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!

19. Howling in the Midnight!

NegaiFreak: Hey everyone! So last time we left off, Calvin was in the middle of his third island trial! Shall we see how he's faring right now? Let's begin!

POKÉMON SUN & MOON

THE CHALLENGE OF A LIFETIME

"Salaaahhhh…" the Salazzle hissed as she crawled around Calvin and his team. He gulped. This was a different feeling from when he faced Raticate and Araquanid.

'This Pokémon… doesn't seem like she'll attack recklessly,' he noted to himself as sweat dripped from his brow, 'It seems like she's actually gonna concentrate on me and my team,' he mentioned inwardly.

"Lazzz!" the Toxic Lizard Pokémon exclaimed before she hopped back onto the pedestal. All of a sudden, a yellowish aura flared up around her form.

"In order to claim your victory, you must defeat the Totem Pokémon!" Kiawe exclaimed to Calvin, catching his attention, "If you can emerge victorious, you will have this Z-Crystal as your reward!" he promised, holding up a red crystal with a flame for a symbol within it.

'That must be the Fire type Z-Crystal!' Calvin realized as his eyes widened, 'In that case, we have to win!' he declared inwardly as he smiled.

"Trumbeak, you ready?" he asked of the Bugle Beak Pokémon.

"Trummm!" he squawked eagerly in response as he stepped forward, spreading his wings. Salazzle licked her lips, taking a ready stance.

"Keww boh…" Cubone uttered out with shaking eyes. From just the Toxic Lizard Pokémon's presence, he was scared. And Dewpider could tell that he'd never seen anything like this before.

"Dooh…" he squeaked out worriedly.

"All right…" Kiawe said, swinging out his left hand, "you may begin the battle!" he announced loudly.

"Trumbeak, start off with Pluck!" Calvin commanded. The Bugle Beak Pokémon made his beak glow a bright blue before it extended out and sharpened. He flew out at Salazzle, prepared to strike… and then she vanished!

"T-Trumm?!" he stammered, flapping his wings rapidly to stop himself in midair. Calvin blinked in surprise. He didn't expect Salazzle to be so fast… He looked up and gasped.

"Above you!" he cried out to Trumbeak, who glanced up and widened his eyes to see the Toxic Lizard Pokémon in midair. She spat out a ball of purple liquid at him, which he promptly avoided as it struck the pedestal. Calvin noticed how it was melting from that purple liquid.

'She knows Toxic…' he realized, gritting his teeth. If that hit Trumbeak, he would be in trouble…

"Use Pluck again!" his trainer ordered.

"Beeek!" Trumbeak chirped in reply, dashing up at the Totem Pokémon. She smirked, making her eyes glow a dark red. All of a sudden, an aura of that same color shrouded Trumbeak, causing his beak to shrink back to normal and stop glowing. "Tr-Truh?!" he squawked in immediate surprise.

"What the…?" Calvin uttered out in confusion.

"So Salazzle's got Torment now, huh?" David inquired to Kiawe, who let off a chuckle.

"Seems she's fired up for today's challenger…" he noted with his arms crossed.

"Trumbeak, Supersonic!" Calvin called out.

"Trummm…" the Bugle Beak Pokémon began, making his beak glow a bright white as it bent a little, "BEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!" he screeched, unleashing a powerful sonic wave towards Salazzle. But she dashed away from that as well, firing off another ball of purple liquid from her mouth.

"Watch out!" Calvin screamed. Trumbeak narrowly managed to avoid the poisonous attack a second time as he flew up, letting it hit the pedestal. "Ergh…" his trainer growled out in frustration. He assumed Salazzle would be fast based on her figure… but she was faster than his Trumbeak!

'I gotta think of something quick!' he realized.

"Use Pluck at full speed!" he commanded carefully to Trumbeak.

"Beee!" he chirped in reply, letting his beak glow blue and lengthen again. He flew quickly towards Salazzle, who landed onto the pedestal. And as it looked like he was about to strike her with her back turned, she whipped around and fired off an orange-yellow fireball from her mouth, blasting him back in an explosion.

"Ah!" Calvin gasped, while his other Pokémon widened their eyes.

"Trumm…" Trumbeak weakly squawked as he flew out from the following smoke with burn marks along his body. Salazzle then leapt up and fired off another ball of purple liquid, striking the Bugle Beak Pokémon as he fell to the ground.

"Trumbeak!" Calvin screamed. The Bugle Beak Pokémon hit the earth hard, having a purple glow with sparks of electricity emanate from his body as he tried to push himself up, with bubbles of poison appearing around him.

"Trummm…" he chirped out as a purple mark streaked along his face. Calvin grimaced.

'Trumbeak's not gonna last much longer poisoned like that…' he realized, gritting his teeth, 'What do I do?!' he asked himself desperately. At that moment, Salazzle spat out a stream of purple liquid from her mouth, drenching Trumbeak in it. He seemed to shake it off though, but a bluish aura flowed down his body afterwards.

"Venom Drench?" David guessed, crossing his arms. Kiawe nodded.

"Though I'd prefer her to show off a more… fiery display," the trial captain admitted, "Salazzle's style of battling gives trainers more of a challenge," he noted as he narrowed his eyes while grinning.

"Trum… beee…" Trumbeak managed to squawk as he stood up despite the poison and the damage he had already taken.

"Hang in there, Trumbeak!" Calvin cried out, "Use Echoed Voice!" he commanded. Standing up firmly, the Bugle Beak Pokémon bent his beak, making a white light appear at the end before unleashing a sonic screech.

"Sal…aaaahhh!" Salazzle exclaimed, firing off a searing fireball from her mouth. It burned through the sound waves, striking Trumbeak in a fierce explosion.

"TRUMBEAK!" Calvin screamed. As the smoke cleared moments later, the Bugle Beak Pokémon fell over onto his right side, groaning in pain as swirls were in his eyes. Calvin shut his eyes tightly in frustration. Trumbeak could no longer battle… "Trumbeak… return…" he managed to utter out, returning the Bugle Beak Pokémon to his Poké Ball in a beam of red light.

"Sallahh…" Salazzle hissed, licking her lips as she awaited Calvin's next Pokémon. Who would he use?

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, Gumshoos, Trumbeak, and Dewpider 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 Drifloon decides to float over her that she wakes up, mad that the Balloon Pokémon is blocking out the sunlight, while Oricorio is dancing in the distance.

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.

Howling in the Midnight!

"Your Pokémon have been fully healed!" Nurse Joy exclaimed as Rockruff, Cinder, Charjabug, and Mudbray all went to their respective trainers.

"Thank you!" the four of them said in gratitude. Erika picked up Rockruff, who licked her cheek affectionately. He seemed to have calmed down since the Battle Royal, though Erika was still worried about him.

"Congratzzz on your first Battle Royal win, Erika!" Rotom complimented as it floated beside her.

"Thanks, Rotodex," she replied, "Though honestly, I feel like Rockruff did more of the work…" she admitted, recalling the times in which the Puppy Pokémon deliberately disobeyed her commands during the battle.

"Don't be so modest!" Pyrrha suddenly shouted, causing her to perk up in surprise as she looked over to see her petting her Quilava as he smiled contently, "You showed us just how strong you and your Pokémon are!" she noted, "After all, you've already beaten Lana's trial!" she pointed out with a grin. Erika blinked before smiling back.

"Guess this means we should train a little more before our trials…" Trent grumbled as he returned Charjabug to his Poké Ball.

"I'll say," Paige agreed upon recalling her Mudbray, "Kiawe's was too difficult for me…" she confessed with a deep sigh.

"Wait, really?" Erika questioned upon overhearing.

"Yeah…" Paige replied, "The trial itself isn't too bad if you're able to figure it out quickly," she started to explain, "but that Totem Pokémon is the real threat," she told her.

"The Totem?" Erika repeated in confusion. Paige nodded.

"That Totem has moves that can take out an entire team… like mine…" she pointed out, "The best way I can explain it is the Totem whittles your team down and then goes in for the kill," she emphasized, "Eh… so to speak…" she added sheepishly.

"That sounds different from my trial…" Trent chimed in, "The Totem I faced was focused on charging through with brute strength…" he noted, "My Frogadier almost didn't win the battle, too," he mentioned.

"Maybe you guys had different Totems like Eri and Cal did?" Pyrrha suggested, catching their attentions.

"Yeah, that's right…" Erika realized. In her two trials, she had faced Gumshoos and Wishiwashi, while her brother was pitted against Raticate and Araquanid. Was there always going to be a different Totem for each trial? Or would it depend on the trainer and their team?

"Eri, you good?" Pyrrha asked, snapping Erika away from her thoughts as she looked over at her friend, who had just grabbed her bag, "I'm heading out to Brooklet Hill now, so I wanted to say goodbye," she noted to her.

"O-Oh!" she stammered, "Yeah, see you around, Pyrrha," she remarked in farewell with a wave. Her friend hugged her in response, much to her surprise as she was unprepared for it, feeling a bit squeezed.

"Bye guys!" Pyrrha called out to the others after letting Erika go, running out of the Pokémon Center with Cinder to follow.

"Guess this means you oughta' get going, too," Paige pointed out to Trent.

"Eh, I'll stick around," he responded as he folded his arms behind his head, "Depending on if Calvin passes his trial, I might head to the next site with him…" he said. As the two conversed, Erika looked out the window to see the volcano in the distance. She had to wonder what kind of Totem Pokémon her brother was up against. What would she face when it came time for her trial?

"Erika?" Rotom chimed in, snapping her away from her thoughts again as she looked over at it, "Rockruff might be pretty close to evolving zzzoon!" he buzzed in exclamation.

"Whoa, really?!" Erika yelped as she blinked.

"Rah, rahf!" Rockruff yipped excitedly.

"That's great, Erika!" Paige chimed in, "You might even get to see him evolve today, too," she mentioned, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, that'd be awesome!" Erika exclaimed. All of a sudden, Rockruff hopped out of her arms.

"Rah, rahk ruff!" he barked, growling angrily.

"R-Rockruff?" his trainer stuttered out. Now he was acting like he was earlier…

"I get it," Trent chimed in, catching their attentions, "When a Rockruff starts acting all aggressive, it means he's close to evolving," he explained to them.

"Normally, Rockruff tend to wander off on their own until they evolve, zzt," Rotom mentioned, "They return to their trainers afterwardzzz," it added.

"Hmm…" Erika hummed in concern. While it'd be great to have another evolved partner like Brionne, she worried that the aggressive phase Rockruff was going through was going to be troubling to deal with.

'At least Cal doesn't have a Pokémon that's that much trouble…' she noted inwardly.

"Ergh…" Calvin growled in frustration from the volcano. With Trumbeak down, he only had Torracat, Gumshoos, Dewpider, and Cubone to rely on. The former two were already weakened from their multiple battles earlier, and the Lonely Pokémon had already been defeated twice today. That left his only option in…

"Dooh!" Dewpider squeaked, hopping out in front of his trainer.

"Dewpider?!" he exclaimed in surprise.

"A Water type this time?" Kiawe inquired, letting off a grin, "Well, we'll see how he fares compared to your Trumbeak!" he challenged.

"Salaaahhh…" Salazzle hissed, stalking the Water Bubble Pokémon.

"Doooh…" he growled as sweat was starting to form on his body. He was nervous… but he wasn't about to back down.

'This is really bad…!' his trainer inwardly realized, 'Dewpider's still pretty new to the team and hasn't battled much!' he noted to himself, 'On top of that, we haven't even practiced the Water type Z-Move yet!' he recalled through his thoughts. He then looked out at Dewpider. He seemed… determined? 'Wait… what am I thinking?' Calvin wondered, 'We CAN do this!' he concluded firmly, regaining a serious expression, 'We already went through all those dances to get this far, so we're not gonna lose now!' he stated inwardly.

"Dewpider… let's do this!" he declared to his teammate.

"Doohpid!" the Water Bubble Pokémon squeaked in agreement. A giddy look crossed Cubone's face. He was astonished by how brave Dewpider was acting, especially against such a foe as Salazzle.

"Saaaaahhh…" she snarled, getting down to all-fours. She dashed around her new opponent speedily, as he awaited a command.

"Doo! Doohpid, doo!" he cried out to Calvin, who nodded.

"Start off with Spider Web, all around!" he yelled with a swing of his right arm. Aiming his spinneret, Dewpider spun around and fired off shot after shot of sticky thread. Upon impact with the ground nearby, they formed small webs.

'If those don't trap her, they'll at least slow her down!' Calvin noted inwardly, trying to see where the Toxic Lizard Pokémon had slithered off to. He noticed her off to the side, puffing out her cheeks before firing out a ball of purple liquid from her mouth.

"Counter with Bubble Beam!" the trial-goer commanded. Turning to his right, Dewpider fired off a flurry of bubbles from his spinneret that countered the poisonous ball in a burst of steam.

"Not too bad, huh?" David inquired to Kiawe, who watched on.

"He's making up for his lack of speed by setting up traps for Salazzle to lose hers…" he noted curiously, "That's not bad," he admitted, folding his arms over his chest, "but it won't be enough to stop her," he pointed out.

"Lazzzell!" Salazzle exclaimed, firing off a searing fireball from her mouth that struck the ground, blowing the steam away. The resulting explosion also caused the spider webs to burn away, much to the shock of Calvin and Dewpider.

'Our plan…!' the trial-goer gasped inwardly, clenching his teeth. Salazzle then ran out through the smoke, shooting out another purple ball of liquid.

"Dodge it and use Bubble Beam!" Calvin quickly called out. Dewpider hopped up to evade the poisonous liquid, followed by firing off another steady stream of bubbles from his spinneret. A few managed to actually strike Salazzle before she jumped back.

"Saaahh…" she hissed, glaring at her foe.

'Okay, we just have to avoid her Toxic while also landing as many Bubble Beams as we can…' Calvin inwardly realized, gulping a little.

"Dewpider, lay down more Spider Webs!" he ordered.

"Dooh!" the Water Bubble Pokémon squeaked, firing off more globs of sticky thread onto the ground around him. Salazzle slithered around them, letting her eyes glow an ominous dark red as she glared at Dewpider. An aura of the same color shrouded his body for a moment, disappearing soon afterwards.

"Torment again, huh?" Calvin inquired, sweating a little.

'So Dewpider won't be able to use the same move twice in a row… but that's fine!' he declared inwardly, 'If we can keep setting up traps, shoot Bubble Beams, and dodge Salazzle's attacks, we'll be fine!' he assured to himself.

"Dewpider, Bubble Beam!" he commanded. The Water Bubble Pokémon fired off more bubbles from his spinneret towards the speeding Salazzle. She evaded them all, though she did step in a few of the webs that had been laid down. Calvin could tell she was starting to slow as her now sticky feet limited her quick movements. "Spider Web!" he called out.

"Dooh…pid!" Dewpider squeaked, shooting off more shots of thread towards Salazzle. With no way to evade them, she found herself struck, sticking to the ground.

"Yes!" Calvin exclaimed with a pump of his right fist.

"Oh…" David uttered out, somewhat astonished. Kiawe just narrowed his eyes.

"Okay, use Bubble Beam!" Calvin commanded. Dewpider aimed his spinneret forward, firing out another stream of bubbles that all struck Salazzle as she grimaced.

"Salaaaahhhh…!" she hissed, spitting out another poisonous ball of purple liquid from her mouth.

"Dodge it!" Calvin yelled. Dewpider quickly hopped to the side to evade the ball as it splashed onto the ground. "Now use Spider Web on her mouth!" his trainer commanded. The Water Bubble Pokémon leapt up and fired off another round of sticky thread that went around Salazzle's mouth, shutting it effectively.

"Ssssss! Ssss!" she muffled out, unable to fire off her attacks. Cubone's eyes shook with amazement. Even with the Torment limiting Dewpider to switching between moves, he was still fighting with all his might.

"Now we got her!" Calvin noted excitedly, "Dewpider, Bubble Beam!" he ordered as he swung his right arm. Readying his spinneret again, the Water Bubble Pokémon shot out another flurry of bubbles. Salazzle seemed to have no way to counter them… but she didn't have to. A stream of purple liquid was shot out from the side, striking the bubbles and making them pop before they could strike the Toxic Lizard Pokémon. "Ah!" Calvin gasped. He and Dewpider looked over to see who had done that, finding that there was a Salandit there.

"Salllaann…" he hissed with a grin, spewing out a purple gas from his mouth.

"Watch out!" Calvin screamed. Dewpider hopped back, evading the cloud.

'That was Poison Gas!' the trial-goer realized, clenching his teeth in frustration, 'So she's got an ally Pokémon like Araquanid did…' he noted to himself, remembering how he had Masquerain and another Dewpider helping him during that battle, 'From the looks of it, Salazzle must be Salandit's evolution, too…' he mentioned through his thoughts.

"Dewpider, you still good to go?" he asked of his partner, who turned back to him momentarily.

"Doooh!" he squeaked in response with a nod. The tips of Salandit's fingers glowed white as he slashed at the thread around Salazzle, freeing her from her bindings as she stepped forward.

"Sallll…" she hissed out, licking her lips.

"Get ready, Dewpider!" Calvin called out, "Use Spider Web!" he shouted. Dewpider aimed his spinneret forward and shot out another line of thread towards the Totem Pokémon. She quickly fired off a searing fireball from her mouth to incinerated the thread. Dewpider jumped up to evade the fireball as it hit the ground in a fierce explosion. However, Salandit leapt as well, spewing out another cloud of purple gas that caught the Water Bubble Pokémon within it. "Dewpider!" Calvin screamed. The Water Bubble Pokémon came out of the poison cloud and landed on the ground. A purple light flashed over his body with bubbles and sparks of electricity to follow for just a moment.

"Doo…" he weakly said, grimacing a little.

"Darn…" Calvin muttered out in frustration. With Dewpider poisoned, all their opponents had to do was wait out for his eventual defeat.

"Keww bohh…" Cubone squeaked, seeing how hard the Water Bubble Pokémon was trying to stay upright despite being slowly weakened by the poison. He tightened the grip he had on his bone.

"Salannn!" Salandit exclaimed as he fired out another stream of purple liquid.

"Dodge it!" Calvin cried out. Thankfully, Dewpider was able to dodge the attack, but ended up struck by a searing fireball shot from Salazzle.

"Sallaaahh…" she hissed as she stepped out in front of her pre-evolution.

"Doooh…" Dewpider weakly squeaked as he stood back up on his three legs, trying to regain himself.

"Dewpider, watch out!" Calvin screamed, seeing that Salazzle was reeling her head back for another attack. She spat out a stream of purple venom, heading for the Water Bubble Pokémon. All of a sudden though, something was flung at the something, deflecting it away before it could hit Dewpider. The spinning object then slammed into both Salazzle and Salandit's heads, knocking them back as they stumbled. "Huh?" Calvin uttered in surprise. Even David and Kiawe seemed shocked. The object turned out to be Cubone's bone as it was caught in his right hand.

"Kewww!" he shouted as he ran over to stand in front of Dewpider, taking a defensive stance.

"Cubone?!" Calvin exclaimed in surprise, catching the Lonely Pokémon's attention as he looked back at his trainer, "Wait, you wanna help out?" he inquired.

"…Boh," Cubone responded with a simple nod. He then glanced over at Dewpider, who looked back. The Lonely Pokémon then nodded at him.

"Dooh…" he uttered out in surprise, grinning, "Doopid!" he declared as he nodded as well.

"All right guys…" Calvin began as he started to smile in realization, "go!" he yelled out. His two Pokémon charged at their foes.

"Wow!" David yelped, "Those guys have some kinda spunk, huh?" he inquired to Kiawe, who grinned.

"We'll see how they fare from here," he noted, keeping his arms crossed.

"Cubone, Bone Club! Dewpider, Spider Web!" Calvin commanded as he threw out his right hand.

"Kew bohhh!" Cubone screeched as he lunged forward, heading towards the Salandit as he grimaced. Salazzle was prepared to fire off another attack, but her mouth was kept shut by the sticky thread shot from Dewpider's spinneret.

"Salannn!" Salandit exclaimed, about to slash at Cubone with his glowing white fingertips. The Lonely Pokémon raised up his bone, evading the first swipe and slamming it down onto his opponent's head. He crashed into the ground, making it crack before dirt and dust billowed up.

"Ah!" Kiawe and David gasped in surprise. Salazzle widened her eyes. As the dust settled, it revealed the Salandit lying in a small crater. A swollen bump was atop his head as his eyes were in swirls.

"Alright, Cubone!" Calvin cheered with a pump of his fists.

"Boh," the Lonely Pokémon huffed proudly. After having seen him take out so many wild Salandit earlier, Calvin shouldn't have been surprised by such strength…

"Salll…" Salazzle growled as the thread over her mouth snapped.

"Dooh!" Dewpider gasped upon noticing, "Dooh, doopid!" he cried out to his trainer, who looked over to see what had happened.

"Oh, shoot!" he yelped, seeing the Toxic Lizard Pokémon's mouth start to bubble with poison, "Cubone, watch out!" he screamed.

"Bohh?" the Lonely Pokémon uttered out in confusion. Salazzle then shot out a glob of purple liquid from her mouth that was aimed for him. He took notice, preparing to take it head on… until Dewpider jumped out in front of him and took it instead.

"Dewpider!" Calvin exclaimed. The smoke from the attack subsided, revealing that… nothing had happened!

"With Dewpider already poisoned, Toxic's useless now…" David noted in realization. Kiawe was astonished by how protective the Water Bubble Pokémon was being of Cubone. It was almost like…

"Dooh…!" Dewpider suddenly squeaked as the purple light flashed over his body with sparks and bubbles again.

"Dewpider, hang in there!" his trainer cried out. Salazzle appeared to grin. She then spewed out a stream of purple liquid towards the Water Bubble Pokémon. However, Cubone jumped out in front of him and took the attack, swinging his bone down to make it dissipate in a burst of wind. "Cubone!" Calvin exclaimed as his eyes widened.

"And since Cubone's not poisoned, Venom Drench won't work on him…" David realized, crossing his arms and grinning, "Those two are actually a good combo," he pointed out, sounding impressed. Kiawe kept watching. He wondered if Calvin was able to observe his Pokémon's teamwork as well.

"You guys…" he uttered out to his two teammates, who glanced back at him and nodded. At that moment, Dewpider had multiple rings of water orbit around his body. "That's… Aqua Ring!" Calvin gasped upon recognizing the move. A greenish aura flowed up Dewpider's body before the rings disappeared. He seemed just a little less exhausted than he was before.

"Dooh, doopid!" he instructed quickly to Cubone.

"Kew!" he agreed with a nod, aiming his bone at Salazzle, "Boh, kew bohnne!" he challenged. A tick mark appeared on the Toxic Lizard Pokémon's head.

"LAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she bellowed, slithering out quickly towards the Lonely Pokémon as flames billowed in her mouth.

"Boh, kew bohh!" he cried out to his trainer, who blinked in surprise.

"Dooh!" Dewpider squeaked in addition.

'Wait… do they wanna…?' Calvin started to guess inwardly, widening his eyes before pulling off a grin.

"Dewpider, use Spider Web on Cubone!" he called out. Kiawe and David blinked in confusion

"Doohpid!" the Water Bubble Pokémon responded as he shot out a sticky line of thread from his spinneret. It wrapped around Cubone's torso, yanking him away just before he could get struck by a searing fireball as it exploded upon impacting with the ground.

"Spin him around, Dewpider!" Calvin instructed as he pumped his fist up. The Water Bubble Pokémon spun himself around, swinging the still attached Cubone rapidly.

"Hey, hey! Are they gonna do what I think they're gonna?!" David inquired out of complete shock.

"It seems they are…" Kiawe responded with a grin.

"Salll…" Salazzle growled as she lunged forwards.

"Cubone, Bone Club!" Calvin ordered. Tightening the grip on his bone, the Lonely Pokémon reeled it back as he was swung towards his foe.

"Kew… BOHHHHHHH!" he screamed, slamming it fiercely into the Totem Pokémon's head, sending her careening back into a pile of nearby rocks in an instant.

"Alright!" Calvin exclaimed excitedly.

"Dooh! Doopid!" Dewpider squeaked excitedly.

"Boh, bohh!" Cubone yelled while still attached to the thread line. He had just given the team a victory… or so he thought. A searing fireball suddenly flew in and incinerated the line of thread he was attached to, causing him to fall and tumble onto the ground.

"Cubone!" Calvin cried out.

"Boh…!" he grunted out as he came to a stop upon his stomach. As he started to push himself up though, he saw Salazzle's shadow loom over him, enticing him to look up and see her there.

"Salazzz…" she hissed, licking her lips as she glared down at her foe. Her tail had hot pink flames simmering off of it as orange ones began billowing in her mouth.

"Cubone, get out of there!" Calvin screamed. Sweat was practically pouring down the Lonely Pokémon's face. He was about to engulfed in flames as Salazzle shot a searing orange fireball from her mouth. Or so he thought.

"Dooh!" Dewpider squeaked as he jumped in and took the fireball head on.

"Dewpider!" Calvin exclaimed as his eyes widened.

"B-Boh?!" Cubone stammered out. The Water Bubble Pokémon stood his ground, digging his legs into the dirt to keep himself planted. At one point, he wouldn't have even considered helping Cubone. He popped his bubble earlier after all. But because he helped him during their fight with the Totem Pokémon, something had stirred up inside him.

He remembered always wanting to be stronger like his teammate was without having to worry about others. However, he changed after Calvin had caught him. Something about being a part of a team… a family, made him feel like he had a new purpose in life. A purpose with one goal in mind: to protect his friends.

"Doooohhh…PIDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!" he screeched, suddenly glowing in a bright blue light.

"Ah!" Calvin gasped in shock. Everyone widened their eyes, including Salazzle. The three legs holding the bubble over Dewpider's head came down as it expanded, while the rest of his body grew. He was gaining a more spider-like appearance as his six legs grew out, gaining bubbles on their joints. When the light subsided in a burst of wind that blew out the fireball, it revealed that he had become an Araquanid!

"KWAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" he screeched out. Calvin's eyes shook.

"Dewpider… you evolved…" he realized, starting to smile.

X

"B-Bohh…" Cubone stammered upon seeing his friend's evolved appearance. He was smaller than him just a moment ago… and now he towered over him. Protectively, even.

"Ah, kwah?" he asked the Lonely Pokémon in concern, getting his attention.

"K…Kew boh!" he stuttered out reassuringly, standing up and raising his bone.

"Kwaah…" Araquanid sighed in relief. He then looked over at his trainer. He was stunned… but he was also smiling. Now the tide had turned.

"Salaahhh…" Salazzle hissed angrily. In spite of his evolution, Araquanid was still poisoned. She reeled her head back before spitting out a stream of purple venom from her mouth.

"Venom Drench again!" David exclaimed upon seeing the move.

"Araquanid, use Bubble Beam!" Calvin ordered quickly. The evolved Water Bubble Pokémon lifted up both of his front legs while keeping his other four firmly planted in the ground, staying upright. The bubbles at his joints glowed brightly before firing off a multitude of them towards the venom stream. They struck it in a burst of steam, clouding the area. Salazzle narrowed her eyes before she suddenly found herself bombarded by some remaining bubbles!

"Salah…!" she grunted out as she stumbled back, breathing heavily as she was barely managing to stay on her feet. She looked to see the steam cloud dissipate, revealing her evolved opponent glaring at her.

"Aw, kwaaaahhh!" he bellowed out.

"That's some amazing power…" David noted while blinking rapidly.

"Yeah…" Kiawe agreed with a nod.

"Lazzzelll…" Salazzle hissed in frustration as her tail flared up with hot pink flames. Calvin noticed the ones building in her mouth. She fired off a searing orange fireball from it, heading for Araquanid.

"Dodge and use Spider Web!" the trial-goer called out. The evolved Water Bubble Pokémon leapt up to evade the fireball as it struck the ground in a fierce explosion. He then aimed his spinneret down and shot out a huge web of sticky thread. It completely trapped Salazzle, wrapping over her body. She squirmed around as she fell, trying to find a way out of the thread. "Alright!" Calvin exclaimed excitedly, "Now Bubble Beam!" he commanded as he pumped his fist forwards. Landing down and planting his legs into the ground, Araquanid had the bubble over his head glow brightly before expelling a multitude of bubbles out at Salazzle. With no way to escape, the Totem Pokémon ended up bombarded by the bubbles, resulting in a huge explosion of white smoke.

"No way…" David uttered out in disbelief. The smoke cleared just moments later thanks to the wind.

"Laaaahhh…" Salazzle moaned, lying on the ground upon her back as swirls were in her eyes. Kiawe blinked… and then let off a grin.

"That's it," he said, raising his left hand up, "Salazzle is no longer able to battle," he stated, gesturing towards Calvin, "Congratulations," he continued as the trial-goer perked up, "you've cleared the trial," he told him. He slowly started to beam.

"We did it!" he exclaimed in excitement.

"Ah kwaahh!" Araquanid squeaked out of delight.

"Boh, bohh!" Cubone cried happily.

"Ha, hah!" Kiawe laughed as he approached the group alongside David, who lifted the fainted Totem Pokémon up from the ground and held her left arm over his shoulders, "I can tell you're glad all that effort paid off," he noted as he crossed his arms.

"You have no idea…" Calvin muttered out in agreement. All that battling, all that dancing, all that observing… now it was worth it. Especially with the evolution of his Dewpider. He knew he had the potential to be stronger after seeing how his evolution fared during the Brooklet Hill trial… but goodness was he strong!

"Aahh…!" he suddenly gasped out as the purple light appeared over his body again, along with the sparks and bubbles.

"Ah, Araquanid!" Calvin guessed, realizing he was still poisoned from earlier. Kiawe reached into his shorts and pulled out something.

"Here," he offered, handing what he had to Calvin. He looked to see that it was a Pecha Berry that had been put into his hand. He gave it to Araquanid, who took it into his bubbled head before gobbling it down.

"Kwaaa…" he sighed in relief afterwards.

"Your Araquanid was certainly something," Kiawe commented, catching his and his trainer's attentions, "Even when outmatched in speed, you overcame that disadvantage by utilizing those observation skills you gained," he pointed out to them, "On top of that," he continued, glancing over at Cubone, "I believe you've gained this little one's respect," he noted.

"Cubone?" Calvin uttered out in surprise, looking back at the Lonely Pokémon curiously.

"He was being rather disobedient earlier, right?" Kiawe inquired rhetorically, "The fire you and Araquanid showed must've lit up a flame in his heart, too," he pointed out, "In fact, you lit up a fire in me as well," he mentioned, clenching his right hand into a fist and holding it out to the trial-goer, "I'd love to battle you myself someday," he declared firmly. Calvin blinked in surprise. He earned that much respect from a trial captain? He smiled.

"Yeah, we'd be glad to battle you, too!" he promised, bumping his fist against Kiawe's.

"Now then…" the trial captain continued, reaching into his pocket again and rummaging through it for a moment, "This is your reward for clearing my trial," he said, handing Calvin the Firium Z. He grinned widely at the sight of it. Now he had four Z-Crystals claimed and five trials left to go. "By the way," Kiawe kept going, catching his attention, "you happen to have a Ride Pager, right?" he guessed.

"…Huh?" Calvin uttered in confusion, arching an eyebrow.

X

"And… there!" Erika exclaimed as she finished her dance for the Water type Z-Move with Brionne having mimicked her movements in front of her. They were outside on the dirt field next to the Pokémon Center, practicing their poses to show Trent and Paige how much they learned. Needless to say, the two of them were surprised at how well she had it down.

"Frogaaa…" Frogadier uttered out in amazement, having watched the display alongside his trainer.

"And you haven't even tried the Z-Move yet?" he asked Erika.

"No, not yet…" she sheepishly admitted in reply with a grin, "But we've been practicing ever since we got the Z-Crystal!" she pointed out excitedly, "I wanna make sure Brionne and I get it down so we don't screw it up and make the Waterium break on the first try…" she explained.

"Wait, break?" Paige repeated from afar, having watched her rivals practicing, "What do you mean?" she asked as she approached them.

"Well, Cal's Fightinium Z broke when he battled against Gladion and his Null," Erika told her in response, much to hers and Trent's surprise, "He hadn't even practiced it beforehand, but the Z-Move he and Torracat used went perfectly," she pointed out.

"Did he actually beat Gladion?!" Trent asked, almost completely floored.

"No, they tied," Erika answered as he blinked in surprise, "Anyways…" she continued, "Cal's not one to use Z-Moves all that often anyway," she noted, "So I'm guessing he's gonna try and beat that trial without using one…" she affirmed confidently.

"But would he win though?" Paige wondered, arching an eyebrow, "I mean… not using a Z-Move against a Totem Pokémon sounds-"

"Hey, look!" Trent suddenly gasped, pointing upwards. The two girls looked up and widened their eyes. Flying down towards them was a Charizard with a harness at his back, carrying two people. They were Calvin and Kiawe.

"Cal!" Erika cried out excitedly. She ran over as the Flame Pokémon landed down, allowing for his passengers to disembark.

"Hey guys," Calvin greeted, dressed in rider gear as he took his Hawlucha-themed helmet off. He blinked upon seeing Trent and Paige there.

"How was the trial, dude?" the former of the two asked him.

'Erika must've told them where I was…' he inwardly realized. He grinned as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his brand new Firium Z to the others.

"We won!" he said, flashing a bright smile.

"Whoa, awesome!" Erika exclaimed.

"Way to go, man," Trent complimented as he gave him a grin. Paige was just stunned.

'He cleared that trial on the first try, too?' she wondered inwardly, not realizing that her right hand was being balled into a fist

"Oh, and check this out!" Calvin said, reaching down and enlarging the Net Ball he took off of his belt. He tossed it up into the air, letting it pop open. The light from it formed upon the dirt field, dissipating to reveal Araquanid there.

"Ah, kwa!" he squeaked in greeting, waving his front right leg.

"Wh-Wha…?!" Erika gasped out with a stutter, "Did… your Dewpider already evolve?!" she guessed, pointing towards the Water Bubble Pokémon.

"Mm-hmm," her brother responded as he nodded simply. Meanwhile, Rotom floated over and had an image of Araquanid appear upon its screen.

"Araquanid, the Water Bubble Pokémon, and the evolved form of Dewpider," it began, "Despite what his appearance suggests, he cares for others. If he finds vulnerable, weak Pokémon, he protectively brings them into his water bubble. He has a habit of storing things he values in his water bubble. If his trainer doesn't watch out, Araquanid will try to put them in his bubble!" it explained thoroughly. Calvin blinked.

"Wait, what?" he uttered out, confused by that last part of Rotom's explanation. At that moment, the Water Bubble Pokémon sauntered over, nuzzling his head against his trainer's, having brought him into his bubble! He gasped out, unable to breathe as his face started turning blue.

"Wow, that's awesome, Calvin!" his twin sister noted excitedly.

"Uh… but is he okay?" Paige wondered worriedly.

"PAH!" Calvin gasped as he managed to free himself from Araquanid's bubble, "Please don't do that…" he requested of him. He sheepishly blushed in response.

"So your Dewpider evolved during your trial?" Trent guessed as he trotted over.

"Yeah!" Calvin responded, "I didn't think he was already that strong, so he totally caught me off guard with that!" he noted emphatically.

"Ah kwaahh…" Araquanid sheepishly squeaked.

"Heh," Trent chuckled, "Sounds like you had quite a trial…" he pointed out. Calvin glanced off to the side and sighed.

"You have no idea…" he muttered out, much to his rival's confusion.

"So, it seems you're all training for my trial, yes?" Kiawe guessed, chiming into the conversation as he caught the girls' attentions.

"Yeah," Erika replied, "but you're probably already done for the day, right?" she inquired to him.

"Heh," he chuckled, putting his hands at his hips, "Unlike Lana's, my trial can be done twice or even three times a day," he explained to her as she blinked in surprise, "However, I think I can only have it done one more time since Calvin's took a little longer than expected…" he admitted as he rubbed the back of his head. Calvin grimaced at the remark, glaring back at the trial captain.

"…Tough time?" Trent guessed upon seeing his reaction.

"You have no idea…" he muttered in response as he slouched his shoulders. Meanwhile, Paige approached the Charizard.

"I didn't know Charizard was a Ride Pokémon…" she noted curiously.

"Yeah," Kiawe responded upon hearing her, "My grandfather raised many Charmander back in his day so they'd become able to support trial-goers," he told the group, "Though they normally just fly everyone around the islands," he mentioned, "So which of you two will be taking my trial tonight?" he questioned, looking over at Erika and Paige. They glanced at him before at each other. Paige then let off a grin.

"Erika can give it a try first," she offered graciously.

"Paige…" Erika uttered in surprise.

"Bree, breeah!" Brionne yipped excitedly, clapping her front flippers.

"So I'll be seeing you tonight, Erika?" Kiawe inquired. The pork pie hatted girl grinned.

"You bet you will!" she remarked in response with a thumbs up.

"Breeeonn!" Brionne barked, ready to take on the challenge.

"So what about you, Trent?" Calvin asked the boy beside him.

"I already beat Kiawe's trial, so I'm just sticking around here for some training…" he replied, folding his arms behind his head in a bored manner, "What are you gonna do?" he wondered.

"Hmm…" Calvin hummed in thought, crossing his arms. With all that he'd gone through in taking two trials within the past 48 hours, he not only needed a break, but he needed to train for the next one, too. "Guess I'll start training for the next trial and learning these new Z-Moves…" he concluded, taking out both his Firium and Waterium Z-Crystals from his pocket.

"And in the meantime, we'll be passing that trial next!" Erika declared confidently.

"You're gonna do great, Erika!" Rotom assured.

"Yeah!" Paige agreed with a nod. Kiawe smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. What she didn't realize was that her trial was going to be more complicated… but not by the trial captain's doing…

X

"Huh… huh…!" Erika gasped out, sweating profusely as she trekked up the mountainside to the volcano's peak, "So… hot!" she managed to exclaim before falling face first onto the ground.

"You're zzzuffering from dehydration again…" Rotom noted bluntly as it floated over her. Brionne quickly expelled a plethora of water balloons from her nostrils, having them pop and rain down over her trainer, effectively cooling her off.

"Ergh…" she grunted as she pushed herself up onto her knees, "I didn't think it'd be so hot by sunset…" she muttered out as she looked back at the descending sun in the distance. After taking some time to relax at the Pokémon Center and catch up with her brother, Erika headed out to the trial site. Paige was going to practice more at the Battle Royal Dome until she felt ready to attempt the Wela Volcano trial again. Calvin and Trent were going to stay behind and catch up. Erika remembered laughing when she saw her brother's new Cubone start acting violent, only for Araquanid to trap him in a Spider Web.

That memory reminded her of how Rockruff had been acting as she stood up. From what Rotom had said, the Puppy Pokémon would only be like this until his eventual evolution. But she was still worried. What would happen if he suddenly ran off without warning or started fighting with his own teammates?

'I can't really worry about that right now…' she affirmed inwardly, balling her fists as she let off a confident grin, 'It's time for us to take that trial and show we're one step closer to fighting Olivia!' she declared through her thoughts. Brionne seemed to understand her trainer's confidence, clenching her front flippers. She was really excited to try her new Z-Move…

"Hey, Erika!" Rotom called out, catching their attentions as they saw the Pokédex gesturing towards some grassy areas nearby, "Look at all the Pokémon!" it pointed out as they came over. They gasped excitedly upon seeing the area. There were flocks of Fletchling flying off, dens of Salandit slithering about, a group of Kangaskhan resting in the field, and a couple of other kinds of Pokémon.

"Wow…!" Erika exclaimed with sparkling eyes.

"Now that I think about it, Calvin caught his Cubone here, right?" Rotom recalled unsurely.

"I think I should catch one, too!" Erika declared excitedly, quickly grabbing a Poké Ball from her bag and enlarging it, "Now which one to get…" she wondered curiously. She already had two Flying types, so a Fletchling would make for an unbalanced team. A Salandit would be a Pokémon she'd have trouble getting used to, especially after seeing Team Skull use one the other day. And while a Kangashkhan seemed like a great choice, she didn't want to disturb any of the ones resting in the field.

"Bree, breeah!" Brionne cried out quietly, pointing towards something she saw. Erika looked over and widened her eyes to see that it was a Magby just sauntering about.

"A Fire type…!" she whispered in exclamation. An image of the Live Coal Pokémon appeared upon Rotom's screen.

"Magby, the Live Coal Pokémon," it began, "A famous potter lives with a Magby. Apparently their soft flames produce fine works. His body temperature is always around one thousand one hundred degrees Fahrenheit. If a Magby falls into a small-enough pond, the whole thing will dry up," it explained thoroughly. Erika blinked.

'How can flames be soft?' she wondered with a tilt of her head, 'Anyways, Magby evolves into a Magmortar like Les', right?' she inquired inwardly, beaming excitedly with anticipation.

"Well, it'd be great to have a Fire type on the team!" she whispered in exclamation, "Brionne, let's catch him!" she instructed to the Pop Star Pokémon.

"Breeah!" she yipped as a reply, prepared to go out… and then a blue and white streak of light shot out from her trainer's shorts.

"Huh?!" she gasped in surprise. The light formed upon the ground, dissipating to reveal Rockruff. The moment Erika saw him… she knew something was wrong. His expression was a twisted snarl, glaring ahead at the wild Magby.

"Rrrrrr…" he growled, catching the attention of the Live Coal Pokémon as he turned his head to see him there, "Rah, rahk!" he barked angrily, letting the stones around his neck glow a bright white. He leapt up, having an orb of multicolored energy shroud the tip of his tail. Sparkles appeared around it, forming into white-outlined stones that were shot out at Magby.

"M-M-MAAAAHHHHHHHGGGG!" he shrieked, ducking to the side to evade the rocks as they struck the ground, causing dust and dirt to build up.

"Hey, Rockruff!" Erika yelled, running out to the Puppy Pokémon with Brionne and Rotom tailing behind, "What are you doing?!" she screamed. Rockruff wasn't listening, charging into the dirt cloud to find the Live Coal Pokémon. Upon noticing him coming towards him, Magby quickly spewed out a white cloud of smog from his lips, shrouding the entire area. He then got to his feet, hurrying off as fast as he could.

"RAHK, RAH RAHKK!" Rockruff barked loudly in rage, trying to sniff out the Magby.

"Knock it off already!" Erika yelled, picking him up in her arms, "Jeez…" she muttered out as he wriggled in her arms, trying to free himself from her grasp, "I knew Rotom said you were gonna be acting all aggressive before you evolved, but this is ridiculous!" she complained.

"RAAHHH!" Rockruff yipped, biting her left arm.

"OWW!" she shrieked in pain, dropping him onto the ground as he landed on his feet. She grabbed at her arm. Rockruff's teeth had pierced through her skin, making her bleed just a little.

"Are you okay?!" Rotom immediately asked upon seeing the injury.

"Yeah, it's no biggie…" Erika assured, reaching into her bag to pull out a roll of bandages. But Brionne had an angered expression.

"Bree, breeeahh!" she shouted angrily at Rockruff.

"Rahf!" he barked back. The two growled and glared at each other, both gritting their teeth.

"Knock it off, guys…" their trainer pleaded in request, tightening the bandage over her arm before ripping it off from the roll, "Huh…" she sighed.

"Maybe you zzzhould just have Brionne do the trial…" Rotom suggested, catching her attention.

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking…" she replied. She looked back at the snarl Rockruff was giving Brionne. "Though Rockruff probably won't let me like this…" she realized. His behavior was different from Calvin's Cubone. The Lonely Pokémon seemed to be focused on getting stronger with his rage. In Rockruff's case, he was completely aggressive. No underlying drive. No motivation behind this rage. Just pure, unadulterated aggression.

'Hopefully this won't last too much longer…' Erika said to herself, staring at the bandages over her arm. By the time the sun had finally set and the moon had risen into the sky, she arrived at the volcano's peak. Thanks to the torches and the crescent moon's illumination above, Erika could see the pedestal where Kiawe and his group of Marowak were.

"Oh, Erika!" he called out upon seeing the trial-goer, "A beautiful night for your trial, isn't it?" he inquired to her.

"Yeah, it looks really great out!" she responded with a nod. Kiawe chuckled… but then blinked in surprise as he noticed the bandages over Erika's arm.

"Did you get hurt on the way up?" he asked, pointing towards her bandages.

"Oh…" she uttered out, "I ended up tripping and scraping my arm on the way here…" she sheepishly told him, rubbing the back of her head with a nervous laugh.

"Erika…" Rotom buzzed quietly. It wasn't expecting her to just lie like that…

'I don't wanna worry Kiawe. Not right now, anyway…' she noted inwardly as she balled her left fist, 'We'll worry about Rockruff after we beat this trial,' she promised herself firmly, taking on a serious expression.

"Such a fiery look…" Kiawe said, grinning, "So are you ready to take on my trial?" he guessed.

"Yes!" Erika responded as she nodded firmly.

"Very well," the trial captain responded, "The goal of this trial is test your powers of observation," he told her, "Your task will be to find the difference between two dances the Marowak perform," he explained, "If you guess incorrectly, the dances will be redone until you can discover the difference," he mentioned to her.

'So that's why Calvin's trial took so long,' she realized, chuckling to herself, 'Glad he figured things out in the end though…' she noted inwardly.

"Rah, rahk!" Rockruff suddenly barked, catching their attentions, "Rrrrrr…" he growled, gnashing his teeth.

"Breeahh…" Brionne sighed deeply.

"Rockruff, calm down please…" Erika requested. Unfortunately, the Puppy Pokémon continued glaring aggressively at Kiawe.

"…It seems we have an excited challenger today…" he realized with a grin, "Marowak, come!" he beckoned. The group of six Marowak came forward, readying their bones.

"Whoa, these ones look different…" Erika noted as she blinked.

"Thezzze are Alolan Marowak!" Rotom buzzed, catching her attention as she saw it pull up an image of the Bone Keeper Pokémon upon its screen, "Marowak, the Bone Keeper Pokémon," it began, "Their custom is to mourn their lost companions. Mounds of dirt by the side of the road mark the graves of the Marowak. When they beat opponents with their bones, the cursed flames spread to them. No amount of water will stop those flames from burning," it explained thoroughly.

"So a Fire and Ghost type…?" Erika guessed.

"That's correct," Kiawe responded for her with a nod, "These Marowak have been passed down with the sacred knowledge of the dances for generations…" he explained, "Now…" he continued, "let us begin your trial with the first dance!" he declared, swinging his arm out towards the group of Bone Keeper Pokémon. They tapped their bones against their skulls, igniting both ends with pale green flames.

"Whoa…" Erika uttered out in amazement. The Marowak began their dance with two of them twirling their bones, while the other four waved their around. They pranced about the pedestal, making sidesteps, spinning, running about the pedestal. It was a lot to keep up with. Erika was sweating, but she remained stoic. She wanted to complete her third trial.

"MAH ROH!" the Marowak exclaimed together as they held out their bones to each other, creating a giant fireball that was shot up into the air, blowing out thanks to the wind.

"Wow…" Erika said with a big smile. Every time she thought she'd seen the most amazing thing one day, she'd get proven wrong the next.

"Have you remembered the dance as best you can?" Kiawe asked, causing her to perk up.

"Yeah!" she replied with a nod, "We're ready for the next one!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"That confidence…" the trial captain uttered in surprise, letting off a grin, "I like that!" he said, "Marowak, dance!" he called out.

"Marr!" one of them responded, enticing his brethren to get back to their original positions before initiating their dance again. Erika concentrated as best she could. Every footstep, every movement, and every flame she watched all seemed pretty similar. Once the dance ended with the large fireball being formed and blown out by the wind above, Erika shut her eyes in thought. Everything seemed relatively similar, but there had to be some difference that she could've spotted. And her eyes jolted open once she realized what it was.

"So," Kiawe began, "what was the difference between the two dances?" he asked the trial-goer. She quickly pointed ahead with her right index finger.

"That Marowak was sidestepping left to right unlike the first time," she stated, pointing towards the one in the middle on the right. Kiawe looked genuinely surprised by her answer, having his eyes shake.

"That's correct…" he responded, letting off a grin, "And to reward your answer…" he continued, throwing out his right hand, "Marowak, go!" he called out.

"Mahh!" the Bone Keeper Pokémon bellowed as he lunged forward.

"A battle, huh?" Erika guessed, keeping her confident grin, "Okay Brionne," she began, enticing the Pop Star Pokémon to take on a ready stance, "use-!"

"RAHKK!" Rockruff suddenly barked, dashing forwards.

"Ah, Rockruff!" Erika yelped, "Wait a sec!" she cried out, but to no avail. The Puppy Pokémon made his teeth glow a bright white, catching the incoming bone swung his way by the Marowak.

"Rrrrr…!" he growled angrily at the Bone Keeper Pokémon.

"Rockruff…" Erika uttered worriedly. This was what she was afraid of. Rockruff was acting so eagerly aggressive that he wasn't adhering to her commands.

"Maahh rohh!" Marowak yelled as he tossed the Puppy Pokémon aside, letting him slam against some nearby rocks.

"Rockruff!" his trainer gasped, seeing him get up while gritting his teeth in pain.

"Mah, mahh roh!" the Marowak challenged, making Rockruff snarl.

"That Marowak's Bone Club isn't gonna be easy for Rockruff to handle, zzt…" Rotom pointed out in concern.

"Then we'll plow through like always!" Erika declared as she balled her fists, "Rockruff, use How-!"

"RAHK!" the Puppy Pokémon barked angrily, jumping up and making the stones at his neck glow a bright white. A multicolored orb of energy shrouded his tail as sparkles orbited around it, forming into stones outlined in white. They were shot out at Marowak, who deflected most of them away with his bone, but ended up getting nicked by a few others.

"Mahroh…" he grunted, keeling over onto a knee. At that moment, Rockruff landed down and charged at him, making his teeth glow a bright white again. Marowak somersaulted forward, having the flames upon his bone ignite and envelop him within a fiery wheel.

"Rockruff, stop!" Erika screamed. But the Puppy Pokémon charged onwards. He crashed into the flames in a fiery explosion, enveloping the area in smoke.

"Breeahh…" Brionne uttered out, stunned by how aggressive her teammate was being.

"Is he going to be okay, zzt?" Rotom wondered. Erika gritted her teeth in frustration. Rockruff was once obedient. Now he was the opposite. Completely. The smoke cleared, revealing that he was biting down onto Marowak's right arm as he winced.

"Mah, roh…WAK!" he exclaimed, smacking the Puppy Pokémon with his bone to try and knock him off. But he refused to budge. He firmly planted his feet down, spinning the Bone Keeper Pokémon around wildly before tossing him away. He crashed into a pile of rocks, causing dust to billow out. It settled moments later, revealing Marowak groaning in pain as his eyes were in swirls.

"And Marowak is unable to battle!" Kiawe called out, raising his right arm.

"Rah, rahkk!" Rockruff barked towards the other five Bone Keeper Pokémon, growling at them angrily. They just blinked in surprise, giving each other nervous glances.

"He won…" Rotom noted.

"Yeah… but…" Erika tried to say, only to trail off. She was stunned by Rockruff's aggression. Never did she imagine that he would act this troublesome.

"Now it's on to the next dance!" Kiawe proclaimed, catching her attention. The remaining five Marowak took their positions, keeping their bones alit with green flames.

"Mah, roh, wakk!" they chanted, tapping their feet against the floor. The two on the end of their line ran around the pedestal, having their bones touch the floor and ignite it in a ring of fire. The other three placed their bones vertically upright, swinging themselves around them as if they were pole dancing. The one in the middle actually flipped up and landed atop his bone, keeping himself balanced as the others danced about.

"Whoa…" Erika uttered in amazement as her eyes sparkled. It was a beautiful spectacle indeed. The dance finished as all five of the Marowak took hold of their bones and slammed them against the floor, creating a shockwave of air that blew out the surrounding flames.

"Bree, breeah breee!" Brionne cheered as she clapped her flippers.

"That was amazing!" Erika added, excitedly balling her hands into fists. Kiawe chuckled, proud of the Marowak for inspiring such a reaction out of the trial-goer.

"Now for the next dance!" he called out. The five Marowak got back into their positions like before.

"Rrrr…" Rockruff growled as his teeth were gnashed. The group of Bone Keeper Pokémon initiated their dance again, alighting the pedestal, using their bones as poles to swing around, and everything else that they attempted. Erika couldn't see a discernable difference from a first glance. She and Brionne were unsure if there even was one. But once the five Marowak slammed their bones down to blow out the flames…

"Alola!" a voice greeted.

"Huh?" Erika uttered in confusion. She widened her eyes to see David standing upon the pedestal, waving to her.

"Now what was different from the previous dance?" Kiawe asked the trial-goer, catching her attention as her eyes blanked out.

"You're…you're kidding… right?" she inquired. The trial captain merely arched an eyebrow towards her in response.

'Okay, now I'm starting to get what annoyed Cal about this trial…' she inwardly realized as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of her head.

"Um, this guy showed up at the end of this dance instead of the last one," she told Kiawe while pointing at David.

"Correct!" the trial captain replied, "And to reward your answer…" he continued, trailing off for his friend to finish as he pulled out a Poké Ball from his belt.

"You get to battle me!" he exclaimed. Erika smirked, ready to take on that challenge-

"RAAHHKK!" Rockruff suddenly barked, lunging out and slamming head first into David's torso.

"GUOH!" he grunted out before falling over onto his backside, groaning in pain as he dropped his Poké Ball.

"R-Rockruff?!" Erika stammered out in shock, while Brionne and Rotom's mouths were gaping open. Kiawe just blinked in surprise, curiously narrowing his eyes onto the anger in the Puppy Pokémon's eyes. "I'm so sorry, mister!" Erika quickly apologized as she went over and picked up Rockruff into her arms, "Hey, you better apologize for that, too!" she demanded of him as he was trying wriggle himself free. He then attempted to bite her again, but she noticed in the nick of time, dropping him onto the ground. "Rockruff!" she shouted angrily.

"Rrrrr…" the Puppy Pokémon growled at her.

'I see…' Kiawe noted inwardly as he put his hand at his chin, 'So that's how it is…' he realized.

"Um, miss?" David's voice uttered out, catching Erika's attention as she saw him get back onto his feet, "I'm all right…" he assured as he rubbed the back of his head, grabbing his Poké Ball off of the ground, "And I'm ready to battle you now," he assured.

"Oh, sure!" the trial-goer replied, "Brionne, let's-!"

"Rahk, RAH!" Rockruff barked angrily, interjecting his trainer.

"Or I can let you battle again…" she realized, letting off a sigh. David reeled his arm back.

"Go Magmar!" he cried out, tossing the Poké Ball up into the air. It popped open, and the light that spilled out from it formed upon the ground, dissipating to reveal the Spitfire Pokémon. Rotom quickly brought up his image upon its screen.

"Magmar, the Spitfire Pokémon," it began, "When angered, he spouts brilliant fire from all over his body. He doesn't calm down until his opponent has burned to ash. The hotter the place, the better they feel. Magmar in Alola are said to be hardier than those in other areas," it explained thoroughly. Erika grimaced a little upon hearing the explanation, looking back at Magmar.

"Moagg!" he bellowed as he raised his arms.

"Rrrrr…!" Rockruff growled with gritted teeth.

"And… begin!" Kiawe yelled as he swung his right arm down.

"Rockruff, start with Howl!" Erika called out. But instead, the Puppy Pokémon jumped out and slammed head first into the gut of Magmar, making him stumble back slightly.

"Mag…" he grunted out.

"Rockruff, would you just listen to me for once?!" Erika screamed, now gnashing her teeth. Brionne couldn't tell who was angrier, sweating nervously.

"RAHK!" Rockruff barked, letting the stones at his neck glow a bright white. A multicolored orb of energy appeared over his tail with sparkles orbiting around it. They formed into sharp rocks outlined in white, which were shot out at Magmar.

"Dodge and use Flame Burst!" David commanded. Magmar jumped up and evaded the rocks as they struck the ground and shattered into bits. He puffed out his chest before spitting out a searing orange-reddish fireball that hit Rockruff in a fierce explosion.

"Ah! Rockruff!" Erika exclaimed. The Puppy Pokémon jumped back out from the smoke, landing in front of his trainer.

"Rah… rah…" he panted as his face and body were dirtied with ash.

"Even though he has the type advantage…" Rotom started to note, causing Erika to grit her teeth in frustration.

"Brionne, take over and-!"

"RAHKKK!" Rockruff barked angrily, interjecting his trainer's instructions as she and the others blinked in surprise.

"R-Rockruff…?" she stuttered out. Now he seemed to have reached the peak of his anger. His gnashed teeth, his ferocious glare… He was brimming with anger. And upon seeing this, Kiawe crossed his arms curiously.

'So this little one's quite close…' he realized, grinning a little.

"Magmar, Clear Smog!" David ordered. Puffing out his chest again, the Spitfire Pokémon spewed out a greyish-white smog that enveloped Rockruff completely. He coughed, but growled as he lunged out and made his teeth glow a bright white.

"M-Magg?!" Magmar stammered in shock as he saw the Puppy Pokémon leap out from the smog, biting his right arm fiercely in an explosion of smoke.

"Ergh…" Erika grunted out as she covered her mouth and nose to keep herself from breathing in the smoke.

'I guess we just have to leave things to Rockruff for now…' she realized. But she was frustrated that she still wasn't fighting with him…

"Rahk!" Rockruff barked as the smoke cleared, revealing him and Magmar still standing firm. At that moment, flames suddenly engulfed the Puppy Pokémon. "RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" he whined in pain.

"Rockruff!" Erika screamed, "Rotodex, what just happened?!" she asked frantically to her Pokédex.

"That Magmar's ability muzzzt be Flame Body!" it buzzed in exclamation, "When a foe makes direct contact with him, they can sometimes get burned, zzt!" it explained.

"Ergh…" Erika growled in frustration. The flames subsided around Rockruff as he panted heavily. Even so, he glared on at his opponent.

"Magmar, Fire Punch!" David commanded. Closing his right hand into a fist and enveloping it in flames, the Spitfire Pokémon lunged out at Rockruff.

"RAHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOO!" he howled suddenly. A reddish aura flowed up his body before another plume of fire enveloped him for a moment. He then jumped back to avoid Magmar's fiery punch as he struck the ground, making it crack. The stones around the Puppy Pokémon's neck glowed a bright white as a multicolored orb of energy shrouded his tail. Multiple sparkles orbited the orb, forming into sharp rocks with white outlines. Rockruff shot them out at Magmar, who had no way to dodge as he was struck continuously by them.

"Magmar!" David screamed. When the resulting smoke started to clear, it revealed the Spitfire Pokémon stumbling back before falling over, having swirls in his eyes. Kiawe raised his arm.

"Magmar is unable to battle!" he called out, acting as the referee, "Rockruff wins!" he announced, gesturing towards the Puppy Pokémon.

"Rah… rah…" he panted, looking as if he was ready to pass out.

"Bree, breeahh?" Brionne asked her trainer out of concern. In spite of how Rockruff was persevering through each battle of the trial thus far, Erika knew he had reached his limit. She pulled out his Poké Ball.

"Rockruff, re-"

"Hold on," Kiawe suddenly interjected, much to her surprise as she saw him toss a pair of berries down towards the Puppy Pokémon. They rolled to a stop right in front of him as he blinked in confusion. One was an Oran Berry, while the other was a bright sky blue berry with leaves upon it. He quickly chowed down on both of them, not leaving a single scrap behind as he swallowed.

"That was a Rawst Berry, zzt…" Rotom commented, catching Erika's attention, "It's used to heal burn effectzzz," he noted to her.

"I'm very impressed with your Rockruff thus far, Erika!" Kiawe complimented as she perked up and looked over at him, "Still, I wonder if you and he are able to impress me together…" he pointed out as he rubbed his chin. Meanwhile, David returned Magmar to his Poké Ball in a beam of red light, crying all the while out of dismay.

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

"We'll skip the last dance for your sake," Kiawe said as she widened her eyes, "You may come out now!" he beckoned. Before Erika could even say anything, she saw a large shadowy figure leap out into the open. It landed down hard before Rockruff, causing dust to blow about. He didn't flinch, growling all the while.

"What the heck…?" his trainer uttered out, widening her eyes at what was before her and her team. It was an Alolan Marowak, much larger than the ones that had been dancing.

"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he bellowed as a yellow aura flared to life around his body.

X

"Rrrr…" Rockruff growled at the Totem Pokémon. He merely glowered back, igniting both ends of his bone in green flames. Erika grimaced.

"The Totem's an Alolan Marowak…" she noted in realization, gulping a little.

"Even if Rockruff'zzz been healed, he'll have a tough time now…" Rotom pointed out nervously.

"Mah, roh," the Totem Pokémon challenged, gesturing for Rockruff to come attack him.

"Rrrrr… RAHK!" Rockruff barked after a quick growl, charging towards Marowak.

"Ah, Rockruff!" Erika gasped, "Wait a sec!" she cried out, but to no avail as the Puppy Pokémon made his teeth glow a bright white, lunging forwards. Marowak tossed his bone into his right hand, closing his left into a fist before having it glow as well. He brought it up and slammed Rockruff down, striking his head fiercely. The ground beneath their feet cracked massively. Erika and Brionne's mouths gaped open in shock.

"That wazzz Brick Break!" Rotom noted in exclamation.

"A Fighting type move…" Erika uttered out of realization.

"Rrrr…!" Rockruff growled as he got onto his feet despite the swollen red mark upon his head. The stones on his neck shined a bright white, followed by a multicolored orb of energy appearing upon his tail. He jumped back as sparkles orbited the orb, forming into sharp rocks outlined in white. They were shot out at the Bone Keeper Pokémon, who made his eyes glow a bright orange before dodging all of them.

"Now he'zzz using Detect!" Rotom buzzed.

"Rockruff, pull back and use Howl!" Erika instructed rather desperately. But the Puppy Pokémon didn't listen, instead jumping out at Marowak… only to phase straight through him!

"R-Rah?!" he stammered in surprise. The Bone Keeper Pokémon made his left fist glow white again before smacking his opponent aside with it, sending him crashing into the nearby rocks.

"Rockruff!" Erika screamed.

"Bree, breeon!" Brionne cried out in worry. The dust had yet to settle, but inside, the Puppy Pokémon was panting heavily as his legs were slightly buckling.

"This isn't good…" Erika realized, grimacing all the while.

'Rockruff's in no condition to keep fighting like this…' she noted through her thoughts, clutching his Poké Ball tightly in her hand, 'But… he's not gonna listen to me regardless!' she realized, shutting her eyes and clenching her teeth out of frustration, 'What do I do? What do I do?!' she wondered repeatedly. Just then, several stones shot out from the dust cloud and struck Marowak in the back, causing him to fall onto his left knee.

"Wakkk…" he growled, looking back to see the dust clear. It revealed Rockruff standing firm, but still panting heavily.

"Rockruff…" his trainer uttered out, stunned to say the least. Was he really this determined to achieve victory?

"Mah, ROH!" Marowak exclaimed, spinning his flaming bone as the pale green fire enveloped him before he somersaulted forward, rolling towards Rockruff.

"Rahk!" his opponent barked, making his teeth glow a bright white. He charged at his enflamed foe, colliding with him in a fierce blast.

"Ergh…!" Erika grunted as she, Brionne, and Rotom endured the burst of wind that followed, while Kiawe watched on with his arms crossed. As the smoke from the blast cleared, it revealed Rockruff biting onto Marowak's left arm.

"Wahhkk…" he grunted in pain, wincing a little. He spun around and tossed the Puppy Pokémon aside, letting him land down in front of his trainer.

"Rockruff'zzz actually doing pretty good so far!" Rotom noted as it smiled.

"Yeah…" Erika agreed. But she was still worried. Could Rockruff continue like this?

'I have to do something… Anything!' she told herself, balling her left fist. But before she could even issue a command, purple gas suddenly rained down and covered the Puppy Pokémon.

"Rah… rahkk!" he hacked out.

"Rockruff!" his trainer screamed, "Rotodex, what's happening?!" she asked in a panic.

"That'zzz Poison Gas!" Rotom buzzed as a reply. The purple smoke cleared away moments later, revealing that Rockruff had a distinct purple mark horizontally across his face. His body suddenly glowed purple as sparks and bubbles came off of him.

"Rahh…" he weakly barked as his legs bucked.

"He'zzz poisoned!" Rotom exclaimed. Erika then noticed a slender figure land down beside Marowak. It was a Salazzle.

"Rotodex, who's that?" she asked, having it pull up an image of the Toxic Lizard Pokémon upon its screen.

"Salazzle, the Toxic Lizard Pokémon, and the evolved form of Salandit," it began, "Filled with pheromones, her poisonous gas can be diluted to use in the production of luscious perfumes. She punishes Salandit that couldn't bring her food with a fierce slap of her flame-spewing palm," it explained thoroughly.

"Salaaahhh…" Salazzle hissed, licking her lips.

'So she's an ally like that Alomomola back at Brooklet Hill…' Erika realized, gritting her teeth in frustration. Now she had to act. She wasn't going to let Rockruff keep going like this.

"Brionne, use-!"

"RAHKK!" the Puppy Pokémon barked angrily, interjecting his trainer as she blinked in surprise. He then made the stones at his neck glow a bright white again before a multicolored orb appeared at the tip of tail. Multiple sparkles orbited around it, forming into sharp rocks with white outlines. They were then fired out instantaneously at Marowak and Salazzle. However, they both jumped back to evade them as they struck the ground. The Bone Keeper Pokémon then made his eyes glow purple and bright red as he glared at Rockruff. All of a sudden, the Puppy Pokémon found himself unable to move, clenching his teeth as purple aura outlined his body ominously. He was enduring an unseen force that made him wince in agony. It felt worse being poisoned, too.

"Rockruff, get out of there!" Erika screamed. The Puppy Pokémon found himself getting blown back by the unseen force of Marowak's attack, tumbling back before landing down on his side in front of his trainer. "Oh man…" she uttered out in disbelief.

"I think that was Marowak'zzz Hex," Rotom noted, "It'zzz a move that'zzz twice as effective if the target is under some kind of status condition,' it explained to its user.

"Rrrr…" Rockruff weakly growled as he managed to stand up, though his legs were ready to buckle at any moment. And then the purple light glowed over his body again. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" he shrieked in agony as sparks and bubbles appeared around him, "Rrrrr…!" he grunted out, stumbling forward.

"Rockruff…" Erika uttered as tears of fright were building in her eyes.

"Salaaahhh!" Salazzle exclaimed, firing off a stream of purple liquid that struck Rockruff fiercely, making him tumble back further as he lied upon his side.

"And that wazzz Salazzle's Venoshock…!" Rotom gasped out. At that point, Erika had it. All the frustration and fright she was feeling for Rockruff had reached its breaking point.

"Brionne, Aqua Jet!" she commanded.

"Bree!" the Pop Star Pokémon yipped in response, immersing herself in a torrent of water before shooting out towards Salazzle. However, Marowak leapt in, making his right fist glow a bright white before striking her with it. Their collision resulted in a burst of smoke that blew both of them back as they landed upon the ground.

"Rrr…" Rockruff weakly growled as he managed to stand up. He tried to take a step forward, but was stopped as Erika dropped to her knees and picked him up in her arms.

"No!" she firmly shouted, "You're in no shape to keep fighting!" she pointed out, sounding very desperate.

"Rahh, raahh ruff raahkk!" Rockruff protested, wriggling in his trainer's arms. But she wouldn't let go of him. At that point, the Puppy Pokémon actually bit hard into her bandaged arm.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed, wincing as she could feel blood spill out from her arm.

"Erika!" Rotom exclaimed in shock.

"Bree, breeahh!" Brionne cried out, narrowly evading an orange-reddish fireball shot her way from Salazzle.

"Ergh…!" Erika grunted through clenched teeth. Rockruff's teeth piercing through her skin certainly hurt. But it didn't hurt as much as the fact that he wasn't battling with her. That he was acting so aggressive. "ROCKRUFF!" she screamed out. At that moment, the Puppy Pokémon blinked. The anger in his eyes seemed to completely dissipate the second he heard his trainer scream to him. He looked down and saw that he was biting into Erika's arm; the one he remembered biting earlier in the evening.

"R-Rah…?" he whimpered, turning his head to see the pained look on his trainer's face. She opened her teary eyes to see him looking at her sympathetically. Regretfully. She smiled.

"Finally back, huh?" she guessed, petting his head gently with her left hand in spite of her arm dripping with blood.

"R-R-Rahh…" Rockruff stammered, shaking all the while. In his aggression, he hurt his own trainer? Was he that blinded by rage? "Rrrr…" he whimpered, tearing up.

"Mah, roh!" Marowak exclaimed as his glowing left fist narrowly missed striking Brionne, who jumped out of the way.

"Sallaaaaahhhh!" Salazzle hissed loudly as she spewed out a purple gas from her lips.

"Breeeon!" Brionne cried out, reeling her head back before firing off a flurry of bubbles from her nostrils. They struck the gas, making it dissipate into thin air. "Bree, breeeahh!" she yipped to her trainer, who was still holding onto a regretful Rockruff.

"Hey…" she began, continuing to pet him gently, "I know you really wanna evolve like Kukui's Rockruff did…" she pointed out, softly smiling, "but we've gotta work together," she told him as he lowered his head ashamedly.

"Rah…" he whimpered out with a sad sniffle.

"Remember when Brionne saved you from Gumshoos back then?" Erika asked him, causing him to perk up as he saw that the Pop Star Pokémon was still fighting both Marowak and Salazzle all by herself. When she was a Popplio, she saved him from getting defeated by Gumshoos' Bide, allowing him to defeat the Totem Pokémon in the end. And now… she was doing the same. He shook his head to alleviate his doubts and regrets.

"Rah, rahk!" he yipped in a pleading tone to Erika. She nodded.

"You're ready to get back out there?" she guessed.

"Ruff!" he barked with a grin.

"Erika, are you sure?" Rotom inquired, "Rockruff really doesn't look zzzo good…" it buzzed worriedly.

"It's fine, Rotodex," Erika assured, setting the Puppy Pokémon down onto the ground gently, "After all," she continued, "Rockruff's a lot stronger than he looks!" she noted confidently as she closed her left hand into a fist.

"Rahf!" the Puppy Pokémon barked in agreement.

"Use Howl!" his trainer called out.

"RAHOOOOOOOO!" Rockruff howled loudly into the air. Upon seeing this, Kiawe let off a grin.

'So it's almost time,' he realized as he uncrossed his arms. A reddish aura flowed up Rockruff's body. Despite the poison still afflicting him, he stood tall. Being reaffirmed by his trainer's assurance certainly helped.

"Breeahh…" Brionne muttered, evading another glowing punch from Marowak before dodging a spray of purple liquid shot out from Salazzle's mouth.

"Mah… waaakkkk!" the Bone Keeper Pokémon exclaimed as he somersaulted forward, enveloping himself in the pale green flames from his bone. He rolled towards Brionne speedily.

"Rock Throw!" Erika commanded. The Pop Star Pokémon gasped in surprise, looking back for just a moment to see several sharp rocks shot out, striking the enflamed Marowak in a fierce explosion.

"Mah…!" he grunted out as he fell to the ground, landing on his feet before keeling over onto his left knee.

"Rah, rahk!" Rockruff barked out. The Totem Pokémon glanced out and lightly gasped to see him still standing in spite of all the damage he'd taken in their battle.

"Lazzzelll!" Salazzle exclaimed, spewing out more poisonous purple gas from her mouth.

"Brionne, blow it away with Bubble Beam!" Erika instructed quickly. Reeling her head back, the Pop Star Pokémon fired off a flurry of bubbles from her nostrils, striking the cloud and making it dissipate completely. Some bubbles even struck Salazzle, causing her to stumble back.

"Sallll…" she hissed angrily. At that moment, Marowak lunged out, making his right hand glow a bright white after tossing his bone to his left.

"Rockruff, use Bite on Marowak! Brionne, Aqua Jet on Salazzle!" Erika commanded quickly. The Puppy Pokémon made his teeth glow a bright white as he jumped up and bit Marowak's arm, bringing him crashing down to the ground. In the meantime, Brionne immersed herself within a torrent of water, rocketing out and slamming into Salazzle fiercely. However, the Toxic Lizard Pokémon smirked before she made her eyes glow a dark red, causing an aura of the same color to shroud her opponent.

"Huh?" Erika uttered upon noticing, "Rotodex, what's with that light?" she asked the Pokédex.

"Analyzing… analyzing…" it repeated as it was loading up information upon its screen, "That wazzz Torment!" it exclaimed after completing its analysis, "It'zzz a move that makes the target unable to use the same move twice in a row!" it explained quickly. Erika blinked in surprise… but then grinned.

"That won't matter with what we're gonna do now!" she exclaimed in declaration, "Hey, Brionne!" she cried out as the Pop Star Pokémon landed down before Salazzle, catching her attention, "Let's do our Z-Move!" she yelled, crossing her arms in front of herself, causing her Waterium Z to glow a bright blue.

"Bree!" Brionne yipped in response with a nod, standing upright on her tail before crossing her flippers. She copied her trainer's motions fluently, waving her arms around before moving them like they were waves from the left to the right. A blue aura shrouded Erika before it shot out in streaks to Brionne, merging with her completely. The Z-Move symbol flashed in front of her, signaling the dance's completion.

"They're gonna use a Z-Move?!" David exclaimed in shock, while Kiawe's eyes widened. Water then spouted around Brionne, covering the surrounding area and having Salazzle within its radius.

"Hydro… VORTEX!" Erika screamed. The Pop Star Pokémon dashed forwards, swimming through the water while being cloaked by a torrent in the process.

"S-S-Saallahh?!" Salazzle stammered out, seeing Brionne circle around her rather rapidly. She tried striking her with an orange-reddish fireball she shot from her mouth, but it was instantly put out by the surrounding water. All of a sudden, the Toxic Lizard Pokémon found herself caught up in a vortex of water that shot up into the sky, pounding her relentlessly with wave after wave. In just a matter of moments, it dissipated, allowing her to fall to the ground in a heap, while her opponent landed safely on her tail. "Saalll…" she hissed weakly as her eyes were in swirls. She was defeated.

"Way to go, Brionne!" Erika cheered as she pumped her left fist… only to wince as she still felt the stinging pain from Rockruff's bite earlier. Speaking of whom, he let off a grin once he saw that Brionne had defeated Salazzle. But at that moment, the purple light of poison flashed over his body, followed by sparks and bubbles. It gave Marowak a good opportunity as he raised his left hand, making it glow a bright white before bringing it down and striking the Puppy Pokémon off of him as he tumbled across the ground. "Rockruff!" Erika screamed, seeing him slowly struggle to get back onto his feet. But he did, growling at the Totem Pokémon.

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" he roared loudly. All of a sudden, several glowing gray rocks appeared over his tail as the stones at his neck shined a bright white. The rocks themselves were much larger than those of his normal Rock Throw. And Erika immediately recognized it.

"That's… Rock Tomb!" she exclaimed with widened eyes. Rockruff then swung around, having the rocks fly out at Marowak. He managed to evade the first two as they ended up beside him, but suddenly found himself entrapped on all sides by the rocks, with his only way out being up. "Nice going, Rockruff!" Erika complimented, "Now let's finish things off with Bite!" she ordered, swinging out her right arm. Making his teeth glow white once more, Rockruff charged towards the pile of rocks he made, leaping over it. At that very moment, Marowak had jumped in an attempt to escape his trap, but he was already too late. Rockruff bit into his tail, making him wince. The Puppy Pokémon then spun him around fiercely before flinging him into the ground in a huge flurry of dust and dirt. He landed down, panting heavily while wincing from the poison and the pain he was still enduring. Everyone looked on with anticipation. The dust finally settled, revealing the Bone Keeper Pokémon still standing.

"After all that, zzt?!" Rotom buzzed out of shock. Erika clenched her teeth. It seemed Marowak was tougher than she…

"Mah…" the Totem Pokémon suddenly grunted, dropping his bone to the ground.

"Rah?" Rockruff uttered in confusion. At that moment, Marowak fell down face first. Swirls were in his eyes.

"Rohhh…" he groaned in agony. Kiawe grinned, raising his right arm.

"Both Salazzle and Marowak are unable to battle," he announced like a referee, "Therefore…" he continued, looking over at Erika, "you've cleared the trial," he said. The trial-goer's eyes slowly widened before she started smiling in realization.

"ALRIGHT!" she exclaimed happily with a pump of her right fist.

"Breeonn!" Brionne yipped in excitement, clapping her flippers.

"That'zzz three trials down!" Rotom buzzed.

"Rah… rahf…" Rockruff panted, falling over onto his side.

"Ah, Rockruff!" Erika gasped, quickly hurrying over to him with Brionne and Rotom, while Kiawe ran up to them as well. The trial-goer picked the Puppy Pokémon up, holding him in her arms gently.

"Rahh…" he weakly yipped to his trainer, who gave him a soft smile.

"You did great, Rockruff…" she assured, petting him gently.

"Here," Kiawe offered, handing the girl a Pecha Berry and another Oran Berry, "That'll give him some strength back and deal with the poison," he pointed out, "And also…" he continued, pulling something out of his shorts, "this is for you," he said. What he gave Erika was none other than the Firium Z-Crystal she saw her brother had gotten earlier today. She was glad to have received it… but she needed to tend to Rockruff first and foremost. She fed him the Pecha Berry as the others looked on.

X

"Rahh…" Rockruff moaned sadly as he trekked down the volcano behind Erika, Brionne, and Rotom. His trainer was admiring her brand new Firium Z, seeing that it gleamed a bright red with the moonlight. The Puppy Pokémon felt guilty to say the least. He stared up at the new bandages Erika had wrapped over her arm. Smelling the blood that came from them made him nauseous. He was the one that drew her blood after all. It made him sick. Ashamed.

"It's too bad we can't use this Z-Crystal without a Fire type…" Erika noted as she and the others continued their trek down.

"But maybe you can still catch a Pokémon here, zzt!" Rotom suggested excitedly.

"So long as none of 'em run off like earlier…" Erika retorted with a nervous chuckle. Rockruff moaned again. He remembered how his aggression scared off the Magby his trainer wanted to catch. He then looked up, seeing the full moon shine brightly overhead. His eyes shook as he came to a stop.

"Breeah?" Brionne asked upon noticing that her teammate had stopped following them.

"What's up, Brionne?" Erika asked, having overheard as she turned around, "Rockruff?" she uttered out, wondering what was wrong. A few tears dripped out from the Puppy Pokémon's eyes.

"RAAHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he howled loudly, "RAHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he howled again, now with his head aimed towards the moon. Before Erika could say anything, she noticed a faint blue glow coming off of Rockruff, followed by his entire body shining a bright bluish white…

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 know I'm a little evil…

Erika Ketchum: What the heck, dude?! I win my trial and that's the ending you give me?!

Calvin Ketchum: To be fair, we both kinda had the same ending…

NegaiFreak: Too true! I wanted to make sure that by the end of this chapter, both of you had completed the Wela Volcano trial.

Erika Ketchum: Well, I guess you did that…

Calvin Ketchum: But man… you're going through this pretty fast…

NegaiFreak: Which is why the next chapter is gonna slow things down a bit! Here's your summary!

SUMMARY

As Erika was taking her trial, Calvin and Trent started their journey to the Lush Jungle trial site, training along the way! However, who's the familiar face they run into on the way?!

And back on Melemele Island, Ash is going through some training with a few familiar Omni Force members! Who are they though?!

END SUMMARY

NegaiFreak: Next set of updates will be for "RWBY: Omni Force"! Stay tuned for those!