Alola everybody! Brav is back with another chapter for A Hui Hou Kakou. This chapter was going to be a lot shorter than what it finally came out as, mostly since I had a stroke of a brilliant idea that really expanded a good portion and even references some stuff down the road in future chapters. Took a while, but the overhaul is finally done and this chapter is ready to be sent out the door! I'd like to welcome everyone new that has added this story to their favorites and follow list. There's plenty more to write and tell and thanks for joining me on this awesome ride!
Without further ado:
The professor assigned me to be Sun's guide in Hau'oli City later that day after he completed the trainers' school lesson. Other than the little vacations mother and father took us on, I don't really remember much of Hau'oli at all. There had to be a million people living there with a lot of stuff! Sun was probably going to be just as lost as I was, but that was better than nothing y'know? So I had spent the majority of that morning, reading on all the tourist attractions and places to see and eat before going to get him from his house. We wouldn't be able to cover everything in a day, but he would see a good portion to know what it's all about.
When I did, his mother found us talking on the front porch and she seemed very nice and caring, even to me, who I had just known for a couple minutes. Wish I could say the same for myself. By the time we were ready to leave from the lab, it was already well into the afternoon.
The teacher of the school gave him a lesson; assigning him to find and defeat four other trainers to learn about the basic skills of pokemon battling. It took him a little while, but I wasn't surprised when news got out that he defeated them all, including the teacher who wanted to see his battling skills for herself. Sun even caught his first pokemon; a grimer on the school grounds! I guess it's a pretty good thing if he says that they're more dangerous elsewhere. He was definitely surprised it was green and I think this was what Professor Kukui was talking about as a sort of adaptation to the Alolan environment. He calls these subspecies Alola forms.
Even though I can tell that he is going to be a one of a kind trainer, I can't help but feel like he doesn't really like me for some reason. Granted, I was expecting the new kid that Professor Kukui mentioned to be a girl. I was kind of disappointed when it turned out to be a boy. But I like Sun...Elio...Gah! So confusing! I hope he will be open to being friends with me soon!
"Attention, all students." A bell chimed over the trainers' school. Lillie was standing at the entrance and looked up at it along with the other kids who were also outside, "Sun has completed his lesson at the trainers' school!"
"Awesome!"
"Sweet!"
Among the students all cheering in the building's courtyard; Lillie couldn't help herself smiling. The feeling was like watching a newly hatched pokemon grow so quickly. Just yesterday, he hadn't even been able to properly throw a poke ball or even understand how to battle. Now he had defeated Hau, four other students that had more experience under their belt and news eventually had emerged that he had also beaten the instructor.
Sun and Professor Kukui emerged from the building entrance with his litten and a second green bloblike pokemon with long arms, no legs and a viscous liquid coating its entire body trailing behind, looking up at their trainer expectantly. If she remembered right, it was called grimer, a pokemon originally native to Kanto, but had been brought to Alola and changed forms due to the drastically different ecosystem.
"Be good to your pokemon!" One of the boys said.
"Good luck with your island challenge!"
"I hope you get close to a lot of new people!"
Sun chuckled and thanked everyone for the lesson. Once the congregation had dispersed; Lillie headed for the entrance. He said nothing as he glanced down at his pokemon while digging out what she recognized as a Refresh kit. A smile did flicker across his face a second later as he gently brushed loose sand out of Litten's fur. The little fire type shivered at the contact and let out a delighted purr as he scratched just underneath his chin.
"You seemed to be in perfect sync with Litten and Grimer, weren't you? I even saw that your technique of throwing the pokeball has greatly improved."
He smiled, putting a hand behind his head. "Thanks Lillie. After one of the students told me that my throw was horrible, yeah. I wised up and was willing to listen and practice. I'm used to throwing basketballs and footballs with my arms and pokeballs require a different approach."
"At least you've caught yourself another pokemon!" She said, "That's a start right?"
"It sure is." He glanced back at the living lump of sludge who was chatting excitedly with Litten, "He's a lot different than a grimer back in Kanto."
"What do you mean?"
"I've got thizzz covered!" Rotom buzzed, popping out of Sun's backpack and floating right in front of them. On his screen just below the eyes; the image displayed was its standard form. Instead of its yellow and green form in front of them; this one was purple and black in color.
"Grimer...Sludge pokemon...standard form. Grimer is a result of sludge puddles exposed to irradiated rays from the moon. It feeds on slimy industrial waste that is generated from factories and their presence is always foretold by a foul-smelling stench. Grimer's slimy body allows it to fit though nearly any opening and its body leaks out a germ infested fluid that instantly taints any surface it comes into contact with. While it multiplies in heavily polluted areas; recent efforts to conserve precious resources and reduce waste output have been cause to this form's declining numbers in recent years."
"Woah," Lillie looked a little pale, "That sounds really horrible!"
"I almost thought he was a shiny, since their coloration is green. Then I saw another one and realized that wasn't the case," Sun sighed, "Oh well."
"What's a shiny?"
"Shiny pokemon are pokemon that come in an alternate coloration of their species' standard appearance. They're extremely rare and considered to be valuable by trainers even though they're hardly any more different. The grimer I'm used to seeing are colored green as their shiny form. So I thought I had struck gold when I saw it, but when one of the kids told me that's how they looked here in Alola, I knew that it was too good to be true." He glanced down at Grimer, "Although I hope to find and catch one hopefully."
"Well," Lillie wanted to give some encouragement to him, despite hearing of a very tiny probability it happening, "You've only started. There's plenty of time."
Sun glanced back up at Rotom while nodding, "So Rotom, what makes Grimer here different than the ones in Kanto?"
"I'm on da cazze!" The talking pokedex shuffled his screen, floating between them, "Grimer specimens were brought to Alola to help deal with the rampant garbage issues on the island developed into this form over time. Unlike its cousin; Alolan grimer feed on garbage instead of toxic waste and do not produce a stench or secrete dangerous residue from their bodies. Their own poisons are stored in crystals adorning its body. Poisonous fluids will leak out of the crystals if they are removed from its body."
Rotom buzzed again, "Analyzing...Grimer in your party is a male. His current moves are pound, poison gas, harden and bite. It has ability poison touch, which can cause the target to get poisoned when Grimer makes direct contact."
"Hmm," Sun put a hand to his chin deep in thought, I can definitely use that to my advantage in battle.
"Um…since we've come this far together, why don't I show you more of the city? Come on. There's lots to see and it might be late by the time we're done."
"Sure! We better get going then!" He waved back to the crowd of kids still gathered to watch him go, "Bye everyone!"
"Bye Sun!"
Turning back to the entrance, Lillie had disappeared in just a matter of seconds. Sun wondered if he had already lost his guide?
"Sun! Over here." She called from behind. He quickly joined her and they started walking towards the group of highrise buildings in the distance.
Night was beginning to settle over Alola again, since the lesson had taken up the majority of the afternoon. Traffic was beginning to increase on the streets as commuters were beginning to disperse out of the downtown section back to their homes for the day. In contrast to the golden sky sunset, the city lights were bathing the area in a beautiful orange and white glow.
"You know," Lillie had broken the silence and saw that he too was deep in thought when she stared at him, "I was really impressed seeing how you battled with your pokemon at the trainers' school and even back when you weren't yet a trainer, you were still able to save Nebby."
"I'm glad Nebby is safe," Sun agreed, "And thank you. Least that lets me know I'm doing something right."
"You were chosen by your pokemon so quickly. I understand why now."
The boy glanced behind to see both Litten and Grimer following closely behind; likely also not wanting to get separated from their trainer. He started walking again running right into something that was knocked away.
Lillie gasped and stumbled forward, but found herself not falling down to the pavement. From behind; Elio had quickly reached out and grabbed her arms before she had completely lost balance. Glancing behind at her savior, she instinctively pulled her arms out of his after standing back up again and held them close to her body. Sun's expression was one of complete shock.
"Sorry," He quickly apologized, "I didn't mean to do that."
She didn't respond to him and just kind of shook as if he was about to strike her.
"Are you okay Lillie?" A pang of fear crept into his mind that he had hurt her somehow. She may not like pokemon battles, but he found that the scene of her being distressed was upsetting to him too.
"No…sorry," She squeaked, "It was an accident. Forget about it okay?"
"Alright, but are you sure you're okay? You look like you just triggered a static ability and got paralyzed,"
"Don't worry, I'll be okay." She looked up when the sound of clanging hooves had gotten louder and quickly darted behind the boy. "Oh I forgot about Tauros!"
Tauros had been blocking the roads when they had initially come up to Hau'oli's outskirts, but it was in front of the majority of the city and they were only planning to go up to the school. Now it had moved further down the street and this time, it wasn't alone.
Both Hau and Hala stood on either side of it, ignorant to the car horns that sounded from the city side. Their faces brightened as both Sun and Lillie approached.
"Ho!" The kahuna greeted joyfully, "If it isn't Lillie and Sun! Sorry for scaring you hoa. I guess it's time I get old Tauros back home." He looked over at the big pokemon staring intently at Elio, "Oh! But why don't you give him a little pat first, Sun?"
"Um…sure," Sun knew that a tauros could be a dangerous pokemon, often charging with its sharp horns at whatever it wanted without any noticeable warning. Although this one seemed to be rather tame, he still cautiously approached with a hand out. Butterfree began to form in his stomach since this would be the closest he had ever come to the horned pokemon.
As his fingers barely brushed the side of Tauros' face, it huffed from contact. Elio felt a rush of hot breath down his arm as it cried out again, quickly retracting his hand and wondering if he had provoked it.
Hala didn't seem to think so and laughed at the touching moment, "You see that? This rascal here already loves you! Pokemon become happier when we show them some care." He gave Tauros a friendly tap, "C'mon troublesome. Let's head home."
As the older man escorted his pokemon down the street to allow the cars through, he waved back before heading down the road's sidewalk.
"The kahunas sure are something eh?" Hau said, coming to their side, "Able to calm even a raging pokemon without even needing to battle. Now that's something!"
"You sure you're not biased?" Sun teased, "Even a little?"
"I mean I like Tauros and all, but it is pretty scary! I don't want to ride on it!" He decided to change subjects, "So where are you two off to now? Sun, did you finish the school lesson?"
"He sure did! I was thinking after that, I should show Sun around Hau'oli City a bit."
"Nice idea! You're always on top of things, Lillie! Then let me tag along too! I wanna get something good to eat!"
"Sure Hau. We could use the company," She said, turning to the other boy, "Right Sun?"
Sun was about to protest, for some reason he just wanted the two of them to tour the city, but at the same time, Hau had really grown on him as a good friend and he probably knew the city better than the both of them. It would do him no good to be lost in a foreign place.
Might as well see all the sights here while I've got time. This is my new home after all.
"All right. Let's all go together!" Hau ran off excitedly. He disappeared around the turn moments later.
"Oh Hau," Lillie sighed, "I guess we should go catch up with him before he gets too far Sun. Hau'oli City is the biggest city in Alola after all. Close to a million people."
"Yeah, wouldn't want to get lost on my first time." He accepted her offer and they took off after their energetic friend.
Lillie's estimate on its population had been close enough. Hau'oli City's official census had about seven hundred thousand people living in its general area, making it the most populous section in the Alola region. Smaller buildings with apartments and shops lined the inside of the road while a big sandbar of a fantastic beach stretched far down to a long set of marinas that jutted out into the harbor. Just across from it were many hotels that looked quite lavish and touristy.
The sand felt silky soft when he slipped his hand through it and was mesmerized by all the different people doing all sorts of things; relaxing, swimming, playing games and even standing on long ovoid boards to ride big waves back to the shoreline.
He recalled the activity as surfing.
I want to learn how to surf one day.
Further inside the city were some tall skyscrapers that raised above all their surroundings. The rest of the urban development had spread seemingly around the entire span of the island, hugging the shoreline.
In terms of the total area; the entire vicinity of Hau'oli was maybe about a quarter of the size of Cerulean City while only having half its population. Sun found the place to be dense with properties and sections smaller than normal.
Not really a lot of places to expand on an island. With Cerulean City, you could always just build out from the center.
Hau dragged Sun into a small office called the tourist bureau, saying something about getting an upgrade since he had a rotom dex. They had been gone for about five minutes before Lillie arrived at the front when they had just exited.
"Sun, Hau. Did you visit the tourist bureau? How was it?"
"We got his rotom dex upgraded!" Hau cheered, "Now it can take pictures too!"
"Wow!" She smiled, "What a wonderful helper you are Rotom!"
"Thankzzz!" The device said inside Sun's backpack. "Now how about a little photo to test thizzz out!"
"Hey!" Sun tried to grab the pokedex as it unzipped his bag's pocket and floated up in front of them. Before he could grab his pesky companion, it emitted a bright flash, catching the three by complete surprise.
Lillie's mouth was open as she still tried to figure out what had just happened while Hau on his other side had his signature goofy grin plastered on his face. Sun was in the center, frozen in mid-dive with outstretched arms grabbing for the elusive floating electronic.
"What was that for Rotom?" Hau demanded, "Go and put that little trickster back in your bag Sun and follow me! Enough feasting for the eyes! It's time we take care of our stomachs!"
Sun had to agree, as he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, but he held up.
"Hau wait up. Let's take another picture…one we're ready for."
The energetic boy agreed and the three of them found a good spot just next to the sandy beach where the camera would face the ocean. Although it was nearly dusk, there was just enough orange light to capture a worthy picture that would be treasured.
"Okay Rotom," Sun took him out again, "You can take another photo of us."
Both Hau and Lillie stood next to him and smiled. The boy stuck his free hand in front of him and extended both his thumb and pinky finger.
"What are you doing Hau?" Lillie asked.
"Hanging loose. You guys should try it too. It just means to relax and take it easy!"
"Sure," Both others replicated the gesture. Lillie was a little nervous, but joined anyway.
Rotom flashed again before floating into Sun's hand as the main screen displayed the photo. They crowded around him to see as well.
"I like it," Lillie commented.
Hau nodded his agreement, "Me too."
"When I find a place to print, I'll send you both a copy."
"You don't have to do that," She said.
"Sure I do," Sun disagreed, "After all you're my friends."
"F-friend?" Lillie stuttered, now a bit off at what he had called her. Unbeknownst to them; she never really had much of a friend, especially one around her age.
"Of course you're my friend Lillie!" He said, "Unless you don't want to be,"
"Sure! Now c'mon," She walked further down the sidewalk towards the city, "Hau, I think I will go stop by the apparel shops and do some shopping of my own. I'll go ahead and take Sun with me and maybe meet up for dinner or something."
"Okay," Both boys agreed and they split up, going in separate directions. Sun trailed Lillie as she headed past the multitude of fancy looking boutiques that were joined into a larger building just past the beaches and the tall hotels that lined their sides. Part of it separated where even more shoppers were going to the stores further inside the area.
"Oh Sun," Lillie stood right next to him, "Tell me, do you pick out all your own clothes?"
To be honest; he had never really picked out many garments he wore at the store. Mom did a lot of shopping for him and he just picked out what he wanted to wear for the day. As long as nothing was horribly mismatched, he wasn't choosy.
"Actually, my mom does it for me."
"Really?" She was surprised at that, "You too? I…I've always just worn the clothes that my mother wanted me to wear. It's good to see that I'm not the only one. I don't really know what kind of things would suit me."
Sun nodded, "Well I'm actually kind of excited when I decide to start buying stuff I want to wear. Maybe one day, when we've got nothing to do, we can shop all day. I don't mind clothes shopping; in fact I actually kind of enjoy it." His cheeks turned a little red from admitting that.
Lillie giggled; from what she knew, most boys loathed going out to shop for garments.
"Actually I wanted to give you this. I didn't even buy anything. They still gave it to me saying I was like the ninety-nine thousandth customer to visit, but I already have the same one, so I thought you might want it."
"A lens case?" Sun asked. He had seen them advertised before, with a set of different colored contacts that altered the appearance of one's eye color. "Thanks."
"It looks like we have something in common now, don't we Sun?" She giggled, "Although I don't see why you would need to change your eye color."
"Me neither," He thought that almost any of the eye colors he had seen on people looked great. "I'm glad I got gray. Even though green is nice too,"
"Yeah," She sighed, "Um Sun. Sorry I haven't been that much of a guide yet, but this is Kalakaua Avenue, it's the big shopping and entertainment of Alola and as you can see, it's huge. There's a few big shopping plazas, a lot of cool restaurants and tourist galas and all the like. Always something to do here for everyone! You could even get a haircut in the salon if you wanted."
"Wow," Sun could only stare in wonder at the sight. Kalakaua Avenue was enormous, with palm trees every now and then, providing much needed shade from the intense Alola sun. They preceded large buildings on their right, which had a wide diversity of different logos for the many shops that lined this section. Some paths opened into promenades that people could go further inside to explore even more venues set up inside the city. Right on the sides of the sidewalks were some musicians with guitars and ukuleles, playing soft and calming island music that almost seemed to meld perfectly with the waves crashing on the beach just thirty feet to their left.
People of all kinds were walking around them from families to groups of giggling teenage girls. Everyone seemed very happy and lively.
It's like just being here on Alola makes all these people vibrant.
"It's pretty neat," Lillie agreed, "How about we go and see what's inside?"
"Okay,"
"Hey you!" They were interrupted by a young brunette dressed in a white T-shirt with a beach image on the front. She bounded over to them accompanied by a popplio and butterfree following close behind.
"Leilani?"
"That's my name!" She cheerfully said, "You're Sun right? Or is it Elio?"
"I don't have a preference." The boy replied, "How did you know?"
"Well Hau talks about you all the time since you got here! You tend to get a little suspicious when your hoapili talks so much about someone else other than yourself."
"I have to agree on that," Sun scratched the back of his head while Lillie looked away shyly. Glancing back at the girl, he did have to admit that Hau was right about Leilani being very pretty. "He's around somewhere though. Lillie and I split up from him while they show me the city."
She smiled, showing off neat straight rows of white teeth, "Well be sure to take him all around Kalakaua Lillie! That's where all the best stuff in Hau'oli is at! I bet you I know where Hau is at, so maybe I'll stop by!"
"Sounds good. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."
"But still, you can't go around Alola like that! Everyone's going to tell that you came to Alola from someplace far off right?"
"Well...yes."
"I can tell and so can everyone else. So don't be offended by this, but you're clearly a haole and you don't want to come off as one."
"Haole?"
"Yup," Leilani nodded, "People in Alola use that term to describe someone who isn't native to the region in a rather rude way. But at least it's easy to become ohana to us! How about I help you out in the proper way in showing how we greet one another?"
"Sure," Elio agreed, "Customs are way different here than in Kanto and I better get used to them."
"All right!" She put her hands in front of her chest and waved them both outward at the same time, "Alola!"
"Alola!" He repeated the gesture.
"See! Just like that! You'll make a lot more friends and be less of a haole if you say it!"
"That doesn't make me less of one right?"
"No, but take the term with a grain of salt Sun. Most people will just use it to lightly tease and generally, they mean well."
"Okay. Got it."
"Well I better go meet up with Hau before both of us lose track of him! Remember Sun, make sure you say Alola to everyone you meet! It's the same whether you are saying hello or goodbye! Take care of Lillie!"
"Bye Leilani!" Sun and Lillie waved as the older girl took her leave down the sidewalk to head further down the street.
"She sure knows how to make friends," The blonde said longingly after she had long departed.
"Hau says she was his childhood friend and they basically grew up on Melemele Island. Also says there's a lot of boys in Iki Town who have a crush on her."
"Explains a lot. Are you one of them?"
"Kind of hard to say at this moment. I've known her and just about everyone else here for less than a week. Speaking of which; did you grow up here in Alola Lillie?"
She shook her head, "Well...yes and no. I was born here in the Alola region, but I didn't live on this island until I started staying with Professor Kukui for the past couple months."
"Was it hard? You know, having to adjust after coming from so far away?"
She saw where he was going with this and subsequently shook her head, "I'll admit that I don't really feel all that comfortable when I'm in an unknown place with lots of people...I really don't know why, but it just makes me nervous. Even though I've been to Hau'oli City a couple of times, I only relax if I am with someone or at someplace familiar like here...with you."
"Well then I guess we're both in a foreign place and out of our comfort zone. So how about we go together?"
"Yes," Lillie agreed as she felt the anxiety melt away at his suggestion. She lifted her large white hat up to meet his eyes. "Let's do that."
The biggest shopping center on Kalakaua was the Makiki Center, a big open-air venue that had large department stores and hundreds of smaller trendy boutiques that lined the sides of the multiple floors that surrounded the complex.
They stopped at an ice cream stand to buy a couple of cones after their conversation came to favorite desserts as they continued to explore more of Makiki. Lillie had sat down for just a minute when Elio returned to her side, holding a pair of swirled frozen treats in a grid waffle cone.
"Sun?"
He held one out to her, "Here."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah I am. Pretty sure it's not a good idea to try and eat two big cones of ice cream by myself." This incited a chuckle from both of them.
"How did you know vanilla is my favorite flavor?"
"Well you were talking about vanilla ice cream. After all, it's the most plain but best flavor. Not too flashy or distinct, but it tastes good. What more could you ask?"
Lillie nodded, "How much was it?"
"Don't worry about it."
"What?"
Sun laughed, "Lillie, did you see how much money Mom gave me? I've got plenty to spare and I'll be earning more by winning battles."
She nodded nervously, "Okay Sun. Thank you for buying. Hau was right when he said that going to get treats is way better when you're with someone else."
"Good." He glanced around at the crowd, "So did you want to keep shopping around?"
"Well yes actually. Um, I was looking for this store called Alola Sunrise. It's the most popular boutique accessory shop that sells only the best kind of stuff for girls on Melemele Island. Do you want to come with me?"
"Uhh," Sun felt his heart stop. He knew all about these kinds of girls shops. It was going to be an awkward experience when going in, since he was probably the only boy inside the entire store. There was one time when his parents took him to Celadon City's huge shopping department where he saw a bunch of older teenage boys and young men all loitering around close to the place's hot pink colored entrance. Each one was bored out of their minds on their cell phones and they all had fancy looking bags handing loosely on their arms as they awaited agonizingly for their girl to come back out. He had laughed at the display, but almost having to experience it firsthand made it was a lot less funny.
Still, he didn't want to leave Lillie all by her lonesome.
Game face on Elio. He thought to himself, This better be worth it.
"Okay sure. Must be a neat place."
Oh it's a neat place all right...if I were a girl.
It was right after they finished their ice cream. Truth be told, there was hardly anything inside the trendy looking place that caught his attention. There were a lot of shiny display cases with everything from bracelets, rings, necklaces to hair products. There were also girls inside...a lot of them. In fact; Elio was the only boy inside the entire store and he received stares from everyone else as if he was a different species.
This is literally a no man's land. I should've tried my luck with all those boyfriends standing outside the store.
As Lillie continued to browse through the various things; Sun actually found himself drawn to one of the jewelry cases. There were several rare items including pearl strings, stardust pendants and star pieces that were all made into valuable accessories. While they did look nice; the prices were eye-popping and he decided against getting one for Lillie as a gift.
One item did catch his attention; a pendant that was in the shape of the island guardian Tapu Koko. The detail was incredible and the diamonds sparkled from the display lights, giving it a bright radiance that set it ahead of everything else in the shop.
"Alola," The lady greeted him, "Finding everything okay?"
"Yeah," He droned off, trying to act as if he was excited to be there, "Just looking around at what you've got."
"You don't have to pretend," She caught his attention, "You're not the first boy that's come in here trying to look interested. I get it. This isn't a boy's shop."
"Yeah, no kidding." He stared longer at the Tapu Koko pendant, oddly very intrigued about the piece of jewelry.
"You like the Tapu's pendant?" She asked, catching on to the teen's curiosity. "You can get it blessed by the kahuna of Melemele Island and it is said that anyone who has had an encounter with Tapu Koko and wears this pendant is believed to be someone that the guardian watches over and keeps safe."
"Yeah, it's pretty neat." He had really grown interested in its appeal. Maybe it was because he and Lillie shared a personal encounter with the elusive pokemon. Maybe it was because it had an exhibit of its own inside this hip place. Maybe it was because it cost almost double the amount of money his mother gave him. With enough battles and prize money won, he would be able to afford it. "Although I could probably do without all the gems and maybe tone down the price a little."
"Actually you're in luck," She reached down behind her desk and pulled out a box. Opening it, the velvet cradled an identical one, now having detailed dark carvings into the golden luster. There were no gemstones on this one and she had named the price significantly less than for the blinged one. It was still way more than what he was willing to pay, so he politely declined the offer.
"Alright," The lady put it away, "It's here if you want it though."
"Thanks,"
"Don't mention it. Oh and here," She reached over to hand him a small rainbow colored scale of sorts. "It's not much, but I do understand how you feel when you're out of your comfort zone in a place like this. You seem to be a trainer, so I heard this item here can be useful on your island challenge. A prism scale like the one in front of you is said to evolve some sort of pokemon found at Brooklet Hill."
"Hey Sun," Lillie came up to him from behind, "I'm done shopping. Hope you're not too bored." She looked at the shiny scale in the boy's hands, "Oh...wow. You came with me here when I wanted to look around and then you end up buying something while I'm empty handed." Her laughter brought the corners of Sun's mouth upwards, "Wow. Talk about ironic."
"Oh right," He fished for his wallet, "How much for this ma'am?"
The lady shook her head, "You've already paid for it in time. And like I said, I can totally correlate when my husband forces me to come with him to the electronics store. Besides, I've been trying to get rid of that for a while now and since so little trainers come here nowadays; it's almost a chore to try and get someone to buy it. I believe a fine trainer like yourself will find a way to make good use of it."
"I will," Elio nodded, clasping the palm sized item and slipping it into his backpack, "Thanks...sorry. Mahalo."
"'A'ole pilikia."
"Wow," Lillie gasped in wonder as Elio held up his new prism scale which sparkled in the evening lights that lined the side of the street. "A prism scale. So does it evolve a pokemon?"
"That's what the lady said. Didn't specify, but said it could be found at Brooklet Hill."
"Oh that's on Akala Island. But we won't be going there today. It is getting late after all."
"We should head home then. I don't want my mom getting worried." Sun glanced down at his phone as a text from Hau was pushed to him, "Oh?"
"What?" Lillie peered over at him.
"Hau wants to meet up for mala-sadas?"
"Oh Hau," She sighed, "I should've known he wasn't going to end a day without getting some of those."
"What is a mala-sada?"
"I think it's better if he tells you." The blonde glanced down the street's sidewalks, "You should go meet up with him before it gets too late."
"You don't want to come?"
"It's not that. I'm already quite tired from today."
"Okay," Sun nodded and stepped closer, "You want me to walk you and Nebby back home?"
"I thought you were going to see Hau and get malasadas?"
"Those can wait," He said, "I just moved here, so I don't think missing out on something that gets him so excited is going to kill me."
"It might kill him," They shared a round of laughter at that. "I can tell he's dying to introduce them to you! Trust me...you'll like them." Lillie glanced down at her bag, silently thanking the fact that Nebby had slept through almost their entire journey through the city, "I'll be okay. I promise."
"Okay," He nodded and a faint smile graced his face, "If you say so."
After seeing Lillie off to head back to Professor Kukui's lab, Elio headed for the pokemon center on the west side of town to heal up his two companions.
"I saw those Team Skull numskulls loitering around the Marina again. I reported it to the captain of course,"
Sun had crossed another street when he heard a pair of workers conversing over at a parkside bench. From what he observed, this group called Team Skull was not regarded highly by the denizens.
"This is what happens when young people have nothing to do and too much time on their hands!"
"What a bunch of useless thugs! All they do is drag trainers into battles they don't want and try to steal people's pokemon!"
"I heard they keep trying to sneak into the trial site to steal pokemon to sell and that they fail every single time," His cohort added. The boy couldn't help his curiosity at the conversation and decided to butt in.
"So why hasn't anyone done anything about it?"
The man chuckled darkly, turning to the newcomer, "Look kid, it's best to let the authorities take care of them. Don't go trying to be a hero."
"Authorities haven't done a good job." Sun countered, "Otherwise this Team Skull wouldn't be much of a nuisance as you say."
"You sure do have guts," The woman said, "I'll give you that."
"Wouldn't you want to do something about these numskulls instead of griping all day?"
"If we could, we would." The man replied, "Team Skull often picks fights with weak trainers, especially newbies and then take their pokemon once they win. No offense kid, but you'll be a tempting target."
"I have to try," Sun said, "I won't stand for something like that."
He made his way closer to the marina, running into Hau along the way. His friend emerged from a restaurant that had a pink pokemon logo on the top with its tongue sticking out. It came as no shock to Sun when Hau told him that this malasada was his favorite food. Eager to find out for himself, he went inside to try the delicacy.
"It's the miraculous munchy born in Alola! Welcome to your neighborhood Malasada shop!"
The malasada shop was tidy and he was instantly hit with the smell of fried dough. Menu was straightforward so he decided on the Big Malasada because he had skipped lunch. Sun was directed to a seat inside and a clerk eventually set it in front of him with a big wrapping of foil paper in case he wanted it as takeout.
It was way bigger than he thought, but once he took a first bite, he was already in love. The taste was a combination of sweetness along with the eggy cakelike dough. As he worked his way towards the center, reddish filling began oozing out that really accented and complimented the dryness of the confection. There was sugar coated on the edges that stuck to his fingers, so he licked them off. No shame in doing that, since most others were also eating with their hands. This affair looked as if it could get quite messy, but he figured that was part of the experience.
At the same time, the Big Malasada was quite filling and he had begun to feel rather full after eating only half of it. As much as he wanted to wrap it up and carry it with him, the filling was likely going to leak if he didn't properly wrap it and get the inside of his pack dirty.
Not wanting to take any chances, Sun split the pastry in two and tossed out his pokemon. Litten and Grimer walked on the floor before they stared up at their trainer with the tasty looking piece of food.
"I'm stuffed," He explained, lowering a half to each member, "You guys try some."
Both pokemon sniffed his offering before slowly nibbling away. Grimer grabbed it with both his hands while Litten continued to eat out of his palm, using his tongue to wipe his fingers clean of the sweet filling.
He was definitely happy to see that both pokemon were disciplined when it came to eating. This would definitely make mealtimes while out on his own an easier and stress-free affair.
Litten purred again as they looked back up at him, expectant for more. Sun noticed a bit of filling that clung to his whiskers.
"Sorry, I'm out." He held up his hands in explanation, "We'll get some more. I promise." He grabbed a napkin and gently dabbed his starter's mess away.
"You guys ready to go?"
His pokemon nodded and he pulled out their balls to recall them.
"Alright. Where to next?"
Even though it was almost nine in the evening; Sun decided to check out the Marina and see if the other's assumptions of Team Skull loitering around was true.
As he came closer to the ocean again; the touristy section was starting to give way heading westward to many big skyscrapers with reflective panels shining the lights of the recreational district. There were a couple of blinking lights in the sky as the traffic from Hau'oli's busy airport continued to feed out and take in many commercial flights even at such late times.
Many other people were still out after the sunset, enjoying the cool breeze wafting through the air. The crowds at the beach had since dispersed although he saw several other figures still wading through the water at various depths. A handful of surfers were still up and about, catching more waves. There were even a few couples taking evening strolls here and there with hand in hand.
There was one familiar face he did recognize.
"Ah," The pink haired boy turned from leaning out on the Marina's guardrail, "Greetings. It's me Captain Ilima."
"Hey Captain," Sun greeted, shaking the hand that was outstretched to him, "Good to see you again."
"The pleasure is all mine. Elio is it?"
"You can say that or Sun. I'm not picky."
While at the Trainer school on his one-day lesson on pokemon battling; Sun had run into Melemele's Trial Captain. A preppy young boy by the name of Ilima who had once been the academy's star pupil. He came off as very personable, easygoing and formal, but was warned that underneath his perfect intelligent exterior lay a man whose competitiveness rivaled any glory-hungry trainer out there. One of the students had said that he had taken a semester off to study abroad in Lumiose City halfway around the world in the center of the Kalos Region. Sun would later learn that his trial would be the first he would undertake on the island challenge.
"Very well." He smoothed out an untamed part of his otherwise neatly combed hair, "I take it your friends showed you around the beautiful Hau'oli City?"
"Hau and Lillie were good guides sir. Although there's still much to explore."
"There always is plenty, my friend. I have lived here all my life and still experience things in Alola that I've never seen or done before. It truly is home and I hope you will one day think the same."
"Oh," Elio looked down in a little bit of embarrassment. It seemed nowadays that everyone was aware of his reluctance to move and call this island chain home. Either they didn't take it very well or wanted to avoid someone having a bad experience. "Well I'm sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings. It's just hard to have to find out you're moving halfway around the world in fourteen days."
"Ugh," Ilima sighed, "I can understand that. My parents were the same when I went to Lumiose City for six months. Although I have to say that the experience of being on my own out there has enriched me for all the better, especially when I chose to embrace the cultural change. Do give Alola a chance and maybe it will wiggle its way into your heart so that you can always fondly think of this island as a place to call home."
He smiled again, showing a row of perfect white teeth, "And do drop the sir stuff. Makes me feel older than I actually am. Only eighteen after all."
"Thanks Ilima." The boy found that he quite liked this Trial Captain. "You sure know how to turn the tables."
"You would not believe the times before the state I was in now. School wasn't always this easy."
"Agreed," Sun said, "Work was intense; especially as the grades got higher. Peer pressure, bullies."
They chuckled a bit at that, "Every school has its fair share of all that. You had some in yours?"
"Yup. Thank goodness they never picked on me since I was in sports. Apparently, being on a team granted you immunity. But I still felt bad for all the others that they harassed."
"Yo yo yo! Check it out!" A heavy voice boomed from the end of the Hau'oli Marina that pierced the tranquility of the evening. "Whenever, wherever we meet ya, Team Skull don't even greet ya!"
"Speaking of bullies," Ilima said, glancing to his right.
Sun followed his gaze. Two shadowy figures made their way over to the duo. They were maybe a little older than them, probably in their late teens or early twenties. The dark clothing they wore almost camouflaged them from the light and their faces were hidden by a scarf that covered their nose and mouth, showing only a pair of malicious eyes. A do-rag that resembled a skull covered their heads and there was a silvery chain of some sort of bling that sparkled and jingled noisily.
This is Team Skull? They sure are subtle.
They homed right in on the two, standing in front proudly before crossing their arms and striking them downwards in a curve that Elio had to admit was one of the most ridiculous intimidation poses he had ever seen. It did take a bit of effort from him to restrain from laughing.
"So Cap, just give up the pokemon yo." The taller one of the two said, "Ya don't wanna mess with us!"
"Wait a second," Sun said, "You guys are Team Skull?"
"Yeah dat's right!" The grunt's partner said proudly, "We part of the hardest most rad group there is in Alola."
"So anyway," Ilima continued without giving them another second of his attention, "I hope that my school has taught you the basics on being a trainer, although there is still much to learn. I still don't know everything and each passing day is an opportunity for me to continue my growth to become the best pokemon trainer and battler I can possibly be."
"Wait, WHAT!" They were interrupted once again by the two delinquents who were clearly less than amused at being ignored, "Why ya tryin to act hard when we're already hard as bone out here homie?" The two Skulls began to wave their hands about to some sort of dance that was in an even more laughable manner as part of their so called "swag"
"Yo! Let's check these fools!" His partner said, "Cap, you still a brain and all, so be smart and hand over the pokemon!"
This finally got the older boy's attention, but instead of snapping, he shrugged indifferently. "Oh my...I'm absolutely terrified."
The deadpan was enough to stifle a chuckle from Sun.
Neither of the two Skull grunts found it funny, "Ya gonna regret sayin that bro! And don't ya dare ignore us again!"
"You will find no interest from me for any of your joke of activities. I suggest you take your loud selves elsewhere," Ilima replied bitterly, "So that this fine young man and I can continue our civilized conversation. As for being quote on quote hard as bone; you must know that while your skeleton can be quite strong, it is not indestructible although that can be partially remedied by intake of calcium at an early age. Clearly you should've thought of something more durable. Of course, neither of you would know that, since you likely indulged yourselves on soda pop instead of milk."
The lecture sounded so sophisticated that it had rolled right over both teens' heads. Ilima didn't seem to care that they listened or tried to interpret anything from it, but instead caught their irritation. "Did he just call us stupid bro?"
His partner turned to him, not wanting to admit the latter part of the sentence was almost spot-on, "Wha? I dunno. Who cares bro?! The only thing stupid around here is da pointless Island Challenge!"
"Yeah! So when we beat you two wimps, ya gonna see how much better we are than trainers doing all those crappy trials! We gonna take yo pokemon and you can go cry to mommy!" The second grunt mock rubbed his eyes and took a poke ball out of his pocket with his partner.
Ilima scoffed, holding one of his own in his right hand, "Elio, only thieves steal other people's pokemon and only bullies pick on others. I won't stand for it."
Sun smiled, knowing exactly what he was thinking, "Neither will I."
"I will ask you to deal with that one while I get rid of this one. Your battling style; I would like to see it firsthand. Why not have some practice?"
"We ain't no pushovers bro!" The grunt facing Sun taunted, "You'll see!"
He threw the ball out, opening it up to reveal a familiar blue and purple winged creature.
A zubat?! Really?!
"I've detected a new pokemon!" Rotom buzzed from inside Sun's backpack, "Zubat...bat pokemon. It sleeps in caves during the daytime due to the fact that they suffer severe burns from prolonged exposure to sunlight. Because it does not posses eyes, it relies on ultrasonic waves to perceive objects and communicate."
Huh interesting, He took out Grimer's poke ball, "Grimer, you're up!"
The big blob of greenish sludge hit the Marina's floor and formulated upward until a pair of gooey arms sprouted out.
"Yo check out how I change the game with my mad pokemon skills bro!" Grunt waved his arms about again, "Ya wish ya were on my level bro!"
"I wish you would stop saying bro," Elio said, "I like saying it too, but you don't have to end it in just about every sentence."
"I can say whatever the damn hell I want bro," The grunt pointed at Grimer, purposely trying to annoy the teen, "Zubat, use astonish!"
The fluttering pest of a pokemon opened its mouth and let out a high pitched piercing scream that made him almost jump out of his skin. Grimer visibly jumped, shaking itself as it tried to recover from the attack.
"Use pound!"
The poison and dark type raised its arms up and brought them down on his flying opponent.
"Absorb!"
As Grimer finished slamming down; the zubat flew back up, baring its four sharp fangs and biting down on a part of his exposed body. The sludge bent at the force of the bite and the siphon of energy caused him to shake in pain.
"Use poison gas! Get it off you!" Sun commanded.
"Heh," The grunt snickered, "Ya know dat poisoning doesn't work on a poison type? Ya sure ya went to school?"
I know poison types are immune to poisoning...He dryly thought, But I didn't use it to do that though.
Grimer breathed out a puff of sickly green gas that covered both combatants. Both trainers could smell its foul odor and even his own trainer had to keep himself from gagging. Zubat had the worst of it; fluttering back up in the air again as it made a loud hacking noise and continued to flap the tiny wings to disperse the murky cloud.
"Bite!" The bat rushed forward, baring its fangs once again.
"Counter it with pound!" Grimer had taken the hit and the second time being bitten caused him to visibly cringe from having the sharp fangs. Despite flinching and canceling out his attack by not moving, the blob's body remained remarkably resilient to most of the damage he had received.
It might be because he's part dark type too, but Grimer's body can easily take all those hits back at the school too.
Zubat rose back up again by his trainer, who pointed once again at Grimer, "Bite dat worthless blob again!"
"Poison gas!"
"Supersonic!"
Sun jumped as the zubat opened its mouth, releasing a ring of bluish energy that encircled Grimer. He let out a low moan of startled before belching out another noxious cloud; this time aiming completely off target. The zubat easily maneuvered around. Confusion meant that now his pokemon was likely to attack itself just as easily as its foe.
"I know you're confused and all, but find that zubat and bite it!"
Grimer's response was to expose its own teeth, much more rounded and dull than the zubat's and nick itself on its lower lip. He let out a startled cry, hastily pawing at the fresh injury he had inflicted on himself.
"I guess ya pokemon's gonna knock itself out for me!" The grunt chuckled darkly, "Dat makes my job a lot easier! Use a sick shotzz bite zubat!"
"Grimer, harden!"
By a stroke of luck; he had manged to shake his head from all the overwhelming thoughts that had swarmed his head. He immediately stiffened into a solid form that almost resembled dried jelly. The zubat had been in the process of clamping down its sharp fangs. Instead of something soft and malleable; the incisors met something much more solid and the bat quickly pulled away, letting out a hiss of annoyance upon finding out the hard way.
"Pound before it gets away."
Grimer let out a happy groan as it lashed out with one of its arms in a slapping maneuver. The zubat was swatted down on the ground and struggled to get up.
Elio clenched his fist as he knew that the battle had now turned in his favor and was intent on delivering the final blow, "Finish it with a bite!"
His teeth glowed white as they came down on a part of zubat's wing, holding it inside the jaws for just a moment before slowly letting go. The defeated pokemon shook once before it would faint on the cement floor in front.
"Fo real bro?!" The grunt looked back at Elio in surprise, "It over already? Dat ain't fair bro! I was playin a different game!"
The boy gave a victorious grin back, "I play to win bro," He said, mocking their overuse of the word, "Game, set and match!"
"Ya know what?! I kinda hate ya already! Ya ain't far at playin!"
"C'mon," The grunt's partner said, equally shocked at having his own pokemon get handily defeated by Ilima, "Let's get up outta dis port bro! Nobody gotta know about dis! Keep yo wack pokemon Ilima! We don't need it anyway!"
"You should've thought of that before you barged in on our conversation," The Captain wasn't fazed by them at all.
Neither grunt seemed to hear that as they ran back down the docks, shoving a man aside who happened to be right in their path. He shouted at them angrily, but they fell on deaf ears.
"Don't hate the player!" Sun shouted to their retreating figures, "Hate the game!"
"Oh my...that was terrifying." Ilima dryly remarked, "Don't you agree Elio?"
He nodded in reply, "They sure were a scary bunch."
"My thanks to you and your pokemon. Why don't I heal your team to express my thanks?"
"Sure," He handed Grimer's poke ball over after calling him back. Ilima applied a couple bits of medicine to get him back to full strength, "Although honestly, I think you could've taken both at the same time."
"Double battles sure are fun and they require some extra teamwork up from singles, but I also wanted to see how you battle." He placed a hand on his chin and stepped away, facing him, "I must admit that I've been wondering about you since we first met at the Trainers' school. The professor had brought you along and you and your pokemon seemed to defeat some of the best students and even a teacher there with relative ease."
"I'll tell you it wasn't all easy," Sun admitted, "They were all good in their own right."
"Nevertheless, I now believe that you are ready for my trial!" He took out a pokeball and threw it forward, "Behold the magnificent pokemon of the one and only Captain Ilima!"
So a bit of a heads up; since this story is basically a recount of the different moments between Sun and Lillie as the primary focus; there's going to be a few gaps up ahead with the next up and coming chapter being one of them. I'll do my best to bridge it all in between even though I'm aware that I will be skipping a portion of several important parts. Of course as the story continues through the other islands, these jumps will be less frequent and over shorter distances.
Hoa - Friend
Hoapili - Best friend
Haole - Haole literally means "no breath" in pidgin. Native Hawaiians use the term in a derogatory manner towards people not native to the islands (mainly towards those of Caucasian descent) It is a similar racial slur to gringo which in some Latin American countries, is geared towards Americans...particularly Caucasians.
'A'ole pilikia - You are welcome/No problem
As always, mahalo for reading and reviewing; you give my writing purpose.
Brav