Chapter 14

Exit, Route 2

With their new team members ready for action, Mikey and Jun walked through Hau'oli city once again, taking in the sights and looking for whatever would progress the plot of the game and story.

They didn't have to wait for long.

"Howzit, Mikey!" they heard Hau call out.
"And here I was almost having a good time." Jun groaned.

"If you're looking for good eats, you've found 'em!" Hau said, standing by the door to a shop with a large sign above the door, sporting a strange looking dog face in white and pink.

"Plus, malasadas make your Pokémon like you. And affectionate Pokémon are better in battle!"

"Huh, I guess I could use that." said Mikey, knowing the others weren't too happy with their predicament.

"Who could resist giving their Pokémon a few malasadas, eh? They're just so cute!"

"Maybe a snack wouldn't be that bad. What do you say, Jun?"

"Well… I can't deny that it does sound tasty." Jun admitted.

"Yo, yo, yo, check it!" a male voice was heard from down the street, sounding like some kind of rapper wannabe. "Whenever, wherever we meet you, Team Skull don't even greet you!"

Two young men came walking towards them, both wearing the same kind of outfits.

They sported black tank-tops with white ex on the stomach, black armlets with white rims, black shorts, and white sneakers. They both wore a long silver chain around their necks with a pendant in the shape of a stylised S that has three prongs on one side, looking a bit like a skull. They completed the look white bandanas with two black spots on their heads, and black bandanas with a white ridge on the upper top, two square bits pointing down, covering their faces. Together, the bandanas looked a bit like a skull.

"Yo, you wanna throw us a bone and hand over those challenge amulets to us now?" Said one of the two men.

"Ohhh. So you're part of that Team Skull, huh?" Hau said, snapping his fingers as he figured it out.
"Team Skull?" Mikey asked, scratching his head.

"All you guys ever do is steal people's Pokémon and get in the way of other people's island challenges!" Hau continued.

"You know it!" said one of the men, doing rapper moves and poses. "We hate the island challenge, yo! And every kid fool enough to try it!"

"Yo, let's check these fools." said the other, doing the same kind of moves.

"Mikey! Come on!" said Hau, grabbing one of his Poké Balls. "Let's teach these Team Skull jerks not to get in the way of anybody's island challenge!

"Y-you're going to battle Team Skull?! Aren't you zcared, kid?" Rotom asked, peeking up from Mikey's backpack.

"I ain't afraid of some Team Numbskulls or whatever." Mikey stated confidently, remembering how he used to wipe the floor with Purple Dragons and Foot ninja on a daily basis in real life.

"Same here! Let's wipe the floor with these wannabe hoodlums!" Jun said excitedly, getting into a battle stance. He too enjoyed taking down thugs and the like.

"Stupid kahuna's grandson or whatever! We're not a fan of you!" said the first of the grunts.

"Yo, check how I change the game with my mad Pokémon skills!" said the second grunt.

While Hau battled the first of the thugs, Mikey and Jun dealt with the second one.

As Jun rushed in to battle, the thug send out his own Pokémon.

"Go, Zubat!"

It was a blue bat with purple membranes on its wings, and two sharp fangs on each jaw of its mouth, and two long, thin tails. The face lacked a visible nose, and it had no eyes at all.

"Talk about blind as a bat." Jun commented, but he knew that he couldn't underestimate the bat because it had no eyes, knowing fully well that normal bats use sonar to 'see' in the dark.

"Take it out with Ember, Jun!" Mikey called out, and Jun was happy to oblige, releasing a burst of small flames, striking the bat.

And that was not all, the Fire attack left Zubat with flames that clung to its body, constantly burning it.

"Good zzhot!" Rotom piped up. "It'zz burned, brzzt! It will take damage all the time, and do less damage, roto!"

"Yo, Zubat! Supersonic that cat!" the thug called out.

Zubat flitted around a bit, then opens its mouth and lest out a cone of vibrating soundwaves that made the air ripple. Jun wasn't able to avoid the attack or block out the sound, and it quickly affected his mind.

Wherever he looked, he saw multiple doubles of everything. Buildings, people, items, and Pokémon, and everything was moving differently from the other duplicates. He tried to focus on the Zubat, only to see five of it, two of which flying in opposite directions, one spinning round in place, another swelled and shrank in a steady rhythm, and the last one stuck out a comically large tongue at him.

"What… the…?" he said groggily, not noticing that he was very unsteady on his feet.

"Jun!" Mikey called out, but to no avail.

"He's Confused, zzzt!" Rotom cried. "He can't tell what'z what, and might hurt himzelf!"

Jun shook his head and narrowed his eyes, focusing on finding his opponent.

"Gotcha!" he cried and leaped at the Zubat, only to slam head first into a palm tree instead.

"Ouch! That's gotta hurt!" Mikey winced. "Jun! Snap out of it! Think about Dahlia!"

Finally, Jun managed to shake off the stars and his vision cleared. Having recovered from the confusion, he growled and glared at the Zubat, only to see it drop out of the sky and crash onto the ground.

The burn Jun had inflicted at the start had finally taken its toll on the bat Pokémon.

"For real?! Over already?!" The thug cried out. "No fair! I was playing a different game!"

His cohort wasn't having any better of a time, as he had been beaten by Hau.

"Let's get up out this port, B! Nobody has to know about this!" the first thug said to his friend, then glared at Mikey and Hau. "We don't need your wack little amulets anyway! Wouldn't even take 'em if you gave 'em to us!"

Recalling their respective Pokémon, the two Team Skull grunts ran off into the city.

"Those Team Skull jerks really must have too much time on their hands, yeah?" Hau said more bothered than worried about what had happened. "But keeping other people from doing their island challenges isn't gonna just make it like they managed to finish theirs, you know?"

"You can fail?" Mikey asked, looking up from checking up on Jun, but Hau just shrugged and continued with his own chain of thoughts.

"I already went down to the Marina and screamed out over the ocean, 'Watch out, world! Someday I'm gonna beat even my old gramps in an all-out serious battle!'"

"What a mouthful." Jun commented.

"Well, see you around!" Hau said, and waved before he left.

"But… but what about those malasadas?" Mikey asked, but Hau was already too far away.

"Forget about him, let's just get some of our own." said Jun.

"What a lovely battle you showed us there, against Team Skull." a voice said so suddenly that Mikey and Jun jumped out of their skins. It was Ilima who had walked up behind them while they were preoccupied "My thanks to you and your Pokémon. Why don't I heal your team to express my gratitude?"

Ilima reaches into a belt pocket and pulls out a potion which he sprays Jun with, healing him up.

"Thanks." both Jun and Mikey said, appreciating the gesture.

"I must admit, I've been wondering about you since I saw you at the Trainers' School…" Ilima continued. "Professor Kukui brought you along, and you and your Pokémon seemed to defeat our teacher so effortlessly!"

"I wouldn't go that far." Mikey admitted sheepishly.

"Agreed." said Jun, remembering that he struggled in that fight and it was Chloe who was the key to victory.

"Very well then! Allow me to see if you're ready for my trial!" Ilima stated with excitement in his yes.

"Um, yeah, sure, okay."

With a nod of approval, Ilima walked away a bit so that they would have a decent amount of space between them for the battle.

"Behold the magnificent Pokémon of the one and only Captain Imila!" He stated as he tossed his Poké Ball, sending out a Yungoos.

"I got this!" Jun said, remembering those he had already fought.

It was a very close match, with the two Pokémon trading moves and blows back and forth. The flames and claws of Jun eventually won out over the mongoose Pokémon, but it was a very close match.

"Great job, Jun! You okay?" Mikey said once Yungoos was recalled.

"A bit sore, but I can go on. That was a tough one, though."

Seeing that Jun was staying in the battle, Ilima sent out his next Pokémon. A bipedal somewhat dog-like Pokémon with mostly white fur, the only exceptions being the two bands on its wrists and one on the ankles, its collar-like scruff, the rings around its eyes, and floppy ears, all of which were brown, and a paw mark on its upper back, as well as the tip of its long cow-like tail, which were covered in pink paint. The top of its head resembled a beret, and it held the end of its tail like a paintbrush.

"Now, Smeargle! Use Water Gun!" Ilima called out, and it spat a burst of water right at Jun.

"Wait, what?!" both Mikey and Jun exclaimed, neither having expected a Water type move. And that was also all that Jun was able to do before it struck him and he was knocked across the street.

"Jun!" Mikey cried out and hurried to the cat's side. He was out cold with swirly eyes, clearly not able to keep fighting, so Mikey needed to send in someone else.

"Uh-oh. Um, Hacker, go!" Mikey tossed another Poké Ball into the air, letting out the Spinarak that was Hacker.

"What's this now?" Hacker wondered as he saw the Smeargle in front of him

"No clue, but um…" Mikey was about to give a command, but realised that he didn't quite remember what Hacker could do.

Luckily, Rotom came to his rescue, showing Hacker's stats and moves on its screen.

"Oh, right! Use Infestation!"

"If you say so." Hacker tensed his body, and tiny fleas, gnats, and mites appeared out of nowhere near his foe and started swarming over the Smeargle.

Hacker still got hit by a Tackle right afterwards, and while the black sludge that he had stuck to the back of his head did heal him a little, the Smeargle was still stronger than him.

He still fired off multiple Poison Sting attacks on Mikey's call, trying to poison the Smeargle while the swarm continued to nibble it, but even after Mikey had used a potion to keep Hacker in the game, it wasn't enough to take down Ilima's Pokémon.

Ultimately, Mikey made the decision to swap for Rattletrap, which Hacker welcomed, while Rattletrap wasn't prepared for it at all.

"What's going-oof!" the rat got tackled as soon as he was sent out. "...on?! What the *bleep* have I done now?!"

"It's a battle, Rattletrap!" Mikey explained quickly.

"Oh yeah?! I couldn't tell!" the rat snapped back sarcastically.

"Just use Quick Attack!"

Much to his own surprise, Rattletrap launched himself at the Smeargle with blinding speed, smashing into it with enough force to knock it into the air and spin around, before it came down and landed on the road with swirly eyes.

"Yes! You have emerged victorious!" Ilima congratulated Mikey and gave him a good chunk of money for winning. "You, or should I say you and your Pokémon, make quite the interesting team!"

"That's one way of putting it…" Jun groaned by Mikey's side. He was conscious, but had no more energy to fight.

"I do hope you'll come to Verdant Cavern and attempt the trial, the trial of Ilima!" Ilima continued. "You can get there from Route 2… That Rotom Dex of yours will show you the way. I bid you Alola!"

With that, Ilima walked off into the city.

"Yay! You beat captain Ilima!" Rotom cheered. "Don't stop now, kid! Keep moving while you got the momentum!"

"Not until I've taken care of Jun and the others." Mikey said as he gently picked up Jun and put him in his Poké Ball. "They did all the hard work."

Half an hour later, Mikey and his team had gotten a good short rest in the Pokémon Centre, with Jun even doing the classical cat stretch.

"Oh, man, it really feels as good as it looks." he sighed contently.

"You okay?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah, that healing machine really does wonders. But just what the heck was that thing? And how did it spit water at me the same way that the sea lion did back at the school?"

"I got no clue, man. I'm as stumped as you are." Mikey shrugged.

"I can help with that, zzrt!" said Rotom, and brought up some information on Smeargle. "It hazzz a move called Sketch that allows it to permanently copy almost any other move in the world, bzzt!"

"Any move?! Woah, talk about unbalanced." said Mikey, then he thought for a moment.

"Yeah, that doesn't sound fair." said Jun.

"But, you know, maybe we should get one of our own, for the team, you know. Might make things easier."

"If it gets out of this mess quicker, I'm all for it. But what if it isn't one of our friends? Then what?"

"Yeah, that's a good point. It might get weird… er if I can talk and plan with you guys, but not this one."

"Besides, who would even become one?"

"Um… what do you mean?"

"Come on, you haven't caught up on this yet?" Jun cocked his head. "Rattletrap was a rat and became a rat, Chloe was a butterfly and turned into a caterpillar later a butterfly, Hacker was and is a spider, and I was a tiger that became a cat with tiger-like looks. There is a pattern there. Everyone has become a Pokémon that matches their animal half."

"Really? I never noticed that."

"Sure, a cat is a bit of a stretch when I used to be a tiger. Unless… I actually become a tiger later?"

"I dunno." Mikey shrugged. "I'm no expert on all things Pokémon. I'm more of a casual fan."

Jun couldn't help but sigh.

Deciding to move on, Mikey checked the map on Rotom, and found the path to Route 2, so they left to make some progress. But when they was close to the exit of Hau'oli City, a familiar voice caught their attention.

"Oh! Wait for me, Mikey!" they heard Lillie call out, and saw her hurry up to them. "Oh, I'm glad to see a familiar face. I always get lost so quickly… I can't figure out the roads here… I can't even buy my own clothes… But you… You're moving on to your first trial? You're going to Verdant Cavern?"

"That about sums it up, yeah." Mikey shrugged.

"I read something in an old book once. It said that the island challenges were once a journey made to prove yourself and gain the strength to battle against the guardian deities of Alola. Like Tapu Koko..."

"Fight gods?!" Jun exclaimed. "No one ever told me anything about that!"

"The people in Iki Town said that Tapu Koko loves Pokémon battles, didn't they?" Lillie continued.

"I think they did, yeah. What about it?" Mikey wondered.

"Don't change the subject!" Jun objected, but was promptly ignored.

"If we could meet Tapu Koko once more, do you think we would find the answer to why it saved you and Nebby that day, Mikey?"

"Maybe."

"Pew?" Nebby chimed from Lillie's bag, shaking it. Lillie patted the bag to try and calm Nebbie down, then she remembered something and reached inside one of the pockets on her bag.

"Oh yes… Please take these. They are called Revives." She placed three Revives in Mikey's hand. Each was like a golden crystal composed of eight elongated triangular sides, about three inches long in total. "If you use one on a Pokémon that has fainted, it will recover and feel a little better."

"Wow! Cool! Thanks a lot, Lillie."

"Mikey… Good luck on your first trial. I will hope that it goes well for you."

"You and me both." said Mikey, worrying about the trial.

"Same here." Jun agreed, having similar worries.

With a kind smile, Lillie headed back into town again, so Mikey and Jun continued on their quest.

Only to hit another roadblock.

Once again, they saw Tauros up ahead, just at the very exit onto Route 2, together with Hala.

"This again? I'm getting a sense of deja vu here." Jun sighed.

"Since it's a bull, don't you mean deja moo?" Mikey said with a very mischievous look on his face.

Jun snorted as he tried to hold back his laugher.

"Okay, that one was actually good, I'll give you that."

Hearing Mikey approach, Hala looked over his shoulder and waved at him.

"There! Mikey, I've got this ornery creature calmed again, for now." he said as Mikey and Jun walked up to them. "Want to try giving him a little pat again? That's the only way he'll get used to you."

"If he does, please let me know his secret." Jun remarked.

Tentatively, Mikey grabbed Tauros by the horns, as he just want him to stay calm and still. Surprisingly, Tauros seemed to really like that, and he bellowed happily at Mikey.

"Maybe old Tauros here can feel your love for Pokémon." Hala chuckled. "He sure seems happy to know you. And yet… It still seems to me like Tauros wants to stretch his legs on his own island challenge. Ha!"

Suddenly, Tauros turned and ran away onto Route 2.

"What! You want to play tag, now? The Melemele kahuna never loses, friend!" Hala laughed as he ran after.

"I swear, those two are starting to feel like they ran away from the Muppet show or something." said Jun.

"I know what you mean, dude. But let's not care about them, and just keep going."

"Music to my ears."

A few minutes later, the group, finally, reached Route 2.

They could see the sea on the left side at times, but mostly the view consisted of cliff walls, palm trees, and large patches of grass.

And as they got close to the first grassy area, Mikey felt a pull from it, a pull that he now had learned meant that one, or more, of their friends were nearby.

As he ventured into the tall grass, he felt the pull getting stronger, but he also felt that something was watching him.

A slight rustle of the grass caught his attention, and he turned his head to the right to look, only for an Ekans to launch itself at him from the grass.

Mikey cried out in shock and panic, just as the snake wrapped itself around his head, causing him to fall onto his shell.

Jun leapt into action, not so much because he cared for Mikey, but more so because he needed him to get out of this mess.

Imagine their surprise when they saw that the snake Pokémon wasn't trying to hurt Mikey, but rather nuzzled him lovingly.

"I'm so happy to see you!" the Ekans said in a female voice, and Mikey's eyes widened.

"Katie?!"

Finally we're out of the first city. Had this been the original games, then I'd probably been closer to the third or forth city by this point. There's just so many cutscenes in this generation...

Anyway, Mikey and Jun have met and fought Team Skull, the so called 'Evil team' of the region, expect them to show up more in the future, and we got yet another team member, Mikey's girlfriend Kate, previously a viper.