AN: This story takes place after Dino Fury Finale but before Vol 4: Paldea Adventure
It had been several days since the final battle against the Sporix and Void Queen and Zayto's bittersweet sacrifice, and as June 14th of the year 2503 rolled in (as it had been nearly two weeks since that fateful battle), Sarah Tomoe, the princess of the Alola Region, was now relaxing in the Pokmon Dragon Heart Dome with her Pokemon, her dragons, mythicals, and pets along with her husband, Race Konami. As of now, the pair were currently attending Uva Academy with Asha and they were currently on Summer Break (with the latter off on her Island Challenge as per Hala and Kukui's previous request) but that didn't stop them from enjoying every moment they had together despite the impending threat of Lord Zedd's return.
"Ahh... This is the life," Sarah breathed blissfully as they lay together on the ground in the grass pavilion while Blitz, Curly, Robbie, and Bella nap a few feet from them.
"Well, your sis is already buzzing through Alola beginning her Island Challenge, and for the next six months, Lord Zedd will be upon us. I know we have to be ready for Doc Skeleton, Island Girl, but what do you plan on doing next?" Race asked his wife as Petunia babbled happily as she flew over to her human mother and sat on her stomach.
"Honey, Race!" Delilah called as Rotoscope popped up from his owner's pocket and rang.
"Heads up, lovebirds! But, I think the lady of the hour here's got something to present you with!" he called the couple, getting their attention as they sat up and faced him with Petunia flapping to her mother's head and latching onto it.
"From Mom?" Sarah asked as Rotoscope patched Delilah's call and she popped up on his screen while holding two orange envelopes in her right hand while everyone else looked on. "What's up, Mom?"
"Your father and I just got these letters in the mail addressed to you and Race. Come back inside the castle and have a look."
"Okay, Mom."
"Got it."
"You're going out?" Draco asked as Sarah and Race prepared to head to the castle and their respective Pokémon mates came over to join them.
"Must be a big deal if they're addressed to you lovebirds, I wonder what Delilah meant," Hydreigon puzzled.
"Only one way to find out if she wants us to see them that badly," Sarah replied the young couple, Blitz, Curly, Robbie, and Bella returned to the castle before they were joined by Snowflake and her family, the Eevee Squad, Silvally, Tou-Tou, Ella, and Kit.
They arrived at the entrance hall where they found the little princess' human family waiting for them along with their Partner Pokémon and the Tomoe Squad, Delilah still holding the notes meant for her daughter and her husband.
"You mentioned the letters, Mom?" Race asked as Delilah handed them to him and Sarah.
The pair looked at the envelopes and each other before they gently opened them, finding slips of paper that had a message for them that said, "Dear Princess Sarah/Prince Race, we are pleased to inform you that you have been invited as special guests to our prestigious Indigo Battle Academy near Route 22 also known as 'Victory Road' which you may know as the path to the Indigo League. My staff and I have heard many a tale about your accomplishments and the noble deeds of you and your friends as the Power Rangers Ultra Rescue and we would be immensely grateful if you could attend tomorrow for a special demonstration and lecture with our students. Many people said you and your husband/wife are full of surprises and I would love it if you could bring a few of them over to show our students to help them broaden their horizons and get to know the wonders of our world more. I look forward to your visit tomorrow should you accept our invitation, Indigo Yonebayashi, Indigo Academy Superintendent."
The surprise invite from the Indigo Academy's superintendent caught the two by surprise, "The Indigo Academy?"
"I've never even heard of that school."
"You wouldn't; it's an exclusive Pokémon boarding school stationed in Kanto near Route 22 and it's along Victory Road which leads to Route 23 and the Indigo Plateau. James and I once attended the school when we were kids and it's where we got Lucario and Dragonite as eggs since we had to define our skills and interests with our partners through several interviews with our teachers," Nikki explained.
"Seriously?" Sarah blinked, surprised.
"Yes, Siree. Indigo Academy is a pretty effective and accommodating school for aspiring Pokémon trainers with sufficient courses and research material, interesting accommodations, friendly faces everywhere, and lots of fun to be had. And, it's where your sister's woman and I emerged as one of the best after studying so hard and bonding with our partners to such a high level, so given your current track record, I think you two will find adventure waiting for you there," James added.
"Honey, I think attending the school and giving a lecture tomorrow will be an excellent idea for you and Race."
"Since you haven't been back in Kanto for so long since that field trip you told us about, perhaps it would do you well to go there and see more of it in addition to attending this school just for a lecture, don't you agree?" Delilah and Doug smiled, agreeing to the idea.
"Maybe you're right..."
Sarah thought about the offer she and Race were given by the Indigo Academy's superintendent; it sounded like a good idea as giving lectures and speaking to students with all the experiences they had in caring for, looking after, and battling with their Pokémon wouldn't be too hard of a task with everything they did and went through under their belts. What's more, at the back of her mind, she was trying to think of ways to prepare for Lord Zedd's return and the future following his eventual defeat, and that meant the answers she could be looking for would most likely come from the most unexpected places so the Indigo Academy would no exception.
"Race?" she began as Race turned to her, sharing her thoughts.
"Are you thinking, what I'm thinking...?"
The little princess nodded before they turned to their family and nodded at Doug and Delilah, telling them, "We'll do it!"
"YAAAAAAY!" cheered Eevee as she jumped into Sarah's arms happily, making her giggle and feeling ecstatic about going on another adventure.
During that time, over at the Kanto Region, and in said academy, a young girl from the Paldea Region by the name of Liko had just moved in after being accepted as one of its new students. She was sitting at the academy's battlefield joined by her new friend and roommate, Ann, watching a training battle taking place between two students and their chosen Partner Pokémon: an Espeon and a Machoke.
"Machoke, use Dynamic Punch!"
"Use Reflect!" the two students boomed as the Sun and Superpower Pokémon came at each other with Machoke charging at Espeon to land a Dynamic Punch only for Espeon to use Reflect and turn Dynamic Punch back at its original owner to stun it.
"Now, use Psychic!" the second student continued, allowing his Partner Pokemon to lift Machoke into the air and send it crashing to the ground, winning the training match.
"Wow! Did you see that, Liko? Wasn't that Psychic move just awesome?!" Ann beamed as Liko sheepishly nodded in response (feeling intimidated and amazed by what she saw).
"Yeah," she replied before pondering to herself, "Gee, those guys are good. I wonder if I'll be able to battle like that someday..."
"And, this is only the beginning; after the welcoming ceremony, we're gonna do the thing!" Ann continued.
"What thing?"
"What do you think? Our Partner Pokémon!"
Liko gasped, remembering that each student accepted at Indigo Academy would be receiving a Partner Pokémon on their first day, "That's right! I remember; our first Partner Pokemon, my heart pounds like crazy every time I think about it. But, trying not to think is just making me think about it!"
"So, Liko, how did your school interview go?"
Liko was surprised until she remembered that she had her school interview with her homeroom teacher before she could attend the academy as one of its students so they could identify their skills and beliefs with a Starter Pokémon that best suited them. She recalled the interview with him as she was introduced to an array of Starter Pokémon that only one of could become her own after her interview was complete and the academy could decide which Pokémon should go with her.
"That's right; when I first decided to come to this school, I had to do a long online interview. I talked to the teachers and even met some of the Pokémon that are being offered. I just hope I made a good enough first impression throughout the whole thing to get myself a wonderful partner. If I don't, then I didn't know what I was thinking; I was really stressed out!"
"...I guess I was pretty nervous throughout the whole thing," she confessed to Ann
Ann nodded sympathetically as she chuckled, "Yeah, I guess I was nervous during my interview, too."
They were soon greeted by the Fire Type Starter Pokémon common for Pokémon Trainers in the Kanto Region: Charmander, as it stood in front of her and chirped happily to say hello before its owner came over.
"Charmander, there you are!" the student chuckled as he gently picked up his partner and said to Ann and Liko, "Sorry about that, he was excited to see some new faces."
Ann and Liko just smiled at the student and his Charmander as the latter happily waved goodbye to them before Ann spoke to her roommate again, "This'll be great, you won't regret it."
Liko just nodded as she thought, "Hmm... I wonder who my Pokémon Partner will be."
(Theme Song - Anywhere My Pokémon Go)
I love watching how my Pokémon grow
I'm sharing everything my Pokémon know
(We open with Sarah and her family with the Viking Teens as they find themselves in Paldea as part of Sarah's vacation plan before the little princess and Race are shown finding Miraidon and Koraidon on the beach before meeting Nemona, Penny, and Arven from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet)
Nighttime, daytime, there are shining more so
I'll go anywhere my Pokémon go
(We see Sarah and Hootie joining forces with Liko and her partner, Sprigatito, as they all perform Leafage before we meet a boy named Roy and his Pokémon, Fuecoco, battling Sarah as she summoned her Primarina, Aqua, and they begin to have a battle. Then, we cut to one of the villains belonging to a new team of foes named Amethio using a Ceruledge to square off against Sarah as she fights with Kaji and Keldeo before a new Pokémon Professor, Friede, and his crew: the Rising Volt Tacklers are shown with their Pokémon)
Anything you wanna see, (Ooh!) anything you wanna do
Promise you can be with me, be with me, (Yeah!) I can be with you
(We soon find our heroes joined by Edgar, Henna, Stoick, Gobber, their Pokémon and dragons, Nemona, Penny, and Arven as they find themselves in Area Zero where Sarah's Walking Wake and Iron Leaves, Link and Zelda, are facing an army of Paradox Pokémon in front of them. Then, Sarah and Race's necklaces glow with the former accessing the power of Terastallization for her Pokemon as she Terastallizes and Mega Evolves them before the royal couple, the Viking Teens, Miraidon, Koraidon, Liko, Roy, Nemona, Arven, and Penny are shown together as they stare out into the heavens)
I wanna go around and around and around the world with you
I'll go anywhere my Pokémon go
Trials of Sarah: Pokémon Horizons
(End Theme Song)
The following day was the first day of school at Indigo Academy, and true to form, Race and Sarah arrived at the Kanto Region and were making their way towards said academy as per the invite given to them by Indigo Yonebayashi. Joining them right now to help them greet the students and give them their lecture were Silvally, Tou-Tou, Robbie, Bella, Blitz, and Curly while the rest of their Pokémon were in their Pokeballs. However, the dragons had to go into hiding as they got to the school so they wouldn't scare the faculty staff as well as the students at the first sign of them.
It's a beautiful day in the Kanto Region as Sarah and Race were invited by the superintendent and headmistress of Indigo Academy, Indigo Yonebayashi, to be guest speakers on their very first day. But, what would be waiting for them upon arrival?
As they entered the school and went off to meet the superintendent, given their reputations, Sarah and Race soon found themselves easily recognized by the students and faculty staff.
They could see how differently some schools such as the Indigo Academy worked compared to Principal Oak's Pokémon School; for instance, as it was also a boarding school, the Indigo Academy had a strict dress code with all of the students required to wear a uniform composed of a light brown skirt coupled with a dress shirt and a red ribbon for girls and a short blazer and pants of the same color for boys topped off with white socks, brown loafers, and a badge with a leaf emblem (the main symbol of the Indigo Academy). And, that was only the tip of the iceberg as they went along.
"Popular much? Never thought we'd be hotshots in Kanto as well," Race lightly joked as he and Sarah heard the amazed and awestruck whispers about them.
"I expected as much; that's one thing I hate about being in the spotlight," Sarah sighed, playfully elbowing her husband.
"Well, at least you'll find enjoyment in seeing their faces once they see all of our Pokémon."
"That's true."
Just as they were about to approach the main building to find the superintendent, Blitz, Curly, and Bella's ears perked up as they soon noticed something over on one of the rooftops of the school's buildings. The something in question was actually one of the Starter Pokémon for new trainers of the Paldea Region, the Grass Cat Pokémon: Sprigatito.
"Uh, Mom...?" Blitz began, nudging Sarah.
"Yeah, Blitz?" Sarah asked as they stopped and noticed their Pikachu staring at something.
"What's wrong, girl?" Race asked Bella.
"You and Sarah might want to look at this, Daddy," the female Pikachu belonging to the former BF Champion replied, pointing at Sprigatito.
Sarah and Race gasped as they saw the Sprigatito before the princess breathed to her Rotom Phone (which came out of her pocket to scan the Paldea Grass Starter), "Rotoscope, is that one of the Paldea Starters you once told the others, Race, and I about when you were given to me?"
"You're right on the dot, girl! That is indeed a Sprigatito, otherwise known as the Grass Cat Pokémon; as it is a Grass Type, with every step it takes, it will release a sweet scent enchanting those around it. So, if you see one as it walks by and you sniff its sweet scent, prepared to be enamored," Rotoscope nodded as he took pictures of the Grass Cat Pokémon.
"Hey, guys, Sprigatito is the Grass Type Starter for Paldea Region trainers, right? That means this Sprigatito must belong to somebody," Tou-Tou said, starting to realize something. "And, today's the first day of school in this place, so logically, the students would be getting their Partner Pokémon as the term starts."
"You know what I find weird, Tou-Tou? If that little fleabag belongs to somebody, and it's one of the babies that would be handed over to kids on their first day in schools like this, there's one thing bugging me about that cat with no hat: where's its human?" Silvally questioned, realizing that the Sprigatito they were seeing didn't have a partner.
"I found it!"
The group looked up again and saw Sprigatito's trainer (who had appeared on the rooftops as well) was a young girl who had a light complexion, black hair with blue highlights on the interior tied with a green clip, fair skin, and light blue eyes; it turned out that Sprigatito's trainer was none other than one of Indigo Academy's new students from Paldea and Ann's friend: Liko.
"Who is that?" blinked Robbie as he and the others eyed the odd pair.
"Sprigatito, it's dangerous up there!" Liko called out to the Grass Cat Pokémon who was napping from its current spot on the roof before its ears twitched after hearing her.
"Hmm?" it squeaked before it stood up and prepared to jump off the edge much to Liko's shock and horror.
"No, no, no! Don't do that! Don't, jump, down!" she yelped beggingly.
Despite her warnings, however, Sprigatito proved itself to be a bold and surprisingly fearless Grass Pokémon as it meowed and tried to jump over and land in her arms. Liko then tried to catch it in her arms but she reached out too far and it landed on her face before their momentum sent them both over the edge as they screamed in panicked surprise.
"Silvally, catch! Now!" Sarah shouted, allowing her Synthetic Pokémon to move swiftly and catch them on his back, landing on the other side of a student and his Snorlax.
Liko panted as she felt her heart racing after that initial scare before she turned to Silvally, yelping at his appearance (which made him roll his eyes at her), "Phew! Thank you, that was a close-AHHH!"
"Good boy, Silvally!" Sarah called, getting Liko and Sprigatito's attention as they saw her and Race along with Blitz, Curly, Bella, Robbie, and Tou-Tou reaching the trio before the princess came to her Normal Type and rubbed his head scales with a proud smile. "Nice save there."
"Are you two okay? You would've been Poke-Pancakes had Island Girl's Silvally not jumped in and bailed you out of that fall," Race asked as he helped them off.
"Yeah, thanks. I'm sorry, I was lucky to be alive and so was Sprigatito. I guess I should thank-hmm?" Liko nodded sheepishly as she dusted herself off before she turned to Race and became silent, gasping in surprised awe as she pointed at him and spoke, "AHH! N-No way! A-A-Are you really him; are you Race Konami, the former Hoenn League and Hoenn Battle Frontier Champion?!"
"That's right, in person. And, please, no autographs, I've had enough of the paparazzi to last me a lifetime," chuckled Race, feeling humble.
"And, you're the Sun Princess of Alola, Sarah Tomoe? The Alola Champion alongside Alola's second Alola League champion: Ash Ketchum?" Liko continued, spluttering as she pointed at Sarah, still in shock and awe.
"Yep, nice to meet you," Sarah replied with a modest smile.
"Oh, man! Race Konami and Sarah Tomoe; the former Hoenn Battle Frontier Champion and Alolan Sun Princess and I'm the first one in the entire academy to meet them! I knew they'd be here as guest speakers when the headmistress announced that we'd be having special guests over from Alola today but I never expected to see the princess and her husband so soon!" the young student thought frantically as her mind raced like crazy.
"Oh, and by the way, thank Silvally; he was the one who caught you when we saw you two fall. This is how he usually looked and he took me by surprise when I first saw him, too," Sarah added, gesturing to Silvally as he nodded at her.
"Silvally?"
Liko was in awe as she looked over Silvally and saw Tou-Tou, seeing a resemblance in them apart from their colorations, "Silvally... So, that's what that Pokémon who saved me is. I didn't know such a Pokémon existed; I've never seen anything like it in my life... I'm guessing that's a Silvally, too, but its color is completely different... What kind of Pokémon are they?"
"And, he's not the only one with us; along with Race's Silvally, Tou-Tou, with us is our Pikachu and Mimikyu: Blitz, Curly, Bella, and Robbie."
"The four of them are our right and left hands and they're mates while Silvally and his brother, who is a Shiny Pokémon, are our Normal Type wild cards. The two of them and their older brother are known as Synthetic Pokémon; Pokémon who are created by the hands of man," Race put in.
"Hey, there."
"Hi!"
"Hello!"
"Greetings, m'lady," Blitz, Curly, Bella, and Robbie greeted kindly in turn.
"Thanks. I'm Liko, nice to meet you," Liko smiled as she introduced herself before Sprigatito jumped out of her arms and ran off, surprising her as she gave chase after it. "Ah! Sprigatito, come back!"
Race, Sarah, and their Pokémon wondered why Sprigatito was acting so distant and cold toward Liko and quickly went after the pair to find out what was wrong with it. Dusk had begun to fall when the three humans, Blitz, Curly, Robbie, Bella, Tou-Tou, and Silvally continued their search for the Grass Cat Pokémon only to come across a large lake in front of them as it sparkled and gave off a multi-colored appearance from the sun's setting rays.
Seeing this, Liko gasped at the beautiful sight before her and her new friends and they sat down to enjoy the view just as Sprigatito arrived. The view of the lake also intrigued it as it came next to them from Liko's right to watch which got their attention when the Grass Type turned to them curiously (more so at Liko than her new friends and their Pokémon).
"Sprigatito, thank goodness! You smell so ni-Hey!" Liko laughed with relief as she picked it up and nuzzled her before she sniffed it, causing Sprigatito to push its right paw in her face and make her let go of it.
"Hmph!" it huffed slightly before it walked away, unimpressed.
This left Liko at an impasse as she could only yell in despair, "OH, WHY THOUGH?!"
All the while, Race, Sarah, and their Pokémon could only watch with sympathy and confusion as they found it odd that Sprigatito wasn't fond of Liko just as she was of it which she wasn't expecting, at all.
As the days wore on, and Liko's time in the Indigo Academy began under the young couple's watch, things proved to be interesting even if she was already off to a rocky start on her journey as a Pokémon Trainer. The following day, after meeting with the superintendent, Sarah and Race proceeded to give their lecture on Pokémon as her guest speakers with the young student listening intently and being in awe of what she was learning from them (since they were giving a lecture to her class).
Following their lecture, after Liko introduced them to Ann and her new Partner Pokémon, Oshawott, they proceeded to tag along with her to see how her relationship with Sprigatito was getting on. As was the case beforehand, Liko was struggling to bond with Sprigatito as the Grass Cat Pokémon acted without her full command against Ann's Oshawott during a practice round and it ended up being defeated as a result.
Despite it being early days, Liko couldn't understand her new Pokémon at all for it always acted without her independently and she was crestfallen by it. She was then told by her new friends and supervisors that it usually takes time for a trainer and his/her first Pokémon to understand each other and that there was no need to rush the process when they needed to get to know one another first. Liko blinked and realized that she was already stumbling through that first hurdle, and knowing that she needed help to understand Sprigatito better, she sheepishly asked the couple to help her train so she could begin to understand it.
Returning to the lake (since it was out of the way from school grounds and nobody was meant to be out in areas like that at night), Sarah decided to help her teach Sprigatito how to properly use the Grass Type move: Leafage (which it failed to master in the practice round against Ann's Oshawott), bringing out Hootie to help them get a running start. After a failed attempt, Liko and Sprigatito watched Hootie demonstrate it before they tried again.
But, unfortunately, as they tried to get it down, their latest attempt ended up being a big dud which left Liko blaming herself as she deflated in defeat, "Still no good...?"
"It's okay, Liko. We told you before, it's just early days and you're not far off with that one. Nobody gets a move down the first time and there are usually a lot of loose ends to tie up before a trainer and his/her Pokémon could even begin to master even one attack."
"It all takes patience, time, and the need to get to know your partner better, to understand what makes a Pokémon such as Sprigatito tick and act on them accordingly in different circumstances. You just need to have faith; believe in yourself and Sprigatito. And, remember, nobody learns anything without getting it wrong," Sarah and Race reassured with Hootie, Bella, Blitz, Curly, Robbie, Silvally, and Tou-Tou giving reassuring nods.
Despite how glum she felt about her progress with Sprigatito, Liko nodded before she looked at the moon and thought (while raising her hand and trying to catch it, emphasizing her current status as a trainer), "The moon is so far away... I could reach out as far as I can and I probably could never touch it..."
They eventually decided to call it a night, and after sneaking their way back into the Indigo Academy campus, Liko went back to her and Ann's dorm room. After they readied themselves for bed, and their Pokémon were sound asleep in their guest room, the royal couple decided to check up on the new student before they turned in for the night and went to her and Ann's dorm room, quietly knocking on the door.
"Come in," Liko peeped as she knew who was coming to check on her.
When they entered, they saw Liko in her sleepwear, pulling something that looked like a small box from under her bed while Sprigatito slept on her bed.
"Hey, Liko, what's that in your hands?" Sarah asked as they joined her.
Liko smiled softly as she told them, "A gift my grandmother gave me before I came here."
She opened the box to reveal a small light teal/yellow hexagon-shaped jewel pendant that had a white sun-like symbol on the center with a three-point attachment at the bottom, resembling a component of an object the royal couple learned as the Tera Orb (an object unique only to Paldea that allows trainers to terastallize their Pokémon in battle when its power is needed) from their and Asha's studies in Uva Academy connected to a silver bail and brown cord.
Sarah and Race gasped in disbelief as they felt a similar power coming from it that resembled the power coming from their baby turtle Pokémon which they eventually came to know as the Tera Pokémon: Terapagos. What threw them for a loop, however, was that the power they were feeling was not just similar to that of their Terapagos, it was the exact same power coming from Liko's pendant.
"Whatcha doing?"
The trio jumped in surprise, turning to see a happy and wide-awake Ann next to them for she had woken up and seen that her classmate and their new friends were looking at something in Liko's box.
"Oh, hi, Ann. Sorry, did we wake you up?" Race asked.
"Nope. Besides, you're looking at something, aren't you? Hey, Liko, what's that in your box?"
"It's, uh... It's, a good luck charm," Liko replied.
This got Ann curious as she echoed, "A good luck charm?"
"Yeah, this little thing was a gift from my grandmother, to protect me. At least, that's what she told me."
"Wow! Can I touch it?"
"Sure, go ahead," Liko nodded as she allowed Ann to take the pendant out and examine it, holding it out in front of her to see it in its full glory.
"Why do you keep it locked away like that? It looks great on you!" Ann wondered, seeing it glisten in the light of their dorm room lamps.
"Thanks. But, I don't think I'm quite ready for that," Liko replied as she returned the necklace to her and she put it back in the box.
"For real?" Ann blinked.
"Interesting..."
"So, tonight's not now?" Sarah and Race pondered thoughtfully.
Liko just nodded and leaving it at that, Race and Sarah bid them goodnight and returned to their guest room for a goodnight's sleep.
The school term continued the next day and everybody seemed to be progressing well in their studies and their relationships with their Partner Pokémon but, in Liko's case, she was lost in her thoughts with everything she went through as she mused, "I want to learn about the things I don't understand; That's why I've come here to Indigo Academy. But, day after day, it seems as like, maybe, there isn't anything here for me to find...…"
After another lecture on a different Pokémon topic given to her, Ann, and the rest of her class by Race and Sarah, the four of them sat together during a recess period, seeing trainers of all sorts with their Partner Pokémon training and cultivating themselves with their studies with some of them training out on the battlefield in front of them.
Ann's Oshawott looked on in admiration as it showed the same fighting spirit Sarah's Oshawott had in him (much to their amusement) but Liko's Sprigatito was off on its own again on the roof, having a catnap and not wanting to bond with Liko. Sarah couldn't help but feel sorry for her as she realized she was going through the same tedious story she went through involving Eternatus and Silvally and their once-rocky relationships with her when they first met her at different points during her time in the Pokémon School.
As the four friends continued to relax and enjoy themselves, Ann suddenly noticed a strange airship in the distance.
"Hey, look at that!" she gasped, causing Sarah and Race to turn and notice the airship as well although Liko didn't seem to notice as she was still deep in thought.
"Penny for your thoughts, Liko?" Race asked, seeing how troubled and a little jealous she was while looking between Bella, Robbie, Tou-Tou, Silvally, Blitz, Curly, Ann's Oshawott, and Sprigatito.
"You're all so lucky with Oshawott and your Pokémon," Liko confessed.
"Your bond with Sprigatito still not hitting the ground running as you hoped?"
"Yeah, I can tell. It's so cool and chill, I don't understand why it doesn't want to buddy up with you with what you've been trying to do," Sarah and Ann guessed.
"You really think so?"
Ann nodded as she suggested to her classmate, "You seemed really focused on trying to understand Sprigatito ever since you got it and it's been giving you grief with your bonding with it. But, you know what I think? I think, rather than getting to know Sprigatito, you should let it know what Liko thinks; try to get it to understand your thoughts and what you are thinking.
Liko was surprised but she was confused as she parted ways with them to return to their dorm room and laid down on her bed, mulling over what Ann said, "What does she mean by that? That sounds so hard..."
As she began to mull over Ann's suggestion, Sprigatito arrived and came over to her with a curious "Meow?".
Liko blinked in surprise at her partner but she decided to get her feelings out to it and try to reach out to it by putting Ann's advice into action, telling her Paldea Grass Starter, "The thing is... When I tried to say what I wanted to do to you, I just couldn't find the right words to speak. As a result, it all came out wrong these past few days. So, what do you want to do, Sprigatito? You decide..."
Sprigatito grew curious as it let out a soft, "Meow?"
As the days went by, Liko continued to take Ann's advice to heart as she studied her partner and tried to figure out what they both wanted. All the while, Sarah and Race kept an eye on them as their new friend tried to iron out the bond between her and her Grass Cat Pokémon. The rest of the royal couple's family had already been introduced to the entire school through their lectures during that time so, by now, they had all become celebrities with the students and the faculty staff including the superintendent, the headmistress, and even the board of executives.
One day, however, unbeknownst to Liko, Race, and Sarah, three adults paid a visit to Indigo Academy's campus but they were not part of any known business in Kanto and they were not part of the academy's faculty staff:
- the first of the trio was named Mollie who was a slender young woman with pink hair and gray eyes with her outfit entirely composed of a short red and gray jacket, a light pink dress, gray pantyhose, and dark pink shoes coupled with ear clips and a gray short headband as her only accessories.
- the second was named Orla who was a young woman with green eyes, brown hair with orange tips, a black t-shirt, orange baggy pants, black and dark green boots, and a yellow jacket tied around her waist along with a fanny pack and engineer's gloves
- the third adult was named Murdock, a tall man with dark skin and a simple buzzcut that had four gray triangular parts on top along with a short beard and gray eyebrows. In terms of his outfit, his clothing is comprised of a cream-colored button-up with light-red Xs on the collar, two light-red patterns on the bottom, and a light-red pocket with white shorts that had blue stripes on them, a blue wrap around his ankle and light yellow sandals instead of shoes. He also wore two handkerchiefs with one wrapped around his neck and the other on his arm while he also sported a light blue, yellow, white, and gold watch on his right wrist
They seemed to be looking around the campus for Liko as their Rotom Phones had a picture of her but they were having no luck in finding her due to the Indigo Academy's dress code for the students save for their personal looks.
Frustration and confusion were enamored among them as Murdock called Orla and proceeded to vent his frustrations of their fruitless search for Sarah and Race's new friend on her, "This is pointless! All these kids look the same to me!"
"Come on, big guy. They can't all look alike, get a grip," Orla retorted, unimpressed.
"We're so bad at this," Mollie sighed.
As they were searching in vain for her, Liko was searching for her partner (now knowing Sprigatito to be a female thanks to Liko's observations of her) again with Race and Sarah's help before they found her sunbathing on the roof again. This time, as the female Paldea Grass Starter took notice of them including her partner, she jumped from the roof and safely landed in Liko's arms (showing how far they had come since her human partner allowed her to understand how she thought as per Ann's advice) with the young student smiling gently at her and Race and Sarah giving them proud and warm smiles.
Meanwhile, Orla, Murdock, and Mollie were still falling short in their search for Liko as they couldn't see her anywhere among the students according to the photo they had of her. The same was also said for an elderly man named Ludlow who was sitting at the bus stop close to the academy and looking at his Rotom Phone (supposedly having a photo of Liko as well and keeping his eyes open for her but with no luck as well).
Eventually, Orla sighed with defeat as the group didn't have any luck in finding Liko anywhere in Indigo Academy no matter how hard they looked, grumbling to Mollie, "Come on, we totally should've been done with this search by now."
"Well, rumor around the place has it that Princess Sarah of the Alola Region and the former Hoenn Battle Frontier Champion and son of Brandon the Pyramid King, Race Konami, are here as well giving special lectures as guest speakers," Mollie informed, revealing that they were also searching for the little princess and her husband in addition to Liko.
"I see, that explains why there are so many Legendary and Mythical Pokémon poppin' around here wearing so many items. Never realized how far the girl went in caring for her Pokémon," Murdock admitted as he, Orla, and Mollie looked at a photo of Snowflake and her family relaxing with Sarah's Legendary and Mythical Pokémon belonging to the royal couple, seeing the items they wore.
"How goes?"
Then, a young man with slightly tan skin and white-gray hair, wearing a brown flight jacket with yellow fur tufts as well as gray pants coupled with pilot goggles and a brown belt with a yellow "F" buckle approached Mollie and Orla with his own Rotom Phone out. This man was Professor Friede, an old friend of Asha's blood grandfather/Sarah's adoptive grandfather: Johnathan (unbeknownst to his granddaughters).
"Big nothing."
"It's been a great search. But, we heard rumors that Princess Sarah Tomoe and her husband, Race Konami, are here as guest speakers with their Pokémon," Orla and Mollie answered (the former shrugging at him).
"Hmm, interesting. So, they're the ones Old John laid the groundwork for when I talked to him," Friede nodded.
In the end, they decided to leave, hoping to find them again in a different location. Little did the five adults know, however, that their meeting with Liko, Sarah, and Race would happen sooner than expected and they would meet face to face in the wildest of circumstances (all the while, Sarah and Race continue to help their new friends understand each other and strengthen their bond despite how bumpy the road ahead of them continued to be). And, it all starts with the arrival of a new threat in the form of someone else looking for them as well.
Dusk fell the next day at Indigo Academy on the 28th of June and the school was greeted by a strange young man with purple eyes and hair in a silver/black mix wearing a tuxedo.
"This is it," he mused thoughtfully before he went inside.
Of course, the students, particularly Ann and Liko were oblivious to the strange visitor as they and the other students prepared to spend their first school break of the term with a majority of them including Ann deciding to return home for a spell.
"It's going to be so great to just chill out at home for a bit!" grinned Ann as she turned to her partner. "You ready to meet the family, Oshawott?"
"You bet, Ann!" her Oshawott grinned.
She then turned to her friends as she asked, "Oh, right, I almost forgot! What about you, guys? Are you headed back home?"
"No, I'll be fine being here for the entire break. My parents are really busy," Liko informed, deciding to stay behind.
"We'll be with Liko all break, too. We talked to my family about us staying with her and Sprigatito after we introduced them to each other and they're fine with that. My Mom couldn't get over seeing how cute Sprigatito was after she saw her. She wanted me to find and catch one or two should we ever go to Paldea," Sarah chuckled as Race nodded in agreement.
"We did enroll with her sister, Asha, at Uva Academy so we could find out more about some of the Pokémon we had on us, after all, mainly Island Girl with her Paldea clan," the former BF Champion explained.
"That so? Well then, you all and Sprigatito are in charge," Ann grinned again, sharing a handshake with Sprigatito before she and Oshawott went to the bus that'll take them home for a spell.
"See ya, Ann."
"Have a good break."
"Have fun, you two."
"Bye-Bye!"
"See ya later!"
And, with that, after exchanging goodbyes with Ann and her Oshawott, Liko, Sprigatito, Sarah, Race, Silvally, Tou-Tou, Blitz, Curly, Bella, and Robbie decided to explore the campus for a bit before returning to their rooms with the royal couple offering Liko for her and her partner to stay with them during the break (which she tried to decline at first but eventually accepted, knowing their help and hospitality were invaluable regarding her budding bond with the Grass Cat Pokémon).
But, they had no idea that trouble was looking for them as the strange man entered the cafeteria they were going to pass through to get to their rooms and met up with one of the housekeepers cleaning up the campus.
"Pardon me?" he asked the housekeeper as she swept.
"Oh, hello," the housekeeper greeted.
"I'm here to visit a student and two guest speakers from Alola, I have all the necessary paperwork here."
"Let's see," the housekeeper replied as she took the slip of paper she was presented with before she noticed Liko, Sarah, Race, and their Pokémon entering the cafeteria on their way to their rooms. "Oh, there they are now. Liko, Princess, Race, you have a visitor."
The man turned to them as Sarah told the housekeeper, "Thank you. We'll take it from here."
The housekeeper nodded and left to continue her job while the man stared at them before he approached them, telling them, "Nice to meet you. You, the young girl with the Sprigatito, you're Liko, aren't you?"
"Uh, yes, I am," Liko replied, confused.
"And, if I'm not mistaken, from what I heard, you're Princess Sarah Tomoe of Alola and Race Konami, former champion of the Hoenn League of Hoenn Battle Frontier, correct?"
"...Yes, that's us."
"So, what if we are?" Sarah and Race puzzled, already suspicious of the man before them, Liko, and their Pokémon (who were already feeling something off about the man as they glared at him).
"Well, if you knew about us, may we ask who you are?" Liko asked, wanting answers as he handed her and Sarah two letters.
"Your grandmother and grandparents sent me here personally to deliver these letters. They mentioned that you two must bring your pendant and three specific Pokémon in your possession along with you for an important cause; speaking of which, I see you already have one of them on you."
"Grr, I smell a rat," Sprigatito hissed, glaring at the man suspiciously.
Now, Sarah, Race, and their Pokémon were even more suspicious about the man as their glares darkened and their eyes narrowed further; this was extremely odd as Sarah narrowed her eyes at the letter meant for her, knowing that her true grandparents would've called her beforehand rather than get a random stranger to meet them first.
"Sprigatito, that's not nice," Liko gently chastised her partner before she told the man, "We'll go get ready. Please, wait here. Sarah, Race, why don't we go to my room, okay?"
Leaving the man to wait for them and taking the letters from him, Liko, Sarah, Race and their Pokémon left the cafeteria and they went over to Liko's room rather than go to the royal couple's guest room as planned. However, Sarah and Race had to return quickly to get their stuff and after packing up, they rejoined Liko and entered her room with her (telling Tou-Tou and Silvally to return to their Pokeballs and wait as they planned to make a getaway from the strange man).
"Okay, what the damn hell was that about? I don't remember your gramps or granny radioing him for help with anything, Island Girl," Race told his wife.
"I'm not sure... I never met or heard him before and they or Johnathan and Diane, if they found out we'd be here, wouldn't since they would've called me beforehand. But, I never heard anything from them since we arrived," Sarah replied as Liko frantically paced around.
"Ah! Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no! Something's not right, something is definitely, not, right! I mean, who is that guy? A letter from my grandmother? Since when does she send letters? And, asking about that pendant of mine is too suspicious!" she fretted as Sprigatito nodded in agreement, all of them not knowing that the man was approaching Liko's room as if he had secretly followed them.
"You know what I think? I think we should bail, that guy gives me the creeps," Blitz suggested as Liko took out the pendant box.
"And, why would he want you and Sarah to bring three of your Pokémon with her pendant, Father? How do we know he and whoever really sent him here can be trusted with them?" Robbie questioned, confused as to why the man from before wanted to see Liko's pendant and three of his and Bella's human father and Race's Pokémon.
Race sighed as he crossed his arms and sat on Ann's bed, remembering his and his wife's baby turtle Pokémon as he replied, "...I don't."
Sarah nodded in agreement just as they heard a knock on the door, causing Liko to drop her pendant box.
Liko gasped as she saw her grandmother's pendant popped out of the box but Sarah held her shoulder and nodded, mentally telling her that they have to leave immediately. The young student nodded as she put the pendant around her neck and they, Blitz, Curly, Race, Robbie, Bella, and Sprigatito hurried out the window after opening it, trying to figure out where to go to escape.
"This way!" Sprigatito called when she was on the roof, leading the way as the others followed.
"Ms. Liko?" the man called before he entered the room and saw no trace of Liko, her friends, and their Pokémon along with the pendant she now wore.
The man scoffed with an unimpressed snort as he saw the open window and his Rotom Phone popped out to make and immediate call while he said, "Hmph, they should've just come with me quietly but they decided to play 'Hard to Catch' instead. Oh, well. They're running, all of them. Block their escape."
Trying to make sure they weren't seen by the man or anybody else as they escaped, Liko, Sarah, Race, and their three Pikachu and Mimikyu followed Sprigatito before they noticed a woman with blue-gray hair with pink streaks on it and in a uniform similar to that of the strange man looking around for them with her own Rotom Phone out.
"Have you found them?" the man asked through the call they made.
"Not yet, but they're hiding here somewhere. With their Pokémon out and about, it won't be hard to find them. They couldn't have gone too far," the woman replied.
"So troublesome..."
Suddenly, the woman turned in the heroes' direction but by the time the three of them and their Pokémon ducked, it was already too late. With no other choice but to run for it, Sarah and Race brought Silvally and Tou-Tou back out and the three of them rode after the Grass Cat Pokémon as she ran (after Sarah helped Liko onto her Synthetic Pokémon's back).
"They're on the roof!"
"What'll we do?!" Curly shrieked fearfully.
"Leg it!" Tou-Tou shouted as they scrambled.
However, before they could get far, they were stopped by a man in a uniform in alliance with the woman and strange man after them as he brought out a Pokeball and called forth a Rhydon as he shouted, "There they are! Let's go, Rhydon!"
"Rhydon?!" Liko gulped as Sprigatito braced herself for battle.
"Hold on! Sprigatito wants to battle?!" Liko thought in surprise until she decided to take a chance and fight alongside her partner. "Then, I guess we're just gonna have to do this!"
"Sprigatito, use Leafage!"
"Chew on this, Hornhead!" Sprigatito snarked as she fired Leafage only for Rhydon to block and destroy the Grass Type attack as Leafage in its current state was too weak to do any damage to it despite her Type advantage.
The man just laughed as he mocked Sprigatito and Liko, "You think you puny punks can defeat Rhydon with that pathetic move?"
This gave Liko an idea as she realized what she and Sprigatito could do to make their escape without having to battle in their current conditions (not seeing Sarah and Race quietly nod at each other as they took out two Memory Drives and a Pokeball each to give them a hand), "He's right, we don't have to defeat it. Sprigatito, run and use Leafage!"
"Right!" Sprigatito nodded, using Leafage as she got a running start and blinded Rhydon before using her sweet scent to put Rhydon to sleep and she jumped back onto the roof.
"You did it, Sprigatito!" Liko cheered.
"Silvally/Tou-Tou, Naguara/Aurequine, use Multi-Attack plus Hydro Pump/Petal Dance!"
Liko and Sprigatito were greatly surprised when they saw Silvally and Tou-Tou charging and slashing at Rhydon while being covered in blue and green auras while a powerful flurry of petals converging with a powerful cannon-like water stream blasted the Horn Pokémon and knocked it out cold, shocking the man as he tended to his Partner Pokémon. When they saw Race and Sarah, Liko and Sprigatito were also shocked to see Aurequine smiling and Naguara nodding at them.
"Sarah, Race!"
"Come on, Liko! Let's get out of here!" Sarah shouted as she and Race got back onto Silvally and Tou-Tou (who were now a Grass Type and Water Type respectively thanks to their Grass Type and Water Type Memory Drives) after thanking and returning Aurequine and Naguara to their Pokeballs.
"Yeah, Liko! Leg it, let's go!" Sprigatito agreed from her place on the roof.
"O-Okay, time to move!" she nodded as she rushed over to Sarah and she was helped back onto Silvally's back before they went off, climbing back on the roof and running for their lives.
Moments later, the man (now known as Amethio) from earlier and the woman (Onia) who spotted them joined the burly man as he returned his downed Pokémon with the former questioning, "Where are the princess, her husband, and the girl?"
"They're up on the roof," the second man replied, directing them to the three humans and their Pokémon running across the rooftops aboard Silvally and Tou-Tou until they came to the roof's edge.
"Hold it!" Amethio shouted as he, Onia, and the second man (who's name is Zinc) cornered them, forcing them to turn back and face them.
"What do you want with us, you freak? Haven't you and your posse already caused enough grief for us in the span of a few hours tonight?" Race grunted, seeing nowhere for him, Liko, his wife, and their Pokémon to run.
"Nothing much, I assure you, we don't mean any harm despite the little resistance card you pulled," Amethio replied darkly as he stalked them. "We won't do anything that'll hurt you as long as you hand over the pendant and your three Pokémon."
"Get real, you cold-blooded asshat!" Blitz sassed defiantly as he blew a raspberry.
"Fat chance that would happen given how your partner in crime tried to stop us and our new friends," Sarah added, sharing her male Pikachu's sentiments.
"Try and take 'em if you can, Moron," Silvally dared, snarling at Amethio, Onia, and Zirc while Tou-Tou, Bella, Robbie, and Curly readied themselves.
For a moment, it seems like Liko, Sarah, Race, and their Pokémon have found themselves locked in a battle they would be forced to fight in which could be nothing like their short scuffle with Zirc. However, before any of them could make another move...
"AH-HA-HA! I found you!"
Divebombing between them was Professor Friede as he appeared riding his Partner Pokémon, a male Charizard, blocking Amethio from reaching the three humans (having finally found the people he was looking for after hearing their short battle with Zinc's Rhydon).
"What?! Now, who's this guy?" gasped Liko in her thoughts as she and her party looked at him, completely flabbergasted and blind-sighted by Friede and his Charizard's surprise arrival.
"And, you might be?" Amethio asked him, growing impatient.
"Could ask you the same thing. I've got business with this lovely trio here on behalf of my old friend belonging to one of them," Friede answered as he took off his goggles.
"We do as well. Therefore, if you want them that badly, we'll settle this with a Pokémon battle. Ceruledge?"
Amethio brought out a Pokeball and summoned a Pokémon to do battle with Friede's Charizard which was the evolved form of a Pokémon named Charcadet, the Fire Blades Pokémon: Ceruledge.
Ceruledge is a bipedal humanoid Pokémon with a primarily black body with blue colorations on its head, arms, and legs while having sharp pale blue "ears" protruding from either side of its head, a fire burning above it that resembled a feather plume on a knight's helmet, and eyes with pink irises and whisps emulating from its white pupils. In addition, almost its entire body was covered in a dark violet-blue suit of armor filled with grudges and a plate with three pink indentations on its center face cover. To top it all off, it wielded violet-cyan blades covered in both Fire Type and Ghost Type energy to fight its opponents with rather than hands.
Friede just smirked as Charizard roared, "I was hopin' you'd say that."
"Pretty fiery, those two," blinked a surprised Bella, almost as if she could feel Friede and his Charizard smirking at the challenge presented before the pair team from behind them.
"They do seem to be the same. They must like a good challenge even if that Pokémon they'll be fighting is also a Fire Type," remarked Curly in agreement, sharing Bella's sentiments.
"Boss!" Zinc and Onia called, wanting to intervene.
However, Amethio held out his right arm and cut them off as he told his colleagues, "Stand back, I'll handle this."
Then, once he was sure Onia and Zinc wouldn't get in the way, he turned back to his Ceruledge as he issued the first attack, "Use Bitter Blade!"
"Charizard, use Flamethrower!"
The two Fire Types charged at each other with their respective attacks, Charizard's Flamethrower and Ceruledge's Bitter Blade moves being so powerful as they clashed, the resulting shockwaves from the collision ultimately shattered the windows below or nearby.
"Ceruledge, use Night Slash!"
"Charizard, use Dragon Claw!"
The two Fire Types continued to go at each other with Ceruledge going all-in on the offensive with Charizard defending himself and engaging with his equal rival opponent while Liko, Sarah, Race, and their Pokémon watched on, unsure of what to do and who to trust despite Friede and Charizard looking like they can be trusted themselves as they didn't show any sign of ill intentions in mind with them.
"We've got to get out of here while we have the chance," Liko informed, getting a nod from Sprigatito.
Nodding in agreement, Sarah and Race looked at their Synthetic Pokémon and whispered, "Silvally/Tou-Tou..."
The two of them nodded as they jumped onto the upper part of the roof i.e. the roof of the school's clock tower, Sarah whistling to Liko and Sprigatito to call them over. The two heard the whistle and quickly followed after them with Sprigatito managing to dodge Zinc as she jumped on him before he could stop her and her partner.
"Oh, man..." That's a really big jump," Liko gulped worriedly, seeing the distance between the clock tower and the roof of the building ahead of them.
"Last chance given our predicament, Liko... Wanna turn back or take a leap of faith?" Sarah asked as she, Race, Bella, Robbie, Blitz, Curly, Silvally, and Tou-Tou braced themselves for the jump.
"Come on!" Sprigatito shouted to Liko as she prepared to make the jump, speaking on Liko's behalf.
"R-Right!" Liko nodded in agreement as she stood close to her partner and her new friends and prepared to jump as well. "Oh, man! I don't know what I'm caught up in... But, if I don't jump with them right now, I'll never find what I'm looking for!"
"Huh? What are they doing up there?!" Friede balked as he noticed them preparing to jump.
"Use Psycho Cut!" Amethio barked, his Fire Blades Pokémon firing its Psycho Cut attack just as the group jumped with determined cries.
But, as Charizard jumped in and cut the Psychic attack in half, one-half of it that wasn't destroyed whizzed past him and Friede before it made its way toward Liko, Sarah, Race, and their Pokémon, leaving them defenseless until Liko's pendant shone brightly and the group was suddenly encased in a giant forcefield holding all of them.
To Be Continued...