NegaiFreak: Alola, everyone! Hope you're up for a breather chapter today!
Calvin Ketchum: After this, NegaiFreak's gonna be super excited to get back to "RWBY: Omni Force".
Erika Ketchum: So in the meantime, he's gonna give this chapter his all!
NegaiFreak: That's right! So without further delay, let's begin!
POKÉMON SUN & MOON
THE CHALLENGE OF A LIFETIME
"Foh… mahh…" Fomantis exhaled as she was snoozing soundly on the couch in the Pokémon Center. All of a sudden, a shadow started to loom over her. "Foh?" she uttered out, opening her eyes to see the shadow. A tick mark appeared upon her head out of annoyance. She looked up to see whatever casted the shadow… and her eyes widened. It was Drifblim.
"Blim?" he squeaked. Fomantis blinked twice. She heard about the Blimp Pokémon's evolution yesterday when Erika showed him to the rest of the team. And he was much bigger than before.
"M-Mahh…" she stammered, deciding not to bother with trying to swat at him because of his larger size.
"Blimblimblim!" he giggled quietly. He was still the same trickster as ever…
"Ah…" Erika sighed in relief after finishing her milk. In the aftermath of the Lush Jungle trial, she and her brother stayed another night at the Route 8 Pokémon Center. Calvin had gone out next morning to head to the jungle with Mallow to find a new Pokémon.
Erika was offered the chance to come along, but decided to decline. Rotom was happy to join though. So it was just her and Lana having breakfast together.
"Where's Kiawe?" she asked curiously, noticing that he wasn't around.
"Back at his trial site," Lana answered, "And he's got a job down at the supermarket by the Battle Royal Dome," she mentioned while sipping her tea.
"Oh…" Erika uttered in surprise as she blinked. It made sense. Mallow was likely a cook and Lana was likely a deep sea fisher. The trial captains had their own lives outside of the challenges they oversaw.
"So you'll be heading to Konikoni next, right?" Lana guessed, snapping Erika away from her thoughts.
"Konikoni?" she repeated back out of confusion.
"Mm-hmm," Lana answered with a nod, "It's where Olivia lives and where she holds her grand trials," she told the trial-goer, "Mallow and I live down there, too," she mentioned as she let off a grin.
"Whoa, cool!" Erika exclaimed, "Maybe while we're down there, we'll get a chance to battle!" she suggested excitedly. Lana blinked in surprise before giggling in agreement.
"So how come you didn't want to join your brother to find a new Pokémon today?" she wondered aloud.
"Hmm…" Erika hummed in thought, "I guess I figured he needed to get one more than I did…" she admitted with a simple shrug, "Besides," she continued, looking over to see her Pokémon either eating their breakfast or playing around the common space, "I've got a pretty great team already," she assured confidently.
"Breeahh!" Brionne agreed as she munched on her food alongside Lycanroc and Magby. Oricorio was dancing off to the side, swaying as carefree as ever.
In the meantime, Calvin was wandering about the Lush Jungle alongside Mallow and her Steenee. With the Grassium Z now in hand, he now wanted to try and find a Grass type Pokémon to use the potential Z-Move.
"Well, you've got lots of options here!" Mallow pointed out as she led the trial-goer to the western part of the jungle, "Like I mentioned, I found Steenee here, too!" she added as she glanced over at her partner.
"Neee!" she squeaked with a smile.
"I was kind of hoping to find that Pokémon Erika ran into during the trial yesterday…" Calvin admitted, "The one with the glowing mushrooms…" he mentioned unsurely, scratching at his cheek.
"Oh, Morelull?" Mallow guessed, receiving a nod from the trial-goer, "Well… you probably won't be able to run into any now…" she pointed out, "Those little guys are usually nocturnal," she mentioned.
"Oh," Calvin uttered, somewhat disappointed and a little surprised.
"Doesn't mean you can't find what you're lookin' for!" Mallow pointed out as she snapped her fingers and winked, "Maybe you can find yourself a Steenee!" she suggested excitedly.
"Nee, steee!" the Fruit Pokémon exclaimed happily. As they ventured further into the jungle, they saw groups of Paras and Fomantis roaming about. Calvin wasn't interested in them though, wanting instead to find a Pokémon he had yet to have seen.
"Maybe you can have one of your Pokémon look, zzt," Rotom implied as it floated beside the capped boy.
"Yeah, good idea," he responded, reaching down to his belt and taking out a Poké Ball that he enlarged by pressing its center button, "Come out, Trumbeak!" he beckoned as the container popped open in his hand, with its light spilling into the air. It formed and dissipated to reveal the Bugle Beak Pokémon.
"Trumm!" he squawked in greeting as he flapped his wings.
"Trumbeak, can you help us find a new Pokémon?" his trainer asked of him.
"Beek!" he chirped as a response with a nod, flying off. The others in the group followed after him, wondering what kind of Pokémon he would find. However… it seemed like he had something else in mind… He took notice of what looked like a large purple berry nearby on a small hill. His stomach growled. "Beeek!" he screeched with a glint in his eyes, veering off to his left suddenly.
"T-Trumbeak?" Calvin stuttered in confusion. The Bugle Beak Pokémon used his beak to pick up the big berry by its leaves, happy to have found some food. Or so he thought…
"SWEEE, SWEEEEE!" a voice shrieked in fright. Trumbeak looked and widened his eyes to see that it wasn't a berry. It was a small Pokémon resembling a mangosteen. Most of her body was pinkish-purple with a short, white skirt around her waist, which resembled the flesh of a mangosteen. She had beady yellow eyes and two tiny legs. On top of her head was a green calyx; the structure of which consisted of four leafy green formations and a short stem.
"Truhh…" Trumbeak chirped sheepishly in realization. The berry-like Pokémon puffed her cheeks angrily before spinning her calyx to smack the Bugle Beak Pokémon off of her.
"Bow, bow swee!" she shouted angrily at him.
"What Pokémon is that?" Calvin asked, pointing towards the berry-like creature. Mallow gasped with a smile.
"It's a Bounsweet!" she exclaimed.
"Bounsweet?" Calvin repeated in confusion. Rotom pulled up an image of the Pokémon upon its screen.
"Bounsweet, the Fruit Pokémon," it began, "Because of her sweet, delicious aroma, bird Pokémon are always after her, but she's not intelligent enough to care. She tries to resist being swallowed by a bird Pokémon by spinning the sepals on her head. It's usually a fruitless attempt," it explained thoroughly. Calvin was somewhat mortified by how a bird Pokémon could apparently try to eat the Bounsweet, but decided to shake off that fact.
"Boww… sweee!" the Fruit Pokémon exclaimed, making her sepals glow a bright green before spinning them around to unleash several clusters of green glowing leaves.
"Trumbeak, dodge and use Pluck!" Calvin instructed quickly. The Bugle Beak Pokémon easily evaded the leaves as he made his beak shine a bright blue before it extended out. He then pecked at Bounsweet several times, causing her to fall to the ground in a heap.
"Boww…" she groaned, stumbling dizzily as she stood up.
"Alright…" Calvin began as he grabbed a Poké Ball from his bag and enlarged it, "go!" he yelled, tossing it at the Fruit Pokémon. It struck her head, popping open. Bounsweet became a bright red light that zipped right into the Poké Ball, which closed up and hit the ground. It shook for a few moments as its button blinked a bright red. It then blinked green with a click, coming to a stop. "Yeah!" Calvin exclaimed excitedly. Mallow giggled, seeing him pick up the Poké Ball. Now he had a full team of Pokémon… and a new destination he hoped to reached today.
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, Gumshoos, Trumbeak, and Araquanid resting beneath a shady tree, with the Fire Cat Pokémon sleeping contently on her trainer's lap. Cubone is off to the side shattering rocks with his bone until Araquanid traps him in a Spider Web out of annoyance.
0:46 – 0:57 = Cuts to Erika training with Brionne and Lycanroc, while Fomantis is asleep on the sunny grass. It's only when Drifblim decides to float over her that she wakes up, mad that the Balloon Pokémon is blocking out the sunlight. Meanwhile, Oricorio is dancing off to the side as Magby watches in wonder.
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.
Ultra Spacing Out!
"Good luck the rest of the way!" Mallow called out in farewell to the Ketchum twins as they went on their way down the route heading south towards Paniola Town. She and Lana waved goodbye from the Pokémon Center.
"Breeah!" Brionne yipped happily, being carried on her trainer's back as she held onto her shoulders. Calvin was holding his newly caught Bounsweet in his arms as she seemed rather annoyed. He was excited to learn from Mallow that she could potentially evolve into a Tsareena one day, though obviously smaller than the one they faced in the grand trial.
"So what do you think battling Olivia is gonna be like?" Erika wondered, catching her brother's attention.
"Not sure…" he admitted in response, "Hau did say his grandpa barely managed to beat her before, so she's probably going to be a lot tougher," he noted upon remembering what his cousin.
"Hope Hau cleared some of the trials…" Erika mentioned, recalling the last time they had seen their cousin, he had quite literally gotten dragged off to Lana's trial at Brooklet Hill.
"Don't forget Pyrrha and Paige, zzt," Rotom buzzed, floating in between the twin trial-goers, "The last time we zzzaw them, they hadn't gotten very far either," it recalled.
"They'll all be fine!" Calvin reassured, "They're our rivals after all!" he mentioned cheekily.
"Yeah!" his twin sister agreed as she smiled.
"Bree!" Brionne barked in agreement.
"Boww…" Bounsweet huffed with her cheeks puffed out. A while later as the twins continued their trek, they passed by the Paniola Ranch and found themselves getting closer to Heahea City.
"Konikoni is in the zzzouthwest part of the island," Rotom noted as it had a map upon its screen, "We'd have to go through the Diglett'zzz Tunnel or take a boat around there," it mentioned to the twins.
"Diglett's Tunnel, huh?" Erika inquired.
"Like the one back in Kanto…" Calvin added upon remembering.
"Probably better for us to go through the cave, especially if it means we're training for the grand trial," his twin sister recommended.
"Yeah, definitely," he agreed as he nodded.
"Hey!" a familiar voice called out, catching their attentions as they saw someone waving to them from afar. It was Kukui. "You two already finished with your three trials?" he guessed. Moments later, they met up.
"So my Rockruff and Drifloon evolved while you were gone!" Erika told the professor.
"And my Dewpider evolved into Araquanid!" Calvin mentioned excitedly.
"Congrats on that, cousins…" Kukui complimented, sounding very impressed, "Clearing three trials here is no easy feat, you know," he pointed out, placing his hands at his hips.
"And we're just getting started!" Erika exclaimed as she balled her fists, "Right, Brionne?" she inquired to her teammate.
"Breeon!" she yipped excitedly in response.
"By the way," Calvin continued, shifting the conversation slightly, "do you know what kind of Pokémon Olivia uses?" he asked of the professor. He cracked a grin.
"I know it'd be better for you to find out on your own…" he admitted as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "but I guess you're owed a reward for clearing your trials," he concluded, "Olivia uses Rock types," he told the twins, "but don't think it'll be easy just knowing that," he mentioned seriously.
"Right…" Erika agreed as she nodded. Knowing what kinds of Pokémon Hala had didn't exactly help her in the midst of her grand trial back on Melemele. And the same could be said for Calvin.
"Anyways, before you head off to Konikoni," Kukui began, causing the twin trial-goers to perk up in surprise, "I wanted to show you both something," he told them. They blinked in surprise. Where would they be going?
"Nebby, use Splash!" Lillie instructed in front of a walled-off building.
"Pew?" the Cosmog squeaked, floating nearby some shrubbery. Lillie laughed a little.
'Here I am, trying to be like Calvin and Erika…' she noted inwardly, 'I wish I could be as strong as those two…' she admitted to herself as she tightly clutched the strap of her duffel bag, 'Then… I could protect Nebby without anyone having to worry about me…' she mentioned through her thoughts.
"Pewpew!" the Cosmog exclaimed suddenly, causing her to perk up as she noticed someone approach from the lone gateway to the building. She smiled as she saw Calvin and Erika alongside Kukui.
"Hey Lillie!" the former of the twins greeted as he and his sister ran over to her.
"Calvin! Erika!" she greeted, "It's been too long!" she pointed out as they approached.
"Sure has!" Erika agreed with a sheepish smile, "How's Nebby been treating you?" she wondered, squatting down to the Cosmog's level.
"Pew?" it squeaked in confusion, blinking rapidly.
"Still as stubborn as ever…" Lillie noted with a nervous giggle, "It's been trying to get me to head to the ruins, but I'm not too ready yet…" she admitted, looking back at the Cosmog as Brionne hopped down to approach it.
"Bree!" she greeted with a wave of her right flipper.
"Mah!" it responded happily, waving its cloud-like arms.
"You mean the Ruins of Life, right?" Calvin inquired, catching Lillie's attention, "Where is that from here?" he asked, turning to Rotom.
"It'zzz in the zzzoutheast part of the island," the Pokédex responded as it had the map upon its screen, "Going there by foot would mean going through the Memorial Hill and Akala Outskirtzzz," it mentioned.
"I'm hoping we can just travel there on foot since going into Konikoni risks Nebby's secrecy," Lillie told the group, "But Diglett's Tunnel is home to a lot of strong Pokémon, so I'm not sure if…" she continued, trailing off ashamedly.
"Say no more, Lillie," Erika chimed, causing her to perk up and look at her, "We'll get you to the ruins," she promised as she placed her hands at her hips, "It's basically a hop, skip, and a jump away from the city, right?" she inquired to Rotom.
"In a zzzense…" it replied nervously.
"The Ruins of Life, huh?" Calvin said, "Is that like the Ruins of Conflict on Melemele?" he asked, turning to Kukui.
"Yep," he answered with a nod, "It's where the island guardian, Tapu Lele, resides," he added. Erika perked up as she remembered the name from the day she arrived on the island.
"Hey Rotodex, what's Tapu Lele like?" she asked her Pokédex, getting its attention.
"Leave it to me, zzt!" it buzzed in response, loading up an image of the guardian deity upon its screen, "Tapu Lele, the Land Spirit Pokémon," it began, "As it flutters about, it scatters its strangely glowing scales. Touching them is said to restore good health on the spot. Although called a guardian deity, Tapu Lele is devoid of guilt about its cruel disposition and can be described as nature incarnate," it explained thoroughly.
The image upon its screen showed a creature with a black upper body and head with a few small white markings. Its eyes were blue with a pink line through the middle of each iris. Below each eye was a curved white line and above each was a curved pink line separated into three segments. On its upper body was another, thicker curved white line. Its thin arms had digit-less hands and puffy pink bracelets on each wrist. On top of its head was a mass of dark pink, tentacle-like hair. Two longer strands of hair framed its face. Encasing its dark pink lower body and on top of its head was a shell resembling an insect.
Its shell was primarily light pink. The portion on top of its head was conical with a white diamond marking in the center and a white half-diamond marking below that. Both diamond shapes were framed with black. The shell around its lower body mirrored those diamond markings and had an additional half-diamond on the back. On each side was a hexagon marking consisting of five dark pink triangle and one light pink triangle all outlined in black. These resembled the compound eyes of many insects. There were also projections on the back of the shell that resembled butterfly wings and a small black bump on the bottom similar to a curled proboscis.
"Whoa…" Erika uttered in amazement.
"It's said that Tapu Lele tends to be pretty rowdy," Kukui mentioned, catching their attentions, "But for every opponent it has, it gifts them its scales to heal them," he told them.
"Sounds like it's a little more dangerous than Tapu Koko…" Calvin chimed in. His sister chuckled nervously.
"I wouldn't be so sure…" she sheepishly admitted, remembering how her attempt to meet the guardian deity of Melemele backfired spectacularly.
"Breeah…" Brionne sighed with a shake of her head.
"Well, you can all worry about learning the island guardian's strength later," Kukui assured as his hands were at his hips, "For now…" he continued, pointing towards the building they were nearby. A few moments later, the four of them were gathered in the elevator, with Calvin and Erika having returned their Pokémon to their respective Poké Balls beforehand.
"The Dimensional Research Lab?" the former of the twins uttered out in confusion.
"Righto, cuz!" Kukui responded, "The guys here are looking into some pretty hefty things around mysterious creatures of the past," he told him.
"You mean like Pokémon?" Erika inferred.
"Not exactly…" Kukui vaguely replied. Before either of the twins could ask anything else, the elevator dinged. The doors opened, allowing them to exit onto the floor. Computers and bookshelves were aligned neatly in the office setting, along with large TV screens showing off charts and graphs of data.
'What's this all about?' Calvin inwardly wondered as he looked at the figures on the screens.
"Hey there, honey!" Kukui greeted, causing him to perk up. He looked ahead to see a woman with medium-short white spiky hair pointing backwards, and had yellow eyes approaching them. She had tanned skin, wore a grey vest and black stirrup pants. She also wore green flat shoes and a green headband at the back of her head, and bore a silver necklace, with a silver ring hanging from it. Tied around her waist was a black jacket with orange ends at the sleeves.
"Glad you could make it, hun!" she responded with a giggle.
"That there's Professor Burnet," Kukui told the twins as they glanced over at him, "She heads the lab here…" he mentioned, gesturing towards her, "and she's also my wife!" he added with a cheeky smile, wrapping his right arm around her shoulders.
"Hun, no need to flatter me…" she assured as a tint of pink tainted her cheeks. She and her husband shared a quick kiss to the lips before turning to the others. "So these must be the Ketchum twins!" she realized, looking over at Calvin and Erika.
"Y-Yes, ma'am," the former of the two stuttered, "I'm Calvin," he introduced with a polite bow.
"Erika!" his twin sister exclaimed with a wide smile. Burnet giggled.
"I can already tell you two are quite the characters," she pointed out, "No wonder Lillie talks about you so much," she mentioned as she looked over at the professor's assistant.
"Ah… well…" she stammered in embarrassment, blushing a little.
"Speaking of which…" Kukui continued, trying to change the subject, "you two wanna hear Lillie's story?" he offered. The Ketchum twins both blinked in surprise.
"Three months ago, I found Lillie lying on a beach unconscious," Burnet recanted moments later, "And Cosmog was in her bag, also unconscious," she mentioned.
"Wait, what?" Erika said out of surprise, glancing over at Lillie.
"How'd you end up there?" Calvin wondered in concern. To their surprise, Lillie chuckled sheepishly.
"I wanted to learn more about Nebby- I mean, Cosmog," she quickly corrected, "So… I tried to find Professor Burnet's lab," she told the twins, "But I got lost along the way… and ended up wandering about until I collapsed on the shore…" she explained, giving off a cheeky smile. Erika was confused.
'Something's not adding up here…' she realized. But she couldn't put her finger on what it was.
"I've been wanting to find a way to get Nebby back to its own home, and Professor Burnet's been very kind to me in that endeavor," Lillie mentioned as she smiled at the head of the laboratory.
"Don't sweat it, Lillie," she assured, "From what you told me that night, getting that Cosmog back to its home is really important to you," she recalled as she grinned back.
"Professor Burnet!" a voice called out, being one of the researchers as he hustled over, "We just got a blip in the readings!" he exclaimed.
"What?! Really?!" she yelped in response.
"Oh-ho! Good for you, honey!" her husband noted with a grin.
"What's going on?" Calvin wondered aloud.
"Wanna come and see?" Kukui offered to him. As the three of them ventured over to the monitors, Erika stayed behind with Lillie.
"So you've been going around the islands to try and find a way to get Nebby back home?" the trial-goer guessed to her friend, "Why though?" she asked. She knew Lillie didn't have any of her own Pokémon to battle with, so it seemed like a dangerous task…
"Because Nebby helped me once…" she responded as Erika blinked, "Now I want to help it," she stated firmly, "And I've only been able to do so well because of you, your brother and the professors," she mentioned with a smile, "Especially Burnet," she added, looking over at the head of the laboratory, "She took me in and heard my plight…" she remembered, clutching the strap of her duffel bag tightly, "She's… been like a real mother to me…" she admitted. Upon hearing that, Erika was left somewhat speechless. There was only one thought that crossed her mind.
'What was her life like before she met everyone?' she inwardly wondered out of worry. Meanwhile, Burnet stared up at the screen with a disappointed frown on her face.
"Well, it's something… but it's not that strong of a reading…" she noted, putting her hands at her hips.
"Don't worry, honey," her husband reassured, putting his hand onto her right shoulder to get her attention, "I'm sure you'll find it someday," he said with a grin.
"Um… what are you looking for?" Calvin asked curiously, arching an eyebrow.
"Oh, right!" Burnet yelped in realization, bonking her head with her right fist as she and her husband turned around to face the trial-goer, "At this lab, we're looking into the mysterious phenomena that happen throughout the Alola Region," she told him, "More specifically, I'm focusing on discovering something called… the Ultra Wormhole," she said. Calvin blinked in surprise.
"What's that?" he wondered.
"It's extremely rare, but there's rumor of a phenomena where a hole opens up in the sky of Alola," Burnet told him, "And it appears that hole leads to a different dimension," she added.
"So… it's like a portal that leads… to another Earth?" Calvin guessed unsurely.
"Yes and no," Burnet replied, "It is a portal… but it supposedly doesn't lead to another Earth," she pointed out, "Many people believe that it's a mysterious dimension because of legends that fearsome creatures came from the Ultra Wormhole," she explained.
"Wait, creatures?" Calvin repeated, "You mean they weren't Pokémon?" he inquired as he blinked.
"Mm-hmm," Burnet responded as she nodded, looking back at the various monitors in the lab, "It's very weak as proof, but I can't ignore it," she stated firmly, "There's also plenty of evidence in the Pokédex for the existence of different dimensions, right?" she inquired, giving off a wink to her husband, causing him to chuckle.
"So what are those fearsome creatures?" Calvin asked.
"Even normal wild Pokémon sometimes attack people, right?" Burnet guessed rhetorically, "However, the creatures that supposedly came from the Ultra Wormhole went far beyond that," she mentioned, making the capped boy gulp, "They were called Ultra Beasts… And they were feared," she told him.
'Ultra Beasts…' he repeated in his head. Just hearing the name made his body stiffen.
"If the legends hold up, the islands' guardian deities fought against the Ultra Beasts in the desperate effort to stop them," Burnet explained, "But like I said, it's all legends and folktales," she noted to the trial-goer, "Hard to know how much is true…" she pointed out.
"But if you can find that proof you need, you can finally unravel that mystery of the Ultra Wormhole!" her husband cheekily mentioned.
"Kukui, you're so sweet…" his wife responded as she blushed, playfully elbowing him in his chest. Meanwhile, Calvin was hung up on her explanation. The supposed Ultra Beasts were strong enough to face the island guardians? And it was a desperate battle for them?
'They must've lost since the guardians are still around apparently…' he realized inwardly, 'But just how strong were they?' he wondered through his thoughts. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around his shoulders.
"Alola, cuz!" Hau exclaimed in greeting, causing him to gasp in surprise as he turned to see him there.
"H-Hau!" he stuttered out in surprise, "When'd you get here?" he asked as he blinked.
"Heehee!" his cousin giggled, stepping back, "Just now!" he responded, flashing a toothy smile.
"Hey there, Hau!" Kukui greeted, "You already clear all your trials on Akala?" he asked of him. Hau grinned, pulling out something from his pocket. Calvin widened his eyes to see that it was a Grassium Z.
"Just finished up Mallow's trial at the Lush Jungle!" he pointed out, "That Mallow Special sure had a kick to it, huh Cal?" he inquired to his cousin. He grimaced upon remembering how he mistakenly taken a bite of the spicy soup yesterday.
"Y-Yeah…" he stuttered out in embarrassment.
"Anyways, wanted to drop by and say hi before I head off to Konikoni!" Hau said to the professors, "Thanks for the stories about those Ultra Beasts!" he added in gratitude, "Sounds like they'd be fun opponents one day!" he mentioned cheekily.
"I wouldn't challenge them if I were you," Burnet advised, "If the legends are true, no Pokémon except ones as strong as our guardians would be able to defeat them," she pointed out seriously.
"Anyways, we better not keep you all here," Kukui realized, "You should get going to Konikoni before it gets too late," he recommended to the boys.
"Will do!" Hau responded, "Hey, Eri! Lillie!" he called out, waving to the two girls as they looked over to see him, "You ready to head out of here?!" he asked loudly. Moments later, the four kids and Rotom exited the elevator on the ground floor.
"So all of you managed to clear your trials…" Lillie noted to Hau and Erika as Calvin went on ahead, going out the front door.
"They were pretty difficult…" the pigtailed girl admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.
"Still, you managed to get through all three!" Lillie pointed out with a shake of her head, "I think that deserves a great amount of reward and praise," she mentioned.
"Mm-hmmm!" Hau agreed as he nodded, "And that reward's gonna be battling Olivia next!" he declared, pumping up his fist. Meanwhile, Calvin walked a few steps outside of the building before taking a deep breath.
'The Ultra Wormhole, huh?' he recalled inwardly, 'Dad and Leslie always said they saw crazy stuff on their adventures…' he noted through his thoughts, 'I wonder if—' His thoughts instantly halted as he looked up. It was faint, but there was a glint in the sky. In fact… it looked like a crack!
"Ah!" he gasped. The crack disappeared instantaneously though, leaving no trace of its presence.
'W…Was that…?' Calvin started to guess.
"Hey, Cal!" Hau's voice cried out, snapping him away from his thoughts as he looked back to see him and the others exit the building, "Whatcha' standing around for?!" he asked as he jogged past him, "Come on!" he beckoned, "Diglett's Tunnel is just a stone's throw away!" he pointed out excitedly.
"Hau still hasn't changed…" Erika noted with a smile, while Lillie giggled. Calvin glanced back up at the sky with a nervous look. Had he seen a sign of an Ultra Wormhole? It sure looked like it. But for now, he decided to drop it. He went off with Erika and Lillie after Hau, ready to continue their journey to Konikoni City.
X
"Whoa…" Erika uttered out in amazement as she and the others went into the cavern. It was thankfully lit by lanterns nailed to the walls. The group could hear the jackhammers and pickaxes going away at the rocks.
"The guys here are trying to make a better path for travelers to come through," Hau explained to the others, "But since Konikoni's usually just a boat ride away, they don't usually take it…" he pointed out.
"That's too bad…" Calvin said, "This place looks really scenic…" he mentioned as he glanced around.
"But there's also the danger of cave-ins being caused by the Diglett if they get too scared," Lillie added, chiming into the conversation.
"Yeah, that's a good point…" Hau cheekily admitted with a grin.
"You sure you wanted to come with us then?" Calvin asked the assistant, making her blink in surprise, "I mean, it could be really dangerous…" he noted unsurely.
"Oh, no, it's fine!" Lillie stuttered out in assurance as she held out her hands in a placating manner, "I have Repels for myself in case I get lost, so you don't need to worry too much," she pointed out, opening her duffel bag to reveal the plethora of items squished inside along with Nebby.
"Pew!" it squeaked happily upon seeing Calvin. He chuckled.
"So we just gotta get through this cave to get to Konikoni, right?" Erika inquired as she started to head off on her way.
"Yep!" her cousin replied, following her while folding his arms behind his head, "Maybe we'll run into a Diglett on the way!" he suggested. At that moment, they saw the ground in front of them crack, followed by something popping out.
"It's a Diglett!" Erika exclaimed. However, she noticed that the Mole Pokémon had three fine gold whiskers atop his head, and the soil beneath him seemed to grayer than those she remembered. "Oh, so Diglett's an Alolan Form, huh?" she realized as she squatted down to his eye level.
"Yep!" Rotom answered, loading an image of the Mole Pokémon upon its screen, "Diglett, the Mole Pokémon, Alolan Form," it began, "Many farmers cherish and nurture Diglett because their droppings enrich the soil they live in. Around their crops, farmers plant the kind of tree that Diglett like to eat as a way of getting Diglett to plow the fields for them," it explained thoroughly. Despite being somewhat disgusted by the first part of that explanation, Erika seemed genuinely interested in the Alolan Form of the Mole Pokémon.
"I think I'll catch this one!" she declared, taking out a Poké Ball from her bag, "Should be easy since he's such a little guy…" she added confidently, enlarging the spherical container by pressing its center button. She lobbed it gently towards the Diglett… but he suddenly ducked underground to evade it! "Huh?" she uttered in confusion, blinking. At that moment, the Mole Pokémon came up underneath her foot, causing her to fall over in a yelp as her face fell into his original hole.
"Erika!" Calvin and Lillie yelped in surprise.
"Ergh…" the female trial-goer growled as she lifted her head up, wiping away the dirt on her face.
"Guess you don't like being called little, huh?" Hau inferred with a cheeky grin.
"Digg! Digga, dig lett!" the Diglett squeaked frantically, causing him to blink in surprise.
"Something wrong, little guy?" he wondered with a tilt of his head.
"Dig!" Diglett responded as he nodded, suddenly digging down into the ground before Erika could even attempt to try and throw her Poké Ball again. The way he was tunnel was leaving a trail of dirt behind.
"I think he wants us to follow him…" Hau concluded, jogging after the trail.
"Uh, hey! Wait up!" Erika called out, chasing after her cousin. Rotom quickly followed.
"We better go after 'em…" Calvin realized as he started walking.
"R-Right!" Lillie stuttered, following him. Elsewhere in the tunnel, a Larvitar hopped back and landed on the ground, growling angrily. He was standing beside a Corsola as they were pitted against a Fomantis and a Salandit. Standing behind those two were E and F. They were facing a man and a woman, both of whom were wearing white, futuristic uniforms with large pouches at their hips, white caps with gold buttons, large white boots, and white gloves. The man had short brown hair that was slicked back and spiked up slightly. The woman had bowl cut, almost raven-colored hair. Both had frustrated looks on their faces as they glared down the Team Skull grunts. Nearby, there were several Diglett that were shuddering in fright.
"You fiends find it funny to cause this kind of ruckus?!" the uniformed man shouted angrily at the gang members.
"Hey, we were just training…" F claimed with a shrug.
"Besides, wild Pokémon are fair game, right?" E implied. The uniformed man growled angrily with clenched teeth.
"Not when they don't want to fight, you cowards!" he shouted angrily. The woman beside seemed to be in agreement, though she didn't say a word. At that point, Diglett popped up from the ground behind them.
"Dig, digg dig!" he squeaked out, catching the uniformed pair's attention as they looked to see Hau and Erika coming towards them.
"It's Team Skull!" the former of the two exclaimed upon arriving. His cousin blinked as she immediately recognized E and F. They recognized her, too.
"Ugh…" the woman of the two thugs groaned in disgust, "It's that pesky trial-goer girl from last time…" she grumbled. F actually growled.
"Hey girlie!" he shouted, catching her attention, "Don't think you're gonna be winning today!" he yelled to her, "My Salandit's gonna crush whatever you throw at him!" he declared confidently as he cackled.
"Sallaannnn!" the Toxic Lizard Pokémon hissed loudly. Erika just smirked.
"Unlike last time, I'm a little stronger," she remarked as she stepped between the two uniformed people, taking out a Poké Ball from her belt and enlarging it by pressing its center button.
"Psh," E scoffed, "What, you're gonna bring out that sleepy Fomantis from last time?" she guessed, "Or maybe that itty bitty balloon…" she teased cutely.
"Come on out, Drifblim!" Erika beckoned as she tossed her Poké Ball up into the air. It popped open, and the light that spilled out from it came into form, dissipating to reveal the Blimp Pokémon.
"Blimmm…" his voice boomed as he glared down the two Team Skull members. They were petrified with shock, as were their Pokémon.
"I-I-Is that the… b-b-balloon?!" F stammered as he pointed at Drifblim. Meanwhile, Calvin and Lillie had just arrived on the scene.
"Team Skull again, huh…" the former of the two noted upon seeing the thugs being confronted by his twin sister, "Guess Erika's got this handled," he assured. He then turned and blinked in surprise. Lillie wasn't next to him. "Lillie?" he uttered in confusion.
"Huh… huh…!" the professor's assistant breathed quickly in a panicked manner as she was crouched behind a large rock far from the others. The second she saw those uniformed people, she ran. After what happened before when she escaped with Nebby, she never wanted to see them again. And yet, here they were.
"Drifblim, Gust!" Erika commanded, throwing out her right hand. Taking a deep inhale to inflate himself, the Blimp Pokémon exhaled a powerful burst of wind from his mouth. It struck the Team Skull members and their Pokémon, sending them crashing into the wall.
"Ugh…" E and F groaned as they fell to the ground. Swirls were in the eyes of both Fomantis and Salandit.
"You guys really need to know when you're beat," Erika remarked putting her hands at her hips.
"Blimm!" Drifblim agreed with a nod.
"Ergh…" F grunted as he sat, returning his Salandit to his Poké Ball in a beam of red light, "So what if you beat us like that?!" he yelled out, "Our big sis would wipe the floor with you if ya battled her!" he proclaimed.
'Big sis?' Erika uttered inwardly out of confusion, 'I feel like I've heard that somewhere else before…' she admitted through her thoughts.
"Yeah, Big Sis would thrash you to pieces!" E declared after returning her Fomantis to his Poké Ball.
"Well, tell your 'big sis' that I'll be ready to take that challenge," Erika retorted to their surprise, "We're not afraid to face you punks," she added with a grin.
"Drif, blimm!" Drifblim squeaked in agreement. The two Team Skull grunts shook with shook.
"Ah, let's book it!" F suddenly yelped, getting to his feet and running off.
"R-Right!" E stuttered, hurrying after him.
"And don't come back!" the uniformed man yelled.
"Milo, don't get so riled up," the woman beside him requested in a monotone voice, "You'll only make the Diglett feel even worse," she pointed out.
"Ah, sorry Selene…" he apologized, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
"Digg, digg lett!" the Diglett from before squeaked happily as he was reunited with his friends. They all bobbed their bodies with joy before zipping underground.
"Those numbskullzzz must've been bothering those Diglett…" Rotom buzzed in realization.
"Yeah, Diglett here can get pretty wild if they're being attacked," the uniformed man noted as he approached the trial-goers, "Anyways, thanks for the assist," he said in gratitude to Erika, "You're a strong trainer," he complimented. The Ketchum girl blinked in surprise before blushing a little out of flattery.
"Looks like our job is done here," the uniformed woman pointed out as she walked over, "We should head over to the outskirts and meet up with the Branch Chief," she advised in a robotic voice.
'What the heck is with this lady?' Erika wondered as a drop of sweat rolled down her head.
"Hey, you guys are with the Aether Foundation, right?" Hau guessed.
"Aether Foundation?" Erika repeated in confusion.
"That's right," the uniformed man answered, "We're a conservational organization working to protect and injured Pokémon," he explained.
"We also shelter them from threats like Team Skull," the woman mentioned as she returned her Corsola to her Great Ball in a beam of red lights, "Anyways, I'm Selene," she introduced, still sounding monotone… though she at least smiled.
"And the name's Milo!" the uniformed man greeted as he slightly tipped his cap to the trial-goers before squatting down next to his Larvitar, "You wanna say thanks to the kids who helped us out?" he inquired to the Rock Skin Pokémon.
"Lar…" he muttered out in frustration, turning his head away.
"Prideful little guy, huh?" Hau inferred, putting his hands as he raised an eyebrow.
"Ha, ha!" Milo chuckled, returning Larvitar to his own Great Ball in a beam of red light as well, "He just didn't like not being able to settle things himself…" he concluded as he stood up, "Thanks again for the assist," he repeated in gratitude, "You stay safe out there!" he remarked in farewell with a wave.
"Bye," Selene said as she raised her own hand rather emotionlessly, following her fellow employee towards the exit to the cave.
"That… was kinda weird…" Erika admitted with a small chuckle, "So when did the Aether Foundation get started?" she asked curiously.
"Almost a year ago, actually," her cousin responded, "They've done a lot of work around Alola with helping out injured Pokémon and protecting them," he pointed out.
"Wow…" Erika uttered in astonishment.
"Did that Aether Foundation lady zzzee me?" Rotom wondered aloud, "Did zzzhe think I wazzz cool?" it asked of its user. Her eye twitched.
"You can't be serious…" she muttered out as Hau and Drifblim chuckled.
"Hey…" her cousin started to say, catching her attention, "where'd Cal and Lillie go?" he wondered, looking around to find no sign of his cousin or the professor's assistant.
"Guys!" the voice of the capped boy called out, catching their attentions as they saw him jog over, "Lillie's gone!" he yelped, causing them to gasp in shock.
"Wait, wasn't she right next to you?!" his twin sister exclaimed.
"She was!" Calvin shouted back, "We saw you fighting those Team Skull goon and then poof! She took off!" he emphasized in his explanation.
"Oh, great…" Erika grumbled as she smacked herself in the face.
"Um, I'm here…" Lillie's voice assured, causing the trio to perk up as they saw her approach.
"Lillie!" Erika exclaimed, sighing with relief.
"Phew!" Hau exhaled, "From what you were sayin' earlier about being terrible with directions, I was thinkin' you were gonna get really lost…" he admitted sheepishly.
"Sorry…" Lillie apologized.
"Why'd you run off?" Calvin asked, making her widen her eyes in surprise, "You were right next to me and-"
"I… got scared of Team Skull!" Lillie suddenly yelped in claim, interjecting his sentence, "I know they've been really troublesome lately, so I didn't want them to find Nebby…" she told them. Calvin was a bit surprised by her explanation. Surely, she should've been able to count on the group to protect her, right?
"You don't need to worry about those guys, Lillie!" Hau assured confidently with a thumbs up, "Now come on!" he beckoned, taking her by the hand to her surprise, "We're almost to Konikoni!" he pointed out, hurrying off with her as she yelped. The Ketchum twins shared a worried glance with each other. Something wasn't adding up with Lillie's explanation…
"Everything okay, you two?" Rotom wondered out of concern, catching their attentions.
"Uh, yeah!" Erika assured in response, returning Drifblim to his Poké Ball in a beam of red light.
"We're good, Rotom," Calvin promised with a grin. The twins and the Pokédex then headed on their way after the others.
X
"Cool…!" Erika uttered out with a sense of amazement in her eyes. Like Paniola Town, Konikoni had a traditional, rustic look to it. The group had gone through a gateway structure that seemed quite Chinese. In fact, most of the buildings were built in a similar sense. Calvin was surprised by the amount of merchants around the area, selling their wares to customers and offering them supposedly 'sweet' deals.
"Maybe we could buy some cool clothes or items!" Hau suggested as he pointed at some of the shops.
"I… was hoping we could head to the ruins first…" Lillie confessed while nervously clutching the strap of her bag.
"Well, why don't we see if we can find Olivia first?" Calvin recommended as he jogged in between the two, "Maybe she can help out with getting us to the ruins," he suggested to Lillie, making her blink in surprise before smiling.
"Don't forget that I get to battle her first!" Erika declared as she proudly pointed to herself.
"Erika, you zzzhouldn't act zzzo cocky…" Rotom pointed out bluntly.
"Coming from the Pokédex that apparently has a crush on that Selene lady…" she remarked back, causing it to flinch in surprise. Hau laughed at the interaction. Calvin and Lillie smiled.
"HAWWWWWWW!" a voice suddenly exclaimed, causing the group to all widen their eyes in surprise.
"What was that?" Calvin wondered as he turned around towards the city square. There seemed to be a commotion as several people were gathered. Plumes of dust were billowing about as well.
"Come on, go!" one person cheered amidst the yells of the crowd.
"You can do it, Olivia!" another exclaimed. The twins and Hau immediately perked up as they heard the name, making their way through the crowd to get a better look. Once they managed to get to the front, they all widened their eyes. Before them was a battle. Rather a grand trial between Olivia and a spectacled man with a beaten-looking Haunter. Erika gasped as she saw the Pokémon that the Kahuna was using.
"A Lycanroc?!" she exclaimed, seeing the Midnight Form of the Wolf Pokémon standing before his trainer. Upon noticing the crimson glare in his eyes, she shivered. Never had she seen a Pokémon with such an intimidating aura.
"Haww…" the Haunter groaned, evidently tired as he breathed heavily.
"You've given us quite a good battle, young man!" Olivia complimented with a giggle, "But now I think it's time we wrapped this up!" she declared she held out her left arm to reveal her Z-Ring, which had a brown Z-Crystal with a stone-like black symbol upon it. She crossed both of her arms in front of her face, causing the crystal to flash brightly.
"She'zzz using a Z-Move?!" Rotom buzzed out in exclamation.
"We won't get stopped that easily!" the spectacled trainer shouted, "Haunter, use Shadow Ball!" he commanded. Forming a ball of purple-black energy with sparks crackling around it, the Gas Pokémon flung it from his hands towards Lycanroc. However, he easily jumped up to evade it as it slammed into the ground behind him in an explosion.
"Lycanroc…" Olivia began, swinging her arms around and thrusting them out in front of herself, placing her left over her right as her Z-Crystal glowed brightly, "let's be as sturdy as the island we stand upon… and rise above our challenger!" she stated firmly.
"Lyy!" the Wolf Pokémon responded. Olivia then hopped up, flexing her arms at a 90-degree angle as her fists were raised upwards. She turned and knelt down onto her left knee, barely touching the ground while flexing her arms again sturdily. In every sense of the word, she was like a rock. A tannish-brown aura had built up around her as she posed, shooting out towards Lycanroc in streaks before it merged with his body. The Z-Move symbol flashed in front of his face.
"Here we go!" Olivia exclaimed as she stood and pumped her right fist forwards. Lycanroc jumped into the air as several stones shot out from the ground, coming together to form a gigantic boulder over his head.
"N-No way!" Calvin stammered in shock as everyone in the crowd had widened eyes.
"CONTINENTAL… CRUSH!" Olivia bellowed. Lycanroc used his right hand to fire the boulder down at Haunter, crashing into him in a fierce explosion. It took only a moment for the resulting smoke to subside, revealing the Gas Pokémon lying on the ground in a complete daze as his eyes were in swirls. A woman in a white dress with a short skirt and blonde hair in a ponytail jogged over just as Lycanroc landed down. She then raised her left arm.
"Haunter is unable to battle! Lycanroc wins!" she announced, gesturing towards the island kahuna, "Therefore, the victory goes to Olivia!" she exclaimed. The crowd cheered with excitement.
"Hm," Olivia laughed, brushing her hair back.
"Whoa…" Hau uttered in complete astonishment.
"Her Lycanroc's Z-Move is insane…" Calvin noted as his eyes shook. Erika was just as stunned. She gulped as she remembered she'd be the one to challenge the kahuna first.
Elsewhere, another figure was looking at her alongside E and F. It was a young woman with golden-yellow eyes and pink hair with yellow highlights. She was wearing a black sleeveless tank top with an X-pattern under it, black, baggy pants with white zigzag patterns, and grey sneakers. She also had a black bracelet on her left arm, a grey locket with the Team Skull logo, and a pink skull tattoo on her belly.
"So that's the girl who's been giving you trouble?" she inquired to the grunts beside her.
"Y-Yeah!" F responded immediately.
"Big Sis, you gonna beat her for us?" E inquired hopefully as she clapped her hands together. The woman merely narrowed her eyes onto Erika.
"For messing with my dumb, cute brothers and sisters," she began, "of course I will," she promised firmly. The grunts' eyes sparkled.
"Alright, Big Sis!" E exclaimed excitedly.
"You're the best, Plumeria!" F added.
"Hmph," the woman scoffed, keeping her focus onto Erika. Plenty of challenges were ahead for each and every one of them…
END
"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: And that's a wrap! Two chapters in a row for this story has gotten me all psyched for the future!
Hau Hughes: So now it's back to "RWBY: Omni Force", huh?
NegaiFreak: Just for a chapter. I'll be right back to do the next one after that! But in the meantime, here's a summary to hold you over!
SUMMARY
Sweet Poison
Deciding to train to prepare for her grand trial battle with Olivia, Erika heads off with Lillie to the Ruins of Life! But as they venture onwards, who do they run into?!
And Calvin and Hau meet up with Lana and Mallow, who offer them a chance at a tag battle! Who will win?!
END SUMMARY
NegaiFreak: See you guys later!