Volume VIII's Winning Shipping: SpiritTrainerShipping

One-shot 8: A Totem Pole Position

It was another visit to Alola as Ash and Pikachu walked on Ula'Ula Island where they reunited with Acerola at the book hut. Acerola heard a knock and found Ash and Pikachu visiting. "Ash, I can't believe you're visiting!" she awed as Piko and Nene reached Acerola and saw Ash and Pikachu as well.

"Big Bro!" greeted Piko.

"What brings you back here?" asked Nene. Ash smiled to the welcoming.

"Do I need a reason to come back?" he joked.

("Can't we just visit?") squeaked Pikachu. Nene plucked Pikachu before she petted him.

"Anyway, I saw that you battled Marnie at Wyndom with a Gengar," Acerola brought up. "And I enjoyed how he used Gigantimax against Grimmsnarl." Ash smiled as he summoned Gengar. The Shadow Pokémon greeted everyone. "I finally meet the Gengar that can Gigantimax!"

"Me too!" cheered Piko.

"Me three!" added Nene. Gengar laughed to the new friends.

"He can do more than that," Ash pointed out. "Though, trying the Max Stew certainly helped." Acerola had an offer as Mimikins circled around Gengar.

"Maybe you can find what you can for this Max Soup for my Grand Rapooh," she offered as she opened a ball, releasing another Gengar. Her Gengar, Grand Rapooh, was larger than Ash's Gengar.

"Grand Rapooh, huh?" realized Ash. Ash's Gengar and Grand Rapooh started talking as Acerola had an offer.

"By the way," she started. "There's someone who wants to challenge you." Ash began to wonder as did Piko and Nene. "In the meantime, I'm sure our Gengars could learn different attacks." Ash's Gengar and Grand Rapooh wondered to the challenge. They headed out to the deep woods. They soon reached a wooded statue of what seemed to be a Totem Trevenant.

"I remember the Totem Trevenant," Ash recalled. "I had met it when I was sent back in time with Litten and it gave me a Firium-Z."

"Which is odd since Trevenant is a Grass and Ghost-Type Pokémon," Piko recalled.

"I know, but there's something else," Acerola brought up. "It's over here." Acerola led the group into the deeper wood where there was a tree with a note by a cubbyhole. "Here it is." On the folded note was a name: "ASH." Curious, Ash took the note from Acerola. He opened the note.

ASH,

EVER SINCE I MET YOU FOR THE BRIEF AMOUNT OF TIME, I HAD GROWN FOND OF YOUR STYLE AND NEVER-GIVE-UP ATTITUDE. SO MUCH SO, I CONVINCED TREVENANT TO GIVE YOU THIS WHEN YOU RETURNED TO YOUR TIME. HOWEVER, TREVENANT CHOSE TO RETURN TO ULA'ULA ISLAND SO IT'S LIKELY THAT HE'LL GIVE YOU THIS BEFORE LONG.

SINCERELY, ROARIE.

Pikachu looked baffled. ("Roarie?") he repeated.

"Ash, you gotta tell us this story about Roarie and Totem Trevenant!" requested Nene.

"Me too!" he shrugged.

"Of course!" accepted Ash as he looked to the cubbyhole. "It looks like there's a Z-Crystal in here." He reached for the item. "Is that what Roarie left for me?" He pulled it out a purple Z-Crystal. It had a ghost symbol in it. Acerola came over to take a look.

"That's Ghostium-Z!" she revealed. "And since you have Gengar, it has a Ghost-Type move, right?"

"Yeah, Shadow Ball!" recalled Ash.

"Then you have a chance to use the Ghostium-Z!" believed Nene. Ash smiled, willing to try using the Ghost-Type Z-Move.

"Now, all I need to do is learn the pose," he admitted.

"That's easy," Acerola giggled. "It goes like this. Once you start with your arms crossed, you crouch like this…" She posed to crouch before swaying upward and her hands blocking her face before she posed to give off the "Boo!" shout. Ash recognized the move.

"Hey, Nanu did that pose using Darkium-Z," Ash pointed out.

"Yeah, you could say that Darkium-Z and Ghostium-Z intertwine," Piko shrugged. They soon exited the deep wood before deciding to return to the house.

"Promise us to tell us the story of you and Roarie when we return," Nene wished.

"I can do that," Ash promised. Suddenly, a net came flying out of the sky. It came after Pikachu. The pop from the rocket that produced the net was heard by Acerola and Mimikins as they turned.

"Look out!" she called as she shoved Ash and Pikachu out of the way. The net got Acerola and Mimikins as Ash recovered from the shove.

"Acerola!" he shouted. Piko and Nene seemed worried about their Big Sis.

"We gotta do something!" urged Piko as laughter came from the Meowth blimp above.

"Prepare for trouble, you're going to have a nightmare," Jessie taunted.

"Make it double, the bad dreams will make you aware," James added.

:To protect the world from devastation…" continued Jessie before Piko and Nene interrupted her.

"That's a lie and you know it!" they shouted. Team Rocket gawked to the shouting of the two kids.

"Hey!" snapped Jessie. "Didn't anyone tell you not to interrupt someone doing their job!?"

"If kidnapping's your job, us kicking butt is ours!" sounded Ash.

"Much like da twoips ya are!" argued Meowth. Ash knew he had to save Acerola as Mimikins couldn't phase through the net.

"Can't you get out?" she asked. Mimikins seemed defeated.

"Oh, that net is specially made to lock in any Ghost-Type Pokémon!" briefed James.

"And it locks out twerps like yourselves!" added Jessie.

"That's what they think," Ash growled before he inserted the Ghostium-Z onto his Z-Ring. "Gengar, I choose you!" Gengar emerged from his ball. "Use Psychic!" Gengar used Psychic, breaking the net from the balloon. Acerola and Mimikins were back with Ash and Pikachu.

"Thanks, Ash!" she praised as she released Grand Rapooh.

"We might be in some double trouble!" gulped Meowth. Ash and Acerola nodded to each other.

"Grand Rapooh, use Thief!" she ordered. Grand Rapooh flew in and stole the bazooka from Team Rocket's balloon. Jessie steamed to the Thief move working.

"Gengar, use Sludge Bomb!" ordered Ash. Gengar spat Sludge Bomb, striking the burner. It shorted out and the balloon started descending fast. It crashed and Team Rocket spilled out. Jessie got up first.

"Looks like we'll need to resort to Plan B!" she urged as she whistled. With the outstretched beak, Team Rocket's Pelipper flew in with the Rocket Prize Master. However, a litter of Alolan Meowths swarmed the airborne Pelipper. It couldn't do anything since it was carrying the Prize Master. The Alolan Meowths clawed and chased away Pelipper, unable to deliver.

"We should've been using Plan B when the twerp was freeing the twerpette!" argued James. Then, footsteps. Approaching was Nanu.

"It's you guys again…" he yawned. "I didn't think you'd do this to my niece." Jessie wasn't satisfied with who Acerola was to Nanu.

"A twerpette by a family name is still a twerpette!" she shouted.

"Then you have no problem if I go after your family, right?" scoffed Nanu.

"Ha!" scoffed Jessie. "I don't need family when I have my boss!" Nanu growled, Acerola noticing the change.

"Uncle Nanu rarely loses his cool," she whispered. Nanu growled more.

"You won't like me when I hear my family being threatened," he mulled. Nanu brought out his Alolan Persian. The Classy Cat Pokémon snarled at Team Rocket. "Persian, use Power Gem!" Persian powered the gem on its head before firing it at Team Rocket, blasting them back.

"Let's do it, Ash!" encouraged Acerola. Ash nodded. Both brought out their Z-Rings, Ash's having the Ghostium-Z and Acerola's with the Darkium-Z. Acerola went first and did her pose. "You will be afraid of the dark! There will be no escape!" Grand Rapooh was powered up. "Evil will be swallowed! Use Black Hole Eclipse!" Grand Rapooh launched Black Hole Eclipse after it held an energy of red, black and purple. It threw the energy which exploded and vacuumed Team Rocket into the hole before it exploded, sending them back down. Jessie soon got up. Ash and Gengar were ready.

"Let's give Team Rocket a scare!" he urged. Similar to Darkium-Z, Ash did the pose and powered up Gengar. "We will live our dreams! You, however, will go through a Never-Ending Nightmare!" Gengar stomped which summoned a land of darkness. Team Rocket looked like they were in a horror film as shadowy hands emerged and pressed down on them before exploding. They flew so far away, they cleared the land.

"Where's Bewear when ya need her!?" cried Meowth.

"Hibernating?!" guessed James.

"WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" they cried as they vanished. Nanu breathed a sigh of relief as he came to the kids.

"Everyone okay?" he asked.

"YES!" they replied. Gengar and Grand Rapooh high-fived each other. Piko and Nene left for home while Nanu brought the rest back.

"Thanks for your help, Nanu," Ash praised.

"Yeah, I don't normally lose it," Nanu apologized. "But seeing my niece in trouble, it's a line too far crossed."

"Oh, Uncle Nanu…" smiled Acerola. Seeing how close Acerola was to Ash, Nanu had an idea.

"I don't want to sound like I don't care," he started. "But… Ash, would it be possible if you took care of Acerola?" Ash blinked, unsure of what Nanu desired.

"Take care of your family?" he guessed.

"Yeah, it's that some people don't have long in this world," Nanu muttered. Acerola gasped, thinking Nanu wasn't going to live much longer.

"Uncle Nanu, don't say that!" she pleaded. "You're still the Island Kahuna! You can do all sorts of stuff!"

"Now, Acerola…" halted Nanu. "The point is, I have seen you with Ash and I know how much you care about him. I'm thinking of your future. It would be easier if you go with Ash on his journey." Acerola pondered to how long Nanu could be alive.

"Could you be around for my wedding?" she asked.

"I cannot say for sure that I will," Nanu muttered. "But if I do, I'll walk you down the aisle." Acerola's faith grew slightly as she came to Ash. Pikachu was enjoying some Pokémon Food with Nanu's Pokémon.

"Ash, I enjoyed being by you after you first arrived, and helping your school in the haunted house project," she recalled. "I would want to love you for the rest of my life and then the afterlife!" Ash seemed unsure about the promise.

"Are you sure about that?" he gulped.

"Would this help tell you how sure I am?" she teased before they longingly kissed. Ash was hesitant to accept, but soon did as a sandal fell from Acerola's foot. When they broke, Acerola stumbled being on one sandal.

"Allow me," he offered as he dressed her foot.

"This is when we say Alola to being single," Acerola started. "And Alola to our dating!" She kissed again as Nanu snickered.

'I'll definitely be around for you, Acerola,' he remarked. 'I want you to grow up with a proper young man… and Ash is definitely one.' It seemed as though Nanu had an Acerola up his sleeve that he wanted Ash to have… and his niece said yes.

END of VOLUME VIII