up the trial up at the volcano," he responded, folding his arms behind his head, "It wasn't too bad for me and my team, so I'm just gonna spend the next few days training before the last one here," he explained to her.

"Where's Hau by the way? And Calvin?" Paige questioned, having noticed the two boys weren't there.

"Hau's heading off to Brooklet Hill for his trial today, and Cal's at the volcano for his," Erika answered.

"Wow! Cal's already on his second trial?!" Pyrrha beamed as she clapped her hands, "Boy, I really need to catch up…" she noted with a cheeky laugh.

"Well, best way to do that is with a Battle Royal!" Paige responded with a punch of her left hand, "Let's all do it!" she recommended.

"Yeah!" Pyrrha agreed, nodding excitedly.

"I'm in," Trent said as he stood up.

"And of course I'll go!" Erika exclaimed.

"So which Pokémon will you uzzze, Erika?" Rotom asked as it floated over, catching her attention.

"Hmm…" she hummed, putting her hand onto her chin, "I wanna get used to Oricorio's new style…" she admitted, looking over to see the Dancing Pokémon still swaying around without a care, "but I really wanna get Rockruff some training, too," she mentioned. The aforementioned Puppy Pokémon overhead his trainer, running over excitedly.

"Rahk, rah!" he yipped, hopping up and down.

"Oh yeah, didn't the Masked Royal's Rockruff evolve yesterday?" Trent inquired as he arched an eyebrow.

"And you're trying to get yours to evolve!" Pyrrha realized, having her eyes sparkle, "We'll totally help you out with that!" she promised.

"But don't think that means we're goin' easy on ya…" Paige mentioned with a smirk.

"All right, let's do it!" Erika challenged as she balled her fists. After returning her Pokémon to their Poké Balls aside from Rockruff, she followed her friends off to the Battle Royal Dome. Today definitely seemed exciting…

X

"Calvin, welcome!" Kiawe greeted with his hands at his hips as he was standing upon a dais at the peak of the volcano. To Calvin's surprise, it was more inactive than he imagined. He assumed there'd be a pool of lava he'd be heading to…

"Alright, I'll leave you both to it!" Vanessa cried out as she went down, "Good luck, Calvin!" she yelled with a wave to the trial-goer. He waved back as he smiled.

"Kew, kewboh!" Cubone shouted, catching his attention as he turned to see the Lonely Pokémon waving his bone around to bash a few nearby rocks apart.

"Hm?" Kiawe uttered as he blinked, "I haven't seen that one before…" he noted curiously.

"Yeah, I just caught him on my way up here…" Calvin told him, scratching at his cheek sheepishly with his right index finger, "He's… a little violent…" he mentioned while rubbing the back of his head.

"Boh, bohne!" Cubone shouted as he fiercely head-butted a nearby rock, shattering it into pieces. Kiawe blinked in surprise… and then smiled.

"I'm sure he'll be quite interested in today's trial," he assured, causing them to both perk up in surprise.

"Dooh?" Dewpider squeaked out of confusion. Kiawe threw out his right hand.

"Come forth, my Marowak!" he beckoned loudly. At that moment, Calvin could hear footsteps. He turned and saw a group of six Marowak coming… but they looked different than he recalled. They had black bodies and pale gray eyes. There was a dark, flame-like mark on their skulls between the eyes. Compared to what Calvin remembered about Marowak's squatter, thicker body, these ones were relatively thin. White markings resembling shoulder blades, vertebrae, and hip bones were visible on their backs. The bones they had were longer than normal as well.

"Those are… Alolan Marowak?" he guessed, pointing at them as they passed by him, Dewpider and Cubone.

"Correct," Kiawe replied as the Bone Keeper Pokémon gathered around him, rubbing their bones against their skulls respectively to make green flames ignite at the tips, "These Marowak have been passed down with the duty of assisting with the trial here for generations," he explained, "My grandfather helmed this island as its kahuna, making this trial one of the most sacred…" he continued, "so it's my duty to oversee it each and every day from dawn to dusk," he stated firmly as the wind rushed by. Calvin was surprised. Kiawe someone who sounded rather dedicated to his trial, especially since his family had apparently been involved with the island challenge in the past.

"KEWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Cubone suddenly screeched in challenge, running up to the group of Marowak.

"Ah, Cubone!" Calvin gasped.

"Doo!" Dewpider squeaked, leaping up and firing off a sticky thread from his spinneret to ensnare Cubone in a net before he could attack his evolved brethren.

"Mahroh…?" one of them uttered out in confusion. They were all surprised by the Lonely Pokémon's bizarre behavior. Kiawe just chuckled.

"I'm so sorry about that!" Calvin quickly apologized as he rushed over.

"Don't worry, it's fine," Kiawe assured in response, "Now then…" he continued as his expression turned serious, "your trial will be to test your power of observation!" he declared firmly.

"Huh?" Calvin said, raising an eyebrow.

"Your task is to observe the dances of these Marowak and find the differences between the two," Kiawe explained, "Observation is key for trainers and Pokémon when in battle," he pointed out to Calvin, "so you'll all need to watch carefully together," he advised as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Right," the trial-goer responded. Sweat trickled down his face. Both from the sweltering heat and the anxiety he was starting to feel. This wasn't like his earlier trials. He took a deep breath. "Okay, we're ready," he said, balling his fists.

"Doopid…" Dewpider squeaked firmly even as he looked nervous. Cubone wriggled around in his entrapment, starting to rip away the sticky thread around his body.

"All right then…" Kiawe uttered, "BEGIN!" he bellowed loudly. The bones the Marowak were holding all ignited with green flames on both ends. They twirled them around as they danced, while Calvin and Dewpider watched on intently. So far, the dance seemed simple enough…

"Mah!" one of the Marowak shouted before they all jumped up. From there… it got complicated. Some of the Bone Keeper Pokémon were jumping around while others were twirling their bones as their flames danced over their heads. Calvin felt his eyes race left to right just to try and see all of what was happening. But he and Dewpider were getting dizzy in their attempt to keep up with the Marowak. They put their bones together to create a giant green flame, which floated up into the air before slowly going out due to the wind.

"And that was the first dance," Kiawe noted, looking back at Calvin, who was completely floored. So much had gone down in that dance, he wasn't he even remembered it all.

'How the heck are you supposed to complete this trial?!' he wondered in exclamation, putting his hands onto his head.

"Are you prepared to observe the next dance?" Kiawe asked, causing Calvin to perk up.

"Uh…" he tried to respond, practically lost for words. There was no way he could piece together every single movement in that first dance, so how in the world was he supposed to remember anything?!

"Keww…" Cubone growled as he managed to finally break free of the sticky thread around him.

"I… guess I'm ready now…" Calvin nervously claimed, not noticing the Lonely Pokémon slowly sauntering over.

"Alright then…" Kiawe replied with a nod, "BEGIN!" he bellowed loudly. The Marowak started dancing again. Calvin and Dewpider carefully watched to see any discrepancies in their movements. But because it was already difficult to keep track of the six of them, noticing anything different was practically impossible. They finished the dance the same way as before, igniting a giant green fireball together and letting it blow out from the wind. Calvin felt his eye twitch.

'There's… no way I can do this!' he realized inwardly.

"So," Kiawe began, making him perk up, "what was the difference between the dances?" he asked of the trial-goer.

"Um…" he uttered out, looking around at the six Marowak nervously. He glanced over at Dewpider, who seemed just as overwhelmed like earlier. The only option was to guess the difference. But it could've been anything! From landing on a certain foot or how they posed, the Marowak dance had looked completely similar! "I think…" Calvin began, nervously raising his right index finger. He was about to make his guess… and then…

"BOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Cubone roared, lunging out past his trainer and Dewpider in an instant. He raised up his bone and slammed it onto the head of one of the Marowak.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Calvin shrieked, "Cubone, what are you doing?!" he yelled angrily as the Lonely Pokémon's evolved brethren fell over onto his backside. Kiawe looked on with his mouth gaping open.

"Incredible…" he uttered out. It was loud enough for Calvin to overhear. He widened his eyes.

'Did… Cubone just guess right for us?!' he wondered inwardly.

"It's incredible… HOW WRONG YOU ARE!" Kiawe exclaimed. Calvin felt his mind crack like glass.

"…Huh?" was all he said. At that moment, the knocked down Marowak's eyes flared to life. He hopped onto feet and smacked Cubone in an instant with a swing of his bone. It was like a baseball bat hitting a line drive as the Lonely Pokémon crashed into the ground in a flurry of dust. "Cubone!" Calvin exclaimed in shock as he and Dewpider looked backed at their teammate, who slowly got to his feet.

"Keww…" he growled. The Marowak twirled his bone before igniting both ends of it in green flames. The flames then enveloped him as he rolled forward towards his foe.

"A Flame Wheel…" Calvin uttered out in realization, gritting his teeth, "Cubone, dodge-!"

"BOHH!" the Lonely Pokémon roared as he lunged out towards the enflamed Marowak, striking him with his bone.

"He's not listening to me…" Calvin realized, slouching down in frustration. Both Cubone and his evolution were at a deadlock. They both jumped back moments after their collision however, with the flames around Marowak dissipating. Cubone then lunged back out at him with his head aimed for the Bone Keeper Pokémon's chest. He merely stood still… and his pre-evolution phased right through him! "Ah!" Calvin gasped in surprise as Cubone fell onto the ground upon his stomach.

"Boh…" he grunted as he tried to push himself back onto his feet. However, Marowak suddenly slammed his bone against the Lonely Pokémon's skull, making the ground crack in a flurry of dust. Calvin and Dewpider braced themselves from the dirt blown towards them. They looked out and widened their eyes to see that Cubone had been knocked out completely with his eyes in swirls.

"Doooh…" Dewpider squeaked out, blinking rapidly to see if he was seeing things right. Calvin seemed just as surprised. With how aggressive Cubone was, surely he'd be able to fight his evolution, right? Well, apparently the problem wasn't fighting at all. It was how he fought…

"Mah!" Marowak shouted, catching Calvin's attention as he saw him aim his bone towards Dewpider, "Mah, roh!" he challenged. The trial-goer blinked.

"The trial won't continue until you defeat the Marowak you guessed incorrectly," Kiawe chimed in with his arms crossed. Calvin took on a serious expression.

"Dewpider, can you take care of Cubone for me?" he requested.

"Dooh!" the Water Bubble Pokémon replied with a nodded, quickly crawling over to his teammate's side. In the meantime, Calvin pulled out another Poké Ball and enlarged it.

"Gumshoos, go!" he yelled, tossing it up into the air. The Poké Ball popped open, and the light that spilled out of it formed upon the ground, dissipating to reveal the Stakeout Pokémon.

"Guh!" he chattered, taking a ready stance.

"So I get to see how Gumshoos battles after his evolution…" Kiawe noted with a grin.

"Maww…" Marowak growled, twirling his bone before aiming it at his new opponent. He then rolled forward, enveloping himself in green flames again.

"Gumshoos, Sand Attack!" Calvin called out.

"Shoo!" the Stakeout Pokémon responded, lunging out at his enflamed opponent. He dug his paws into the ground before throwing dust and dirt out into the green flames. They dissipated as Marowak screeched to halt, having shut his eyes as the dirt had gotten in them.

"Now Bite!" Calvin commanded. With his teeth glowing a bright white, Gumshoos jumped over to be right behind Marowak, biting his tail.

"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the Bone Keeper Pokémon shrieked in agony, while his brethren winced from afar.

"Spin him around!" Calvin yelled, now having a confident grin on his face.

"Guh shoo!" Gumshoos chattered in response while still holding onto Marowak. He then spun the Bone Keeper Pokémon around wildly before throwing him. Marowak didn't have even a second to react as he slammed into the side of the mountain head first, slowly falling onto the ground.

"Wakk…" he muttered out in agony. Kiawe grinned.

"All right, that's it!" he concluded, raising up his right arm. Two of the Marowak hurried over to help their friend back onto his feet as he groaned.

"Nice job, Gumshoos!" Calvin complimented as he pumped his fists.

"Guhh!" the Stakeout Pokémon replied happily, raising his arms in a proud manner. His newfound strength definitely gave him the edge.

'I guess if we guess wrong, we have to battle one of the Marowak…' Calvin realized inwardly, letting out a quick breath of air, 'Well, as long as I don't have to worry about finding the differences between dances, then it's fine…' he noted to himself.

"Alright, time to restart the dance!" Kiawe instructed to the Marowak.

"Mah, ro!" they all responded as they raised up their bones. Calvin blinked.

"Huh?" he uttered out with a tilt of his head. Kiawe placed his hands at his hips.

"Until you guess correctly, your trial won't proceed," he explained to the trial-goer, whose eyes widened.

"Wh…What?!" he exclaimed, "You mean… I HAVE to find the difference between the dances?!" he inquired out of shock.

"Precisely," Kiawe answered.

"…" Calvin was lost for words as the breeze drifted by.

'...We're doomed…' he realized inwardly.

X

"Hup!" Erika grunted as she stretched out her arms, performing the Normal type Z-Move pose relatively quickly. She was in the green locker room of the Battle Royal Dome, preparing for her second Battle Royal battle.

"You're getting really good, Erika!" Rotom noted as it floated over to her.

"Thanks, Rotodex," she responded in gratitude, "If I'm gonna get Rockruff to evolve, I need to be on my A-game," she concluded as she closed her right hand into a fist.

"Rahk, rah!" the Puppy Pokémon barked, catching her attention. She noticed he'd been acting… somewhat odd since he saw his evolution. He was more excited obviously. But he was also… aggressive.

"All challengers please report to the ring," a voice over the intercom instructed.

"That's our cue," Erika realized, "Let's go, Rockruff!" she beckoned as she jogged towards the door.

"Ruff!" the Puppy Pokémon yipped, following her out.

"Good luck, zzt!" Rotom buzzed. A few minutes later, a spotlight shined onto the arena at the center of the dome. There weren't as many people in the crowd today, likely due to the fact that the Masked Royal wasn't going to be there. Rotom found itself a nice space to float around. A few onlookers stared at it curiously, astonished to see a floating Pokédex there.

"Welcome to the Battle Royal Dome, everybody…" a tired voice echoed through the loudspeaker. Rotom blinked in confusion.

"Thizzz isn't the same announcer as yesterday…" it realized, wondering what could've happened.

"Your regular announcer has fallen sick, so I'm taking over…" the exhausted-sounding man told the crowd, letting out a long yawn.

"It soundzzz like this guy might pazzz out on us…" Rotom buzzed.

"Yeah…" one spectator agreed with a nod.

"Anyways, today we have… an exciting battle for you all…" the announcer said in between more yawns, "In the red corner, we have the first-timer, Trent…" he introduced as the boy entered through the Charizard tunnel, "In the blue corner, we have another debut from Paige…" he tiredly continued as the peppy girl came out of the Gyarados tunnel, running up to her corner, "In the yellow corner, there's another first-timer in Pyrrha…" he kept going as the now red and yellow haired girl entered from the Haxorus tunnel, "and finally, taking part in her second Battle Royal is Erika…" the announcer finished, letting out another loud yawn.

'What's with this new announcer?' Erika wondered before she let off her own yawn while walking out of the Tyranitar tunnel with Rockruff by her side. They were contagious, after all.

"Rah, rahk!" the Puppy Pokémon barked as he hopped into the ring, growling aggressively.

"Oh, it looks like Erika's already selected Rockruff as her Pokémon today…" the announcer noted as he yawned again, "Let's see what other Pokémon our new challengers have, too…" he said tiredly.

"All right, come on out!" Pyrrha beckoned as she threw up an enlarged Poké Ball. Trent and Paige did the same. All three Poké Balls popped open, and the lights that poured out of them spilled onto the floor. The light from Pyrrha's formed and dissipated to reveal a Quilava.

"Quee!" he squeaked as flames ignited on his head and backside. The light that came from Paige's Poké Ball disappeared to unveil a Mudbray.

"Muhhhh!" he neighed excitedly, standing upon his hind legs. The last light from Trent's Poké Ball came onto the ground, taking a cube-like shape before dissipating. It revealed a small, cuboid Pokémon resembling an insect. His body consisted of three square segments. The last two sections had a thin, ring-like marking and a stubby brown leg on each side. Each eye was covered by a blue screen. Two short, yellow spikes extended from the front square: one on each side of his rectangular mouth. The mouth itself was gray and had two jaws that appeared to close sideways.

"Char jah!" he squeaked as his eyes flashed yellow underneath the blue screens over them.

"Whoa, that's a new one…" Erika noted as she blinked. As if Rotom had just heard her, an image of the Battery Pokémon came up on its screen.

"Charjabug, the Battery Pokémon, and the evolved form of Grubbin," it began to explain, "From the food he digests, he generates electricity, and he stores this energy in his electric sac. His stout shell provides excellent defense from attacks. He uses electricity on persistent opponents," it noted thoroughly.

"Wow, that's some detail!" one woman pointed out upon overhearing.

"Like listening to a book!" another man mentioned with a chuckle. Rotom smiled.

"It looks like the trainers have all selected their Pokémon…" the announcer noted as yet another yawn escaped his mouth, "You may… begin the battle…" he instructed tiredly.

"Let's get this crowd fired up, Rockruff!" Erika called out, "Use Rock Throw!" she commanded as she swung her left arm.

"Rahk!" the Puppy Pokémon barked as he hopped up, letting the stones around his neck glow a bright white. A multicolored aura shrouded his tail before several stones outlined in white shot out from sparkles orbiting around it. They were heading towards Charjabug.

"Dodge and use Spark!" Trent yelled.

"Charjj!" Charjabug squeaked in response, jumping to evade the rocks as they struck the ring floor in a flurry of dust. He then became encased in electricity before diving down at Rockruff.

"Counter with Tackle!" Erika called out, causing Trent to gasp in surprise. Rockruff leapt up and slammed into Charjabug with gritted teeth, grimacing from the electricity before managing to knock him back onto the floor.

"So that Rockruff's pretty strong, I guess…" the announcer tiredly noted. Thankfully, the crowd seemed much more excited.

"Time for a move perfect for a battle like this!" Paige declared as she threw out her right hand, "Mudbray, Bulldoze!" she ordered.

"Braaaayyy!" the Donkey Pokémon neighed, lifting his front legs up before slamming them down onto the floor. It surged up from the impact, heading for the other three Pokémon in the ring. Rockruff and Charjabug were sent flying up into the air as the floor crashed into them like a wave of water, and it was about to strike the Quilava as well.

"Cinder, Quick Attack!" Pyrrha commanded quickly.

"Quee!" her Quilava responded, having a whitish outline shroud her form as she dashed out and jumped over the surging floor. She then rammed head on into the Donkey Pokémon's face, causing him to stumble back a few steps.

"Muhh…" he snorted, shaking his head. A reddish aura flowed up his body afterwards though as he stood firm.

'Hey, that's the same thing that happened with Hapu's Mudsdale!' Erika inwardly recalled, 'So whatever it is, it only happens after he's hit by an attack…' she noted to herself, narrowing her eyes.

"Charjabug, Bug Bite!" Trent ordered, causing her to perk up in surprise.

"Ja, jah!" the Battery Pokémon buzzed as he landed down and lunged out towards the still falling Rockruff, making his teeth glow a yellowish-green.

"Use Flame Wheel!" Pyrrha yelled. Cinder had the flames upon his head and backside expand over his entire body as he somersaulted forward. Before Charjabug could even touch Rockruff, he was struck by the enflamed Quilava in a huge blast of black smoke.

"Rrrr…" Rockruff growled as he landed down, seeing Cinder and Charjabug come out from the smoke as they hit the floor.

"Rockruff, Howl!" Erika called out.

"RAAHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO!" the Puppy Pokémon bellowed, causing a reddish aura to flow up his body.

"And it looks like Rockruff's… raising his attack power with that Howl…" the announcer tiredly noted, "I wonder where this'll lead…" he mentioned with another yawn.

"Mudbray, Double Kick!" Paige ordered. The Donkey Pokémon galloped over to his opponents, pivoting around and reeling his hind legs back before kicking Cinder and Charjabug into the ropes.

"All right then…" Trent muttered out with a grin, "use Acrobatics!" he commanded.

"Char jah!" Charjabug replied, hopping up. His body glowed a bright sky blue as he zipped down and struck Mudbray over and over. However, with each hit he took, the Donkey Pokémon had that same reddish aura flowing up his body. Erika blinked. Even though she didn't have Rotom to tell her what was happening, she was starting to see a pattern. Mudbray seemed to be taking each subsequent hit from Charjabug better than the last.

'So he gets a boost in defense whenever he's hit?' Erika guessed through her thoughts, putting her hand onto her chin, 'In that case, Rockruff can't really do much since he's only got physical attacks…' she realized, looking over at her partner as he took on a ready stance.

"Mudbray, use Bide!" Paige shouted. As Charjabug struck him again, the Donkey Pokémon started to have a reddish aura build around his form.

"That's the same move Cal's Gumshoos has!" Erika recalled. This was bad. The more hits Mudbray took, the more likely his Bide would be all the more powerful by the time he unleashed it.

"Cinder, Smokescreen!" Pyrrha called out.

"Qui laaah!" the Volcano Pokémon exclaimed as she spewed out black smoke from her mouth to cover the entire ring.

"Oh, now Pyrrha's Quilava has blinded everyone with Smokescreen…" the announcer pointed out, still sounding exhausted, "What… will the other trainers do now?" he wondered as he yawned again.

"Dang… I can't see a thing…!" Paige muttered out in frustration.

"Muhh…" Mudbray bleated nervously.

"Charjabug, Charge!" Trent yelled. A light shined within the smoke as the Battery Pokémon had yellow electricity enveloping his body, sparking around him.

"Cinder, Ember on Mudbray!" Pyrrha commanded.

"Rockruff, Tackle Charjabug!" Erika ordered. The Quilava had her flames burn brightly before she shot out a fireball from her mouth, zooming into the smoke and striking the Donkey Pokémon in a fierce blast, blowing away most of the cloud around the ring.

"Mudbray!" Paige screamed. The Donkey Pokémon stumbled back out from the flames, looking rather sooty. All of a sudden, a plume of flames momentarily enveloped his body, making him cry out in pain. "Ah!" his trainer gasped.

"Oh, it looks like Mudbray got burned by Quilava's Ember…" the announcer noted, "Will he be able to last much longer?" he wondered through the loudspeakers. The audience was still excited however, cheering loudly. Meanwhile, Rockruff lunged through the smoke and slammed into Charjabug head on, knocking him back.

"Use Spark!" Trent ordered. Yellow electricity continued to crackle around Charjabug before he dashed out and struck Rockruff, zapping him fiercely as he fell onto the ground.

"Rockruff!" Erika screamed worriedly.

"Rrrr…" the Puppy Pokémon growled as he slowly got to his feet, glaring at Charjabug.

"By using Charge, Charjabug wazzz able to make that Spark zzztronger than usual…" Rotom noted as the people around him listened carefully, "And Mudbray's Stamina ability increasezzz his defenzzze every time he gets hit," he mentioned.

"Wow, you really know everything!" one boy exclaimed with a beaming smile.

"Rockruff, you okay?" Erika asked in concern.

"Rah, rahk!" the Puppy Pokémon barked as he clenched his teeth angrily.

"Alright… use Rock Throw!" his trainer commanded as she swung out her right arm. The stones around Rockruff's neck glowed white as a multicolored orb of light shrouded his tail. Sparkles appeared around it before they formed into shards of rock that were shot out towards Charjabug.

"Dodge and use Acrobatics!" Trent called out. Charjabug hopped up to evade the oncoming rocks, having his body glow a bright blue. But just as he was about to zip down to his target, Rockruff leapt up and tackled him in an instant. "Ah!" Trent gasped.

"Whoa, Rockruff?!" Erika exclaimed. She hadn't even issued a command…

"RRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" the Puppy Pokémon roared as his teeth glowed a bright white. He bit down onto the left yellow spike of Charjabug before spinning him around and flinging him into the ropes. He fell down afterwards, groaning in agony.

"Well… it looks like… Charjabug might be down for the count…" the announcer tiredly noted.

"Cinder, Ember!" Pyrrha commanded as she pumped out her fist.

"Quee!" her Quilava squeaked, letting the flames upon his head and backside burn brightly as she fired off another fireball from her mouth. It struck Mudbray in a fierce explosion of smoke. As it subsided, it revealed that he was still standing though, as the red aura from his Bide was building.

"We might not be making it out of this battle the winners, but we won't go down that easily!" Paige declared, "Mudbray, free your Bide!" she called out.

"Muh… BRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!" the Donkey Pokémon neighed as he unleashed a large beam of white light from his mouth, heading for the Quilava. However, Pyrrha smirked.

"Dodge with Quick Attack!" she yelled. Paige widened her eyes. Cinder had a white outline glow around her body as she dashed out, evading the huge beam as it struck the floor behind him. He then slammed head on into Mudbray, making him stumble back. His legs started to buckle… and a plume of flames suddenly enveloped him.

"Mudbray!" Paige screamed. The Donkey Pokémon fell over onto his side, having swirls in his eyes. The bell went off once.

"And Mudbray is down thanks to that burn…!" the announcer gasped, sounding like he waking up a little, "Now that leaves us with three Pokémon left!" he exclaimed.

"Oh man…" Trent muttered out, grimacing a little. He knew Charjabug had weaknesses against both Quilava and Rockruff, so there was little room for error if they were going to win this battle. "Charjabug, use Charge and then Spark on Rockruff!" he commanded quickly.

"Char jah…!" the Battery Pokémon grunted out as his eyes flashed a bright yellow underneath his screens. Yellow electricity sparked wildly around his form.

"Rockruff, Rock Throw!" Erika ordered. The Puppy Pokémon had the stones around his neck glow a bright white before another multicolored orb of energy appeared upon his tail. Sparkles shined around the orb before forming into rocks glowing within white outlines. Charjabug lunged out towards Rockruff at that very moment, encased in electricity. The Puppy Pokémon shot the rocks at him. Since he was already on course to collide with Rockruff, the Battery Pokémon had no means of dodging as the rocks struck him over and over. Before he could even reach his target, he fell onto the floor in a flurry of dust.

"Charjabug!" Trent screamed.

"Buhh…" the Battery Pokémon squeaked out weakly as he lied on his side. The bell went off twice.

"And now Charjabug is down, too!" the announcer exclaimed, "Looks like this Battle Royal's wakin' me up after all!" he pointed out excitedly through the loudspeakers.

"Alright, Erika!" Rotom cheered from the stands.

"Guess it's just you and me, Pyrrha!" Erika realized as she grinned excitedly.

"Don't think we're gonna lose again, Erika!" her friend called out in declaration, "Cinder might be weak to Rockruff, but he's not going down without a fight!" she exclaimed.

"Lavaaahh!" her Quilava roared as his flames burned brightly.

"Let's go, Rockruff!" Erika shouted, "Use-!" Without warning, the Puppy Pokémon ran out at Cinder. "Hey! Rockruff!" his trainer yelled, "What are you doing?!" she asked. She hadn't even issued a command…

"Cinder, Flame Wheel!" Pyrrha ordered as she stuck out her right hand. Her Quilava somersaulted forward, enveloping herself in the fire from her head and backside, rolling towards the charging Rockruff. They collided in a fierce explosion.

"Rah…!" the Puppy Pokémon barked as he flew out of the smoke cloud, flipping over to land back on his feet. His face was dirtied with soot, but he didn't care. He was focused solely on the Volcano Pokémon standing in front of him.

"Okay…" Erika grumbled, deciding to ignore her Pokémon's actions, "Rock Throw!" she commanded. Rockruff leapt up, making the stones around his neck glow a bright white once more. A multicolored orb of energy shrouded his tail before the sparkles appeared around it, forming into sharp rock shards that were shot out at the Quilava.

"Use Ember!" Pyrrha yelled out. Cinder opened her mouth and fired off a large fireball from it. The oncoming rocks struck the fireball in a powerful blast like earlier. However, some shards managed to shoot through the smoke, striking the Volcano Pokémon over and over.

"Quee…" he squeaked out weakly as he gritted his teeth. As he managed to stand back up, a reddish aura suddenly started to overtake his body. "LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" he exclaimed as his flames expanded and burned even brighter than before.

"And Pyrrha's Quilava has activated her Blaze ability!" the announcer exclaimed, "He might be on his last legs, but he's got his fire burning now!" he noted excitedly.

"Just like Torracat…" Erika noted to herself, letting off a big grin, "Alright, Rockruff! Let's do this!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest as her Normalium Z upon the Z-Ring flashed brightly.

"Rahk!" Rockruff barked as he took a ready stance.

"And now Erika's going for a Z-Move to try and end this battle!" the announcer screamed through the loudspeakers, "Will Rockruff break through Quilava's burning flames?!" he wondered loudly.

"Cinder, Flame Wheel!" Pyrrha commanded. The Volcano Pokémon somersaulted forward, enveloping himself within the brightened flames from his backside and head as he rolled towards Rockruff. Erika quickly went through her poses before striking the z-shaped one. An orange aura shrouded her form and then shot out in streaks toward the Puppy Pokémon. They merged with him, followed by the Z-Move symbol flashing in front of his face.

"Rahk, ruff!" he barked out.

"Let's go!" his trainer shouted, "BREAKNECK BLITZ!" she screamed as the Puppy Pokémon dashed out at full speed. He rammed into the fireball coming towards him, causing a huge explosion at the center of the ring. The two trainers braced themselves from the force of the impact, shielding their eyes with their arms as black smoke rushed by. As everyone looked on with anticipation, the smoke slowly cleared away. Both the Quilava and Rockruff appeared to still be standing, though definitely dirtied up. And then the flames upon Cinder's head went out.

"Laaaahhh…" he groaned out before falling over onto his side with swirls in his eyes. The bell went off three times.

"And Quilava has fallen!" the announcer exclaimed, "This Battle Royal's winner is… Erika and her Rockruff!" he announced delightedly. The crowd cheered.

"Way to go, Erika!" Rotom complimented from the stands amidst the applauding audience.

"Huh…" the pigtailed trial-goer sighed in relief. While fun, the battle had gotten a little too intense for her liking. Especially when Rockruff started attacking without her say so.

'What was that about anyway?' she wondered inwardly. That wasn't the Puppy Pokémon she'd trained over the past few weeks. She disregarded those thoughts running off of her pedestal towards him.

"Awesome job, Rockruff!" she complimented, about to pick him up.

"RAH!" he barked suddenly, almost nipping her right hand with his teeth. She managed to pull away in the nick of time, blinking in surprise.

"Rockruff…" she uttered out. The anger in the Puppy Pokémon's eyes was very apparent. But it quickly subsided once he blinked.

"R-Rah...?" he stuttered out. Erika blinked before pulling off a grin. She picked Rockruff up and held him close.

"You did great," she assured.

"Rrr…" he whimpered, resting his head on her shoulder.

"That was a fun battle, Erika!" Pyrrha chimed in as she went over and petted Cinder gently while he stood back up, "We should do this again sometime!" she recommended.

"Yeah, totally!" Paige agreed, returning Mudbray to his Poké Ball in a beam of red light, "Maybe we can get Cal to join in!" she added as a suggestion.

"Well, so long as he gets back from his trial…" Trent remarked while picking up Charjabug.

"He will," Erika assured confidently, "Cal's not the kinda guy who'll give up so easily," she pointed out with a big grin.

X

"Ugh…" Calvin groaned in frustration. He looked absolutely ragged. So did his Pokémon. Aside from Dewpider, who'd been making sure Cubone didn't go out of control again, Gumshoos, Torracat, and Trumbeak all seemed exhausted.

"We'll go through this as many times as we need to!" Kiawe exclaimed from the pedestal he was upon as the Marowak danced around him. It had been about three hours. Three long, grueling hours. Even with all of his Pokémon watching the Marowak, Calvin still couldn't pinpoint which of them was doing something differently in the dance compared to the prior one.

'This is impossible!' he inwardly exclaimed. He was growing frustrated. Impatient even. He'd gone through the same pattern of picking the wrong Marowak at least 30 different times. And though his Pokémon were able to deal with the Bone Keeper Pokémon with relative ease, they were almost completely exhausted from fighting them for so long.

"Are you ready to observe the dance again?" Kiawe asked. The blood veins on Calvin's head looked ready to pop. He'd been asked that question over and over…

"I can't do this!" he finally screamed out, "There's no way I can just find a difference like it's nothing!" he yelled in frustration. His Pokémon seemed all surprised… aside from Cubone. Meanwhile, Kiawe crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"I understand your frustration," he responded as Calvin blinked, "There have been other challengers like you that have given up when faced with the first dance," he told him, "However…" he continued, opening his eyes, "when you hear the word challenge, you don't expect it to be easy, do you?" he inquired. Astonishment crossed Calvin's face. "The island challenge is meant to test not only a trainer's skill in battle, but also their own capabilities," the trial captain explained, "The best of trainers know how to assure their Pokémon that they can rely on them to take correct actions," he mentioned firmly.

"…" Now the speechlessness from Calvin was less of shock and more of thought. How had he not considered that? His Pokémon depended on him to make the right decisions as much as he depended on them to fight with their all. He needed to be someone they could trust in times like this. It was their trial as well as his.

'But how can I do this?' he wondered inwardly. There was no doubt a real challenge ahead of him. Out of six Marowak, he had to find that was doing something different from one dance to the next. That probability wasn't great, but there was still a chance. But using his eyesight wasn't working. Even with his team watching with him… Well, most of them…

And then he remembered something…

FLASHBACK

"Found you!" a ninja-costumed Erika exclaimed as she discovered her twin brother hiding under the couch.

"No fair!" he yelled as he crawled out, "You always find me so fast!" he complained, puffing out his cheeks. Being five years old, the twins were always finding ways to occupy themselves with their parents off on different jobs. Their mother as a barmaid at Fairy Tail, and their father as the Champion Master of the Kanto Region. Thankfully, they had their older sister looking after them.

"Guys, dinner'll be ready soon!" she shouted as she was doing her best to not burn the macaroni she was making over the stove.

"Okay balloons!" her little sister responded, causing her to blush slightly in frustration, "Let's hurry up and finish our game!" she advised quickly before racing off, "Hurry up already!" she yelled impatiently.

"Huh…" Calvin sighed, covering his eyes with his hands, "One, two, three, four…" he counted off. Playing games like this with his sister seemed dull, but for some reason, he did end up enjoying them. "…eight, nine, ten!" he finished counting, uncovering his eyes. And thus began his hunt for his twin sister. But he couldn't find her. No matter where he looked, she had just vanished. She was basically the ninja she dressed herself up to be.

'This is really stupid…' Calvin muttered to himself as he trudged up to the second floor. He knew his sister was someone who'd always manage to be better than him at hiding. She was a ninja in her own right, basically. Calvin was ready to give up and just go to the dinner table, but then he heard something. It was faint, but he could hear a small creak nearby. He noticed a closet door that was barely opened. As he slowly opened it, he noticed the large amount of coats hung up. And then he heard a giggle.

"You found me!" Erika exclaimed as she jumped out from the coats, tackling her brother into a hug as he yelped, "But I found you faster, so I win!" she declared with a cheeky grin underneath the mask of her costume.

"You're so unfair, Eri…" Calvin complained as he sat up, "I always find you whenever you make a noise or something…" he pointed out.

"That's really cool though!" his twin sister noted, much to his surprise as he looked up at her, "If you can use your ears better than your eyes, you can find things no one else can!" she mentioned.

"Kids! Dinner!" Leslie yelled up to her siblings.

"Coming!" Erika responded, running down the stairs. Meanwhile, Calvin was left to think about what his sister had said.

'Use… my ears?' he repeated to himself.

END FLASHBACK

That was it. Calvin realized that it wasn't his eyes he should be using, but his ears. How had he not considered that up until this point?

'Guess I'm as stubborn as Erika is, huh?' he inwardly noted as a light grin crossed his face.

"Are you prepared to watch the dance again?" Kiawe asked, having noticed the newfound look of confidence in the trial-goer's eyes.

"Yeah," he replied with a nod. He looked back at his Pokémon. "You guys still good to go?" he asked them.

"Mrow!" Torracat roared as she nodded.

"Guh shoo!" Gumshoos challenged while standing up firmly.

"Trummmm!" Trumbeak squawked. Their trainer smiled at their tenacity.

"All right…" Kiawe uttered, turning to the group of Marowak, "BEGIN!" he bellowed. The Bone Keeper Pokémon started their dance once again. Calvin watched on, but focused more on the sounds they were making. Each footstep, each clatter of their bones, and each flame billowed were all caught by his ears. Frankly, there wasn't much to remember in terms of sounds. The dance ended the same as all the times before, with the Marowak coming together to form a giant green fireball that blew out into thin air moments later. Calvin took a moment to recall the distinct sounds he had heard.

"Okay, I'm ready for the next one," he affirmed. His Pokémon all blinked in surprise. Even Kiawe seemed stunned. That was relatively quick…

"All right then…" the trial captain said, not questioning the decision, "Continue," he instructed to the Marowak. They started their dance, and Calvin listened. His eyes looked forward, while his ears picked up each sound. Each footstep, each flame, and each… His eyes widened as he heard something different from before, immediately jerking his head towards the source.

One of the Marowak near the back of the group was twirling its bone rapidly, clicking it against those of his brethren to make the ends ignite. And Calvin saw what he'd missed the last time. That Marowak was spinning its bone clockwise, unlike the previous dance. He and his brethren finished by forming a large fireball and letting it shoot up into the air, blowing out from the wind.

"So," Kiawe began, catching Calvin's attention, "what was different from the previous dance?" he asked of him. In just a few seconds, he pointed towards the Marowak at the back left.

"That one was spinning his bone the other way," he responded. For a moment, no one said a word. The grin that had been forming on Calvin's face was about to contort into a look of dismay…

"B-But how?!" Kiawe suddenly stuttered out, "That was truly spectacular..." he noted as he blinked rapidly. Calvin started smiling again. "And to add to the spectacle…" the trial captain continued, suddenly swinging out his right arm, "Go, Marowak!" he shouted.

"Maw roh!" the Bone Keeper Pokémon at the back of the group exclaimed as he lunged forward at Calvin, whose smile dropped.

'I was wrong AGAIN?!' he yelled inwardly. Before the Marowak could strike him though, Torracat jumped in and caught his bone with her glowing white teeth.

"Mrrrr…!" she growled, spinning the Bone Keeper Pokémon around and tossing him up into the air as he yelled, "Mrah, mrrooowww!" she roared to her trainer, catching his attention.

"R-Right!" he stammered, "Use Fire Fang!" he commanded as he pumped his right fist. Torracat let her mouth billow with flames as a reddish aura shrouded her form. She leapt up and bit down onto the Marowak's chest, creating a fiery blast that enveloped both of them. The Bone Keeper Pokémon fell down to the ground seconds later, having his eyes in swirls.

"Raaahhh…" he groaned as he dropped his bone.

"Toraahh…!" Torracat roared, panting heavily. She was exhausted. She'd fought the Marowak almost ten times already.

"Thanks for that, Torracat…" her trainer said in gratitude as he let off a breath of relief. Unfortunately, it seemed like he had once again failed to-

"My Marowak was so pleased by your right answer that he just had to battle you!" Kiawe pointed out suddenly as he clapped, "Well done!" he complimented.

"…Huh?" Calvin uttered out. His answer was correct? And yet Marowak still attacked him and his team? He could feel his blood vessels bubbling again…

"Now are you ready to observe the next dance?" Kiawe asked of the trial-goer. He let out an exasperated exhale.

'Guess I know how pissed Erika was with Lana…' he realized inwardly, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"We're ready," he assured to the trial captain.

"Then begin!" he yelled to the Marowak as the one who was just defeated arose from the ground, gathering with his brethren atop the pedestal. Calvin regained his focus, watching as they started to march around Kiawe. They were twirling their bones, letting their ends be engulfed in green flames as they danced about. Fortunately, Calvin didn't see or hear anything that would draw his attention away… which was odd. The Marowak finished their dance by clacking their bones onto the pedestal floor, making flames streak out to the center before they plumed up together in a column of fire, blowing out thanks to the wind.

"Okay…" Calvin uttered out. Nothing seemed too complicated with the dance this time. Any difference would likely be easy to spot. "We're ready for the next one!" he declared confidently.

"Very well then," Kiawe responded with a nod, "Continue!" he commanded to the Marowak.

"Mah!" they shouted in response, starting their dance again. Calvin kept his eyes and ears focused on the group. Nothing seemed discernably different. Nor sounded different.

'Come on…' he pleaded inwardly, clenching his fists. There had to be a difference somewhere. The Marowak clacked their bones onto the floor, making their green flames streak out to the center, pluming up together in a column of fire. Calvin really couldn't see or hear any difference. And then…

"Alola!" a voice greeted suddenly.

"Huh?" Calvin uttered out in confusion. As the fire subsided thanks to the wind, he widened his eyes. Standing there was a middle-aged man in a green tank top and tan cargo pants. He had black and white striped socks under brown boots, and a green wool cap atop his head. Leaves were scattered around his head and shoulders, including along his large brown knapsack. Calvin's eyes blanked out upon seeing the man. He expected the next difference to be obvious. Just not this obvious…

'Okay, maybe this was just a mistake or something…' he noted to himself. He looked over to Kiawe.

"Now tell me," he began, looking over at the trial-goer with a grin, "what was the difference between those dances?" he asked. Calvin could've sworn one of his blood vessels popped.

"YOU MAKE US GO THROUGH ALL THAT FIGHTING AND THEN YOU PULL THIS CRAP?!" he screamed angrily and loudly to the trial captain, "ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING MEEEEEEEEEEEEE?!" he roared out. The two men and all of the Pokémon were all stunned by his outburst. Even Cubone seemed impressed as he sat up.

"Kew…" he uttered out with shaking eyes.

"Huh…" Calvin exhaled, calming down, "That guy who showed up at the end unlike in the first dance," he answered simply.

"Correct!" Kiawe responded, giving him a thumbs up.

'You don't need to congratulate me for something so simple…' Calvin muttered to himself as a drop of sweat trickled down the side of his head.

"Before you continue your trial though," the hiker began, catching his attention as he saw him pull out a Poké Ball from his bag and enlarge it, "I would like to battle you!" he challenged. Calvin blinked in surprise, but then grinned.

"Sure!" he responded with a nod.

"All right…" the hiker said, reeling his arm back, "Come out, Magmar!" he yelled as he tossed the Poké Ball into the air. It popped open, and the light that spilled out from it formed upon the pedestal, dissipating to reveal the Spitfire Pokémon.

"Moagg!" he bellowed excitedly.

"A Magmar, huh?" Calvin noted. He quickly looked back at his team. Torracat looked completely exhausted, Gumshoos and Trumbeak looked pretty worn as well, and Dewpider was still looking after Cubone, making sure he didn't jump into the fray unnecessarily.

"Guh, gum shoo!" the Stakeout Pokémon chattered, stepping forward.

"You wanna battle?" his trainer inquired.

"Guhh!" Gumshoos answered with an eager nod.

"Okay, go!" Calvin exclaimed, enticing him to jump out in front of his trainer.

"Shhooo!" he shouted in challenge, ready to battle his opponent.

"Magmar, Clear Smog!" the hiker commanded. The Spitfire Pokémon took a deep breath and spewed out a cloud of white smoke from his pursed lips.

"Counter it with Sand Attack!" Calvin cried out.

"Guh!" Gumshoos yelled, digging his front paws into the ground beneath his feet and throwing up dust to block the oncoming cloud. It dissipated afterwards.

"Now Tackle!" Calvin ordered as he pumped his right fist. Gumshoos lunged out and slammed head on into Magmar's stomach, causing him to stumble back as he grimaced in pain. "Nice one, Gumshoos!" his trainer complimented.

"Shooah!" the Stakeout Pokémon responded as he grinned… right before being enveloped in a plume of flames, "GUHHHH!" he screamed in agony.

"Gumshoos!" Calvin exclaimed before the fire vanished around his teammate's body.

"Ha, ha!" the hiker suddenly laughed, catching his attention, "My Magmar's Flame Body is pretty hot to the touch, huh?" he inquired in a jocular manner, "When a Pokémon makes direct contact with him, he could get burned!" he pointed out as he let off a wink.

"Oh, right…" Calvin muttered, clenching his fists.

"Guhh…" Gumshoos growled while gritting his teeth.

"Magmar, Ember!" the hiker commanded as he swung out his right arm. Puffing out his chest, the Spitfire Pokémon fired off a fireball from his mouth. It struck Gumshoos, causing him to stumble back.

"GUHHHHH!" he screeched as the flames billowed over his body once again.

"Hang in there, Gumshoos!" Calvin yelled, "Use Bide!" he called out.

"Shoo…!" he grunted out in response letting a reddish aura build around his body.

"Trying to hold out for one last blow?" the hiker guessed, "We'll take that challenge!" he declared firmly, "Clear Smog!" he ordered.

"MARRRRR!" Magmar bellowed as he spewed more white smoke from his mouth that struck Gumshoos.

"Guhhmm…" he growled, clenching his teeth as the red aura around him grew.

"Truh, trumm!" Trumbeak cheered from afar.

"Doo, dooh!" Dewpider squeaked.

"Come on, Gumshoos!" Calvin yelled with clenched fists, "Stay strong!" he pleaded.

"Guhmmm!" the Stakeout Pokémon roared as the smoke cleared around him.

"Finish him off, Magmar!" the hiker shouted, "Fire Punch!" he commanded.

"Moag!" the Spitfire Pokémon exclaimed, enveloping his right hand in flames as he closed it into a fist. He lunged out at Gumshoos, punching his head fiercely. However, he only slid back a few steps as his feet were firmly planted into the ground. The red aura around him had grown to an immense size.

"Guh," he remarked, letting off a smirk. Magmar sweated.

"M-Mag?" he stammered out.

"GOOOO!" Calvin exclaimed loudly. The reddish aura around Gumshoos vanished… followed by an orb of white light appearing in front of his open mouth. It then unleashed a powerful beam right into Magmar's face. Once it subsided seconds later, it revealed the Spitfire Pokémon with a sooty upper body. A puff of smoke came out of his lips.

"Marrrrr…" he groaned, falling backwards onto the ground in a heap.

"MAGMARRRRR!" the hiker screamed in shock as he started tearing up.

"It looks like Gumshoos is the winner," Kiawe noted, crossing his arms as he grinned.

"Phew…" Calvin exhaled in relief.

"Guh…" Gumshoos grunted out of pain, almost falling over if it weren't for his trainer catching him from behind.

"Take it easy, bud," he advised, pulling out a Poké Ball, "You should get some rest," he noted before returning the Stakeout Pokémon in a beam of red light. "You too, Torracat," he said to the Fire Cat Pokémon as he took her Poké Ball out from his belt.

"Mrrowww…!" she moaned in frustration. In spite of how she wanted to keep battling, she knew her exhaustion was likely to get the better of her. She resigned herself to her fate and let the red light from the Poké Ball envelop and return her to it.

"Huh," Calvin breathed out again.

'Now I've only got Trumbeak to rely on…' he realized as he looked back at the remainder of his team, 'Though I guess I could use Dewpider… or Cubone…' he noted to himself, somewhat nervous as he saw the Lonely Pokémon stand back up.

"KEWW BOH!" he bellowed, raising his bone in declaration.

"Dooh!" Dewpider squeaked before wrapping him up in sticky thread shot from his spinneret again, trapping him to the ground.

"Boh, bohh!" he whined, squirming around to try and break free. Calvin just looked on and groaned.

'Okay, maybe I'll just let Dewpider watch Cubone instead…' he decided inwardly. The Lonely Pokémon's abnormally aggressive behavior was not something he wanted to deal with going forward.

"Now for the final dance!" Kiawe suddenly exclaimed, causing the trial-goer to perk up in surprise, "David, are you ready?" he asked the hiker as he had just returned Magmar to his Poké Ball.

"Of course!" he replied with a thumbs up and a wink.

"Then let's begin!" Kiawe declared. The half dozen Marowak gathered with David upon the pedestal. The hiker was in the middle of the Bone Keeper Pokémon line. First, they started two-stepping. Then the Marowak at both ends of the lines started breakdancing on their heads!

"Whoa…" Calvin uttered in amazement. His Pokémon were just as impressed. As the Marowak all ignited their bones in green flames, David pulled out a staff that had its ends alight with the fire as well. He spun it around rapidly, mimicking the four Marowak beside him, while the other two continued breakdancing.

Calvin and his Pokémon could only marvel the dance. They had been so bored with the repetition earlier that seeing something new was so exciting now. As David threw up his staff and caught it, he held it out horizontally for the Marowak to pass on the flames from it to each other, followed by them each letting small fireballs emit from their bones into the air. They blew out beautifully with the breeze, which rushed by Calvin as he felt their warmth against his skin.

"That was amazing…" he remarked simply. Kiawe chuckled.

"Are you ready to see the dance again?" he asked of the trial-goer, getting his attention.

"Yeah!" he responded with an eager pump of his fists. As the dance started again, a slender figure was starting to approach the pedestal from the back of the mountain, crawling as it licked its lips.

"Hoo-hah!" David yelled as he held out his enflamed staff for the Marowak to use in passing the flames. As Calvin carefully observed the dance, he could hear some odd footsteps he hadn't heard previously. But he couldn't find where they were coming from. As the small green fireballs went up into the air and blew out with the wind, he hadn't seen anything different.

"So what was the difference between those dances, Calvin?" Kiawe asked of him. He wasn't sure how to respond, looking around to spot anything particularly out of place compared to before. Before he could ask to watch the dance again though…

"Truh, trum beek!" Trumbeak squawked, gesturing with his left wing towards something in the distance. Calvin looked to see that just beyond the pedestal, there was a black tail wiggling about.

"That tail?" he uttered out, only to slap his hand over his mouth.

'Crap, I shouldn't have just guessed like that!' he inwardly realized, 'I'm probably wrong and Kiawe's gonna have one of the Marowak-!'

"Correct," the trial captain answered, snapping Calvin away from his thoughts, "And to add to that answer…" he continued, snapping his fingers. All of a sudden, a figure leapt up into the air from where the trial-goer had spotted the tail. It landed down hard upon the pedestal, causing a cloud of dust and dirt to billow around the area.

"Ah!" Calvin gasped as he and his Pokémon braced themselves from the oncoming cloud. The wind blew it away seconds, allowing them to see what had arrived. Calvin's eyes widened. Standing before them was a dark gray Pokémon resembling a large salamander. Her thin body had a purple underside with several wavy, dark pink markings: a U-shaped marking with two additional lines inside on her chest and one on each hip resembling wisps of smoke. The dark gray on her head and neck extended slightly onto her chest in a V-shape. She had a slender head with purple, almond-shaped eyes with slit pupils and two fang-like projections on each side of her lower jaw. There were two thin, wavy growths on her back at the base of her tail, which was whip-like with a dark pink underside. Her hands and feet each had five long, thin digits. She licked her lips upon seeing Calvin and his Pokémon.

'Is that… the Totem of the trial?!' the trial-goer wondered inwardly.

"This is my vaunted Salazzle," Kiawe introduced as the Toxic Lizard Pokémon stepped forward, "I've trained her for many trial-goers," he pointed out, "and only so many manage to defeat her," he noted as he crossed, "So," he continued as Salazzle got down onto her hands and feet and stalked Calvin like he was her prey, "how will you fare, Calvin?" he wondered.

"Salaaaahh…" Salazzle hissed, licking her lips again. Calvin nervously balled his fists. He was about to face quite a challenge.

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

Calvin Ketchum: Wait, that's it?! You're leaving my trial on a cliffhanger?!

NegaiFreak: Considering that you passed a trial in the last chapter, I think it'd be too quick for you to pass another right away.

Calvin Ketchum: …Fair point.

NegaiFreak: Anyways, I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I got bogged down with work and studying. Plus, I can't help but get procrastinated with some other shows coming out every now and then.

Erika Ketchum: But anyways, we've got a really cool announcement to make!

NegaiFreak: That's right! As of the end of February, we'll be revealing who'll be collaborating with me on each of the Infinity Stone stories in the future! Expect a lot of amazing ideas to come out of that series!

Erika Ketchum: So until next time, here's a summary of our next chapter!

SUMMARY

Howling in the Midnight!

As Calvin goes up against the Totem Salazzle, he discovers that she's too fast, even for his Trumbeak! With no other choice, he's left to rely on both Dewpider and Cubone! Will he emerge victorious?!

And as Erika prepares for her attempt at the trial, Rockruff starts acting even more aggressively towards her and her other Pokémon. And when it finally comes time for her to take the trial, Rockruff doesn't let anyone else battle except for himself! Just what is he aiming to accomplish?!

END SUMMARY