Pokémon Radiant Sun
So I've made the executive decision to upload this a week later than usual, as much as I hate to make you all wait.
Why? Because I wanted this chapter to be really, really good.
I've let this happen far too many times in the past. I've had a chapter sort ofdone, but I want to include another scene or two, but I'm too close to my self-imposed deadline of uploading on a weekend and upload it regardless and let the quality suffer slightly. So I'm making good on my promise from a few chapters ago.
I will not rush myself to put out a chapter of subpar quality. I took an extra few days on this one and made sure it included everything I wanted to share. It ended up being my second longest chapter in the story with over 20K words, but it's also a chapter I'm proud of.
Also, I have no idea why I tried being secretive about who Sun was facing in the Tournament last chapter, so I'll apologize for it now, and after this upload I'll be spending the weekend fixing a few mistakes from the past two chapters since they were a bit rushed.
Sun's facing Whitney in the first round of the AGRT. And I have a feeling that you all are really going to enjoy these next few chapters just because of the sheer amount of awesome nonsense coming your way. This chapter went very long, but that's because I wanted to do these battles justice. These next ten chapters or so are going to be very long, very intense, and very much filled with important things happening. New Pokémon, new evolutions, new characters, and plot twists and reveals.
It's possible that it'll take two weeks in between each update, but I'm going to make sure these chapters are done right. So I guess we'll have to see what happens. I'll try and upload weekly, but I won't give you all anything less than my best.
I'm excited.
Also, I'm designating shoutouts for the Tournament suggestion thing to the post-chapter AN, so as not to spoil stuff and state what exactly I included as per suggestion.
Shoutout to those who reviewed since the last update, which includes Cottonmouth25, BraviaryScout, Sai Og Sus, JDunk809, four Guest reviewers, Boy Knight, another Guest reviewer, SonicIKE, PigniteGamer29, Ew futf, and RC-DA. Thanks for the feedback, you lovely bunch of lovelies.
For this first battle with Hau, it is HIGHLY recommended you have at least listened to Miror B's theme from Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness. This battle is even better if you listen to it while reading this first segment, because it honestly just brings the whole thing together.
Also, for Sun's battle, the B2/W2 Johto Gym Leader theme is recommended if you're able to listen to it while reading the chapter. Why? Because I kinda like the remix of the theme. It suits this battle better.
Enjoy.
Chapter 83: The Absence of Fear
*Begin Miror B. XD Battle Theme*
Throughout the arena, a strange music began to play. Those in the crowd began to exchange looks of confusion, but Adrian Battlestorm was grinning. Roxie's band had been joined by several other performers and were now playing a strangely funky song that caught everyone's attention. Soon people were nodding their heads to the music, but down on the battlefield the show had finally begun.
"Cassy, let's go!" Hau yelled out, releasing his Brionne. The Pop Star Pokémon beamed as she began dancing to the music with a happy smile on her face. Hau grinned as Miror B. began shuffling his feet, every movement smooth.
"Hitmontop! It's showtime!" Miror B. called out as he released a brown and blue Pokémon with a spike on its head. The Pokémon let out a cry and flipped over, spinning like a top on its head.
"I've gotta say, this music is super swanky." Hau said as he tapped his foot along to the beat. Miror B. spun around, kicking out his feet.
"Glad you think so. Adrian's a fan of mine, so I asked him a favor. Now, let's give these people a show, alright darling?" Miror B. said with a flourish and a dangerous grin before throwing out a hand. "Now, Rolling Kick!"
"Disarming Voice! Follow up with Bubblebeam!" Hau barked as Hitmontop sped towards his Brionne, who opened her mouth and unleashed a pink wave of energy from her move. The blast slammed into Hitmontop, who grunted in pain but still managed to deliver a wicked Rolling Kick to Cassy, sending her flying into the air. Despite not being very effective, the powerful blow still rattled the Pokémon's teeth. The Brionne righted herself in midair, firing a stream of bubbles at Hitmontop, who tumbled backward with a cry of pain as they popped painfully against it.
"Nice moves. But you haven't seen anything yet!" Miror B. said as he popped and locked, which made Hau grin.
"So, is dancing while battling really that fun?" Hau said to himself before he decided to start dancing himself. While nowhere near as graceful as Miror B., it was obvious that the boy was having fun, which made the crowd cheer with approval.
"Your boyfriend is a total dork, Lana." Harper said to Lana, who was blushing in embarrassment.
"He's not my boyfriend, and yes he is." Lana mumbled as Sarah giggled at her sister's mortification. Meanwhile, Sun and Lillie were nodding their heads to the music, trying to watch the battle and ignore the fact that Laura was dancing with Bonnie, and Korrina nearby.
"I cannot believe that weirdo is here." Aria remarked, shaking her head.
"You know that man?" Lillie asked, wincing as Hitmontop broke out of its near-constant spinning to jump down on the ground, unleashing a power Stone Edge on Cassy and knocking the Brionne away with a scream of pain.
"Yep. That's Miror B. Dance fanatic, Ludicolo expert, and a total weirdo. And one of the original five Admins of Cipher." Aria answered, making Sun and Lillie's face whiten in horror. The young woman saw this and waved her hands quickly. "Oh no, don't worry! This guy's totally harmless now! He left the group when they fell for the first time and he's become a wandering performer. We actually became...friends, I guess, the last time we met."
"...You guess?" Sun asked.
"He's a complete freak. Wes was fond of the guy, and I'm honestly not. How the hell he got here is beyond me." Aria said with a sigh, though she was smiling at the sight of everyone dancing around her. "Can't say I don't dig the tunes or his dancing."
"I haven't felt this groovy since I was your age, Sun!" Laura said with a laugh, making the boy roll his eyes, though he was happy she was enjoying herself. Sun turned his gaze back below, to his best friend battling the eccentric dancer. How on earth could Hau dance like that in front of everyone? And what was with those moves? Sun wasn't exactly a great dancer himself, but even someone as awkward as he used to be could do better than that. Where had Hau learned to dance?
His question was answered a moment later.
"That's my boy! Show them your moves, Hau! Just like I taught you!" Kahuna Hala bellowed from somewhere below them, proud tears dripping down his face as he danced in a manner very similar to what Hau was doing.
"Bubblebeam, Cassy! Full power!" Hau said as he bobbed his head up and down, grinning widely.
Miror B. spun around and thrust out his hips, smirking. "Rapid Spin. Don't stop until they're hurting."
Cassy fired another stream of bubbles, but Hitmontop powered through them as it spun like a top, using the power of Rapid Spin to pop all of the bubbles before they reached it and delivered a brutal barrage of kicks to Cassy, who was went rolling backwards with a groan.
"Alright...Let's try to catch them off guard. Cassy, use Aqua Jet!" Hau yelled out, trying to focus on the battle and not dancing. This guy was definitely a tough battler, and Hau needed to focus a little bit more if he wanted to make it further into the Tournament. However at this point, most of the crowd was doing some sort of dance above them while watching the battle unfold. The music was just that contagious!
Even Team Skull, who were scattered throughout the nosebleed section of the stadium, weren't immune to the power of Miror B.'s groovy music.
"Good to see those dancing lessons paid off." Plumeria remarked as she saw Axen and Kayla doing some kind of frantic tango. Demi was dancing with Tim and Kevin, trying in vain to get Gladion to join in.
"Come on, Gladion! Everyone's having fun with this music!" Demi said to the boy, who scowled.
"No. I'm trying to focus. Your stupid friend got the better of me last time. I refuse to let it happen again." Gladion growled, gritting his teeth as he watched Cassy defeat Hitmontop with a Disarming Voice. "Besides, I wouldn't be caught dead dancing to this music…even if it is really catchy." Gladion mumbled the last bit to himself before Kevin bumped into him.
"Come on dude, stop being such a poor sport." Kevin said as he began dancing with Kayla.
"Besides, you're doing it anyway, despite what you're saying." Demi pointed out with a grin. "Even you aren't immune to this beat."
Gladion's eyes widened in horror as he looked down and saw his foot tapping along to the music. With a great will of effort he stopped the movement and shivered. The boy scowled and sat down, determined not to be swayed by the siren song of funk. Meanwhile, Miror B. had recalled his fallen Hitmontop with a smirk.
"Fuohohoho! So you've got some moves, don't you? Let's see if you can keep up! Electrode! Go!" Miror B. called, releasing a massive red and white ball that grinned at Hau as it appeared. The ball spun around, wearing a smirk just like Miror B.
"Cassy, you ready?" Hau called to his Brionne, who nodded. "Then hit it with Toxic!"
"Electrode, Rollout!" Miror B. shouted, kicking backwards and doing a split in the air, hitting a perfect landing as Trudly and Folly cheered behind him. Hau's eyes widened as Electrode dodged the attack and slammed into Cassy with incredible force.
"Follow up with a Thunderbolt! Give them a sparkling showcase of our power!" Miror B. boomed, with his Electrode spinning around rapidly and releasing a massive blast of electricity into the helpless airborne Pokémon. Hau cried out as Cassy screamed in agony, falling to the ground in a crumpled heap.
"And like that, Miror B. has turned the tables! Both Trainers are sitting at two Pokémon apiece! How will Hau proceed?" Adrian Battlestorm asked mischievously. Sun wondered privately what the special guest commentators were saying about the showdown happening before them. He glanced down below and saw Cynthia and Professor Oak nodding to the music while Kahili had a pair of earplugs in her ears and was watching with a scowl on her face.
"Must not be a fan." Sun thought as he watched Hau send out Kaha. The little Eevee let out a happy cry as Hau grinned at the Evolution Pokémon, who hopped into his parent's arms.
"Alright, little buddy! It's your first big battle, so let's try our best and have fun!" Hau said to Kaha. The little Eevee nodded and hopped onto the ground, it's expression becoming more serious.
"Mmm-hmm-hmm! A little Eevee? Let's see if it can avoid getting stepped on!" Miror B. proclaimed, pointing a finger out. "Rollout!"
"Shadow Ball!" Hau called out, with Kaha forming a shadowy orb of darkness within his mouth before firing it at Electrode. The attack exploded against the Ball Pokémon, but it didn't stop Electrode from smashing into Kaha and sent the Eevee hurtling backwards onto the ground.
"Kaha!" Hau cried out, though his worries were abated when the Eevee rose to its feet with a pained expression.
"Rollout gets stronger with every hit. And that strength carries over, even after it knocked out Cassy. I've got to get Electrode to miss somehow...Heh. Got it." Hau thought with a smirk.
"Keep on rolling! Show that kid who's in charge of the dance floor!" Miror B. shouted, shuffling his feet and spinning around. Hau grinned widely as Electrode sped towards Kaha again, with the Eevee's eyes widening in fear.
"Use Dig!" Hau shouted. The Eevee nodded and tunneled into the ground, allowing it to dodge the powerful attack and made Electrode slam painfully into the barrier that surrounded the battlefield, rebounding off with a pained groan.
"Now come on up and send that Electrode flying!" Hau yelled, throwing up his hands and doing a little dance, grinning widely as his Eevee erupted from the stadium floor underneath Electrode with a cry. The red and white Pokémon groaned in pain as the super-effective attack sent it flying into the air, but Hau wasn't done.
"Follow up with Take Down! Give it everything you've got!" Hau shouted as he punched his fist forward. Kaha nodded and bounded forward, its body glowing bright white as Electrode bounced onto the battlefield with a dazed groan. Miror B. frowned at that, sensing his Electrode wasn't going to last much longer after such a combo, and decided to end this on his terms.
"Quick, Electrode! Use Self-Destruct!" Miror B. commanded, snapping his fingers. Hau's eyes widened in horror as Electrode began to glow bright white, an infamous sign of what was to come.
"Kaha, stop! Get away!" Hau screamed, but he was too late. The Eevee was moving too quickly and was nearly upon the Electrode when the command was issued, so it didn't have time to get away before a massive explosion rocked the battlefield. Hau braced himself as a wave of force nearly sent him to the ground, but Miror B. simply patted his afro before doing a spin, pointing at Hau as the smoke cleared and showed two knocked out Pokémon.
"You really are quite the Trainer, darling. I can see that little thing isn't much more than a baby, yet you've raised it to be this strong? Well done." Miror B. praised Hau with a dazzling smile, though he quickly struck a pose. "That won't be enough to beat me! My next Pokémon is one that resonates with my soul! You don't stand a chance!"
"Well duh. That's because I'm not standing. I'm dancing!" Hau replied cheerily as he began moving his feet in a way very similar to Miror B., who put a finger to his chin with a thoughtful frown.
"You're...you're completely right!" the afro-haired man declared, breaking into a wide smile. "We are kindred spirits, my friend! Even if your skills aren't quite as refined as mine! Let this final battle be our greatest dance yet!"
"Sounds good to me!" Hau grinned back, recalling Kaha. He looked down at the Poké Ball and said, "That was great. You made me really proud."
Hau clipped his Poké Ball back to his belt and pulled out his final Poké Ball. Miror B. had done the same, calling out a strange yellow Pokémon with green hands, feet and a large green hat on its head. It quickly began dancing to the music, completely in sync with Miror B.'s moves.
"A Ludicolo?" Hau questioned, recognizing the Pokémon.
"I've raised many of them in my time as a Trainer. This is the newest one I have added to my posse, you see." Miror B. explained as he continued to shuffle.
"Alright. Let's see how you deal with this! Go, Duke!" Hau yelled, calling out his final Pokémon.
Sun expected a Pikachu to appear from the Poké Ball, but he was surprised when a totally different Pokémon appeared. It resembled a Raichu in some ways, except that the coloring was different and it looked a bit different. On top of that, it was floating in the air by riding its tail like a surfboard!
"What is that?" Sun muttered, leaning forward in his chair.
"Looks like some kind of weird Raichu." Aria remarked, confused as well.
"That's an Alolan Raichu." Lana explained, grinning at them. "Hau evolved his Pikachu while you all were on Melemele Island. He's kept that as his surprise for the Tournament."
Sun took this information into account before he pulled out Rotom Dex. "Huh...Rotom, wanna tell me what's up with that Raichu?"
"Zzzt! I thought you'd never ask!" Rotom said happily before it floated away from Sun and brought up the appropriate entry.
"Raichu. The Mouse Pokémon and the evolved form of Pikachu. Alolan Regional Variant. It only evolves to this form in the Alola region. According to researchers, its diet is one of the causes of this change. It uses psychokinesis to control electricity. It hops aboard its own tail, using psychic power to lift the tail and move about while riding it." Rotom explained to the group, who looked back down to where the two dancing Trainers were commanding their Pokémon once again.
"Energy Ball!" Miror B. shouted, with the Ludicolo actually springing into the air to do a ridiculous backflip before firing off the attack like a bullet.
"Duke, dodge it and use Psychic!" Hau called out. The Raichu nodded and shot forward, using its tail to fly through the air like it was riding a surfboard. The Raichu veered to the left to dodge the Energy Ball before its eyes glowed a harsh blue color. Ludicolo grunted as its body glowed bright blue before getting sent flying backwards into the barrier.
"Some move. These Alolan Pokémon are nothing to scoff at…" Miror B. muttered as Ludicolo hopped out forward, looking slightly annoyed. "Don't sweat it darling. Hit them with Waterfall!" the man called out, smirking as Ludicolo suddenly charged forward, a flume of water surrounding it.
"Use Electro Ball!" Hau called out, with Duke spinning around and hurling a ball of surging electricity at Ludicolo.
"Spin and dodge it, then pound them!" Miror B. said forcefully, stomping down on the ground in time to the beat of the song. Hau's eyes widened as the Ludicolo began spinning in midair, easily dodging the attack and slamming into Duke hard enough to knock him out of the air.
"Duke, you good?" Hau asked the Raichu. The Mouse Pokémon nodded with a wince, but Ludicolo wasn't done.
"Waterfall again! This time with feeling!" Miror B. yelled out as the Ludicolo charged at them again, water surrounding it.
"Iron Tail!" Hau called out, punching his fist out. The Raichu kicked off the ground and whirled around and slammed its tail into Ludicolo right before the Carefree Pokémon reached it, making the attack fail as the Ludicolo fell to the ground, clutching its head. Duke landed on its tail, floating off of the ground once more.
"Fouhohohoho! A fighter, huh? Fantastic! This makes me want to dance!" Miror B. yelled, grinning eagerly as he clicked his heels together in time to the beat of the song that continued playing. Ludicolo pushed itself to its feet, glaring at Hau and Duke as Miror B. said, " In fact, I know a very good dance for this situation! Rain Dance!"
"Huh?" Hau said in surprise as Ludicolo held out both hands, creating a shimmering blue orb of light. It hurled the ball into the air and it exploded into a white cloud of mist. Within the mist, several massive storm clouds formed and within moments it was raining heavily down on the field. Hau shivered after a moment while Raichu made a soft cooing noise, the electrical mouse not bothered by the rain. Hau then noticed something alarming - Miror B.'s Ludicolo was glowing a faint blue color and its injuries were slowly healing. The glow stopped after a few moments, but it was enough to worry Hau.
"Surprised? That's Rain Dish, honey. Pokémon like Ludicolo thrive in the rain, and Rain Dish will keep on healing up my Pokémon. This battle's over, so why not give up already?" Miror B. said with an elegant kick of the legs, scooting backwards before thrusting his hips forward.
Hau just grinned back in response. "Nah, I'll pass. This is way too much fun to back out now!"
"Oh? Well, well, well, it seems as though we're destined to clash until there is a clear winner!" Miror B. flashed a devilish grin. "Just the way I like it. Waterfall!"
This time, Ludicolo grinned in triumph as a torrent of water engulfed it. Hau's eyes widened in horror as the Pokémon rushed towards Duke with greater velocity than before, slamming into the Raichu with the force of a truck and sending him careening into the the floor. Raichu crumpled onto the ground, yet even as it tried to move onto its tail to float into the air again, Ludicolo blasted it with Bubblebeam and sent it crashing into the barrier.
"Duke!" Hau cried out as the Raichu slowly get to his feet, panting. After a few moments, he unsteadily rose into the air, wincing in pain. Hau knew Rain Dance powered up Water-type moves, but this was ridiculous. That Ludicolo was pretty tough!
"I might have to bust out my secret weapon…" Hau thought, glancing down at his Z-Ring. He then shook his head. "No, I'll save it for later. I want it to be a surprise."
"Time for a real show-stopping performance! Get ready, little boy! Despite your strength, I will show you what it means to step to my rhythm!" Miror B. declared, his smile widening as he pointed forward. "Ice Beam!"
"Block it with Psychic!" Hau yelled out desperately as the icy beam of energy surged their way. Raichu's eyes glowed a harsh blue color and the attack arced around them, blasting the barrier surrounding the battlefield instead.
"I guess since you're showing no mercy...We've got to end this. Too bad, though. I was having fun! You're definitely the most colorful guy I've ever battled." Hau said lightly to his opponent before smiling widely. "Duke, hit 'em with Thunder."
Miror B's eyes widened in surprise as Raichu let out a yell and released a crackle of electricity into the swirling clouds above. After a moment of rumbling from within the clouds, a massive beam of bright blue lightning erupted from the clouds and struck Ludicolo, making it scream in pain. The attack stopped after a few moments, leaving a panting Ludicolo. It began to glow after a few moments, its wounds healing slightly.
"Strong move. But we're not discouraged. Ludicolo's dual Grass/Water-typing keeps that move from being truly dangerous to us. We'll keep on dancing! Bubblebeam!" the man commanded, with the Carefree Pokémon nodding and releasing a stream of bubbles at Raichu. The Mouse Pokémon yelped in pain as the powered-up attack struck it, but Hau wasn't worried.
"Thunder again!" Hau called out, with Duke nodding and unleashing the attack once more. Miror B. was ready though.
"Dodge to the side and hit it with Surf!" Miror B. called out. The Ludicolo nodded and kicked off the ground as Raichu's electricity hit the clouds overhead, launching itself far off to the side. However, despite this, the lightning bolt that shot down from above simply arced towards Ludicolo anyway, even as it quickly jumped forward to further move out of the way. The bolt didn't seem to care, as it again jerked towards the fleeing Pokémon before striking it and sending it down to the ground screaming in pain once again.
"Why couldn't we dodge it?" Miror B. wondered aloud, confused by this. Hau answered, surprising.
"Thunder will always hit in rainy conditions. So thanks for helping me beat you!" Hau said sincerely, chuckling after a moment. "Alright Duke, end this with another Thunder."
The Raichu obliged, releasing yet another Thunder. Ludicolo didn't even have the strength to dodge it even if it could, so with a third and final Thunder attack the Carefree Pokémon was knocked out.
*End Song*
"And with that shocking turn of events, Hau Pakelaai has won the first match of the Alola Grand Royal Tournament!" Adrian Battlestorm bellowed as the crowd cheered, with Hau looking around in surprise as the music suddenly stopped. The boy grinned after a moment and waved to the crowd before looking to Duke, who suddenly slammed into him with a hug.
"You were awesome, Duke! Way to show them what Alola is made of!" Hau said as he returned the hug from his Raichu.
"Ahem!"
Hau looked around his Raichu and saw Miror B. strutting over to him. Hau set down his Raichu, who floated beside him, and stood there as Miror B. approached. The man stared at Hau with an amused expression.
"Your dancing was really, really good. I think we got the crowd all excited for the rest of the show." Hau said excitedly, making Miror B. smile at him after a moment.
"You're something else, darling. But I had a lot of fun battling you." The afro-haired man said, extending a hand to Hau. The boy shook it with a wide smile as the crowd's cheers increased, happy at the display of sportsmanship and the great battle that they had just witnessed.
"That was really impressive. I didn't expect Hau to evolve his Raichu." Sun remarked, realizing that he hadn't seen Duke in about two weeks. No wonder he was surprised.
"He's definitely improved. Using Rain Dance to his advantage like that was nothing short of brilliant. We may give Hau some grief, but he's really talented." Lillie said with a small smile as Nebby cooed from her lap.
"I've been training with Hau for quite some time. He evolved Duke in that time, and I may have let him borrow a few TM's to give his team an edge in this Tournament." Lana said mischievously, watching Hau depart with a smile. "He didn't even use the special Z-Crystal I got for him for his birthday."
"Wait...Did we forget about Hau's birthday!?" Sun suddenly yelled out. Lillie likewise had an expression of guilt on her face. Hau's birthday had passed recently on June 3rd.
"We'll just have to make it up to him." Lillie said quietly, with Sun nodding.
"So what did you do for him on his birthday, Lana? You two have been hanging out a lot lately." Mallow asked with a smirk. Lana's face went bright red, but she crossed her arms and huffed.
"He's a really good friend! Of course I've been spending time with him!" Lana remarked, though some of them did catch her mutter, "Doesn't hurt that he's really good at swimming."
"Oh god, Hau's a swimmer boy? Whelp, you pretty much found your dream guy, huh?" Mallow said to Lana, who's face turned a slightly darker shade of red as Sun and Lillie smiled at the Captain.
"Man, you've got it baaaaad." Korrina chuckled.
"I do not! I was just helping a friend!" Lana replied, convincing absolutely no one. This wasn't helped when Hau reappeared a few moments later, going right to Lana and hugging her around the shoulders.
"That was so much fun! I wouldn't have been able to pull that off without your training! Thanks Lana!" Hau said happily as he sat down next to his blushing friend.
Sun decided to give the girl a break and said to Hau, "Awesome moves out there, man. And the dancing was...interesting."
"With that music playing, how could I not dance like that?" Hau asked, making the others laugh.
"That was a really good use of weather conditions. I'm impressed with how quickly you turned a bad situation around." Laura praised Hau, who chuckled as he leaned back in his seat, happy that everything had gone well.
"I have to admit, I haven't had that much fun in a while." came a familiar voice behind them. Sun turned around and saw Miror B. himself standing there, smirking. Trudly and Folly stood behind him, holding snacks and drinks in their hands.
Hau stood up, beaming at the man. "Yep, it was loads of fun! I might try dancing during battles more often!"
"Please don't." Lillie whispered, closing her eyes. Sun snickered in response, though Hau ignored this.
"It's what keeps me going in this crazy life I live!" Miror B. declared as he struck a pose, spinning around and kicking out his feet, nearly decapitating Jack in the process.
"Watch it." Jack growled at the man, making Miror B. smirk.
"My oh my, I'm sorry to have bothered you so." Miror B. said mockingly, bowing to the man. His eyes widened as he spotted the Unovan Trainers nearby and stood up straight, sauntering over to them. He stopped in front of Aria, his expression unreadable.
"So...You're alive." Miror B. said quietly, frowning slightly. Aria stood up and met the man's stare with her own defiant one.
"Yeah. I am." Aria replied quietly, with Miror B. humming in response. The two continued to stare each other down before Miror B. responded with a shrug.
"Keep on fighting, little heroine. Cipher's got a lot of tricks up their sleeve, especially with someone level-headed calling the shots. Greevil was ruthless and intelligent, but foolish. Borlath will take what he wants to fulfill his lofty goals and destroy anyone who threatens his perfect little world." Miror B. said quietly, his smile not as full of luster as usual.
"I know that. Borlath isn't just evil. He's convinced that what he's doing is right. But that doesn't matter. I'll stop him. Even if he was our friend once...We're going to put him down." Aria replied as her eyes burned with determination. The afro-haired man laughed in reply, shaking his head.
"Honey, you're so much like Wes that it isn't even funny. No wonder he picked you." Miror B. said, eyeing the Snag Machine on her arm. Aria didn't have a reply to that, so Miror B. took that moment to leave them, with Trudly and Folly following him. The Snagger sat down in her seat, with no one else commenting on the situation. Sun wondered, though.
The event rolled on for several more hours, with some intermissions here and there. The battles would continue for six hours until they stopped at 6 PM, and then begin the next day at Noon once again. Some battles were done in a few minutes, while others timed out at the time limit cap.
One of more interesting battles was with Vivian, surprisingly. The violinist would be battling against Volkner, a Gym Leader from Sinnoh. As the woman walked out onto the field, Sun noticed she was still holding onto her violin.
"Why does she still have that?" Sun asked the others. Hugh glanced at Sun for a moment as if he wanted to answer, but looked away with a guilty expression. Noah picked up the slack, though.
"Vivian battles using her violin. You'll see what I mean in a moment." Noah said as the two Trainers prepared themselves for battle, with Adrian Battlestorm hyping up the proceedings as usual.
"So what is this? Are you going to play me a song?" Volker asked in a bored tone. Vivian grinned almost manically as she called out a massive eel monster that Sun later learned was called an Eelektross as Volkner called out a Raichu.
"Something like that…Marziale, prepare yourself." Vivian replied with a teasing tilt to her voice as readied herself for battle, drawing her bow and placing her violin against her neck. And with that, she began to play a slow, beautiful melody.
To everyone's surprise, the massive Eelektross let out a hiss and shot forward, spewing a torrent of flames from its mouth. Volkner was so thrown off guard that he didn't have time to issue a command, with the Flamethrower hitting his Raichu directly. The mouse reeled back with a shriek, and after Vivian began to play a low series of notes on her violin, forming a strange song of sorts. However, it was nothing of the sort to Marziale.
The Eelektross dodged a Mega Punch from Raichu and slashed the other Pokémon with claws that burned with green and blue fire, a move that Sun recognized as Dragon Claw. Volker commanded Raichu to hit it with a Brick Break, making the Raichu whirled around and whip the beast with a glowing tail, sending it tumbling backwards with a hiss.
"Is she...using her violin to command her Eelektross?" Adrian asked, smiling widely at the display. "What a display of skill! Unovan Trainers definitely know how to make a splash! Can Volkner recover from this?"
"Damn right I can." Volkner said, straightening up and adopting a more serious expression. His eyes glinted with excitement as he stared down Vivian. The violinist began playing a much higher paced, upbeat series of notes as she did a small jig with the melody. This was a command for the Eelektross to float higher into the air before breathing a massive plume of fire down onto the field, even as the Raichu leapt high into the air to deliver a Mega Punch that made the eel-monster snarl in response. However, when the Raichu fell back to the floor, it began crying out in pain and hopping around the field, which was now much hotter, with some places still swathed in flames.
"Discharge! Clear away the flames!" Volkner yelled out, with the Raichu hopping into the air and doing just that by unleashing a torrent of lightning that rushed through the fire, smoldering it to an extent. Raichu landed back on the ground with a pained cry, its feet heavily burned now, and looked up in time to get bitten by the massive eel Pokémon, who shook the Raichu around like a ragdoll for several moments before throwing it to the ground. Volker's eyes widened as he saw his Raichu go limp, the swirls in its eyes showing that it was unable to keep fighting.
"And with relative ease, Vivian's Marziale has beaten Volkner's Raichu! Vivian's use of her violin to command her Pokémon has allowed her to get the upper hand on the Sinnohan Gym Leader. Who will Volkner send out next?" Adrian asked rhetorically, grinning like a madman in excitement.
"She's making the strongest Gym Leader in Sinnoh look like a chump." Laura said in an awed voice, looking over at Noah, who was watching with a proud grin as Vivian recalled her Eelektross to send something else out.
"She's a really good Trainer. The fact that she's trained her Pokémon to obey her commands via music is a testament to this. She's created a battling style that's really hard to combat, unless you're incredibly quick to react." Noah said fondly as Volker recalled his Raichu, a small smile on his face. The battle continued in this fashion, with Vivian easily dispatching Volkner's Luxray and Electivire with a massive Beartic named Forte. She didn't lose a single Pokémon, and Volker was actually laughing as Adrian Battlestorm called the match with Vivian as the winner.
"I haven't had a fight like that in forever! What kind of crazy training did you put your Pokémon through to get them to attack with musical commands?" Volker asked as he shook hands with Vivian, who grinned cheekily.
"Musician's secret." Vivian replied, making Volkner bark a laugh in reply.
"Wow...That's really, really cool." Sun said as Vivian bowed theatrically to the crowd as they roared in approval. Sun figured the odd violinist got the biggest round of applause that day. Once the musician had returned to them, she was greeted by her grinning friends.
"That was pretty impressive, little lady." Jack said, surprising them by speaking first.
"Oh! Um...thank you, Jack." Vivian said, sounding rather thrown off. Jack didn't exactly like to talk a whole lot, so she was rather shocked by the compliment.
"How did you do that, Vivian? I never thought you could use music like that in a Pokémon battle!" Sun said excitedly as Vivian returned to her seat, regaining her usual good-natured yet smug smile.
"It took a few years of training to get my Pokémon to be able to do that. But it doesn't take much at all to get Pokémon to follow certain cues, like a whistle or non-attack related verbal command. I could show you some tricks later, if you'd like. I know you can play a flute, and it'd be a neat trick to keep your opponent guessing." Vivian offered to Sun, who grinned and nodded.
"You weren't too bad, Vivs." Hugh remarked, smirking at the violinist. Vivian stuck her tongue out at the teen in response before turning to ask Noah what he thought. She was surprised by Noah kissing her on the lips, making Sarah, Harper, and Bonnie go, "Awww!". The young woman blushed brightly at that, but happily leaned into the kiss as the others were drawn into the next round of battles. Sun saw that his wouldn't be happening until the end of the day today, so he just remained patient. After a while, Laura spoke up.
"You know, we've been watching these for a few hours and there's a long while before anyone really interesting comes up. Why don't we take a walk around the city for a bit?" Laura suggested after a moment, earning looks from everyone.
"There is a lot of cool stuff to do around here. Vendors, rides, food...It'd be a nice break and we could stretch our legs." Aria remarked, standing up. Several of them figured that was a good idea and left the stadium, arriving outside under the usual Alolan heat, which made Clemont, Korrina, and Bonnie flinch.
"I might have to put on another layer of sunscreen." Clemont lamented, already wiping off a bit of sweat as they began to walk around the fairgrounds that had sprung up around the city streets. Sun marveled at the amount of vendors around, selling all sorts of tourist-y items. Sun made sure to get a Alolan Grand Royal Tournament keychain, much to Lillie's amusement, while Laura made sure to get postcards for her friends back in Kanto.
As they walked through the area, Sun couldn't help but look at Lillie from time to time. He could see just how much she was enjoying everything, an enraptured smile on her face as she took in the sights, sounds, and smells of the fair that had consumed the city. Lillie caught Sun staring at her and looked at the boy, who returned her smile with a big grin. Lillie beamed at him, bumping into him lightly as they continued down the road.
After an hour of the large group walking around, they each began to split off for one reason or another. Aria wanted to meet a friend from another region, Clemont wanted more souvenirs, Hau, Mallow and Lana had to try and find Kiawe, while Laura wanted to meet with someone who definitely wasn't Ollie. Soon enough, it was just Sun, Lillie, and Jack.
"Alone again." Lillie said quietly, a faint blush on her face. Sun grinned and reached into Lillie's bag, pulling out a happy Nebby.
"Pew! Pew pew!" Nebby cried out as Sun hugged the puff ball. Lillie gave Sun a confused look, to which the boy replied, "It's not fair for us to have all this fun and make Nebby stay in the bag."
"Also, we're not quite alone." Lillie said as she looked back, where Jack offered them a small smirk.
"If you're worried about me making fun of you to your friends, rest assured that I really don't care. You kids have fun. I'll hang back and give you two some privacy while keeping a lookout." Jack said as he began walking a little slower. With that, Sun and Lillie began to enjoy the festival on their own, happy to have a guardian angel of sorts keeping an eye out for trouble.
"Ooh, cotton candy!" Lillie suddenly chirped, pointing forward at a nearby stall. "I've always wanted to try it, but mother always said it was horrible for me!"
"You've never had cotton candy?" Sun asked, amazed. Despite his rather privileged upbringing, his parents had taken him to the Celadon City Fair several times back in Kanto. Cotton candy had been one of his father's favorite things about the event. Sun enjoyed the pleasant memory of sharing a pink one with his father before he snapped out of his thoughts and began to pull Lillie towards the booth.
Sun and Lillie made their way through the crowd, with Lillie happily popping a large wad cotton candy into her mouth. Her eyes lit up in delight, which Sun found really cute. The duo managed to find a less crowded area after a few minutes of walking, where Sun fed cotton candy to a very excited Nebby. Unsurprisingly, Nebby ended up loving it just as much as Lillie did.
The two continued through the fair, marveling at everything. Feats of strength, agility, art, skill and more were on full display. A masterwork of Alolan culture perfectly featured to show Alola's best side to a viewing world. Sun breathed in the smell of freshly baked malasadas and the scent of Royal Avenue's special pink flowers before exhaling happily.
He was home.
It really sank in then, that this quirky tropical region had become his home. He had made so many wonderful friends and memories here. He had found a place to belong and pursue his dream of being a Pokémon Trainer. His mother was happy. All was well. And with any luck, the world would get a chance to see him living out his dream and he and his team would win the Alola Grand Royal Tournament.
"That'll show Dad…" Sun thought with a small smile. Sun looked to his side and saw Lillie eagerly drinking in the sites, though she remained close to him for safety. Sun linked his arm around hers, making her blush pink in response as she looked at him, though she did move closer to Sun and her smile widened a bit.
"I'm happy." Lillie said quietly.
"So am I." Sun said in reply, making Lillie laugh softly.
"It feels so weird, but even though Team Skull is on the prowl and I have Nebby out in the open for the moment...I feel safe." Lillie said as she looked at Sun, her green eyes shining with emotion.
"You do?" Sun asked, a little surprised. Lillie didn't do well with crowds, especially if Nebby was out of his bag. Yes, Sun wanted the Cosmog to enjoy the fair, but he honestly expected Lillie to return the Pokémon to his bag sooner rather than later.
"I always feel safe when I'm around you." Lillie answered, moving closer to Sun and pressing herself against him so that they were hugging. She separated from Sun after a moment, smiling widely at him. "Because I know as long as you're with me, Sun...I'm the safest girl in the world."
Sun felt a rush of warmth at that, though he wasn't sure what to say at that. Instead he decided to just hug her, since that always seemed to make her happy. Sure enough it did, though she seemed a bit flustered as he broke away. The duo continued to make their way through the crowds, enjoying the time they spent with each other and the blossoming feelings they shared within their hearts.
As with all good things, their happy trek through the fair came to an end, despite them only seeing a fraction of it. Sun stopped in his tracks in surprise at seeing a odd booth that seemed to be selling ancient Alolan souvenirs, as well as Fossils and special stones. Sun looked down and recognized the man standing at the counter, eyeing the crowds with a crazed look in his eyes.
"Oh god, the Fossil Man has a booth here?" Sun asked, somewhat horrified. The man's eyes seemed to drift towards Sun and the man's smile widened a fraction before he winked at the boy. Sun shivered after a moment, which Lillie noticed.
"You have mentioned him before." The girl noted, which made Sun nod.
"Yeah. Found him randomly in the forest when I was walking with a guy named Gladion. The Fossil Man was drugged out of his mind and really creeped me out. Since then I've kinda been trying to avoid him." Sun admitted as they walked away from the booth. Sun expected Lillie to respond, but he was surprised at what she decided to react to.
"G-gladion?" Lillie sputtered in surprise. Sun looked at her for a moment, confused, before he elaborated.
"Yeah. Pretty decent guy, even if he's a little bit rough around the edges. I'd call him a friend, but he'd probably reject that since he's too busy getting stronger." Sun remarked, looking ahead and not seeing Lillie's face. The girl seemed to be conflicted for several seconds, unsure of what to do. She settled for grabbing Sun's hand.
"I could tell him. I could explain everything...But could I do that to Sun? He's so happy right now. I can't burden him with my struggles, at least not now. Someday I will tell him the truth. But not today." Lillie decided, her grip on Sun's hand tightening.
The duo were surprised when all of a sudden, a blue and dark gray wolf Pokémon suddenly walked up to them. Sun took in the appearance of the wolf, recognizing it as a Riolu. Sun bent down and smiled at the Pokémon. Lillie looked at the Riolu with a horrified expression, as if seeing something that Sun didn't.
"Hey there, little guy. You lost?" Sun asked the Riolu. Rotom took this moment to pop out of Sun's backpack, buzzing happily.
"Riolu. The Emanation Pokémon. It's tough enough to run right through the night, and it's also a hard worker, but it's still just a youngster. It can discern the physical and emotional states of people, Pokémon, and other natural things from the shape of their aura waves." Rotom explained to the two children. The Riolu smiled up at them, making Sun smile back. Lillie bent down, her expression lightening somewhat as she reached forward and patted the Pokémon on the head. The Riolu flinched at the contact, though he relaxed after a moment and leaned into the touch.
"Are you okay?" Lillie asked gently, her eyes glistening to Sun's alarm. She looked like she was about to cry. Sun opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by a shout.
"Get out of the way!"
Lillie yelped as something collided with her back, knocking her to the ground and shoving Sun into the dirt.
"Ow…" Lillie looked up to apologize to whoever bumped into her, but the words died in her throat. The teenage boy glaring her down was doing it with such a furious coldness that she couldn't have formed the words if she tried. She took in the teen's appearance for a moment of shock.
He wore battered traveling clothes, the sort someone who spent most of their time roughing it in the wilds for weeks and weeks would wear, with ripped cargo pants and a black tank-top, with a small hiking backpack on his back. His hair was styled into a pink mohawk and his face was rather plain, except for his brown eyes. There was nothing but coldness there, and it froze Lillie to the bone.
The teen looked down at his Riolu, who flinched and looked away with a terrified expression. The teen scowled and said, "I'll deal with you, later. For now…" he looked back at Lillie, but found that Sun was standing in front of her. With line of sight broken, Lillie managed to get to her feet and breathe again.
"Hey, apologize to her!" Sun yelled at the teen. The young man sneered at Sun before stepping forward, his piercing brown eyes narrowing. Sun met the teen's glare with his own, even as Lillie tried to pull him away.
"Please Sun, it's okay." Lillie tried to say, but the teen's glare silenced her. He turned his face to Sun, a small smirk on his face.
"Heh...Kids like you really piss me off." The words were said with a coldness that sent chills down Sun's spine. Within an instant, the teen gripped Sun's collar in an iron grip, lifting the boy into the air and into the face of the scowling teen. Sun was completely thrown off by the coldness in the boy's gaze, which held the sort of hostility that Sun hadn't seen before.
"Punks like you deserve a lesson in respect for your betters. Don't you think?" The teen hissed, his words dripping with unexpected venom. Sun silently glared at the teen, his expression defiant. Suddenly the young man was shoved to the ground as Sun was pulled away by a powerful arm, which set gently him down on the ground. Sun looked to the side to see Gretel floating beside him, glaring at the boy on the ground.
"I'd recommend not trying to harm either of these two children." Gretel said merrily, though she flexed her hands to communicate her not so hidden threat to the teen. The young man scoffed, shaking his head, before he began walking away with his battered Riolu. After a few moments he stopped, looking back at Sun.
"Geoff. Remember it." The teen remarked, glancing over his shoulder. His expression was cold as ice and even more scary than the ones Gladion had when battling. Whereas Gladion was intense, this guy seemed to be straight up nasty. Sun could tell he was a strong Trainer though.
"Sun. And I look forward to beating you in the Tournament." Sun said to the Geoff, earning a final scoff in response before he walked off. Sun's eyes widened in horror as the teen suddenly grabbed the Riolu by the back of the neck and lifted it into the air, muttering something to it. The small Pokémon's eyes widened in fear as they turned a corner and vanished from sight. Sun stared at spot where Geoff vanished for a few more moments before looking to Lillie, who was smiling faintly at him.
"You kids really can't be left alone for five minutes without causing trouble." Jack grumbled from behind them, crossing his arms as Gretel giggled beside them. Rotom popped out of Sun's backpack and buzzed.
"Jeez, I hope you don't make that jerk another rival. I like Hau and that edgy kid better!" Rotom declared, making Sun chuckle.
"No worries. I'm happy with the two rivals I've got already. Besides, I've got nothing to prove to a jerk like him." Sun said to the girl, who smiled at him.
"I feel sorry for that Riolu. It was obviously terrified of that young man." Gretel noted quietly, wringing her hands nervously.
"Yep. Seen it dozens of times. Sadly, you always end up finding those asshole Trainers who think they're amazing while everyone and everything else is trash. He's better off ignored." Jack said to the children, who both nodded.
"It was hurt." Lillie said quietly, drawing everyone's attention. "That Riolu. I've seen many Pokémon like that when I was younger. Pokémon that were abused by their Trainers to the point where we had to step in. I could see it's fear."
"He definitely seemed like a nasty boy. I'm glad I slipped into your shadow when I did." Gretel said with a giggle, earning a smirk from Sun.
"I had it handled." Sun replied, making Jack chuckle roughly in response. Sun grinned sheepishly, adding, "Thanks for the backup though."
"It's probably best we get to where the others are. I feel that'll bring the mood of the day back to where it needs to be!" The Dusknoir replied merrily, earning two confused looks from the children. Gretel elaborated with, "Professor Kukui set up a big picnic for everyone. He wanted everyone to enjoy the fair for a bit beforehand."
"Makes sense." Sun said as he and Lillie grabbed Gretel's outstretched hand, with Jack doing the same a moment later. Soon enough they were standing in front of several picnic tables filled with hot dogs, burgers, chips, and all sorts of other snacks as Laura Smiles and Kukui finished setting the last of the food on the tables.
"Hey you two." Aria greeted them with a wave. Sun noted with some surprise that Roxie, the Gym Leader with the band from earlier, was sitting next to her with a small smirk on her face.
The singer raised a hand in greeting before saying, "Arianna's told me a bit about you. Said you're one hell of a Trainer."
"I guess so. I'm Sun and this is Lillie. " Sun introduced himself before gesturing to his companion.
"Roxie. Nice to meet you." Roxie said with a nod before jerking a thumb towards Aria. "I heard you helped this dork when she came tumbling back through time. Thanks for that." Roxie said to Sun with a grin, which the boy returned.
"Um...You're welcome?" Sun said, unsure of how to respond. Aria chuckled as Roxie grinned at him.
"God, messing with newbies never gets old." Roxie remarked lightly as Lillie began to softly giggle as Sun's confused face. "He reminds me of someone though. Can't put a name on it though."
Hugh appeared then, with a worried expression on his face, and seemed to derail the conversation saying, "Maybe we can finally eat, now that you two decided to finally show up."
"Yeah, it's about time you two got here. What, too busy having an adorable date to hang with us plebeians?" Vivian asked as she stretched leisurely on the bench nearby, her head in Noah's lap as he munched on chips. Sun saw Hau cheerily wave to them as Mallow and Lana chatted nearby, with Bonnie and the twins running around playing tag with their Pokémon. The duo sat down and lunch was served, with Nebby happily sitting on Lillie's hat and getting fed food from both Sun and Lillie.
"It's like you're feeding a baby." Aria noted with amusement as Nebby cooed happily, floating down and nuzzling Lillie's face. The girl hugged the Cosmog with a happy smile and nodded.
"Nebby has a special bond with me, it seems. He really seems to trust Sun a lot as well." Lillie remarked, glancing at the boy beside her. Sun reached over and pet Nebby on the head, making the strange Pokémon flail happily in Lillie's arms before it floated over to Sun, who hugged it.
"Hey, that was uncalled for!"
Sun and Lillie turned to see Oliver and Cassy arguing nearby, with the bird now dripping wet. The Dartrix hissed angrily, making the Brionne flinch and back away. This wasn't helped when Finn bounded over, looking at the two of them.
"What's the problem now?" the Poliwag asked curiously.
"This dork knocked into me while dancing on purpose! So I knocked right back into her. So she decided to soak my feathers!" Oliver hooted, pointing a wing at Cassy, who looked away and crossed her arms.
"I can't help it if he wasn't paying attention." Cassy remarked, grinning at him. Sun was momentarily surprised that the Brionne was talking, but then remembered that Hau had received several TACV's from Colress as well as him.
"And this is why I have no respect for you. Airhead." Oliver shot back.
"And this is why it took you forever to get a Trainer. Reject." Cassy returned, making Oliver's eyes widen in surprise. Cassy grinned widely at Oliver's horrified expression, knowing she had hit him where it hurt the most.
"That was uncalled for!" Penny yelled at Cassy, who glared at the Toucannon.
"After all of the bullying I've had to deal with, he can deal with a little harsh words." Cassy shot back, though Finn shook his head.
"Two wrongs don't make a right. This might though." Finn said with a smirk as his eyes began to glow. Cassy's eyes drooped for a few moments before she fell asleep. With that, Oliver snapped back to reality.
"I can't believe she just said that to me…" Oliver muttered, shuddering slightly.
"I can. She's incredibly stuck up." Penny remarked as Finn waddled over to them.
"And she's incredibly asleep. You should give her a wake up call, Oliver." Finn said with a impish smile. Oliver stared at the Poliwag for a moment before laughing softly.
"I knew I liked you for a reason." Oliver said as he patted the Poliwag on the back with his wing, a familiar evil grin on his face.
"Oh god, not this again." Sun thought, stepping forward to deal with this. However, he was too late to stop Oliver from quickly moving over to the sleeping Cassy and screeching into her ear, making her wake up with a terrified scream of terror and bounce off in the opposite direction. Hau just glared at the owl while Oliver and Finn laughed. Penny and Brago just shook their heads.
"I thought you had grown out of that!" Sun said to Oliver, who puffed up his chest.
"Old habits die hard. And besides, if she wasn't a total snob, I wouldn't get so much pleasure out of messing with her. Especially after what she said to me." Oliver said as he began preening his feathers.
"I just thought it'd be funny. Everyone's so thrown off by my skills that they never think I can put them to sleep." Finn said with a smirk, which made Sun frown thoughtfully. That was actually a really good point. Finn was incredibly agile for a Poliwag, which were known for being clumsy on land. Being able to put an opponent to sleep would be incredibly helpful. He'd have to remember to try to incorporate that in battle.
Hau returned a moment later, with Sun apologizing to Hau. The boy shrugged and continued eating, though when Sun turned his attention back to Lillie, he saw that she was distracted. A glance in the direction she was looking revealed that there were several members of Team Skull running by with what looked like a lockbox. Several cops were running after them in hot pursuit, though they were cut off by a Butterfree suddenly dousing them all in what looked like Poison Powder. One of the thugs called out an Abra and teleported the group away before the cops could do anything about it.
"The police force in this region really have let their standards slip." Jack remarked darkly, shaking his head in disgust.
"I'm sure they were doing their best." Lillie said quietly, with Jack sighing in response.
"I bet they were. But at the end of the day, the idiots got away." Jack responded as Gretel hovered behind him, crossing her arms.
"At least they weren't bothering us again." Sun said to Lillie, who nodded.
"They seem to be targeting you now, specifically." Jack noted, looking at Lillie.
"I wouldn't be surprised. Word has probably gotten out among them that I have a rare Pokémon with me. I'll probably need to be even more careful when I'm on my own." Lillie said quietly, hanging her head. "I wish there was something I could do about it. But Nebby's not really able to battle and I'm not a Pokémon Trainer."
"Do you want to be one?" Jack asked Lillie, who didn't respond to the question. She remained silent for a moment before looking at her closest friend.
"I just...I wish I could be brave like you, Sun. Yes, I sometimes come through in the heat of the moment, but I'm usually terrified whenever I manage to find some shred of courage. I wish I was stronger. For Nebby's sake, as well as my own." Lillie said quietly, looking down into her lap. Nebby cooed softly, wriggling out of Sun's grasp and into the chest of the girl, who wrapped her arms around the Cosmog and hugged him for comfort.
"Being brave doesn't necessarily mean having courage." Jack said to the little girl, who looked at him. Sun was surprised with the expression on his face. While the Commander's face was heavily scared and worn from decades of hardship and service, his expression was soft as he regarded the upset girl. "We all have the potential for courage, even if we don't believe it."
"What do you mean?" came a voice from beside them. All three humans turned to see a confused Growlithe staring at them from the ground, with a Alolan Vulpix sitting beside him.
"Bravery means being unafraid of anything. Courage is the strength to do whatever you set your mind to without fear. The two words mean practically the same thing, do they not?" Brago asked, staring intensely at Jack, as if his life depended on the answer.
"Not really. You can be show courage while not being brave, just the same as that someone who's brave can, at the same time, not be very courageous." Jack explained to the bewildered puppy, who bared his teeth.
"I don't understand!" Brago growled as Winter looked at him in concern. "Speak clearly. Do not spout nonsense if you wish to talk about such things in front of me."
Jack smirked at the canine's anger, but obliged. "Bravery, like you said, is having the ability to face pain and suffering without any fear. It's a trait Growlithe like you are famous for." Jack said, making Brago wince at that.
"Not me…not anymore." Brago murmured, shaking his head. Jack surprised them again by placing a hand on the despondent puppy's head. Brago looked at the man for a moment, bending his head after a moment. The man's touch was gentle.
"Brago, what's wrong?"Sun asked his Growlithe.
"I...am ashamed, Alpha. When we faced that black monster the other day, I hesitated in my fear of the creature's anger and power. The overwhelming hatred and pain coming from its body...It scared me, and because of that I don't know what to think anymore. I am a Growlithe. We serve the pack with honor and without fear. I have faced many foes much stronger than myself. I have stared death in the face more than once...And yet this one time, I was nothing more than a cowering pup. I'm so confused. How could I let such fear control my actions? What if you had gotten hurt? How could I still be so weak? What sort of Growlithe am I? I am fire and I am bravery! But not anymore." Brago asked, his voice thick with anger and frustration. Lillie put her hands over her heart, worried about how upset the canine was, while Sun frowned.
"Brago, that thing was some kind of evil Legendary. It makes total sense to be scared, even if it was for a moment. Besides, you helped us fight it off! The others were scared by that thing too! So was me and Ollie and everyone else." Sun tried to explain to the dog, but Brago shook his head.
"It's different, Alpha. We don't feel fear. We don't hesitate. That was the first and only time in my life that I felt...No." Brago looked up, growling. "There was another time as well!"
"What?" Sun asked. Brago's expression darkened and he snorted out a small burst of flames in displeasure.
"This was not the first time I have felt fear. The first was...so long ago I had nearly forgotten. The hate and pain from that encounter…" Brago trailed off, shaking his head. "I've fallen, Alpha. I've failed you."
"But you haven't. You're beating yourself up over nothing." Sun assured the Growlithe, who didn't even seem to register his words. Jack tried to pick up the conversation.
"Everyone, no matter what, feels fear in their life. Growlithe are known for being absolutely fearless, that's true. But you can't beat yourself up about feeling a natural emotion. But Growlithe don't have to face horrible aliens from another dimension with the power of a god." Jack said to the canine, who looked away. "You still stood your ground in the end. You served your pack well, pup."
"Maybe...But the point still stands. I'm still a sorry excuse of a Growlithe. Ever since that battle, I feel diminished. I doubt my capabilities. I've lost the fury of my fire, the fearlessness that has propelled my through life. I just don't understand." Brago muttered as Sun stroked the canine's back, a worried expression on his face. Penny, Oliver and Finn watched on as well, concerned about their teammate's well-being.
"I think we're just splitting hairs at this point. Bravery and being fearless is all well and good, but like I said before….What's more important in my book is courage." Jack said to the Growlithe, who looked up at him.
"Courage isn't the absence of fear, like bravery is...Courage is the triumph over it. As a wise man once said," Jack replied with a small chuckle. Brago tilted his head in confusion, so Jack continued.
"Courage is having the strength to keep fighting, no matter what comes your way. Courage is having the strength to face fear, despite its efforts to strip away your will to continue. Courage is what keeps up fighting to protect those precious to us in a hopeless situation. Bravery is a wonderful trait to have, little pup...But courage is where real strength comes from. Strength of the heart." Jack said gently as Gretel floated overhead, nodding sagely. The canine was surprised when Sun hugged him. Brago was used to such things by now, but he was stunned by the warmth he felt from the embrace.
"I'm sorry, Brago. I should have realized something was wrong with you after that battle with Necrozma. I knew you were acting a bit weird lately, just like Oliver has been, but I didn't know it was bothering you this much." Sun said quietly, tightening his hug. "I want you to know that we'll get you through this, okay? You're an awesome Pokémon and I'm happy to have you as a part of my team."
"Thank you, Alpha...I'll find a way to recover from this. I'll reclaim my inner fire and make our pack proud. You do not need to concern yourself about my problems further." Brago said to the boy, who shook his head.
"Brago, we're a team, not a pack. We're all just one big messy family. We support each other when we're down, because that's what a family does." Sun said to Brago releasing the canine with a smile on his face. Brago stared into the boy's gray eyes, seeing nothing but kindness and love. Every single word of what the boy spoke was sincere, and this more than anything else reaffirmed that Brago had made the right decision to follow Sun on his journey.
"Come on, everyone! We've got to start packing up!" Kukui called to everyone as he extinguished the grill. The group began to move about, leaving the Growlithe to his thoughts.
"Not a pack...But a family?" Brago thought, looking down as he mused on the words of the humans as they began to pack up their food. Brago looked up into the clouds as Winter coiled around him, nuzzling his cheek as she did so. Brago returned the affectionate gesture, smiling for the first time that day as his mate silently comforted him.
"Courage...The strength to protect what matters."
Meanwhile
Plumeria sat alongside several other Team Skull grunts in disguise, watching carefully as Gladion barked commands below on the battlefield. Team Skull watched on, with some scoffing at the boy's battling while others watched with interest. The fierce teen had been putting up quite a good fight so far against his opponent, a Gym Leader from Johto named Chuck.
Despite the older man's experience, he was not prepared to deal with Gladion's tactics. Thanks to his Zorua's ability, the Tricky Fox Pokémon managed to completely throw off Chuck's Poliwrath and defeat it using some off the wall moves like Grass Knot. Plumeria was pretty impressed at how far the boy had come in his time as a Trainer, despite having started from nothing on his own.
As if reading her mind, a familiar gruff voice said, "He's improved."
Plumeria smiled in response, almost holding back a laugh at the comment. She felt a weight on her head as two elbows rested on her skull, but she didn't mind at all. Instead she felt rather comforted by the man's presence.
"So you finally decided to show up, huh?" Plumeria said quietly, with none of the other Team Skull Grunts realizing who had just joined them.
"Being fashionably late is one of my favorite pastimes. Besides, I don't want to cause a scene yet. Kukui's not here, and it's not fun if I can't torment the bastard."
"I guess so. Is that your only reason to have come here?" Plumeria asked the man, who she imagined shrugging in response.
"Nah, that's just the tip of the iceberg. The Bone Brothers are out of commission for now, so I'm having them rob Trainers coming into the city while the Grunts handle things in here. We're raking in some serious profit this way." The man replied as Chuck's Primate knocked out Gladion's Zorua, making the teen scowl in response.
"Good. We need it." Plumeria responded, crossing her arms as Gladion returned his fallen fox and sent out his Golbat, which promptly sent the furious monkey flying backwards with an Aerial Ace.
"Yep...Out of curiosity, how did Gladion take having to room with Demi?"
"Not well." Plumeria answered as she looked over to where the girl in question was watching Gladion intensely, surrounded by Bone Unit 71. Plumeria had worried about the girl for a while, and was horrified to find out how deep the mental anguish from her failed Trial attempt went. She hoped that being away from the constant rain of Po Town would give the Demi a chance to heal, but she had no way of knowing whether or not it'd really help.
For now...Plumeria had to trust in the brotherhood of Team Skull to support the girl. It had done wonders in the past, and they wouldn't allow one of their own to fall. Despite their faults, Team Skull was loyal to each other.
"Figured. Kid needs to chill out. It's kinda why I made Demi room with him in the first place. Figured it'd get him to calm the hell down for six seconds, instead of acting like he's got a three foot long metal rod shoved up his ass." The man remarked dryly, though he did snicker a moment later.
"Why do you get so much amusement out of messing with him?" Plumeria asked.
"Because screwing with him is really, really fun."
"You're such an asshole, Guzma."
"And your point is?"
"We all love you anyway." Plumeria said fondly as the weight disappeared from her head.
"Damn right. Let me know when the kid's done. I'll be keeping an eye on things."
Plumeria's smile remained for a while as the man departed, with the young woman seeing Gladion finally put down Chuck's last Pokémon with Type: Null, the beast being more than capable of defeating the large man's Machoke. The crowd cheered for Gladion, who simply put a hand on Type: Null before walking back into the stadium proper, which made Plumeria reflect.
"What is he keeping an eye on?" Plumeria wondered to herself before shaking her head. Guzma would be Guzma, after all. Trying to make sense of his methods was something she had given up on many years ago.
The group made it into the stadium in time for his Laura's match, where she made quicker work of a foreign Trainer who's name Sun couldn't pronounce for the life of him. The boy smiled the entire time he watched his mother battle, though, taking note of the joyful look on her face as she commanded her team to victory without losing a single teammate.
And then...the time finally came for Sun's match.
"Go get 'em, man!" Hau said as Sun stood up, grinning nervously.
"I know you'll do great sweetie. Just watch out for her Miltank." Laura warned her child, hugging him before letting him go.
"You've got this." Aria called from her seat, giving the boy a thumbs up along with Noah and Vivian. Hugh looked towards Sun, his crimson eyes showing several emotions at once, before the young man just nodded at him. Sun turned to Lillie, who was smiling at him.
"Show everyone how incredible you are." Lillie said quietly to the boy, who blushed faintly before nodding silently to her. Mallow opened her mouth to tease the boy, but Lana covered it with a disapproving expression.
Sun nodded and departed to the hallway, where a security guard walking over to him. The man looked at the boy for a moment before saying, "Sunshine Smiles?"
"Y-yes sir. That's me." Sun said to the man, who simply nodded and said, "Follow me."
Soon enough, Sun was walking through the rather narrow passage at the stadium floor and was walking up the steps to the battlefield. Adrian Battlestorm was hyping up the match with a wide grin on his face.
"And next up we have another fantastic bout as we head into the evening here in Royal Avenue! First off, let me introduce a fantastic young Trainer who has taken to Alola like a Gyarados to water, storming through the Island Challenge and making people happier along the way! He is one of the very few in our region's history to have a Sparkling Stone given to him by the Guardian Deity of Alola! Please give a warm welcome to Sunshine Smiles!" Adrian said to the crowd, who began murmuring excitedly at these words as cheers rose up. Though many of the traveling tourists didn't know what this meant, those who were native to Alola knew that this meant the child being introduced was very special. Sun tried not to get embarrassed at the words of praise.
"Just call me Sun!" the boy said into the mic attached to his collar, making Adrian chuckle as the crowd cheered for the boy, though Sun caught snippets of laughter here and there. Sun sighed, shaking his head. This was why he didn't care for his last name.
"And his opponent, coming all the way from the Johto region! She's been Goldenrod City's Gym Leader for nearly a decade now and has been the terror of every new Trainer that goes through the Gym Circuit! Plus, she's a multi-time record-setting Pokéathlon champion! Please give it up for Whitney!" Adrian yelled out as a woman with bright pink hair jogged out onto the field. She had her hair done in pigtails and was wearing a pair of white shorts with a pink tank top, a baseball cap resting atop her head.
"Wow, thanks for making me feel old." Whitney said dryly, scratching her head with a nervous laugh. She looked at Sun and said, "Don't believe this guy, I'm 23. Still young."
"You say that, but you're still incredibly immature, Whitney." Adrian snarked back, making Whitney grit her teeth and point at the man.
"Your face is immature!" Whitney declared, before adding, "Besides, I'm totally mature! Tell me one time I wasn't."
"I mean, you did burst into tears when Ethan beat you." Adrian pointed out, making the girl stomp her feet in embarrassment, a blush creeping onto her face
"I was a relatively new Gym Leader and that was my third official loss as a Gym Leader! Sue me!" Whitney snapped at the man, who snickered into the microphone as the audience laughed at the banter going on. Sun sweat-dropped nervously. Was this who his mother was worried about? She seemed...rather nonthreatening.
"Let's just get onto the fun, shall we? Are both Trainers ready?" Adrian asked the two of them. Sun and Whitney locked eyes, nodding as a fierce grin leapt onto their faces.
"Begin!" Adrian declared as the crowd screamed in approval.
"Penny, come on out!" Sun called, releasing Penny onto the field. The Toucannon ruffled her wings as she stared down Whitney, who blinked twice.
"Wow...She looks mean." Whitney remarked, making Penny's face look even meaner as she frowned.
"That's just how she looks since she evolved!" Sun yelled at the woman, his smile vanishing. Whitney shrugged before her smile returned, though it was more serious.
"Furret, let's kick some butt!" Whitney yelled out, throwing her Poké Ball out as if she was a pitcher throwing a baseball. The ball exploded and a large ferret Pokémon appeared, looking around the battlefield skittishly.
"Rotom?" Sun asked, with the device popping out of his backpack.
"Furret. The Long Body Pokémon and the evolved form of Sentret. Furret has a very slim build. When under attack, it can slickly squirm through narrow spaces and get away. In spite of its short limbs, this Pokémon is very nimble and fleet." Rotom informed Sun, who lowered his hat slightly and hummed thoughtfully.
"Alrighty...Penny, start this off with Echoed Voice!" Sun yelled out, with Penny launching herself into the air with a single flap of her much stronger wings. Penny opened her mouth and released a blast of sound at the Furret.
"Dodge with Quick Attack, then use Slam!" Whitney commanded, with the Furret leaping to the side in a burst of speed before launching itself into the air, colliding with Penny. The Furret rose into the air above Penny, doing a backflip of sorts, before its body glowed white and it smashed into her and drove her into the ground.
"Now use Fury Swipes!" Whitney yelled out, but Sun was ready.
"Penny! Use Rock Blast to get it off of you!" Sun cried out, with the Toucannon chirping angrily before opening her large beak wide, a silver ring of energy appearing around it. A barrage of white rock-like pellets of energy erupted from the ring, blasting away the Furret just as its paws glowed white. The Furret crashed onto the ground a short distance away before Penny fired another wave of rocks, making Furret cry out in protest. Whitney scowled as a third Rock Blast knocked Furret further back, but to her relief the attack stopped.
"Wasn't expecting Rock Blast. What kind of bird learns an attack like that?" Whitney asked, with Sun grinning in response. He could absolutely exploit Whitney's lack of knowledge about Alolan Pokémon.
"An awesome one. Penny, use Pluck!" Sun commanded, throwing his hand out as the Toucannon shot forward, her beak burning with white energy and narrowing down like a lance. Whitney sighed, shaking her head.
"Whelp, you forced my hand. Thunderbolt, Furret!" Whitney yelled out. Sun and Penny's eyes both widened in horror as Furret grinned darkly, its body discharging electricity for a moment before it was unleashed in a massive wave towards a rapidly approaching Penny. The Toucannon dove into the attack, screaming in pain as she was mercilessly shocked.
"Shocking predicament, huh?" Whitney joked as Penny thrashed and screamed on the ground.
The boy grit his teeth, knowing that he had gotten overconfident for just a moment. Despite her ditziness, Whitney was a Gym Leader, and had battled many Trainers just like Sun. He'd have to stay on his toes.
"Supersonic! Try to confuse it!" Sun yelled out. Penny obliged, her screams of pain becoming a focused wave of sound that washed over Furret and made it halt its attack. Penny rose off of the ground, panting heavily, before Sun said, "Roost!"
"Come on, Furret! Snap out of it!" Whitney yelled. Furret continued staring into the sky, its expression completely blank. Sun wondered about this. Wasn't Furret supposed to either attack them or attack itself? Sun ignored this as Penny sat calmly and began to glow, her injuries and health recovering.
"Ugh, I hate confusion. So annoyed." Whitney grumbled before her eyes widened. The woman snapped, grinning widely. "I know!"
Whitney then put two fingers to her mouth and whistled sharply, making Penny and Sun flinch. However, it served to do more than that to Furret, who's eyes became focused again as it fell to all fours, looking rather annoyed now.
"That's how we do it! Now, use Thunderbolt!" Whitney commanded.
"Dodge and hit it with Rock Blast!" Sun called out, with Penny swooping low to avoid a nasty blast of lightning. Penny opened her mouth and discharged a series of glowing rocks at Furret, but Whitney smiled playfully.
"Dig." Whitney said calmly, with the Long Body Pokémon tearing into the ground and avoiding the attack.
"Why use Dig? Ground attacks can't hit Flying-types...usually, anyway." Sun remarked as Penny looked around, trying to predict where the Furret would come out of as it flew above the original hole it dug into the ground.
"Oh, I know. But I wasn't planning on hitting you with it. Pop out and use Quick Attack, followed by Slam!" Whitney called out with a wide smile. Penny and Sun were surprised when Furret shot out of the hole like a rocket, smashing into Penny and sending her tumbling through the air. However, Penny righted herself just as Furret began to descend for Slam and dodged the move.
"Echoed Voice!" Sun commanded the Toucannon, who opened her beak to attack as the Furret landed on the ground again.
"Dig to dodge, then follow up with Quick Attack!" Whitney called out, with the Furret quickly diving into the stadium floor to barely avoid the blast of sound.
"You know, we have to pay for the damages whenever anyone does that move." Adrian remarked casually as Whitney grinned at him.
"Sucks to suck." Whitney replied as her Furret shot out of the ground. Penny retaliated by wordlessly swinging her beak like a bat as it glowed bright white, knocking the Furret away with a powerful Brick Break.
"W-what? But you didn't even give it a command!" Whitney yelped in surprise, not expecting Penny to attack of her own accord with a super-effective Fighting-type move. "And since when does a bird learning Brick Break!?"
"Looks like that Toucannon's improvising on the spot! That's not something you see every day!" Adrian noted with surprise as Penny fluttered to the ground, her expression smug as they watched the Furret collide into the stadium floor with a cry of pain.
"That's because Penny's way smarter than your average Toucannon! Now finish it off!" Sun commanded as he pointed forward. Penny shot forward like a bullet as her beak shined bright white, even as Furret struggled to get to its feet after the damage it had taken.
"Thunderbolt!" Whitney yelled out desperately, but Penny was moving too quickly. Just as the Long Body Pokémon got to its feet and began charging up to attack, Penny rammed into the Furret hard enough to send it hurtling into the barrier, making it drop to the ground with a whimper.
"And there goes Whitney's Furret! What an impressive display from Sun's Toucannon!" Adrian proclaimed as Whitney returned her Furret with a small smile.
"It's okay. You did your best." Whitney said quietly, clipping the ball to her belt. She pulled forth a Great Ball and yelled, "Clefable, you're up next!"
Sun crossed his arms as the evolved form of Clefairy appeared in a flash of light. Rotom took that chance to speak again, rattling off the Pokédex entry for the Pokémon. "Clefable. The Fairy Pokémon and the evolved form of Clefairy. They don't like to reveal themselves in front of people. They live quietly in packs deep in the mountains. According to tradition, people who see a pair of Clefable skipping by can look forward to a happy marriage."
"Alright, Penny. You still good to go?" Sun asked his Toucannon, who gave a brief nod.
"Absolutely. I haven't even begun to push myself! I want to show all of them what I can really do now that I've reached my final form!" Penny said as she ruffled her wings, her narrowed eyes gleaming with excitement. Sun couldn't hold back a smile, happy that Penny was as pumped for this as he was.
"Then let's go! Use Supersonic!" Sun called out as the bird shot into the air, releasing a wave of sound at the Fairy Pokémon.
"Counter with Disarming Voice!" Whitney called out, throwing out her hand. Clefable screeched, releasing a wave of energy that collided with Penny's Supersonic, creating a shockwave of shimmering energy within the air. Whitney smirked, holding up a single finger. "Use Metronome!"
"Oh? Whitney's taking a chance!" Adrian yelled out as Sun felt a pang of worry, watching the Clefable's moving fingers. Metronome was impossible to predict, and there was a chance it could be something really bad.
"Penny, use Pluck! Try to stop it!" Sun yelled out, with the Toucannon darting towards the Fairy Pokémon with a glowing beak. Just before Penny reached it, however, Clefable's fingers stopped moving. The Pokémon held out a hand and a massive ball of fire formed within its palm before blasting towards Penny, forming a colossal star of raging flames. Penny smashed through the Fire Blast, though she quickly crashed onto the ground, shuddering in pain at having dove through such a powerful attack.
"Looks like Metronome paid off. Clefable, use Pound!" Whitney yelled, with the Clefable charging towards Penny as she struggled to get up.
"Come on Penny! Fly into the air so it can't get to you!" Sun called out. Penny panted in pain before flapping her wings hard, rising into the air and out of Clefable's reach. Or so it thought.
"Jump and follow it!" Whitney commanded. Penny watched in horror as Clefable kicked off of the ground, floating towards it as its wings slowly flapped behind it.
"Use Beak Blast!" Sun yelled out. Penny's beak began to glow bright white as heat began to build up within it. Whitney's Clefable smashed into the bird, making her grunt in pain. This was nothing compared to Clefable, who squealed as it made contact with Penny's scorching hot beak.
"Huh?" Whitney stated, surprised as Clefable floated away, a large chunk of its front covered in nasty burns.
"Now, hit it with everything you've got!" Sun yelled out, punching his fist out. Penny opened her beak and released an explosion of heat and energy at the Fairy Pokémon, sending it flying through and the air onto the the battlefield. Penny dropped to the ground, panting heavily now.
"Use Roost." Sun said to Penny, thinking Clefable would be down long enough for Penny to catch her breath. Whitney smirked as her Clefable rose to its feet, panting just as hard as Penny as its burns sapped away at its strength.
"Taking a breather? That's a no-no. Use Ice Beam, Clefable!" Whitney yelled out as Clefable held out its hands, an orb of icy energy forming within as Penny began to glow.
"Penny, stop the move and dodge!" Sun yelled out, but Penny remained still, her injuries slowly healing before their eyes. Penny didn't even attempt to dodge the Ice Beam that struck her directly, making the bird screech in pain for several moments before she managed to launch herself into the air, escaping the attack as Sun and Whitney looked up in awe.
"How...a direct Ice Beam should have knocked out a bird like her with no problem after the damage she's taken." Whitney remarked, bewildered. Sun was just as confused, though he was happy that Penny avoided taking extreme damage. She definitely looked worse for wear, but she was clearly still able to fight.
"Zzzt! One of the effects of Roost is that, so long as a Flying-type is on the ground using it, the Pokémon briefly loses its Flying-type typing." Rotom explained as Penny shivered from the cold. The bird's beak glowed with heat and the Toucannon relaxed, though her eyes gleamed in anger at the Clefable, who took a step back.
"Alright. Penny, use Pluck!" Sun shouted.
"Dodge and use Pound!" Whitney yelled. Penny shot forward and collided with Clefable, and for a moment the two were in a stalemate of strength as a shiver of force reverberated through the air. And then Penny shot forward and forced Clefable back, slamming into its stomach and sending it skidding back.
"Follow up with Rock Blast!" Sun called out. Penny unleashed the attack at downed Clefable, hitting not just once, twice, or even three times...Clefable was struck by Rock Blast five whole times, soon knocking out the Fairy Pokémon.
"And Sun's Toucannon has knocked out another of Whitney's Pokémon! Will this Alola vs. Johto showdown culminate in a clean sweep for Sun?" Adrian asked, smirking as Whitney recalled her Clefable.
"Wow, she's tough, Sun. But you're still not going to win, even if you do have the upper hand." Whitney said tauntingly, holding up another Poké Ball. Sun grinned at the woman as Penny scoffed.
"I took down two of your Pokémon and have plenty of fight left. Even if I fall, my teammates are more than enough to deal with whoever you send out next!" Penny responded, flaring her wings. Sun couldn't help but chuckle. It appears evolution gave Penny a bit more of a competitive edge.
"Penny's just recently evolved, so she's gotten a lot stronger. She was tough as nails beforehand. I know she'll be ready for whatever you throw at us." Sun said confidently, making Penny nod in response.
"Alright, if you insist. Miltank...crush them." Whitney said in a surprisingly calm voice as she called out her final Pokémon. Sun took in the appearance of a large pink and white cow that stood on both feet ahead of them…
And then shivered.
The Miltank was giving them a very smug look as it snorted softly. Whitney turned her cap around, and Sun could feel the atmosphere in the stadium change completely. Rotom shuddered on Sun's shoulder, beeping lowly.
"Miltank. The Milk Cow Pokémon. Its milk is high in calories and packed with nutrients. Therefore, if you drink too much of it, you may wind up with a body like Miltank's. Most people raise it for its milk, but it's quite tough and strong, so it's also well suited for battle." Rotom explained in an almost scared voice, as if sensing something Sun couldn't from the Miltank. Whitney's almost maniacal smile was not helping things.
"Let's show them why every newbie in Johto fears our names!" Whitney yelled out, pointing forward. "Rollout!"
Miltank curled into a ball and shot towards Penny with a speed that surprised Sun, but the boy was quick to react. "Fly out of the way and use Brick Break!"
Penny waited for several moments before she shot to the side, her beak glowing bright white as Miltank launched itself into the air. Penny brought her beak down, attempting to swat the Miltank out of the air like earlier, but unlike Furret, Mitank had considerable weight behind her attack. Penny was somehow smashed out of the air and landed on the ground in a crumpled heap, twitching in pain.
"Penny!" Sun yelled out as Miltank landed on the ground, rolling around the battlefield. Sun could see that the damage the Toucannon had just been dealt was incredible, with the bird's eyes tightly shut in pain. Just how strong was this Miltank?
"Keep it up! Rollout!" Whitney ordered, pointing at Penny as she struggled to stand. Sun scowled, realizing that the Rock-type move was super-effective against Penny. Not only that, but this Miltank was considerably more powerful than Whitney's previous two Pokémon.
"Get up Penny! Hit Miltank with Rock Blast!" Sun ordered. Penny managed to get to her feet and began launching another series of rocks at the speeding Miltank. The Milk Cow Pokémon slowed down with each hit, though even after four shots of Rock Blast, it showed no signs of stopping.
"Penny, get airborne!" Sun cried out as Miltank drew near. Penny nodded and flapped into the air, though it wasn't quickly enough to dodge the the 2nd Rollout attack, which knocked Penny out of the air and onto the ground, where she remained motionless. Everyone waited a few moments before Adrian called it.
"Looks like that Toucannon's winning streak was finally ended. Whitney's Miltank is infamous in Johto, folks! Can Sun overcome Whitney's signature Pokémon, or will his chances of moving onto the next round vanish into thin air?" Adrian asked as Miltank continued to spin in place in front of Whitney.
"Alright...Finn! Let's go!" Sun called out, throwing a Poké Ball forward. The Poliwag emerged with a excited hop, flipping forward before landing on the ground with his legs spread apart.
"Alright Finn, let's do this! Scald!" Sun ordered the Poliwag, who fired off a jet of boiling hot water. Miltank mooed loudly in protest, the water quickly covering its entire body and filling it with scalding pain,
"Rollout!" Whitney shouted, punching forward with a vicious grin. Sun grinned at that, pointing at Finn.
"Wait until it gets closed and then use Bubble to get airborne!" Sun commanded. Finn smirked, standing still until Miltank got closer. Both of them could see that it was rolling with an incredible amount of speed and force now, a faint white glow surrounding the Milk Cow Pokémon as it barreled towards them.
"Now!" Sun yelled out, with Finn leaping high into the air as he spat a series of bubbles into the air. Miltank shot into the air, but missed Finn completely and smashed into one of his bubbles. The Poliwag landed on one with a smug look on his face as Miltank landed on the ground, finally uncurling from its attack and looking a little dazed.
"Scald again!" Sun ordered Finn as the Poliwag wagged his tail, grinning as he spat out another stream of boiling water. Miltank mooed in pain as the attack struck it in the face, with the cow awkwardly running away from the hot stream of water. Sun was pleased to see that the cow was sporting a good bit of damage now, after dealing with Penny and Finn.
"Miltank, use Milk Drink!" Whitney called out. Sun watched in horror as the Miltank somehow milked itself and drank its own milk in a way that the author really can't describe in a way that doesn't sound disturbing as hell. What was even more disturbing was the fact that the injuries on the Miltank were vanishing.
"Oh come on, this thing can heal too?" Sun remarked as he grit his teeth. Whitney giggled in response, wagging her finger at Sun.
"You shouldn't ever be surprised when it comes to battling a Gym Leader, kid. Miltank, use Hyper Beam and tear those bubbles apart!" Whitney shouted, making Sun pale in horror.
"Finn! Don't let that hit you!" Sun yelled as the Poliwag bounced from bubble to bubble. Miltank unleashed a massive blast of energy from its mouth, easily tearing through the bubbles and sweeping the beam across the battlefield, creating a massive explosion around the edge of the barrier keeping the audience safe. Sun briefly marveled at the strength of the shield and wondered if any kind of attack could slip past it before returning his thoughts to the battle, where Finn had bounced high into the air to dodge the arc of energy and was dropping down to the ground with an elegant flip. He stuck the landing, striking a pose, which made the crowd go wild.
"I like that Poliwag! What a stylish display!" Adrian boomed cheerily as Finn grinned at the Miltank, who was panting slightly. Sun knew it needed to recharge after such a powerful attack, so he made his move.
"Use Doubleslap! Follow up with Scald!" Sun yelled out as Finn kicked hard off of the ground and shot into the air. After training Finn some, he found that the reason Finn jumped around so much was to get around easier, since Poliwag had problems with walking on land. It also helped make Finn a very tough opponent to hit at times.
The Poliwag made it over to a struggling Miltank, smacking it back and forth with its tail before blasting it in the face with boiling hot water. Miltank mooed loudly in pain, moving backward as Finn doused it with Scald.
"Keep it up! It's wearing down!" Sun yelled out.
Whitney growled in annoyance, but didn't say anything until Miltank's eyes widened and it began to move to the side to avoid the blast of water. Finn followed it, still spraying, but it showed Whitney that her Miltank could move again.
"Use Headbutt!" Whitney yelled out, with the Miltank mooing angrily and charging forward. It tanked the continuous Scald attack hitting it and slammed into Finn, who went soaring backwards with a squeal of pain and hit the ground hard.
"Finn! Are you okay?" Sun asked as the Poliwag slowly rose to its feet, groaning in pain.
"I...I'll manage. I don't think I can take another one of those. That Pokémon is really, really strong." Finn said as he looked forward, prepared to battle again.
"Rollout!" Whitney yelled, with Miltank curling into a ball and shooting forward. Finn lowered himself to the ground slightly, preparing himself to jump and dodge when he got the command.
"Jump to dodge, follow up with Scald!" Sun yelled out as Miltank barreled towards it. Finn grinned as the Milk Cow Pokémon barreled towards it, but managed to dodge the attack with a sideways leap through the air, firing off a spout of hot water that made Miltank groan in pain as it stopped rolling. Sun was pleased to see that the cow looked to be thoroughly battered and exhausted by this point.
"Stop dodging!" Whitney yelled childishly, earning a grin from Sun.
"Finn's way too agile to let something like that hit him." Sun said proudly as Finn landed on his feet, panting slightly but more than ready to keep fighting. Whitney scowled in frustration, knowing that the Poliwag was too nimble for her rather slow Miltank to hit. Then the woman's expression brightened, which made Sun worry.
"Miltank, use Attract!" Whitney commanded, snapping her finger. Sun felt cold horror go through him as Miltank winked at Finn, sending a wave of hearts towards him.
"Dodge it Finn!" Sun called out. Finn nodded and leapt to the side, but the hearts seemed to track his movements. The Poliwag began shooting the hearts with Scald, and it seemed to work for a few moments before the hearts surged forward and struck him. After a few moments, two pink hearts appeared in his eyes and he began to slowly turn towards Miltank, laughing goofily.
"So...pretty…" Finn gushed dreamily, slowly walking towards Miltank.
"Oh come on! That's so cheap!" Sun complained as Whitney chuckled darkly.
"If I had a buck for every time I've heard that, I'd be rich enough to finally buy that solid gold helicopter I've always wanted." Whitney said with a wide grin before she pumped her fist out. "Don't give it a chance to recover! Headbutt!"
"Finn, snap out of it! Use Scald!" Sun yelled out, making Finn flinch. As the Miltank stomped forward, lowering its head, he managed to shoot a jet of water at the Milk Cow Pokémon. Miltank stopped the attack in surprise, mooing in pain as Finn doused her in hot water.
"That's the way to do it! One more time! Scald!" Sun yelled out as Finn stared ahead with a wide smile, hearts still dancing in its eyes.
"Oh no you don't! Hyper Beam!" Whitney yelled, punching forward with her other fist as Miltank gave the Poliwag a hateful glare before opening its mouth at the immobilized Poliwag.
"Finn, dodge it!" Sun screamed out before Finn was blasted by a massive beam of raw energy. The Poliwag was enveloped in the attack, which struck the barrier with a strange humming sound as explosions filled the air. Once the attack faded and the smoke clear, it revealed a knocked-out Poliwag.
"And Sun's Poliwag is unable to battle, bringing this battle to one-on-one! Can Sun's final Pokémon bring this one home? Or will Whitney's Miltank prove its dominance?" Adrian asked as the crowd cheered. Sun grit his teeth as he returned Finn, worried about his chances. This Miltank was incredibly well-trained. It had a ton of power, plus long-range capabilities. On top of that, it could use Attract and heal itself with Milk Drink.
"Alright…" Sun unclipped a Poké Ball and said, "I'm counting on you. Go, Oliver!"
The Dartrix appeared with a hoot and landed on the ground, carefully preening itself. Sun walked over to the owl and said, "That Miltank just took out Penny and Finn. It's tough, it can use Attract, and it can heal."
"I won't let you down." was all Oliver said, flapping into the air.
"Alright...Use Razor Leaf!" Sun yelled out, with Oliver flapping his wings hard and releasing a barrage of leaves at the Miltank.
"Rollout!" Whitney shouted as the leaves slashed into Miltank, making it moo in pain and take a step back before rolling into a ball and shooting forward.
"Use Protect! Follow up with Pluck!" Sun yelled out as Miltank rolled forward, quickly picking up speed. Oliver cast Protect as Miltank bounced off of the ground and shot towards the Oliver, colliding with the barrier and making Oliver hiss at the effort of keeping it up. Oliver allowed the shield to dispel with a glass-like shatter, diving forward as Miltank bounced backwards, smashing into the Milk Cow Pokémon's gut and sending it crashing onto the ground in a heap.
"No! Miltank!" Whitney yelled out in worry. Miltank slowly rose from the ground, shaking in pain as it glared at Oliver, who laughed down at it. The Miltank shuddered after a moment, looking away.
"Miltank, use Milk Drink." Whitney said to her Pokémon, with Sun yelling out, "Stop it Oliver! Use Leafage and Pluck!"
Oliver released a whirlwind of leaves at the large cow Pokémon, but not before he dove into his own attack, creating a powerful drill-like twister of leaves and energy that crashed into Miltank's gut as she began drinking her own milk, making it actually spit-take as the attack struck it and spray milk everywhere.
"Headbutt!" Whitney yelled out desperately. Miltank drew its back head before smashing it into Oliver, dispelling his combo attack and knocking him into the dirt. Miltank clutched stomach for a moment before Whitney yelled, "Use Stomp!"
"Fly away!" Sun yelled out, with Oliver quickly getting up off of the ground and barely managing to get into the air to dodge Miltank's Stomp, which cracked the floor itself.
"Use Milk Drink. Follow up with Attract!" Whitney yelled as Miltank began to drink its own milk, which still continued to creep Sun out.
"Oliver, use Razor Leaf!" Sun yelled out, with the bird flinging down its wings to launch a wave of spinning leaves at the cow. Miltank finished its milk, mostly recovered now, and winked at the Dartrix. A series of hearts shot towards Oliver, though they were thankfully reduced to shreds by the Razor Leaf. Oliver landed on the ground in front of Sun, eyeing the Miltank with a calculating eye as Sun tried to think of a way to beat this opponent.
"That thing is tough." Oliver hooted, preening his feathers for a moment before he straightened up, his head tilting slightly as the Miltank stared him down, her expression wary. Oliver smirked at that, an awful idea coming to mind.
"Sun...Do you trust me?" Oliver asked Sun, rotating his head 180 degrees to look at him. Sun blinked twice at the unexpected question before nodding. "Then, with your permission, I'd like to try something. I want to see if I can... intimidate this opponent."
"I...Okay. Go ahead. But don't let yourself get suckered into a bad situation." Sun warned the Dartrix who smirked as he rotated his head back and fluttered forward.
"Watch out, Miltank! They're going to try something! Hit them with Hyper Beam!" Whitney shouted, with Oliver letting out a mad screech as he dove forward with a predatory grin in his eyes. Miltank snorted and let loose the immensely powerful blast of energy.
"Fly above it!" Sun yelled out, with Oliver flapping his wings hard. Thankfully he managed to dodge the move entirely as he rose into the air, looking down at Miltank as it stared up at him.
"And now that it can't move…" Oliver whispered gleefully, swooping down and laughing before he slammed into the Miltank, pecking it repeatedly. Whitney's eyes widened in surprise at the sheer level of enthusiasm in which the Dartrix was attacking her Miltank, who was still recharging from Hyper Beam and was weakly trying to fend off the owl. Thankfully, her movement speed began to increase after a few moments and Whitney realized the recharge time was up.
"Milky, use Headbutt!" Whitney called out, with the Miltank rearing her head back and slamming it forward...into a shimmering barrier.
"W-what!?" Whitney yelped, amazed that the Dartrix had pulled a Protect out of nowhere.
"Sometimes it pays to just trust your Pokémon. And my Partner's got a plan to take you and that Miltank down." Sun said with a proud grin as Whitney stared at Oliver in horror, seeing her Miltank stagger backwards with a groan. The cow Pokémon came to its senses and glared at Oliver before it's expression changed, seeing the Dartrix eyeing her with a sinister grin from above. The cow took a step back, mooing softly.
"Milky? You okay?" Whitney asked after a moment. The Miltank took another step back as Oliver giggled darkly, rotating his head menacingly as he landed on the ground, preening his feathers in a way that showed he couldn't be bothered with his opponent.
"Miltank, snap out of it and show that owl who's boss! Rollout!" Whitney yelled out as she glared at the owl, but in truth she was worried about her Miltank. It looked so rattled at the strange Dartrix, but the Dartrix's next words made things worse.
"Oh, how delightful...You think you can scare me? Your power means nothing!" Oliver hissed, flaring his wings. The Miltank mooed softly, though it sounded rather scared and didn't move despite her Trainer's command. Whitney blinked at the display, tilting her head in further confusion.
"I...um...What?" Whitney said, genuinely confused. "Use Stomp!"
The Miltank snorted and nodded, leaping forward to deliver a powerful stomp as it snapped out of its funk. Oliver dodged with a command from Sun, though when the cow Pokémon looked up it shivered at the horrible smile the bird seemed to be wearing, right before Oliver shot forward and hit it with Pluck.
"Milky, snap out of it!" Whitney yelled out, with the Miltank shuddering as Oliver cackled in the air.
"Oh, this is delightful! You were acting so big and bad a few moments ago! Where's that bravado, now?" Oliver asked darkly as he landed on the ground, rotating his head around and around in a way that completely unnerved the Miltank. Sun watched this very strange display with a bemused expression, but let it go on because he was honestly curious where Oliver would take it. Adrian Battlestorm was likewise quiet for the same reason.
"Come on, Milky...He's not that scary-" Whitney began to say before she saw Oliver quickly turned his evil gaze to her. Whitney gulped and shivered violently. "Okay...I s-stand corrected. But we can't let that stop us!"
"By all means...Make my day." Oliver hissed as he stared intensely at the Miltank, slowly stepping forward as he held his wings out. To Sun's amazement, the Miltank that had just steamrolled through Penny and Finn was now slowly backing away from the Dartrix as he advanced. It's expression had become one of absolute fear, and it quickly ran behind Whitney, curling into a ball and mooing loudly.
"What? No way! You can't give up!" Whitney yelled out. Sun couldn't help a snicker as Oliver continued to slowly approach in a manner that made a certain Kahuna facepalm in the audience.
"Only Oliver could be so goddamn evil, that it makes a Miltank that's world-famous for its brutality give up out of sheer horror." Hala grumbled to himself, something that wasn't lost on the special guest commentators.
"I don't think I've ever seen a Pokémon forfeit a match like that before…" Cynthia said with an awkward laugh as she watched Whitney try and coax her Miltank onto the battlefield again. However, every time the cow looked up, Oliver leered at it and made it curl into the fetal position again. She even thought she saw it crying after a moment!
"The Pokémon here in Alola are definitely unique. It appears my cousin was holding out on me!" Professor Oak chuckled, amused by the development.
"Maybe. I like that Dartrix's style, though. Might have to try that tactic in my next Championship Defense." Cynthia said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Professor Oak grinned at those words, especially as Whitney tried to drag her Miltank back onto the battlefield, but to no avail.
"What do you think Kahili?" Professor Oak turned his head to see what the usually stone-faced woman thought of the match, only to be completely shocked at what he saw.
Kahili was silently heaving with laughter with a bright red face, trying through sheer force of will not to burst out into giggles. Cynthia looked at the Island Challenge Champion in surprise as well, before saying, "Let it out, woman! You'll die if you hold that in!"
The world-famous golfer suddenly began cackling, holding her chest as she laughed hard enough that tears rolled down her face. Several of the other spectators watched the woman with worry and confusion and even Whitney and Sun looked over at the woman slumped over the table laughing to herself.
"What's her deal?" Whitney asked herself after a moment before she sighed and turned back to her Miltank. "Milky, come on. We've got to win this! Remember, we came all the way here from Johto! We can't give up after all of that!"
The Miltank shut its eyes, taking several calming breaths, before it finally got to its feet and nodded. It turned around and opened its eyes, prepared to confront its greatest foe…
Only for Oliver to suddenly crash into the bovine with an maniacal grin on his face, pecking the Miltank repeatedly and making it scream and run around in circles as Oliver chased it. Whitney faced-palmed as the Milk Cow Pokémon finally collapsed to the ground, having fainted after the attack from Oliver.
"I still have no idea what happened." Whitney groaned, rubbing her temples.
"Yeah, my Dartrix is sort of terrifying sometimes." Sun said with a shrug. "Does this mean I win?"
"Oh yeah, totally. I guess that's what I get for tormenting an entire generation of Trainers with my OP Miltank. Karma's sucks like that." Whitney said with a small laugh before she walked across the battlefield, meeting Sun in the middle and shaking his head as the crowd cheered. Oliver began preening himself, though Sun heard the owl laughing softly behind him.
"And with that frankly terrifying display, Sun was won his first round match against Whitney!" Adrian declared as Sun listendc to the cheers of the crowd as he gazed into the stands. He spotted his group of friends cheering happily for him (and tearfully, in the case of Laura). His gaze remained on Lillie, who was hopping up and down in excitement, her hat lopsided as she cheered him. Nebby popped out of the bag, waving his appendages happily alongside with the girl, who didn't even notice in her joy. Sun waved back to them, bending down to hug Oliver before returning him, and began his trek up to the stands. He was so proud of what his team had accomplished today. With that, they would be moving onto the next round of the tournament!
Sun wondered, though, given the surprises and that they had already gone through today...What would await them tomorrow in the next round of battles? The boy returned to his seat, snatching Nebby out of the air and hopping into his seat, greeting a beaming Lillie and a grinning Hau with a happy smile while a proud Laura hugged her child from behind. Sun felt like his face would burst from how hard he was smiling.
He supposed he'd just have to wait and see what surprises the rest of the Tournament held for him.
"Ma'am, you do know that we could just send some of our personnel here to search for her, correct? We didn't need to bring you here yourself. Especially with how dangerous the islands are becoming."
"Mmm...True. But sometimes you must take a risk, my dear Faba."
"Ma'am?"
Dozens of onlookers looked high into the sky and saw a white helicopter descending down towards them, a golden symbol emblazoned on the side that looked like a cross between a trident and a star. The occupants of said helicopter took a few moments to marvel at the sight of the night-life of Royal Avenue, the liveliness of which seemed to have been amplified tenfold thanks to the Tournament being hosted within the city. Lights and sounds drifting from the revelers of the night echoed high into the air, thanks to those who found solace in the wild parties of such a grand event taking place around them.
Eventually the helicopter finally reached its destination, lightly touching down upon a helipad. Even as the aircraft became quiet again, the occupants were exiting, with several men dressed in all white going first, followed by an older man with yellow shades and a beautiful woman garbed in a stylish dress.
"Madam Lusamine, I mean no disrespect but...Shouldn't we be back at the Paradise? We've got to make sense of what happened at Ten Carat Hill." Faba said as Lusamine gave him a bored look. The man had continually tried to talk her out of coming here, but Lusamine refused to listen to his logic.
"Faba, we're doing all that we can at a moment in regards to your discoveries. That's why Colress is working on it right now. You need a break, so consider this one. Besides, needlessly pushing ourselves when trying to sort out a mess no one has any information on is pointless. This however…" Lusamine's expression became lighter, a small smile coming to her face. "This investigation warrants some looking into, don't you think?" Lusamine asked as they began walking towards the largest hotel in the city, flanked by Aether Foundation members were were alert for danger to their President.
"Not really. Yes, we know that Gladion is here because of the fact that we saw him on the TV earlier. But why come here now to see him? We already know where he is at all times thanks to Team Skull keeping tabs on the boy." Faba asked the woman, who's eyes narrowed.
"Simple. Gladion may know where his sister is, and that is key to our future plans. Thanks to your failure at Ten Carat Hill, we no longer have any of Cosmog's energy to use at the Paradise. All we can do is wait until we recapture Cosmog. And for that we need Lillie. Who else but Gladion would know where Lillie is? I imagine Lillie herself may even be in the area to see her brother, if my suspicions are correct. If I keep an eye on Gladion, I can keep an eye out for my little flower and confront her myself." Lusamine remarked, smiling as Faba registered her logic. Faba grinned in response, chuckling.
"Your genius knows no limits, ma'am. I look forward to putting that brat in his place." Faba sneered, only to receive a cold look from Lusamine as she stopped walking.
"Despite their transgressions, Faba, they are still my children. I will deal with them. Not you." Lusamine said quietly, her voice filled with restrained anger. Faba noticed the crimson vein pulsing from Lusamine's neck, his eyes widening, but it faded a few moments later.
"Did I...imagine that?" Faba wondered with a shiver. He brushed it off as a trick of the light.
"Besides...I'm confident Lillie will be here, so questioning my son may not even be necessary." Lusamine said quietly, her expression twisting into a smug grin.
"Why is that, ma'am?" Faba asked.
Lusamine allowed herself a laugh, smiling widely. "Because I know of that love. The love of a family. If my little Gladion is here...My darling Lillie may come to see her big brother battle in Kukui's tournament. And how could I allow such a reunion to take place without me there to witness it?" Lusamine replied as she began walking down the path again. Despite the words being said, none of the Aether Foundation employees could see the dark smile on her face, eagerly awaiting the moment when Lusamine would confront her rebellious children and teach them the consequences of rejecting her love.
And so the first day of the Alola Grand Royal Tournament draws to a close!
Special shoutout goes to Ew futf for their suggestion of including Volkner in the Tournament. I was undecided which Sinnoh Gym Leader I wanted to use besides Crasher Wake, so thanks for helping me decide.
Also super special shoutout goes to Technetium2, who I didn't give a shoutout to last chapter for whatever reason. They're the first one who also suggested Barry cameo in the story, but additionally suggested that he be late for the Tournament and not get in because of it. And I forgot all about it! Sorry about that. Thanks for the awesome suggestion, it was really funny to write. I'll be keeping a spreadsheet for ideas I'll be using and who suggested what so that I don't lose track again.
So! Will Sun and Hau beat their opponents in the next round? Will Brago and Oliver get out of their respective slumps? Will Lusamine end up cornering Gladion and Lillie? And what the hell is up with the Fossil Man?
All of these will be answered...Sometime in the near future?
Q & A
From: Boy Knight
A couple of questions: First will Blue( or leaf as she is known to others) would make an appearance? I could see an interaction between her, Red and Green where she complains about how they left her out of the fight against cipher. Finally, have you heard of a fan made Pokemon story called "Festival of Champions"? It's such an amazing read and I think it might give you some inspiration for your story, or you could just read it for fun. Only downside is that about two chapters are released each year but the quality is impressive.
Hmm...I don't want to say I have something along the vein planned, but let's just say that considering how hilarious those comic skits with Leaf were from back when Sun and Moon was announced, I could absolutely see myself doing that and making something really funny.
I haven't actually. I'll add that to my backlog of stories I need to catch up on. I'm a bit behind on a few Pokemon fics I need to read since the new year hasn't been kind to my free time. If it's as good as you say, I'll definitely need to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation.
From: PigniteGamer29
I just had a thought. Why not give Hau Dusk Lycanroc? He may not have it in the games, but he does get the Lycanium Z. In the games he gives it to you, but since this isn't the games, and Sun isn't going to get Lycanroc, maybe Hau could use it for Dusk Lycanroc.
It's an idea, but I want Hau and Gladion to have teams that are accurate to the games for the most part. Yes, this novelization of Sun isn't by the book, but I still want some things to sync up. Good idea though.
From: Ew futf
Great chapter. So if Hugh is here in Alola then what happened to everyone else in Unova like Nate, Rosa, Hilbert, Hilda, Cheren, Bianca and Professor Juniper?
Nate returned to Unova to help fight against Neo Team Plasma, along with the rest of the Protagonists. Hilbert however is confirmed to be dead. Borlath and Ghetsis stole one of the legendary dragons from him and used it in their plan to create Perfect Kyruem.
We'll be keeping the fun times rolling with the second round of matches from the Tournament! I'm really, really excited about these next few chapters.
Stay tuned! But more importantly, please consider giving this unworthy soul some feedback in the form of a review in the section below. And, if you haven't already, favorite and/or follow the story to show your support. Also, questions and suggestions and requests for the tournament are being considered and...wow, I need to stop doing these notes when I'm dangerously sleep-deprived. Bye for now! I'm off to bed!
Take care and stay awesome!
Until next time, FlygonNick out!
