Pokémon Radiant Sun
Yes, this is late.
Sorry about that, but I just haven't been able to write at all this past week and I had a crapton of important things coming up this week and I was away from my computer. Meaning writing this chapter wasn't on my list of priorities nor was it really possible. Some of that stuff literally had my entire career hinging on it going well, so thankfully all is well and I can finally breathe again.
So yeah, we're at the conclusion of the Grass Trial and we've got a lot of fun things coming up in the next few chapters, with some new faces, old faces, and faces that should've shown up in a Pokémon game another time but haven't. Maybe.
Shoutout to those who have reviewed since the last update, which includes Angelfir3, Madame Rodoshe, RC-DA, Sai Og Sus, SonicIKE, DarkestShade73, skyguys05, MoonlightButterfree, a new guest reviewer known as Okamiden14, Gokan123, BraviaryScout, Cottonmouth25, operettaoceanic, Ways, as well as a new reviewer known as SoulMatter. Thank you for your patience and support!
Also, to answer the question of how my Blaziken lost to Archie Crobat during my Alpha Sapphire Nuzlocke, my Blaziken was only ten levels higher and missing about an eighth of its health, and I figured it could tank an Acrobatics and knock out Crobat with Blaze Kick. I underestimated the move and regretted it dearly, since it cost me a large chunk of time to train up other Pokémon.
Now onto the chapter, because I'm exhausted and require sleep.
Enjoy.
Chapter 58: Totem Battle! The Solar Blade!
Laura Smiles couldn't help but smile as she stepped out of the Tide Song Hotel with Meowth trailing behind her, eyeing the passerby and buildings with awe. It wasn't often the cat got to explore new places, after all.
"What a wonderful city. It looks so much different during the day." Laura remarked as she made her way down the sidewalk, smiling as the Alolan sun shined down on the region from above. Despite Sun's complaints about the constant heat, Laura found it invigorating.
What was also quite energizing to her was the knowledge that she would see her child again. While she was happy that Sun was out living his dream of being a Trainer and having a successful run of the Island Challenge,Laura still missed having her little boy around. Especially considering how dangerous things were nowadays, and with Cipher having apparently come to Alola.
Yes...That had been a very nasty shock for her to hear from Doctor Colress.
However, upon reflection she shouldn't have been surprised. You could never run from your demons, and Cipher had proved that they wouldn't stop until every loose end was tied up. She'd have to step her training up a few notches after she and Sun reunited in a few days. The time had finally come for them to see a renowned psychiatrist in Heahea City that would hopefully help Sun with some of the issues he had been going through lately. Laura only hoped that Sun would be willing to open up about his feelings and help them help him with what he was struggling to deal with. Whether that be depression or something else.
Laura had been walking through the city aimlessly for about an hour before she received a phone call, starling her momentarily before she pulled the device out of her purse and examined it. An unknown number. Only close friends and a few co-workers had her new phone number, so she considered the wisdom in answering a number she didn't know. She eventually decided to answer and pressed a button, putting the phone to her ear.
"Hello?" Laura asked, trying to hide her nerves. To her relief, the voice that responded back was not only a familiar one, but one she was happy to hear from again.
"Greetings, my friend! How's Alola treating you?" came the cheerful man's voice from the other end of the phone.
"Not too bad, Mister Oliver." Laura remarked with a bit of amusement in her tone. The man on the other end of the phone coughed slightly, as if embarrassed.
"Can you show a bit of respect, Laura? I mean, I am the man who took on Shadow Zapdos alone and lived to tell about it." The man responded, sounding seemingly smug.
"Oliver Étincelles...How on earth did you become a secret government agent when you're so bad at lying?" Laura asked, earning a nervous laugh over the phone.
"Oh, I'm not a secret government agent…"
"Ollie..."
"Alright, I guess that joke has gotten a bit stale. Also, really? Ollie? What happened to 'Mister Oliver'? That said, I think only Sun called me that." the man asked, chuckling softly.
"Well, it doesn't help when you've got such a weird last name! It's hard to pronounce." Laura responded, earning a bark of laughter.
"God, I've got like a million names here, Laura. You could've picked any of those cooler ones...Still, I guess Ollie is better than a nickname like Looker." The man replied with a laugh while Laura sat down outside of a cafe, with Meowth hopping into her lap.
"Well, Ollie, I have to say hearing from you is a wonderful surprise. But I have ask, why your contacting me at all. Haven't you been too busy with what's going on in Kanto to check in?" Laura asked the man, frowning slightly.
"You're right, I have been. But considering we're going to be having a big clash in Vermilion soon with Cipher and I'll be there to give some payback, I figured calling to check on you wasn't too out of line. Seriously though, is everything going alright? How've you been?" Ollie asked, his tone becoming one of genuine concern.
"Quite well. I've got a wonderful home here in Alola and my job is enjoyable as always. I've even been able to get back into training, thanks to Professor Kukui. Even though getting over all of the heartache and pain Ashton put us through has been difficult, I haven't been letting him ruin my chances of happiness over here." Laura explained to her friend, who sighed with relief.
"That really does make me happy to hear. I was wondering how you were adjusting. How's Sun?" Oliver asked Laura, who smiled a little.
"He's on a journey, currently going through the Island Challenge. He's got a team of three Pokémon now and he's just about to take on the Grass Trial, if he hasn't started it already." Laura said proudly, a warmth in her heart at what her child had accomplished so far in his career as a Trainer.
"Just three? As excited as he seemed to start a journey, I'd imagine he'd be out there catching everything he could get."
"He wants to just have six Pokémon on his team, and doesn't want to be one of those Trainers who catches a bunch of Pokémon and has them rot in the PC. So far he's got a Trumbeak, a Growlithe, and a Dartrix." Laura explained to Oliver, who laughed at that.
"Sounds like a solid line-up! I bet he'll turn out to be a fantastic Trainer, just like his mother." Ollie remarked cheerily as Laura nodded.
"You'll never guess what he named his Starter though. That Dartrix I mentioned? He named him Oliver. After you!" Laura said to the man over the phone, receiving shocked silence from the other end of the line.
After several seconds, Oliver sighed softly into the phone and muttered, "Wow. That's something. I didn't think Sun thought so highly of me, to name his first Pokémon after me. I'm...touched, truthfully."
"After what his father did to him, I'm not surprised he became as fond of you as he did. You saved us from Cipher and kept us safe during those last days in Kanto. He probably latched onto you as a male role model of some kind. You're an important part of Sun's life because of that, Ollie. When he was at his lowest point, you were the hero he needed to look up to after his Dad betrayed him." Laura said softly, remembering those dark days after Ashton's attack on the house. Sun was inconsolable after that, and it was only thanks to Oliver's efforts that Sun would even leave his room. They had become close, after that.
"Yeah...He begged me to come to Alola with you guys. Kinda wish I could've, in all honesty. Kanto's a mess and my boss is being a regular dickhead. Never join the International Police, Laura. It's a mess." Ollie advised Laura, earning a small chuckle from the woman.
"Noted. But you should come around some time. Sun would really appreciate it, and it'd be nice to see you in person." Laura remarked as a waiter dropped off a menu to her.
"Maybe someday. Until then, I have to help the League with this Cipher crap. After what those monsters did the Erika…" Oliver took a shuddering breath and said, "I promise you that they will regret what they've done. Ashton too."
"Please do. If you get ahold of Amber, put a bullet in her heart for me, would you?" Laura asked her friend, who just chuckled into the phone. Distant yelling was picked up by the phone on Ollie's end, and the man in question sighed.
"Looks like I've got to get back to work."
"Have fun, Ollie."
"Right. Hanging from the roof of the gym with a really heavy sniper rifle? Real fun. You take care, alright Laura? Be safe." Ollie heavily emphasized the last two words before adding, "Prends soin de toi, ma chérie." Oliver hung up the phone and Laura found she was blushing slightly at his parting comment.
"Take care, my darling...Oliver, you better be safe yourself. Sun would be heartbroken if he didn't get to have a battle with you someday. And I'd definitely miss you too." Laura muttered before she waved to a nearby waiter and finally made her order from the cafe, thinking about her friend and the dangers he would have to face soon. She also wondered how her son was doing in his Trial...
Sun grinned as the Totem Pokémon screeched loudly, throwing its arms apart as a fiery orange aura burst into existence around it, creating a shockwave of force that sent Sun skidding backwards across the dirt, though his eager smile never faded.
"Rotom, what is that thing?" Sun asked the device as it popped out of hiding from behind Sun's head.
"Lurantis. The Sickle Bloom Pokémon and the evolved form of Fomantis. It fires beams from its sickle-shaped petals. These beams are powerful enough to cleave through thick metal plates. It requires a lot of effort to maintain Lurantis's vivid coloring, but some collectors enjoy this work and treat it as their hobby." Rotom explained as the Totem Pokémon got into a fighting stance, clearly ready to get the battle underway. "Zzzt! My scans show that Totem Lurantis got a massive Speed boost thanks to its Z-Power!"
"That's problematic...But I'm not too worried." Sun replied, drawing a Poké Ball from his belt.
"You seem rather confident, Sun." Kiawe noted with some amusement. Sun looked back at the eldest of the Captains, smirking.
"Well, yeah. Fighting Wishiwashi was pretty much an even-match up, and Salazzle was a brutal uphill battle from the start. But considering all of my Pokémon have the advantage against a Grass-type and I can use a Fire-type Z-Move, I'm honestly not too worried. My plan was just to end this quickly with Brago and try out the Firium Z I got from you, Kiawe." Sun explained to the Fire Captain, though Mallow stepped forward with a grin.
"Oh yeah? So confident, huh? If that's the case, I want to make a wager then." Mallow said, a devious grin on her face. Lana giggled while Kiawe rolled his eyes, though Sun ignored their actions and focused on Mallow.
"Alright, what's the wager?" Sun asked Mallow, who's smile became quite sinister.
"I'll make you a bet, Sun. I bet that you can't beat my Totem Pokémon with none of that Fire-type Z-move crap. It's a cheap way to end a fight and doesn't show any of the skills you and your Pokémon have developed over the course of you're Island Challenge. If you win, I'll owe you a favor that involves our sweet little Lillie in some way." Mallow said with a cheeky grin, making Sun blush at having his affection for Lillie thrown out so casually in front of Lana and Kiawe.
"I don't really want help with that, though. So, what if I choose not to accept your wager, or decide to use Inferno Overdrive anyway?" Sun asked Mallow, who crossed her arms and leaned back.
"Then I'll just have a nice chat with Lillie about how a certain boy has been saying rude things about her behind her back." Mallow said with a smirk as Sun stared at her in horror.
"I wouldn't ever say anything rude about Lillie though!" Sun yelled at the Grass Captain, who's smile only widened.
"Exactly. Well, there's another thing. If you choose not to accept the bet, I'm calling Lillie anyway." Mallow said with a devious grin as she pulled out her phone, waving it tauntingly at Sun.
Sun looked at Kiawe and Lana and said, "You're both okay with this?"
"Absolutely not. Flat-out blackmailing Trainers into fighting a certain way is incredibly underhanded and wrong in just about every way, but on the other hand Mallow is the Captain of Lush Jungle. She can do whatever she wants here." Kiawe explained with a shrug.
"Sorry Sun, but Kiawe's right. Just so you know, this isn't personal. She tries this with a lot of Trainers when she finds out they have a Fire-type on their team. We should try and change up the order of the Trials somehow, shouldn't we?" Lana apologized as she pulled out a Poké Ball and called out Bubbles the Popplio, who barked happily.
"Feeding time, Bubbles!" Lana said happily as she pulled a bottle of baby Pokémon formula and picked up the infant Popplio. Meanwhile Sun was glaring at Mallow, even as Rotom continued playing its music.
"Fine. I won't use the Fire Z-Move. Just don't call Lillie." Sun relented, with Mallow closing her phone and stuffing it into a pocket.
"Good boy. Now, who're you going to use first?" Mallow asked Sun as he turned back towards Totem Lurantis, who was watching the whole scene with crossed arms while tapping its feet impatiently.
"All three of my Pokémon have the advantage. I'll start out with…" Sun clipped the Poké Ball he was holding to his belt and pulled off another. "Penny, let's go!"
The Trumbeak was released with a proud cry as she landed on the ground, flaring her wings as Totem Lurantis crouched slightly, bowing to Penny and hissing to her. Penny responded in kind, bowing to the Totem Pokémon.
"I recognize this duel under the name of the Guardian Deities…" Penny murmured before she rose again, flaring her wings. "Ready!"
"What was that about?" Sun thought before brushing the thought aside. "Penny, use Pluck!"
Penny shot forward with a powerful flap of her wings, rushing towards Totem Lurantis as her beak glowed bright white. Lurantis swung down its arms, releasing wicked waves of spinning leaves that slashed Penny's body as she flew, but the Razor Leaf attack didn't deter the bird one bit. The Sickle Bloom Pokémon's eyes widened in surprise before Penny jammed her beak into its chest, knocking it backwards and onto one knee.
"There we go, Penny! Nice work!" Sun cheered for the Trumbeak as she soared above her Trainer. Penny watched her opponent rise with a hiss, clutching its chest that was clearly damaged by the move. Lurantis looked up at the bird and seemed amused before it suddenly kicked off of the ground with surprising swiftness, raising its glowing arms in an X-shape and slashing at Penny, knocking the Trumbeak back through the air before she flung out her wings and stopped herself.
"Not bad...But I'm not going to lose to you, Totem!" Penny chirped to Lurantis as it dropped to the ground. The Totem Pokémon quickly dropped into another stance, though it now wore a small smirk on her face before she threw apart its arms and let out an echoing cry.
"Crap...So who did you just get as your backup?" Sun wondered as Lurantis shifted into another stance. Sun didn't have to wait long, as a strange teardrop-shaped Pokémon burst into the clearing, ready to support the Totem Pokémon.
"Zzzt! No worriezz, Sun! Scanning new Pokémon...Gotcha!" Rotom Dex yelled out, lowering its music for a few moments.
"Castform. The Weather Pokémon. It changes its form depending on the weather. Changes in the temperature or humidity appear to affect its cellular structure. Its form changes on its own, due to its cells' sensitive reactions to temperature and humidity...Huh, that entry combo was redundant. Weird." Rotom mused aloud before turning to Sun.
"Interesting...Alright. Penny, use Brick Break on Castform!" Sun called to the bird, who nodded and flew towards Castform, who's eyes widened in horror as Penny smashed her glowing beak into the Weather Pokémon. Castform crashed to the ground with a cry and Penny glanced over at Lurantis, who was standing there smugly with its arms raised.
"What are you...Wait, I've seen this before!" Penny yelled out as Totem Lurantis began to glow white, with white particles focusing on large scratch on its chest from where Penny had hit it earlier. The injury began to repair itself before their eyes, leaving Lurantis with full health. The Sickle Bloom Pokémon got into a fighting stance as Castform struggled into the air again, visibly hurt.
"Trainer, it can heal itself! Be careful!" Penny called to Sun, who grit his teeth. This battle had just gotten a whole lot trickier.
"Synthesis. A lot of Grass-type Pokémon can learn it. I've read about this with Lillie. Alright, we'll just have to make sure that Totem can't use it! Penny, keep up the-" Sun began to say before he saw Castform let out a yell and summon a ball of bright light in its mouth and then fire it into the sky. Sun flinched and looked away as a wave of heat washed over them all, with the sunlight becoming particularly brutal.
"Zzzt. Hey Sun? That uh...May have just made the whole Synthesis problem way worse." Rotom Dex beeped, floating in front of Sun. "Sunny Day not only weakens Water-type moves and boosts Fire-type moves, but it also makes moves like Synthesis and Solar Beam way more effective. The move lasts for a short time, but until itzz neutralized or wears off, the sunlight will be really harsh."
"Dang. Alright, Penny! Focus on Castform!" Sun yelled to Penny, who nodded at the remark. To their surprise, however, Castform's body began to glow and morph until it was bright orange and had a totally different body.
"It can change forms with the weather...I bet it changed types too. That's a good workaround for dealing with Ice-types." Sun mused before he pointed at Castform. "Pluck!"
"Got it! You're going down!" Penny cried out as she shot towards Castform, her beak glowing like a beacon. She was cut off, however, when Totem Lurantis suddenly jolted forward with an incredible burst of speed, holding one of its arms into the sky as solar energy quickly began to form. Penny stopped in her tracks as Lurantis rushed to her, kicking at the bird and knocking her away. To Sun's horror, a massive flux of energy began gathering into a sphere at the tip of Lurantis' arm. The ball of energy suddenly blasted out from the arm before shining a bright yellow-ish green and forming into a massive sword-like pillar of energy.
"Penny! Dodge!" Sun screamed to the Trumbeak as she caught herself in mid-air, but Lurantis was too quick and swung the attack downwards, smashing it right into Penny and creating a massive explosion of energy. Sun yelled out as the shockwave blasted him backwards, nearly knocking him to the ground. Rotom dove into Sun's backpack to escape the shockwave while the Captains were spared the worst of it due to their distance from the fight.
"Still think Lurantis is going to be easy, Sun?" Mallow said with a smirk as Lurantis leapt back to join Castform, letting out a small coo. The smoke began to clear, and Sun was relieved to see an intact Trumbeak, though she looked very battered and was having a hard time getting up.
"Penny, you okay?" Sun asked his Trumbeak as she finally rose to her feet, wincing.
"I'll...manage." Penny said quietly, shutting her eyes for a few moments.
"What was that attack!?" Sun demanded, looking at Rotom Dex as it floated beside him.
"Zzzt! That was Solar Blade! It'zz the signature move of Lurantis. Similar to Solar Beam, it requirezz time to charge sunlight or energy to use. However, it'zz incredibly powerful it it hitz the opponent. In harsh sunlight, the move can be charged almost instantly, bzzt!" Rotom explained to Sun, who scowled at that and glared at the Castform that was smirking at him.
"Penny, you want to Roost and regain some energy, or just keep attacking? Your call." Sun asked the Trumbeak, who considered it as she turned to face the two opponents.
"I'll take my chances, Trainer. If I can take care of that Castform, then our battle will be easier. Brago and Oliver can finish this if I can't. This Totem is strong, deceptively so." Penny said as she extended her wings, and with a will of force became airborne. Sun couldn't help but smile at the drive his Trumbeak had to prove herself.
"Penny, let's take out Castform with Pluck!" Sun called to the bird as Lurantis got into another fighting stance with a hiss.
"You're not going to protect that little brat!" Penny responded as she flapped her wings hard. Totem Lurantis unleashed a Razor Leaf at her airborne opponent, but she did a barrel roll in midair and dove at Castform, who's eyes widened in horror before Penny slammed into it for a second time with her glowing elongated beak, knocking it out.
"Go Sun!" Lana cheered as Kiawe clapped softly beside her. Meanwhile, Mallow was grinning like a madman, eager to see the next phase of the battle.
Lurantis looked down at its fallen ally with a hiss before slowly looking at Sun and Penny. The Totem Pokémon straightened up and slowly bowed to the two of them, a clear gesture of respect. Sun and Penny both bowed to the Totem, before the beast threw her head up and let loose another powerful, echoing cry.
"Penny, stay sharp!" Sun called to his Trumbeak. To their surprise, however, another Trumbeak burst into the clearing with a loud chirp, landing on the ground beside Totem Lurantis. The Trumbeak chirped happily at Penny, fluttering his wings. However Penny scoffed in disgust.
"Not happening."
"Beaaak?"
"No. You're not my type."
"Beaak! Trum beak!" The other bird called, looking annoyed. Penny rolled her eyes and looked back to Sun, who was watching the display with confusion.
"So, what's was that about?" Sun asked Penny, who sighed in response.
"I believe that Trumbeak is doing what you humans call 'flirting.' However, I'm not interested in anything like that right now, and he absolutely isn't my type." Penny remarked, turning her beak upwards as the other Trumbeak hung it's head. Totem Lurantis walked over to her ally and gently pat him on the back, trying to console it.
"So what is your type?" Mallow asked Penny, smiling widely.
"I'm not going to dignify that with a response. Trainer, can we continue?" Penny asked Sun pointedly, with Sun nodding in response.
Sun pointed at the other Trumbeak and said, "Use Hidden Power on Trumbeak!"
Penny let out a yell as her body glowed brown, unleashing and pent up energy at the other bird. The Trumbeak darted towards Penny with a chirp, with Totem Lurantis doing the same, charging up X-Scissor and slashing apart the attack, to Sun and Penny's horror. The Totem Pokémon then dropped down to the ground, allowing the Trumbeak to smash into Penny with Peck and knock her out of the air and onto the ground.
"Penny, come on! You're better than that other guy!" Sun said to his Trumbeak, who rose once again, giving the other bird a look of fury that made the bird hide behind Lurantis, who rolled her eyes.
"Try Pluck on Trumbeak, Penny. Everything you've got!" Sun said to Penny, with the bird flapping hard towards the other Trumbeak. The bird in question seemed to smirk before suddenly releasing a blast of sound at Penny, which made Sun wince in pain.
"Supersonic! Penny, dodge it!" Sun yelled to the female Trumbeak, but this proved to be inadequate warning time because Penny was hit directly by Supersonic and stopped in her tracks, swaying in midair and looking all around the battlefield. This allowed Lurantis to jump into the air and deliver a brutal Solar Blade, knocking Penny to the ground and taking her out of the battle. Sun returned Penny, smiling at her Poké Ball.
"Thank you. You were great as always, Penny." Sun said to the Trumbeak, clipping the ball to his belt. He grabbed another Poké Ball from his belt and tossed it.
"Oliver, let's go!" Sun yelled out, calling forth the Dartrix as he took to the air with a delighted hoot before landing on the ground. Lurantis bowed to Sun and Oliver, with the pair doing the same out of respect to the Totem. Oliver then flapped his wings, smiling slightly in anticipation of the fight.
"Alright...Oliver, use Razor Leaf on both Totem Lurantis and Trumbeak!" Sun ordered his Starter, who kicked off of the ground and shot into the air with a loud hoot, flapping his wings and releasing a bombardment of spinning leaves. Trumbeak screeched in pain while Lurantis hissed at the attack. Despite it doing minimal damage, it did make Totem Lurantis stumble backwards as it held up its arms to block. Lurantis suddenly let out a roar and swung its arms frantically, releasing a wave of Razor Leaf which began to hit Oliver's attack in midair, halting it and creating a deadlock between the two. However, due to the flurry of attacks, Trumbeak was forced to stay still at risk of being hit.
"Oliver, stop the attack and use Pluck on Lurantis!" Sun cried out as the owl swooped past him, eyes glinting as he soared at the aura-cloaked beast. Lurantis roared as its arms glowed, with the creature crossing its arms into an X-shape and lunging at Oliver. The two Pokémon clashed in the middle of the clearing, kicking up a fierce wind as they struggled for dominance. In the end, Oliver slipped past Lurantis and jammed his beak into her chest, but was then hit by X-Scissor and sent reeling backwards with a hoot of pain. Trumbeak took that moment to hit Oliver with Peck, knocking him to the ground.
"Not bad...But I'm better!" Oliver said as he looked over at Lurantis, casually realigning feathers as Lurantis shifted into a familiar stance, beginning to glow white.
"Oliver, hit the Totem with Pluck before she recovers!" Sun called to Oliver. To his dismay, the Dartrix took several precious seconds to move, focusing instead on preening before he suddenly flapped his wings and shot towards Lurantis, hitting her with Pluck. However, Oliver had wasted too much time and the Totem healed the damage that it was just dealt plus everything before then, thanks to the power of the intense sunlight from above.
"Oliver, this isn't the time for that kind of crap!" Sun called to Oliver as he flapped his wings towards his Trainer, landing on the ground in front of him. Oliver rotated his head, narrowing his eyes.
"I disagree. There's always time to make sure that you look your best. You just don't understand, Sun." Oliver remarked before he turned back around. "It doesn't matter anyway. This Totem is going down regardless."
"Not if you can't focus on the fight instead of your looks. This is the second time this has happened." Sun pointed out, a note of annoyance in his voice. Oliver kicked off of the ground and soared into the air, eyeing Lurantis with gleaming eyes. That said, he was blindsided by the Trumbeak, who had used Peck on him from below and sent him plummeting out of the sky for a few moments. He caught himself with a powerful flap of his wings, wincing in pain.
"Oliver, use Pluck on Trumbeak!" Sun called to the owl, who paused for a moment before shooting towards the surprised bird, knocking it to the ground as he rushed by and stabbed the Trumbeak with his beak. Lurantis swiftly jumped to intercept with Solar Blade, quickly forming the attack and unleashing its destructive slash.
"Protect!" Sun cried out, with the owl just barely throwing up the shield in time to avoid damage. Regardless, the force of the attack blew Oliver back a bit, allowing him to escape the wrath of the Solar Blade as Lurantis dropped to the ground. Oliver smirked as he landed before adjusting an out of place feather.
"Hey Oliver?" Sun asked the bird, making him rotate his head backwards. Sun lifted his Z-Ring slightly. "You want to take care of that Trumbeak so you can beat this thing one-on-one?"
Oliver turned back around and flipped Sun a thumbs up with his feathers in response. Sun began to strike a series of poses in sync with Oliver, combining their energy and souls into one all-out attack.
Meanwhile, Mallow was fuming.
"No fair! I was hoping he wouldn't realize that he could use other Z-Moves instead of the fire one! Bah!" Mallow pouted, crossing her arms while Kiawe and Mallow snickered at the girl.
"Channel Tackle...And use Breakneck Blitz!" Sun screamed as Oliver shot forward with a massive burst of speed, energy surging through his body as he stomped towards the horrified Trumbeak. The bird was too stunned to move as Oliver kicked off of the ground and smashed into the other bird, creating a massive explosion of force that obscured everyone's vision for a moment. When the blast subsided, Oliver was soaring through the air hooting while the Trumbeak fell to the ground senseless.
"Now there's no one left to help you!" Oliver taunted the Totem as the Sickle Bloom Pokémon hissed at him, dropping into a crouch as her arms glowed. The beast rushed at Oliver, who kicked off of the ground without a command and engaged the Totem Pokémon with a glowing beak. Sun was too amazed by the spectacle to chastise Oliver, as he began to exchange blows with the Totem, using his beak like a fencer wielded a blade. Each of the attacks created a loud boom that echoed throughout the clearing, showing that the two Pokémon were just about evenly matched.
"Duck under her guard and hit her hard!" Sun called to Oliver, who dropped a foot in the air and dodged a double-swipe from Lurantis before hitting the Totem in the chest multiple times with Pluck, soaring away with a chirp. Lurantis snarled in pain, but to Sun's annoyance, used Synthesis again to heal every bit of damage it had taken. To their surprise, the sunlight that had been causing them problems throughout the battle finally began to fade. Sun was relieved by this. He knew he'd be aching from newly acquired sunburns tonight.
Sun then caught sight of the furious look in Totem Lurantis' eyes, and and saw the beast fling aside her arms and inhaled deeply.
"Lurr...aaantiiisss!" the beast roared, her Z-Power exploding outward and making Sun and the others yell out. Oliver wobbled in the air, eyes widened in shock at the power pouring from the Sickle Bloom Pokémon. Lurantis grit her teeth as she locked eyes with Oliver, raising her arms and releasing a massive wave of Razor Leaf at the bird.
"Counter with your own!" Sun called to Oliver, who responded in kind with Razor Leaf. However, it became apparent that the Totem's attack had more intensity, as Lurantis' leaves broke through Oliver's attack and the owl was slashed and sliced by the move. Oliver dropped downwards, into Lurantis's range as the Totem leapt into the air and hit Oliver with X-Scissor, sending him crashing to the ground heavily.
"Oliver, are you alright?" Sun asked his Starter as he rose to his feet, panting now.
"That beast is clever. And it's done playing around." Oliver responded as he eyed Lurantis.
"Alright...We'll just keep hammering at her defenses. She can't keep using Synthesis forever, and thanks to Sunny Day fading she can't use Solar Blade as easily. Use Pluck!" Sun commanded Oliver, with the bird soaring into the air and dive-bombing Lurantis with her glowing beak growing as he drew closer.
However, he had just played into the Totem's hand.
Lurantis reached down to the ground and yanked some grass out, quickly eating it. The Sickle Bloom Pokémon's eyes widened as a sudden rush of power flowed through her, even as she raised her arm in the air to gather energy.
Sun yelled out in horror as Solar Blade suddenly formed within the span of a few moments, with Lurantis slashing at Oliver and hitting him directly with the attack and knocking him out of the air. The bird crash onto the ground with a nasty crunch, with many of his feathers charred by the attack.
"How…" Sun said aloud, confused as to what just happened.
"That's Power Herb for ya."
Sun turned around to see Mallow grinning at him. "Lurantis used some of the Power Herb that grows around her to give herself a burst of energy so that she could quickly use Solar Blade without the charge-up. That's what makes Power Herb so special and helpful!"
"How dare you…"
Sun turned around and saw Oliver rising to his feet. However, the owl was looking down at his ruined, once prestine feathers with horrific look of sheer rage in his eyes, with the owl's gaze drifting to Lurantis. The Totem seemed unnerved by the terrible look of rage in Oliver's eyes as he stepped forward, making Lurantis back away with a small shudder.
"I will make you pay for that. You. Will. Suffer!" Oliver screeched as he flew at the Totem, only for a red beam of light to hit him from behind and return him to his Poké Ball. Sun looked down at Oliver's Poké Ball with a worried look before turning to the Captain's.
"I've heard that Dartrix were sensitive about their looks, but that was...Oliver looked like he was going for blood." Lana said quietly, sounding a little scared.
"Some Pokémon cannot help their instincts. However, I think this is something your bird can overcome, Sun." Kiawe said to the boy, who nodded slowly.
"Keep in mind that the battle isn't over yet. Do you want to send Oliver back out, or use your cute puppy?" Mallow asked Sun, who thought about it.
"Oliver could probably beat Lurantis at this point. That thing's used up a lot of energy with its moves, and there's a limit to that. I could wear it down that way, since it has no more allies to help it. But Oliver was mad enough to seriously hurt Lurantis. I really shouldn't send him out while he's still mad. So in that case…" Sun thought, smiling slightly as he clipped Oliver's Poké Ball to his belt and grabbed Brago's ball.
"Brago, it's up to you!" Sun yelled out, sending out the fierce Growlithe. The dog landed on the ground with a savage grin, using its Intimidate ability to weaken Totem Lurantis, making the beast take a step backwards from the canine.
"It's down to you, Brago. You ready to win this?" Sun asked the Growlithe, an excited smile on his face.
"Absolutely." Brago replied as Lurantis made hissed softly at the hound and bowed to him, with Brago lowering his head to the Totem Pokémon. Both Pokémon rose and prepared to fight.
"Brago, use Flame Charge!" Sun yelled to Brago, who nodded and called forth fire to engulf him. The canine charged at Lurantis, who raised her arms and released a wave of leaves that slashed at Brago, but did little damage. The dog leapt into the air and slammed into Lurantis' chest, making the Totem scream in pain as the flames scorched her. Brago leapt away as Lurantis used X-Scissor to slash at the hound, hissing at him as the canine shot the Totem a grin.
"Not a chance. I can feel it...The thrill of battle burning inside me. My fire rages like an inferno, and yours is weakening. Today I take you down and prove my worth to the pack!" Brago roared at Lurantis as she snarled softly. The Totem used Synthesis again, healing most of her injuries but not all of them.
"Use Ember, and then follow up with Flame Charge!" Sun called to Brago, who was hit with X-Scissor and sent skidding back through the grass. Brago shot a ball of flames at Lurantis, who swatted away the fire with a wince before releasing Razor Leaf at Brago. Like before, the attack hurt the canine but didn't stop him from hitting her with Flame Charge again. Lurantis fell to the ground, panting heavily as Brago bared his teeth in a fierce grin. Sun couldn't help but smile alongside the canine, sharing in his joy at being able to showcase how far he had come since that fateful battle with Amber back on Melemele Island.
Lurantis staggered to her feet, using Synthesis once more before raising her arm into the air and beginning to gather energy. Sun had Brago hit her with Flame Charge again, knocking her backwards with a scream of pain before she swung the attack in arc at Brago.
"Dive to the ground and hit her with Flame Charge!" Sun called to Brago, who ducked to avoid the sweeping blade of solar energy. Lurantis stumbled slightly as the attack missed, thanks to Sun's quick-thinking, and Brago leapt forward with a cloak of fire and quickly slammed into Lurantis again.
"Lurr...an!" The Totem snarled as she released a massive wave of leaves at Brago, who jumped back to dodge all of them and used a blast of flames to burn away the second volley of Razor Leaf thrown at him.
"Flame Charge again!" Sun ordered Brago, who just grinned and shot forward as flames wrapped around him, urging him onward and allowing him to knock the Totem down once again. Sun was relieved when Lurantis got back up, but didn't heal.
"I was wondering when she would run out of energy for that move. Brago! Let's keep up the pressure! We've got her on the ropes!" Sun called to the canine from across the battlefield. Brago simply nodded and Lurantis hissed, raising her arms as they glowed. Lurantis lunged at Brago, hitting him with an X-Scissor, but the canine took the hit with a grunt of pain and little else.
"Brago, use Fire Fang to clamp onto her arm and try to throw her!" Sun yelled to the fire puppy, who looked at him for a moment in surprise. "Oh come on, just try it!"
"If you insist." Brago remarked with a nod before leaping at Lurantis with his jaws open wide, flames spewing from his mouth. Brago sank his teeth into Lurantis, making the Totem screech in pain and stumble backwards, swinging its arm in an attempt to dislodge the canine. However, Brago simply bit harder into the Sickle Bloom Pokémon and wrenched his body sideways, shocking everyone present as he lifted the Totem up off of her feet and swung her around, slamming her onto the ground with a crash. Brago leapt backwards, looking a bit worn out but grinning from what he had just done regardless.
"That was...really fun!" Brago panted happily, wagging his tail in excitement.
"Aww. That's so cute. The cute little puppy likes kicking your Totem's ass, Mallow." Lana teased the green-haired Captain, who couldn't help but smile a little at the display.
"That dog is way too cute to be this cool." Mallow remarked, putting her hands behind her hand with a small laugh as Totem Lurantis slowly rose once more, her aura flickering slightly as she got to her feet and turned towards Brago, who crouched down, ready to fight again. The Sickle Bloom Pokémon roared as its arms glowed brightly, the beast quickly getting into a fighting stance before it suddenly attacked the canine.
The Totem rushed at Brago, slashing and swiping at the canine in an incredibly display of skill and power. However, despite the frantic flurry of X-Scissors, the Totem couldn't land a hit on the Growlithe, who was easily backing away from the attacks and was moving far quicker than he was before.
"Hit her with Flame Charge!" Sun yelled to Brago as he dodged another X-Scissor, which had missed by a large margin. Brago grinned at Lurantis as she took a step back, but was too slow to avoid the attack that knocked her down and dealt super-effective damage.
"Brago's too fast now." Lana noted, smiling as she realized Sun's strategy. Bubbles barked happily, receiving a hug from his mother while Mallow sighed, shaking her head with a smile of her own as Kiawe laughed.
"I was really hoping Sun would lose this. I'd like Lurantis to beat the odds sometimes when people show up with a full team ready to beat my Totem." Mallow remarked wryly as Kiawe put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's not just that. Sun would have likely beaten Lurantis regardless of his team choices. He has skill, as me and Lana have told you. His strategy with Brago shows this." Kiawe explained as Sun called out for Flame Charge, with Brago hitting Lurantis again with the move.
"What strategy?" Mallow asked, curious as to what her two friends were talking about.
"Brago's finally wearing down Lurantis, who's fought against two of Sun's Pokémon already. Even healing can't wash away the fatigue and exhaustion of battle, which is settling in now in a major way. Plus every single one of Brago's attacks are super-effective, and Sun's repeated use of Flame Charge has made him faster than Lurantis, thanks to Flame Charge boosting speed with every use of the move. Even if Lurantis is using Z-Power to boost its speed, that Totem is no match for Brago now." Kiawe said as Brago leapt towards Lurantis with blinding speed, chomping down on its arm with Fire Fang and making the Totem scream in pain.
Lurantis charged up Solar Blade and flung Brago off of her, but the dog landed on his feet as Sun commanded him to use Flame Wheel. The canine leapt into the air with a snarl and became a whirling ball of flames that collided with hellacious force into the chest of Lurantis.
The Totem stumbled backwards with a cry of agony, her Solar Blade dissipating completely as her eyes widened in pain. She fell backwards and crashed onto the ground with a faint groan. Brago landed on the ground beside the Totem, looking down at her as she gazed skyward with swirls in her eyes.
"You fought well...But today, the hunt is mine!" Brago said to the Totem, raising his head proudly before he let out a howl that not even his translator could pick up. The Growlithe ended his cry after a few, long moments before he looked down and was pulled into a bone-crushing hug from Sun.
"That was awesome! You did it, Brago!" Sun laughed as he ruffled the fur of the dog's head, making him grin happily as he licked Sun's face. The boy giggled at that, so taking initiative, Brago tackled Sun to the ground and began licking his face repeatedly while the Captains watched on with smiles.
"That boy's something special." Mallow remarked with a smile, taking a picture of Sun and Brago on her phone. She quickly sent the picture to a certain Princess, knowing she'd have a heart attack from sheer force of adorable from her crush and him being with a puppy.
A growl alerted the group and snapped them out of their celebrations, with Sun and Brago looking at the slowly rising Totem. Lurantis weakly got to her feet, covered in burns and barely standing. Despite this, the Totem rose to her full height and bowed deeply to Sun and Brago before she kicked off of the ground and vanished into the trees.
Mallow stepped forward, letting out a low whistle as she watched the Totem depart. She helped Sun to his feet, pet Brago on the head, and then smiled at him. "Wow, Sun, you're strong, huh! You were really able to draw out the flavor of you're Pokémon in that battle! The Totem Pokémon bowed right down to you and recognized your strength!"
"Yes, even back at Wela Volcano Park my vaunted Salazzle didn't stand a chance." Kiawe murmured as he and Lana stepped forward. The Fire Captain had a small smile on his face as he raised a fist to Sun, who tapped it with his own.
"Nor did the Wishiwashi I trained so carefully…" Lana said with a giggle, grinning happily as Bubbles barked from atop her head.
"All right, you've cleared all three of Akala's Trials! You even managed to get through my Trial, and I'd say its a real doozy!" Mallow said happily, putting her hands on her hips, her grin widening. "You even did it without abusing the Fire Z-Move, which I sincerely appreciate. So, here! A gift for such an inspiring young Trainer!
Mallow pulled a glittering green crystal from her pocket and offered it to Sun, who smiled and accepted the Z-Crystal. He struck his signature pose as Brago howled in triumph, and after learning how to do the poses for the Z-Move, he sat down with his friends on the pink blanket laid out on the ground.
"Since you've cleared my Trial, Sun, I want you to help me train some Pokémon from here in the Lush Jungle. So here, have some Next Balls!" Mallow said, digging into her backpack that had come from nowhere. She gave Sun ten Nest Balls, which were quite good at catching weaker Pokémon. As Mallow handed Sun the last ball, she tilted her head in confusion and looked down at the makeshift bowl who's contents had summoned Totem Lurantis.
"Hm? Looks like Lurantis didn't finish all the food. Ooh, I really want you guys to try some! Have a bite, Kiawe! You, too, Lana!" Mallow offered to the two other Captains.
Kiawe sighed and pulled out a spoon from his pocket. Before Sun could comment on this, Kiawe said, "If you insist Mallow. If you give me food poisoning again, I'm shaving your head while you're sleeping."
Kiawe got a spoonful of the goo that was inside the Rocky Helmet while Lana wisely just gathered some on her finger and licked it, closing her eyes to contemplate the flavor.
"The flavor from the Rare Bone seems to fill my whole mouth…" Lana murmured, twitching slightly. Sun looked from her to Kiawe, who was smiling.
"It tastes so good you might melt…" Kiawe trailed off, his face contorting with pain. "No, wait. Is that my tongue that's melting?" Kiawe suddenly clamped his hands over his mouth, letting out a groan of pain.
Lana coughed, her eyes watering as she hissed, "It's...it's so…"
"SPICY!" Both Captains screamed as they bolted from the Trial Site, with Mallow watching them in bemusement.
"What? What's wrong with you guys? Don't you have any taste!? " Mallow called to her friends as they vanished from sight. "Huh. Well...That's a new reaction. Sun, you wanna try some?"
Mallow heard silence from the boy, and when she turned to look at him she saw that he was gone. Mallow blinked several times in bemusement before she turned forward again and saw Sun sprinting to the exit of Lush Jungle alongside Brago.
"Are you heading to Olivia's for the Grand Trial!?" Mallow called to Sun's retreating form. As the boy disappeared, Mallow sat down and looked at the bowl. She stuck a finger inside and scooped up some of the Mallow Special, tasting it. A smile came to her lips.
"Yum. Could use a little salt though!" Mallow declared as she pulled out a spork from her bag, ready to have some lunch after watching such a fun battle.
Lusamine crossed her arms impatiently as she awaited the call so that they could start this meeting. Miss Wicke didn't know the details, of course, but it was a conference call with Borlath. It was quite odd how old friends came back into your life.
Once Borlath had been a dear friend, and now he was a useful tool to her plans. Was it wrong of her to use someone in such a manner? Yes. Did she care, so long as she got what she wanted? Absolutely not.
At that moment her computer monitor began to play a tinkling tune, and Lusamine tapped a key and suddenly a man with ragged black hair appeared on the screen with two mismatched eyes of blue and gold, looking exhausted.
"Lusamine. You wanted a follow-up report of some sort?" Borlath asked, leaning back in his chair with a sigh.
"You seem unwell. Is everything alright?" Lusamine asked, a tendril of worry creeping into her. Regardless of recent events, Borlath was her friend and she cared for the man. As long as they had known each other and considering his current position, he was likely one of the few people who understood her current status. That said, he was still a useful tool despite this. She had to remember this.
Borlath gave Lusamine a crooked smile and said, "I'll manage. I've dug my own grave with this one, Lusamine. I'll find some kind of peace with my sins soon enough."
"What? You can't stomach what you've done, Borlath?" Lusamine asked, her smile widening. Borlath scoffed at that, rolling his eyes, though Lusamine could see through the facade he had up. Lusamine's expression softened slightly as she crossed her arms.
"Borlath...We're friends. You don't have to lie to me." Lusamine said quietly to the man, who shut his eyes and hunched over in his chair, remaining silent for a long while.
"Lusamine...What have I done?" Borlath murmured, looking up at her with two crimson-colored eyes. "I know what I'm doing needs to be done. But all of this bloodshed and destruction...My deeds seem to weigh heavily on me, these days."
"You did what you thought was right. You've laid waste to the world and helped with a revolution of the darkest sort. Will you achieve your goals and usher in an era of prosperity and peace for the world? Or will yet another hero rise from the ashes and tear apart you and your forces?" Lusamine responded as her smile faded. The very thought of someone doing that to ruin her plans made Lusamine reflect on her own insubordinate children. If she ever got her hands on them, they would dearly pay for turning their back on her. Especially a certain girl who dared take the cornerstone of her goals away from her.
"I'll do whatever it takes to prevent that happening. Greevil is content to try and kill Aria and her friends, so he can do whatever in Alola. I trust that he can handle it while we're working on Kanto. We're close to acting on Vermilion, and reacquiring not only Shadow Moltres but control over the city. I have no choice but to continue and ensure my success." Borlath responded quietly yet curtly, closing his eyes again. "That said...I may have acted far to quickly in regard to some of my plans."
"How so?" Lusamine asked, curious. Borlath opened his eyes and considered the question for a moment, but then decided to trust his longtime friend with a secret.
"I've been working on restarting the Umbral Project for quite some time, given the results in the past. Should the project succeed, we could easily defeat the League with just a small army of Umbral Pokémon."
"Umbral Project?"
"Essentially, its a way of increasing a Pokémon's strength to incredible levels and advancing a Shadow Pokémon to an unstoppable state. There's nothing that can purify an Umbral Pokémon. You'd have to put it down for good in order to actually stop it. However, the strain of such experiments almost always kills the test subject. Greevil has given me the green light to continue the project, but so far I've already lost ten test subject Pokémon. I just can't seem to find a proper base to…" Borlath trailed off, smiling slightly. "Sorry. The nerds in charge have yet to explain it in a way that doesn't give me a headache. Basically, the main compound we use to complete the process isn't strong enough to protect the Pokémon's mind from unraveling completely, to the point where its brain ceases function. If I can't find a better alternative or change the process into something that works, I may have to quit while I'm ahead. Even if the other Admins and Greevil support me, they will not be happy that I squandered their Pokémon's lives in such a manner."
"That is a problem…" Lusamine murmured, considering Borlath's plight. However, just as she said this, a voice whispered into her ear.
"The gift we gave you. Offer some to him. It will do what he wants...And help him with the monsters he seeks to unleash." The voice whispered in Lusamine's ear, sending a shiver down her body. Lusamine considered what the voice meant before she smiled widely, something Borlath was confused at.
"Lusamine?"
"Just a moment." Lusamine said, putting Borlath on hold. She called Faba over her phone, with him picking up a moment later.
"I don't care how many times you tell me, Colress! Detective Pikachu is an amazing game and I'll murder anyone who thinks otherwise- Oh, President Lusamine! How can I help you, ma'am?" Faba asked, his tone going from incredibly irritated to normal in a heartbeat. Lusamine blinked several times, trying to process what she had just heard from the scientist.
"Faba...Is everything okay in there?"
"Of course ma'am. Why would you think things weren't fine?"
"You just said...You know what? I don't care. Fetch me the serem we recovered from the Ultra Beast during our last experiment. A small amount should suffice." Lusamine said to Faba as she leaned back on her chair, smiling at the very thought of that experiment in particular. Cosmog's screams of agony had been been quite loud that morning.
"What serum? You mean the...I mean, of course ma'am. Just a few minutes." Faba responded nervously, hanging up the line. It didn't take very long for a winded Faba to enter Lusamine's office, placing a small vial onto her desk filled with a black-ish purple fluid that sparked bright red occasionally from within the container. Lusamine sent Faba away and picked up her call again, showing a bored Borlath.
"So?" Borlath asked, sitting upright once again. Lusamine simply held up the vial in her hands, grinning widely.
"This may assist you, my friend. It's a special serum harvested from an experiment we conducted a few years back. It's untested in this sort of thing, but I don't think there's any harm in trying it out." Lusamine replied lightly, shaking the liquid slightly in its vial.
Borlath's eyes narrowed, suspicious of this sudden solution to a problem he had just presented. "Lusamine, as much as I appreciate the help, how can I trust that this can help? What sort of serum is that?"
"I can't disclose my sources, my friend. Some secrets must stay secrets. However I can assure you that if I didn't think this could help you, I wouldn't have offered this to you. Do you want to at least give it an attempt?" Lusamine asked Borlath, who considered it for several moments. Finally the Cipher Admin nodded.
"I'll take it. Amber's Shadow Rhyperior is on the verge of death, so I'll use the serum on it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained after all." Borlath said to Lusamine, who laughed softly.
"That's the spirit." Lusamine said as she rose to her feet and placed the vial in a nearby device. It was a standard Item Transporter that could be found in most of the Pokémon Labs and several other high-tech facilities not unlike the Aether Paradise. Within moments, Borlath was holding the odd serum contained within a vial in his hands, looking at it.
"This mixture is so strange. What makes you think this will work, Lusamine?" Borlath asked the woman as Lusamine sat down in her chair.
"A friend that is very dear to my heart." Lusamine responded as she smirked at Borlath's annoyed expression that cleared after a moment. The two friends talked of more trivial matters before Borlath had to leave, considering it was very late in the evening in Kanto.
Lusamine ended the call with a tap of the keyboard, her smile fading as she leaned back in her chair. She felt a small shiver of pleasure as the presence within her mind spoke again.
"Thank you, Mother... The gift that we have given you will help that man with his monsters. That will allow you to hunt down Cosmog swiftly and make it suffer. You always do what's best for us."
"Of course I do. My love knows no bounds, and I will find a way to save you." Lusamine replied in a whisper, closing her eyes and sinking into her own thoughts. "No matter what...I will make things right for you."
So, Laura gets some spotlight in a manner that doesn't include destroying someone's balls, Brago defeats the Totem, and Lusamine gives Borlath a strange liquid extracted during an experiment? Mmm... Interesting stuff, but how will it play out?
Next chapter Sun will reunite with Lillie and friends, and some other stuff happens too!
Q&A
From: Angelfir3
I'm not sure if you've answered this. But if Sun adds one of the legendaries to his team, would they be considered part of the 6 you had planned for him? Or better yet, will Sun have a full team that doesn't include a legendary? Thanks and see you next chapter!
I might have answered this question, but I honestly don't remember. It's why I don't mind answering the same questions again, because I'm absolutely going to lose track of what I've answered and what I haven't.
To answer the question, Sun is going to have a full team of six that doesn't include Legendaries or the Ultra Beasts. They're not part of the main six that Sun will have on him when he battles the Elite Four and so on.
Nebby, however...Well, I have some problems with how the game handled that situation, and I'll be dealing with it in my own way when the time comes.
From: RC-DA
Though I'm still wondering, what happened to Eldes and Ardos?
I mean, I could spoil that and just tell you, or I could save that for something that may or may not happen down the road. Depending on what choice I make regarding the story, depends on whether or not some things will be revealed in RS or not. But I'll confirm that they're definitely not showing up for various reasons.
I hate being so vague, but I also dislike spoiling things. Sorry.
From: SonicIKE
I thought there would be a moment where the bond between Sun and Lillie shows. I think you answered this before, but do you think you'll add another moment like that in the story?
There will be many more Sun/Lillie moments for this story. I just can't include them in every chapter because this is still Sun's journey, and Lillie can't be with Sun all the time. However, she'll be back next chapter and more adorableness will follow.
From: DarkestShade73
Alright, so you asked like...4 or 5 pretty good questions and I'm not going to copy and paste and massive, yet awesome, review you left. I kinda keep breaking my own rule about answering one question per chapter. So...fuck it. I'll just do whatever. Since you did go through the effort of leaving such a big review.
Shellder can learn Teleport via Technical Machine. A lot of Gen I Pokémon can learn Teleport, because it was a Technical Machine given to you in the original games. I abuse this quite heavily, because seriously...Who wouldn't teach their Pokémon Teleport?
Maybe. It isn't hard to come up with an excuse for Gladion and Sun to travel together. They get along fairly well and are rivals.
I have no plans to include Event Pokémon, mainly because I've already planned out Sun's team to perfection and the Event Pokémon are problematic for one reason or another. For example, these reasons include things like...
(Munchlax) I don't want two Snorlax battling in the Championship showdown. (Umbreon and Espeon) Sun's problems with the Eevee-line prevent that from happening. (Level 10 Salamence) Salamence being part Flying-type when Sun already has two Flying-types right now, and so on.
Lillie, Kukui, Aria and co. will be showing up next chapter, when he returns to Heahea City.
This is in regard to your other review, but as of now I have no plans for Rotom to be able to aid Sun in battle, as awesome as that would be. Though of course, that could change. It just depends on whether or not I feel like it's necessary. As of now I'm not going to use Roto Power.
From: skyguys
As some feedback, I don't know if I'd call it feedback personally but with Cipher presence in Alola, I feel like everyone in the region should be in a much more higher alert then what is presently shown, that includes the guardian deities. After what happened with Amber in Melemele, then the shadow celebi incident in town and lastly, their most recent encounter a few chapters ago, I was surprised to not see or even hear mention of Tapu Lele. I have a lot more to say about my opinion of Cipher but that will be for another time, aka when something significant happens and how you'll connect it with the plot and characters. And that significant moment will occur real soon as Aria mistakenly predicted at the very start of the Akala arc...
Lastly, the question I've been dying to ask is about Sun's fourth Pokemon. Will he catch it on Akala Island or later on in the story?
Well, this revelation only happened, like, two days ago in the story. These sort of things take some time, though the Kahunas have already stepped up security via the police and having other channels be on the lookout for things (International Police and their own Pokémon). While they're on high alert, they also don't want to cause a panic and force Cipher's hand into doing something drastic. There's an unknown factor coming into play here, because the Kahunas don't know how well-prepared Cipher is in Alola, what they have at their disposal, or what their plans are for the region. They just know their base is on Ula'ula Island.
As for the Tapu...Well, they're a bit of a wild card, and not even the Kahunas can find them if they don't want to be. However, the Tapu are aware that something is going on.
Though I'll admit, while writing this response out, I did come up with a very interesting idea for Tapu Lele and Cipher. I'll get back to you on this one.
As for Sun's fourth Pokémon, it will be revealed in a few months time IRL, but he'll definitely catch it on Akala Island. Within the next fifteen chapters or so, Sun will acquire his fourth teammate, which will bring a very interesting new personality to the team. I'm really looking forward to it.
From: Okamiden14
Man I'm loving this so far! Every chapter is better than the last. I also love the inclusion of gale of darkness, it really works well. But i do have to ask, why include all of these things from gale of darkness specifically? Is it like your favorite game or something?
Glad you're enjoying the story. And as for XD: Gale of Darkness being my favorite game, I'll have to say that it isn't my favorite game.
However, XD and Pokémon Colosseum are the two games that inspired me to become a writer in the first place.
So, I would say they're two of the most influential games I've ever played. I actually answered this question with a literal essay, but had to delete it because it spoils some things for later. So I'll answer with this shorter answer for now.
Cipher's inclusion carries the plot of this story along until Team Skull and the Aether Foundation can take up the reins after the third island. It also allows me to create a plot and cast of characters that stand out and make it different from the dozens of other Pokémon Sun and Moon novelizations, which was a worry I had early on. Creating a story that A). Couldn't be copied or be too similar to another story in this site due to how complex the plot is and B.) Would never be ruined by Nintendo coming up with something similar, which is how several stories and ideas I've had have been ruined in the past.
On top of that, I'm also able to greatly expand on other characters such as Guzma and Lusamine by introducing them earlier than they appear in the games and flesh out their backstories and the like through other challenges and conflict going on. I hope that helps explain some things.
From: Sai Og Sus
I have no comment on Colress's segment. If anything, I would have wished for more humorous interaction with Faba. Just a suggestion, how about giving Faba a blog for him to brag about? He's a narcissist after all. What kind of narcissist who doesn't have a blog?
Alright, that's a fantastic idea and I may end up using it later. I can absolutely see him having a blog where he rants about how amazing he is. Maybe I can have Miss Wicke troll him online and Faba throws a fit because he can't figure out who's messing with him.
Hopefully the small bit earlier was humorous enough.
There's definitely a lot of those happening with Faba in the future. I'm pretty sure you all have picked up on the fact that Faba will be getting roasted regularly because he's a total prick. I just didn't do that in this first scene at the Aether Paradise because it didn't feel appropriate.
That's all for now folks. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because it was certainly awesome to do. If you enjoyed it, please show your support with a favorite, follow, or a review in the section below. If you have questions about the story or others things, please leave your feedback and question also in the review section below. The usual rules for that apply.
Oh yeah. One last thing. Lillie's birthday.
So yeah, I've got things planned in a few chapters for that. One of which I will reveal to you all, because I figured it'd be awesome to get you all in on the excitement of celebrating Pokémon's best girl on her birthday (in my story, anyway).
So, at one point, Lillie will be hanging out with all of her friends, enjoying the festivities and being grateful for their support and love. However, Mallow suddenly hops forward and suggests the group plays a party game. What game, you may ask?
Truth or Dare.
Yes, I'm doing this. Cliche, maybe. And it's going to be fantastic. Why? Because not only am I plotting to make this fun as hell, but I also plan to allow you, the readers, to submit Truths and Dares for the characters in the story to perform.
The players in question are Sun, Hau, Lillie, Vivian, Hugh, Aria, Lana, Kiawe, and Mallow. Professor Kukui, Sina, Dexio, Professor Burnet may get one dare or truth each, but everyone else is free game for how many they get. Sun's Pokémon will also be in the game should people want to submit ideas for them as well, but can also just be bystanders observing. A lot of how this scene will go will depend on the collective of suggestions I get from you all and the ideas I already have. I will accept suggestions up until Chapter 61, which is aptly titled "Happy Birthday" and debut the game itself
Now, some rules and suggestions for this.
-Nothing super inappropriate or sexual. Keep it rated-T. They're mostly kids, after all.
-No maiming or things of that nature. Stating that just so that's there.
-Nothing about characters confessing their undying love for each other, because that's up to me to decide when and where that'll happen, so don't waste your time.
-Submit as many dares as you wish, just try to have them numbered or put at the end of your review so I don't have to hunt for truths and dares later.
-I'll add more rules later as needed, or message people if I need to.
But yeah, that's my little surprise. Hope it makes up for the weeklong delay. Now, obviously I can't pick every suggestion that gets submitted for one reason or another, so apologies in advance for that. However, I will say that those of you whose ideas do get picked for this chapter will get a shoutout and a thanks in the chapter in question.
Thanks for everything.
Stay safe and stay awesome.
Until next time, FlygonNick out!
