Alola, everyone! We've got another chapter to continue this epic of a story that's gonna keep on trucking! As of the time I've started writing this story, I'm going to see Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which I'm totally psyched for!
Anyways, we last left off this story with Erika battling and beating Hapu in a preemptive grand trial match! Now it's time for the journey through the Vast Poni Canyon to truly begin! Welcome back to "The Challenge of a Lifetime"!
POKÉMON SUN & MOON
THE CHALLENGE OF A LIFETIME
"Here you go, Erika!" Hapu offered, holding out an orange-brownish Z-Crystal that was the exact same as the one she had used earlier, "Your very own Groundium Z!" she noted aloud as the Ketchum girl happily accepted it into her right hand. She trembled with excitement.
"WOOHOO!" she exclaimed excitedly.
"You've still got Mina'zzz trial to do, zzt," Rotom pointed out as it floated over, getting her attention.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine!" she assured in response, "We'll handle it like any other trial!" she vowed with a clenched left fist, "Right, guys?" she asked as she glanced back to see her four Pokémon being treated by Lillie and Calvin.
"Koreee~!" Oricorio chirped happily.
"Lurraaahhh…" Lurantis yawned, evidently ready to go to sleep.
"San!" Sandslash exclaimed with a nod.
"Pree mah!" Primarina yipped out. Their trainer grinned, glad that her Pokémon were ready to continue on with her. Calvin then walked over.
"So now we're ready to get through the canyon…" he realized.
"Yeah…" Lillie agreed softly as she stood beside him, clutching the straps of her backpack tightly. She was a little anxious. But she knew that if she and the others couldn't see this through, they would never be able to reach her mother.
"Be warned, this place has quite a few dangerous Pokémon…" Hapu pointed out to the group, getting everyone's attention, "My grandpa would always wind up training here as a kahuna," she mentioned, "and even he thought it was tough," she recalled additionally. Calvin gulped.
"That doesn't matter," Erika chimed in firmly, causing her brother and her blonde-haired to look back over at her in surprise, "We're gonna get through this place for our friend's sake," she vowed.
"Erika…" Lillie uttered out, letting off a small smile of gratitude.
"Well, that's all she wrote for me then…" Hapu remarked as she walked off, "Huh…" she exhaled, "It's nice to walk on your own two feet every now and again," she noted, putting her hands onto her hips, "Good luck the rest of the way, you kiddos!" she called out in farewell, "If you ever need a hand with somethin' else, you know where to find me!" she added with a cheeky grin.
"Thank you, Hapu!" Lillie yelled back gratefully as she waved goodbye.
"So…" Calvin began, turning to the cavern entrance, "I guess it's time we get going," he advised of the two girls.
"Yeah…" his twin sister agreed with a nod. They ventured in, passing by the first stone marker. With their goal set, they'd each do their best to see the journey through to the end.
OPENING
Insert "Merry-Go-Round" by Man with a Mission
Opens with a black background slowly becoming brighter as Calvin, Erika, Hau, Lillie, Pyrrha, Paige and Trent walk forward. The camera pans to show that they're approaching the Ultra Wormhole. The Ketchum twins come to a stop, both taking deep breaths as they're prepared to see their new mission through.
Continues with a shot of Calvin reflecting on his past failures: losing to Team Skull in the Verdant Cavern, getting defeated by Hau, and failing to beat Olivia. However, he turns and smiles to find all of his Pokémon there behind him, letting out encouraging shouts. Mimi wraps her appendages around everyone for a big hug as Togedemaru cringes.
The scene changes to a shot of Erika also reflecting somberly on her recent losses to Guzma, Plumeria, and Nanu. She looks at her Z-Power Ring in deep thought for a moment, but is snapped away from any negative feelings as Primarina and Lycanroc wrap their arms around her. She laughs happily as the rest of her Pokémon join in.
We cut to a shot of Lillie lamenting on how to save Cosmoem before giving off a determined look. The scene shifts over to Gladion, who stands alongside Silvally in the conservation area of Aether Paradise. He seems a bit troubled about the situation himself before finally taking on a firm expression, ready to see things through.
We see Hau with his Decidueye, Pyrrha with her Typhlosion, Paige with her Blaziken, and Trent with his Greninja. All the Pokémon perform moves of their own before we shift over to Lusamine, who grins eerily while in the Ultra Deep Sea. Meanwhile, Guzma is trembling nearby.
The scene changes to Hau commanding his Noivern to use Boomburst to take down a wild Machoke, followed by Pyrrha instructing her Lapras to defeat a wild Boldore with Surf. Trent pumps his right fist forward before his Mightyena races ahead of him and takes out a Haunter with a Crunch. Finally, Paige's Medicham defeats a Lycanroc by using a High Jump Kick.
We cut to Calvin facing a Totem Kommo-o, who roars out angrily as his aura flares up. Calvin sends out Mimi as she charges forward. In the meantime, Erika has Sandslash use Icicle Crash against an Alolan Exeggutor, who swings its long neck to shatter the incoming icicles. What follows is the two of them arriving at the Altar of the Sunne alongside Lillie. They play the Sun and Moon Flutes together, causing the glyph to unleash a beam of multicolored light down onto the altar.
The last scene of the opening is Calvin and Erika in the Ultra Deep Sea with Lillie and Gladion. They all look up in horror to see the combined form of Lusamine and Nihilego. She stares at them with crazed, widened eyes before readying her tentacles…
END OPENING
Vast Challenges!
"Congratulations, you three," Mina complimented to the exhausted forms of Paige, Pyrrha, and Trent, "I knew my trial was pretty hard for just one person to complete alone, so I modified it to be a team trial," she explained as all three trial-goers breathed heavily, "In the end, it looked like it worked for the best," she noted with a small smile.
"Yay…" Pyrrha uttered before collapsing onto the carpeted floor. She and her fellow trial-goers were inside the Whiscash-shaped boat house in the Seafolk Village, evidently tired from all that they had gone through. Taking a deep breath as he sat down, Trent glanced off to the side in thought.
"What about Erika and Calvin?" he inquired curiously, causing Mina to perk up, "Did they take their trial yet?" he inferred.
"No, not here yet," the trial captain responded with a shake of her head, "I think they're still with Hapu over by the canyon…" she mentioned as she looked away for a moment, "Hmm…" she hummed curiously, "I wonder if I could come up with the perfect painting for that…" she mumbled out.
"Huh…" Paige exhaled as she sat down beside Trent and Pyrrha, "As soon as we're all good to go, let's meet up with Cal and Erika," she insisted to their surprise, "I know they're both probably the strongest of all of us," she noted aloud, "but even they're gonna need help," she mentioned.
"Right," Trent agreed, while Pyrrha nodded. Back at the Vast Poni Canyon, the trek had begun as the Ketchum twins and Lillie carefully made their way through the caverns. Unfortunately, they did find themselves getting ambushed by some of the wild Pokémon in the area. A pair of Golbat dove down towards them.
"Togedemaru, Zing Zap!" Calvin commanded, swinging his left arm out.
"Toh geh!" the Roly-Poly Pokémon squeaked as he leapt up, making his spikes stick up before electricity enveloped his entire body. He spun around and struck both of the Bat Pokémon, knocking them both down onto the ground in an instant. They had swirls in their eyes, groaning all the while.
"That was very well done, Calvin!" Lillie complimented as she clapped her hands together.
"Eheh…" the Ketchum boy sheepishly chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, "It's Togedemaru who's doing all the work…" he pointed out.
"Toh!" the Roly-Poly Pokémon proudly squeaked, hopping onto his trainer's shoulder.
"Nee…" Steenee grumbled out, pouting as she puffed out her cheeks while walking beside Calvin.
"We haven't run into a lot of wild Pokémon yet, zzt…" Rotom noted curiously.
"Oh, that's probably because of me…" Lillie realized with a sheepish grin.
"Huh?" Erika uttered in confusion. She then saw the blonde-haired girl pull out a spray can with a Poké Ball logo upon it.
"Since I don't normally have any Pokémon to battle with, I carry Repels like this one to use to keep wild ones away," she explained, "Sorry if it's going to inconvenience you…" she apologized in advance.
"Are you kidding?" Erika inquired back, giving off a smile, "We'll be able to get through the canyon a lot faster this way!" she pointed out excitedly with clenched fists. Blinking in surprise, Lillie then shared a giggle with the Ketchum girl. Moments later, they exited the cavern to find themselves in another clearing of the canyon.
"This place seems a lot bigger up close like this…" Calvin noted as he looked at the surroundings.
"I think it'zzz one of the biggest land formationzzz in all of Alola," Rotom mentioned as it floated next to him.
"I wonder if we'll find any new Pokémon…" Erika said curiously.
"Who knows…" her brother responded. At that moment, they heard the grass rustle nearby. Blinking in surprise, the Ketchum girl slowly walked over. A figure then leapt out and landed right in front of her.
It was a small, quadrupedal Pokémon similar to a dinosaur. The lower half of his body was black, while the upper half was light gray. He had a beak-like snout with a small, tooth-like spike in each corner of his lower jaw and big, red eyes. On the front of his head was a large, heart-shaped yellow scale. A small tuft similar to ears or small feathers extended from the back of his head on either side, and there was another small, white tuft on his chest. Six teardrop-shaped, loose-hanging scales formed a half ring around his shoulders. These scales were gray with pale yellow along the outside edge. A solid yellow scale of the same shape was on the tip of his tail. Each of his feet had three yellow claws.
"Jah?" he squeaked as he looked up at Erika, who stared back with shaking eyes.
"What Pokémon is that?" Calvin inquired curiously, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, that's a Jangmo-o!" Lillie replied.
"Jangmo-o?" the Ketchum boy repeated in confusion.
"Correct, zzt!" Rotom buzzed, pulling up an image of the Scaly Pokémon upon its screen, "Jangmo-o, the Scaly Pokémon," it began, "He expresses his feelings by smacking his scales. Metallic sounds echo through the tall mountains where Jangmo-o lives. He smacks the scales on his head against rocks or against the ground to frighten his opponents. Jangmo-o can also contact his friends with these noises," it explained thoroughly.
"Jangmo-o happens to be a Dragon-type, too," Lillie mentioned in remembrance, "They're pretty common around here," she added.
"I can't believe such a little guy lives out in a place like this…" Calvin admitted. He then noticed that his twin sister had yet to say a word. "Uh… Erika?" he uttered in concern. There was a long moment of silence as she continued to stare at the Scaly Pokémon intently. And then…
"CCCCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEE~!" she squealed out delightedly.
"…Huh?" both Calvin and Lillie uttered out, quite stunned by the Ketchum girl's sudden change in behavior. Jangmo-o blinked in surprise.
"Jahh…?" he squeaked, tilting his head to the side. All of a sudden, he found himself brought into a tight embrace in Erika's arms.
"This little guy's so cute~!" she exclaimed happily, nuzzling her head against his, "What a lucky find you are!" she mentioned with an excited smile, "I'll just catch you in a Poké Ball and—"
"Moh!" the Scaly Pokémon squeaked angrily, slamming his head against her face hard and knocking her onto the ground.
"Erika!" Lillie yelped in surprise, while Calvin winced. Jangmo-o then scurried off into the grass, rustling through it.
"Ugh…" the Ketchum girl groaned, sitting up and rubbing her hurting face.
"That'zzz too bad, Erika…" Rotom buzzed out, "You could've had a Pokémon who'd be able to use the Dragonium Z, zzt," it mentioned aloud.
"Who says I've given up?" its user questioned back to its surprise and those of the others. She clenched her fists tightly as she hopped up onto her feet. "I'll catch that cutie no matter what!" she vowed determinedly with a fire in her eyes.
"R-Really?" Lillie stuttered out.
"Hold on, Erika…" Calvin chimed in, "We still gotta get to the—"
"You won't get away, Jangmo-o!" his twin sister exclaimed, interjecting him as she ran off into the grass.
"HEY!" he yelled. Unfortunately, Erika had already run off in pursuit of the Scaly Pokémon.
"I'll go after her, zzt…" Rotom mumbled out of exasperation, floating after its user.
"Ugh…" Calvin groaned in frustration, placing his right hand over his face. However, he then heard Lillie start giggling.
"I guess Erika's still feeling chipper after her grand trial…" she noted with a smile.
"…Yeah, I guess so," the Ketchum boy agreed, "Though I feel like we shouldn't just wait for her…" he mentioned admittedly, scratching at his right cheek.
"Nee!" Steenee squeaked in agreement as she nodded her head.
"Well, the path so far is lined with these stone markers," Lillie noted as she looked over to spot one of them nearby, "And as long as Rotom's with her, she shouldn't get lost," she added assuredly.
"Then let's keep on going," Calvin decided with a small smile, putting his hands onto his hips.
"Toh!" Togedemaru yipped as he hopped onto his trainer's left shoulder. They continued their trek through the canyon, wandering through the caves and traversing the cliffsides. Lillie seemed a bit more cheerful given everything that had been happening lately. But the Ketchum boy could tell that she was still a little torn up inside. As they exited another cavern, they found another stone marker beside a wooden bridge they would have to cross.
"It doesn't even have any railings…" Calvin noted aloud with a grimace, remembering a familiar bridge he had crossed once before that broke. Beside him, the blonde-haired girl inhaled a deep breath through her nose and exhaled from her mouth. "Lillie?" her friend uttered in confusion.
"It's time for my first trial," she said to his surprise, "I relied on you too much to help me in the past," she pointed out as she turned to him, "So this time, I'm going to help myself and get through this," she vowed, clutching the straps of her backpack tightly.
"Lillie…" the Ketchum boy uttered out. He watched as the blonde-haired girl took her first steps onto the wooden bridge, which creaked a little. She jogged halfway across, coming to a stop to catch her breath. So far, things seemed good… until she looked down.
It was a long drop down to the bottom, and she immediately tensed up and froze. Calvin noticed. But as much as he wanted to help, he also knew that this was a trial she wanted to overcome.
"Murr!" a voice squawked out from afar, getting his attention as he and his Pokémon looked over to see a trio of Murkrow up above them on a ledge, staring toward Lillie. One of them took off and flew down, causing her to look and gasp as the Darkness Pokémon landed on the bridge right behind her.
"Ah!" she yelped in surprise.
"Lillie!" Calvin called out. The other two Murkrow then flew down and landed ahead of the blonde-haired girl. They all approached her, squawking threateningly. She trembled with fright for a moment, but then remembered the sight of her mother leaving through the Ultra Wormhole and what she had said. Steeling herself with a determined expression, Lillie trekked onward, jogging past the Murkrow and reaching the other side of the bridge.
"Huh…" she exhaled afterwards. She looked back and smiled at her accomplishment. "I did it!" she exclaimed delightedly. Calvin chuckled, glad to see that she had achieved her goal. But then he saw the small flock of Darkness Pokémon start to fly out at her.
"Lillie, look out!" he screamed, causing her to perk up and notice the incoming Murkrow.
"Eep!" she squeaked in shock, bracing herself as she crossed her arms over her face. Fortunately, the trio of Darkness Pokémon were all suddenly kicked away by Steenee, who smacked them aside with her legs, forcing them to fly off. The blonde-haired girl blinked in surprise to see the Fruit Pokémon there. But she smiled. "Thank you so much, Steenee!" she said with gratitude, getting her attention.
"Nee!" she huffed proudly, placing her digit-less hands onto her hips. Calvin and Togedemaru quickly hurried over.
"Are you okay?" the Ketchum boy immediately asked in concern.
"Mm-hmm," Lillie responded with a nod, "More importantly, I actually cleared my first trial!" she pointed out excitedly as her eyes sparkled. Seeing that, Calvin laughed and gave her a warm smile.
"Yeah, you did great," he assured.
"Togeh!" Togedemaru agreed.
"Neee…" Steenee suddenly groaned out, causing everyone to look over and see her start to hunch over in pain.
"Steenee?" her trainer said, crouching down to her eye level, "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.
"Steeeee…" the Fruit Pokémon groaned again. All of a sudden, she started to glow in a bright blue light as Calvin yelped in surprise, falling onto his bottom. He looked out and widened his eyes to see Steenee growing taller as her body changed, with the leaves on her head becoming more hair-like. When the light subsided, it revealed that she had evolved into a Tsareena.
"Sah?" she uttered in surprise, looking herself over.
"You evolved!" her trainer exclaimed excitedly.
"That's wonderful!" Lillie added happily.
"Togeh!" Togedemaru agreed. Blushing a little at all of the excitement and flattery, Tsareena turned and brushed her leaves back as if they were her hair.
"Sahree…" she huffed proudly. Calvin smiled happily. Through all the trials and tribulations he had to go through in order to help make things right, there were plenty of bright spots.
X
The wild Jangmo-o scurried through the grass before finally finding himself in a corner of the canyon. He turned around and growled to see Erika there, breathing heavily with exhaustion. She pulled out a Poké Ball from her belt.
"I hate running…" she muttered, enlarging the spherical container by pressing its button, "but it'll be worth it if I can catch you!" she declared, reeling her arm back and tossing the Poké Ball forward.
"Jaahhnng… MOH!" the Scaly Pokémon screeched, hopping up and cloaking his tail in a green, scale-patterned aura. He swung it out and smacked the incoming Poké Ball away.
"Whoa!" Erika yelped, leaning aside to avoid getting struck by spherical container.
"Hey, Eri—!" Rotom was interrupted as the Poké Ball smacked it squarely in the face. Its user winced through clenched teeth, seeing it fall onto the ground with swirls in its eyes.
"Jahhhnnnggg…" Jangmo-o hissed out, getting her attention as she looked to see him glaring at her.
"Okay then…" she uttered in realization, reaching down to her belt to take out her Moon Ball, enlarging it with a press of its center button, "Guess you're not gonna be that easy to tangle with after all…" she concluded, "Come on out, Starbright!" she yelled, throwing the spherical container forward. It popped open, with its light forming onto the ground and dissipating to reveal her Clefairy.
"Kleh faye!" she squeaked out.
"Moh!" Jangmo-o yipped, charging toward her and cloaking his tail in the green, scale-patterned aura once again. He swung it out, but when it struck his target, she was unaffected! "Jah?!" he yelped in shock.
"Magical Leaf!" Erika ordered, swinging her right arm out.
"Faireee!" the Fairy Pokémon exclaimed in response, making a greenish light cloak both of her hands. She moved them around in a circle before bringing them together, forming a ball of energy that shot off green-glowing leaves. They struck the Scaly Pokémon's underside, causing him to tumble back along the ground.
"Mohhh…" he hissed out, getting onto his feet and shaking his head. He then charged at Starbright again, this time aiming to strike with his head.
"Dodge and use Copycat!" Erika instructed. Her Clefairy hopped away to avoid getting hit by Jangmo-o, registering his movements in her head. She then dove down at him headfirst. He seemed to be able to predict what she'd do, slamming his own head against hers as they collided. They hopped away from each other, taking ready stances.
"Jahhnnngg!" the Scaly Pokémon exclaimed, making a shine of white light wash over his body, coating it in a metallic sheen.
"Iron Defense, huh?" Erika guessed, letting off a grin, "Okay, Moonblast!" she commanded, sticking her right hand out. Starbright cloaked herself in a golden light, drawing energy from the moon above. She then formed a pink orb of energy into her hands.
"Klehhh… fay!" she exclaimed, flinging it out at Jangmo-o. He widened his eyes in shock, taking the attack straight to his face in a powerful blast. When the resulting smoke subsided, it revealing him shakily struggling to stay on his feet.
"Nice work, Starbright!" the Ketchum girl complimented as she reached into her bag, "Now I know the perfect Poké Ball for you!" she declared as she pulled out the Level Ball she had, enlarging it with a press of its button, "And… there!" she yelled as she flung it out. It struck the Scaly Pokémon's head, popping open. What followed was him turning into red light, which zipped into the spherical container before it closed.
It landed upon the ground, with its button blinking a bright red as it shook. Erika and Starbright looked on nervously, waiting for the Poké Ball to either stop or for Jangmo-o to break out from it. Fortunately, the spherical container stopped, blinking a bright green with the sound of a click.
"YES!" the Ketchum girl exclaimed with delight, pumping her fists as she hurried over to pick up the Level Ball, "We caught ourselves a Jangmo-o!" she proclaimed, raising it up into the air.
"Faireee!" Starbright squeaked happily.
"Bzzzt…" Rotom buzzed weakly as it floated back up from the ground, getting their attentions.
"Oh, Rotodex!" Erika yelped, "Are you okay?" she asked, remembering how it had gotten hid by the deflected Poké Ball earlier.
"Yezzz, I'm okay, zzt…" it assured, shaking to regain its composure, "Congratulationzzz on the new Jangmo-o, Erika!" it complimented.
"Thanks!" the Ketchum girl responded in gratitude, looking at her Level Ball, which had shrunk as its button glowed a bright red, "Although I can't really bring him out since I've already got six Pokémon with me…" she noted sheepishly.
"Oh, I can help with that," Rotom said to her surprise, "I recently got an update that letzzz me move extra Pokémon in your party back to Profezzzor Kukui!" it explained.
"Whoa, really?!" Erika inquired as her eyes sparkled with excitement, "Then… you can send Jangmo-o right to him!" she realized, handing her Pokédex the shrunken Level Ball.
"Yep! You can leave it to me, zzt!" it responded, taking the spherical container into its arms. All of a sudden, it glowed in a multicolored light before disappearing completely.
"Oooh…!" the Ketchum girl uttered in awe, "That's so cool!" she pointed out excitedly.
"Faireee!" Starbright squeaked with a nod of agreement.
"Are you sure you didn't want to send someone elzzze over instead, zzt?" Rotom inquired as it tilted to the side. Erika blinked in surprise before giving off a small smile.
"After everything that's happened, I wanna take things as seriously as I can and help get Lillie to her mom," she explained in response, "So when this is all over, I'll be glad to train Jangmo-o up with everyone else again!" she vowed happily. The Pokédex smiled as well, glad to see that the Ketchum girl was in higher spirits.
"Faye, kleh fay!" Starbright exclaimed, getting their attentions as they saw her waving her arms.
"Starbright?" her trainer uttered, "What's up?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Fair, fairee," the Clefairy responded, picking up a rock from the ground and holding it in her little hands, "Kleh," she confirmed additionally. Blinking in realization, Erika smiled.
"Alrighty then…" she said, reaching into her bag and pulling out the Moon Stone she had gotten from Tapu Bulu, "You know, I think you earned this a while ago back when we beat Nanu," she admitted to the Fairy Pokémon, who blinked in surprise, "But if you're ready now, then you're ready now," she decided, handing the shining rock over to Starbright. She took it into her little hands, smiling gratefully. The Moon Stone then shined a bright blue before she did the same.
The rock appeared to merge with her body as she started to grow, with her fairy-like wings gaining points and her ears becoming pointier. Erika grinned excitedly, watching as the light subsided. Opening her eyes, Starbright looked herself over to find that she had successfully evolved into a Clefable.
"Fayy bell!" she exclaimed happily. Rotom immediately pulled up an image of the evolved Fairy Pokémon upon its screen.
"Clefable, the Fairy Pokémon, and the final evolved form of Cleffa," it began, "According to tradition, people who see a pair of Clefable skipping by can look forward to a happy marriage. Some scientists believe that Clefable gazes intently at the sky on nights with a full moon because she's homesick," it explained thoroughly. Erika approached the newly evolved Starbright, crouching down to her eye level and holding her right fist out.
"We're gonna save Lillie's mom and Guzma together," she vowed, "So let's do our best!" she insisted.
"Faybel!" the Fairy Pokémon agreed with a nod, closing her right hand into a fist and bumping it gently against hers.
"Now let's get back to the others!" Erika decided as she stood up. She took a step forward… and fell flat on her face.
"BzZZZzzTTttt?!" Rotom buzzed in surprise, "Erika?!" it exclaimed in a panic.
"Fayyy!" Starbright shrieked.
"Ugh…" the Ketchum girl groaned, managing to lift her head up barely, "Water…" she grumbled out in a pleading tone. Rotom sighed.
"Dehydration again, zzt…" it realized.
X
"Isn't this…?" Lillie started to ask as she and Calvin were standing just outside a large opening in the canyon. However, there was something else.
"Yeah…" the Ketchum boy confirmed with a nod, seeing the familiar pattern on the wooden gateway before him and the blonde-haired girl, "Up ahead's another trial site," he noted, putting his right hand onto his chin. After Tsareena's evolution, the pair found themselves venturing further into the canyon, with Calvin having to deal with more of the wild Pokémon along the way. However, their journey halted once they arrived at the gateway.
"What should we do?" Lillie asked after a moment.
"I don't know…" Calvin answered, putting his hands onto his hips, "Whether or not we wind up waiting for Erika, we're gonna have to head through this way, I think…" he pointed out.
"Then you would have to be the one to partake in the trial," the blonde-haired girl concluded to his surprise as he blinked.
"Huh?" he uttered in confusion.
"Erika's already taken her trial on Exeggutor Island and is going to do the one from the trial captain we met back at the Seafolk Village," Lillie recalled, "And you'll be taking that trial eventually too, right?" she assumed as he blinked again, "Besides, it looks like you do need to catch up to your sister," she mentioned with a giggle. A small grin formed upon the Ketchum boy's face after a moment. Having seen Erika's battles against the Totem Exeggutor and Hapu, he knew that she was ahead of him once again. But that didn't make him upset.
"It feels like we've always been chasing each other during this whole island challenge," he confessed as he looked up at the partly cloudy afternoon sky, "I was ahead, then she was…" he remembered, "A lot of the time, we didn't seem to be evenly matched…" he mentioned, "But after today, I think we'll both be where we want to be," he affirmed confidently. Lillie smiled in agreement. "Guess this means I'll go on ahead," Calvin concluded, heading forward, "Wish me luck!" he called out as his stride went into a jog. Again, the blonde-haired girl giggled.
"I'll wait here for Erika and Rotom!" she assured with a wave of her right arm. Calvin flashed her a thumbs up before passing the gateway. Moments later, he found himself wandering into the shadows cast by the canyon as he ventured forward. Hearing the nearby chittering made him a little anxious to see what was ahead. He then took notice of a stone tablet with the same symbol as the markers he and the others had seen earlier. There were faint letters upon it that appeared to spell out something. He crouched down in front of it and narrowed his eyes.
"Ahead lies a sacred ground of trials," he read, "None who do not take part in its trials will be allowed to walk upon this earth," he continued, "Those lacking the courage to defeat the totem guarding this land will be denied entry," he kept going, "But those who believe in their Pokémon and walk beside them shall gain great power…" he finished, standing up and looking around.
'So it's definitely a trial site like I thought, but where's the captain?' he wondered inwardly, looking back at the stone tablet, 'Or maybe it doesn't need one since it's so ancient…' he assumed through his thoughts, 'Either way, it's a trial, and I've gotta get through so we can get to the legendary Pokémon!' he declared to himself, taking out a Poké Ball and enlarging it with a press of its button.
"Come on out," he said, opening the spherical container. Blue light shot out from it onto the ground, forming and dissipating with sparkles to reveal Mimi.
"Mee!" she squeaked happily.
"Yeah, this is your first trial…" her trainer realized, taking on a serious expression, "If we get through it, we'll get to that altar!" he pointed out.
"Keeuu!" the shiny Disguise Pokémon responded with a nod, heading on forward alongside him. It was a very linear path down the canyon all the way to the opening at the end. Calvin squinted a little as he noticed something in the distance. All of a sudden though, a figure leapt out at him as he yelped in surprise, seeing that it was a Jangmo-o, who was about to ram headfirst into him.
"Jahhh!" he screeched. However, he was stopped as Mimi unleashed a shadowy appendage from underneath her cloak, striking her target as it was encased in a dark aura with a purple outline. He slammed into the rock wall hard in a yelp, sliding down it onto the ground. He grimaced in pain, but stood firmly as he glared at his foe.
"Meee…" the Mimikyu growled out, readying both of her shadowy appendages as they emerged from her cloak.
"Okay Mimi…" her trainer uttered, "use Shadow Claw!" he commanded.
"Keeuuu!" the shiny Disguise Pokémon exclaimed, veiling her appendages in the shadowy aura once again as she lunged out at her opponent. Jangmo-o made a white light shine over his body, coating it with a metallic sheen. Mimi struck him, but he was seemingly unaffected.
However, she then unleashed a flurry of rapid slashes onto the Scaly Pokémon, causing him to grimace as he was struggling to hold his ground. His foe then landed a powerful uppercut to his underside with her right appendage, sending him flying back. He crashed onto the ground upon his side, having swirls in his eyes.
"Jahhhh…" he groaned out. Mimi retracted her appendages back into her cloak before turning to her trainer.
"Mee!" she squeaked delightedly.
"Nice job, Mimi!" Calvin complimented.
'So a Jangmo-o, huh?' he noted inwardly upon seeing the fainted Scaly Pokémon, 'I guess that means the trial's going to have Dragon-types involved…' he realized, letting off a small smile, 'That's good for Mimi,' he added through his thoughts.
"Let's keep going," he advised of the shiny Disguise Pokémon.
"Mee keeuu!" she agreed, waddling after her trainer contently.
'Something about this trial definitely seems familiar…' he told himself as he could feel pairs of eyes from several directions sizing him up, 'It's kinda like Ilima's in a way…' he recalled, remembering how he had to battle a certain amount of wild Pokémon in order to encounter the totem. The only difference was where back then, he was the one searching for the wild Pokémon in their dens. Now it seemed like they were scouting him. He looked around and spotted the figures of other Jangmo-o, who all glared at him.
Their eyes weren't what intimidated him. There were fiercer glares coming from other directions. And at that moment, he and Mimi saw another figure jump down and land in front of them in a flurry of dust.
When it subsided, they looked out and blinked to see a bipedal, reptilian Pokémon with many scaly plates. Most of his body was light gray, but he had dark gray arms and legs. He also had angular, red eyes, a rounded, beak-like snout with a small spike on either side of the upper jaw similar to teeth, and two small scales standing up on either side of his head. Down the center of his chest was a line of three slightly raised scales, and there was a matching line of four scales down his back. Several slightly raised gray scales overlapped his shoulders. In between his shoulders and on each side of his head was a small, white crest made of feathers. He had three yellow claws on each appendage and a long, tapering tail.
The Pokémon also had many scale plates on his body as well. There was a yellow one on his forehead, which was oval with a light yellow, heart-shaped stripe across the middle. Two circular scales covered the front of his neck; both were light yellow with darker edges. The tops of his arms were covered by three overlapping scales. The first two arm scales were gray with yellow trim, but the last scale was red with yellow trim and much larger. At the tip of his tail was a small, circular scale. This last scale had a light yellow portion before ending in a darker yellow.
"Hah, kah!" he shouted, readying his arms.
'That must be Jangmo-o's evolution!' Calvin inwardly noted, pulling out his phone and activating the Pokédex app upon it. After scanning the wild Pokémon, he discovered his name.
"Hakamo-o, huh?" he read off. The evolved Scaly Pokémon rushed forward, making a greenish, claw-shaped aura appear along both of his arms. "Mimi, watch out!" the Ketchum boy exclaimed. Unfortunately, the shiny Mimikyu found herself slashed by the wild Hakamo-o. He seemed content with his successful blow, but then blinked in surprise to see that the Disguise Pokémon was completely unaffected.
"Mee?" she squeaked in confusion.
"Hah…?" her opponent uttered out, blinking rapidly.
'Right, since Mimi's part Fairy-type, Dragon-type attacks don't affect her!' Calvin realized through his thoughts. An irritated expression came across the Scaly Pokémon's face. He clenched his right hand into a fist and made it glow a bright orange. What followed was him swinging his arm up for an uppercut to his target, resulting in a flurry of dust that veiled the area.
"Hah koh!" he exclaimed afterwards, thinking he had landed a direct hit finally. But when the dust settled, it revealed that Mimi was unharmed again.
"Keeeuuu?" she squeaked out.
"Kahhh…?" her foe uttered again, completely flabbergasted by the fact both of his moves had failed.
'And because Mimi's a Ghost-type too, Fighting-type attacks won't work either!' Calvin noted inwardly as he grinned.
"Mimi, Play Rough!" he commanded, swinging his right hand out.
"Mee!" the shiny Mimikyu responded as a glint appeared in her eyes. She rushed forward to the Hakamo-o's surprise, lunging out and smacking him upside the head with the wooden stick acting as her tail. What followed was her relentlessly striking him again and again, resulting in a flurry of grey dust. With one final hit, she knocked him out from the cloud and slammed him into some nearby rocks.
"Hahhh…" he groaned out afterwards, having swirls in his eyes.
"Meemee!" Mimi squeaked happily as she saw that he was victorious.
"Nice job again, Mimi!" her trainer complimented. So far, the trial was going along swimmingly. But he had yet to see signs of a totem anywhere.
All of a sudden, he felt the gazes of the wild Pokémon in the area leave him. He looked around in confusion, not seeing any figures in sight. And at that moment, he felt the fiercest glare imaginable burning onto him. It was only a single pair of eyes from what he could tell, but it was paralyzing. He found himself unable to move as he fell to his knees.
"Mee?" Mimi squeaked, turning to see her trainer panting as his eyes were shaking. Sweat trickled down his head. As he tried to get back onto his feet, he gritted his teeth together.
'What the heck is this…?!' he wondered inwardly, struggling to take a single step forward, 'It's like… I'm too afraid to keep going…!' he noted to himself, noticing the concerned expression upon his Mimikyu's face as she was watching him struggle to move. Nevertheless, he did manage to keep going, starting to regain his normal stride as he and his teammate arrived at a more open section of the canyon. He saw a pedestal that loomed ahead, which was practically identical to the one he had seen in Verdant Cavern. 'That must be where the Z-Crystal is…' he concluded through his thoughts.
As he took another step though, he felt the glare onto him return, causing him to stop as he trembled. Mimi felt the same, whimpering with fright. Neither of them noticed the imposing figure lurking above them from the ledge of the canyon.
"Ergh…!" Calvin grunted out, bearing the weight of the unnoticeable glare as he took another step forward. At that very moment, the feeling left both him and his Mimikyu, causing them to blink in surprise. And all of a sudden, they noticed a shadow come over them. "Huh?" the Ketchum boy uttered, looking up and widening his eyes to see the large figure coming down towards them, "WATCH OUT!" he screamed, quickly diving off to the side while grabbing Mimi. As the figure landed down hard in a flurry of dust, the capped trial-goer and his partner went tumbling away.
They thankfully came to a stop, seemingly unharmed. As they got back up though, they looked out to see the figure standing between them and the pedestal. It was a bipedal, reptilian Pokémon covered in scaly armor. Most of his body was gray with some lighter gray areas as well as yellow and red markings. He had a rounded, beak-like snout and small eyes nearly hidden under his head armor. On the tip of his snout was a patch of pale gray and both the upper and lower jaws have a small, tooth-like spike on each side. The top of his head was covered by an elaborate arrangement of scales. At the front of the headdress was an oval scale, which was yellow with a red heart-shape at the base. On either side of the front scale was a chain of four circular scales; the first three scales were red with yellow trim and the last scale was solid yellow. Three additional chains of plain yellow scales extended from the back of the headdress. Running down the front of his long neck was a line of overlapping scales: one solid gray at the top, three larger gray ones with yellow rims, and one solid yellow scale at the bottom. A thick yellow stripe with a rounded projection in the center ran across his chest. Covering his shoulders were tufts of spiky, white feathers with small, gray scales overlapping them. Four overlapping scales covered the tops of his arms: three were gray with yellow edges and the scales that covered his hands were red with yellow edges.
He also had four scaly chains, all of which consisted of four scales, extending from just behind his shoulders. The two foremost chains were made of overlapping scales and had a solid gray scale at the top followed by three scales with yellow edges. The other two chains consisted of only solid gray scales and did not appear to overlap. The lower halves of his legs were dark gray and there was a pale gray marking across each knee. His hands had four yellow claws, while the feet had only three. A long line of slightly raised, pale gray scales ran down the center of his back to about halfway up his tapering tail. Near the tip of his tail were three sets of loose scales that increased in size near the tip. Each set was made up of four separate scales that encircled the tail; the two lower sets were solid yellow, while the set nearest the tip had gray centers. The very tip of his tail was pale gray. Calvin recognized his glare as the imposing one he had been feeling earlier.
"Kohhh… MOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he exclaimed mightily as a yellow aura flared to life around his body.
X
"Well, I'm off," Leslie said as she held her bag up in her right arm.
"Oh, this is so exciting!" Mirajane noted as she clapped her hands together, "Tell Raya and Rachael that we'll definitely be there for the wedding!" she insisted of her eldest daughter, who rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry, I will…" she promised, "I'll see you later tonight," she added before heading out through the front door. As she made her way down the porch steps and pulled out her MPG from her bag, she looked over to see her father training with his Gengar and Pikachu, as the former fired off purple-and-black balls of energy with violet sparks at his opponent. He evaded them, followed by smacking one back with his tail, which was coated in a silvery white light. It struck the Shadow Pokémon in a blast of smoke, knocking him onto the ground.
"Nice counter, Pikachu!" Ash complimented.
"Peekah!" the Mouse Pokémon responded, flashing a thumbs up. Leslie smiled, glad to see that her father was doing well. A moment later, she walked into an MPG portal, which promptly disappeared a few seconds later. Back inside the house, Mirajane let out a sigh as she glanced down at her reflection in the water of the kitchen sink in thought. All of what had happened recently had gotten her thinking a lot about some things. So now, she knew what she would need to do next. She grabbed a small, chip-like device off of the kitchen counter and headed into her room.
"W-Whoa…" Calvin stammered out, backing up a few steps alongside Mimi, who was shaking with fright. The Totem Pokémon glowered down at them, closing his hands into fists as he stomped forward.
"MEE!" Mimi shrieked out of fear, ducking behind her trainer.
"Mimi!" he yelped, grimacing as he looked back at the Totem Pokémon, "He must be the evolved form of Hakamo-o…" he realized, taking out his phone and activating the Pokédex app upon it. After a moment, an image of the totem appeared upon the screen. "Kommo-o…" Calvin read off.
"Koh!" the evolved Scaly Pokémon exclaimed, cloaking his right fist in an orb of yellow, sparking electricity. He threw it out towards his targets.
"Ah!" the Ketchum boy yelped, quickly turning to pick up the frightened Mimi before diving away in the nick of time as Kommo-o struck the ground in a fierce flurry of dust. They rolled safely to a stop, with Calvin quickly getting onto his feet.
'If he's the evolved form of Hakamo-o, then he's probably really week to Fairy-type attacks!' he concluded through his thoughts.
"Mimi, Play Rough!" he ordered.
"Mee?!" the shiny Mimikyu squeaked in shock, peeking out at the imposing form of the Scaly Pokémon. She shivered out of fright, but ultimately steeled herself as she didn't want to let her trainer down. She lunged forward, readying her shadowy appendages from beneath her cloak. Kommo-o huffed, encasing both of his fists in yellow orbs of electrical energy before striking his opponent aside with his left one.
"Mimi!" her trainer cried out. The shiny Mimikyu tumbled along the ground, coming to a stop upon her stomach. As she got back up, there was the sound of a pop. The head of her costume had flopped over to the side, which she noticed as she whimpered. "Mimi…" Calvin uttered worriedly. The Disguise Pokémon trembled before letting off her own fierce glare toward Kommo-o, who didn't seem relatively intimidated.
"KEEEEUUUUU!" she screeched, drawing both of her appendages from underneath her cloak and encasing them in a shadowy aura outlined in purple. She lunged out at the Scaly Pokémon and started swiping at her foe wildly, only for him to parry her blows.
"Mimi, calm down!" her trainer insisted in concern, grimacing a little. Knowing how the shiny Mimikyu acted whenever her disguise was broken, it'd be difficult to try and stop her from fighting.
'Kommo-o's only used Thunder Punch so far, and there's no telling if he'll have moves meant to counter Fairy-types or Ghost-types…' the Ketchum boy inwardly noted as he clenched his fists, watching as the Totem Pokémon parried another swipe from his foe, hopping back, 'Until then, we'll just have to focus on landing hits to wear him down!' he decided inwardly.
"Mimi, switch to Play Rough!" he instructed.
"Keeeooohhh!" the shiny Mimikyu responded, dashing forward again. This time, she swung her tail-like stick out at her opponent, who crossed his arms over his face. He withstood her flurry of quick strikes as his scales shook like wind chimes.
"Ergh…" Calvin growled in frustration. However, he perked up as he recalled something, taking on a determined expression. "Use Shadow Sneak!" he commanded.
"MEE!" Mimi squeaked loudly in reply, jumping back. Her shadow suddenly turned pitch black, gaining a pair of red glowing eyes. It extended out past Kommo-o, who lightly gasped as he saw it come up from the ground, readying a pair of shadowy appendages it had.
Calvin cracked a small smile, thinking that he had gained the upper hand in the battle. But all of a sudden, he noticed a red blur rush in. He gasped upon seeing that it was a wild Scizor, who made his pincers glow in a silvery white light before rapidly striking the shiny Mimikyu, knocking her away.
"Ah!" the Ketchum boy exclaimed, seeing her tumble to a stop as her shadow faded away.
"Koh," Kommo-o huffed, unfolding his arms. He opened his mouth, forming a white ball of energy in front of it that grew. Calvin grimaced.
"Mimi, get out of there!" he screamed desperately, knowing what was about to happen. Unfortunately, the Disguise Pokémon was slow to even try and get up. That allowed for the totem to fire off a white-and-light-blue beam of light, striking her in a fierce blast.
The Ketchum boy braced himself from the resulting dust that billowed up, shutting his eyes and crossing his arms over his face. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and found Mimi lying fainted upon the ground, with Kommo-o looming over her.
"Kohhh…" he huffed as wisps of steam were blown out from his nostrils. Calvin backed up a step as he clenched his teeth together. Clearly, this trial wasn't going to be easy to overcome…
ENDING
Insert "Selfish" by Madison Beer
Opens with Lillie lying on a sleeping bag, staring up at the stars while everyone's camped out around her. She closes her eyes, thinking back to a time when she and her family were happy.
We cut to her as a little girl, sleeping in bed with her mother. She appears content as Lusamine brushes her hair back and giggles happily.
Later, we see Lillie playing with a Clefairy and a Buneary alongside Gladion as they roam about the conservation area of Aether Paradise. Wicke and Faba watch on with smiles, as do Lusamine and Mohn. A while passes before Mohn holds his daughter by her little hand, walking along with her down a pathway. She smiles and momentarily closes her eyes. But when she opens them, she finds that her father is no longer there.
She's wearing her normal white dress and sunhat as she finds herself lost amongst the sea of Aether Foundation employees. She finds herself feeling all the more trapped in a place she once called home, hearing her mother's maniacal laughter. She covers her ears, whimpering with fright. However, she spots a faint light in the near distance. She approaches it and blinks in surprise to find that it's Cosmog.
Later on, we see her running through the conservation area with Nebby in her bag, trying to flee from the Aether Foundation employees after her. She finds herself surrounded, but all of a sudden, the Cosmog emits a starry glow that envelops both of them, causing them to disappear instantaneously. When Lillie wakes up, she finds herself on a beach as she cradles a weakened Nebby in her arms. She's then approached by Kukui and Burnet, who are both quite surprised.
A while passes before Lillie starts to live with the couple, as Burnet helps her out with Nebby and acts like a mother to her. Time goes on, and Lillie heads up to the Ruins of Conflict at Nebby's behest, followed by the incident in which Calvin and Erika helped to save it from falling into in the ravine below. After meeting the twins, Lillie found herself becoming much more active.
In spite of her fears, she helped support Calvin and Erika throughout their island challenges, while they helped her with Nebby. It's come to the point that she can really think of them as true friends. The scene changes to after her mother's disappeared through the Ultra Wormhole. She drops her duffel bag and tears up in horror and anguish.
She opens her eyes and sits up on her sleeping bag, folding her arms over herself and curling her knees in. Somber for a moment, she then looks at the snoozing forms of Calvin and Erika. She smiles, looking back up at the stars. Inwardly, she vows to do whatever she can to support them and save Nebby and her mother…
END ENDING
Shorter chapter this time around, but only because I've gotten through everything I wanted to in this chapter. A couple of evolutions, a new Pokémon for Erika, and the beginning of Calvin's seventh trial! What more could you ask for?
All that aside, I'm really glad I got all this done without too much hassle. I have been a bit laxer on chapter production thanks to stuff I've been doing this new year and last, but that shouldn't affect the weekly updates going forward. Anyways, here's your summary for the next chapter!
SUMMARY
Calvin's trial against the Totem Kommo-o continues! It's proving to be his toughest challenge yet, especially as many of his Pokémon are failing to land decisive blows! Will he succeed in the trial and get to the Altar of the Sunne with his friends?!
Meanwhile, it's time to prepare for a wedding! As Rachael and Raya's maid of honor, Leslie's getting herself fitted for a brand new dress! So who might be the bridesmaids?
END SUMMARY
See you all later, everyone! Right now, it's back to "Avengers: Omni Force" for what's going to be… a brutal chapter.