Chapter 3:

School's in for the Summer

Location: Home

"Mum!" I shouted as I rushed to brush my teeth, scoff down my breakfast, and get dressed. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I don't know," Mum replied. "Why did you stay up at that festival late? I told you not to."

"It was in me and Hau's honour!" I yelled back. "I wasn't just going to up at it and leave!"

"Relax Elliott. School is just down the road anyway. You're not at risk of being late."

At that point, there was a knock at the door. Mum answered it, and it was Hau! "Hello Mrs. Mitchell," Hau said. "I was hoping to walk Elliott to School."

"How nice!" Mum said. "Here that Elliott?"

I put my thumb up, my mouth filled with flakes. "Got it," I replied.

"Don't speak with your mouthful," Mum replied as if I were five.

Location: Route 1

"Okay, ready?" Hau said.

"Not quite," I replied. "I feel as though I'm forgetting someone…"

"WAIT! ROTO!" At that point, Rotom Dex came rushing out the door. "Elliott Samuel Mitchell, what do you think you're doing? You can't juzzt leave me behind! Zzt! And I saw you overzzlept. I'm equipped with an alarm clock you know." It proudly showed me the digital time; I had half an hour before classes started.

"It's a ten-minute walk," Hau said. "Come on, let's go!"

Never had I ever met a kid eager to go to School.

"Hold on!" Professor Kukui stopped us. "Before you go, a present for both of you." Professor Kukui gave us both…

"An Exp. Share?!" Hau shouted.

"Wow!" Rotom Dex said. "This shares out Exp. pointzz with all other Pokémon, including thozze who haven't battled!"

"Thanks!" I said. "Okay! Onto… School… I suppose…"

Location: Hau'oli Middle School

School was a big brown building with a car park, grassy areas and two battlefields. Palm trees lined the building.

"Welcome," Hau said. "To Hau'oli Middle School!"

I walked into the front yard. "Well colour me intrigued," I replied.

"Zzt. You gotta get some knowledge. Roto. Hey, how about you send the gang out?"

"Great idea!" I replied. "Litten, Pikipek! Go!" Out came my two friends.

"I'll do the same!" Hau said. "Rowlet, Pichu! Come on out!" Hau sent out his own Pokémon. "I tell you what, the students here love to battle!"

"They sure do!" From the direction of the school, we saw a woman in a white shirt with short black hair.

"Oh, Alola Emily," said Hau. "Elliott, Emily here is the host of the battle challenge."

"I sure am!" she said. "Nothing gets me more excited than seeing our students duke it out!"

Okay, this sounded exciting. I tell you, the school at Celadon City was BORING. Let's just say any School with a battle challenge had potential. "So, what is it?" I asked.

"New students are required to battle the school's strongest Trainers in the afternoon. Then, once they've all been defeated, you take on me!" she said.

"You're on!" I replied.

"Now hold on," Rotom Dex said. "She did say thizz afternoon. I'm guezzing we have morning lessonzz firzzt."

"Yep!" Emily replied. "Math first!"

"MATH?!" me and Hau replied in horror. Finally Hau was realizing that school wasn't actually fun (for now).

It was just as boring as it sounded so I won't bore you with the details. Let's skip to the fun part.

After lunch break ended, I was required to go to the front of the school. Emily met me there.

"Okay Elliott. Your job is to take down four students. You will battle Young Athlete Hiromi, the captain of the cheerleading team. You will also battle the two strongest students in the Preschool we run here, Mia and Joey. Finally, Rising Star Joseph is at the top of our class. Then, it's onto me! And don't worry, I will heal your Pokémon after each battle."

"Thanks!" I said and went off.

The first place I went to check was the grassy area. There was a sign outside that said, "wild Pokémon - students without Pokémon keep out." On the other side of the fence, I saw a girl decked in blue cheerleader outfit with her two cohorts. One of them was cream and red with red plusses on it whilst the other was cream and blue with minuses on it. I guessed that was Hiromi, the Cheerleader captain.

I went round and went into the tall grass. And you guessed it, I was jumped on. This Pokémon was a Grimer, but it was green with yellow stuff round its mouth. It also had two teeth.

Alolan Grimer (ベトベター)

#054

Poison/Dark Type

Sludge Pokémon

2'04" (0.7 m)

92.6 lbs (42 kg)

Brought to Alola to solve the garbage problem, Grimer seems to relish any and all kinds of trash.

"Urgh, they smell as bad as the ones from Kanto. Okay Litten, go!" Out it came. "Use Ember!" Litten fired a flame at Grimer who was burned in the process. Grimer then came back with Bite. Litten got free and fired one more Ember, knocking Grimer out.

"Pee yew!" I said. "Even Alola isn't safe from being a bit stinky either."

"Hey!" said Hiromi. "I saw you battle, and my cheerleaders need motivation, and I feel battling someone who is doing the Island Challenge will help me. Bring it on!"

Elliott Vs. Youth Athlete Hiromi

The cheerleaders started charming. "Hiromi Hiromi, take him down, Tapu Koko chose him, now he'll… be a clown?"

"That's the best you can do?!" Hiromi shouted.

"Litten, go!" I shouted.

"Oh, yeah. Go Pikipek!" Hiromi replied. "Use Peck!" Pikipek flew up to Litten and pecked it in the face.

"Come back with Ember!" Litten fired a flame at Pikipek, doing a lot of damage to it.

"Now use Echoed Voice!" Pikipek shouted, its voice bouncing off all the walls before hitting Litten. It was down.

"Good job," I told it. "Pikipek, finish things off!" Out came my own Pikipek.

"Use Echoed Voice again!" Once again, the soundwaves bounced off the walls before hitting my own Pikipek.

"Peck it!" Pikipek flew up to the other Pikipek and hit it, knocking it out.

"Well, at least my cheerleaders are motivated again. Thanks."

After that, I went back to Emily who healed my Pokémon. "Not bad!" she said. "Hiromi and her Pikipek are quite good. Three more Trainers to go."

I went to the playground next where I saw a girl playing on the swings. She was clearly having a good time. When she saw me, she jumped off the swing and landed on her feet.

"Hey! Get out of our fort! This is my castle!"

Elliott Vs. Preschooler Mia

"Pikipek, go!" I shouted.

"Go Bonsly!" Mia replied. She sent out a brown Pokémon with no arms and three black orbs protruding from the spike on its head.

Bonsly (ウソハチ)

#030

Rock Type

Bonsai Pokémon

0.5 m (1'08")

15 kg (33.1 lbs)

From its eyes, it can expel excess moisture from its body. This liquid is similar in composition to human sweat.

Baby Pokémon.

"Pikipek and Litten don't do well against Rock Types, so we will have to give it our all. Pikipek, use Peck!" Pikipek pecked at Bonsly for not much damage.

"Bonsly, Copycat!" Bonsly remembering the move that it was hit by used Peck using its orbs.

"Now use Peck again!" Pikipek did it again. Things were going pretty back and forth at this point.

"Copycat!"

"Peck!"

"Copycat!"

"Peck!"

"Copycat!" This Copycat was a Critical Hit, delivering the final blow to Pikipek.

"No!" I shouted. Only about half of Bonsly's health had gone down. "Litten, it's up to you!" Out came my Fire Type. At least if I used Ember, Copycat wouldn't be very effective on it back. But Litten had other plans. It ran over to Bonsly and licked it. This caused Bonsly to become paralyzed.

"Wow! Roto!" Rotom Dex said. "That'zz Lick! It'zz a Ghozzt Type move that can cauzze paralysizz! Zzt! It'zz not strong but it can come in real handy!"

"Nice one Litten!" I said. Bonsly couldn't get a move in. "Now use Ember!" Litten fired a small flame at Bonsly. It wasn't very effective.

"Use Flail!" Bonsly started flailing about. It hit Litten and almost knocked it out.

"Use Ember again!" Litten fired one more flame at Bonsly. It was a Critical Hit and knocked it out.

"Waaaah! I'm sorry I messed with you!"

Halfway there before I could battle Emily. I went back to her, and she healed my Pokémon.

"Okay. Next up is…"

"ME!" said a Youngster. "Sorry Miss Emily, but I couldn't wait. I want to battle Elliott now!"

"Be my guest!" I said.

Elliott Vs. Youngster Joey

"Metapod, go!" shouted Joey, sending out a hard-green Pokémon.

Metapod (トランセル)

#018

Bug Type

Cocoon Pokémon

2'04" (0.7 m)

21.8 lbs (9.9 kg)

Its shell is filled with its soft innards. It doesn't move much because of the risk it might carelessly spill its innards out.

Caterpie -Lv 7- Metapod

"Okay Litten, go!" I shouted. "Use Ember!" Litten fired a single flame at Metapod and it went down in one.

"Man, I should have waited!"

"Well, one more to go," I said.

"Yep!" Emily said. "I believe Joseph should be in… move studies. Come on, I'll show you."

Emily took me into the school and to class A16. The Teacher was going through different Pokémon moves.

"Okay class. Can anyone give me a move that may cause confusion?"

Multiple hands went up.

"Water Pulse!"

"Rock Climb!"

"Psybeam!"

"All correct answers," the Teacher said.

"Excuse me Mr. Miyamoto," Emily said. "Could we please borrow Joseph?"

Joseph stood up. He had grey hair and a green shirt. "Right away Miss Emily." Joseph walked up to us, and directed his attention on me. "So, you're the one who Tapu Koko picked aye? I was there watching you battle it out yesterday, but now it seems I get to battle you. To the courtyard!"

The two of us went back outside and do a battlefield.

"Let's get this party started!" I shouted.

Elliott Vs. Rising Star Joseph

"Grimer, go!" shouted Joseph, sending out an Alolan Grimer.

"Already battled one of these," I said. "Go Pikipek!" Out came my Flying Type. "Use Peck!" Pikipek flew into Grimer.

"Now Grimer, Bite!" Grimer bit down on Pikipek.

"Use Peck again!" Pikipek came back with another Peck attack.

"Bite again!" Grimer bit Pikipek a final time, fainting it.

"Thanks, Pikipek," I said. "Go Litten!" Out came my final Pokémon. "Use Ember attack!" Litten fired a flame at Grimer. When Grimer was hit, it was burned.

"Use Bite again!" Grimer bit down on Litten, but it didn't do much.

"One more Ember!" Litten fired a final flame at Grimer, knocking it out.

"Well, you're not too bad I guess."

Joseph smiled. "Yeah, I can see why Tapu Koko chose you. Here." Joseph threw a TM at me like a frisbee. I dove for it.

"What's on it?" I asked.

"TM01. It contains Work Up. It raises Attack and Sp. Attack. Might be useful. Okay, I need to get back to class now." With that, Joseph walked back into the school.

"Impressive!" Emily said. "It's not everyday someone beats Joseph! Okay, now it's my turn. You ready?"

"Yep!" I said. "Bring it on! Wait, let's heal first."

We did that and then started the battle.

Elliott Vs. Teacher Emily

"Go Litten!" I shouted.

"Magnemite, I choose you!" Emily sent out a spherical metal Pokémon with two magnets attached to it.

Magnemite (コイル)

#047

Electric/Steel Type

Magnet Pokémon

1'00" (0.3 m)

13.2 lbs (6 kg)

It's frequently the cause of power outages, which is why some power plants send out electrical signals that it can't stand.

"Litten, Ember!" Litten hit Magnemite with a fiery attack for a Super Effective hit.

"Thundershock!" Magnemite fired a jolt of electricity at Litten. Litten shook it off.

"One more Ember!" Litten fired one more flame at Magnemite, finishing it off.

"Okay. Time for my other Pokémon. Meowth, go!" Emily's Meowth was different to our Meowth. It was black and very smug.

Meowth (Alolan Form) (ニャース)

#045

Dark Type

Scratch Cat Pokémon

1'04" (0.4 m)

9.3 lbs (4.2 kg)

A royal house that flourished in the distant past brought it here from another region. Meowth is both selfish and prideful.

"Meowth, Bite it!" Meowth bit Litten.

"Use Ember!" Litten came back by shooting fire in its face.

"Finish with Scratch!" Meowth scratched Litten, fainting it.

"Pikipek, it's your turn!" I sent out my Flying Type. "Use Peck!" Pikipek came down and hit for a Critical Hit Peck attack.

"Growl Meowth!" Meowth snarled at Pikipek, lowering its Attack.

"No! How will Peck knock it out now?" Just then, Pikipek shouted, and the soundwaves bounced off the walls and hit Meowth, finishing it.

"Congrats! You passed!"

"Pikipek, you learned Echoed Voice!" I said.

"Congrats," Emily said. "You have completed the challenge!"

At that point, the bell went. The day was over. Students started piling out, including Hau.

"You beat her!" Hau said. "You really did!"

"Yeah, I guess I so," I said. "Hey, wanna come round mine?"

"Sure!" he replied.

Location: Home

"Amazing!" said Rotom Dex. "The Kantonian Meowth really IZZ different from Alolan Meowth!"

Meowth (Kantonian Form) (ニャース)

#045

Normal Type

Scratch Cat Pokémon

1'04" (0.4 m)

9.3 lbs (4.2 kg)

It loves coins, so if you give it one, you can make friends with Meowth easily. But it's fickle, so you can't count on that friendship lasting.

I was recounting my story to Hau. "And then Pikipek was like, PIKIIIII! And it learned Echoed Voice to beat Miss Emily!"

"Sounds like you have had a busy day," Mum said. "See? School isn't that bad. Except for the maths."

"Looking forward to tomorrow!" I said.

"Yeah, quick tip," said Hau. "Eat your lunch indoors tomorrow."

"Why?" I asked.

"It's… going to rain?"

However, the TV was on in the background. The weather was playing and was recording sun for tomorrow. "No it's not," I laughed.

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you," Hau replied.

Rotom's Move Dex:

Yep! Zzt! I'm doing the move Dex now! Elliott did a lot of battling today, but the hardezzt one wazz without a doubt against that Bonzzly! Roto! So, in honour, today we're looking at a Rock Type move!

Stealth Rock.

Zzt! Now Stealth Rock can lead to a lot of interezzting strategiezz. It'zz a hazard move, Roto, a bit like Spikezz, but a Rock Type move. Zzt. The more you put down, Roto, the harder it will hit the Pokémon that juzzt switched in! So, if the opponent switchezz into say a Fire Type, it will do a more damage! The best counter if you are confronted with Stealth Rock, or Spikezz for that matter, izz to uzze Rapid Spin, which getzz rid of hazardzz like that! Roto!

Pokémon that can learn Stealth Rock include Geodude (Both variants), Roggenrola and Rockruff!

Good luck and watch out when switching! Zzt zzt!