Alola readers! I'm terribly sorry this one took so long to put out, but hopefully from here on it won't be many months before I post another update. This holiday season has already been a busy one with both work and family. I'll aim to get the next one out by Christmas time.
In the time I was gone, I've moved halfway across the States for my job, the second time this has happened in the past couple years. It's just been a hectic thing of moving, settling and getting a bunch of other things squared away. It's like trying to step on a treadmill already going at sprinting speed.
Bear with me here. I'll make things worth the wait.
Mister Molayne battled Elio and it was really intense! But at the end, I'm pretty sure he is more than qualified for the trial! Molayne specialized in steel type pokemon, one that I read has a lot of strong defensive qualities. I even got to referee my very first battle! It's harder than I thought!
Speaking of which; I also met the captain. His name is Sophocles...or at least that's how he goes. He's kind of shy and it's not really the person I expected to create Festival Plaza. I was imagining the founder to be a well-kept man in a business suit.. Sophocles was wearing a gamer shirt! How is that possible?
"Time to see how your skills are young trial goer!" Molayne confidently said from his side of the field. "Take the field Chains!"
The pokeball released a strange creature in a flash of light. It was small in stature, maybe about the size of Elio's two fists together. A facelike feature was at the center of a teardrop body with a silver ring of...keys?
Is that pokemon holding keys?
"This is a klefki." Molayne introduced them. "Chains has been with me for a long time. You able to keep up with her?"
"She's holding your keys?"
"That'zzz right Bzzt! Here is where I zpout off a new pokemon detected thingy before anyone elzzze can zay zo! Bzzt! Klefki. Key ring pokemon. Although it's unclear why it collects keys, giving it a key makes Klefki very happy. However, it apparently only likes master keys. Klefki is a steel and fairy type. Additional information is available upon catching this pokemon."
"Steel type huh?" Elio pulled his choice into his hand and thumbed the arming button. "Then I choose Torracat!"
The fire feline deftly leapt onto all fours and stretched, staring at his opponent with intensity while the flaming bell ignited, throwing off golden sparks.
"You most definitely know your type matchups." Molayne complimented. "Now don't get all cocky just because of that. Chains and I have beaten fire types before."
"You haven't faced anyone like Torracat." Elio spun his finger to begin. "Use flame charge!"
Torracat purred loudly before engulfing himself in flames. He sprinted forward, continuing to build up speed. Klefki floated around in the air, simply moving to the side at the last moment to avoid him.
Elio's own pokemon stopped, turning right on a dime with expert footwork and charged forward with a second one. With a shorter distance to cover, the smaller pokemon didn't have much time to dodge again. Torracat only managed a glancing blow that spun Chains around as it let out a hiss of pain that sounded like china clinking together.
"Hit it again!" He cried.
"Iron defense." Molayne calmly ordered. Torracat once again powered himself up and moved even faster, thanks to Elio's successive flame charges building up speed. He collided just as Chains' main body seemed to glint in the light. Compared to the previous attack, this one had did less damage and merely staggered the steel type backwards instead of flinging it to the side.
"Now use torment!"
At Molayne's command, Chains jumped forward, jiggling his keys aggressively with the padlock looking center almost taking an angry expression. Elio felt a little uneasy seeing that.
Don't want to find that in the middle of the night.
"Be advizzzed!" Rotom chimed in afterwards. "Torment izzz a move where you can't uzzze the same move twice in a row! Bzzt!"
"Interesting to know." Elio changed tactics, knowing that continuing to go physical attacks would prompt Molayne to keep using iron defense to cover his tracks.
Torracat leapt in for a double kick, using his hind legs as always. Chains weaved through the first one, but was hit by the second, causing it to stagger back again. Elio tried another flame charge right after that, however Molayne already had an iron defense ready to use that reduced the fire type damage even more.
Special attacks will do the trick, but I just want to get it into a position where he can't escape!
Funny how he hasn't really gone on the offensive yet.
Torracat landed in front of his trainer, swishing his tail from side to side and purring softly. He was calm, yet he could feel his first pokemon's competitiveness bristling like wind on his fur.
"Get up close to it again and use fire fang!"
Elio failed to see Molayne smirk slightly.
His pokemon dashed forward as Chains spun around to see him lunging with fangs bared and swirling with orange flame.
"Use draining kiss."
Chains' center body glowed pink before it emitted a small pulse that centered and closed in around Torracat. He made a goofy face as soon as it hit, followed by a silent cry of pain. The wave returned right back to Chains where some of the visible scorch damage seemed to fade slightly.
Draining kiss? Does that heal?
Molayne chuckled. "That one got Kukui real good first time I tried it. He still beat me...so let's see if you can too."
Rather than shake a fist in anger, Elio used that as motivation. If he had to look on any bright side; draining kiss was a fairy move and not effective against fire types. So it didn't do that much damage, but he was more concerned about Chains' repairs to its own energy and health.
That iron defense is ruining my day. Elio thought to himself as Torracat shook it off. He growled at his trainer to let him know he was fine and ready again. I don't want to use a special attack. Hold that card until he's got no chance to escape!
"Fire fang! Get up close!"
Molayne raised an eyebrow as Torracat rushed forward, springing off his hind legs for a burst of propulsion. "He's definitely up to something." He muttered under his breath. Chains waited, almost a little unnerved at the next incoming super effective attack.
The keychain pokemon's core glowed that same magenta color again in another draining kiss.
"We got your guard down! Now overheat!"
Without breaking his stride; Torracat's maw opened wide, letting loose a jet of that same white hot fire. At this closer range, there was much less of an opportunity to escape. The klefki was engulfed inside and fell out when the stream dissipated, clearly knocked out of the fight
"Chains is incapable of battling further!" Lillie waved her hand towards Elio's side and couldn't help spreading a smile spread across her delicate features. "Torracat is the winner!"
Woo! All right! One down, two to go!
"Great job buddy." Elio praised as his starter bristled his fur and proudly puffed his chest out. The flaming bell on his neck blazed even more intensely. "Let's keep the momentum going and this match is ours!"
On the other side; Molayne returned his pokemon and slipped it back on his belt, whispering a couple quiet words of encouragement.
"Your Torracat's a good pokemon. I can tell you two have battled together often."
"He is my starter pokemon. First partner, first battler. We're in this together, no matter where it takes us."
"Interesting that Elio is keeping Torracat in play." Kukui noted from the sides as the battle took a brief pause as the contestants conversed.
"What do you mean?" Lillie glanced up at him, curious to see what he had meant.
"That move he has...overheat yeah. It's one of the most powerful fire type moves and he's got the clear type advantage over Molayne, who specializes in steel."
"And steel is weak to fire," she finished, "So it makes sense that he would keep Torracat in then."
"But that move overheat has its own type of revenge." At his next move pun, the blonde resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but kept on listening. "Although it's a powerful move, overheat is only its most powerful during the first time it's used. Each subsequent time he uses that attack will be weaker than the previous."
Does Elio know that? I'm sure he would…
They were interrupted by Molayne throwing out his second pokemon; a cobalt blue creature that resembled a rocket with a large ocular eye at one end. Close to the cylindrical limb were three silver claws and it hovered horizontally in the air.
"That's an interesting pokemon." Lillie said, curious at its rather odd shape.
"New pokemon detected! Bzzt!" Rotom floated beside his trainer and began to spout off information again. "Beldum. Iron ball pokemon. Its entire cell composition are magnets and it uses magnetism to communicate with its peers. Beldum is a steel and psychic type. Additional information is available upon catching this pokemon."
This one doesn't look as formidable as I thought. No matter, Torracat and I got this.
He started the fight out with another fire fang, stopping in surprise as the beldum took off at an astonishing speed to slam its front into Torracat's midsection. Elio guessed from a steel type that it weighed plenty to carry that much kinetic energy in the take down attack to send the larger pokemon back significantly.
Torracat tumbled a couple of times before using the claws in his front to stabilize and slow his speed. He let out a low growl and bared his teeth in defiance.
Holy...that thing hits like a truck. Better stay clear.
"Use overheat!"
"Beldum, take down at a low angle." Molayne calmly ordered. Again, the iron ball pokemon shot forward, dipping down so that it raced just above the dusty surface kicking up specks in its wake. Torracat's white hot fire attack accelerated downrange as Beldum effortlessly passed its lethal beam. Elio was also noting that it was a little less in intensity.
Overheat weakens special attack every time it's used. I could pull him out, reset the status and try it again.
Torracat used his strong legs again to dodge the predictable attack. He powered up a flame charge, slamming into Beldum's side as it attempted to retreat, however it seemed to do hardly enough of a hurt even with the type advantage working in his favor. Again it spun around, taking off with that same speed and hitting Torracat again just as he was putting his own weight down onto the ground. This sent him careening into the ground with dust and chunks of rock erupting upwards and leaving a large gashing skid mark behind in the dirt.
"Beldum, return!" Molayne suddenly changed the battle's tempo by grabbing his pokeball and returning his battler. He flipped another one into his hand, "I think it's time I take control of this battle with Polina!"
Now the creature opposite Torracat had a mole-like appearance, small stubby heads sticking out of the dirt. They looked like dugtrio, a common digging species that was found in a place called Diglett's Cave back in Kanto.
But this dugtrio was different; instead having waves of long blonde hair in vastly different styles on top of its head. Each one sparkled the same golden shade and he noticed that Lillie's own had a similar color.
"Is that a dugtrio?" Elio asked out loud. "I've never seen one like that before."
"Polina is my longtime partner and first pokemon, just like Torracat there. Yes, diglett indigenous to Alola have taken a much different form that most others see."
"I'm actually curious. Rotom?"
"I'm here and ready to provide all the helpful information you need! Bzzt! Dugtrio. Alolan subspecies. Mole pokemon. These pokémon are cherished in the Alola region, where they are thought to be feminine deities of the land incarnate. It's reputed that keeping the metallic whiskers that resemble blond hair bad luck to anyone. Alolan dugtrio is a ground and steel type. Additional information is available upon catching this pokemon."
Elio started at it again, already going through his mind of a new plan. With the sudden switchout, the ground typing left him at a disadvantage as well. Fire type moves were mildly effective against ground, however it would be devastating vice versa and he was still able to exploit the secondary steel typing.
"What are you going to do now?" Molayne's face gave off a playful smirk. "You won't believe how much Kukui got stumped by these."
"You're not stumping me with that." Elio gestured. "We're gonna win all the same. Torracat, use fire fang!"
"Sucker punch."
Oh no. Torracat closed the distance again and Sun knew that dugtrio had impressive speed, but wasn't sure if the Alolan subspecies had that same attribute. However Torracat had no time to dodge as Polina threw a shadowy fist that collided with his jaw that staggered him. He growled in protest, finally shrugging off the blow to bite his flaming teeth down on top of the largest head.
As he did, the blonde hair on top of that head stretched out as if it had a mind of its own and wrapped parts of it around Torracat's front legs. He yowled, moving them around, but Polina's hair was tenacious in keeping him bound.
"Torracat get yourself out of there! Bite or fire fang it!"
He bared his fangs, trying to pivot his head in an attempt to bite his captor, but it was as if the mole pokemon could control the movements of its blonde hair at will. Every time he twisted and turned, Polina made certain it was distant enough to keep him from biting or using his fire attacks.
In spite of all the futili, his persistence won over. He had kept growling and struggling, finally getting a break in biting right down on the smaller head with fire fang. This was enough for Polina to let go and as he made his escape, Elio saw that he was moving much slower than before.
What? How?
"What happened to Torracat?" Lillie whispered.
"Alolan dugtrio have an ability called tangling hair." Kukui explained, watching Elio and Torracat charge up an overheat and narrowly dodge a flung mud bomb from Polina. "Every time an attack makes physical contact with him, those hairs will reduce the attacker's overall speed."
"So the more Elio tries to use fire fang and bite," her voice trailed off.
"The slower Torracat gets. And he could also go for overheat, but remember what I said earlier." He turned his gaze back to the battle. "Molayne may have pokemon with lots of weaknesses, but he covers his tracks well and often plays around with opponents who get too cocky with type advantages."
"Elio's cocky?"
"We all get like that in battles to some extent." Kukui answered. "Elio's definitely not the arrogant type, but I do think that he gets overconfident whenever he has an advantageous matchup yeah."
Don't let your guard down Elio. Lillie thought to herself, wondering if he would pay attention to such warning. She had to remind herself to carefully observe the battle than the handsome trainer conducting.
"Overheat once more!"
"Tor!" As he fired off another beam of white hot flames, Polina halted its own attack and the three heads burrowed underground with small bits of dirt puffing in the air as the only indication of where it was located. Elio saw that instead of moving together, they had split into individuals.
Elio racked his brain for a solution. With the three splitting up, he was unable to get a shot off without at least one surviving.
Alolan diglett are said to sense movement above ground using the hairs on their head. They'll be able to predict his movements. We have to either get above ground or strike quickly when he does.
Torracat growled, pawing the soil with definite impatience. His beady eyes tracked the small bits of movement as Polina continued digging tunnels in its underground refuge. Sooner or later it would pop up again.
The three plumes of traveling dirt suddenly accelerated, centering just in front of the feline and lunged forward, burst through the ground in an explosion as all three individuals of Polina slammed into Torracat's legs full force with the species' signature move of dig, knocking him into the air.
Elio's jaw dropped in surprise, clearly not expecting Polina to regroup that fast. He was still trying to come up with a plan.
Torracat's body flashed while he hung in midair before he cloaked himself in fire and rushed forward, landing on the ground to deliver a flame charge. Polina simply flung a mud-slap attack just as he was about to collide, which ended up knocking him off his feet again to the side.
"Finish it with bulldoze!"
One by one, each mole of the alolan dugtrio vanished into the ground, striking the surface underneath to deliver a spreading shockwave that closed right in on Torracat just as he was getting back up. Elio's heart sank as he watched his starter pokemon's recovery was too slow for the incoming ground type attack. He took a step before collapsing onto the ground.
Lillie thrust a hand towards Molayne's side, almost missing her cue as the acting referee for the battle. "Torracat is incapable of battling! Polina is the winner!"
Again, Torracat is paying for my mistakes. Elio shook his head in total disbelief. I keep thinking his limits are far more than what they really are.
"I'm sorry buddy." He whispered, pulling out Torracat's poke ball and returning him back. "Take it easy. We'll get more work done later."
"You had the right thinking there Elio." Mo called out from the other end as Polina resurfaced. "One thing I'd suggest is to take the environment into consideration. Polina's hairs are extremely sensitive to movement on the ground. Plus we've worked well enough together to know what most other people try."
"Compliment accepted and I try my best sir." Despite losing his starter pokemon, he hadn't lost any confidence whatsoever. One piece of the team was gone, but he had many more to work with.
Using Akela would be bad. Polina has steel and ground typing, so the only thing that might work with him is counter, which he'll see coming a mile away. No go on Charjabug or Rufflet either, their own attacks won't do much to steel typings. Maybe going an actual type advantage is the way.
"Okay Nani, let's get this done!"
Elio tossed the pokeball, releasing his main water type. The milotic deftly landed on the ground and slowly uncoiled herself to face her opponent.
Molayne definitely looked impressed at the sight of the tender pokemon. "A milotic? Wow, that's actually a great pokemon you've got there Elio! I haven't seen one in person since...Minerva?"
"Minerva? Wallace Rain's milotic?" Sun was familiar with the name of the pokemon as well as her trainer. The signature pokemon of the former Hoenn champion was originally known for its captivating elegance in Wallace's multiple championships of the Hoenn and Sinnoh Grand Festivals and when he turned trainer, Minerva was at the forefront, showcasing that even a beautiful pokemon like herself was quite skilled in league battles.
Elio was ready to help her get back into training some more; even going as far to have Rotom pull up clips of Minerva in battle to think of new tactics and skills neither him or Nani might not know yet.
"Nani's been a strong member of my team. How about we show you what we got?"
"A fitting name. We'll see. Polina, use bulldoze!"
"Nani, iron tail on the ground to disrupt the shock wave!"
As the alolan dugtrio disappeared to strike the ground, Nani's four long fins immediately locked and sharpened into her glowing blade. Luckily the incoming bulldoze was predictably visible and she raised her tail up before driving it down to spear the wave just before it reached her. The amount of power between the two attacks made a loud abrupt crack as large chunks of dirt erupted right out of the ground in front.
Elio waved his hand forward. "Scald it!"
"Polina, return!" Molayne surprised him yet again, quickly pulling out his pokemon. "You're back up Beldum!"
Okay I wasn't expecting that to happen. But it does and doesn't make sense. Polina's weak to ground, but why switch it to Beldum?
"Keep your guard up Nani." Elio warned her. "He did that for a reason."
"Use take down!"
"Look out!" He cried, already knowing that the heavy pokemon had a surprising amount of speed to it. "It hits faster than it looks and-"
Nani tail whiplashed as the iron leg pokemon hit her midsection and she nearly toppled over, quickly springing back up but not before she shot Elio a rather nasty look.
"Sorry," he mouthed "Same page. Right."
Beldum took off again and Nani moved to intercept it with an iron tail that glanced off its metallic body with a loud clang as if a literal sword had struck a thick armor alloy. There was a visible denture in its side as it peeled away, spinning around on a dime and diving right back at Nani for the only attack it could use.
She was ready again, slithering low to the ground and out of its way, whipping her tail about to gain momentum. Her next attack, a strong dragon pulse kept Beldum from attacking on its own again. Instead, Molayne kept his pokemon on the defensive, evading dragon pulses and a scald, all while cupping his chin in thought.
What's he planning?
Elio wasn't about to idle around while thinking about that.
"Recover Nani. Be on your guard."
She straightened her posture before enveloping herself in the green regenerating aura. Although it took two seconds; that moment was all Molayne needed to give Beldum the go-ahead for another take down attack. By the time she landed on the ground, it had already come back around for a second successive strike. Elio didn't have the exact number of health like on a registered battling screen, but he knew that those two attacks back to back had erased the amount of energy she had regained plus more. She was breathing heavily and letting her tail swing back and forth; an indication that she was both wary and tiring from the battle.
On the other end, Beldum's entire body pulsed white before it abruptly vanished in a brilliant glow that immediately caught the attention of everyone around. There were already a couple of other spectators, but with the possible evolution happening, it was already attracting other observers.
"It's evolving." Elio said, even though there was pretty much no point in stating anything so obvious. Beldum's shape stayed stagnant for just a few seconds before its body molded, expanding to nearly four times as large. As the glow faded, he could see that it retained its gunmetal blue body with two red eyes and several silver spikes protruding from the upper disk on its head. The claws on Beldum's rear were gone, replaced with two larger robotic arms that were easily the size of its predecessor.
"New pokemon detected! Bzzt!" Rotom flew in front to briefly interrupt the battle with his usual rundown. "Metang. Iron claw pokemon. When two beldum link together, their psychic power is doubled, their intelligence however remains unchanged. It adores magnetic minerals and can pursue nosepass at speeds over sixty miles an hour. Metang is a psychic and steel type. Additional information is available upon catching this pokemon."
"So it's time you evolved." Molayne flipped open a small thin device Elio recognized to be an older model pokedex. "And you've learned some new moves too. How about we show them what we've got?"
Metang didn't move and made a metallic roaring sound as it narrowed its eyes at Nani.
"Use metal claw and go for the tail!"
Just as its pokedex data had implied; Metang locked its twin arms behind its back and shot out at an even faster speed than it did as a beldum. As it neared, the arms were waved in front as the silver tips began to gleam brightly as it aimed for her tail.
Elio's own mouth was open to issue a command, but he stopped himself. Something was off.
First off; Beldum was no longer a single leg with a rocket thruster, now a flying disk with a pair of movable dexteric arms. With the new array of moves he didn't know, the first effective instinct he had was to parry it off with iron tail.
No. Molayne would probably expect me to do that. And he has more to work with in Metang that he did Beldum.
"Fire a dragon pulse in front of you and then dive into it!" As Nani formed the green sphere of destructive power, Molayne pointed towards it, ordering Metang to dive and do the same.
As the dragon pulse exploded on the ground in an impressive display of power, Nani sidewinded low across the rugged surface, raising her head to go up into the edges of the blast radius. By now, it did its successive lingering explosion, dazzling everything in a verdant blaze.
Only this time, Metang was up close to meet her. Instinctively she shot a scald attack, but as she did, Metang's eyes glowed in a confusion that halted the stream of water before arching it backwards and returning it right to its user.
Nani hissed loudly, shaking her head around and ignoring Elio's encouragement to fight through it. Even a water pokemon like herself resistant to her own attacks found being struck by boiling hot water an extremely unpleasant situation.
Metang charged forward, raking her scaly skin with combo metal claw attacks. She had taken three before finally pulling herself together and striking back with an iron tail. The first blow fazed her foe briefly before she swung again to its much more prepared stance. The metal claw attack caught the other steel type attack in mid-strike before savagely yanking her down, burying the bladed tip into the soil.
Nani hissed in annoyance as she pulled in an attempt to free herself, however it was rooted deep despite the fragility of the crumbly soil.
Ah crap. Now what? Elio thought to himself, as he saw how limited her mobility was. Her own sword tail, arguably her greatest weapon was now the greatest liability in tethering her to the ground and severely limiting how she was able to move.
The soil's too hard, we can't soften it.
Or can we?
"Nani." An idea was beginning to formulate in his head. "We don't have much time, so let's get to work on freeing yourself. Can you recover enough to buy us some time and endure anything he throws at you?"
Her eyes were that unnaturally calm and trusting her species was known for and she gave him a slight nod, drawing in her energies and rejuvenating herself in a recover.
"Use take down twice and don't let up!"
Here we go. It would only take Nani just a couple of seconds to complete the recovery process, but Metang would be there in just that amount of time to barely give any for a reaction. As she began to regain her energy, she kept her crimson eyes on Metang's advancing form as it locked its two arms behind itself to become more aerodynamic.
It's coming in too fast, we're going to have to stop early and take what we have here.
"Nani, stop and fire a dragon pulse right in front of you."
With almost no time to dodge given its speed and approach vector, Metang had no choice but to run head on into another one of her green orbs of destruction. It detonated, sucking its victim towards the middle of the blast from an entropic pull before exploding again, tossing it around.
That was the perfect distraction Elio needed; "Now, scald the ground around your tail and free yourself!"
She had to work quickly and did so, coiling around and spraying the steaming water in the base area. The dry ground greedily sucked it up, turning dark and making a sound akin to a thickened substance. He could see her tail beginning to slightly shift, but he knew it was going to take more time given the area of her body that was at the surface level being the same diameter as her main serpentine frame.
"Clever trick." Molayne smirked. "Metal claw!"
Metang shook itself from the aftermath and charged forward, brandishing its twin arms to prepare for another strike.
Just a little more.
Nani's tail slid further from where it was pinned and he knew she was keeping it down to not telegraph that she was actually free.
"Use the mud!"
This was known as an improvised attack, which could be done several ways as milotic generally were incapable of learning a mud slap type of move like he was doing. Nani's tail flicked forward like a whip, sending flecks of it down towards the speeding Metang.
"Magnet rise!" However Molayne had one more trick up his sleeve. As Metang lunged forward, Elio saw it float up in the air past the makeshift mud-slap and deliver two raking strikes. It was about to hit again when Nani had begun to form a dragon pulse in her mouth and quickly backed off.
I need to keep it on its toes before I lose momentum again.
And she did. Blasting scalds and dragon pulses constantly kept Metang from charging forward and attacking. It worked.
Until it didn't.
Metang suddenly changed direction a moment after Nani blasted an area with scald by using metal claw to dig into the ground, right itself and plot a second vector. She was just a tad too slow and took a nasty take down blow to the midsection. However the glint in her eyes showed that she wasn't going down without a fight. Her tail locked into the sword again and she bought it up to spear the metallic pokemon right in the underbelly, flinging it up and onto the ground in a crashing spiral.
Lillie spread a hand to both sides as the dust began to clear and both pokemon were defeated. "Both pokemon are incapable of battling!"
"Then it's up to you Polina." Mo threw out his dugtrio again as Elio grabbed his own choice.
This ought to surprise him. "Let's go Jangmo'o!"
"Wow, that's a rare one." Both Mo and Kukui were surprised at the new addition to Elio's team. "You usually don't get them that young."
"He was the egg that I got from Kahananui Ranch." He proudly declared. "The missing piece that I need to create the best team ever!"
"Then let's see how he does in battle! Polina, use metal claw!"
The dugtrio charged forward, burrowing while wielding two metallic blades. Jangmo'o braced itself, surrounding his front with a protect that deflected the incoming attack. He didn't relent there, attacking with a sucker punch when Elio decided to tackle and ended up canceling the attack out.
"We'll make this count. Use bide!"
Jangmo'o promptly obeyed, planting his feet firmly on the ground and glaring at Polina.
Molayne didn't seem to understand why he had been still and kept up his offense. Elio felt a little nervous at Jangmo'o when he flinched and squeaked whenever he got hit, but the little guy was hanging in there while his scaly armor plating was being raked with metal claws and other attacks.
Jangmo'o's entire body flickered white, a signal that the bide energy was ready to be unleashed.
"Now!"
Bide was a move that required the user to take punishment for a period of time before they could unleash it in a single strike, dealing double the damage taken. While risky as it telegraphed what the pokemon was doing, many trainers could take advantage of it for careless opponents. Provided of course that the pokemon survived the barrage of moves and attacks that struck them while they waited.
Jangmo'o moved faster than Polina expected, smashing his entire body into the mole pokemon's side and sending him staggering.
"Don't let up! Tackle!"
"Use dig to escape!"
Jangmo'o was unable to get there in time as all three of Polina's heads vanished underground, leaving nothing but a wide hole as a reminder.
Elio cursed under his breath.
Wait.
"Bulldoze!"
"What the?" Molayne was in the middle of cursing himself when Jangmo'o stomped the ground angrily, sending seismic waves across the field that spread quickly. Just off to their left, the ground opened up, revealing a stunned Polina who was definitely not expecting to be hit in its own subterranean realm.
"One more time! Take it down!"
Jangmo'o's own squeak turned into a high pitched battle cry, akin to an angry child screaming as it stamped its clawed feet again to deliver the knockout blow. Polina stumbled before slinking down in its spot at Molayne's side of the field.
"Polina is incapable of battling!" Kukui thrust a hand to Elio's side. "Trainer Elio Northstar is the winner!"
"Woo!" Elio practically jumped up a few feet in the air in celebration of his victory dance. "Aww yeah that felt good! We crushed it!" He stopped when he saw the two adults glancing at his antics and quickly humbled himself. It was yet again that he won and celebrated rather excessively and obnoxiously.
Enjoy the win, boast a little maybe...but don't rub it into people too much.
To his surprise, Molayne recalled his pokemon and held out a hand.
"That was some fine battling kid. I'd expect nothing less from a protege under Kukui's steel wing."
The professor himself grinned widely at his friend's use of a move pun. "You've got that character to ya cousin! You're more than an ember hot yeah...you're more like an overheat hot! Woo!"
"Thanks professor. And thanks Mo." Elio smiled as Jangmo'o toddled up to his trainer, pulling on the leg of his shorts to beg for praise. "I had a lot of fun." He obliged his pokemon afterwards, giving it a scratch under the chin and a bean from his case.
"I think you're more than ready to take on the Mount Hokulani trial."
"You know," Kukui said, "Elio may be stronger than we were at this point in our island challenge."
"Really?" Lillie asked, even more curious and also trying to contain her excitement. "Elio's on a level above?"
"Back when we were kids maybe." Molayne answered for her. "But remember how much more difficult the island challenge has gotten?"
Kukui nodded and Elio's own mind went back to the many lackeys of Team Skull he had ran into on his journey. Remembering how many of them failed and gave up on the island challenge correlated with what he and Mo were saying in that it had gotten harder as the years went by.
They could've taken it when it was really easy compared to nowadays. So maybe it's not all their fault.
"I'm just ready to see how Elio here is going to do."
"Hold on a second Mo!" Kukui's abrupt voice interrupted them both. "My name's Emilio Kukui for cryin' fake tears out loud! Who is this Masked Royal you're talking about?!"
"I never heard Royal." Elio said, not really wanting to butt in, but couldn't help it. "That's the first time I've heard anything refer to the Masked Royal in days." He turned to the professor, trying to hide a glint in his eye. "You know something we don't?"
Lillie followed his gaze and Molayne did as well, a smirk starting to grow on his face by the second.
"Um...no. I know nothing of the Masked Royal! That is final gambit!" Kukui's watch buzzed and he glanced down at the screen. "I guess I'm back off to Malie Garden cousin! I figure Hau should be done eating malasadas yeah?"
You just got saved by the bell. Don't think I'll leave this one under the rug.
The professor hadn't waited for a reply and was already dashing off, jumping up onto a very convenient ride charizard that just happened to swoop down to pick him up. He flew northeast, disappearing over the horizon in a matter of seconds.
"My old buddy's as interesting as ever." Molayne noted.
"Well...he wanted to really get out of here." Lillie said, giving a defeated sigh and clutching her duffel close to herself. "I thought he was going to take me back...but whatever. More adventures to enjoy with Elio right?"
"Of course. I'd love to have you alone for the rest of it."
"You and me? Alone?"
Oh hell no. Did I just say that? I probably sound like some sort of creep!
"Elio?" She bent down, trying to meet his stonewalled stare that had found a spot on the ground to fixate at.
Yes...that piece of ground looks very fascinating.
"Uh what?"
C'mon...think of something. It's like my own brain got fried and I'm in some infinite looped reboot. Reset! Reset!
"Just...just how about we go inside to do the trial?"
Really anything to get out of this awkward mess.
Molayne voiced his agreement, chuckling to himself at seeing the unspoken attraction between the two teens and led them inside the observatory.
Lillie couldn't help the heat that rose in her cheeks and the blooming feeling in her chest as they walked inside.
Elio wants to finish the rest of his journey with me? Alone? Should I be flattered? Excited? Scared?
Unlike the outside where the Hokulani Observatory was a similar stone color to the other buildings of Mountaintop, its interior displayed a combination of blue and black colorings with dark hard floors and cold lighting that almost gave the place an alien look. Large posters of images taken by the facility's powerful telescope were on display from an Oort cloud that had mixed colors of pale orange and vivid purple to arguably the most detailed image of the moon Elio had ever seen. Each pockmarked crater and blip was incredibly sharp, accented by the rising inky shadows that sprouted from its dark side. Further down were many posters of various constellations in the sky, linked together by imaginary lines. Another one had similar drawings, but instead Alolan names. She recognized one; Huinakolu, the Navigator's Triangle. Apparently it was still used as a basis for navigation in both flight and sailing.
Lillie managed to find the star that her crush's namesake was from. At the very end of the constellation Teddiursa Minor.
"Look it's your star."
Elio's eyes brightened. "Yeah it is."
"There's some days I wish I could be named after a star."
He gave her a dreamy look. "Maybe you do and just don't know it yet. Or maybe you'll find one before you know it."
She had the sudden urge to grab his hand. Is Elio flirting with me?
Besides that, the observatory was still abuzz with activity. There weren't as many people here as the Dimensional Research Lab, but those that were didn't seem all hectic and in a rush. In fact, most of the people there were properly groomed in well pressed slacks and adequate work uniforms instead of a ragtag group of researchers that spent days on end in the laboratories.
There was one thing that had been neglected; big piles of cardboard boxes that had yet to be opened lining the walls near one area. Elio had snuck a glance at the shipping date at one label, seeing that it was delivered to the place almost four years ago.
Whoever is running logistics here has to be throwing a fit about this. Someone shopping and buying things online wayyyy too much.
Molayne led them down one of the hallways deeper into the building, stopping right at the entrance. Interestingly enough, the teens saw a pair of metal poles down one corridor that were painted in the same fashion as the trial gates from before.
The trial's inside the observatory?
"Well here we are." Molayne gestured to Elio. "This is where you start. I'll give you a heads up though that the captain's kind of a little shy...so go easy on my buddy okay?"
"Uh...sure."
"You go Elio! I know you can do this!" Lillie made a fist of encouragement and held it out.
He was surprised at her gesture, but made his own and lightly tapped them together. "I'm gonna win. Just you watch!"
I've never seen Lillie do something like that before. I kind of like it. He hit the button to the doors and stepped inside when it opened.
The room was a bit different than he imagined. Instead of the arena he was expecting, he appeared to stumble in a rather messy bedroom. There were clothes tossed in a haphazard pile in an overflowing laundry basket and a coffee table full of empty wrappers and half drank energy drinks.
A short heavyset boy sat in an oversized swiveling chair, eyes glued to a large flatscreen television and mashing buttons on a controller.
Elio recognized the game he was playing, an incredibly popular first person shooter type that much of the gaming world was really into. While he enjoyed playing things from time to time, this particular game was more fast paced and competitive. There were even websites where people could tune in and watch live streams of players in matches.
I forget the title of the game, but it's that one Sinnoh champ Lucas and Top Coordinator Dawn tag team on all the time.
As soon as it was found out that newly crowned Sinnoh League Champion Lucas Drake and his girlfriend Top Coordinator Dawn Avery were avid players of this particular game, they didn't hesitate to give them both endorsements and put them in advertisements for their annual title they released every fall. Apparently in the gaming community; Lucas and Dawn both on a team were all but unbeatable.
The boy was really into the game and Elio watched as he racked up kills after kills while trying to take a vantage point. After clearing it out of enemies, he switched his main weapon to something long range and pegged even more enemy players repeatedly that were foolish enough to run in the open.
Should I interrupt and say I'm here for my trial? Sun almost considered doing it, but thought twice. It was common knowledge and sense that online games couldn't be paused, yet some people had yet to understand. Most people engrossed in their games would have a rather snappy response to an interruption like that.
I'll wait. I suppose. This guy is doing good and I'd hate to break his momentum.
The match ran for another two minutes before he saw the final score which ended up being a lopsided rout of one hundred to seventy one.
He cleared his throat as the game reset back into the waiting lobby.
The boy turned around and gasped at the newcomer.
"Hi."
"What are you doing here?" He asked, almost a bit bluntly. Elio could see that he had short reddish brown hair and he was wearing a gaming shirt that seemed to be a bib of some sort from dried marinara sauce on the chest area.
Okay buddy I'm not here to take your game away. Calm down.
"I'm uh...Elio. A trial goer."
"So I imagine you're here to attempt the trial huh?"
He nodded.
The boy sighed and exited the game lobby. Elio caught his gamer name in the corner before the television was winked out; PhiloSophocles.
"So uh...do you like Festival Plaza?"
This guy's either a little awkward or I caught him with his pants down.
Maybe both.
"Take a deep breath." Elio held out his hand, suddenly a little bit self-conscious of his athletic jocklike appearance. "Maybe some of that energy drink. I'm not here to steal your lunch money."
"Oh thank the tapu you're not one of those challengers." The boy sighed with relief. "I'm sorry about that. I just...haven't been a captain for long and all that."
"It's all good. So many trials have you conducted?"
"You're the first."
Oh.
Elio smiled to help lighten the mood. "But hey...no pressure right?"
To his surprise, the boy smiled back at him. "None at all and all that."
"I...uh made Festival Plaza just because I felt like it?"
"Hold on...YOU made Festival Plaza?" Elio asked incredulously. "That's like the second most popular social media site in the world!"
"Yeah." He sheepishly put a hand behind his head. "I never imagined it would go this far and all that. I'm Sophocles by the way. My last name's...um...Kaleo."
"I'm Elio Northstar."
"Okay...now that we've got introductions done. Let's get started here and now."
Elio glanced around. We're doing the trial in his room? Sounds to me like it'll end up making this place an even bigger mess.
"Yes. Right here and right now." Sophocles looked down and suddenly saw the stain on his shirt. "Aww man. Give me a second so I can change clothes and I'll explain the trial to you and all that."
Elio nodded and he dashed off into another room, coming back out just a few seconds later while sliding on a black shirt with a text in bold red letters that read "I'm with stupid" with an arrow pointing to the left and right.
"You summon the totem pokemon and prove your strength to it!" Sophocles said excitedly. As he did, they heard a squeak and a small rodent pokemon scurried from underneath the coffee table onto the captain's side. It was white with yellow and dark patches on the back with a jagged tail and pale electric sacs that he had seen on pikachu.
"This is togedemaru! She's a real handy advisor when I play."
"Nice to meet you." Elio greeted, receiving a squeak in return.
"And it's nice to meet you too! Bzzt!" Rotom buzzed from inside his backpack. "I don't feel like coming out now zzzzo I'm gonna tell you thizzz once! Bzzt! Togedemaru. Roly-poly pokemon. The long hairs on its back act as lightning rods. The bolts of lighting it attracts are stored in its energy sac. This pokemon attacks by standing its sharp fur on end and stabbing it into its foes. Togedemaru is an electric and steel type. Additional information is available upon catching this pokemon."
"So what about this trial do I need to do?"
"Well normally I'd use our machine! The awesome Ping Totem Pokemon two point oh! But since it's had some technical difficulties and the totem's already in the observatory, I thought I'd rather you do a raid instead!"
"A raid?"
"Yeah!" Sophocles smiled. "Raids are really fun in games! You team up by yourself or with others to all battle one big boss or do these puzzles to finish the objective and all that."
"So it's a game mode that requires teamwork!"
"Exactly! No one person can carry a team! Except maybe me, but the main thing is that teamwork will beat skill. Just like those max raid battles they have in Galar."
"Huh okay." Elio had briefly read about the Dynamax phenomenon in the distant region where a trainer's pokemon were able to briefly grow many times their own size and use amped up moves. It was the centerpiece of the region's highly competitive pokemon league. Raid battles often had to occur when wild pokemon end up triggering an unexpected dynamax area and have to be defeated before they can damage the local environment. Multiple trainers and their pokemon would participate and it emphasized teamwork to take the larger target down.
"Well why don't we have our own raid here with the totem pokemon instead of a dynamax! And all that...geez...I need to stop saying that and all that." Sophocles growled in annoyance and rubbed his forehead in frustration.
"Sounds good to me. And relax. I'm not here to judge you." A playful smirk went across his mouth. "And all that."
The captain laughed it off. "Perfect! I'm not really a fan of the blessing and all that touchy stuff. So...um good luck. Tapu guide you and all that jazz. Let the test trial for our raid begin!"
Oh boy. This ought to be good.
Sophocles and Molayne led Elio and Lillie into an observation deck overlooking an even larger chamber. Unlike the other rooms of the observatory having no texture, the entire floor of the area seemed to be covered in identical squares, each one with a dark X crossed through evenly. It stretched up to the ceiling that was big enough to fit Elio's own house inside with the top part having a nexus of wires and cables.
"Wow." Elio said quietly. "This is where the trial is conducted?"
Sophocles nodded. "Yep. And...um...it's still kind of new. You're basically a test subject." He flushed in embarrassment and scratched his neck. "You don't um...mind being like that?"
"As long as it doesn't kill me." Lillie wanted to laugh at that, but she was pretty sure Elio was serious about that.
"It won't. I'm ninety nine percent sure of it."
"That meanzzz itzzz fatal one time out of a hundred! Bzzt!" Rotom said, waving his arms around. "How many timezzz have you run this?"
"Ninety nine."
Is that supposed to be a joke?
"So then what is this supposed to be?" Elio asked.
"This is a VR simulator." Molayne's expression looked a lot more relieved to move onto something else. "Virtual Reality if you may. Part of this is to help space exploration and get astronauts ready for one of many things when there are manned missions sent outside our atmosphere."
He gestured to a central desk that overlooked the glass and space below, "It is an open canvas of what we can do with it however. From training EVA walking to International Police raid drills. We've been able to slightly emulate the power of some psychic type pokemon with help from the Devon Corporation in Hoenn to alter physics properties in the room such as reduced gravity. Back in the day; astronauts used to practice walking in low to no gravity situations by having psychic pokemon use confusion to reduce or nullify its effects."
"But you won't be doing any of that fancy footwork." Sophocles grunted as he helped himself up on the comfortable swiveling chair by the main console. His fingers danced across the glass panel, pressing buttons and turning a virtual dial until the words "Electric Type Trial Simulation codename: Wrath of the Machine STATUS READY" flashed on the screen.
"For your trial, you will have to defeat the totem pokemon that lurks in this chamber! First you must discover the way to release it from the cage above! There are two things you will be given before you start," As he said that, Molayne returned holding a set of keys. He moved to a small chamber off to the side and turned it. The entire wall flipped around to reveal something Elio would see out of a sci-fi flick.
It was best described as a wearable suit of power armor, but given how many others were large, bulky and with a colored drab; this one was sleek, contouring to the user's body and shimmered in the right in a midnight black color. The headpiece was slightly larger, but it rounded out a thin visor that stretched across the user's eyes. Lights flashed from within that acted as the suit's heads up display.
"This is the prototype Mirror Coat armor suit that militaries have been researching to help better protect their personnel. In theory, those shimmering bits that you see there are photoreactive flexible panels. Instead of deflecting attacks, it absorbs the incoming energy and stores allow the user to use it to empower themselves or redirect it at a foe of their choosing. It's very well reactive to electricity."
"Makes sense, given this is an electric trial."
Molayne gestured to the bottom where Elio took off his shoes and slipped his feet into the bottom. The suit felt silky smooth to the touch and cool in temperature. While he noticed that his own feet didn't quite fit the shape of the molds, he was surprised to feel it loosen and then reshape itself to fit his own body frame.
"What the?"
Lillie couldn't believe her eyes watching it change shapes, almost as it looked like the dark suit had a mind thinking for itself and shrunk down to fit Elio's exact specifications as a person. It didn't look oversized or too small for him despite its previous user being much taller and muscled. The sleek fabric clung to his body, accenting his broad shoulders down to his strong thighs and legs.
"And that's another cool feature we've managed to add." Molayne said. "While it's mainly been driven for combat suits, the Mirror Coat is also being marketed with special ones for space exploration, hence why we have some here. Devon's about to secure some big contracts with the space center in Mossdeep City to equip their astronauts with some of the highest tech available on the cutting edge. Since we've helped in its development, it's a great way to also familiarize trainers who may one day be undertaking missions in the vastness of space or the deep of our own oceans."
He then hefted a long silver metal object. It looked like an untextured rifle, but he clicked a button on the side and it expanded to a comfortable stock and the barrel of the weapon split apart, revealing small bits of energy running along some sort of accelerator coil. A small grip slid open down on the bottom and along the underbarrel.
I'm going to be using a gun?
"What is that?" Lillie asked.
"This is a prototype weapon made by Galarian R&D for the next generation of soldier. Still experimental, but it uses magnetic fields to concentrate powerful plasma energy into a bolt. A railgun so to speak." He pointed to it as he held it out to Elio. "This one has been toned to fit the trial. No live ammunition, however it syncs up to your heads-up-display for targeting assist. You'll definitely need it."
"Okay." Elio took the weapon, feeling it in his hands. He had only gone rifle shooting once while on a wilderness outing with his father on Mount Moon, but this was definitely a step up.
"Virtual reality shooting stuff while doing a trial. So this is going to be like a video game!"
"And we'll be gathering data for that!" Sophocles raised a fist. "We're trying to make the best game ever! With the raids being the highlight! You're really gonna help...um with that. Plus...you know...get your trial and Z-crystal done and all that."
"Still nervous about it." Molayne chuckled. "You're starting to look just as bad as our trial goer here. How about you explain more on how our trial is going to work."
"Oh right." The shorter trial captain looked a little sheepish for neglecting his duty as he turned to Elio in his seat. "Before you can battle the totem pokemon, you will need to clear all interference you see up there on the ceiling." The growing smirk on his face was almost a dead giveaway. "Each conduit that powers the cage is highlighted in a certain color. You need to destroy the link with the matching color."
"Okay...how do I do that?" Elio's voice sounded slightly muffled behind the mask of his dark suit.
"That railgun you have there is powered by different batteries. You will be able to find them on the ground as well as some other sources I can't spoil for you."
"Woah woah hold up. I'm not killing this thing am I?"
"Oh goodness no!" Molayne objected, holding up a hand to stifle any other conclusions. "We've made all of this nonlethal so that neither you, your pokemon or the totem pokemon will be harmed at all."
"Well that's good." A relief to hear.
"So let's begin. You know the usual drill. Any forfeit will result in the trial being incomplete, can't catch any pokemon, all that paraphernalia. Um...I kind of forgot how to say the old blessing in the trial, plus you know how I feel kind of strange with the saying...so...good luck and all that I suppose."
Molayne decided to continue off for him. "E mālama ka tapu mai ka lani mai. A alakaʻi iāʻoe i loko o ka hoʻokolokoloʻaneʻane e kokokeʻoe e piʻi. Now if you please follow me."
"What can I do? Can I watch?"
Sophocles nodded and hit a button on his desk. Almost immediately, two extra chairs just like his had risen from floor panels split to reveal the space beneath.
Elio followed Molayne down the steps into a large hexagonal chamber where the older man checked over his suit, pulling on straps and taking his backpack.
"Unfortunately this trial does not allow you to use items to aid you."
Sophocles' voice spoke up over a speaker Elio likely had in his HUD. "Testing. This is a two way comm unit, it's going to allow us both to speak and listen to one another and all that."
"I read you five by five." Elio said back. "Molayne just checked me over and I'm good to go."
"So I see. I'll be able to shield and get you out if anything goes wrong."
"That's very reassuring."
He thought he could hear Lillie giggling in the background, but wasn't sure if it was serious or not.
"It's just a precaution. As soon as you step out, the stage will be set and you can begin!"
"Okay." Here we go.
Stepping onto the trial floor was nothing like Elio had expected.
Gone was the previously empty floor that he had originally seen. Instead, it was replaced by an otherworldly appearance. The entire walls were colored a combination of black and blue with the metal surface having a riddled hexagonal pattern like a massive honeycomb like a combee hive. Green lights were here and here, adding onto that he was in some sort of alien facility.
The entire arena was bowl shaped, higher at the tops and slanting downwards to the center where the massive electric cage was located. He could see the three long conduits snaking across the ceiling towards it. They were the only other colors besides the rest of the chamber; likely done so that they could be easily identified. One blue-white, another orange and the third dark purple. All across the different levels of the bowl, he could see walls and columns that were usable cover pieces and trenches to help go in between levels and sections.
So where's the part where I send out my pokemon?
Before he could ponder it further, he was interrupted by a pair of flying things. The resembled twin engined drones that were small in stature with the same green lighted eyes as the rest of the surroundings.
"Those are buggers!" Sophocles exclaimed over the speakers. "Every time one of their bolts hits you, it slows your movements and can impede your sight and all that. Take them out with your railgun!"
Elio reached into his belt, finding a small cylindrical object attached. Pressing a button on the side of his railgun, the top slid open like a breech allowing him to see a circular socket that was perfectly fit for the battery. Once he slid it in and closed the breech, his HUD lit up in a blue-white color with the number five in the bottom right corner.
As he lifted the railgun, a holographic display appeared over the top sight, creating its own reticule for Elio to use. Once he set the sights on the closest bugger, the entire pattern on the weapon turned bright red, confirming he was aiming straight at a target.
He pulled the trigger with his right pointer finger.
Nothing happened.
Wait a second, it needs to charge.
He did it again, this time holding down. Panels flashed on the top repeatedly before solidifying and he released it. The gun bucked slightly in his hands as a bolt flew out to impact the bugger, causing it to shimmer away into nothingness.
Woah that's so freaking epic! Let's do it again!
He charged another shot, taking the second bugger out with ease. One of them dropped an identical battery, however this time it was orange in color. Further down in the arena, he could see more buggers appear from the top heading his way. While it would be fun to take them out and practice his marksmanship, he figured these ones would actually shoot back and slow him down.
Let's do it.
Meanwhile up in the observation area, Lillie was a little puzzled at Elio's excitement and how much he was raving about how amazing it was.
In her eyes, she only saw some of the metal plates rise and fall accordingly, but everything had remained unchanged. She did see the bugger the same and once Elio had shot it, the energy it was surrounded in dissipated into the ceiling above.
"You look a bit puzzled." Molayne chuckled, reaching to the side and pulling out a pair of goggles identical to the ones. It looks pretty boring on the outside. Try looking at the inside."
Lillie took them from him and put the goggles on. Her mouth parted in amazement as the field below transformed into something new and exciting that she had never seen before. Those metal elevations turned into actual structures like they were in some alien building...or starship. All up to the person's imagination. Elio signature was lit up in a green highlight while the bugger flying drones were outlined in red. The vast variety of colors dazzled her along with the powerful effects. Elio was in cover, changing the battery on his railgun before popping back out and strafing to the far end of the chamber. There were four buggers on his trail and he had been hit by a couple of their bolts, causing him to stagger and make his movements sluggish. He managed to slide in cover as a break, dodge a couple more shots and take the two out that had been on his tail.
C'mon Elio. You can do this. She had her arms around her bag the entire time squeezing it until Nebby gave a light "pew" of discomfort.
"Sorry Nebby." She whispered quietly. "I'm just getting anxious and hoping Elio can do this!"
Down on the floor; Elio had moved into a position where he finally had a shot at the blue conduit. There were only 2 shots in his current battery and it was the same matching color. Perfect opportunity to let loose on one of the targets he needed.
The next amount of buggers hadn't shown up yet and he could aim without the worry of having to evade the many shots that would come his way. Holding down the trigger, he waited until it was at full charge before letting it loose.
His shot pierced through the air, impacting the conduit dead center, however it seemed to have held.
That can't be right. Elio checked the railgun over, making sure he was using the right battery type. That should've worked.
Maybe he ought to try it again. However as he took aim, a slew of bolts flew past him, forcing him to dodge to the side and scramble back into cover. The buggers had chosen the most opportune time to attack again.
The only blue battery he had contained only one more shot and he had another one that was orange.
There was nothing that said I couldn't use my pokemon to help.
"Hey Rufflet." He threw out his small eagle pokemon, "Give me a hand in distracting those?"
He peered over the side and gave his trainer a quizzical look.
"Those things are called buggers. I need to finish the trial, but they're stopping me from doing so."
Rufflet still didn't appear to understand.
Wait, I have the VR...he can't see them.
"Just fly upwards and humor me."
With a caw, he spread his wings and soared up into the air. As he had predicted, the buggers immediately turned their aggro towards the pokemon, allowing him to pop back out of cover and take out multiple at a time with shots from the orange battery. Instead of sizzling like electricity, the aftermath had them disintegrating into a bright orange ash which spread out like embers from a fire.
Before more buggers could show and interrupt him again, he loaded back in the blue battery and shot the conduit a second time. A successive shot was more successful and it appeared to open up a part of the energy prism on the ceiling.
Okay, we're one third done.
A cry of a pokemon stopped his current train of thought as a small green and yellow quadruped creature had sprinted up towards Rufflet, running at a rapid pace with a loud crackling sound every time its small paws hit the ground.
"Rufflet look out!"
His eaglet quickly took back to the skies to avoid it slamming into its side and quickly shifted stances.
"Rotom?"
"I'm here and on your obligatory analyzizz! Bzzt! Electrike. Lightning pokemon. Static electricity builds up all over its body as strands of its long fur rub together. This pokemon boasts incredible speed. Electrike is an electric type. Additional information is available upon catching this pokemon."
"So Rufflet's at a disadvantage." Elio said to himself, half aware he was being listened to. "But he's still able to fly and be a great distraction." He leaned upwards, seeing more of the buggers in the area around the second conduit.
"Rufflet, you're going to have to battle it on your own!" He called out. "I'm going for the conduit!"
Despite saying that, he took an occasional glance at the two pokemon going at it. The electrike shot a thundershock attack which Rufflet evaded by barrel rolling to the side and then diving down for a fury attack. It shrieked, snapping at him with its jaws just a tad too late as the bird retreated just out of reach and attacked again.
Elio was about to get ready and aim before one of the buggers shot a longer bolt from the cannon mounted on its front. Unlike the previous ones that were small and traveled a bit slow, this one was quicker and it caught him in the shoulder.
A warning alarm sounded off in his head and he felt the limb stiffen as the suit restricted his movement, the moment he had full mobility again, he sprinted forward and slid on his back into the closest piece of cover. The moment that long ranged bugger fired again, he had already charged the railgun, targeting it first and blowing it out of the match. The others attempted to react, but he fired two more shots to dispel the last of them.
Now came the conduit...orange in color, but Elio realized that he had used up the entire battery and couldn't damage it. He had one battery remaining, a blue one which now only was useful against any more buggers. There weren't any at the time, so he prioritized finding an orange battery. Thankfully he had spotted two of them from the remnants of the destroyed buggers, so he dashed over, scooping them up and destroying the second conduit with three well placed shots.
"Alright two down. All that remains is the purple one."
"Excellent. You're almost finished."
Elio glanced over at where the third conduit was located; a narrower section of the entire area which was now being reinforced with almost twice as many buggers he had yet faced.
A caw caught his attention and he saw Rufflet deliver a final wing attack that put his electrike opponent out of commission. He swooped onto a ledge and puffed his chest out proudly.
"Yeah buddy I saw that!" His trainer gave him a thumbs up. Just after the encouragement however, he saw another door slide open to allow another electrike to enter the battlefield. Accompanying it however was a small orange rodent pokemon that darted across the metal floor weaving a wire thin tail behind it.
"You got company!" Bolt fire streaked across Elio's field of vision and he had to take his attention off his pokemon. The last thing he saw was him powering up an aerial ace to meet his electric type foes. "I leave them to you! Don't get hurt!"
Easier said than done. I should pull him out since he's at such a disadvantage.
"Bzzt! You returned to your tazzzzk too zoon! Bzzt!" Rotom buzzed in his speakers. "I'm ztill gonna give you the information on your newest pokemon entry! Bzzt! Dedenne. Antenna pokemon. Its upper whiskers are sensors that survey its surroundings. Its lower whiskers are organs that shoot electricity. Dedenne is an electric and fairy type. Additional information is available upon catching this pokemon."
Rufflet against two electric types meant he wouldn't last long if one of them got off a lucky hit. Either way, it was too late as the other buggers began to attack his area and the two electric types began shooting thundershock attacks at the bird. Rufflet did a remarkable job staying away from them and attacking on occasion.
Elio charged forward, keeping his railgun hot and blasting away at the bugger targets. At such a range, their returned fire was easy enough for him to dodge and avoid. Even one of those sniper ones had appeared along with the other normal ones to try and get the drop on him, but he quickly saw it and put it down with a well placed slug before it got him back in the chest.
When the stun wore off, he reached the conduit as more buggers appeared. More batteries were collected, but he needed a purple one and he only had blues and oranges.
Where can I find a purple one?
Back at where the pokemon were fighting; Rufflet flapped his wings to avoid a bite attack from the electrike and summoned a tailwind attack before diving down to jab the dedenne with a fury attack. The small hamster pokemon didn't take many hits before he knocked it out of the fight. However the electrike used the opportunity to release a weak jolt of electricity that shimmered around Rufflet's wings, effectively paralyzing him.
"Ah crap." Elio kept destroying buggers at a quick rate, knowing that he could pull Rufflet out the earlier he dealt with the annoying drones. Despite having the status condition; his little eaglet still persisted through, shrugging off a bite attack and retaliating with an aerial ace that knocked it out.
"Finally!"
And then he spotted it.
Beside the defeated electrike...was a dark purple battery.
"Rufflet!"
His pokemon saw it and jumped right for the object, wrapping his talons around and taking back into the sky. However Elio saw more movement in the corner of his eye and watched an even larger four legged pokemon emerge from an entryway and make a beeline for Rufflet.
It had bright blue fur with long thin yellow manes and ran just like electrike did, albeit faster and more power in its lithe frame.
"New pokemon detected again! Bzzt! Manectric. Discharge pokemon. It is the evolved form of electrike. Manectric can be found beneath unnatural thunderclouds. People say it can run at the same speed as lightning striking. Manectric is an electric type. Additional information is available upon catching this pokemon."
"C'mon buddy." Elio murmured, removing Rufflet's ball and ready to return him as soon as he threw the battery his way.
Manectric cloaked itself in a spark attack and ran forward with explosive speed, ramming the small bird just as the battery left his talon in a trajectory straight for his trainer. The ball's retraction feature sought Rufflet's signature, enveloping him back inside and he extended his other hand to catch the flying object.
Only it was out of his reach. It hit the ground, rolling in a straight line before falling into one of the open trenches about fifteen feet away. The manectric locked its own gaze on the battery and made a mad dash for it, knowing that it was to keep him from completing the preliminary phase of the trial.
"Jangmo'o, I need your help!" Elio called out his newest team member, as he possessed the only natural resistance on his team to electric moves. The lizard landed on the floor and squeaked up to Elio.
"I know you're still fairly new to this battling, but I need you to keep that manectric busy or take it out entirely. Can you do that?"
Jangmo'o cocked its head in puzzlement.
"Agh." Elio was still trying to get him to think for himself, but the pokemon was still rather young and inexperienced. He was going to have to take command for the battle and hope that there weren't more buggers that would try to stop him while he got that purple battery.
Manectric lunged forward, its body crackling with electricity.
"Protect!"
Jangmo'o threw up its green shield and the larger pokemon bounced off. He didn't stop there, instead jumping forward himself to slam the barrier into his foe and knocking him over.
"Did you just?" Elio blinked again. "Use the protect as a weapon?"
He quickly realized it as an opportunity to grab the battery and hauled himself over the edge. As soon as he did that, there were a pair of the sniper buggers that had appeared and opened fire on him. The twin long bolts hit him in the midsection and he felt it briefly go numb and lose control. Still in the process of hauling himself down, he had slipped into the trench, tumbling on the side towards the bottom. Elio was unaware of the gasp that Lillie made up in observation, putting her hands to her mouth at seeing the unfortunate gaff.
Pain flared up in his backside and he heard Jangmo'o squeal loudly; a cry for help followed by the manectric's growls.
"Um...use tackle!" He hoped that his words would help encourage his newer pokemon. A moment later, he heard a metallic thud and a cry of pain that certainly wasn't the trial pokemon's.
Whoops. Sorry buddy. I'm trying to make bladder control my strong suit right now.
Groaning, he finally managed to roll over as the numbness and stiffness began to subside. He rolled his arm in the shoulder joint, giving himself a once-over to make sure he again had the full range of mobility.
By the tapu, that hurts. He aimed the railgun again, blasting the twin long ranged buggers into oblivion. The railgun sputtered and he opened the cap to eject the final spent battery, leaving him with one last purple. At the same time, Jangmo'o had jumped onto the floor, creating a shockwave of a bulldoze attack that finally took the opposing manectric out of commission.
"This the spirit buddy!" Elio called out in encouragement.
Now to find that purple battery. As he scanned the floor and moved into cover as two more snipers appeared with a handful of regulars. Their shots whizzed past him again when he scrambled and slid into a barricade.
Let's do this before Jangmo'o gets distracted by another trial pokemon.
He fired three shots quickly, destroying a trio of the careless buggers that had wandered too close. The fourth shot went at the sniper, destroying one, but the second moved away out of his line of sight.
I've almost got a shot at the conduit.
Elio rose up, sighting in the target with his reticule. His finger tightened on the trigger and he fired.
Just as that sniper bugger had darted right out of cover and shot him in the arm.
He let out a surprised yelp, feeling the suit stiffen from the impact and could only use his legs to control where he fell over. Jangmo'o squeaked at seeing his trainer fall and rushed to his side, nuzzling his body with his beaked mouth in worry.
Elio groaned, feeling that same uncomfortable tingly sensation of where he was shot. "I'm gonna be happy when this is all over."
The buggers seemed to want to continue this for as long as possible and laid down a blanket of suppression fire all over the barricade. Elio wasn't going to be able to land a shot without getting hit himself.
"Jangmo'o! I've got an idea."
The little dragon looked at him and squeaked curiously.
"Use protect and create a shield around me. Stay behind me as I go."
He nodded, closing his eyes and generating a large wall of blue white power. Elio glanced over, satisfied that it was blocking all the energy bolts.
He hopped over, completely taken by surprise that there was a bugger waiting for him on the other side of the barricade. Without even thinking, his foot lashed out in a kick that knocked it down and out. Three more buggers were taken out with precise shots that happened so fast; Lillie wasn't even sure which one he targeted first. As the last of the regular ones fell, the sniper came back into view. Elio was more than ready for it.
He had already charged a shot and fired, but it went wide causing it to retreat again. Unfortunately, it was also his last battery and there was a purple one visible right in the open where the sniper could strike him over and over again.
Jangmo'o saw it too and rushed off towards it.
"Wait!" Elio called after him. "Stop, we'll go after it together!"
The little lizard ignored him, igniting a glimmer of determination in its eyes. As it came close and closer, he could already imagine how his trainer was going to be so incredibly happy when he saved the day and improvised. His claws gripped the floor, digging in with precisive grip and zigzagging as the sniper bugger saw the new target and fired wildly. Doing so meant it was sacrificing accuracy and Jangmo'o expertly dodged each one, unaware that the inaccuracy was on the shooter's account.
Jangmo'o reached the purple battery and looked back at Elio, half expecting his trainer to be beaming with pride.
Only to feel itself go numb as the sniper bugger finally got a lucky shot off the moment the pokemon had taken its eyes off its foe.
Elio's heart dropped as he slid beside his fallen pokemon, using his larger body to shield him from further harm. Like Jangmo'o; he too was exposed right in the open and the sniper bugger had him locked on. The battery was already in his hand, but he fumbled with it from both nervousness and adrenaline.
With no options left, Elio tried one last trick he thought might work. Well...in theory. It worked in movies...on occasion.
He held the railgun between himself and the incoming shot.
It struck the weapon in his hands, knocking him back with an audible ping. However it was more than enough to buy him time. He slammed the battery home into the weapon and sighted the bugger, firing again to destroy the pesky marksman in a shower of sparks. Without worry this time, Elio fired the purple round into the conduit, finally disabling the protective prism at the ceiling of the entire chamber.
And at that, he let the gun fall to his side as he knelt down on his hands and knees, completely unaware that he had yet to catch his breath from all that running and shooting. Not to mention trying to keep his pokemon in order.
"Jangmo'o." He crawled over to his fallen pokemon that was shaking while trying to stand. "Buddy."
Jangmo'o glanced up before averting his gaze. Even though Elio hadn't kept him for very long, he knew the face of embarrassment or disappointment in his pokemon's eyes.
"You're gonna be okay buddy. C'mon, get up."
Jangmo'o stiffened and he let out a saddened squeak. He shuddered slightly before pulling one of his forelegs out from underneath his body. Elio lent a hand, guiding him up until he finally was able to keep balance.
"You're a risky one aren't ya?"
Jangmo'o squeaked happily and ran to his trainer's side, nuzzling his hand and making him laugh. His gloved finger scratched underneath his chin, making the lizard purr in delight.
"Next time, try not to get hurt okay?"
Sophocles' voice came over the speakers. "Well done Elio! I have more than enough data to make the best kinds of impossible game raids I can! You're an excellent test subject! Now you're ready to start the real encounter with the totem pokemon! Shoot the center prism that you just unlocked to begin and all that!"
Elio turned to Jangmo'o. "Well, how about we inform the totem pokemon that it has guests?"
He turned to the prism, charging a shot and firing.
The next moment, all the lights went out.
Aww yeah! Imma laugh with excitement about this totem battle. If I fine tune it right, it's gonna be an enjoyable one for me to write out and tell all of you! This trial sounded really good on paper and in my sandbox after I tried to think of ways to spice it up instead of having a machine repeatedly break down in trying to call the Totem pokemon over.
Translations:
Huinakolu - Navigator's Triangle. History has said that the ancient Polynesians and Hawaiians used the stars of Altair (Humu), Deneb (Hawaiki) and Vega (Keoe) as a basis for navigation at night.
Polina - Blond
E mālama ka tapu mai ka lani mai. A alakaʻi iāʻoe i loko o ka hoʻokolokoloʻaneʻane e kokokeʻoe e piʻi. - May the tapu watch over from the heavens and guide you through the trial you are about to surmount.
As always, mahalo for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose. I'll see you guys next update and hope everyone had a good holiday.
Brav