Pokémon Eclipse

by moviemaster8510

First published 11th of March, 2017

Two teenaged siblings, having moved to the Alola region from Kalos, set off to complete the famous Island Trials, only for wormholes to appear across the region once again, this time summoning creatures from a mystical world calling themselves ponies

Ten years after the events of Pokémon Sun and Moon, two teenaged siblings from the Kalos region move to Melemele Island in the Alola region with their family. Both are eager to partake in and complete the famous Island Trials for the chance to challenge the fearsome Pokémon League, and they each set off on their journey, each one with a Pokémon from home in tow.

Very shortly after, wormholes similar to the ones the Ultra Beasts came from appear all over Alola, only this time, magical creatures calling themselves "ponies" emerge from them. The two siblings come across two of them and agree to keep them safe and help find the rest of her friends along their travels, all while evading forces who wish to use the ponies for their own power-hungry ways, as well as solving the mystery of their appearance.

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Playing Pokémon Sun/Moon (or watching/reading an entire play/walkthrough) is not a prerequisite for reading this story, though many references to the events of those games (among others) will be made.

Rated Teen for language and Pokémon violence.

P1 – Second Arrival

Sun stood on the edge of a balcony from the Aether Paradise, hands firmly placed on the banister as he looked north towards the near-endless sea with the four islands of Alola not far away in the distance, watching the sun dip beneath the horizon and shade the sky with purple and orange. After ten years spent on Alola, he felt like he now understood why his mom would begin her day basking in the sun on the porch with open arms. Now that his training days were long past him, he could enjoy brief moments like this, and today’s felt particularly special.

“Sun,” called the voice of Lillie from behind him, “we’re ready now.”

He turned around to see her standing in the entryway, the blonde braids at either side of her face from her youth pulled back with the rest of her hair in a single ponytail. She still looked unbelievably mature for a girl her age, especially wearing her labcoat, but Sun still loved that she still looked undeniably her.

“Alright,” Sun said, grabbing his own lab coat hanging from the banister. “Coming.”

With one swing around, Sun slipped his arms through both sleeves of the coat, and with a pull on the lapels, it was on straight. Lillie walked along with Sun back to the center of the floor, where a large circular pool that was lighted from the bottom stood, a thin layer of water resting still on the bottom.

On opposing sides from the pool stood two massive Pokémon, one resembling a metallic lion, the other appearing like an ethereal, purple bat. Both of their heads were covered in electrodes that were hooked up to the pool.

Sun and Lillie parted their ways and each walked towards one of the Pokémon. Sun stroked the side of the solid mane of the lion.

“You ready to go again, Solgaleo?” he gently cooed.

Solgaleo nodded vigorously, nearly throwing Sun up into the air as he continued petting him.

“That’s the spirit, buddy.”

“I know you’ll do great again, Lunala,” Lillie chirped, the Pokémon’s giant head resting on her palms.

Lunala closed its eyes and smiled with pure content, which earned it a small, tender caress from the side of Lillie’s face. Easing her hands off, Lunala came back upright. Both Sun and Lillie conversed back to the center, standing on both sides of an older woman in a white, stylish lab-skirt and a long curtain of ice-blonde hair like Lillie’s.

“Mother,” Lillie said to her, “Lunala and Solgaleo are both ready to go again.”

“Good,” she responded. “I have no doubt that we’ll finally be able to explore that system after long last.”

Sun’s hand rested upon her shoulder. “Hey Lusamine, how do you think those blowhards at Mossdeep are going to react once we do this?”

Lusamine couldn’t help but chuckle. For her and her company to uncover not just one, but two worlds beyond their own in her lifetime, was something she looked exceedingly forward to.

“I’m sure they’ll be proud of us as they were the first time,” Lillie said with a pout. “But I never got to experience it firsthand. It’s so very exciting!”

“Then let’s waste no more time,” Lusamine breathed eagerly. “Wicke, power up the jets.”

On the outer edge of the room, amongst a line of computers and a uniformed employee at each one, a lightly-wrinkled woman with purple hair and pink-rimmed glasses turned to her own machine. With a with a few strokes on the keyboard, and a flick of a switch, a whir came on in the pool, sputters of bubbles shooting out from the bottom before they settled into a steady stream, spinning the water around in a whirlpool. Lusamine looked to Sun, giving him a nod of approval.

“Solgaleo, Lunala.” His voice was loud, but commanded respect amongst the mighty beasts to his left and right. “Begin.”

Both of their foreheads and eyes glowed bright blue, the energy they channeled flowing through the wires connected to them, which made their way to the pool. The water inside, which had maintained a constant speed and motion, began to turn a thick, milky blue, countless lights like stars beneath the surface. Sun looked down into the pool, watching as the small, almost unnoticeable waves of water die down as the liquid maintained a flat, smooth space.

“Come on,” whispered Sun, slowly getting up and glancing at the two Pokemon. “You can do it.”

Solgaleo and Lunala each let out a small roar, and the surface began to fall through from the center out, dissipating like smoke to reveal an expansive starry space. Directly in the center was a sky-blue mass of gas with a bright star in the center. Lillie couldn’t help but let a small laugh escape, while Sun was too in wonder and surprised amazement to do much of anything other than smile with mouth wide open.

“They did it!” his mouth uttered out reasoned. “We finally did it.”

Lillie's mouth suddenly went agape. “Oh my god! Look at that!”

Sun’s and Lusamine’s eyes went to the star system, where they saw the light disappear beneath the cloud, replaced by a fainter, blue light.

“Unbelievable!” Wicke huffed, looking at the phenomenon through her monitor. “That solar system’s sun just disappeared, and… I’m not fully certain of it yet, but some sort of other star has taken its place!”

“Solgaleo, Lunala,” Sun instantly called to the beasts. “Get a little lower!”

With a tiny roar from each of them, their interstellar window went quickly down so that the solar system was almost directly beneath them. Sun, Lillie, and Lusamine, looked at the new celestial body that had taken the sun’s place. It looked all too familiar, but it was still too fantastical for either of them to believe.

“Is that…” Lusamine wondered.

“It can’t be…” Lillie responded, equally bewildered.

“Oh my!” Wicke exclaimed, the object’s image blown up on her monitor. “That star that just appeared isn’t a star at all! It’s… it’s a moon!”

“Wow… look at the way it glows!”

“What kind of Pokémon do you think live down there?” Sun wondered aloud.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the unnaturally loud purr that came from Solgaleo. Sun let out a soft breath from his nose.

“Wicke. Record our progress, and we’ll try and pick up more tomorrow morning.”

“But sir!” she exclaimed. “We’ve come so close. We’re practically there!”

“And we’ll arrive there tomorrow, but Solgaleo and Lunala are getting tired already. They’ve already done two excursions today, and I don’t want to exhaust them any further.”

“Yes, sir…” she said with forlornness.

As she began saving the information on her screen, Sun turned to Solgaleo.

“Alright guys,” he said with a hint of playfulness, “you both did great today. Go ahead and ease down–”

Sun’s command was interrupted by a whine from Lunala, who appeared to sway. Sun looked down at the pool, and was bemused to see that they were receding lower into the dust-cloud, quickly encroaching on a planet down below.

“Solgaleo, Lunala, what are you doing? Stop!”

“This isn’t right,” Lillie whimpered.

Frightened over how helplessly loopy the Pokémon suddenly looked as it started to bow over, she ran over to it. By now, the window had already lowered down to observe the planet’s atmosphere, continuing down.

“Lillie!” Lusamine shouted, “what are you–”

“We have to stop this!” she cried, her fingers desperately peeling at one of the electrodes. “If they don’t, they’ll–”

Suddenly, Lunala and Solgaleo let out piercing shrieks, the light blue glow of the top of their heads and eyes now replaced with an insidious pink. Lillie could only cover hear ears and curl up on her knees. Unbeknownst to her, the pool emitted a bright yellowish light, forcing everyone else in the room to shield their sight.

Sun managed to peek over his arm, seeing Lillie protecting herself as Lunala continued to flail in its rampage. With his right arm covering as much of his eyes as possible, Sun quickly scuttled across the floor behind Lillie, grabbing her by the collar and pulling her back just as Lunala’s wing slammed into the outer wall of the pool. Sun continued dragging her back until he was back with Lusamine.

“Is she alright?” she yelled.

“Looks fine!” he shouted back.

Gladion came down on a triangular lift at the south end of the room, wearing only a simple red tank-top and his torn black pants, five Poké Balls hooked to his red belt above his right thigh as well as a small, circular sack on the left side.

“Hey,” he shouted, “what’s going–”

Before the lift could even stop, he had to block his vision from the light, leaping over the guard-rail and sprinting towards Lillie, Lusamine, and Sun.

“What the hell is happening?” he asked.

As if responding to his question, the light began to stretch up, forming a grid-like cylindrical tower that pierced through the top of the tower. Gladion could barely make out the top of the tower branching off and heading in multiple directions. Without a second’s thought, he shot up and ran to the north balcony, crashing into the banister to break his run.

He watched with a sense of dread as the light snaked off and stopped each of the four islands, the ends forming an individual wormhole.

“It’s happening again?” he grunted. Grabbing one of his Poké Balls, he tossed it out, and from it appeared a large purple bat with four winged limbs. “Crobat, go and fetch my jacket and Ride Pager.”

Despite the scowled look on the Pokémon’s face, it gave an understanding nod and flew as fast as its wings could carry it. Sun and Lusamine continued to watch the light tower, but watched as two shapes moving too fast to see any kind of telling details shot out from the pool. Shortly after, six more figures followed, each coming in sets of two. By the time the two of them looked up to see more of them, they had already gone. At that moment, the light tower disappeared, along with the wormholes over Alola.

All the lights on the floor had been shut off, along with each computer and monitor surrounding the space.

“Nothing’s working!” one employee shouted, scrubbing his mouse on it pad and clicking it numerous times.

Another employee pressed and held down the power switch to his system unit, but nothing still happened. “I can’t even get it to turn on!” she called out.

The brief statements and murmurs of mounting panic followed soon by the crashing sounds of Solgaleo and Lunala’s motionless bodies hitting the floor.

“No!” Sun screamed, rushing over to Solgaleo.

Lillie, realizing that the immediate danger had passed, opened her eyes and turned to see Lunala lying still on the floor. Lillie cried out as she and Lusamine rushed to its side.

“Lunala!” shouted Lusamine, pushing on the Pokémon’s chest. “Lunala! Lunala!”

Lillie’s tears came pouring out her eyes, gently shoving the Pokémon with the desperate hope that it would wake it. She was suddenly grabbed by her apparently furious mother.

“Why did you try and stop it?” Lusamine yelled into her face, her voice being choked by her own oncoming sobs. “Lunala could have killed you!”

“I’m sorry!” she wailed. “I didn’t know what else to do to make it stop. It looked like it was hurting!”

Lusamine, knowing nothing else could be said or done at this point, pulled Lillie in, clutching the back of her head and her back in as tight and consoling of a hug as she could.

As Sun cradled as much of Solgaleo’s head in his arms has he could, Wicke knelt beside him with a dome-like object in her hand, which she held to the side of the Pokémon’s chest. Looking at a small tablet in her other hand, she was relived to see a steady heartbeat from the monitor.

“It’s still alive,” she said with a bit more ease, “but you should bring it downstairs to the ICU right now.”

“Right,” Sun huffed, pulling out a Poké Ball from his coat pocket.

Holding it with the center button facing Solgaleo, a translucent red beam shot out from it and touched the Pokémon. It’s body faded into a similarly shaped and colored energy as the beam, causing the ball to open up and all of the red light to recede inside the ball before it closed by itself.

“I'm sorry.” Sun pressed the Poké Ball to his head, fighting the urge not to cry. “I knew I shouldn't have gone again today.”

As he stood up, Gladion’s Crobat nearly collided with his head, forcing Sun to duck down and see where it was going. After seeing it with Gladion’s black hoodie in its teeth, he ran over to them while Wicke checked on Lunala. Gladion took his hoodie and threw it on, the slash in the middle of the chest, revealing a small part of Gladion’s shirt. As Gladion patted Crobat, making the Pokémon’s fixed grimace shrink in pleasure, he returned he returned it back into its Poké Ball.

“Gladion,” Sun panted, slowing to a quick stop. “What do you plan to do?”

Gladion walked out to the edge of the balcony, prompting Sun to follow him. “If whatever came from that wormhole is anything like the Ultra Beasts, I have to try and help contain them before anyone gets hurt.”

Sun nodded after a brief moment. “Just be careful out there.”

“Hmph. My Silvally was born and bred to take on such threats. We’ve grown far stronger in those years since. I’d say whatever came out won’t stand much of a chance should they choose to fight.”

“I have full confidence you won’t fail.”

Gladion didn’t even look back to see Sun smiling assuredly behind him. With a few steps back, he pulled out a yellowish-green device with a slot on the top where a Poké Ball would perfectly fit. With a couple of taps on the screen, a metallic, fully purple pokeball with a black button appeared inside the slot in a short strobe of light.

Picking it up and tossing it to the ground in front of him, the Poké Ball opened up with white energy exploding out of it. The energy took the form of a winged dragon, and once it fully formed, the light broke off and faded in small fragments, revealing a red, bipedal dragon with a flame on the end of its tail, as well as a large harness affixed to its back with a seat and handlebars. Gladion mounted the Pokémon quickly, and once he was securely on and holding to the bars, the dragon stepped out and stood on the banister.

“Charizard,” he said to it, “head to Poni Island.”

With a roar, Charizard gently leapt off, nosediving towards the ocean below. Having picked up enough speed, the Charizard spread its wings out and scooped itself into the air, taking a hard left and flying towards the western-most island of the chain.

As Gladion and the Charizard grew smaller and smaller in the distance, Sun ran back inside to tend to Lillie and Lunala for whatever they both needed.

The waves rolled gently and quietly onto the beach of Kala’e Bay. The area was among the most secluded places on Melemele Island, where the vast majority of life in that sector of land swam beneath the sea. Washed up on the shore, however, were two small equine creatures laying still and unconscious as the water coming in and out wetted the parts of their bodies that laid upon the sand.

The first among them to awaken was a light-pink unicorn with a purple mane and tail with teal highlights, as well as an ornate mark on both sides of her rump of a purple and white star with two light-blue streams waving above it. As she weakly got up, her mane seemed to flow naturally off to the right of her head and neck.

She looked around her alien surroundings, breathing heavily and quickly as she did. She spotted the other pony beside her, a yellow pegasus with a long, flowing pink mane with a similar mark depicting three pink-winged butterflies.

“Fluttershy,” the unicorn said in a panic, shaking her with her hooves, “we have to get out of here.”

The pegasus called Fluttershy stirred awake, groaning as she raised her head up. Realizing the foreign nature of their location, Fluttershy also began to look nervous as she stood to her four hooves. “Wh– Where are we, Starlight? Where are the others?”

“I don’t know, but we can’t stay here! Look, I think there’s a cave we can take shelter in.”

Fluttershy looked back to where the unicorn she called Starlight was pointing to, revealing a sizable entrance in the side of the rock.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Fluttershy whimpered. “There could be any number of scary, hungry monsters that can attack us.”

“Then I’ll attack them first,” she retorted with a tap of her horn with her hoof. “Now let’s go. It has to be better than out in the open like this.”

Fluttershy and Starlight both trotted inside the cave. While it wasn’t much, the openness of the cave seemed to settle Starlight down a little. There was still plenty of light out for them to monitor their surroundings, and it sounded very empty at the time.

“See?” Starlight huffed, unable to hide her nerves. “Nothing to worry about.”

“I’m scared,” Fluttershy began to weep. “I want to go home!”

Starlight ran to Fluttershy before the sobs she began to let out became even louder, pulling her into an embrace.

“I’m scared too, but we have to be strong. Or, at the very least appear strong.”

The last part seemed to be directed towards herself more than her timid friend.

“Som… dow… here,” a young woman’s voice faintly echoed down.

Starlight’s ears perked and twitched with the fear of danger as she was still wondering if her own paranoia was making her hear things.

“What was that?!” Fluttershy squealed.

“Quiet!” hissed Starlight, clamping her friend’s mouth down with her arms.

“It soun… ke… coup… kids,” another voice floated out, this one sounding noticeably more masculine.

“Come on,” the female voice called, sounding closer and easier to understand. “Let’s go looking.”

Fluttershy tried to cry something out, but Starlight’s hold made it incomprehensible.

“Okay, okay,” Starlight whispered harshly, getting Fluttershy to stay quiet, “they may have found us. Find someplace to hide, I’ll ward them off.”

“But what about…”

“I’m still skilled enough with magic to hold my own, now go!”

Without another moment’s hesitation, Fluttershy galloped off to Starlight’s right, leaving her alone. Starlight trotted to the bottom of a naturally-bumpy ramp, waiting for whatever was coming for them to appear from behind the passageway that otherwise kept their would-be assailants hidden.

Two bipedal figures came out from behind, but Starlight’s eyes were closed as her horn charged a bright light from its tip and fired.

Melemele: Chapter 1 – A Kalosian Alola

12 Hours Earlier...

Alice Brier awoke with a slight start. The dip of the ferry as it went over the crest of the last wave certainly did it. With a strong feeling that morning was already soon coming, she sat up in her cot, waiting for the rest of her body to feel as up and ready has her mind was. Rolling over to her stomach, she rummaged through her open duffel bag until she fished out the case for her glasses. Opening it up, she grabbed them out and promptly put them on with her free hand, adjusting them with her fingers on the hinge.

Tossing the covers off her chest and legs, revealing her purple shorts and white t-shirt, she sat at her bed’s edge and placed the case back in her bag without another sound. Looking down at the unoccupied cot beside hers, she let out a conclusive breath and stood up, promptly leaving her cabin. The hallway led straight to a stairway to the bow, and with a silent jog up the stairs, she found Sam sitting at the very front of the boat, head and body turned to face the direction they were headed.

While Sam didn’t look too much older than his sister in looks, he showed it in his height, his lanky legs stretched out so that his butt could sit flat on his seat. His hair was a lighter shade of brown than her sister’s as well. His sleeping attire consisted of grey sweatpants and a brown t-shirt one or two sizes too big for him. Even as Alice approached him, he didn’t seem to keep his attention off the horizon masked by the dusk.

“Sam!” Alice called out, just loud enough to make him jump and face his sister. “What time is it?”

Sam pulled out his Pokédex, a small, square-shaped red device, from his pocket. Pulling the top half up up, it expanded the holographic screen in the center to reveal a menu with several applications, but Sam’s eyes only focused on the top where the time was.

“It’s about quarter to 6,” he answered.

“Really? Even though we don’t reach Hau’oli for another three hours? You seriously can’t sleep in to save your life.”

“And what’s your excuse? Other than being excited, of course.”

“Nah, that’s pretty much it.” Alice approached her brother and took a seat on the opposite side from him. “So, are you excited too, bro?”

“Well, I mean sure. I’ll probably get more excited once we get off this boat, though.”

“Yeah, I miss Kalos too, but you’re right. We’ll probably forget all about it once we get settled.”

“Well, that’s not true...”

“I’m kidding,” she chuckled, lightly kicking his shin with her foot. “Lighten up.”

Alice then noticed that Sam tucked his legs below his seat and continued watching the sea. Feeling slightly ashamed, she scooted herself to her seat’s edge and looked Sam at eye level.

“Listen,” she said, “I know that I wasn’t as attached to life in Lumiose as you were, but think about all that other bullcrap you get to leave behind. You and Honedge get to start off with a clean slate here, make a whole bunch of new friends. I honestly don’t know how you can’t be more excited about this.”

“Me neither,” Sam simply said.

Alice was left a bit speechless, but before she could retort, another’s voice came in first.

“You guys are from Lumiose City?” a young boy’s voice wondered.

Sam and Alice looked to see a young boy, no older than 6, wearing a blue pajama-top with a Greninja on the chest and bottoms that mimicked the look of a Greninja’s legs. He kept his distance, but was close enough to talk to at conversational volume.

“Um, yeah,” Alice perked up, “and which city are you from?”

“Oh, I’m from Hau’oli,” he answered. “Me and my mom and dad were just on vacation in Cyllage City and we’re now on our way back home! Are you going on vacation too?”

“Actually, no. We’re moving to Alola from Kalos. My parents ran a really successful restaurant in Lumiose, and now they want to open a restaurant in Hau’oli City.”

“Wow, that’s so cool! Are either of you by chance going to do the Island Trials?”

“I know I am! How ‘bout you, Sam?”

A brief moment of silence occurred before Sam shot up, realizing he was being included in the conversation.

“Uh… yes, yes, I am too. Brought my Honedge from home.”

“Whoa, an Honedge? You must be quite a trainer to catch one of those!”

“I, uh… actually…”

The boy seemed perplexed by Sam’s inability to string his sentence together.

“What he means to say,” Alice butted in, “is that–”

“–I’ve spent most of my training in the kitchen with my parents,” Sam interrupted back. “I only started taking Pokémon training seriously about a couple of years or so before we moved. If you want someone to chew your head off about Pokémon and training them, my sister is the one to talk to.”

“But…” the boy said, sounding a bit frightened, “I don’t want to get my head chewed off.”

“What my brother means,” Alice huffed, before returning to her happy disposition, “is that I’m a really good trainer and know a lot of stuff. I also brought my Noibat with.”

“Wow! I’ve heard those are pretty rare!”

“They really are! I actually got mine before I was old enough to become a trainer!”

“How’d you do that?”

“Well, I was camping with the Junior Rangers, and I–”

“Blake!” an older woman’s voice hissed midway in the stairwell before she stormed up to her child as fast as she could without running. She wore a single blue nightgown, and her messy hair made her look rather intimidating in the minimal light provided by the boat. “Don’t you ever leave your cabin like that this early in the morning! What were you thinking?”

“It’s no problem,” Alice responded. “We were just having a nice chat.”

“Well… I thank you for keeping an eye on him.” Her clutch on Blake’s arm looked noticeably tight from the kid’s face. “It’s just he should no better than running off on a boat by himself at his age.”

“You know,” Sam interjected, “I’ve heard that adventurous children make for very strong Pokémon trainers. You might have a future Champion in your family, ma’am.”

Blake smiled up at his mom, encouraged by this supposed fact.

“Don’t encourage him!” she barked, walking her son back inside. “Come on. You should be sleeping.”

“Can I just say goodbye to my new friends?” begged Blake.

The mother stopped, and relinquished her grip on her son’s arm, which Blake tried to rub the sting out of.

“Fine,” she said. “But if you’re not back in your room in the next minute…”

The mother’s point was clearly made, as told by the child’s fearful reaction, and she turned around and returned inside.

“So,” Alice said, getting Blake to face her and her brother again, “Blake’s your name?”

“Yeah! What’s yours.”

“I’m Alice, and this is my brother Sam.”

“Cool. Nice to meet you Alice and Sam! Alola!”

The kid finished his farewell by waving both hands out and down like a bow before sprinting back inside. Alice and Sam couldn’t help but grin proudly.

“Alola…” Sam said to himself, mimicking the boy’s wave.

“See?” Alice chided. “We haven’t even docked yet and you’re making friends.”

Sam suddenly noticed the deck of the boat getting a bit lighter, and behind him to the east, the sun began to peak over the horizon. Sam and Alice followed the sunlight back to the sea still laid ahead, and were shocked to see that they were already a few-hundred yards from Ula’ula Island.

“Holy crap, we’re here,” Sam giggled.

“Pretty much. Bet you’re even more excited now, huh?”

Alice could tell that Sam didn’t need to respond, as his face looking up at the frosted peak of Mount Lanakila was enough of an answer for her.

“Anyways,” Alice said, “I’m going to shower before everyone else on this boat starts to use up all the hot water.”

The sound of a refreshing shower was surprisingly enough to break Sam out of his adventure-starved trance. “Yeah, good idea.”

The two hurriedly walked back inside the boat. They were still a few hours from arriving, but an early start to the day would be the best start.

Sam and Alice stepped back outside outside of the boat, each one with a backpack on strapped to their shoulders and a duffle bag on yet another shoulder. Sam in particular also wheeled up a heavy suitcase with his free hand.

He was dressed in his more casual attire, which consisted of blue shorts, a grey tee, and a light jacket of a darker shade of blue. Alice’s dress consisted of dark-grey short shorts with a red stripe going down each leg, a matching red shirt, a black vest with seafoam-green outlines, and a backwards orange-and-black cap.

With Hau’oli City all but surrounding them with the ferry docked at the harbor, they were compelled to stay put and look at the skyline, only to be bumped into.

“Come on, guys,” their dad said, hoisting two cases in his hand. “The sooner we get moved in, the sooner you guys can go off and have some fun.”

Their dad looked to be an acceptably fit man for his age, not ripped, but showed no signs of flab either. He wore a light, breathable black polo with white-and-blue shorts with a floral design on them. Her mom followed, a large purse over her right shoulder and a large wheeled suitcase held in the other hand. Despite her sunglasses being of normal size, they looked a bit large on her smaller head, her long head of hair only adding to that effect. She had on a long-white blouse that caught the Alolan breeze and tight blue jeans.

“It really is so much cooler in person,” she commented. “And I see a suntan on the beach in my future.”

“That applies to us too, dear,” her husband retorted. “We’ll go and sightsee once we get unpacked.”

“Yep, yep. Come on, let’s get going.”

She quickly walked around him and her two kids and stepped off the boat through the ramp. It didn’t take too much longer for the three of them to follow suit.

The apartment lobby looked more akin to a five-star hotel than anything. Every table contained a large vase with an even larger bouquet of flowers in it, and the polished wood floors, walls, and furnishings looked like they were cleaned just minutes before the family’s arrival. Once the Briers stepped inside through the automatic sliding doors, they didn’t even make it all the way in before receiving their first official greeting.

“Alola, cousins!” the energetic-voice of a middle-aged man called out. “The name’s Kukui. I’m the Pokémon professor of this area, and I’d like to formally welcome you to the Alola region.”

The four of them looked to the person that made their acquaintance: a tan older man wearing grey sweatshorts and an open lab coat, revealing his naked pecs and ab muscles. He wore a pair of plastic safety goggles fashioned with shaded lenses as well as a white cap with a four-toned rainbow on it. He also had a very drawing goatee and bun tied at the top of his neck. If he were indeed some kind of scientist, he certainly reflected the tropical atmosphere to a tee.

“You must be the Briers from Kalos. Glad to finally meet you all.”

“Yes,” the father said, setting his bags down and shaking the man’s hand. “I’m Benjamin, but my friends call me Benji, this is my wife Susan, and my kids Alice and Sam.”

“So these are the two trainers you were talking about.” He adjusted the brim of his hat as he looked down to Sam and Alice. “And from what I already heard, you two already have your own Pokémon with you.”

“Yes, sir,” Alice responded.

“That’s fantastic! You’re already two steps ahead of me. Tell you what, I’d still like the two of you to come visit me at my research center. There’s a couple things I’d like to do before you go off catching Pokémon and setting off on the Island Trials. I’ll provide lunch and everything!”

“That sounds great,” Sam said. “Could you tell us how to get there, we’re, eheh, still pretty new in town.”

Kukui scratched the side of his jaw, processing Sam’s reply. He suddenly burst out laughing, startling him and his parents a bit. “The young man has a sense of humor! I think I like you already, Sam. We’ll be getting along just fine, I can tell.” Sam’s unease still didn’t let up as Kukui firmly patted his shoulder. “Yeah, I can tell you where to go.

“Take the main coastline road to the city limits. Continue taking that road east until you hit the outskirts. There’s a small beach south of you at that point, my place is where the grass meets the sand, you can’t miss it. It’s also an hour’s walk, but I’m sure that’ll be nothing compared to the adventure you two are going on.”

“Yes,” Alice interjected, “we can manage. Thank you.”

“Great then! I’ll leave you to unpack now. How’s about we meet around noon?”

“Sure,” Sam said, “we should be done long before then.”

“Well, feel free to come over whenever you’re finished, even if it’s an hour earlier. The more time, the merrier!”

“Thank you, Kukui,” Susan said with a nod so exaggerated it appeared more like a bow. “I’m certain our kids are thrilled to be in such good hands.”

“And I’m thrilled to spend some two-on-one with them. I’ll leave you be now. See ya’ later, cousins!”

Kukui walked around the four of them and exited the building. Once they the sliding door closed on him, the four family members walked to the elevators in the very back.

Twilight Sparkle sat at her crystal throne in the Castle of Friendship, monitoring the large round table that projected a map of the land of Equestria. Standing beside her were Starlight and a small, bipedal purple dragon with green spines and light-green underbelly. The map seemed normal, longer than it had been in the last half-hour or so. Suddenly, the land of Equestria fuzzied out, instead projecting the four islands of Alola in its place. Before the three of them could register that the image had changed, Equestria’s image returned on the table.

“I don’t get it,” the purple alicorn spoke with incredulity. “What even are these islands? I’ve never seen them before!”

“Do you think they’re somewhere off of Equestria?” the dragon asked.

“I don’t think so, Spike. I don’t recall ever seeing these islands on a world map before.”

“Do you think they are some lost land that disappeared long ago? Like the Crystal Empire?”

“It seems reasonable. Even Celestia didn’t know much about the Crystal Empire when it returned, and I had never even heard of it.”

“Maybe there’s some book about it in your library somewhere,” Spike said. “Speaking of the Crystal Empire, maybe they have a book about it somewhere in their library. Pretty much all of those books are over a thousand years old; maybe those islands existed when the Crystal Empire first did.”

“That’s not a bad idea, Spike, but I don’t want to exhaust the trip all the way up there, and I’m certain no book in my library makes any kind of mention of these islands. We’ll ask the princesses about it, and see what they make of it. If they can’t help us, then we’ll turn to the Crystal Empire Library for further help.”

“I think what’s more concerning,” Starlight added, “is what’s causing this in the first place. We don’t know what these islands are, where it is, or what’s even on them.”

“That goes without saying, Starlight, but it would be a good idea to try and understand what we’re dealing with before we wait for something to happen. Come on, let’s contact Princess Celestia.”

Twilight hopped off her throne and made her way to the massive crystal door leading her to one of the castle’s many hallways. With a magenta aura pulsing around her horn, she pushed the door open with a similarly-colored aura on both door’s handles. Starlight and Spike followed her down, unaware as Alola returned on the table, this time staying there.

Kukui flipped through his journal, leaning back in his chair with his feet on the desk. Four quick knocks on the front door broke him from his concentration. Flicking the book onto his desk, he looked to the clock on the wall past a tall aquarium tank where three heart-shaped fish swam contently, and smiled warmly to see it read a quarter to 11. Putting his chair upright and setting his feet down, he walked to the door and opened it, not the least bit surprised looking to see Alice and Sam standing together.

“You guys are even earlier than we expected,” Kukui greeted. “Welcome!”

“We’re quick walkers,” Alice explained.

“And eager. Please, come in, come in!”

Kukui stepped aside and motioned them in with an outstretched arm. As Sam and Alice stepped inside, they were suddenly caught off guard as a light brown puppy with a fluffy white tail and rocky white collar and a pink dog-like creature wearing a gown raced just in front of their feet, nearly tripping Sam. Kuikui couldn’t help but laugh.

“Pardon my guests,” Kukui continued to chuckle. “We house quite a few Pokémon here.”

“Now,” Sam said, looking about for any other possibly intruders, “when you said ‘we’ just now, who were you–”

“Are they here?” a young man, just older than his teens questioned, his head popping out from the basement stairwell.

Upon noticing Sam and Alice, he stepped out in full view of them. His skin had a light-brown color, and his green hair so dark that it could pass for black was tied in the back into a spiky bun, with two bangs draping down between his eyes and ears. Beneath his traditional orange jacket with floral design, he wore a black cheongsam-style shirt with white trimming on the collar and bottom. He wore very large white shorts tied together with an orange sash and the cuffs clinging snugly to his upper shins, as well as orange sandals. He looked about as authentic of an Alolan native as one could be.

“So these are the two trainers you were telling me about?” the young man asked Kukui.

“The very same. Alice, Sam, I’d like you to meet a close friend of mine, as well as the Kahuna for Melemele Island, Hau.”

Hau approached the two trainers, facing Sam first, and with a wind of his arm, he clasped Sam’s hand with such vigor that had he not held on, Sam might have fallen over.

“A real pleasure to meet you guys!” Hau said, shaking his hand. “I’m always looking forward to meeting new trainers!”

Once Hau let go, Sam tried to hide his motions as he rotated his wrist and squeezed his fist, unsure if Hau actually hurt him. Alice, on the other hand, was able to catch Hau’s hand and keep a firm grasp as he shook hers.

“So you guys came all the way from Kalos, huh?” he continued asking. “I’ve heard a ton of cool things about that place. You two do any of those Mega Evolutions that they’re so famous for?”

“No,” Sam answered as Hau stopped, “we don’t have the Mega Stones or bracelets to do that, but I hear that trainers on Alola use Z-Moves.”

“That’s right.” Hau then held up his left wrist, which sported a smooth white bracelet seemingly made of stone. With the way the face was designed, the diamond-shaped slot in the center and the spots of black in it made the white spots form a Z. “This bad boy is what you need to do summon your Z-Power so your Pokémon can use Z-Moves.”

“That’s really neat looking,” Alice commented, leaning in close for a look. “Is that why we’re here? To get one of those?”

“Sorry to suddenly be a disappointment,” Kukui said, walking up to them, “but only certain trainers get to use a Z-Ring and use Z-Moves. Hau got his because his grandfather Hala was the Kahuna before him.”

At that, Hau’s almost inextinguishable joy seemed to flicker out and he faced away from them, telling Sam and Alice all they needed to know.

“It seemed even the guardian deity knew that I was destined to take his place once he left us.”

“I’m…” Alice said, “I’m very sorry about that, Hau.”

“Guardian deity?” Sam meant to say to himself.

Despite his attempts to keep his thoughts in his head, Hau turned back, and like a switch, returned to his happy demeanor.

“Oh yeah, Tapu Koko! He’s one of four Pokémon who guard and bring prosperity to the islands. There’s one on each island, and as such, there are three other Kahunas on the other islands. Very few trainers have actually encountered him before, but those that have… I can imagine the chicken-skin they must have gotten.”

“I’m guessing he’s pretty powerful,” Alice said.

“And how. You can’t protect an entire island and its inhabitants by being a pushover, you know.”

“And what does the Kahuna do then, exactly?” Sam came in. “I don’t mean to be rude or nothing. I’m just trying to learn more about this place and get a lay of the land, per se.”

“No offense taken there, Sam. Along with tending to the ruins where the guardian deity lives and picking and choosing the trial captains, we’re also the ones you face in a Pokémon battle for the island’s Grand Trial. Speaking of…”

Hau reached into both of his pockets on his jacket, and from each one, he pulled out a small crescent-shaped pendant with triangular yellow, red, pink, and purple stones on it, which hung from beaded leather strings kept looped through a screw tie.

“If you’re planning on taking on the Island Challenge, you’ll need these amulets to participate. You can just hang them from your backpacks, as long as the trial captains see them, you can complete their trials.”

“Oh,” Sam calmly exclaimed as he took one of them. “Thank you.”

“And with that,” Alice said, grabbing hers, “I’m officially an Island Challenger.”

“Normally, I’d say you’d still need a starter Pokémon so you won’t have to take the challenge by your lonesome, but Kukui tells me that you already have a Pokémon. Can I see them? I’d really like to!”

“Of course,” Sam said, removing the Poké Ball fastened to his belt.

Sam followed suit, and the two of them gently lobbed their balls to the floor. Upon impact, they opened up with white energy inside them shooting out. From Sam’s Poké Ball, the light formed and faded away to reveal a two-foot silver sword floating beside its trainer with a narrow blue eye in the center of its golden hilt. The blue cloth attached to the bottom of the pommel held the sheath that looked to be made of a worn, faded bronze.

From Alice’s Poké Ball formed and emerged a small purple bat-like creature with golden eyes and a fuzzy black chest and thighs. Its darker-purple ears were each roughly the same size as its head. Rather than flutter in place, it chose to perch itself on Alice’s shoulder.

“Wowee!” Hau laughed. “Those are so awesome! Kukui, you know what those are right?”

“Yep. Sam has an Honedge, and Alice’s Pokémon is a Noibat.”

“Thanks. I actually didn’t know.”

“Actually, there is one piece of business I’d like to start off before we go any further. You brought your Pokédexes with you, right?”

Without another word, Sam and Alice fished them out of their pockets, and placed them both into Kukui’s open hand.

“Your Pokédexes haven’t been updated to include the new Pokémon you’ll no doubt meet on your journey. I’ll take them into my lab and fix that, though it may take an hour or so until the updates are complete.”

“And what will we do in the meantime?” Sam asked.

“Well, since the gang’s all here, how’s about we have lunch?”

Sam suddenly remembered the offer made at their apartment. “Oh yeah. Not to be picky, but what’s being served?”

“Well,” Hau said, “you’ve probably never experienced true Alolan cuisine on Kalos before, so we’ve got spicy pulled chicken on sweet buns warming in the kitchen. How’s that sound?”

“Wonderful, actually.”

“Great then,” Kukui replied. “Just let me get these updates running and Hau, can you help Alice and Sam make their plates while I’m down?”

“Sure thing, Kukui!” he responded.

Kukui took long strides to the stairwell and lightly ran down them.

“Come on,” Hau encouaraged. “Let’s dig in.”

Sam and Alice followed Hau into the kitchen and dining area which was only a little bit up and to the left of the doorway. Alice and Sam were already stunned by the spread that was left for them: the buns already sliced and ready for stacking, bowls of coleslaw and sliced pickles, baked beans in a pan on the stove next to the pot of simmering chicken, and a large pitcher of lemonade and a basket of sweet potato fries with some kind of dipping sauce beside it.

In this moment, Alice and Sam entirely felt like Alola had become their new home.

Chapter 2 – Company Kept

At Aether Paradise, Sun and Lusamine looked at Equestria’s solar system through the large pool in their lab, which was conjured up by Solgaleo and Lunala.

“When should we go and explore it?” Lusamine asked.

“I want Solgaleo and Lunala to try and pinpoint this solar system’s location,” he explained. “Our progress already gets set back every time one of them tires out, and then we essentially have to start from scratch again.”

“But we’ve gotten so close this time,” Lusamine said. “Surely an extra ten minutes looking for it again won’t make a difference.”

“That’s ten minutes we lose getting to explore the solar system in depth. Lusamine, I know how much this stuff excites you, but I want to make the best use of our time, and most importantly, Solgaleo’s and Lunala’s energy.”

Solgaleo let out a tired whine, followed by another from Lunala. Lusamine and Sun looked in each other’s eyes; a point had been made.

“I understand,” she said. “They can rest for today.”

“Thank you.” Lusamine left, leaving Sun on his own with the two beasts. “Solgaleo! Lunala! You can stop now!”

The entire image of the solar system and the space around it began to glow until it became the milky-blue surface which soon after dissolved into clear water.

“Jets off,” Sun ordered further.

The whir of the machinery wound down, as did the water in the pool, and Lunala and Solgaleo let out a big stretch and removed the electrodes from their heads with their psychic abilities, fully out of their astral trance. Sun approached Solgaleo and gently laid his hand on its shoulder.’

“We’re getting closer there, pal. Soon we’ll get to see what’s in there for real. Sound exciting?”

Golgaleo purred as it rubbed its metallic mane into the side Sun’s head. Sun took its Poké Ball from his pocket and aimed the center at the Pokémon.

“Atta boy,” he cooed as he returned Solgaleo inside of it. Lunala floated up to Sun, the two looking at each other from their respective heights. “You’re doing good too, Lunala. I’m certain we’ll get there sooner than later.”

Lunala nodded in agreement as Sun took out a second Poké Ball and returned it inside. Sun walked up to Wicke who stood by her computer and handed her the two Poké Balls. Past Wicke’s head, he glanced at Lusamine standing at the balcony. Returning his focus to Wicke, he released his grip of the two Poké Balls into hers.

“Get them to Lillie right away for a small nap,” he said. “I want to see if they’ll be ready for another go later today.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” she responded. “They’ve already done so much today.”

“I know. We’ll see how they feel in a few hours. If they’re not up to it, it can wait until morning.”

Stepping back, he turned around and walked back towards the pool. Wicke made her way towards the lift, watching as Sun circled the outer edge of the pool, inspecting the waves that still sloshed inside the water.

Twilight and Spike stood before their round table with the two Equestrian princesses, Celestia and Luna on either side of them. Celestia’s mane was long, striped with hot-pink, lime-green, light-purple, and cerulean that seemed to blow in a non-existent wind, while Luna, who appeared only a bit bigger than Twilight, had a coat of dark blue, while her mane was a sparkling deep-sapphire color that moved like the other’s.

Both of their regal jewelry, a tiara and broad collars each, matched the marks on their rumps. For Celestia, whose mark depicted a large sun, her jewelry was made of gold, and for Luna, which appeared as a black splotch with a white crescent moon, hers was black as obsidian.

Much to Twilight’s dismay and embarrassment, the Equestrian map on the table appeared to be normal. The other two alicorns also looked disappointed, but more at the lack of any phenomena than with her.

“And you said there were four islands?” Luna asked.

“I’m certain there were,” she replied. “I just don’t understand why it decides not to happen when you two show up.”

“You shouldn’t have to worry about us not believing you, Twilight,” assured Celestia. “I can’t see any reason for you to lie about this. Now, how long has this been happening?”

“About a week. It started off where the islands appeared for only a second, and then disappeared, and I thought nothing of it, but recently, it’s been getting to the point where it will stay up for nearly an hour. I’ve done as much research as I could about these islands, but not a single book or scroll in my library makes any kind of reference to them. My next step was to see if anything existed at the Crystal Empire Library, but I wanted to ask you first about any knowledge of the islands before I have to take such a long trip out.

“Unfortunately,” Luna said, “we haven’t been able to see these islands for ourselves, so we really can’t know if they look familiar unless we see them ourselves.”

“Here!” Spike said, producing a rolled up paper in his hand. “Twilight drew those yesterday when the islands were there. The sketches are a little rough. No offense, Twilight.”

“None taken,” she casually said.

“But I suppose it’s better than nothing.”

Celestia unrolled and levitated the image for her and Luna to see. The drawings weren’t too terrible; the outlines were pretty well rendered, but there was very little in topographical details to be seen. It didn’t take either of them long to come to a conclusion.

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Celestia said, “but I’m afraid I’ve never seen these islands in my life.”

“Neither have I,” Luna added. “Though, perhaps the Crystal Empire Library would be a good next step. Considering that most books in there are from before when the city vanished, the islands might be more familiar to them. How soon do you plan to take a train there?”

“I actually wasn’t. Starlight also expressed concern that whatever this island is, or whatever’s on it, could be a threat to Equestria. I’d rather I’d be here with my friends should something bad happen and we need to face it. I’ll send Cadance or Sunburst to find as many books about the islands as possible and bring them to me.”

“If anything does happen,” Celestia said, “please do write to us, and we’ll be there as fast as we possibly can.”

“Thank you, Princesses,” Twilight said with nod of her head.

The two alicorns nodded as well before turning and walking out into the chambers. Twilight went over to her throne and sat at it, watching the map intently.

“Spike,” she said to her draconic assistant, “please bring me some paper, some ink, and a quill.”

“Yes, Twilight,” he replied, running off.

Twilight didn’t even look to him, only kept her eyes firmly at the center of the table.

Sun threw his lab coat off behind him and tossed it onto his bed, revealing a light-grey t-shirt and a pair of white pants two large pockets on each thigh. Kicking his boots off, he was finally able to shed himself of his shirt and his pants and stretch his body. Though he hadn’t been out training for over five years, Sun still looked remarkably fit. Standing there naked save for his socks and black underwear, he could have lived a comfortable alternative life as a model, at least, according to the young woman standing in the doorway. Sun turned around to see Lillie standing stiff as a board, blushing profusely.

“Ahaha, Lillie,” Sun nervously stammered as he grabbed his lab coat and wrapped it around his waist like a towel. “What– Why– How–”

“The…” she tried to say, stepping inside, “door was left open. You should try and be more mindful of that when you change.”

“I mean,” he said, having calmed himself, but still catching his breath, “what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be monitoring Solgaleo and Lunala?”

“Wicke said she could look after them for me and gave me a break.”

“Oh, I see.” Sun walked to his dresser and pulled out the center drawer, which was filled halfway with breathable athletic shirts and nylon shorts. “I was just going to the gym to work out. How long was your break?”

“Listen,” Lillie said as Sun fished out a dark blue shirt near the bottom of the stack, “I heard Wicke saying when she came down with the two that she hoped they’d be ready for another excursion tonight sometime.”

“I also told her that if they weren’t up to it, we could wait until tomorrow.” Sun slipped the shirt on, and it fit a little snugly. “Then again, if Solgaleo and Lunala are really are up to it, I want them to at least practice starting our excursions beneath that solar system so we don’t waste anymore of their energy trying to find it again.”

“That’s fine,” Lillie said, “but after what I saw my mother turn into when we were children, it’s just that I don’t want that happening to you, her again, or anyone else, for that matter.” Sun grabbed his shorts, but stayed still as she continued talking. “With mother, it started off with a couple of extra experiments to staying up late at night to missing some nights entirely.”

“Lillie, are you–”

“No, I’m not implying you’re turning into my mother from back then. We’ve never done two excursions in a day before, and I just want to be sure that Solgaleo and Lunala don’t get hurt by what we’re doing.”

Understanding her view, Sun put his shorts on with the lab coat still tied at the waist. Untying the sleeves and letting it drop to the floor, he pulled his shorts all the way up.

“Your mother’s obsession with the Ultra Beasts is still something I don’t like to remember. I don’t think I could continue working with the Aether Foundation if I knew I was hurting Solgaleo and Lunala in any way to do all this. I know how special they are you, and they mean the world to me too. They’ve grown so much stronger since they helped us save your mom and seal the Ultra Wormholes she opened. You’ve grown much stronger too, you and your Z-Powered form.”

Lillie, a subtle grimace on her face, took her eyes off of Sun and ran her fingers over her hair above the right ear. She knew she was meant to be flattered, but she wasn’t know how well Sun meant by saying that.

“Tell you what,” Sun added, stepping closer to her, “when Solgaleo and Lunala wake up from their nap, I’ll let you make the decision of what we do tonight. They are as much your friends as they are mine, and you have every right to determine what’s right for them as I do. Just say the word, and I’ll either let it happen or not.”

Lillie, now looking up at Sun, smiled with assurance. Leaning into him, she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head into his chest.

“Thank you, Sun. I also want you to know that I’m just as excited to see what’s out there as you are, but if we need to, we can wait one more day. We have all the time in the world.”

“Yes,” he responded, returning the embrace and rocking side to side with her. “All the time in the world.”

Sun then surprised Lillie by taking her hand and transitioning her into a dance. The two looked into each other’s eyes, almost as if asking each other how after all this time and all that they’ve done and been through, they could still be so lucky to end up together in this moment.

“I need you to let me go now,” Lillie whispered.

“Huh?”

“I need to get changed into my work-out clothes.”

Sun smiled a happy, toothy grin as he slowly twirled Lillie around and let her go. “I’ll see you down there.”

He stopped midway through the doorway, turning his head to see Lillie taking her lab coat off. Once she took off her blouse, the only other thing keeping her torso clothed being her bra, he suddenly sensed someone watching her, and she turned to ensure the door was closed herself. She smiled to see both the door closed and Sun no longer there, providing her with greater security to take off her boots and pants.

Sam took the pitcher from the table and filled as much of his glass with the remainder of the lemonade inside as possible, getting it just below halfway. His Honedge floated beside him trying to rub the bits of sauce from the chicken still caked on its cloth limb on its blade. Alice cradled her Noibat with her left arm, who appeared to be still with a smiling mouth and a full tummy.

“So,” Kukui said, leaning back in his chair, “how did you like your first taste of Alolan fare?”

“Everything was delicious,” Sam said before taking a gulp of his refill.

“So good!” agreed Alice.

“That’s good,” replied Hau. “It seems your Pokémon enjoyed the meal.”

Noibat let out a loud sigh to affirm him and Honedge nodded, swinging its entire body to do so.

“To be fair,” Alice added, “free meals are always enjoyable.”

Kukui laughed, requiring him to adjust his balance on his seat. “Can’t argue with that logic. Wait here, your Pokédexes should be done about now.”

Kukui tilted forward in his chair and stood up, walking from the dining room and disappearing to the left.

“So,” began Hau, “what are your plans? You going to start the Island Trials right away, or are you going to go out and catch some new Pokémon?”

“Well,” Alice answered, “we only have our Pokémon here with us, and I don’t think it would be the best of ideas to walk in and do our trials without having a couple extra friends at our side.”

“Makes sense. Normally, we also send some of the newer trainers to go to the school just east of Hau’oli to get a few pointers, but considering your guys’ age, I don’t see what help that would do you. Pretty much once Kukui gets your Pokédexes ready, you’ll be set go.”

“Well,” Sam said, “I’d feel pretty guilty about not helping you guys clean up.”

“Don’t worry about,” Kukui responded behind them. “You two just go off and do your thing.” Sam and Alice turned around to see Kukui with both of their Pokédexes pinched in between his fingers. He approached them and handed both of them to their owners. “So now those things will identify all the new Pokémon and Alolan forms that you’ll come across.”

“Very nice,” Alice replied, browsing through hers to see several dozen empty slots at the back end of her list.

“I also went through the trouble of downloading the Alolan map onto there so you don’t get yourselves lost. I’m certain you won’t need it to get back home, but once you go a bit north of here or start exploring the other islands, it may come in handy.”

“Thank you very much,” Sam said, standing out of his seat. “Are you sure there isn’t anything for me to do before we go?”

“Come on!” Alice exclaimed, standing up, shocking Noibat into flying out of her arms and perching on her shoulder again. “Kukui said he’d handle it! Let’s get this started!”

Noibat excitedly seconded her notion with a stretch of its wings and a screech.

“It’s quite alright, Sam.” Kukui already began clearing the plates from the table. “I didn’t invite you into my home to clean; I just wanted to make sure you and your sister were all ready for your journey. Now that you are, you’re both free to go.”

“If that’s the way you feel,” Sam breathed, “I’ll just thank you and Hau for the meal.”

Sam approached the professor with an outstretched hand, which took Kukui off guard, making him quickly put the dishes in the sink. With his hands free, Kukui and Sam shared a firm handshake.

“Good luck to the two of you,” bid Kukui. “I look forward to seeing how far you come.” Alice came beside her brother and took Kukui’s hand. “And to you too. You have some good Pokémon on you.”

“Sure do,” she responded, nuzzling her head into Noibat’s.

Sam and Honedge turned and looked at each other. Sam smiled, knowing that if Honedge had a mouth, it’d be smiling too.

“I look forward to our Grand Trial battle too,” Hau spoke up. The two trainers turned and faced him, and he pointed his thumb at himself. “I’ll be right after Ilima’s trial, so I won’t have to wait too long.”

“I’m certain you won’t,” Alice assured him.

The two clasped hands and brought their chests together, slapping each other’s backs for good measure. Sam approached them, and offered his hand firmly, prepared to meet Hau’s again.

“Oh no, you don’t,” grunted the grinning Hau, wrapping his arms around Sam’s lower back and lifting him in the air.

With Hau being at least three inches shorter than him, it didn’t take long for Hau to set Sam back down, just in time for the surprise to kick in.

“Well, this is where I see you off,” Kukui called out, holding the front door open. “Hope to see you again!”

“Thank you again,” Alice replied, stepping outside with her Noibat flying out behind her.

“Yes, thanks,” Sam simply said as he waved to Kukui on his way out with Honedge.

Once Sam heard the door close behind him, he took out his Pokédex and checked the time: 12:20.

“Wow,” he said, seemingly to himself, “we were in there for that long?”

“It’s almost as if you were enjoying their company,” teased Alice.

“I did, actually.” Sam’s smile grew a little bit each moment. “They’re a cool bunch, and Kukui really knows how to cook.”

“Well, I’m sure glad that’s the most important thing you got out of it.”

“Hey, I can’t knock someone who takes the time to make such a big lunch like that. And like you said, I did enjoy their company. Truth be told, even a perfect meal ends after the last bite.”

Alice giggled and backhanded her brother’s chest. “See? I told you Alola would be the best. Only one way to make it better.”

Before Sam could answer, Alice began sprinting out back towards Hau’oli City, her Noibat trailing quite close behind.

“Alice, wait!” he shouted out. “Don’t overdo it!”

Sam took off after Sam, his Honedge keeping the same distance from him the entire time as if its mind was synched to his. Within half a minute, both of them had already disappeared down the road.

Chapter 3 – Seize the Day

The tall grass sounded like Pokémon rustling around them. That was the effect Alice was going for, hoping that she could get one to appear without scaring it away. Her hand hovered over Noibat’s Poké Ball on her waist, waiting for the opportune moment. Though it seemed improbable that wild Pokémon would inhabit the grounds of such a large city like Hau’oli, the locals promised there were many to be found.

Come on, Alice imagined herself cooing. Something has to be around here.

Alice took two more steps before the grass in front of her started shaking like crazy. Her eyes followed the parting grass as the creature looked to run off. When it turned around and faced Alice with a clear intent to fight, Alice could not be more pleased. A sizable yellow rodent with a pointed lightning-bolt shaped tail, brown fur at the base and two small stripes on the back.

“No way,” Alice whispered, “a Pikachu!”

Its red cheeks sparked with electricity as a means of giving Alice a last chance to turn back.

“Oh no,” she whispered with purpose. “You’re mine. Go, Noibat!”

Alice clasped the Poke Ball and flicked it out, releasing Noibat from inside of it. Noibat threw its wings up and shouted out, happy to be let out for a real battle. The rodent looked up at Alice’s companion with a sense of mystification and disbelief.

“Let’s show him what we’re made of. Now, use Supersonic!”

Tightening its focus, rings of sonic energy shot out of Noibat’s ear’s, but the Pikachu, almost deeming it child’s play, grinned and sped off at its adversary. It leapt up and collided its head into Noibat’s stomach, forcing it back with a painful warble.

“Noibat, you alright?”

Noibat growled at the Pikachu and returned to its intensive demeanor.

“Maybe we gotta’ rough it up a bit. Use Aerial Ace!”

With a lift up from a single wingbeat, Noibat swooped down onto the Pikachu. It tried to run away, but Noibat was able to take a slash at it with the bar of its wing, tripping its prey up. With a scowl, Pikachu charged its cheeks and shot a stream of electricity at Noibat, hitting it dead on. When the attack ended, Noibat flapped its wings faster, shaking tingle still left there.

“Now that you know what you’re dealing with, use Bite!”

Noibat hovered over Pikachu, and after sensing its next move, Noibat dove down. Pikachu tried to run and dodge, but Noibat had predicted its moves, and landing on it, Noibat clamped down on the Pikachu’s side. The Pikachu let out a loud shriek of pain, and Noibat would have continued had it not been for the sudden sensation of immobility it was feeling. The rodent then freed itself from Noibat’s maw and smacked it in the face with its tail.

“A Static ability?”

Noibat struggled to get up, and its mouth was paralyzed open, which appeared to have a comical and moralizing effect on the Pikachu. Rearing its body back, Pikachu charged straight at Noibat, confident it wouldn’t dodge.

“Wait for it,” commanded Alice. “Now, use Supersonic again!”

There was no time for the Pikachu to react. With Pikachu about to be point blank in Noibat’s face, another wave of pulsing rings from Noibat’s ears hit Pikachu, throwing its balance off. With the world around it spinning, Pikachu veered out of Noibat’s way and crashed into a red gate surrounding the grassy area. Alice picked up her Noibat and walked over to where Pikachu ended up. Alice seemed please to see that it wasn’t quite fainted yet, but given its lazy, on-its-back position, it didn’t look to want to fight anymore.

“Okay,” Alice said, fishing a Poké Ball out of her bag, “I think you passed the audition.”

Lobbing the Poké Ball out, it hit the Pikachu’s exposed belly, opening up the ball and sucking up the red energy it had been converted into. Once the ball closed and landed on the floor, Alice kept her eye on it, watching as the red light on the center button stayed lit while it made the occasional jiggle. The fifth jiggle looked weak, and once it had settled down, the light faded down and the Poké Ball clicked, a few starry sparks popping from the button. Alice let the moment sink in for a second before she picked up her ball and looked at it.

“Welcome to the family,” she said to the Pikachu inside before she hooked its Poké Ball onto her belt. “Come on, Noibat, let’s get you to a Center.”

The Noibat gurgled in response, still unable to close its mouth.

The sliding doors opened to the large red building of the Pokémon Center and Mart in the city’s shopping district, allowing Alice and Noibat to enter. They made their way to a nurse with pink hair and a lighter-pink coat at the center. The nurse saw the Noibat and straightened herself to attention.

“Oh my,” she said with sympathy, “the poor thing looks paralyzed.”

“Well,” Alice said, “she helped me catch wild Pikachu.”

Noibat nodded and lazily sounded out to affirm this. The nurse seemed charmed that the Noibat was clearly quite chipper despite its situation.

“Well, if I could just have it in its Poké Ball,” she instructed, “I can also heal it and the Pikachu you caught.”

“Certainly.”

Alice detached both Poké Balls from her belt and placed the slightly heavier one on the table, taking the other and returning her Noibat inside of it. She then placed the Poké Ball on the counter beside Pikachu’s ball.

“Thank you,” the nurse said. “Your Pokémon should be all ready in a few minutes. Feel free to visit the Poké Mart or café while you wait.”

“Thank you.”

Alice took a left towards the café, seeing the elderly male barista already seeing his next customer coming in.

“Hello, young lady,” he said before she finally reached the counter, “What can I get started for you today?”

“I think I’ll just have a glass of Moomoo Milk, please.”

“That will be ¥198. Is that all right?”

“Sure thing.” Sam fished a couple of folded ¥100 notes from her pocket and handed them to the barista.

The man smiled as he put the bills inside his register. “Got it. If you could just give me a moment…” The man pulled out a 12oz glass from beneath the counter and then went behind him to the small fridge on the floor, pulling out a half-gallon glass jug of pure white milk. With a pop of a lid and a steady pour, Alice’s drink was ready. “Here you are. One Moomoo Milk, just for you.”

“Thank you so much,” Alice responded, taking the glass and turning to take a seat.

“When you get my age, it really makes you think about things. They say time is money, but time itself is actually really important. I mean, you can never buy more time for yourself with money, right?”

“I heard that…” Alice took a small sip and savored the flavor as she humored the man’s musings.

“The present is the present. Once it’s gone there’s no getting it back.”

“I know what you mean, sir. Carpe diem all the way.”

“Yes, indeed. Here, have a tea biscuit on us. These are popular in Lumiose City in the Kalos region.” Alice’s eyes widened as the man handed her a round cookie-like sweet. “I take it you’re a fan of Lumiose Galettes?”

“Yes, I love these things. I always hated waiting in line for them and then once I ate one, I realized it was worth the wait.”

“So you’re from Lumiose City then?”

“Well, was. Our family actually just moved here from Kalos this morning.”

“Well, then. Even if I’m not the first to, let me welcome you with a nice hearty ‘Alola.’ Don’t get too homesick now. There’s no real cure for that but time, and as you know–”

“Time is money, yes, and I intend to make every second here count.”

“That’s wonderful to hear. Now, before I make your milk get any warmer, please take these, on the house.”

The man reached down and scooped something from under the counter, and putting a coffee cup on the counter, Alice looked in to see about a dozen blue, heart-shaped beans with hard, glossy shells.

“Pokébeans are a specialty here. Pokémon go nuts over them. Be sure to feed them to your Pokémon to get them to like you more.”

“Thank you so much, sir.” Alice took the coffee cup in her free hand and began to turn to find a table.

“Feel free to visit again!”

Her eyes went to the window seats, and she was half-surprised to see Sam there with a cup of still-steaming tea, sitting across from his Honedge, with an extra cup with his own Pokébeans on the table next to his tea. Alice grinned and walked over to their table, headed for the seat Honedge hovered above.

“Excuse me, sir!” Alice exclaimed to the Pokémon. “Might I borrow your chair?” Honedge expressionlessly hovered to the other corner of the table to allow its trainer’s sister to sit. “Oh, why thank you.”

Alice plopped herself down, looking at Sam, who looked as cool as he could have with the people inside the building now staring at them.

“So,” Sam said, “your catching going well?”

“Well, you’re sitting here having some tea, and I just caught myself a Pikachu. But I’m guessing that you managed to catch every Pokémon on Alola early and decided to treat yourself to celebrate, am I right, or am I right?”

“Actually,” he groaned, “I also came across a Pikachu, but I completely forgot that I hadn’t brought or bought any Poké Balls before we set out, so I had to scamper off with my tail between my legs, came in here, got some Poké Balls, some potions, and a couple other things as well, and decided to have a tea. Hey, were are your Pokémon?”

“They’re at the center getting healed up. The Pikachu’s Static paralyzed my poor Noibat, and Noibat really roughed up my poor Pikachu, and I’m having a milk while I wait.”

“Fascinating. Call it sour grapes, but I’m not finding a lot that I want to catch over here. Maybe I’ll have a bit better luck on the north side of the island.”

“Yeah, maybe. Well, we have a few more hours until dinner. Give it some more time.”

“Yeah. Yeah sure.”

“Ma’am?” the nurse at the center counter called. Alice turned her head and saw the nurse waving her down, a tray with six spherical slots on the counter with two Poké Balls in it. “Your Pokémon are all good to go.”

“Oh, hold on.” Alice pulled back her chair and jogged over to the counter, picking up the two balls in her hand. “Thanks a bunch.”

The nurse bowed to her in a show of appreciation. Alice attached Noibat’s ball to her belt and tossed Pikachu’s out, releasing it from inside. The Pikachu inside looked a bit bewildered by its suddenly strange surroundings, but once Alice knelt as far down to its level as she could, the Pikachu’s eyes locked on to her.

“Hey there, little guy,” she cooed. “My name’s Alice.”

Alice reached over and scratched gently behind the Pikachu’s ears. The sensation of being handled was at first a bit unnerving, as told by the slight spark in its cheeks, but it eventually mellowed out and rested its head in her hand.

“Hey,” she quickly said to Sam, “pardon my reach, I just need to borrow some…”

She blindly searched the table with her free hand until she found Sam’s cup of Pokébeans and grabbed a handful.

“Hey, that’s my–!” Sam spat out before stopping himself.

As Alice took the hand petting the Pikachu off of it, she placed one Pokébean onto her palm, Sam took a handful of beans from Alice’s cup and spilled his onto the table, counting to make sure his dozen was replaced. Alice’s Pikachu sniffed the bean tentatively, and then took a nibble. After a second of registering the taste, the rodent’s expression perked up even further, taking the rest of the bean in its mouth.

“Oh, you like that,” encouraged Alice, putting two more beans in her hand. “Here, have a couple more.” Pikachu took two more beans from Alice’s other hand and munched them both. Once it had swallowed, it squealed with unbridled joy and hopped in her arms. Alice stood up with the Pikachu that she was now cradling, grabbing her milk and taking a few gulps. “You can have the rest.”

Pikachu took the glass and tilted it up, getting the last few chugs before emptying it. Alice took the glass and placed it back on the table before she scooped the Pokébeans from her cup and put them in her vest pocket.

“Heading back out?” Sam asked.

“Yeah. I suggest you do to. If nothing else, sharpen up your Honedge a bit.” The golden lid of Honedge’s eye lowered, showing its dissatisfaction with her pun. “I’ll be taking Pikachu out for a bit. See you at home.”

Alice walked outside with Pikachu in tow, and it let out a joyous cry, happy to venture out into the world with its new trainer. Sam looked down into his half-drunken mug, and there were still a few wisps of steam coming off the surface. With a determined frown, he downed the rest of his tea in a single gulp, coughing from the heat. Honedge approached him, but Sam put his hand up.

“I’m alright,” he said. “Come on. Alice did have a point there.”

Putting his beans into a side pocket in his shorts, he wiped down the table with his napkin and took off.

Sun put his lab coat back on, cracking his neck with a couple of twists for good measure. Now that he was refreshed from his workout, he made his way outside his room and back to the research facility. There wasn’t going to be much to do but prepare for the next day’s excursion, but it was work that was better done then than later.

As he made his way to the lift, he felt a vibration in his breast pocket and the screen glowing brightly blue. Stopping, he pulled a small screened device from it and saw the caller ID was coming from Lillie.

Pressing the “Answer” button, the top edge of the device went bright before a holographic screen projected above it, revealing Lillie inside of a large room with several climbing structures, balls, and other oversized toys.

“Lillie,” he addressed. “What is it?”

“Sun!” she said excitedly. “Look!”

Lillie stepped out of the camera’s way and revealed Solgaleo hopping around, full of energy as if it had finished sleeping for days on end, and in the air, just below an atrium high above, Lunala twirled around. Sun himself could hardly believe it.

“Wait,” he asked. “What’s going on with them?”

“Solgaleo and Lunala seem to be really rejuvenated from their nap. I wasn’t too sure about it, but I asked them if they really wanted to do another excursion today, and they actually looked really eager to.”

“Wha… really? I mean, that sounds great, but I was thinking of our conversation just then, and I’m just wondering if another excursion really is such a good idea.”

Lillie, returning to the camera, met Sun again with a pout. “Come on, Sun. You said I can call the shots on this one, and I don’t just think they’re able to do another excursion today, but they want to. In fact, I know this. So, if they want to do another excursion, than so do I.”

Sun was torn between his heart and his mind, but with an almost subconscious effort, he blurted out, “Then we shall. I’ll go let Lusamine know and get everything set up.”

“Thank you, Sun! I’m sure it will be a great one! You don’t think Lusamine will let me join in on this one, do you?”

“I’m sure she’d be more than happy to, especially since we might be able to find something in that system we found. I’ll let you know when we can bring them up. Just be sure to wind them down so they don’t crash on us before then.”

“Sure thing!”

She gave a kiss into the camera before she shut the feed off. Even though she wouldn’t see, Sun felt compelled to softly blow a kiss to the holographic screen as it faded out. Any and all fears of upcoming failure were behind him, especially with Lillie’s blessing. Sun put the device back in his pocket, and without a second left to lose, he jogged up to the lift with a new purpose set for the day.

Chapter 4 – Pull

Twilight continued staring at the table as she had done since she last talked with the princesses. The four islands had not appeared since then either, making her all the more anxious and worried. She also felt herself nodding off at times, but she was sure to get up and walk a lap or two around the table to keep her body up as well. She didn’t expect anyone to assist her in such a monotonous task, but if she sensed something wrong, she made sure the princesses would know right away.

*KULUHHH*

The door to the room opened up, jolting Twilight awake. She looked back to the map to see Equestria still there; nothing changed.

“Uh,” a voice with a southern accent said to her left, “we’re over here, sugar.”

Twilight turned to see six other ponies standing there, a light-blue pegasus with a chopped rainbow-colored mane and tail among them carrying two large paper bags in her arms, small stains of grease covering the bag. Twilight, breathed a sigh of relief, actually relieved to see her friends at this moment.

“Sorry, Twilight,” said Starlight, “we know you’re busy checking the Cutie Map, we just thought you’d need some company.”

“And we also brought some grub!” The rainbow pony lifted the bags up in the air, and Twilight could smell the wafting aroma of pan-fried hay, ketchup and onion. It was more than enough to alleviate her feelings of burden for a while.

“Thank you, Rainbow Dash, you can go ahead and spread the food out if you want. Come to think of it, I actually am quite hungry.”

“Then let’s get to it,” the southern pony responded. Her coat was a light orange with her mane and tail tied at the tips into ponytails. She also sported a brown Stetson hat atop her head. “Rarity, help Rainbow Dash pass the hayburgers.”

“Of course, darling!” she replied with an English accent.

With her magic, the white unicorn with the curled purple mane and tail called Rarity took one bag from Rainbow Dash’s grasp, pulling out four paper-wrapped burgers and a set of plastic silverware from it. Setting one burger and the silverware down at her spot, Rarity sat at one of the six tables, hers marked on the top of the backrest the same as her flank: three blue gems.

She set down a burger before Fluttershy’s seat, whose three-butterfly insignia matched Fluttershy’s. Hopping up into her seat, which was marked with two blue balloons with a blue one in-between them, was a pink pony with a pink, frizzled mane, right as her burger was set for her.

“Thank you, Rarity!” she exclaimed with a voice as squeaky as the balloons marked on her body.

“You’re most welcome, Pinkie Pie.”

As Pinkie Pie already began digging into hers, wrapper and all, Rarity then set her last burger at the orange pony’s spot on the table, the back of the seat, like her rump, adorned with three red apples.

“Applejack,” she addressed they both took their seats, “that one has barbecue sauce, I trust?”

Applejack unwrapped her burger and opened the top of the bun up. No barbecue sauce, just ketchup.

“Naw,” she said, “I think somepony else has mine.”

They couldn’t help but notice as Pinkie Pie, her meal already vanished, licked the remains of her wrapper of any sauce or melted cheese that remained. “Hey, this one had barbecue sauce. Whose burger was that?” Her eyes went to Applejack with sudden realization, and even Applejack couldn’t hold back a small frown. “Ehehe… sorry.”

“…Not a problem,” Applejack said, her face calmed. “I just prefer barbecue sauce.”

“I have to apologize as well,” sighed Rarity. “I should have been more mindful of the special sticker.”

“I said it’s fine, Rarity. I also know that this isn’t just a casual meal with our friends. Twilight, what exactly is going on that has you all wound up?”

“Thank you, Applejack. As some of you may know, I’ve noticed some strange things happening to the Cutie Map. Every so often, the map will disappear, and these four islands appear in its place. I don’t know what they are, where they are, or what’s on them?”

“Are you worried that there’s some evil monster or some big, bad army on there or something?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I said I’m not sure!”

“Just saying, we’ve probably dealt with worse.”

“For all I know, this may be a false alarm and that there’s nothing about or on these islands that we should be afraid of. My only concern is why it’s happening, or even why it’s happening now.”

“Maybe the Cutie Map wants us to go on vacation!” Pinkie Pie wondered aloud. “We’ve been so busy, taking care of magic-draining centaurs, Starlight, Starlight again, protecting the Crystal Empire from eternal winter, or the return of Queen Chrysalis, maybe it’s its way of telling us, ‘Hey girls, you’ve done a real swell job out there. Go to the beach and chill for a week or two!’”

“I like that idea,” Fluttershy said softly. “I sure hope that’s what it is.”

“Well,” Twilight continued, “needless to say, none of us are really certain what it is. I’ve requested Cadance to help find anything she can at the Crystal Empire library and send me anything relating to any kind of islands that no longer exist on Equestria.”

“Well, not to trivialize your plight,” Rarity spoke up, “but how long have you said this has been going on?”

“A week, give or take. I’m only growing more concerned because when the islands do appear, they appear for far longer each time.”

“Well,” Spike mentioned, “there’s nothing there now.”

“I don’t think we’d need you to tell us that, Spike,” said Rainbow Dash. “So, uh, when do these islands normally appear?”

“It varies. Sometimes it happens in the morning, sometimes at night.”

“But so far,” Starlight added, “we’ve only seen it happen once a day when they have appeared.”

“And has it not happened already today?” asked Fluttershy.

“It has, but–”

“What?” Rainbow Dash blurted. “I can’t be here waiting for this thing all night! I’ve got practice tomorrow!”

“No one was askin’ you or any of us, for that matter, to stay. We’re just getting a leg-up on this situation is all.”

“Wait…” Everyone’s eyes turned to Pinkie Pie, who was suddenly dressed in a full pajama outfit with a sleeping cap, a pillow, and a blanket. “Does this mean we’re not sleeping over after all?”

“Any of you can leave whenever you want,” said Twilight. “If you want to stay to see the islands come back, if they come back, fine. If you want to go back home, fine. I just want you to know what’s happening if this does turn out to be some kind of threat to Equestria.”

Everyone, excluding Twilight, Starlight, and Spike looked to each other.

“Well,” Rainbow Dash croaked out, “I don’t need to be at practice until morning, but I can stay for a couple of hours. Who knows? Maybe they’ll come back again tonight?”

“Seems unlikely,” said Twilight, “but–”

“Yay!” Pinkie Pie cheered, throwing her blanket and pillow into the air. “Magical Reappearing Island Hunt and Slumber Party after all!”

“I might have to go home and feed Angel,” Fluttershy said, “but I can always come right back, right?”

“We don’t mind staying over, do ya’ Rarity?” Applejack asked.

“Didn’t hurt before!” she chirped, the two giggling over the distant memory.

“And we don’t have anywhere to go, right Spike?” asked Starlight with a nudge.

“Yeah, no! We’re in this together.”

Twilight smiled warmly at the loyalty of her close friends, who all looked to her for further instruction.

“Thanks a lot guys. We can eat our dinner while we wait.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Applejack resolved, picking her burger up.

Pinkie Pie tried to pick hers up, only for nothing to be there. “Oh,” she moaned, “yeah...”

As the rest of the seven ate their food, they also kept watch over the Cutie Map, eager to see any changes that might occur to it.

Alice and Sam climbed the hilly road of Route 2, managing to see a Pokémon Center up at the top. The sun was just about to set off to the west, and they still had time to go out and search for more Pokémon before it would get too dark and dangerous to travel. Sam had his Pokédex out, reading the enlarged map on the screen as the two of them turned to ascend the last hill before they reached the Pokémon Center.

“And it looks like Verdant Cavern is right across from the Center,” he said. “We can sleep the night there, have some breakfast at the café, and do our first trial if we wanted.”

“You think you’re already ready for it?” she asked.

“Honedge and I got a lot of grinding in. I think we’ll be fine.”

The two of them were finally on level ground, and approaching the Pokémon Center to the left, which stood on the edge of a cliff at the northwest corner of the island. Turning to the right, they looked upon the large entrance to the cave where the first trial was supposedly held. The entrance was decorated with tall, wooden totems on both sides of the path to the cavern held up by colored triangular supports and a bed of rocks.

“So that’s it then,” Sam said with awe.

“Big fancy entrance that resembles our amulets,” Alice replied in the same style of voice, “pretty sure it’s not.”

Sam rolled his eyes at Alice’s inability to allow him his moment.

“Alola!” called a tenor voice from behind.

The two turned around to see a young man a few years older than Sam with light-brown skin standing on the middle rail of the banister for the base the Pokémon Center was on, facing the two. He then climbed over the rail and hopped down. As he approached the two, his features were more definable.

He wore a white, short-sleeved collared shirt beneath a beige vest with brown diamond patterns around the waist and back along with white floods and white loafers with brown soles. His hair was bright pink and medium length with a small pigtail along the left side. On his right wrist was a Z-Ring, and on his left hand was an odd leather glove with only two fingerless slots for the index and ring fingers. Despite his dapper appearance, his body looked well toned beneath his clothes.

“Greetings, my fellow trainers,” he said. “My name is Ilima, and I am the Trial Captain for Verdant Caverns here on Melemele Island.”

Alice reached for his hand first, and was not too surprised to see him reach with his right hand as if he had to think to do it.

“Southpaw?” she asked.

“Yes, I am indeed left-handed.” Ilima then reached for Sam’s hand, which they both shook. “I’ve not seen either of you before. Are you by chance new to Alola?”

“We are, actually,” Sam said, “we moved here today.”

“Moved? I must say, it pleases me to welcome two new residents to Melemele. Though I feel I’m being a bit presumptuous. You did move to Melemele, right? Or are you here to challenge my trial?”

“Yes to both,” Alice said.

“That’s wonderful! Are you two ready to take the challenge now? There’s still enough daylight for you to do so if you so wish.”

Alice and Sam looked to each other, and Alice gave him a shrug as if to grant him the choice.

“Actually,” Sam said, “we’re still getting used to everything, and we were just taking a small hike and catching Pokémon before we rest for the night.”

“I see. I only wished to warn you as I close my trial come nightfall. The Pokémon inside like to spend as much time battling as they do sleeping, you see.”

“Story of my life,” Alice replied.

“Hahaha! Yes, quite. I don’t want to take up much more of your time, but there are quite a few good Pokémon to capture at the Melemele Meadow. It’s just past the canyon pass once you continue on to Route 3. If you hurry, you might get a good half hour in before you need to return by dark, that is, unless you brought an Electric-type with you.”

“Well, what a coincidence! I caught a Pikachu this very afternoon!”

“Congratulations, you’re already well-equipped. I shouldn’t bother you any longer, but may I first have your names?”

“Alice.”

“Sam,” he said.

“I’ll continue to be here tomorrow should you want to come by and take my challenge. Perhaps I’ll even allow you to take it together. How does that sound?”

Sam now looked to Alice and gave her the shrug of decision.

“Yeah,” she responded to Ilima. “That sounds neat!”

“Very good. We’ll be ready then. Farewell!”

Ilima then sprinted off back to the Pokémon Center, but rather than take the stairs, he ran up the wall to the base of the Pokémon Center and grabbed hold of the banister, climbing it the rest of the way. Once he was over, he walked calmly inside the Center.

“Interesting kid,” Sam said.

“One way to describe him,” agreed Alice. “Well, you heard him, let’s give this Melemele Meadow a try.”

The two continued their way east, a little disappointed to see yet another hilly climb before them.

Sun stood on the edge of a balcony from the Aether Paradise, hands firmly placed on the banister as he looked north towards the near-endless sea with the four islands of Alola not far away in the distance, watching the sun dip beneath the horizon and shade the sky with purple and orange.

“Sun,” called the voice of Lillie from behind him, “we’re ready now.”

He turned around to see her standing in the entryway. “Alright,” he said, grabbing his own lab coat hanging from the banister. “Coming.”

With one swing around, Sun slipped his arms through both sleeves of the coat, and with a pull on the lapels, it was on straight.

By now, the ponies and Spike had finished their burgers, and while the faint possibility of the return of the islands still lingered, the possibility was still just that: faint. By now, they were all laughing as they told about stories of their past, most of which were directed at Starlight, who had never even heard these tales before since she joined their circle.

“You should have seen Fluttershy,” Pinkie exclaimed. “She got all angry and then she turned huge! Like, HUGE!!”

“And thanks to her,” Spike said, “we defeated the Mane-iac and we all got to go home.”

“That was a really weird day,” Rainbow Dash recounted, “but it was still kind of cool.”

“I wonder what even happened to that comic. It wasn’t in that room I left it in when I got back.”

As Spike continued on, Twilight noticed the Cutie Map start to flicker quickly away, the four islands taking its place.

“Girls!” she shouted. “It’s happening.”

The jovial air of their get-together came to an abrupt halt as the four of them looked to the table and were amazed by what they were seeing.

“Holy Toledo,” Applejack breathed. “This is strange.”

“Th– This is nuts!” Rainbow Dash sputtered. “Do the princesses even know about this?”

“Princesses…” For a fleeting moment, Twilight had completely forgotten what needed to be done. “The princesses! Spike, alert them right away!”

“Got it!”

Spike grabbed his quill and paper and began writing away.

Sun was ecstatic. After long last, he could finally do what he had wanted to do all week.

“Solgaleo, Lunala,” Sun instantly called to the creatures. “Get a little lower!”

As Spike continued his letter, the islands in the map suddenly enlarged, cutting off the east half of Ula’ula Island and the west half of Poni Island. The seven girls couldn’t help but shriek a little at the sight, making Spike drop his things.

“What just happened?” Fluttershy whined. “Please tell me it’s done that before!”

Twilight didn’t know how to respond to her. For all she cared to know, whatever she feared or wondered would happen was now happening. “Spike,” she stammered. “Tell the princesses to hurry. The image of the islands enlarged.”

Spike scrambled to grab the quill and paper and hold them right, continuing on with the letter. Twilight looked to the islands more, noticing the towering building that floated in the ocean south of them.

“Alright guys,” Sun said with a hint of playfulness, “you both did great today. Go ahead and ease down–”

Sun’s command was interrupted by a whine from Lunala, who appeared to sway. Sun looked down at the pool, and was bemused to see that they were receding lower into the dust-cloud, quickly encroaching on a planet down below.

“Solgaleo, Lunala, stop!”

“This isn’t right,” Lillie whimpered.

The image began enlarging again, pushing the islands out of frame with the center of focus on the Aether Paradise. This time it wouldn’t stop.

“Twilight…” Rainbow Dash moaned, concerned.

Twilight slid off her throne and stood her front hooves on the table, leaning in for a closer look. The other ponies did the same, intrigued enough to observe the Aether Paradise as it continued getting bigger, threatening to hit the top.

Spike also was compelled to look, stopping his writing of the letter and peering just over the table see the map’s vision phase through the top and head to the pool where Sun, Lillie, and Lusamine were watching. Neither pony nor the dragon had time to notice the alien beings standing in the room or hooked to the machines before they could then see the pool observing them observing the pool in an infinite loop before the entire perimeter of the pool matched the perimeter of the table.

Suddenly, a massive pulse of energy threw each of them into the walls of the room, and they each landed flat on their stomachs. Now the surface of the table was just a bright light with thin rays of energy bouncing up and down from it.

Twilight rolled to her stomach to see Spike weakly getting to his own two feet. “Spike!” she screamed. “The letter! Just send it!”

Spike saw the letter before him get picked up off the ground and start to fly away towards the table. Before it could get away, Spike reached for it, pinching one of the corners with his claws. The paper only tore out of his hand as Twilight and Spike watched with sheer fright as it was then violently sucked into the light from the center.

“The letter!” Spike cried. “It… went through the table!”

The other ponies had just gotten up, feeling their manes and tails being pulled towards the table like a strong wind.

“What’s happening now!” Rarity shouted.

“Girls, come to me!” ordered Twilight.

The ponies fought the pull and galloped to their friend and huddled around her.

“Hold on tight,” she said, charging her horn. “We need to get out of here first.”

Twilight’s horns flashed with light, and the ponies closed their eyes, waiting to be outside where it was safe. To everyone’s horror, they still felt pulling and the heard wail of the portal before them. Opening their eyes, they found that their ears and hair weren’t deceiving them.

“Twilight?” Starlight said with quivering. “Why didn’t the teleportation work?”

“I…” Twilight never thought she’d be stumped like this. “I don’t know.”

Solgaleo and Lunala, their pink-glowing foreheads and eyes still bright, let out another screech.

Suddenly, the vacuum was tremendous. Rarity was flung off the floor and flew towards the table screaming. Before she could get sucked in, she felt a sharp pain in the base of her tail as she was hovering over the table, which now resembled a grid-like tunnel looking straight up to the ceiling of the research area of Aether Paradise.

“Uhh guut yuuh!” Applejack shouted through her teeth, which were clamped onto Rarity’s tail.

Pinkie Pie hid behind Twilight’s throne, looking around to see Rainbow Dash, try and fly away from the pull, only managing to stay stationary in the air. Fluttershy was also thrown towards the portal, but a turquoise aura covered her and kept her afloat. Fluttershy watched as Starlight strained to hold the yellow pegasus in place while anchoring herself to the outer edge of the table. Twilight managed to pull Spike to her and cover themselves in a magenta dome, resisting the effects of the pull.

“Twilight!” cried Spike. “How are we going to get out of here?!”

“We’ll just have to hold out a bit more.”

Twilight managed to pull a loose paper and Spike’s quill, which were stuck under the table, into their bubble. She quickly wrote a single word: HELP, to it. Spike then breathed a puff of green fire onto it, where it engulfed the paper and then shrunk into nothingness, leaving no trace of either. Twilight turned to see the desperate situation her friends were in, coming close to tears with her inability to help them.

Just then, Applejack’s footing slipped, which caused her and Rarity to tumble into the air and get pulled in through the portal.

“Applejack!” Twilight shrieked.

“Rarity!” Spike cried.

Rainbow Dash, felt her strength give out watching her two friends disappear inside, suddenly losing the will to fight. Pinkie Pie saw this and couldn’t handle it.

“Rainbow Dash!” she cried out, leaping from behind the throne and grabbing Rainbow Dash as the two of them were sucked inside.

“NO!” Twilight’s voice warbled, becoming hoarse and nearly useless.

Starlight continued to hold on to Fluttershy, but gasped in terror as she felt the magic in her horn crackle and weaken. With a final strain, she held onto Fluttershy a moment longer before her mind and body gave out and the two of them were pulled inside, leaving Twilight and Spike alone with the portal. Twilight and Spike couldn’t scream anymore, and only began to sob ugly tears over the loss of their friends.

Just then, Twilight felt her horn sparkle too, the dome protecting them flickering away. With a deep breath, Twilight found the strength to compose herself and sit down, sending Spike sliding to the floor.

“Twilight?” he mumbled. “What are you–”

She quickly turned around and gave him a tight hug, her tears streaming down her face and onto his back.

“I can’t hold on for much longer Spike,” she croaked. “I don’t know what will happen to us, but no matter what, no matter where we end up, know that I love you so very much!”

It was so much for Spike to take in, but finally accepting his fate, he clutched to Twilight’s neck and held himself close. “I love you too, Twilight.”

They both shut their eyes tight. The magic finally gave out, and the dome disappeared. Twilight and Spike were launched into the air, and as light shone through their eyelids, they suddenly felt a tremendous pull down and then up. Everything went black.

Chapter 5 – The Kindness of Strangers

“Use Shadow Sneak!”

A black shadow-like aura flowed from the top of Honedge’s blade and began snaking through the yellow flowers faster than even Sam could track. The shadow smacked a yellow bird with floofy feathers at the end of its wings like pom-poms up through the air. It landed on its back, but rolled in a backwards somersault to face Sam again, who eagerly grabbed a Poké Ball out of his bag. Alice watched on a small ledge as her brother came close to nabbing his first Alolan Pokémon.

“Alright,” Sam said. “Let’s do this.”

Alice smiled, but was suddenly distracted by a small pillar of light that came shooting from the air. It didn’t seem extremely abnormal until it began breaking off into four branches, one of which made its way toward them.

“Sam?” she said, hopping off and walking to him. “Sam?!”

Sam was more than peeved right now. “What is it–”

Before he could finish his statement, the wormhole opened up directly above them, the loud moan and blasting of air from the portal forcing Alice and Sam to the ground.

The bird Sam faced ran as fast as it could away, as did other yellow birds like it, dozens of gold-and-white bugs, and a couple of Pokémon resembling large puffs of cotton with small leafy and green wings. Some fled the area completely, while some sought refuge in the trees and bushes they could find. Sam turned around and managed to look up as the wormhole began to funnel out.

“What in the hell is that thing?” he shouted.

Alice stood up and helped pick Sam up with assistance from Honedge. “I don’t know, but we have to hide!”

Sam and Alice looked around for any sign of refuge until Sam found a small cave entrance in the face of the rocky barrier of the meadow.

“There!” he shouted over the wormhole. “We can hide in there!”

Alice and Sam both bolted for the cave, Honedge following close behind. Alice slipped in first, followed by Honedge and Sam. He stayed at the foot of the entrance, watching the wormhole from the corner. It continued hovering above them until the moaning began to increase in pitch at a fast rate.

Immediately, Sam slid back inside and kept his back to the wall away from the entrance. He and Alice suddenly heard a short boom that made the ground below them shake hard enough to make their balance falter. Not much longer after that, the moaning went away, and minus the winds that still blew outside, it seemed everything was back to normal.

“What did you see?” Alice whispered.

“I… I’m not sure,” Sam spoke softly. “I think I went back inside before whatever came out of that thing came out.”

“Better that it didn’t see us.”

“Right.”

“Hey, you remember that video with that really muscular bug looking thing from like, ten years ago?”

“Weren’t you like, 4 when that came out?”

“Yeah, but I saw it when I was older, genius. Anyways, I’m pretty sure that video was actually taken here at the Melemele Meadow. What if it’s another one?”

Sam sighed. “Then it looks like we may be here for a while. Though, I feel if there was something out there, we would have heard it by now.”

“I agree. Let’s give it an hour, and if we don’t hear anything, we’ll get out of this cave. If we don’t see anything, we run straight back to the Pokémon Center.”

“And if we do see something, back to the cave?”

“Well, I’m not fighting it.”

“Yeah, then me neither.”

“I’ll send a text to mom and dad, in case they try to call us and the ringtone alerts anything to us.”

“Good idea.”

Alice pulled out a small device from her bag with a curved bottom, a small screen with a camera above it, and a light fixture along its bowed-in top. Pressing a button beside the lower-left hand corner of the screen twice, the light on top shone from it, producing a blue, holographic keyboard with a small text box above. Tapping through the images of the keys with her fingers, the letters were typed out in the box above:

Hey. Making sure you’re okay. Sam and I are fine. We’re headed to the Pokémon Center right now. See you later.

Alice grimaced, feeling guilty about lying as she did, but whatever kept her parents satisfied enough to keep them from messaging them was all she needed. Honedge floated beside Sam and leaned itself against the wall as Sam sat down beside it, in for the long haul before it was safe to try and leave.

Sun walked into his room, completely drained and sullen. With almost no strength to hold his composure, he slumped onto the edge of his bed and buried his head into his hands. The only thing he could hear were his breaths in the solitary silence. Between each exhale, he could only repeat the same four memories: dancing with Lillie, the image of a perkier Solgaleo and Lunala through her chat with Lillie, the pink glow of their foreheads, and the sight of them collapsing.

Soon, every breath only made him think about Solgaleo and Lunala’s possessed states and their collapse, finally culminating with an image of a purple creature with two wispy blue antennae above its head and a black face stuck on a rickety rope bridge, crying in fear of its life as it was circled over by three ravenous birds. As if possessed himself, he shot off the bed with a shout and punched the bedpost to his right, breaking it off with a thick crunch before it fell to the floor in front of a dresser. Despite hearing a gasping sound behind him, he stood hunched over as a sharp pain starting coming into his knuckles and the bases of his fingers, lifting his hand to see. Slowly turning around, he found Lillie standing in the open doorway, hand to her mouth as a streak of blood went down along the side of his hand and forearm.

Sun turned all the way to face her, but unable to look at her face. After a few moments that felt like an eternity, she broke down into sobs, covering her whole face in her hands. Sun titled his head down, his own tears beginning to fall from his eyes. Stumbling towards her, he wrapped his left arm around the small of her back and rested his face into her shoulder, allowing himself to muffle his cries. Lillie herself also managed to wrap her arms around Sun’s back as they both wept together.

Honedge was napping upon Sam’s lap, resting inside its scabbard, and Sam was still enough to appear to be sleeping as well. Alice sat on the wall opposite them, watching and smiling. Even with their tense situation, at least it started off in quite possibly the most interesting way it could for virtually any trainer, and she had someone with her to share the experience with. She pulled out her Pokédex, and saw that it was about 8:30. In fifteen minutes, they could go out and check for any other-worldly monsters, but it was already so serene that there seemed to be no chance of there being anything dangerous out there.

“See…” a faint voice suddenly rung out somewhere in the cave. “Noth… to wor… abo…”

Alice slowly crouched to her feet, walking over to Sam, shaking his leg by the shin. Still awake, he shot right up.

“What is it?” he whispered, stirring Honedge awake as well.

“…m scare…” another voice called out, sounding more timid and afraid than the first. “…I wan… to go hom…”

Sam and Alice looked up, trying their best to determine the location of the voice.

“What is that?” he asked.

“Shh,” she softly hissed, her finger close to his face.

The two of them slowly got up, Hondege rising beside Sam, and began creeping further inside. Honedge silently unsheathed himself, his cloth arm keeping a firm hold on the scabbard.

“…I’m scare… too,” the first voice spoke, a bit easier to hear, “or at th… ver… leas… …appea… stron…”

“There’s someone down here,” Alice said.

There was suddenly a silence as Alice and Sam stood still, perhaps waiting for a response.

“What was that?” the second voice squealed, clear as day minus the cave’s echo.

“Quiet!” the first voice hissed.

Sam felt a small pang of sadness hit his gut.

“It sounds like a couple of kids,” Sam commented.

“Come on,” Alice advised. “Let’s go looking.”

Sam and Alice made their way down, Alice leading, her right hand hovering over the Poké Balls on her belt. The inside of the cave appeared to be a bunch of winding, hilly pathways surrounding deep pools of water. It certainly didn’t look like someplace where someone could get easily lost, but with a wormhole having opened up not even an hour ago, it was not the best place to get stuck in.

The series of pathways appeared to spiral around to the left as they came to the bottom of the hill, they could see a body at the base. Before they could get a chance to see what it was, they were suddenly assaulted by a bright, almost-blinding flash that appeared to come from whomever or whatever was below.

They shielded their faces, but quickly gathered that they bright light was only that: a bright light. Turning back to the bottom of the path, they were finally able to get a full look at Starlight. Sam and Honedge looked at it inquisitively, noting her strangely human facial expression, which Sam could easily see was fear.

Starlight breathed heavily, seeing that her attempted attack did not work, and with another charge of her horn, she tried to launch another spell at them, only to produce another flash. Alice, Sam, and Honedge were quicker to deflect and recover this time. Alice began to slowly inch towards her, her forearm just below her eyes, prompting the pony to try again to launch an attack. This time, Alice was prepared, and her forearm shielded her closed eyes, allowing her to continue her advance with her vision unimpaired. After a fourth failed attack, Starlight felt her knees begin to buckle as she quickly glanced to her right, and with Alice already halfway down, she sunk to her stomach and covered her head with her forelegs.

“Please,” she begged, “don’t hurt me!”

Finally, Alice stopped completely, floored by what she had heard: the source of the first voice. Her stance relaxed, though the pony was too frightened to see that she had stopped encroaching.

“You can speak?” she asked softly.

Starlight stopped trembling and peeked through her arms, slowly lowering them down and revealing her face to Alice.

“You…” she wondered aloud. “You can understand me?”

“Y… Yeah,” Alice managed to reply. “And don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”

Alice took another step forward, but Starlight responded with another step back.

“I heard another one with you,” Starlight spoke. “Are they here?”

Alice, understanding the concern, turned her head and kept her hand up in a calming gesture.

“Sam,” she said. “Come down.”

Sam appeared from around the hall, walking at a slow and unthreatening pace. However, Starlight bolted to the right with a scream, freezing him in his tracks. Sam stopped unsure of what he did wrong, especially with Alice turning to him and frowning.

“Sam!” she hissed. “Your Honedge scared her off!”

Sam turned to see that Honedge was indeed behind him to his left, whose bottom eyelid squinted up as a show of embarrassment and apology.

“Don’t worry, bud,” Sam whispered, lightly patting the hilt. “Let’s just show her we mean her no harm.”

Sam walked down the slope with Honedge, and as Alice continued looking up at them, Sam noticed her expression looking instantly fearful as she took a step back.

“What’s up with you now?” he said, looking down at her. “What’s with the…”

Sam’s words trailed off as they saw his and Honedge’s shadows being cast on the ground, the area around them bright; something very bright was behind them. Turning around, Sam hopped back, nearly losing his footing, while Honedge stuck close enough to him that the edge of its blade was touching Sam’s clothing.

What they were looking at resembled a humanoid about six feet tall floating up behind them. Its head, torso, and two-clawed hands were black, and the tall, spiky plume atop and down the front and back of its head, along with the four spines below its waist where its legs would be were orange. Attached to its claws were two halves of what appeared to be a large wooden mask that could cover most of its body. Combined with its claws, the side of the face appeared similar to that of a bird.

Sam and Honedge looked deep into the creature’s gemlike orange-and-turquoise rims where its eyes were, the facial markings giving it an expression of anger, though no mouth could be seen to prove this. Recalling what Hau said about chicken-skin earlier that day, he could only come to one conclusion.

“Tapu Koko,” he whispered.

The guardian deity instantly flew around the two and weaved around Alice down below, soaring to where Starlight ran off.

“No!” Alice cried out. “Don’t hurt her!”

As Sam reached the bottom, Alice ran after Tapu Koko, leaving him and Honedge alone again.

“Alice, wait!” he shouted out.

She didn’t seem to get very far, as she watched from a distance Tapu Koko approached the quivering pony. Alice put her hand to one of her Poké Balls, unsure of whether to use it or not. The guardian deity was almost within reach of Starlight, but she watched as Fluttershy’s head appeared from a small crevice to the right, watching the scene.

“Fluttershy!” Starlight screamed. “Run!”

Fluttershy tensed up as the being turned to spot her, but she took off and up, her wings beating as hard as they could to fly away. With a push off the ground, Tapu Koko darted at Fluttershy, her speed no match for it. As it grabbed Fluttershy with both arms, where she screamed in fear before laying scared stiff in them, Starlight charged her horn again, an angry scowl on her face.

“Let her go!” she screamed, a small orb of energy managing to shoot out this time.

Tapu Koko was not so easily tricked, and shifting the pegasus into its right arm, it swung to the left and swatted the attack against the half-mask on its arm, making it burst like a cloud of smoke. Alice gasped at the guardian deity’s might. Starlight swooned from the energy she exerted and fell to her left-front knee. Tapu Koko approached Starlight once again, who panted heavily and only bowed her head, resigned to her fate.

She was suddenly alerted by footsteps a running in and sliding to a stop between her and Tapu Koko, who halted its encroachment upon her arrival. As Starlight realized that Alice had come to her protection, Sam and Honedge came in as well. Sam stopped between Alice and Starlight, crouching down with his arms out, blocking as much of the weakened pony as he could, while Honedge stood at the front of Starlight’s line of defense, forming an “X” with the broad sides of its blade and scabbard.

“You heard her,” Alice spoke as calmly as she could. “Please let her go.”

Tapu Koko continued to float in the same spot with Fluttershy still in its grasp. It glanced between both Sam and Alice, and then to the pony, which looked up to her would-be saviors with a strong sense of hope. After a few brief moments, Tapu Koko lowered itself to the ground and gently set Fluttershy down on the floor. As it backed away, Alice relaxed her defensive stance and Sam stood up, both looking at Fluttershy with agape mouths as if they hadn’t expected their plan to work.

Tapu Koko looked back at Sam and Alice once again, its fixed serious demeanor still attached to its face. It then threw its arms out to the sides, making its body spark with electrical energy, and with another push of the ground from its bottom spines, it soared out and up through the cave, heading for the entrance at Melemele Meadow.

Despite the talking, sapient ponies behind and in front of them, Tapu Koko’s departure inspired Sam, Alice, and Honedge to look up at the direction of its flight. Suddenly, they felt Starlight brush into their legs as she galloped to Fluttershy’s still paralyzed body.

“Fluttershy,” she called out, grabbing her body with her arms and shaking her. “Fluttershy, wake up!”

Fluttershy came too with a hard, quick wagging of her head, looking woozy as she slowly sat herself up.

“Ugh…” she moaned. “Where are we?” Fluttershy turned to see Sam, Alice, and Honedge approaching cautiously, but stopped as Fluttershy’s expression turned fearful. “St– St– St– Starlight? Wha… What are those?”

“It’s okay, Fluttershy.” Starlight turned back and faced the three of them without a sign of fear. “I… I think we can trust them.”

Fluttershy, still sitting, took her time to size Alice, Sam, and Honedge up, feeling more comfortable seeing the humans and living sword relaxed and calm around her and her friend. She began to roll onto her hooves, Starlight giving her some space.

“Thank you,” Starlight said to their saviors. “Thank you for saving us.”

“Uh, yeah,” Sam muttered, a little off put by the talking pony’s compliment, “no problem.”

Starlight glanced away and bit her lip, knowing how awkward the question she would ask would be. “I’m sorry, but… Do you know where we are?”

The expressions Alice and Sam made to each other trying to find the best way to answer her question proved her apprehensions right. Sam finally managed to turn to her.

“We are… on Melemele Island… in the Alola region on… Earth.”

“There’s no Equestria?” Fluttershy asked.

“Not that I’ve heard of.” He reached into his pocket. “I can show you a world map. If there’s something there that resembles this Equestria you talk about, maybe it can help us.”

He pulled out his Pokédex and expanded the holographic screen almost two times its normal length, which mystified Starlight and Fluttershy.

“You can use magic too?” Starlight asked.

“Magic?” asked Alice. Her tone suggested how odd it was that Starlight would use the word so casually. “Was that what you were doing with your horn?”

“Yeah. What else could it have been?”

“It looked like some kind of attack move. In all honesty, I thought you were a Psychic-type Pokémon or something.”

“You keep using that word: Pokémon. What is that?”

“I’m not seeing anything in the search for ‘Equestria,’” Sam interrupted, “but you can feel free to look if you can find something.”

Sam held the Pokédex out in front of Starlight, which showed an ovular rendering of the entire planet and all the continents and islands on it, Starlight glancing over it several times quickly.

Unbeknownst to them, a figure hidden by the darkness crept up to a ledge above them, looking out and spotting the ponies. It stopped and stared for several seconds, surprised by their alien appearance, but moved onwards towards the downward path. By Starlight’s fourth look, her ears began to droop as the realized the land she was searching for was not on this map.

“So,” she muttered, “we’re lost… on a completely different world.”

“Wait,” Fluttershy squeaked, “does this mean… we can’t go back home?”

Alice and Sam grimaced as Fluttershy’s eyes welled with tears, an answer to remedy their sadness farther away than even they could find.

“Hello, over there!”

The five of them looked instantly surprised, turning to face the one who had found them. Though Sam, Alice, and Honedge recognized the person approaching the edge of the ledge right above their spot, Starlight and Fluttershy appeared more wary, zipping behind the humans for protection.

“Hau!” Sam shouted out.

“Is he a friend of yours?” whispered Starlight.

“Yes,” Alice responded just as quietly.

As Hau approached the group, the two ponies crept out back into the open, somewhat soothed by the reverent smirk he gave them.

“I saw that wormhole over this area,” Hau said. “Tapu Koko come out from the meadow, so I came down here to see what was up. I didn’t expect to see you two with…” He suddenly glanced at the ponies. “…them.”

“Tapu Koko?” asked Fluttershy “Is that the thing that attacked us?”

“Attacked? What gave you the impression that he attacked you?”

“It tried taking Fluttershy and me away,” argued Starlight. “It wasn’t until…” Something suddenly dawned on her that shifted her focus to Alice and Sam. “I’m sorry, you two saved us and we never got your names.”

“Oh, right,” Alice replied. “Well, my name is Alice Brier, that’s my brother Sam.”

“And the floating sword beside me is called an Honedge,” Sam said, showcasing his Pokémon with his open hand. “Hau, my sister and I are known as humans, and my Honedge is just one of many different types of creatures that we call a Pokémon.”

It closed its eye and rocked its body toward them in a bowing gesture, pleased to be introduced to the two ponies.

“Yes, thank you.” Starlight bowed her head in thanks and turned back to Hau. “Anyways, Alice, Sam, and Honedge came in and saved us, and this Tapu Koko then let my friend go and flew away.”

“I can assure you that Tapu Koko meant to protect you. It probably assumed you two came from that wormhole earlier and tried taking you to the Ruins of Conflict to keep you safe.”

“Wormhole…” Memories suddenly flashed of Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie getting pulled in through the portal in the table at the Castle of Friendship. Her face contorted in concern, making her gallop out to the exit of the cave for Kala’e Bay. Hau, Alice, Sam, Honedge, and Fluttershy quickly went after her.

“Applejack!” she shouted, throwing her head in every direction in a desperate search. “Rainbow Dash!” Silence except for the waves against the shore. “Rarity!” her voice went softer as she realized that none of her friends would likely hear her call. “Pinkie Pie… Come on… Twilight...”

The other five stood at the foot of the exit, giving Starlight some space as she fell to her shins in the sand and looked up at the sky, wheezing before she hung her head down in defeat.

“There are more of them?” asked Sam.

“They got pulled in through that portal too.” Fluttershy answered. “But if they’re not here, that must mean… they’re… ”

At last, Fluttershy finally broke down into sobbing. Alice found her breathing getting heavy, her heart broken for these two. Honedge’s eye even showed an expression of concern, while Sam looked more disappointed, putting his hands in both pockets and leaning down. However, it was Hau who knelt besides Fluttershy and took the bottom of her head in his hands, wiping her tears with his thumbs. Her crying stopped as she looked into his sympathetic eyes.

“Hey,” he whispered, “you’ll find your other friends. If they came through with you, they couldn’t have gotten far.”

“How…” she asked. “How do you know this?”

“I don’t.” That line didn’t seem to sit too well with Fluttershy, but Hau’s words kept her from breaking down again. “I just have a very strong feeling it.”

“You won’t need to feel anything,” Sam said, alerting Hau and Fluttershy. “Check this out.”

Starlight turned from her spot to see Sam with his Pokédex out and expanded, pointing to its screen. Alice, Hau and Fluttershy gathered behind him as he knelt down to show an aerial picture of Alola, where a pillar of light rose out from the ocean south of the islands, where it branched off into four separate tunnels that opened over each of the four islands.

“Where did you find this picture?” Fluttershy asked.

“It’s probably all over the news by now,” Alice guessed. “Would be surprised if there wasn’t something by now.”

Starlight now joined herself beside Fluttershy, gasping at the sight of the islands.

“Those are the islands!” Starlight almost shouted. “Those islands appeared on the Cutie Map before we ended up here.”

“Yeah,” Sam confirmed, “that's the Alola region, but look.” He pointed to the wormhole opening above Melemele. “That’s the one you and Fluttershy came from. There are three other portals. This must mean that your other friends are on the other islands.”

“And,” Fluttershy said, the realization causing her eyes to widen, “that also means–”

“Your friends are safe and not that far away,” Alice answered, almost giggling.

Fluttershy let out one more sob of emotion before hugging Starlight, the unicorn hugging her back. Hau looked down to Sam, his hands on his hips.

“Good job,” he said to him.

Sam nodded in thanks, but there was something else that kept him from feeling entirely joyful about the good news.

“Starlight,” he said to the unicorn, “that’s your name, right?”

“Yeah,” she responded, before another thought popped in. “Oh my, I’m sorry. I don’t even think we properly introduced ourselves to you. My name is Starlight Glimmer, but you can call me Starlight, and my friend here is Fluttershy. Our kind are called ponies.”

“Hi,” she responded with a small wave of her hoof.

“Yes.” Sam nodded in understanding. “Anyways, just now, you said that you saw the Alola region before you got pulled here and that it was on this ‘Cutie Map?’”

“Listen,” Hau said, “there are probably a lot of questions that need answering, so why don’t we ask and answer back at my place? The ponies can wash up and once we’re all settled, maybe I can offer something to eat.”

“That sounds very nice of you, Hau,” Starlight responded with an obligatorily kind smile, “but we wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Nonsense! You’re our new guests to Alola, and I while you’re here, I want you to feel as safe and at home as possible.”

Fluttershy smiled for the first time since arriving, won over by Hau’s genuine kindness. Starlight huffed, feeling a smirk herself coming on realizing that she would never be able to refuse his offer.

“Thank you very much,” Starlight said, a single tear rolling down her cheek. “You humans are very friendly.”

“It’s certainly not a problem, but we should get moving. It’s already pretty late out and it’s a bit of a walk back to Iki Town.”

“Lead the way,” Alice said with a motion of her arm.

Hau walked back inside the cave, Starlight and Fluttershy trotting close behind. Before Sam walked in with Alice, he took Honedge’s Poké Ball and returned his Pokémon back inside of it.

“You’ll have plenty of time to rest at Hau’s,” he said to the Poké Ball.

“Come on, Sam!” she called out before going in and walking up.

Sam jogged until he was beside her, only a few feet behind Hau and the ponies.

“Now this is how you start an adventure,” she said to him with a wink.

“No kidding,” her brother responded.

The two increased their pace so that they were only behind by a foot.

Chapter 6 – Know You

Hau entered through one of the double doors and held it open from inside, motioning the ponies in with a wave of his other arm.

“Come in,” he said with typical eagerness, “please!”

Starlight and Fluttershy stepped inside, amazed by its size and grandeur. It was built in the manner of a traditional thatched hut, complete with curved, pointed ceiling, but was made out of light brown wood that allowed the room itself to reflect the light coming from the ornate, wooden electric chandelier hung high above in the center.

“The bathroom is the first door to your right. If you want to rinse off the dirt and sand, feel free. I’ll go prepare us some food.”

It wasn’t much longer until Sam and Alice stepped in, also marveling at Hau’s spacious and decorative home.

“Wow, Hau,” Sam said, “this is where you live?”

“Sure do!” He began stepping towards the door to left near the front of the room. “It used to belong to the last Kahuna, and the last Kahuna before him and so on.”

“Cool.” Alice ran her fingers along the smooth, finished walls, appreciating the craftsmanship behind whoever made the house. “That must make you like a king!”

“I don’t tend to think of it like that. I like to consider myself one with the people and Pokémon on the island. Hey, do you like malasada?”

Sam and Alice were caught off-guard by the quick change in topic, but were equally confused by what exactly he said.

“What’s malasada?” Alice asked.

“What’s malasada?!” Hau almost seemed a bit offended by the response. “Hold on, I’ll make you all some!”

Hau slipped inside the door and slammed it shut, clearly excited to make whatever he was talking about. Sam and Alice turned to talk to Starlight and Fluttershy, but they were no longer in the living room. Sam and Alice relaxed themselves once they heard the running water in the bathroom tub.

Sam and Alice walked together to a wood couch at the center of the room, plopping themselves and their backpacks on the plush blue cushions.

“I mean, I’m glad we know her other friends are close.” Sam leaned back and looked directly above at the chandelier, staring directly at one of the lights. “Now we need to know how we plan to find them.”

“They’re probably wandering around, frightened like Starlight and Fluttershy were,” Alice sat up and turned to face her brother, “meaning we should hop on a ferry to the next island and go looking for them.”

“That sounds really noble of you, but there are so many things that we have to consider. Not counting the time it would take to comb out three other islands, two of which are larger than Melemele, by the way, if the other island guardians found them already, do you think we’ll have to fight them to earn their trust?”

“We didn’t even have to fight Tapu Koko.”

“I think we got lucky there, if I’m being honest.” By now, Sam stood from his seat and began pacing around the couch. “And there’s also the possibility that some other trainers found them before that island’s guardian did.”

“Sam.”

“I highly doubt that they’ll just hand them over to us, even if we prove that Starlight and Fluttershy are with us.”

“Sam, I swear to God…”

“Hell, they may want to complete their collection by taking them from us, or best case scenario, they want the honor of returning all the ponies back home!”

“Sam, stop it! You’re being stupid.”

“I’m not being stupid! If something like that happens, we need to be ready to face it!”

“Then we’ll fight if we must,” Alice now stood, stopping her brother in his tracks. “but I don’t want you getting the ponies all worked up because you’re getting worked up!”

Sam and Alice turned their heads to the bathroom door upon hearing the water shutting off. They waited a few moments, waiting for Starlight and Fluttershy to start raising concerns, but only heard the water turn back on, hearing Fluttershy’s humming voice sing out through the walls. Alice turned to Sam, who looked a bit frightened and embarrassed for his outburst.

Alice sighed. “Listen. I can tell that you take protecting them seriously, but worrying about every little thing that may happen won’t help anyone. As a Pokémon trainer, sometimes, and this is unfortunately the case, you’ll find yourself in a situation you never prepared for that you may have to face with the odds against you.”

“But why would I do that to myself?” Sam hissed, ensuring the ponies wouldn’t hear. “Why would I do that to Honedge? Why would I do that to them?”

“Because you may not have a choice, bro! For once, just please take my advice on this! I’ve been around the block longer than you have on this, and from experience, I know that there’s a difference between thinking you’ll win…” She pointed and tapped at her temple, “…and knowing you’ll win.” She made her point by then patting her chest. “Tell me, when you blocked Starlight from Tapu Koko, did you really think that would have stopped it?”

“I…” Sam rubbed his neck. Being put on the spot by his younger sister only made they answer that much harder to spit up. “I honestly didn’t know what I was thinking.”

“Exactly!” This response actually seemed to surprise Sam. “At that moment, you were no longer concerned with whether you’d win or not and cared only about saving her and Fluttershy. Honedge felt the exact same way when he stood up to it. It’s that feeling of putting everything on the line for something you want so badly, and it gets your blood pumping, and those pistons firing, and I guarantee you that will win you more battles than any strategy or plan ever could! You just gotta–”

“Guys?” Alice and Sam turned to see Starlight, a toweled wrapped atop her head, which poked out from behind the bathroom door. “Is everything okay in here?”

“Uh, nothing Starlight!” Sam said with a dismissive wave. “Just getting some very… sage advice from my younger sister.”

Starlight could tell Sam was being facetious, but Sam’s fervor still felt a bit off-putting. “Oookay…” She slunk back inside, closing the door just as slowly.

Alice then turned back to Sam, grabbing this shoulders. “Okay, I’m glad we had this conversation now, but please try not to bring any of that up in front of them, okay? They already have enough on their plate without having to think they’re being hunted after.”

“Okay,” Sam gently pushed his sister’s hands off of her. “I still think there’s going to be a lot more to finding the others than just hopping the islands until we find them all.”

“Well, when Hau gets out of the kitchen and the ponies are done washing up, we’ll all talk about it.”

“Fair enough.”

The two of them plopped back onto the couch. Sam kept his eyes on the kitchen door while Sam eyed the bathroom door, hoping one would come out of either soon.

Starlight and Fluttershy came out from the bathroom and sat on the couch besides Sam and Alice. The hairs in Starlight’s mane and tail appeared a bit frayed from lack of proper grooming, though Fluttershy’s mane and tail looked noticeably better brushed than her friend’s.

Starlight’s side rubbed up against Sam’s forearm, and though, he recoiled a bit, feeling his space invaded, he couldn’t ignore Starlight’s sullen, anxious face. He relaxed back into his spot, the two of them practically leaning into each other, and with his hand just over her upper back, he slowly moved his hand down. Suddenly, she shifted over a few inches, forcing him to keep his hand back to himself.

“Sorry.” Starlight honestly looked a bit embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to not give you any room.”

“No problem,” Sam responded.

Just then, Hau burst in through the door, weaving his way around the room balancing a plate of small fried dough balls dusted in sugar in one hand and holding a jug of milk in the other, with five glasses stacked and hugged in his arm.

“Hau!” Alice turned around and jogged up to him. “Do you need any help?”

“Here.” Hau slowly opened his arm. “Please take those glasses.”

Alice tried grabbing the glasses, only for the bottom glass to fall from the stack and towards the floor, making Hau and Alice gasp. Before it could hit the ground and shatter, a turquoise aura coated it and kept it an inch above the ground, before it, along with the other glasses Alice held flew away from her and towards the table. Sam watched, impressed, as Starlight strained to gently place each cup on the table in front of a seat. Once they were set, Starlight panted, slouched in her spot.

“Nice catch!” Hau continued carrying the plate of malasada and milk to the table. “You have some kind of psychic abilities or something?”

“She claims to use magic,” Alice explained, following Hau. “It sounds pretty unbelievable, I know, but she seems proficient enough in it.”

Hau set the plate and the pitcher onto the middle of the table, taking the two straws from his jacket pocket and putting them in Starlight and Fluttershy’s glasses.

“Does it usually take that much out of you?” Sam asked.

“No.” Starlight seemed a bit mournful answering this. “Ever since we got onto the island, using my magic has been very difficult for me. Where I come from, I’m actually very skilled with it. Catching that glass and bringing the others over is actually one of the easiest things for me to do, but I feel like I just tried lifting this entire house over my head.”

“And where exactly do you come from?” Hau asked as he began pouring milk around the table in the glasses. “Sorry, you drink milk, right?”

“Yes, of course. Thank you.” Hau began pouring her some. “My friend and I come from a land called Equestria. While I assume your world is inhabited mainly by you… humans, ours is inhabited by ponies like Fluttershy and I. We also have dragons, griffons, changelings, and so many other types of creatures.”

“We’ve heard of dragons,” Alice said. “Several Pokémon around the world are Dragon-type. For example…”

Alice grabbed one of her Poké Balls and tossed it in the air above the table. The bright white energy that burst from the ball made Fluttershy squeak with fear and slip underneath the table, while Starlight continued watching with amazement as the light formed into Alice’s Noibat. It landed upon the table and walked cautiously to the malasada pile. Fluttershy pulled herself from under the table and peeked over the edge to watch the tiny bat-like creature sniff out a pastry and pull one from the bottom, smiling in excitement over the treat it would soon consume.

“Oh my goodness!” she inhaled. “It’s adorable!” Fluttershy put both hooves and her face upon the table just inches from Noibat, her foreign appearance surprising it. “Oh, aren’t you just the cutest batty-watty!”

Fluttershy moved her right hoof and began scratching behind its ear with the edge. Whether it be her adorably treble voice or if she had hit the sweet spot on its head, Noibat purred as it leaned itself into the bottom of Fluttershy’s hoof, its wings laying limply on the table. Alice couldn’t resist a giggle as Fluttershy nuzzled the tip of her nose against Noibat’s forehead, which it appeared to like very much.

“You must have one special gift to be in Noibat’s good graces so quickly.” Alice crossed her arms with a sense of pride.

“How did you do that?” Starlight’s mouth was still agape over what she had done. “There should be no way that that bat fit inside that ball you just threw. You seriously can’t tell me that that isn’t magic.”

“It’s not,” Sam said. “Our world’s technology has made it so trainers like my sister and I can carry our Pokémon around safely and efficiently. If you were wondering where my Honedge has been all this time, here you go.”

Sam grabbed his Poké Ball from his belt and tossed it up, releasing Honedge from it. Honedge took an excited look at its new surroundings, before noticing the plate of malasada. Starlight continued to look astounded at it as it lowered itself and picked up one of the doughy balls in its cloth arm.

“Is it even comfortable in there for them?” Starlight continued questioning. “They aren’t hurt when they go back, do they?”

“Absolutely not,” Sam answered. “When a Pokémon is inside a Poké Ball, it’s converted into energy, and the inside of the Poké Ball is designed so that it replicates an environment that the Pokémon feels safe in.”

I don’t know. It just seems very… coercive.”

“Trust me…” Alice replied as she took out her other Poké Ballf from her belt, “it’s not.” She then lobbed the ball up, the energy popping out from it forming into her Pikachu.

“Wow!” Hau exclaimed, his eyes on the yellow rodent as it joined Honedge at the table. “Did you catch him today?”

“I did. He seemed confused when I took him out for the first time, but a couple of pets and Pokébeans later, and he practically melted in my arms.”

“I remember my Pikachu…”

“And by ‘catch,’” Starlight continued, “do you mean that they were once wild and you put them in those Poké Balls?”

“I don’t really see any difference between that and domesticating a pet,” Fluttershy responded, standing up with Noibat perched atop its head. “Besides, these Poké Balls sound rather safe.”

Alice blew a short whistle from her lips. Noibat flicked the malasada crumbs off of its face with the claws on the end of its wings and flew from Fluttershy’s head onto Alice’s shoulder. “Like Sam said, they’re mainly for easier transport, but they are indeed safe, plus my buddies get to stay with me all the time.”

Alice directed a wink and cock of her head to her Noibat, who nuzzled into the locks of her hair, letting out a purring whine from its mouth. Starlight couldn’t help but smile at the two of them together, the love between them clear as day.

“Hey!” Hau’s sudden shift in volume surprised Starlight and Fluttershy. “I made all these malasada. Don’t be shy. Have some before I decide to eat them all!”

Alice and Sam reached for the plate, Sam grabbing two. Noibat flew from Alice’s shoulder and swooped a pastry in its feet, flying just above Fluttershy, letting out a warbling chirp as it swung the treat in front of her.

“Oh, is that for me?” Fluttershy asked it. “Thank you!” Fluttershy took the malasada in her mouth and took half of it in a single bite. Her eyes widened at the taste of it, and she breathed in hard. “Hau, this is delicious. You really made these yourself?”

“It was no trouble, really…” Hau grinned as he put his arms behind his back.

Sam sat down next to Starlight, handing her one of his two malasada. “Did you want one?”

“Oh, thanks!” Starlight held it in her hooves and took a bite, similarly blown away by the taste. “Oh, wow. This is really good.”

Sam took a bite, chuckling as he savored the flavor. “These are perfect. What’s in that cream filling you have there? Cardamom?”

“Great palate, Sam! I also sprinkled just a bit with the sugar coating too.”

Alice kept hold of her malasada, watching contently as Starlight and Fluttershy smiled as the night went on, all thanks to Hau, Sam, and their Pokémon. She took a bite of hers, smiling just a bit wider.

By now, the malasada were all gone, and there was only enough milk in the pitcher for one more person to refill their glass. The energy among the ponies, Pokémon, and humans had died down, but they were all relaxed and comfortable, ready to discuss their next course of action.

Starlight was first to speak. “So, how do we find our other friends?”

“Well, I suggested just going to the other islands and looking, but Sam had other ideas.” Alice turned to Sam, waiting for him to clarify.

Despite the stares he received all-around, Sam appeared confident. “I have to imagine the trainers and Pokémon on the other islands are very strong. I don’t think it would be the best idea to run onto the next island unprepared for what will lie ahead. I shouldn’t expect Fluttershy to fight on our behalf…” Fluttershy reinforced this with a quick shaking of her head. “…and Starlight’s magic is still very weak.”

“We can wait and see how it is in the morning,” Starlight added.

“That’s fine, but I don’t want you two to do all the heavy lifting. Alice and I should be getting stronger too, and I don’t think we should go to the other islands quite yet.”

“And what do you think we should do in the meantime?” Alice sounded quite peeved in her response.

“I’m sorry,” Hau said, “but I have to agree with your brother on this one. I’ve never seen you two in battle yet, so I can’t speak on your training experience, but it would not be a bad idea to train some before you go on to the other island.”

“Okay. And how should we train then?”

“Well,” Sam said with a shrug, her eyes on Alice the whole time, “I was thinking we do what we originally came here to do. Take the Island Challenge.” Alice sat straighter, having earned her attention. “I mean, we’ll have to travel throughout the island anyway, so why not get our Pokémon stronger in the first place?”

“Not to mention,” Hau butted in, “without the proper stamps in your Trainer’s Passport, riding the ferry can get very expensive. It’s free if you prove you beat the island’s grand trial. Also, there are certain parts of the islands you can’t access unless you go in for your trial. You shouldn’t want to leave any stones unturned.”

“Huh…” Alice actually seemed to be stumped for once.

“Excuse me.” Fluttershy raised her hand. “What do you mean by ‘battle?’”

“Pokémon get stronger through Pokémon battles,” Hau explained eagerly. “If you’re nervous that battling entails hurting or even killing Pokémon, you shouldn’t. Pokémon are very competitive creatures by nature, and battling with other Pokémon is one of the best ways for them to get stronger.”

“I’m still not sure that sounds very nice…”

“You don’t have to worry about it, really.” Sam’s confident answer seemed a bit surprising to her, especially with him standing up to face his sister, his Honedge following quickly after. “In fact, Alice, do you want to have a quickie outside? Show them how it’s done?”

Alice was a bit thrown off by the request, but her Noibat and Pikachu looked excited and ready to accept his challenge.

“Now, guys!” Hau laughed. “As happy as I am to see you so geared up and ready to go, you and your Pokémon shouldn’t get so worked up before bed. It’s already very late as it is, and you have a busy day ahead of you. You should consider getting to bed.”

“Oh, true that!” Alice shot off the couch, and grabbed the pitcher of milk. “Sam will still probably wake up at five tomorrow, won’t you?”

“Yeah, probably…” Sam smiled in his response, earning a chuckle from her sister before she poured the rest of the milk from the pitcher into her mouth. “At least let me wash the dishes. I still feel like I got off easy from lunch today.”

“If you want,” Hau replied with a shrug, standing up as well. “Come on, Starlight, Fluttershy. I’ll show you to the bedroom.”

As Hau took the ponies into a room on the right near the back, Sam took the empty plate from the table and went to the kitchen with Alice, their Pokémon tagging along.

Fluttershy and Alice were both passed out on their beds, which were set across from each other, lit amply by the blue moonlight that shone through the window wall behind them. Her Pikachu was curled up against the thigh of her shorts while Noibat laid spread out on her white shirt, the four of them sleeping soundly.

Starlight curled up onto her mattress and laid her head down on her pillow. Her horn glowed as the covers folded at the other end glowed the same color. With a grunt, Starlight’s magic pulled them just a few inches over her back hooves.

“Here, let me help with that.” Sam walked over to Starlight’s bed, and pulled the covers completely over her save for her head, making Starlight frown forlornly.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she mumbled. “…But thank you.”

“Again, not a problem. Maybe a good night’s sleep will help you regain your magic, and you won’t need my help.”

“I can only hope. Goodnight, Sam.”

“Goodnight, Starlight.”

Sam stepped backwards as he watched Starlight hug the covers into herself. He turned around to see Honedge lying on at the edge of Sam’s bed, tucked away in its sheath. Getting in on the opposite side, he slipped under his covers and turned himself around to face his Pokémon. Gently slipping his hand underneath Honedge and flipping the covers up, he set it back on the mattress and folded the covers back over it without disturbing its sleep.

“And goodnight, Honedge,” he whispered.

He turned over onto his stomach and supported his head with his hand under his pillow. With the seven of them all asleep, the large shadow of Tapu Koko outside was able to slink out from the corner of its vision and spy on the humans and ponies, staying there for quite some time.

Hau, dressed in only his black shirt and a pair of orange board shorts, settled himself on the couch, laying on his back with two fluffy pillows under his head. As he snuggled in and prepared to close his eyes, a bright light went past the large, tall window in the back of the room, alerting him up. He seemed to know what this meant, as he got out of bed and walked to the front door.

Stepping outside, slowly opening and closing the door to mute the creak, he looked up to see Tapu Koko hovering five feet out and above him, looking down at him expectantly.

Gladion and his Charizard swooped through the Vast Poni Canyon, landing near a large, dead tree that stood before a cavern entrance. Once the draconic Pokémon’s feet were set, Gladion hopped off and grabbed its Poké Ball from his Ride Pager.

“Thanks, Charizard,” he whispered, aiming the ball at it.

The Charizard purred as it was brought back into the Poké Ball, leaving Gladion alone. Pulling two Poké Balls from his belt, he lobbed them in the air, bringing out his Crobat, along with a creature that resembled a blue and black bipedal jackal with a furry beige chest.

“Lucario,” he said to the jackal creature, “is there anything here?”

The Lucario set its feet back in a lunging pose and touched the spike in its chest with its paw, the four black appendages on the sides of its head rising as it sensed around the area. It slowly turned its head to the left, clearly sensing something. The appendages settled back down and it stood straight, walking forward to the south. Gladion and Crobat followed close-by.

“Again, be careful,” he continued instructing. “If you find anything, try and immobilize them first.”

From high up in the canyon walls, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie crept out of a small hole and crawled out to the edge, getting a better look at the human and his two mysterious creatures.

“You think they’re looking for us?” Pinkie Pie’s question was quickly responded to with a grabbing of her head from Rainbow Dash’s arms.

“If he is, you need to be more quiet!” she hissed. She then let go of the pink pony’s head, allowing her to breath and get back to her safe and comfortable vantage. “It’s okay, though. I don’t think he can find us all the way up here. Even if he could, there’s no way he can beat my speed.”

On the ground, Lucario continued leading Gladion and Crobat towards the end of the canyon, Lucario’s eyes glancing to the top of the canyon where he found the two faint, unfamiliar shapes he had seen before. Before even Gladion could react, Lucario’s head-appendages shot out to the sides and brought its arms in to the right of its waist, a blue ball of energy forming in its paws.

Within the same split second, Lucario continued winding to the right, the aura sphere following beneath its right paw before it threw it out at Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie’s spot with sheer speed. Rainbow Dash’s eyes could only widen as the blue energy ball struck the canyon wall just beneath them, sending them both flying into the air with a thick cloud of dust surrounding them. Both of them slid down the wall back to the floor, the both of them coughing the loose dirt they had inhaled.

“Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie Pie asked. “I think they found us.”

“No, really?” Rainbow Dash’s sarcasm was heightened by the residual amazement she felt at being upended the way they did. “Hold on…”

With a flapping of her wings, Rainbow Dash cleared the air, but both of them screamed and leaped back to see Gladion there before them, his Crobat flying behind.

“Wha…” Rainbow Dash stammered. “What in the hay are you?”

“So, you speak the same language I do.” Gladion did not seem the least bit impressed by this. “If that’s the case, I’d like to ask the two of you to come with me back to Aether Paradise.”

“Why should I trust you?”

“The same reason I’m trusting you to come with me. We can get a better idea of what you are, where you come from, and why you’re here.”

“You first, pal.”

“No, me first!” Pinkie Pie jumped in. “Me first! My name’s Pink–”

Her voice was cut off once again by Rainbow Dash’s constricting arms. “Don’t tell him anything.”

“Please, forgive me for such a… violent introduction. I promise not to harm you anymore if you agree to follow me back to Aether Paradise. We’ll even allow you to help find the others that landed on the other islands.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened and her mouth came open a bit, but she suddenly smirked, knowing all that she needed to now. “I think we’ll take our chances.”

With a beat of her wings, she blew dust and dirt at Gladion and Crobat, forcing them to shield their eyes. Crobat’s wings blew away the small cloud, leaving it and Gladion astounded that they were now both gone, virtually no trace for them minus the chunk of canyon Lucario’s attack left behind. He grunted as he grabbed hold of Crobat’s body, gliding with it back down to the ground where Lucario waited.

“Lucario,” he shouted, “where did they go?”

Lucario positioned itself to sense them, its appendages rising. After a few moments, it jerked its head around, clearly unable to find them. Standing straight and facing its trainer, Lucario could only shake its head.

Gladion sighed and petted its head between its ears. “You did well, Lucario. Thank you.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wireless white earbud with a black tip on the end. Clicking a small button on it, he began walking back south with his two Pokémon following him.

“Mother…” he said. “I found two of them… No, they had escaped… I don’t know, not even Lucario could track them. One of them was pink… the other was blue, and apparently very fast…”

Chapter 7 – Battle and Breakfast

Sam felt a light slapping on his forehead, causing him to stir. Opening his eyes and expecting to see a dark room, he was mildly surprised to see bright sunlight streaming through the window behind him and his bed. The next thing he noticed was Honedge tapping his head with its scabbard. Sam smiled and put his hand on his forehead before his Pokémon could get another in. Honedge floated off to the side as Sam sat up in his bed, savoring the feeling of being fully rested. Looking around, the other three beds were empty, making him chuckle a little.

“Come on.” Sam spun to the side and made his way to the door. “Let’s hope Alice decided not to leave without us.”

Sam opened the bedroom door and expected to see Alice fully dressed with the ponies waiting in the living room, but was once again nonplussed to find that it too was empty. As he thought where they could be, Sam heard a faint sizzling sound coming from behind the kitchen door. Sam walked up to it and opened the door, his Honedge peering over his head.

Inside was Hau in his Kahuna attire at the stove, four small pancakes cooking on a large cast-iron skillet. Frying in the two pans on the left burners were five eggs and two pieces of toast, the rich, buttery scent wafting around the room. Sam continued scanning the room to. find Alice sitting across from Fluttershy and Starlight at the dining area table. Tall glasses, coffee mugs, and plates, napkins, and silverware were already placed in front of them with a pitcher of juice on the table’s center, a glass bottle of syrup, a mound of butter sitting in a dish, and salt and pepper grinders beside it.

Alice smirked deviously as she noticed her brother stepping further inside. “Well, well, good morning, Sleeping Beauty.”

Sam simply waved to her as he quickened his pace to take his spot at the table, the ponies taking notice of her.

“Sam, good morning!” chirped Fluttershy. “You must have slept very well!”

“The best I’ve had in a long time,” Sam said. “Must be the Alolan weather.”

“Yes, good morning, Sam!” Hau flipped the pancakes, eggs, and toast with gusto, one after the other. “Sorry for having your Honedge wake you, but I didn’t want you to miss breakfast.”

“No, I thank you! Probably would have slept in all day if it weren’t for you.”

“I also poured you a coffee just a while ago. Black with sugar, right?”

After giving her a thankful nod, Sam sat down next to his sister, still feeling as though the room was empty. “Hey, where’s your Pokémon?”

“In the bathroom taking a bath.” Alice took a sip of her coffee. “Our Pokémon already ate, so don’t worry about feeding them.”

Sam took a sip of his own coffee, smiling that it was still quite hot. “Alright.”

Hau scooped up the four eggs from one of the pans with a spatula and put them on a plate. He then stacked up the pancakes and put them on a plate where six other pancakes sat. After scooping and stacking the toast from the last pan and putting it on another plate with three other pieces, he turned the oven off and grabbed all three pans by the handles with his gloved hands, placing them in the sink.

Flinging the gloves off his hands to the counter, he then took the toast and egg plates in his left hand and the pancakes in his right, practically gliding to the table where he set all the food down before his spot at the end of table.

“Plenty of food for everyone!” Hau began passing plates over to Alice, who took her equal share and arranged her pancakes, egg, and toast on her plate.

Sam did the same once the food came to him. As he was about to pass a plate to Fluttershy, all three dishes levitated towards the ponies, covered in a turquoise light. In a synchronized motion, the remaining pancakes, eggs, and pieces of toast came off the plates and landed in a neat arrangement on Fluttershy, Starlight, and Hau’s plates. Starlight then concentrated to stack the now empty plates and place them on the table in front of her.

“Thank you, Starlight,” said Fluttershy with a bow.

“Hey!” Sam exclaimed. “Your magic came back!”

“Starlight helped me set the table while I was cooking.” Hau gently patted her shoulder. “She’s a real help, she is. Now that we’re served…” Hau put his palms together and bowed over his plate. “Thank you for the meal!”

Alice and Sam, understanding the custom, also put their hands together and bowed. “Thank you for the meal!”

It took a bit longer for the ponies to catch on, but they put the bases of her hooves together and bowed. “Thank you for… the meal.”

As Sam began slathering his pancakes with a generous helping of butter, he watched as Starlight poked through her egg’s runny yolk with her toast and took a bit, smiling with closed eyes as she savored the taste.

“Once again, Hau,” she said, “everything’s delicious.”

“Mm, good.” Hau’s face was already stuffed with pancake.

“Pardon me for asking, but ponies actually eat eggs?” Sam made eye-contact as he drizzled his pancakes with syrup.

“Yes, we do,” answered Fluttershy. “Alice and I actually had an interesting talk about our diets while you were sleeping.”

“Oh…” Sam suddenly looked a bit uneasy, unsure if some of the details shared between them were a bit unsavory.

“If you’re worried about Starlight and I knowing if humans eat meat, you shouldn’t be. I fully understand that every animal requires certain foods for their diets, and humans are no different. Even a chicken’s egg has a lot of proteins that ponies thrive on.” Sam’s uneasy stare softened as Fluttershy’s words sunk in. “Now please, eat. I’m sure Hau would hate for your breakfast to get cold.”

“Uh… right.”

As Sam picked his egg up with his fork and put it upon his toast, he watched as Fluttershy thoroughly enjoyed her egg. Sam found it a bit easier to cut a piece of egg and toast with his knife and eat the yellow drippy bite.

Alice was dressed and packed, sitting at the couch staring at the bathroom door, her washed and dressed brother the only thing separating them from heading to the first trial site. She checked the time on her Pokédex, grunting to see that it was already quarter to 10.

“This is the last time I give you crap for not sleeping in,” she sighed.

The door finally opened, and Sam was fully dressed and equipped, taking a towel to his hair and then hanging it on the corner of the door. Alice bolted off the chair and stood beside her brother.

“Finally.” Alice gave a final stretch of her arms and hips. “Shall we get a move on?”

“After you.”

As the two of them stepped to the door, Hau came out from the kitchen, quickly blocking the door. “Hey, hold up there guys! There’s something I need to give you before you go off.” Alice and Sam couldn’t possibly know what it could be, so they stood still and silently. “You met Tapu Koko last night, and he let you take the ponies with you. He met with me last night, and it seems he wants to officially grant you his blessing.” He then placed both hands into his jacket pockets, Sam and Alice looking excited as to what might be inside. “It took me a bit of time last night to get these ready before you left this morning, but better now than later.”

Hau finally grabbed the contents in his jacket, the armbands wrapping around his hands, but upon opening his them up, Alice and Sam’s eyes glowed brightly as if they were 10 years old again on Christmas morning. Two Z-Rings, looking exactly like the one Hau wore on his wrist, rested on Hau’s palms.

“No way,” Alice whispered in his shock. “A Z-Ring. These are ours?”

“Absolutely! Please, put them on!”

Sam and Alice, still reeling, slowly and gently took one from his hand, slipping it over the fingers, through the hand, and allowing it to snugly stay on the left wrist. Hau smiled warmly watching the two of them feel and fondle their gifts.

“Hau…” Sam’s voice could only elicit mild gasps. “I don’t know what to say!”

“You shouldn’t need to say anything. Now that you have your very own Z-Rings, you can now tackle the Island Trials properly.”

“Wow, just…” Alice herself was close to tears. “Thank you so very much, Hau!”

“Aw, shucks, don’t thank me!” Hau leaned to the side and put his hands over and behind his back, a wide toothy grin on his face. “Tapu Koko gave me the Sparkling Stones to make them, and he certainly wanted you to have them.”

Alice couldn’t help herself. With a single leap, she wrapped her arms around Hau’s back over his shoulders, nearly throwing him off balance.

“I’m still thanking you!” she laughed. “Oh my god, I have a Z-Ring! WOO!”

Starlight and Fluttershy came out from the bedroom, approaching the three humans.

“What’s going on out here,” Starlight asked.

“Well,” Sam boasted, holding his left wrist up, “if you thought Tapu Koko was bad then, you should see what he gave us!”

“So, that’s a Z-Ring?” asked Fluttershy. “What does it do.”

Alice had let go of Hau, allowing him to step up to the ponies and address them. “A Z-Ring is a special bracelet that allows its user and their Pokémon to activate their Z-Power and use Z-Moves.”

“Umm, sorry, but–”

“Right, right, my apologies! Z-Power is channeled through the Z-Ring through use of a Z-Crystal, which trainers receive as a token of victory after they’ve defeated a trial. The trainer’s Pokémon then unleash that Z-Power to use Z-Moves, which are super powerful moves that require the full energy of both the trainer and their Pokémon. You can only use one Z-Move per battle, and even then, it takes a lot out of you, so as you continue going on your journey, ensure you use your Z-Moves wisely.”

“Thank you, Hau.” Sam turned to the Kahuna and nodded to him. “We should get going soon.”

“Yes, of course! Have fun out– Oh! Hold on, I forgot something!”

Hau rushed back into the kitchen as Starlight and Fluttershy came forwards.

“So,” Starlight said, full of vigor, “where are we headed?”

“We?” Sam asked. “You’re coming with too?”

“What else would we be doing? Staying here and twiddling our hooves?”

“Well, I figured you and Fluttershy would stay here while the whole mess with the wormholes blows over. Plus, I’m certain your other friends aren’t on this island, so it’s not like you’d need to help us with anything.”

“No, but I figured if we’re stuck here in the world, we could at least see it in its fullest with you.”

“Plus,” Fluttershy added, “if there are more of these Pokémon like yours out there, I’d most definitely like to see them.”

“Sure!” Sam clearly understood Alice by the loudness of her voice. “That sounds like a great idea! Doesn’t it, Sam?”

“Uh, yeah, the more, the merrier!”

Hau came from the kitchen with two quartered sandwiches in plastic bags. “I made you some egg salad for lunch!” Hau tossed both bags to Alice and Sam, and they both caught them, putting them in their bags. “I couldn’t help but overhear Starlight and Fluttershy wanting to come with, so I divvied up the sandwiches for you to share.”

“Thank you again, Hau.” Alice said. “We really should get going now. If we do this right, we should be back in Iki Town before sundown.”

“Very nice. I hope you’ll have enough energy to face me in the Grand Trial.”

“We look forward to nothing else. Come on, let’s get going!”

Alice led the way and opened the door outside, the other three following her.

“Bye, Hau!” Fluttershy called.

“See ya’!” Sam spoke.

“Goodbye!” exclaimed Starlight.

Hau took in a deep breath and continued smiling. His exhale was deafening now that he was alone again. “Good bunch of kids,” he said to himself before retiring back to the kitchen.

Sam and Alice walked ahead through the canyon pass of Route 3, keeping an eye out for any trainers or Pokémon they may encounter along the way.

“Hmm.” Starlight’s voice was quiet and cautious. “The area’s not as populated as I thought.”

“You don’t think we’re scaring all the animals away, do you?” asked Fluttershy.

“With that voice?” Alice replied. “Not a chance. Even then, the fact we haven’t seen a wild Pokémon or a trainer is really weird.”

“Perhaps its for the best,” Sam said. “We want our Pokémon to be in their fittest shape for the trial.”

“I mean,” Alice said, “we should have at least one battle before the trial.”

“That seems fair, but we don’t want to tire out our Pokémon too much before then, especially if we want to face Hau too.”

“We have some time until we get there. Maybe you can find yourself a second Pokémon to add to your team too.”

Just then, a brown puppy much like the one Kukui had in his lab sped around a corner from the end of the canyon pass and stood defiantly in the middle, barking at them with a confident grin on its face. The loud, sharp cries and the echo through the canyon scared Fluttershy, making her leap up and behind her friends. Soon following the Pokémon out was a male trainer with cocoa skin and sandy-brown hair wearing a blue jacket with a wide, stiff collar and matching athletic shorts and strap-on running shoes.

“Sorry, about my Rockruff,” he said, kneeling down to gently hold it still and keep it quiet. “He likes to jump out in front of people and…”

His words trailed off as he looked to who he was talking to, meeting the eyes of Starlight and Fluttershy. Feeling his knees weaken, he sat on the ground and continued staring at the ponies.

“Wow,” he managed to get out, “what kind of Pokémon are those?”

“We’re not Pokémon.” Starlight stepped forward with her remark, causing the trainer to gasp. “We’re just trying to find our other friends.”

“Not Pokémon?” the trainer seemed quite perplexed with the words, as if they were in some foreign language. “But… that means… you were the ones that came from the wormhole!”

“That’s right,” Alice said, “and we’re trying to complete our Island Trials so we can get to the other islands to find them. Now, please let us on our way, unless…”

“…unless I want to challenge you to a battle? Looks like you guessed right.” The trainer got to his feet, feeling suddenly invigorated. “Who wants to go first? In fact, why don’t I take the both of you on together?”

“You really think that’s a good idea?”

“I don’t think of bad ideas. Yes, you and your friend, I’d like to see what the both of you got.”

“Uh…” Sam awkwardly stepped forward with an introductory wave. “I’m actually her brother, so–”

“Okay, then. Brother and sister bonding. I like it. Might I have your names before we begin?”

“Oh, uh, well, I’m Sam, and this is–”

“Alice,” she finished for him. “I have to thank you in advance for this fight. Our Pokémon would probably like to sharpen their claws before the Island Challenge.”

“Hohh,” sighed Fluttershy. “If only Pinkie Pie were here. She’d probably say something like, ‘Oooh, Alice with the sick lines,’ or ‘Wow, she so bad…’”

“Come on!” cheered Starlight. “You can do this!”

“Alright,” the trainer said, “my name is Makana, and you may want to remember that when I reach the top. Let’s go, Rockruff!”

The puppy yipped in excitement and juked itself around Makana’s legs and stood before him, ready to charge. He then took out another Poké Ball from his waist and threw it out beside his Rockruff.

“Come on out, Slowpoke!”

The ball opened up, and forming from the bright energy and standing on the ground was a pink, quadripedal creature with a big, long tail, vacant, pencil-thin eyes, and a fat, tan muzzle. Fluttershy looked at both of them with wonderment.

“Wow!” She was positively gushing. “Look at them!”

“Here,” Sam said, “if you want to learn about them.” Pulling out his Pokédex, he held the center screen over both Pokemon to scan them.

“Rockruff,” a robotic tenor voice sounded from the device, “the Puppy Pokémon. It's considered to be a good Pokémon for beginners because of its friendliness, but its disposition grows rougher as it grows up. Slowpoke, the Dopey Pokémon. It is always vacantly lost in thought, but no one knows what it is thinking about. It is good at fishing with its tail.”

“Amazing…” Fluttershy’s elation had not stopped.

“Interesting team,” commented Alice as she and her brother took a Poké Ball from their belts. “Go, Noibat!”

“Honedge, let’s do this!”

Upon throwing their balls, both Pokémon left and formed from them at the same time, staring down their opponents.

“Oh, neat!” Makana exclaimed. “You guys are from Kalos! This battle just got way more interesting.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet. Ready, Honedge?” Sam held out his arm with his hand stretched open, and with a clasp of his hand, Honedge floated still and straight, impressing Makana with a widening of his eyes.

“Alright, Honedge, use Shadow Sneak on the Slowpoke!”

At once, Sam reeled his arm and threw a punch toward the ground, Honedge following the movements perfectly as it swung to the ground in response. A black shadow beneath Honedge slithered across the ground right at Slowpoke. Once the shadow came beneath it, the shadow erupted from the ground and struck its target.

Sam kept his arm out to the side, Honedge at the same angle as the side of his fist. He watched as the Slowpoke swooned around and plopped onto its belly, panting as it struggled to get up.

“Oh!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “It isn’t hurt, is it?”

“Not too bad,” Makana responded. “Pokémon are pretty durable in battle, but they can tire out easily if hit with enough attacks.” He then smirked. “Rockruff, use Bite on his Honedge!”

With a bark, the small dog charged at Honedge, its teeth bared. Sam crossed his right arm over his left with a shout, prompting Honedge to form a defensive stance with his blade and scabbard in the form of an X. The Rockruff came beneath Honedge and leapt up, it’s teeth biting the center of cross from the bottom, making Honedge wince and emit a low-pitched whine.

“Quick!” Alice shouted. “Noibat, before Slowpoke attacks, use your Bite on it!”

With a few flaps in the air, Noibat gained altitude before swooping down and soaring in a beeline at the Slowpoke. Without a break in its speed, Noibat opened its maw and bit down on its shoulder, the force tackling them both to the ground. With the Slowpoke on its stomach, motionless, Noibat hopped off of it and flew back towards Alice.

“Pull…” Sam grunted, slowly easing his right arm off his left.

With a concerted squint, Honedge separated the blade from the sheath, slowly pulling the puppy’s bite apart, though its jaws still held tight. Sam then flicked his wrists in while pushing out with his arms, and Honedge rotated itself and flung the Rockruff off.

“Wow!” Starlight whooped. “Nicely done!”

As Rockruff, ran back to rejoin Makana, he pulled out Slowpoke’s Poké Ball and returned it inside.

“Thanks, man,” he whispered with sincerity.

“It will be okay, right?” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh, yeah. A revive and a super potion, and he’ll be right as rain in no time.”

“Potion?” Starlight asked. “Sam, Alice, are you sure that there isn’t magic in this world?”

“Magic?” Makana asked. “What is she talking about?”

“It’s a very long story,” Alice said. “Now, is your Rockruff all that’s left?”

“It is. Although, I don’t think your brother’s Honedge will surive another Bite.”

“Try us,” Sam said, to which Honedge responded with a threatening slash of its blade. Alice looked to her brother and smiled, glad to see her talk the previous night hadn’t gone to waste. “Okay, hit him with another Shadow Sneak!”

Sam punched the air below him and Honedge thrust itself to the ground, its shadow snaking itself out at the Rockruff and striking it from below once the shadow reached it. Rockruff went slightly airborne and rolled back to its paws upon hitting the ground.

“Let’s see if he’s right,” Makana said to himself. “Rockruff, give his Honedge another Bite!”

Rockruff bolted at Honedge, and Sam positioned himself defensively again, leading Honedge to assume its X-formation. Rockruff bit down hard again, and Honedge’s grunts of pain sounded more desperated, but it continued holding on. Alice and Sam looked to each other, Alice jerking her head up and back.

“Noibat,” she called, “get under Honedge.” As Noibat flew back around and between Sam and his Pokémon, Sam moved his arms up, and with another strained grumble, Honedge rasied itself up, taking Rockruff up so that its back paws were just barely touching the ground. “Now, use Aerial Ace!”

With a push off the ground, Noibat drove the bar of its right wing into Rockruff’s belly, pushing it off Honedge and sending it back with a yelp.

“Rockruff!” Makana shouted.

“Oh, wow!” Fluttershy spoke out.

The small dog rolled out along the ground, laying on its side upon stopping. However, it found the strength to get itself back up. Alice and Sam scoffed in disappointment.

“Alright!” Makana then pulled a red, plastic card from his pocket. “You’re the only one with another Pokémon with them, so send it out.”

“Wait,” Starlight said, looking around the battlefield, “what’s happening?”

“A Red Card,” Alice answered, pulling out Noibat’s ball from her belt. “Means I have to switch out my Pokémon when I hit him with a physical attack. You did great, Noibat!”

As it was brought back into its Poké Ball, Noibat squeaked happily. Returning her Pokémon’s ball to her belt, she took Pikachu’s ball and threw it out.

“It’s all you now, Pikachu!” she shouted, the energy that popped from the Poké Ball forming into the yellow rodent.

Makana smiled as her Pokémon squealed in anticipation. He then looked up at Honedge, who looked battered and spent, but still appeared resolute in finishing the battle.

“I’m truly impressed,” he said. “Your Honedge still stands. Now I’m certain he won’t last another attack.”

“That’s if your Pokémon outlasts ours,” Sam chuckled.

“What?”

“Pikachu!” shouted Alice. “Quick Attack, now!”

With breakneck speeds, the Pikachu’s motions were just a zigzag shaped blur that formed straight at the Rockruff, Pikachu striking it against its head upon contact.

“Let’s do it, Honedge!” Sam called. “Finish him with one last Shadow Sneak!”

Honedge thrust itself down once again along with Sam’s arm as its shadow moved out along the ground toward Rockruff, who was still down from the last attack, before it could get back up, the shadow struck Rockruff and sent it back to Makana’s feet, where it laid still on its back.

“Good going, brother,” Alice said, holding her left fist out.

“Nice teamwork, there,” he responded, bumping her fist with his right.

“So,” Starlight said, “that was a Pokémon battle…”

Makana picked up his pooch and cradled it in his right arm, placing a diamond-shaped object on its tongue, which melted on contact. Almost immediately, the Rockruff stirred out of unconsciousness and yipped happily at Sam, Alice and their Pokémon.

“Hmhmhm,” Makana giggled. “It seems Rockruff is thanking you two for a great battle.”

“Yes,” Alice said, “that actually got intense.”

“If you want, there’s a Pokémon Center at the bottom of the hill when you keep going. You can rest your Pokémon there before you take Ilima’s challenge.”

“We plan to,” Sam said, pulling out Honedge’s Poké Ball. “Honedge, amazing work out, buddy.”

Honedge’s closed hilt eye implied joy as it was returned inside the ball. Alice too returned her Pikachu into its ball.

“You also keep those… er…”

“Ponies,” Starlight answered for him. “We’re called ponies.”

“Right. You two keep those ponies safe. I hope you find the others.”

“Thanks again, Makana,” Alice replied, making her way toward him. “See ya’ later.”

Sam and the ponies followed her and passed Makana, who watched them both as they both turned the bend and disappeared behind the side of the mountain. Makana was alerted to a slight whimper from Rockruff, and he set it down for it to stand on its feet.

“Quite a strong bunch, huh?” he asked it, getting a sharp, but happy bark in reply. “Come on. Let’s see if we can get even stronger.”

The Rockruff barked again as it received a tender pet down its back. The two of them then walked down the hill in the direction of Iki Town, Rockruff bounding excitedly as they went.

Chapter 8 – Trials

Gladion was awoken by a slight kick in the right side of his butt. He looked up and saw a bulky and short young woman wearing a snug, khaki body-suit with a purple bonnet, two long black puffy pigtails draping out from the front. Readjusting to his surroundings, he found himself surrounded by rectangular clay houses lined with ruined short clay walls.

“Hapu,” he groggily moaned in acknowledgement, pulling himself up to his feet.

“You’re the last person I’d expect to find sleeping along the side of my house,” she said, her voice rough like sandpaper, but still young and full of energy. “Is this about the wormholes?”

“Yeah. It looks like two creatures came from the one that appeared above Poni–”

“Wait, you saw them!?”

Gladion nodded. “Hiding up in the canyon area. At least they were when I found them, but they got away before I could ask them to come back to Aether Paradise with me.”

“Hold up, hold up. You asked them? Like you thought they would understand you?”

“I did, because they speak and understand the same language that we do.”

Hapu ran her gloved hand over the top of her hair, pulling the bonnet down around her neck before she readjusted it. “How did you find them? I was alerted by Tapu Fini about an hour after the wormhole appeared and even we had trouble locating them.”

“My Lucario’s aura sensing found them. I asked them to help me find the others on the other islands, but one of them distracted me with a Sand-Attack and flew away with the other.”

“So they have wings?”

“Only one of them. She had a bright blue coat and a mane and tail that was color-striped like a rainbow. Dead serious.”

“Like a horse?”

“Yeah, exactly like a horse, though smaller, like a pony. The other one was just… pink.”

“That’s not entirely helpful…”

“Trust me, if you see them, you’ll know.”

“Where do you think they went?”

“It’s a bit hard to say. I may have scared them to the point that they’re both hiding deep in a cave on Poni Island…” he then looked out to the eastern sea. “…however, if I were them, and I was as fast as the blue one was, I’d probably find someplace else to lay low…”

“You mean like…”

“Sorry, Hapu, I need to go.” Gladion stepped away from her a few paces. “If they are still on Poni Island, be careful while looking.”

“I will. Where are you headed first?”

“I’m just going east and working my way over.”

“Good luck to you then.”

“Same.”

Pulling out his Ride Pager, he brought out a metal Poké Ball, and from it, he summoned the Charizard. It crouched down to allow Gladion to easily climb aboard. As the dragon stood up and prepared for flight, Gladion and Hapu shared a last nod just as Charizard squatted and leapt up with its wings beating, sending it and Gladion into the air.

Before the Charizard could level off and fly east, Hapu took out a Poké Ball from her belt and tossed it out, the energy forming into a large brown horse with large, red forelegs, its black mane dreadlocked on the sides while the center was styled in a stiff Mohawk. The horse knelt down on its front legs, allowing Hapu to grab two of its dreads. With a leap, the horse yanked Hapu up and she landed squarely upon its back. Grabbing a firm hold on its shoulder plates, the horse whinnied and galloped off toward the eastern side of the island.

Alice and Sam stood behind the railing on the platform of the Route 2 Pokémon Center, eating their sandwich halves with the ponies sitting on a bench to their right, also enjoying their lunch. Sam and Alice kept their sights on the Verdant Cavern entrance where the trial posts on the sides of the paths beckoned them. Alice noticed as Sam scarfed his last two bites of sandwich at once, leaving barely enough room to chew.

“Sam, come on,” Alice moaned, “slow down. We’re not at home anymore.”

“Wuuww,” Sam said, his voice muffled. It took him a few seconds to swallow enough to sound more legible. “We’re just a few yards away from our first trial, and you, of all people, want me to slow down?”

“Fair enough, but still, we’re not going in there until I’ve finished my sandwich.”

“Grrreat.”

Neither the ponies nor humans bothered to acknowledge the door to the Pokémon center opening, but after several moments, a voice caught Alice and Sam’s attention.

“Hello, there!” Ilima’s voice called out. The brother and sister duo turned to see that it was indeed Ilima approaching them. “Sam and Alice, was it?”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Sam shook the captain’s hand. “We’re just finishing up our lunch now and going straight to Verdant Cavern for our first trial.”

“That’s wonderful!” By now, Alice managed to stand up and shake Ilima’s hand as well. “Now, are you going to introduce me to those two beautiful Pokémon you have with you?”

“Allow me,” Starlight said, clearly charmed by his compliment. Ilima suddenly blushed, his eyes narrowing as Starlight’s half-eyed glare approached him. “I’m Starlight Glimmer, and my other friend over there is Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy, her mouth full of sandwich, could only wave.

“They’re not Pokémon, either. They’re called ponies.” Alice added. “That wormhole that appeared last night? Those two came from another world through it, and we’re doing our trials so we can get stronger and move on to the other islands to find her other friends.”

Illima’s shock began to melt away, but still looked excited over the whole ordeal. “…My, my. How terribly sorry I am for you both. I certainly hope your time on Alola hasn’t been too stressful.”

“On the contrary,” Starlight replied. “Alice and Sam have been wonderful companions, and we’ve also made a pleasant acquaintance with Hau.”

“Have you? I’m very happy to hear that. Well, I don’t wish to waste anymore of your time. I’ll need to make a couple of final preparations before I’m ready, but considering how well these ponies have taken to you, you and your Pokémon shouldn’t have much trouble at all.”

Ilima hurdled over the raling on the platform and spun over, swinging back into the wall and hopping down to the ground before running toward the cavern, the ponies watching him with perplexity as he went inside the cavern and disappeared.

“Interesting,” Fluttershy commented.

“That’s exactly what I said,” Sam responded.

“Well,” Alice said, plopping back down to sit on the floor cross-legged, “looks like I can continue enjoying my lunch while the trial’s being set up.”

“Neat.” Sam walked his way toward the Pokémon Center entrance. “Maybe I’ll take a trip inside and have a tea. Anyone else want something while I’m in?”

“Um, I’ll be fine, thank you,” Fluttershy answered back.

“Juice or water would be fine,” Starlight requested.

“Alice?” Sam pressed. “Anything?”

“I’ve got a water in my bag!” she said back.

Sam nodded and disappeared behind the sliding doors.

“Don’t take too long!” Sam called out.

Realizing she would not receive any kind of reaction from him, she cocked her head in mild defeat and pushed her last bite of sandwich into her mouth with her thumb.

Alice and Sam led Starlight and Fluttershy inside Verdant Cavern, the unicorn holding a clear plastic cup with a straw half-filled with a bright yellow juice in it with her magic. Upon getting fully inside, they stood and gazed upon the place with wonder.

The ground and walls were covered with moss, vines, and ferns, and there were many dipping, rising, and winding pathways around. A chasm in the center of the cave was connected by a long wooden-plank bridge. There were also several rocks and areas inside the wall where small burrows were dug. Several holes in the ceiling allowed a generous amount of sunlight to illuminate the room.

“Welcome!” Ilima called out, stepping from within to greet them. “You arrived earlier than expected. I normally say this as a formality before trainers enter Verdant Cavern, but these trials test the strength and endurance of both Pokémon and their trainers. Once I declare that the trial has begun, neither of you will be allowed to leave until you’ve either completed the trial or all of your Pokémon have fainted. Will you still venture forward, knowing this?”

Sam and Alice gave each other smug, confident smiles.

“I believe the two of us are ready,” Alice answered.

“Then allow me to explain the basics of my trial…” he said.

Just then, a Pokémon scampered out of a den from a rock at the first forked path. It was a foot-long brown mongoose-like creature with two large blonde stripes: one running from its chin to the end of its flat, hairy tail, and one that went from the top of the tail’s tip and down to the top of its head, the tuft of hair giving it the appearance of a combover. Its wide, frowning set of sharp teeth betrayed any sense of cuteness that its beady black eyes and small button nose could have.

“What’s that?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’m not even too sure myself,” Alice said, pulling out her Pokédex, aiming the screen at it.

“Yungoos,” the Pokédex reported, “the Loitering Pokémon. It wanders around in a never-ending search for food. At dusk, it collapses from exhaustion and falls asleep on the spot.”

“Yes,” Ilima continued, “as you can see, quite a few strong Pokémon make their homes in this cave, and what each of you will need to do is to defeat two of the Pokémon in here. And note, that this isn’t a race. Being that you two entered to take on my trial at the same time, you will both take on the next part of the trial at the same time.”

“Next part?” asked Sam.

Just then, a loud roaring echoed out from the back exit of the cavern, unnerving Sam and Fluttershy a great deal.

“What the heck was that?” Starlight asked.

Ilima smirked “Each trial has one particularly strong Pokémon that serves as the final obstacle for trainers to overcome: the Totem Pokémon. Once you have each defeated two Pokémon, come see me at the other end of the cavern, and I’ll take you to the Totem Pokémon inside.”

“Do they have to?” asked Fluttershy. “That Pokémon sounds really big and scary.”

“I don’t think we have too much of a choice,” Sam sighed.

“That’s right!” agreed Ilima, his voice full of vigor. “Lastly, know that you will not be allowed to capture any Pokémon for the duration of your trial. With that said, the trial of Captain Ilima begins now!”

With a rise and throwing down of his arm, Ilima stepped aside and made way for Sam, Alice, and the two ponies.

“So,” Starlight asked, “what are you going to do?”

“I’ll take the den that Yungoos went into,” Alice said. “Sam, you go on ahead.”

“What about us?” Fluttershy asked.

“Right.” Sam looked up at the exit where the Totem Pokémon awaited. “Fluttershy, you stay back with my sister. You don’t mind tagging with me, do you, Starlight?”

“Not at all,” she responded, finishing the last of her juice with a slurp of the straw.

“Excuse me,” Ilima said, walking forward, “might I take your cup? I like to keep the caves as free from trash as possible.”

“Yes, of course.” Using her magic, she levitated the cup into his hands. “Sam, let’s go!”

The two headed down a hill towards a rock being lit by the sunlight, another rocky den just ahead of it. Sam and Starlight both peeked inside, but there didn’t seem to be any activity there.

“Hello?” Starlight called.

Still nothing.

“Let’s try another.” Sam was already running before he could finish his statement, Starlight galloping after him.

“Pikachu, use Thunder Shock!”

Alice’s Pikachu’s cheeks went bright as plasma danced off of it. It then shot a stream of electricity at the Yungoos, where it warbled out in pain before sinking to its stomach, fainted.

“Alright, one left,” Alice said. “Come on, let’s keep going!”

“But what about the poor Yungoos?” whimpered Fluttershy.

“It’s alright,” Ilima said from behind. “It will wake up in a few moments, and I’ll nurse it back to fuller health once the trial’s over. You should continue with your friend now.”

“Come on!” Alice had climbed herself onto a ledge further down to the left with another one above her.

Fluttershy flapped her wings and flew up to the top of the drop as Alice pulled herself up, brushing the dirt off her mildly scuffed legs.

“There’s one further up!” Alice exclaimed with a point. “Just a little further!”

Both Alice and Fluttershy ran toward it.

Sam crawled out of a small rock tunnel near the back right corner of the cave, his eyes set on another den just ahead. Sam stepped back and crouched down to see Starlight’s legs through the hole.

“It’s all clear!” he shouted, watching her lean down and examine the hole herself. “What are you–”

He was cut off by Starlight appearing before him in a bursting bubble of turquoise light, making him jump back a foot with a yelp near the den’s entrance. He then felt a quick scratching at the heels of his shoes along with a distressed squeak, making him leap forward a foot and turn back around, coming face to face with a black rat with a brown underbelly and cheeks and two large buck teeth, two locks of hair coming from the side of its snout like a moustache.

“What is that?” Starlight asked, looking a bit afraid with Sam.

“I think it’s a Rattata,” Sam answered with a whipping out of his Pokédex, “but…”

“Rattata,” the Pokédex said, “the Mouse Pokémon. With their strong capacity for survival, they can live in dirty places without concern. Left unchecked, their numbers multiply rapidly.”

Sam looked closely at the entry, smiling as he saw a black bar up at the top reading DARK next to a grey one that read NORMAL. “Aw, perfect,” he said, pulling out his only Poké Ball. “Honedge, let’s go!”

His Pokémon came out of the ball, standing before the Rattata that began hissing at it.

“Alright, Honedge, use Fury Cutter!”

Honedge’s blade glowed a faint green, and with Sam miming a wide, downward swing to the right, Honedge mimed the motion, its blade striking Rattata in the side of the ribs.

“Come on out, Mr. Yungoos!” Fluttershy’s voice echoed inside the den with no response. “Shoot! Maybe something else. Come on out, Mrs.–”

“There’s nothing there!” Alice went off again, climbing up another ledge to the back cavern exit.

Fluttershy sighed and ran off to follow her.

The Rattata went down and fell to its side, lying still in defeat. Honedge flexed its cloth arm with a determined squint in its eye.

“Well done,” Starlight complimented.

“Let’s not celebrate too early,” Sam said. “We have one more to go and then the Totem Pokémon.”

“Well where do you think the last one is? We’ve checked our side and only found one Pokémon, and I don’t think your sister’s found more than one, so…”

“I’ll bet these caves are connected. They take trainers on a ride trying to exhaust them both physically and mentally by hiding in dens and taking hidden tunnels to another.”

“So, where to then?”

“I’m going to check the first one we did again!”

Before Starlight could object, Sam ran down a hill back toward the entrance and shuffled along the wood bridge and looking straight ahead. As Starlight quickly went out to follow him, he stopped at a ledge leading them back to the beginning, seeing a slight glimmer hidden in the dirt.

Starlight slid to a stop upon reaching him “Sam?”

“Yeah, give me a minute.”

Starlight huffed and stamped her hoof impatiently as Sam went to investigate.

Alice knelt down and peered into the den in the upper-right of the cavern, another Rattata popping out from it, taking a swipe at her face. Alice leapt back in time as she fidgeted for another Poké Ball. Fluttershy, having seen what it did, crouched down to the black rodent with a furious scowl.

“Hey, Mr. Mouse!” she spat, the Rattata holding its ground while arching in defensively, hissing at her. “Don’t try and scratch at her like that! Why would you do something mean like tha–”

“Headbutt, now!”

Fluttershy was suddenly taken aback with a fearful squeak as Alice’s Pikachu slammed the top of the Rattata’s face and sent it into the back of the cave wall. The rat got back to its feet and shook the disorientation out of its head. Fluttershy looked up to Alice as she tossed Pikachu’s Poké Ball up repeatedly.

“Don’t worry about it,” Alice said, “I’ll teach it a lesson. Thunder Shock!”

Volts of electricity shot from Pikachu’s cheeks at the opponent.

Sam climbed the last ledge up to the den at the back left of the cavern, which Starlight ascended with a single jump. Sam called his Honedge out of its Poké Ball and ran straight to the hole, sliding on its stomach toward it.

“Wakey wakey!” he shouted, scuttling back as fast as he could.

Fortunately for him, a Yungoos chased at him out of the hole, only to have Honedge’s blade wall him off. Alice and Fluttershy ran toward them, staning at the edge of the ledge with the cavern exit just behind them. Honedge raised itself back and stood between its trainer and the miffed Yungoos, giving Honedge a couple of warbled barks.

“Let’s try this out,” Sam said. “Honedge, use Brick Break!”

“Brick Break?” Alice and Fluttershy questioned together.

Sam crouched down and kept his right arm and fist out, Honedge getting low and swinging wide to the right. Sam then lunged forward and swung to the right, Honedge following through and striking the Yungoos in the side from its shoulder to its thigh.

The hit was enough to send Yungoos flying off toward the ledge to its right. Sam quickly knelt down and slammed his wrist to the ground, Honedge flying over on the other side of the ledge and caught the Yungoos as it flew over. Fluttershy and Starlight sighed with relief as Honedge gently laid the still-fainted Pokémon down on the ground.

Ilima hopped up each ledge from the beginning to meet the group, taking a glance back at the Yungoos Honedge had saved. “Well done! That was a very impressive Brick Break your Honedge did there.”

“Yeah,” Alice interrupted, leaning over to look Sam in the eye, “how did your Honedge manage to learn that?”

“I found a TM by one of the ledges,” Sam answered. “Actually surprised you didn’t see it seeing as how you went that way first.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Hit ya’ sista’ up!”

Ilima chuckled as Alice got close up to Sam as he fidgeted a small, brownish-orange disk from his bag and tried handing it to her.

“You two make whatever final preparations you must,” he said, walking toward the cavern exit. “Whenever you’re ready, join me outside.”

“You need any potions too?” Sam asked his sister.

Alice took her Pikachu out, where it stood beside her, looking around in confusion over the lack of any other Pokémon to fight. “No, I actually found a couple Super Potions on the ground though, but since you offered…”

“Nope.”

Sam took a red spray-bottle with a golden head and trigger and doused Honedge with a couple of misty puffs while Alice knelt to her Pikachu, holding the TM up.

Alice and Sam stepped outside with Honedge and Pikachu, the ponies behind them all. Ilima stood beside a cylindrical, tribal pedestal at the end of the craterous area they found themselves in. A large slot in the pedestal was carved out at chest hight, where two opaque light-grey gems sat, glimmering seductively.

“Congratulations!” Ilima’s voice was amplified by the surrounding rocky walls. “You have made it to this point. All that you must do now is advance and take the Normalium Z that sits in this pedestal!”

“Oh, well, geez!” Alice said in a sarcastically low voice, exaggerating a casual walk cycle up to the pedestal. “That was easy. I sure do hope there isn’t a totem Pokémon that’ll–”

Halfway across, Alice was stopped by a loud duet of roaring. She turned back with her fingers pressed to her cheeks, her mouth and eyes comically wide open. Leaping from a hole high up at the back center of the wall was a Pokémon resembling the Yungoos, only six times larger once it stood on its hind legs with its hands behind its back. The tuft of blonde hair on its head also protruded out like a cap, and it kept its eyes closed, the lids white enough to look like they were open. Coming out of the same hole and standing beside the other Pokemon was a fat five-foot black rat with large beige cheeks making its red eyes squint in an angry look.

Sam turned around once both Pokémon landed, her face frozen in her fake expression of surprise and terror as it slowly became more genuine. She then shrieked as she ran back with her friends and Pokémon.

“Holy hell!” Alice shouted, her arm shaking as she pointed to them. “Those things are huge!”

“Are they mutants?” Fluttershy asked.

Sam pulled out his Pokédex and scanned them both, starting with the titanic mongoose.

“Gumshoos,” the Pokédex spoke, “the Stakeout Pokémon. When it finds a trace of its prey, it patiently stakes out the location, but it's always snoozing by nightfall. Raticate, the Mouse Pokémon. Its disposition is far more violent than its looks would suggest. Don't let your hand get too close to its face, as it could bite your hand clean off.”

“How lovely,” Sam deadpanned. “Alright, come on guys, let’s–”

The two Pokémon roared at Alice and Sam, some kind of energy exerting from them that blew into Sam and Alice strong enough to almost knock them over. When the force died down, Alice noticed with a gasp as the Gumshoos and Raticate were now glowing with a wispy orange aura.

“What’s this now?” asked Alice.

“As the totem Pokémon,” Ilima explained, “they have been granted additional power by the island guardian. You and your Pokémon will need all their wits in order to survive this battle.”

From the edge of the crater directly above the Verdant Cavern back-entrance and out of sight, Tapu Koko watched intently, its eyes shimmering brighter than normal.

“Honedge,” Sam called, “let’s do this!”

“You’re already out, Pikachu, so give it to them.”

The Pikachu leapt out to join Honedge’s side, the two Totem Pokémon growling at them in provocation.

“Sam,” Alice said to her brother, “let’s get the Raticate first. Brick Break will hit it especially hard.”

“You don’t need to tell me,” Sam said. “Honedge…”

“Pikachu…”

“…use Brick Break on Raticate!” the ordered in unison.

At once, Honedge and Pikachu charged, Raticate advancing itself. With it’s front teeth opening, it directed itself at Honedge. It bit down on it hard, the Honedge wincing, but quickly felt relief as Pikachu’s foot drove right into the side of its gut, forcing Raticate off. The Gumshoos cried out into the sky and then spun itself, picking up a giant cloud of dirt and throwing it over the entire area.

“Woah!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “It must be very strong to make a dust cloud that big!”

Honedge dove into the cloud where it last saw the Raticate and swung where it stood, but found that it already disappeared inside.

“Don’t worry!” Sam called out. “Just wait.”

“Sam,” Alice hissed, “what are you–”

“Waiting…” He began clenching his fists.

He could just barely make out Honedge’s shadow in the Sand-Attack that Gumshoos had made.

Alice grunted as her patience ran thin. “Pikachu, Quick Attack on Raticate, now!”

Pikachu sped through the cloud, its eyes forcing themselves closed as the dust stung with each step. Blinded, Pikachu could not see as a Yungoos and a Rattata both charged it on both sides, Yungoos’s Tackle hitting Pikachu’s head and the Rattata’s hitting its ribs.

It’s cries of pain were clear to Alice. “Pikachu!”

Sam glanced to her sister, and refocusing himself, he almost missed as Raticate came barreling at Honedge, who still awaited Sam’s instructions.

“He’s in your sights!” he quickly hollered. “Brick Break, now!”

Sam spun out and arched back, swinging his “sword” up and out. Honedge sensed its trainer’s motions, staring low from the ground and slicing upwards, striking Raticate square in the jaw, sending it flying back. Honedge looked down over its fallen opponent, seeing that it was not getting back up. Ilima could see this much through the dust cloud.

“Raticate is unable to battle!” Ilima loudly confirmed.

“Yes!” Starlight cheered with a clapping of her hooves. “Way to go!”

Honedge turned to face Sam and Starlight, raising its scabbard triumphantly. In its distraction, it couldn’t see as the Gumshoos clamped down on its blade and continued running with it out of the dust cloud and in the open.

“Oh no!” Starlight’s shift from jovial to worried came in an instant.

“Pikachu, hurry!” Alice cried. “Brick Break on the Gumshoos!”

Pikachu galloped out from the cloud immediately, bending its path straight toward Gumshoos’s head. Leaping up, Pikachu connected its fist into Gumshoos’s face, making it let go of Honedge. Sam and Alice looked to each other, Sam giving her a thankful nod

Now freed, Honedge could see as the Yungoos and Rattata charged forward from the dust cloud to help its ally out.

“Sorry,” Sam growled, “but one of you is taking one for the team. Honedge, Brick Break on the Ratatta!”

As the Rattata came closer, Sam watched its movements and bent back, swiping to the left. Honedge swung left as well, hitting Rattata and sending it flying off. Yungoos ran past Honedge and to Pikachu, its teeth glowing bright as it opened up and yelled.

“Oh no,” Sam whispered, knowing what was coming.

Pikachu turned around just as Yungoos leapt out at it, and before Pikachu could run, the Hyper Fang made its mark, Yungoos’s teeth clamped right on Pikachu’s face. Pikachu screamed out with beads of tears forming in the corner of its eyes.

“Pikachu!” Fluttershy’s voice cracked to the point of near-incomprehensibility, her tears also beginning to appear.

“Pikachu!” Alice continued to look cool under pressure. Thunder Shock now!”

Pikachu screamed out as it went aglow, the electric energy running over Yungoos as well, making Fluttershy gasp. Yungoos’s cries allowed itself to let go, but it could not close its mouth as it fell the ground gurgling weakly.

“Yungoos is unable to battle!” shouted Ilima. “You’re halfway there!”

Pikachu breathed slowly and weakly. As Honedge went over to check on its own ally, Sam and Alice then noticed as Gumshoos stood itself back up and slowly turned back, towering over them. It leaned down and opened its mouth at Honedge, prepared to bite again.

“Oh no,” cried Starlight, “Honedge!”

Sam crossed his arms, hugging them close to his chest, and Honedge got into its X formation, it’s eye closed as it awaited the inevitable.

“Come on, buddy…” Sam clenched his fists tighter as if it would help.

Honedge could practically feel the warmth of Gumshoos’s mouth, but felt it end as it bit down, but not on itself. Opening its eye, it saw as Pikachu was locked in the Gumshoos’s jaws, a wheeze only able to escape its own mouth as it grew limper.

“Pikachu!” screamed Alice.

“No!” Sam shouted with boiling fury. “Honedge! Brick Break.”

Honedge’s pupil wavered in sadness as Pikachu ceased movement in Gumshoos’s, but a gradual squint of its eye showcased its impending rage, which Sam could feel just as strongly. Honedge didn’t even wait for Sam’s motions, swinging straight up and hitting Yungoos directly in the chest, knocking the wind out of it and knocking Pikachu out of its mouth, where it fell with a slump.

“Pikachu is unable to battle!” Ilima called out.

Alice unclipped Pikachu’s Poké Ball and returned it inside. She looked at the front and rested her head onto the red top half.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “You were incredible.”

Unbeknownst to her, Honedge watched as Gumshoos slowly got back on its feet, only to get blindsided by the Ratatta, which spun itself midair and smacked Honedge with its tail, sending it flying close to Sam’s feet. The noise of the slide brought back Alice’s attention, looking back up, as Gumshoos and Rattata approached it from both sides.

“Hold on, Honedge!” Alice shouted as she fidgeted Pikachu’s Poke Ball back to her belt and grabbed Noibat’s. “Help is on the way! Noibat, Aerial Ace on the Gumshoos, now!”

Alice threw out her Poké Ball. Gumshoos reached its mouth down on Honedge. Energy flew out from Alice’s Poké Ball and Noibat soared from out of it, banking tightly around with its sights set on its target. With a swipe of its wing into Gumshoos’s face, Gumshoos was brought down yet again, but manage to catch itself before it could fall flat on its stomach.

Honedge felt invigorated to float back up and face the Rattata, which hissed at it, only provoking Honedge into approaching. Rattata jumped out and swung its tail again, but Sam and Honedge were prepared, Sam’s arms and Honedge’s blad and scabbard forming an X just as the attack hit.

“Let’s take it easy now,” Sam huffed. “Finish it with Fury Cutter!”

Honedge’s blade glowed a light green as Sam thrust his arm forward and slashed out to the right. Rattata tried jumping out of the attacks way, only for the side of Honedge’s blade to follow it, and when Honedge’s blade was swung, it hit Rattata along its entire side, and when it hit the ground, it laid still.

“Rattata is unable to battle!” Ilima shouted. “Only the Totem Gumshoos is left!”

“Come on...” Starlight quickly tapped her front hooves in anticipation and dreadful excitement.

Meanwhile, Gumshoos, its eyes now on Noibat, leapt forward with near incalculable speed, taking Noibat by surprise. With its mouth open, an aura of two rows of large sharp teeth appeared over Noibat’s body, which brought itself down on it and shattered on impact.

“Ah!” Alice shouted as her last Pokemon fell. “Noibat!”

The Pokémon landed hard, but immediately tried getting back up, though in its weakened state, it labored.

“Fury Cutter!” Sam’s voice rung back out.

Honedge darted at Gumshoos, the side of its blade headed right at it as it swung towards it. The Gumshoos, however, jerked its head and sights right at Honedge, its eyes flashing with a harsh red flare. Honedge’s speed dropped, but the hit still made its mark, knocking Gumshoos’s upper body down.

“Why would it waste a Leer?” Sam questioned, his eyes widening shortly after realizing. “Alice! I think you only need one more good hit!”

Noibat looked to Honedge, whose half-open eye implied how exhausted it must have been. Looking back up at Gumshoos, who looked down at the two, Noibat crouched, ready to leap into action on Alice’s word. Alice watched as Gumshoos tried to roar, but swooned before it could, making her smirk.

“You heard him!” Alice shouted. “Hit ‘em with Wing Attack!”

Noibat sprung up towards Gumshoos’s stomach, passing by its arms as it tried to grab it. Swinging both wings in, the bars of Noibat’s wings rammed into Gumshoos’s gut and continued pushing, even as a sickening gurgle escaped its mouth.

With Noibat pushing off, Gumshoos fell slow like a large tree but limply as rubber. Noibat flew up high as Gumshoos crumpled to the ground, its mouth slack and its breathing slow and tired. Ilima looked upon the spectacle and raised his arm.

“The Totem Gumshoos is unable to battle! Sam and Alice have defeated Ilima’s Island Trial!”

Sam released all the tension built up inside of him, and he too felt like he could fall, only to be grabbed by Alice and jumped around with as she laughed and whooped at their victory. Fluttershy and Starlight also cheered, standing on their hind legs and smacking both front hooves against each other’s. Noibat swooped down towards Honedge, who found the strength and energy to wrap its entire cloth arm around its ally’s body and hug it close, bouncing and spinning around slowly.

“Congratulations, you two.” Ilima’s words ended everyone’s celebration, as did Gumshoos, Raticate, Yungoos, and Rattata as they joined him on either side. “Even when faced with two Totem Pokémon, you and your Pokémon took them head on and came out victorious. I really am stunned beyond words to describe the bond your Pokémon must share.” Honedge joined Sam’s side and Noibat perched itself on Alice’s shoulder as he said this. “I suppose there’s little else I can say. You may each take the Normalium Z from the pedestal. You’ve earned it.”

Sam and Alice looked to each other before walking together to the pedestal, Noibat hopping off to stay behind while Ilima followed them. Fluttershy and Starlight both looked up at Gimshoos and Raticate, the former motioning its head to allow them to pass with their friends.

“I, um…” Fluttershy responded, “think we’ll be fine here.”

Once Sam and Alice reached the pedestal, they looked inside inquisitively, each one taking a gem for themselves. As they gazed at it, shifting their hand to feel the weight, Ilima stopped before them.

“I also notice that you both have a Z-Ring,” he said. “That means you can use that Normal Z-Crystal. Just be sure that it’s inside your Z-Ring and that one of your Pokémon has a Normal-type move it can use. Then you strike a pose, like so…”

Sam and Alice watched intently, as Ilima crossed his arms in front of his face, the left over the right. After staying still for a few moments, Sam and Alice jerked back into attention, also repeating him. Once he knew they were following, he arced both arms out and to the sides, Sam and Alice quicker to follow. Ilima and the siblings continued, as Ilima then brought both arms out with the left crossing over the wright at the wrists.

He then swung his arms down to the right and then brought his left arm up, forming a diagonal slant. Finally, he swung his right forearm into the center of his stomach and his left fist into the center of his head, the arms forming a “Z” with the fists aligned in the center. Ilima smiled as both Alice and Sam’s arms were exactly like his own.

“Perfect!” he bellowed. “You’re naturals, both of you. With that, I bid you adieu, and thank you for the wonderful trial.”

“No,” Alice said, with a corny handshake and point, “thank you!”

“But seriously,” Sam said, shaking Ilima’s hand more casually, “thank you for everything.”

“I wish you and your pony acquaintances the best in your quest,” Ilima finally bid.

“Thanks!”

With that Sam and Alice ran back with the ponies and their Pokémon, the six of them walking back inside Verdant Cavern. Ilima kept his eyes on them and cradled his arms affectionately with a warm, hopeful smile as he watched them disappear inside.

Stepping down the stairs from the Route 2 Pokémon Center, Alice and Sam quickened their pace as the hilly path began to steepen, Fluttershy and Starlight closeby.

“Um, Sam?” Sam turned to hear Starlight. “Not to sound ungrateful or mean, but, your Honedge is your only Pokémon, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I’m just concerned is all. Your sister has two with her, and several times already, her Pokémon had to jump in to save yours. I just want to ask, if the time comes when you have to battle alone, do you think Honedge can do it?”

“I’m not too worried.” Alice turned to listen in. “I may not be quite the trainer my sister is, and I know my party is literally half of what hers is, but I like to make up for that by having Honedge fight twice as hard. And that doesn’t mean I won’t have new Pokémon with me down the line, it’s just that I want a team that’s mine and mine alone.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Alice.

“You know how close I am to Honedge,” he continued “I want a team of Pokémon that will fight for me like Honedge does; one that can function as one like I do with him. I want a team that I too would fight for and protect.”

As the group cam upon the canyon pass of Route 3, Starlight’s ear twitched, something in the air not feeling right.

“Not to be Mrs. Dreamkiller,” Alice said, “but now that we have something a little more important than completing the Island Trials on our shoulders, I don’t think we can afford for you to wait until that special some-Pokémon falls from the sky and into you lap–”

“Look out!”

Starlight’s horn went aglow as an aura wrapped around Sam’s backpack and yanked it backwards, sending Sam back with it. Even in his shock, Sam could see as a shard of ice shot down from above and stuck into the ground, mere inches from where Sam would have stepped had it not been for Starlight’s interference.

Looking up, they saw as a black, weasel-like creature with a red, organic headdress, collar, and tail with large white claws leapt down the canyon leaping from wall to wall. Once it landed down, appearing in full to the group, something else began sliding down the canyon and to the ground. It was Gladion. Alice and Sam looked up to him with a confusion and fright as he stood behind his Pokémon, Starlight and Fluttershy both horrified and entranced by Gladion’s hungry stare.

“You’re not the ones I’m looking for,” he said, “but you’ll do.”

Chapter 9 – Errors

The contrast between Gladion’s Weavile’s smirk and his frown continued to be a disconcerting presence to Sam and Alice.

“Who are you?” Alice asked in a stern tone.

“My name is Gladion.” His body and other facial features continued to stay hauntingly still. “I work for an organization that wishes to help those Pokémon you have traveling with you.”

“For the last time!” Starlight growled. “We’re not Pokémon, we’re ponies!”

“Ponies? Hmm, now we’re getting somewhere.”

“What do you want?” Sam barked.

“You’re more than likely aware of the wormhole that brought those two to Melemele. Others like it appeared on the other islands.”

“We know,” Alice interrupted. “We’re also trying to find her other friends.”

“Oh? You must be very strong trainers if you’re willing to go to each island and find them.” Gladion continued reading Sam and Alice’s eyes, seeing a slight, but telling, raise in them. “I see, you’re a pair of novices who probably just started their Island Trials, aren’t you?”

“Who are you calling novice?!” she yelled back.

“Listen. I don’t have much time to be discussing your training skills. If you two aren’t strong enough to be able to go straight to the other islands like I am, I’m going to need to take those ponies off of your hands.”

“Over our dead bodies!” Sam shouted, stepping back and reaching for Honedge’s Poké Ball.

“Sam, wait!” Alice’s eyes and body continued facing Gladion, who looked less and less interested as the seconds passed. “He’s got a Weavile on him. He probably is really strong.”

“Then you must be okay letting him take them then…”

Alice breathed in through her teeth, her brother’s remark sharp and unfair, but true nonetheless. She then glanced behind her to the frightened ponies, turning back to him.

“Yeah alright.” She grabbed a Poké Ball from her belt. “You want these ponies, you’ll have to go through us. Go, Pikachu!”

She tossed her Poké Ball out, her Pikachu standing defensively before the Weavile upon its appearance.

“Honedge, go!” Sam tossed his ball out, his Honedge taking a threatening slash to the air once it appeared.

“Hm…” Gladion studied his opponents’ Pokémon, then reaching for his belt and aiming a Poké Ball at his Weavile. “Weavile, return.”

Brought back in by the ball’s red beam, he reached behind him with both hands and tossed two Poké Balls out with a grunt. Both of them opened at the same time, unleashing the Pokémon inside. On Sam’s side was Gladion’s Lucario.

Facing Alice’s Pikachu was a large chimaera of a creature with a hairless black body like a wolf, two green bird talons for front arms, and a blue fish’s fin. Its mechanical wolf-like head and neck were draped in long silver fur with a large crest above its head with three spines sticking out from the back, which were colored brown like the membrane of its tail.

“A Lucario,” Alice observed, “…but what’s that other thing with him?”

Alice took out her Pokédex and scanned the foreign looking Pokémon.

“Unknown entry,” the Pokédex responded, a white question mark spinning in the center of the screen. “Please make sure the Pokémon is in focus and try again.”

Alice looked up in shock and disbelief; it was right there staring at her.

“Chances are you won’t find Silvally on your Pokédex,” Gladion said. “It was created in secret to battle and contain the Ultra Beasts when they appeared ten years ago, and it’s only gotten stronger since then. So I’ll ask you one last time as a courtesy: Hand the ponies to me, and your Pokémon won’t have to feel its strength.”

“Like my brother said…” Alice’s expression was now solid and stoic. “Over our dead bodies.”

Gladion closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

Alice clenched her fists, ready to begin. “Pikachu, Quick Atta–”

“Lucario, Extreme Speed!”

As Pikachu reeled back to run, Lucario suddenly appeared in front of it, it’s left arm and paw swinging at Pikachu’s face. Before Alice could gasp, Pikachu could only turn its head and part of its body away as Lucario’s fist struck Pikachu in the shoulder, blasting it past Alice and the ponies and up the hilly ground behind her.

“PIKACHU!” Alice and Fluttershy shrieked in unison.

Starlight and Sam also turned with horrified expressions as they watched Pikachu continue tumbling away until it was thirty feet away. Alice’s eyes and lips trembled as Pikachu attempted to stand, barely able to lift itself an inch off the ground before it gave up and fell unconscious. Sam glanced back to the ponies, Starlight turning back to the battle, while Fluttershy and Alice ran back to help Pikachu. He then jerked back around with a vengeful frown on his face, Gladion standing as still and unafraid as ever as Lucario returned to its trainer’s side.

“Honedge, Shadow Sneak on his other Pokémon!”

Sam punched toward the ground and Honedge followed suit with a lunge to the ground, its shadow running quickly along the ground and coming beneath Silvally. The dark blast pushed its upper half up several feet, but Silvally managed to regain its balance and land back on its front talons with ease, almost unaffected by the attack.

Silvally then locked its eyes on Honedge and Sam, who now seemed to realize the fatality of their situation. Even with Sam’s eyes looking back at Gladion with a plead for mercy, Gladion’s expression remained unchanged.

“Silvally,” Gladion’s subtly apologetic voice sounded, “Multi-Attack.”

Sam felt all sense of touch leave his body as he watched Silvally rear back to charge, the three horns on its head and the membrane in its tail glowing bright. The world suddenly felt like slow motion as Silvally began running at Honedge, who too looked paralyzed in fear. Fluttershy and Alice came back with Pikachu in Alice’s arms just in time to watch the beginning of Silvally’s first and quite possibly last attack.

“HONEDGE!” Starlight cried.

Silvally leapt up, loose dirt seeming to trail off its front claw as it rose up to slash at Sam’s defenseless Pokémon. In the last moment, Sam crossed his arms and Honedge braced itself for the attack, both of their eyes closed.

Only Alice, Fluttershy, and Starlight could see as a large creature leapt down from above between Honedge and Silvally and took the latter’s attack, blowing more dirt around them all. Once it began to clear, Sam and Honedge opened their eyes and looked up at their impromptu savior.

It appeared to be a muscular grey-colored dragon with large gold-rimmed scales that ran along its arms, down its neck, dangled alongside its legs, and stuck into the end of its pointed tail in quarters. The dragon turned to Sam and Honedge, revealing its hatchet-shaped snout with red gold-rimmed scales draped down its head like dreadlocks. However, it wasn’t even the dragon that surprised Sam more than who mounted it. From his large, orange jacket, and black, clipped-back hair, he recognized him immediately.

“Hau!” he shouted.

The dragon threw its arms out, the scales effectively fanning away the dirt and dust caused by its arrival. Now Alice and the ponies could see them both clearly, the sight making them gasp loudly. Hau hopped off his dragon and stepped toward Gladion, his Silvally slinking back to his side out of apparent reverence.

“Gladion.” Hau’s serious demeanor actually began to make Gladion visibly nervous. “What are you doing battling these kids?”

“Leave us alone, Hau.” Even Gladion’s voice showed signs of trepidation. “This doesn’t concern you.”

“I’m the Kahuna of this island, and as such, seeing to the well-being of everything on it, including those ponies, does in fact concern me.”

“Those ponies need to come with me where it’s safe!”

“I think they’re fine just where they are.” Hau crossed his arms comfortably. “If you want to try and find the others, I won’t, and can’t stop you, but while they’re on my island, you can’t have them, and you won’t.” Hau’s dragon let out a small roar to back Hau’s claim.

Gladion’s breathing became more and more audible. “Hau… get out of my way…”

“No, my friend. Why don’t you get out of theirs?”

Gladion’s and Hau’s eyes locked, neither blinking or shifting their direction from their centers. Sam and Honedge stood in place watching the standoff while Alice and the ponies approached quietly and joined them. After several moments, Gladion closed his eyes as he reached back with both hands. Pulling out two Poké Balls, he returned both his Lucario and Silvally inside, his head hung shamefully down.

Gladion shot his head up, his sights on Alice and Sam. “He is right about one thing. Once you two leave this island, he won’t be there. We’ll meet again. Prepare for it.”

Putting his Poké Balls back onto his belt, he darted to the cliff facing the ocean and pulled out his Ride Pager, a Poké Ball coming from it. Tossing it and himself over the edge, Alice and Sam ran out to his jumping point, only to see him on the back of his Charizard, flying south to the open ocean. Hau and his dragon approached them with the ponies beside him.

“Who was that?” Sam asked.

“You two sounded like you knew each other,” added Fluttershy.

“And we do,” he responded. “Come back to Iki Town with me. I can explain once we heal your Pikachu.”

Without looking, Hau grabbed a hold of the dragon’s scale-hair and allowed it to pull him up onto its back. The dragon began walking Hau down the hilly path, Alice, Sam, and the ponies quick to tag along.

Gladion’s Charizard came up to Aether Paradise, where it landed upon the wide bridge connecting the main building to a large white mansion on the north side. Upon calling it back inside the Poké Ball and returning the ball into the Ride Pager, he looked up at the towering facility where his friends and family would be waiting. He slouched over and clenched his fists, groaning as he tried squeezing even tighter, his eyes shut so hard that his vision turned green.

“Gladion?” The sound of his sister’s voice via his earpiece loosened his muscles. “The GPS says you’ve returned.”

Gladion broke into as quick of a walk as he could without jogging. “Where are you?”

“In the lower labs. Solgaleo and Lunala just woke up a little while ago.”

“Hang tight, I’ll be there.”

Gladion immediately pulled the device from his ear and broke into a sprint inside the building. Weaving around multiple employees, he saw as several up ahead were preparing to go into the center lift. He quickened his pace as a male employee pressed an icon on the screen panel and it began to slowly prepare its way down.

By the time Gladion reached it, it had already passed the platform. Kicking forward, he fell to his butt and slid, slipping over the side and landing in an empty space made by several employees who saw him coming.

“One of these days,” a female employee said, “you’re going to end up killing yourself.”

“Until then…” Gladion kept his body facing the direction he knew he’d need to go, ignoring the stares he received from everyone else.

The lift stopped at the bottom, and Gladion hurdled over the gate and through a sliding door, continuing to sprint down the hall until he reached a door at the end. He ran two steps inside the room and slowed to a stop to see Sun, Lillie, and Lusamine, standing before Solgaleo and Lunala, who turned to his direction to acknowledge his entrance.

Lillie was first to turn and see her brother, looking both relieved and saddened as she walked over to him and hugged him tightly over the shoulder.

“It’s okay,” Gladion said. “I’m here.”

“Gladion.” His mother then came forward. “Did you find others?”

Gladion slipped himself out of his sisters embrace, hanging his head down low. “I did, but they found someone else.”

“Someone else? What do you mean?”

“There were two others on Melemele, much like the ones I described on Poni. But they’ve been befriended by two trainers. I tried getting them to come back with me, but…” The rest of the story and truth seemed to get caught in Gladion’s throat, especially looking at Sun.

“And?” Sun pressed.

“…honestly, they’re probably more frightened of us than we should be of them. I can’t imagine that they’d be that strong or threatening if they would allow themselves to buddy up with two trainers just starting their Island Challenge.”

“And you left them alone?” Lusamine’s scolding voice was just as harsh and punishing as always.

“Please, don’t yell at him!” Lillie came between her mother and brother, softening their demeanors. “If what Gladion says is true, the fact that these creatures are safe and with someone is the most important thing for them. The most important thing for us right now is finding out what happened with Solgaleo and Lunala.”

“Right…” Gladion’s sighing voice was the only thanks Lillie would receive for standing up to their mom. “How are they doing right now?”

“That’s just it…” Sun looked up to the two Pokémon, followed by Gladion, and both Solgaleo and Lunala looked a little confused at their looks of concern. “Ever since they woke up, they have no recollection of what happened last night. It’s almost as if they woke back up just now like it’s any other day.”

“They seriously don’t remember a thing?”

“It’s hard to say. We were going to run some more extensive tests, and then you arrived.”

“Well, don’t mind me.”

Gladion turned to walk out of the room.

“Gladion?” Lusmine stepped up to approach him, but he kept going until the door closed behind him.

Outside, Gladion continued walking until he was back at the well for the lift, which had already gone back up since he arrived. Pressing the up icon on the screen beside the gated entrance, he looked up in no direction in particular.

“I’m sorry…” he whispered. “I’m sorry…”

Hau gently laid the bed’s covers over Pikachu up to the bottom of its neck, it’s head lightly bandaged. Alice, Fluttershy, Sam, and Starlight stood over it as Hau stood back up, watching the Pikachu for any possible signs of stirring.

“He’ll be just fine,” Hau whispered. “We’ll see how he is in the morning.”

Hau motioned his arm to the exit, and Alice, Sam, and the ponies quietly walked to the doorway and left, Hau last to leave before the shut the door behind him. Sam made his way to the couch, slumping into his seat. He stared at the ground as thoughts of the battle with Gladion raced through his mind. Suddenly…

Sam stood with his back against an alley wall, pointing out at a small blue bat for his Honedge, only for it to be grabbed by the mouth of a large purple-furred cat with a golden underside.

Sam breathed out with a shiver, the terrible memory surfacing more and more.

Sam’s eyes welled with tears as the cat’s trainer and two other trainers beside him laughed.

Sam continued looking at the ground as a tear fell from his eye and to the floor.

Sam shouted at the cat as it jerked its head about with Honedge in its mouth as if it were nothing but a toy to it.

“Sam…” Alice’s voice went ignored.

Sam ran out to the cat only to be tackled from the side by a lanky white dog with long fur and a black face. His head hit the wall–

“Sam!” Alice shoved her hand onto his shoulder, which Sam reacted to almost instinctively by violently slapping it away.

Alice held her stinging wrist and stepped back, the ponies gasping at Sam’s sudden temperament. They looked at this face, which already had a line of tears down both of his cheeks. Sam breathed in heavily and turned away slowly.

“Sam?” Starlight’s voice was quiet and non-threatening as she could make it. “What’s wrong?”

He just as slowly turned back to face her, his breathing now more controlled.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for that.” Sam’s voice was quiet, as if he knew that wasn’t enough.

“It’s… okay,” Alice responded, walking back up to him. “Just, jeez, that really stung–”

“No, not that. I’m sorry I didn’t listen. You told me not to fight him, and I did anyway. I should have listened and now your Pikachu’s hurt because of me, and if I just listened, the ponies… the…”

Sam came close to breaking down, only to be quickly grabbed by Alice.

“If you didn’t choose to fight him, he would have taken the ponies anyway.”

“But I did! And not only would I have lost them, I would have gotten the rest of our Pokémon hurt, which I partly already did. It was Lumiose all over again.”

“Sam…”

“No, I knew this was a mistake. I should have never tried becoming a trainer.”

Sam then began crying, but Alice gently shook Sam by the shoulders.

“If you really think that…” Alice detached Honedge’s Poké Ball from Sam’s belt, “tell him that.”

Alice tossed the ball out and let Honedge free from it, who immediately joined by Alice’s side, it’s eye-lid shaped to show great concern for its trainer. Sam looked to it, and found the words he just said to burn up in his throat.

“I’m so sorry for putting you through that again,” he gagged. “I don’t know what else to do now.”

“There’s nothing you need to do now.” Hau’s statement was reinforced by Honedge nuzzling itself into Sam’s side and drying his eye with the end of his cloth-arm before wrapping it around him in a hug. “He knows…”

A fresh stream of tears replaced the ones his Pokémon wiped away, and Sam leaned his head into Honedge, happy to feel its forgiveness. Starlight then approached Sam and rested her forelegs onto his thighs, Alice stepping back to give them room.

“Sam, if you didn’t decide to fight Gladion,” Starlight said, “you wouldn’t have given Hau enough time to come and stop him. Even if you knew you would lose to him, you and Honedge still chose to defend us.”

“You have nothing to feel ashamed of.” Fluttershy came forward next. “We’re so very happy to have made friends out of both of you.”

Sam finally showed the first sign of a smile since defeating Ilima’s trial, and with a heavy sniff, he leaned over and brought his arm around Starlight’s back and resting the other side of his face against her neck. Starlight brought her own arms around his back and accepted his embrace.

Alice, Fluttershy, and Hau couldn’t resist the urge to smile too. It seemed all was well again.

The sunset through the dining room window provided a lovely ambience to the end of everyone’s dinner, the seven plates on the table before each human, pony, and Pokémon practically licked clean.

“Once again,” Sam said, “everything was delicious.”

“Thank you once again,” Hau winked at Sam. “You know, it’s not too late if you either of you want to do your Grand Trial now.”

“Thanks for the offer,” Alice responded, “but I’ll wait until Pikachu is up and ready.” She then turned to her brother. “If you want to go ahead–”

“No thanks.” Sam’s voice seemed a bit reluctant in his answer, but his face looked confident. “It’s been an exhausting day for all of us, and I think a night’s sleep will better prepare us.”

“Suit yourself.” Hau pushed his chair out and stood up, beginning to collect the empty plates and silverware.

“Also,” added Starlight, “you never explained to us who this Gladion guy is and how you know him.”

Hau stopped in his tracks, taking a heavy, regretful sigh. “Sorry, it almost slipped my mind. Hold on.”

“But most importantly,” Alice asked, “should we fear him?”

Hau had just placed the dirty dishes into the sink and came back to sit down at this spot. “I really don’t think so. Gladion takes his responsibilities very seriously, so he may have come across as rash and violent to you. The truth is, he’s actually a nice person, but he has a… funny way of showing it.”

“Funny for who?” asked Starlight.

“Yeah, wrong choice of wording there…”

“What’s this organization he talked about?” Sam wondered. “He said he was there to help Starlight and Fluttershy, but with what?”

Hau leaned in and rested his mouth on the side of his finger-locked hands, sorting through all the ways he could answer him. “Yeah, how’s about I start from the beginning?”

Everyone relaxed in their chairs, prepared to hear Hau’s tale.

“Gladion works for a place called the Aether Foundation,” he began, “which originally was created to help shelter and heal injured Pokémon.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound that bad,” interrupted Fluttershy.

“Not at all, but a little over ten years ago, they began dabbling in inter-dimensional research, which led to them discovering a bunch of really powerful Pokémon called ‘Ultra Beasts.’ That’s when I met Gladion for the first time. His mom runs the place, but she went a bit nutty and tried ripping open a wormhole to where the Ultra Beasts lived and unleashing them on Alola. Me and a friend of mine managed to gain his trust and help him stop her.”

“Ultra Beasts.” Sam turned to his sister. “That must have been what we saw in that one video.”

“Right,” agreed Alice, “but what do these Ultra Beasts have to do with the ponies?”

“Nothing that I know of,” Hau responded. “My guess is that after that incident, they continued their research and somehow came across your world. Why they would take you out of it like they did, I’m just as uncertain. I’m still close friends with Gladion’s sister, who also works there. She tells me that her mother has gotten a lot better, and knowing her, I highly doubt she would have allowed what happened you guys to happen.”

“So, should we trust this Aether Foundation or not?” Starlight started to sound irate. “Say Gladion finds us again, what should we do?”

“The Aether Foundation, oh yeah! The people there are very nice. I mean, you kind of have to be when you’re working with sick and injured Pokémon, right?”

Both ponies smirked to see Hau’s behind-the-back arms and smile gesture, finding it as solid of a promise as he could make.

“And Gladion?” Sam asked.

“Like I said…” Hau put his arms back on the table. “…he means well, but he takes his work seriously. If he finds you and does ask the ponies to come back to Aether with him again, ask to come with. I’m sure he’ll be willing to accept so long as he gets some of what he wants, but either way, you’ll be in good hands with them.”

“But…” Fluttershy questioned, “what if he doesn’t?”

“I doubt it.” Hau’s arms returned behind his back. “Me, Sam, Alice, and even the folks at Aether all know that the important thing is that you find your friends and get back home safely.”

“Though,” Sam said with a reassuring hand, “by no means does that mean we don’t want to help.”

“Right.” Alice glanced between Starlight’s and Fluttershy’s vision. “We took you under our wings and we want nothing more than to see this through with you.”

Noibat and Honedge both let out a cry of agreement, the ponies smiling warmly at their support.

“That’s the spirit!” Hau shot from his seat and clapped his hands loud enough to jolt everyone around him, including the Pokémon. “You guys already sound ready to take on my trial.”

Sam turned back while pointing to Alice with his thumb. “Hau, her–”

“Yes, yes, her Pikachu. He’ll be fine by tomorrow morning. I’m certain of it.”

Alice smiled at him, beginning to walk toward the living room door as Sam, the ponies, and their Pokémon following them. “Thanks again for dinner, Hau. If we don’t see you again…”

“Going to bed already?”

“Might as well. Have a busy day tomorrow, and I just want to keep an eye on Pikachu.”

“Hmm. Fair enough. Have a good night, everyone.”

“Thanks again, for…” Sam stopped as he raised and twirled his hand, trying to find the right words. “…everything. Thanks for everything today.”

“My pleasure, Sam.”

“Goodnight, Hau!” called Fluttershy.

“Yes, goodnight!” Starlight was the last of them to leave, Hau waving them farewell for the day.

Hau let his arm fall and swing as he made his way to the sink. Leaning over it, he didn’t seem to notice or care as he just stared at the dishes in the sink, reflecting with a soft, nostalgic smile over how blessed his life has been.

Chapter 10 – Fighting Solo

“Silvally,” said Gladion, “Multi-Attack.”

Sam shut his eyes as he and his Honedge braced themselves for the hit. Almost immediately, there was a powerful tremble in the earth, making Sam open his eyes back up.

He looked up to see Hau’s dragon Pokémon standing between him and Silvally, looking around to see that the canyon pass where he was battling looked far more grey and dark, the rock walls themselves looking more like brick.

Looking up at the back of the dragon’s head, both it and Hau eerily turned their heads in the exact direction so that their sideward glances were locked onto Sam’s face–

Sam opened his eyes and gasped, the room around him still dark in the night. He tilted his head and saw Honedge sleeping still to the left beside him inside its sheath. Sam rolled his head back to his pillow, but after a minute of stillness and staring at the ceiling, he could already tell that he was pretty much up for the day.

Gently sliding to the opposite edge of the bed, he pulled the remaining covers off of him and lightly tread towards the door. Upon grabbing the door’s handle, Honedge floated underneath his hand, making its presence known.

“Sorry, Honedge,” he sighed. “I’m just getting a drink of water and I’ll be back.”

Sam slowly opened the door, making no noises other than the slightest creaks. He disappeared from around the hallway, leaving Honedge alone where he levitated, gently pulling its sheath from off of itself.

As Sam walked into the kitchen, his eyes first went to the clock display on the stove, which read 3:30. Sam grunted and went the cupboard, opening several doors before finding the cups and glasses. Grabbing a large glass, he took the towel hanging from the oven door and walked to the sink, filling his glass full.

After several small gulps, the glass was empty again, and with the towel, he wiped the rim off where his lips touched and put the glass in the drying rack to the sink’s right.

He leaned over the counter, reflecting on the dream that he had, hoping the mulling over it would make him feel drowsy enough to return to bed. After another minute of waiting, feeling no less tired than he did moments ago, he quickly and quietly stormed out of the room, heading back toward the bedroom.

Entering, he saw an unsheathed Honedge floating out to him, as if knowing he’d be going with him somewhere.

“Right…” Sam stepped towards his bag beside his bag. “Hold on.”

As he knelt down and looked through his bag, he pulled out his Normalium Z, his Pokédex, as well as a flat, grey TM, putting all three of them in his pocket. After slipping on his shoes, he stood back up and scooped up his Z-Ring from his nightstand with his left hand, slipping it over his wrist with the right.

“Okay,” Sam whispered, “let’s go.”

Sam exited the room first, followed by Honedge. After a few moments, Alice stirred from her bed and sat up, already knowing that her brother and his Pokémon were gone.

Once Sam came out the doors to Hau’s home, his walking became more casual, the fears of waking someone having left him. Sam turned toward the town, the exteriors of the buildings almost identical to Hau’s minus their much smaller size. He also took note of a large wooden platform that three quarters of the buildings surrounded. Of to the left at the other quarter, he spotted another path covered over thickly with trees, two stone idols on both sides of the path. He and Honedge stared at the entrance ahead, as if it were luring them in.

“Yeah,” Sam said, “that’s the place.”

“Sam!” Alice’s hissed voice was sharp enough to get his full attention, and he turned around to see his sister standing ten feet away from him and approaching, barefoot. “What in the hell are you doing out here?”

“I should be asking you that.” Sam backed away as he avoided eye contact with her.

“Well, you’re the one waking up at 3 in the morning…”

“It’s closer to 4–”

“…making noises with your bag and then going out. Seriously, what’s wrong with you?”

“I…” Sam finally worked the mental strength to look into his sister’s eyes. “I had a dream. I was battling Gladion again.”

“Sam, we already–”

“But it wasn’t him that woke me up. Hau and his dragon came to save me, and… that’s when I woke up.”

Alice cocked her head away but still kept her eyes on him. “And… what do you think that means?”

“We never stood a chance against Gladion. Yet Hau comes in, and even he’s scared to face him. Up until now, Hau has been this really cool person to us, but I just realized when I woke up how powerful of a trainer he must be if he sends people like Gladion running.”

“So what now? You aren’t seriously implying that you’re now too scared to fight Hau now, are you?”

“Of course I’m scared…” Alice breathed audibly in disappointment as Sam refused to defend himself. “…but not scared enough to run away from this. Honedge and I are going to train our asses off until sunrise, and then we’re taking him on.”

“Sam… I know how important protecting them is, but at the same time, you… no, we can’t afford to make any dumb mistakes anymore, and I don’t think crash-coursing before facing a Kahuna with only your Honedge is a very smart move.”

“It’s the only move I can think of!” Alice stepped back at the sudden volume of his voice, but moreso the determination she heard in it. “And please, I know full well what I’m doing is not something you would do, but I want to… no. We need this. After almost losing to Gladion, defeating Hau is something I need to do sooner than later, and if we can do it right here and now, everything after that, the other trials, finding the other ponies, maybe even Gladion, won’t seem nearly as bad.”

“But do you really think Honedge can take him on alone?”

Honedge looked to Sam, and Sam back at it. Sam made a glance back to the direction Hau’s home, making a subtly audible gulp. Looking back at Honedge, it continued giving Sam a blank and expectant stare. Nodding at what Honedge wanted, he faced his sister again, the look steadfastness on his face already telling Alice what she was about to hear.

“Yes. Yes I do.” Sam felt a smile creep up on his lips. “I have faith in him, and I’d like to think he has faith in me.”

Alice gasped as Honedge reinforced his point but placing its cloth arm onto his shoulder. She then closed her eyes and smiled, knowing nothing she could do or say could change her brother’s mind.

“Okay then,” she finally said, crossing her arms, “if you think you can do this, I’ll be rooting for you. I’d just like to know what your plan is.”

“You don’t need to worry about that,” he replied. “What I’m planning is between Honedge and I, and we’re going to win with it. I’m certain.”

Alice relaxed her arms back to her sides, both disappointed and yet wholly satisfied with his answer. “Alright, hotshot, I’ll see you in the morning then.”

“Okay.”

Alice turned and headed back toward Hau’s home, Sam and Honedge standing still until they saw her enter back inside the house.

“Alright, then.” Sam reached into his pockets and pulled out his TM, holding it in front of his inquisitive Pokémon. “You don’t mind forgetting how to use Fury Cutter, do you?”

Honedge, seeming to sense Sam’s intentions, shook its body with slight rotations. Sam led Honedge into the path, disappearing inside the darkness of the foliage.

The sky had become a starry dark-purple, the sun soon to rise. Hau stepped outside the house in his shirt and board-shorts, a pair of orange water-shoes on his feet. He began jogging down the steps to the ground and prepared to head towards the south exit, only to find himself immediately coming to a stop at the sight of Sam standing on one end of the wooden platform with Honedge beside him. Hau smiled warmly to see his friend up, stepping casually to the side of the platform.

“Hey, Sam!” he called with a wave. “You’re up early today!”

“Yes.” Sam’s stern voice sounded focused. “I’m ready now.”

“…Ready for what?”

“My Grand Trial. My Honedge and I have just spent the last couple of hours preparing ourselves, and now, we’re ready to go.”

Hau approached closer, a bit slower and cautious this time. “How… long have you been standing there.”

“Only a few minutes. But whenever you’re ready, I’ll still be here, waiting to take you on.”

Hau’s smile started to grow. “So you’re really ready then?”

“I absolutely am.”

Hau relaxed himself as he began backing away in the direction of his house. “Give me a few moments.”

“Take your time.”

Hau jogged back to the house and nearly threw the door open, managing to catch the door by the handle to keep it from slamming into the wall, Sam watching him the whole time.

He quickly went to the couch where he kept a folded-up orange jacket, white shorts, his Poké Ball belt, and his sandals underneath on the floor. As Hau grabbed his shorts and slipped them over his board-shorts, he didn’t notice as the bedroom door opened a crack with Starlight peering through the gap. As Hau put his sandals on, Alice and Fluttershy stepped up behind Starlight, also watching Hau put his clothes on. Upon grabbing his jacket after fastening his belt to his waist, he walked back outside, sure to quietly close the door behind him.

“Is he…?” Fluttershy wondered.

“I’m sure he is,” Alice said.

The tired mewing of Alice’s Pikachu sounded beneath them as it walked underneath and between Starlight’s legs, the three of them chuckling in glee upon looking down to see it.

Outside, Sam kept his eye on Hau as he walked to the platform, smiling to see him dressed and ready to go. Hau came up opposite Sam on the steps, standing outside the white ring with a tribal design on its surface.

“You sure you don’t want to wait just a little bit?” Hau asked. “I’m sure Alice and the ponies would love to see our battle.”

Sam cocked his head to the right and smiled to see Alice, the two ponies, and Pikachu coming out from the door and making their way to the stage. “I don’t think they’d miss it for the world.”

Hau glanced behind him to see Alice, her Pikachu, and the ponies stop along the side of the stage. “Oh, good morning, guys! I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“On the contrary,” said Starlight. “You couldn’t have done so at a better time.”

“Right.” Hau then turned back to his opponent. “Looks like you get to have yourself an audience. So then, Sam, I shouldn’t expect a different answer, but I have to ask again, you ready for this, man?”

“Can’t remember a time that I’ve been more ready,” he responded, Honedge putting its arm and scabbard up in an offensive stance.

“Excellent. Then let us begin your final trial on Melemele.”

“You got it.”

Sam turned to his Honedge and cocked his head to Hau, signaling him to float within the circle and await Hau’s first Pokémon.

“Come on,” Alice whispered. “Please don’t blow this.”

Hau reached behind and pulled out an Ultra Ball with a black top and a large yellow “H” design along its surface. “Let’s hold nothing back. Go, Passimian!”

Hau threw out his ball, and from it emerged a very tall black-and-white monkey that appeared very slender save for its gargantuan, muscular arms. It wore half of a hollowed-out melon on its head as a helmet and kept a whole melon under its right hand. With a screeching howl, the Pokémon accepted Honedge’s challenge.

“Passimian?” Sam wondered, pulling out his Pokédex and scanning it.

“Passimian,” it spoke, “the Teamwork Pokémon. They form groups of roughly 20 individuals. Their mutual bond is remarkable. They will never let down a comrade.”

Sam looked further at the entry, noticing the reddish-brown bar by its name that was labeled “FIGHTING,” which made him grin excitedly.

“So,” Hau said, “looks like you know what my specialty of Pokémon are. Yes, like my grandfather, I use Fighting-types too. But just because your Honedge is a Ghost-type doesn’t mean this will be a cake-walk for you.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Sam’s smirk refused to die down.

“Huh?” Fluttershy turned to Alice. “What does he mean about ghosts?”

“Honedge is a Ghost and Steel-type Pokémon,” she responded. “That means Normal and Fighting-type attacks can’t hurt it.”

“But I have to assume that monkey will have attacks other than fighting, right?” asked Starlight.

Alice continued watching the battle, prompting the ponies to redirect their attention back to the battle.

“Alright,” Hau exclaimed, “let’s get warmed up. Passimian, use Focus Energy!”

The Passimian stood on its two feet and held and held its melon in both hands, humming as a bright red aura began spiraling around it.

“Fine with me,” Sam said. “Honedge, use Swords Dance!”

Honedge straightened itself so that its blade pointed to the sky, Sam holding out his closed fist as if he were holding it. With elegant movements of his arms and legs, Honedge mimicked Sam’s motions as every slash and swipe left behind a bright blue band of light that disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Starlight, Fluttershy, and Pikachu sighed in admiration at their display, which ended with a thrust back up to the sky.

“Amazing,” a familiar voice said beside Alice. “I’ve always wanted to see a Honedge’s Swords Dance.”

The others turned to see Makana watching the battle, his hands in his shorts pockets.

“Makana,” Alice gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just in town. Tried and failed to take Hau on yesterday and I came back to try again. Looks like someone’s already going to try and beat me to it.”

“Well, it will be an interesting fight, no doubt,” Hau responded. “And now that we’re all fired up, let’s get this on the road. Passimian, use–”

“Shadow Sneak, now!” Sam ordered with a downward punch of his fist.

Honedge threw itself down to the floor and its shadow raced out at the large monkey. Upon reaching it, the shadow exploded up, sending the Passimian flying and making it drop its melon. It nimbly landed on its feet and did a backflip for good measure.

“Whoa, nicely done!” Hau put his hands on his hips, proud of his Pokémon’s revovery. “Now, use Smack Down!”

Hau’s Passimian sneered as it galloped toward its melon, scooping it up in one hand and winding it back. With a swift underhanded throw, the melon shot out at Honedge so fast that neither Sam nor Honedge could react fast enough as the hard rind struck it where the hilt met the blade.

The force of the attack was enough for Honedge to shove Sam in the upper chest and send him to the edge of the platform, where he began to fall backwards.

“SAM!” Alice cried out, the ponies and her Pikachu beside her gasping in equal shock.

Before Sam could fully tip, Honedge’s cloth arm dropped its scabbard and grabbed hold of the front of his shirt’s collar, and with a yank forward, Sam was back on his feet just outside the ring on the platform.

“Sam, you alright there?” called Hau.

“Fine…” Sam panted.

Honedge’s eye squinted in annoyance at Hau, its arm at its side as if its hand were on its hip.

“Hehe.” Hau put his arms up and behind his back. “I’m glad to see you’re okay too Honedge.”

“It’s okay Honedge,” Sam said as his Pokémon picked up its sheath. “No hard feelings. Now, hit him with a Brick Break!”

Honedge leapt out at the Passimian, who arched down, ready to intercept the hit.

“Oh no you don’t!” Hau shouted. “Use Beat Up!”

While in its crouch, Passimian dove out at Honedge, its fists balled up. Sam was now prepared, crossing his arms while his Honedge formed an X-formation. Passimian made a toothy smile as it pulled its arm back, keeping its eyes on its target. The monkey punched again at the exposed base of the blade, sending Honedge back toward Sam again as it loudly groaned.

“Come on…” Sam watched the movements of his Pokémon as it continued falling back, and once the blade was pointed out toward him, Sam reached behind him and balled his fist, Honedge holding its pose. With a downward and upward swing of Sam’s arm, Honedge too followed through, the edge of the blade striking Passimian along the center of its chest, the strength of the hit making its eyes bulge and sending it flying back toward Hau, shouting.

“That’s it!” Makana jovially grunted.

The ponies stomped their front hooves in celebration as Passimian continued flying back. With a hard land on its side and a roll to its hands and feet, Passimian faced Honedge once again.

“Don’t worry about it,” Hau said, seeing his Pokémon pant. “Just go for another Beat Up!”

Sam crossed his arms again, and Honedge formed itself into an X as Passimian charged out again. Sam kept a watch on its right hand as it leapt about the platform, clearly trying to trip both of them up. Once it leapt out and thrust its fist forward for another punch, Sam could see it was going for the same spot. He ran his right forearm close to his elbow, Honedge covering its exposed spot with its scabbard.

Before the attack could connect, Sam thrust his arm out, Honedge responding by pushing against Passimian’s punch.

“Keep at it!” Hau yelled.

Sam kept watch as Passimian continued wailing on Honedge with its fists, Sam and Honedge blocking most of its blows with its sheath, Alice and Fluttershy observed on with concern.

“Wait,” Fluttershy said, “I thought you said Fighting-types couldn’t hurt Ghost-types.”

“Fighting-type moves can’t,” Alice explained, “but Beat Up is a Dark-type move, which Ghost-types are weak to.”

“So… Honedge will–”

Fluttershy gasped to suddenly see shove Passimian back with its scabbard, giving it some room.

“Okay, buddy, let’s finish this.” Sam wound his right arm in and swung down and up and out. “Use Return!”

“Return!?” Hau’s eyes widened.

Passimian, already tuckered out from the battle, couldn’t react fast enough as Honedge soared towards it with its sword wound in to the left, and then swung down, up, and out as Sam had done, a brilliant white trail of light following the blade as it hit the Passimian in both the chest and the chin.

Hau breathed in hard with worry as Passimian screamed out while its body limply flipped back towards him. The monkey landed flat on its chest and rolled over onto its back, Hau telling from its lazily open mouth and lopsided eyes that it had fainted.

“Not bad, Passimian.” Hau knelt down to his Pokémon and gave it a few gentle pats along its side. “You did awesome.”

He then took out the Ultra Ball and returned his Passimian inside. Starlight and Fluttershy cheered on while Alice and Makana smiled excitedly for Sam’s progress.

Hau stood again before Sam and his Honedge. “You may have gotten the best of my Passimian, but there’s one more of my guys you have to face, and he was one of my grandfather’s.”

“Oh…” Sam put up a façade of anticipation, hiding the sudden pang of nervousness he felt. “Sounds great.”

“I’m glad you think so, because I’ll bet your Honedge won’t be a match for him.” Hau took out a second Ultra Ball and tossed it out. “Let’s go, Hariyama!”

White energy shot from the ball, and forming from it was a heavy-set bipedal humanoid with blue legs, large orange hands with three wide fingers, an organic yellow-skirt, and a beige torso and head with a dark-blue cresting like large eyebrows. The creature lifted its left leg, and consequently most of its body up, and brought it back down with a thunderous and threatening boom.

“Careful now,” Sam said, watching the Pokémon put up its hand out to them. “We have just him left to go.”

“And it certainly won’t be easy.” Hau put his hands on his hips, seemingly inviting Honedge to attack. “I have to imagine that it’s already pretty tired after facing my Passimian.”

Sam smirked, confident as ever. “Honedge, Shadow Sneak!”

Honedge thrust to the ground and its shadow slithered along the platform. The Hariyama saw this and widened its stance while hugging its forearms to its chest. When the dark shadow lunged out from the floor, Hariyama stayed upright while it was lifted about a foot into the air, landing straight on its feet and resuming its stance.

“It will take a lot more than that speedy move of yours if you want Honedge to stay standing. Now, Hariyama, use Knock-Off!”

Hariyama lunged at Honedge, its uncanny speed completely throwing it and Sam off guard. With their attention and shields down, Hariyama chopped its hand into Honedge’s blade, knocking the scabbard out of its grasp and sending Honedge to the ground with a heavy clang.

“That’s it!” Hau shouted. “Now, use Heavy Slam!”

Sam looked to his Honedge as it slowly got back up, looking at its discarded sheath directly beneath and between Hariyama’s legs, as it prepped to attack.

Sam suddenly gasped at the plan that popped into his head. “Quick! Dodge it!”

Sam crouched down with his right leg out, motioning his arm with a low, swinging chop. Honedge blinked several times as it understood what to do. As Hariyama charged at it with its shoulder aimed at it, Honedge laid flat and zipped underneath the Hariyama’s foot before it could step down on it.

“Woo!” Starlight stood on her hind legs and bucked her forelegs out.

“Nicely done!” Makana shouted.

Now safely behind its opponent, Honedge scooped up its scabbard and held on tight again. Realizing it’s being close to the edge of the platform, Hariyama scuttled and slid back before Hau, ready to meet Honedge’s next move.

“What a maneuver!” Hau exclaimed as he threw his arms out. “Your Pokémon must really trust and love you to be as in synch with you as it is. No wonder you taught it Return before our match!”

“That’s not the only reason.” Sam’s low, sinisterly-confident tone turned Hau’s happy excitement into one of wary surprise. “On his own, yeah, my Honedge probably wouldn’t last much longer against your Hariyama, but thanks to you and Ilima, I’m literally wearing my victory on my wrist!”

“On your… no way!”

Sam crossed his arms at the wrist, revealing his Z-Ring with the Normalium Z on it, the position of his arms making it glow and a projection in the shape of the circular icon in the crystal to pulse outwards before disappearing. Alice and Makana stood in awe as Sam moved his arms and legs in accordance with the Z-Crystal’s activation, Honedge attempting to mimic its trainer’s moves with its one cloth arm.

With his side of his right fist at his gut and the side of his left centered on the forehead, Sam’s body radiated with a sparkling yellow light that branched out from all sides and flew out toward Honedge and converged into its center. Once every ounce of energy had transferred from Sam into Honedge, they both flared up with a warm, fiery aura as the symbol of the Z-Ring pulsed out of Honedge.

“Whuhuhoa.” Sam shuddered as he lifted his hands up to see the aura dancing around his arms to the tips of his fingers, feeling it like a soft static flowing to every end of his body from his chest out. “Honedge, can you feel this too?”

Honedge let out a guttural yell as it slashed the air excitedly, Sam feeling the aura suddenly rush about his limbs at the same instant and shudder again gleefully.

“Hahaha!” Hau roared. “Amazing, Sam! Now you can feel the bond between you and your Pokémon! This is both of your Z-Power!”

Sam’s smile grew wide as the energy in him built up enough to whip his shirt, shorts, and hair about as if caught in a fierce wind. Fluttershy and Starlight then noticed all of Iki Town beginning to glow a bright red, looking behind them to see the sun begin to rise over the oceanic horizon, the alpenglow stretching across where the sky and sea met.

“Now, let’s show them everything we have!” Sam screamed out.

Honedge’s aura began to grow brighter in intensity as it flipped its sheath into the air and slid into it as it dropped, completely ready to go.

“Breakneck Blitz!”

The aura around Sam’s Pokémon grew white and hot, and in an instant, Honedge shot out at Hariyama with the tip of its covered blade aimed right at its stomach, a bright tail following it. Upon making contact, all of Honedge’s remaining energy exploded into Hariyama and launched it off the platform, Hau barely managing to step aside as it flew past his face.

Hariyama managed to get to its hands and knees and push and grab at the ground, sliding to a stop just inches from the outer walls of Hau’s kitchen. Alice, Makana, and the ponies were too amazed by the smoke coming off Hariyama’s body to care about it standing back up to its feet.

“Oh my god!” Alice shrieked with a leap and punch. “That was incredible!”

The ponies cheered while Makana could only clap and laugh. Sam found their cheers and applause infectious as he began to chuckle. Honedge floated back to Sam and flicked its sheath off its blade, catching it in its arm with a satisfied twirl.

“That was great,” Sam huffed.

Honedge tipped its body to nod, its eye squinted in anticipation. Just then, a loud boom shook the ground, and Sam and Alice could see as Hariyama leapt from where it stood back to in front of Hau in a single bound, its landing blowing a blast of wind all around it.

“Congratulations,” Hau said, completely steadfast, “you just performed your first Z-Move. While you’re lucky enough to not see mine firsthand, you still have a ways to go before Hariyama is down for the count.”

Hariyama grunted and forced its hand out, ready for Hau’s next orders.

“I’m honestly surprised to see your Pokémon still standing after that.” Sam didn’t look the least bit intimidated anymore. “At this rate, I have to think that a few hits will do it for him, and thankfully, I have speed on my side! Honedge, use Shadow Sneak!”

“Hariyama, Heavy Slam!”

Honedge’s shadow, strengthened by the rising sun and bright sky above behind them, shot along the ground toward Hau’s Pokémon, who charged forward with its shoulder leading. When the shadow came up from the floor, Hariyama broke through it, its charge not impeded. Sam’s breath caught in his throat as Hariyama’s shoulder struck Honedge.

“Alright!” Hau balled his fist up. “Now use Knock Off!”

“Quickly!” Sam called out with a clockwise spin and slash out with his right arm. “Brick Break!”

Honedge swung around clockwise, avoiding Hariyama’s left hand thrusting at it, and in the same swing, struck it in its right ribs. As Hariyama grunted in pain, it raised its right hand and swung down, swatting Honedge off of it and knocking its scabbard out of its grasp once again.

With the distance between them, the two Pokémon shifted back around so that they were standing before their respective trainers. Both Hariyama and Honedge panted heavily, the former in particular placing its left hand on its right side.

“I think each of our Pokémon only have one more hit in them,” said Sam.

“I agree.” Hau looked to his Pokémon faithfully, and then to Sam’s Honedge, noting the scratches and spots covering it. “Let’s give it all on this last attack!”

“Yes. Let’s!” Sam stood in a wide stance, his arms and fists raised in anticipation.

“Hariyama!” Hau’s Pokémon stood up straight.

“Honedge!” Sam’s Pokémon slashed the air.

“Knock Off!”

“Return!

Both Pokémon charged at one another, Hariyama’s hands pushing out one at a time in quick repetition, while Honedge lowered its blade to the right, following Sam’s stance. Sam looked intently at the pattern of Hariyama’s thrusts, seeing the path to victory within them.

Holding his fist straight out, Sam reeled in his arm, wrapping it around his neck. Honedge’s sword now aimed its tip to the upper left, soaring to Hariyama’s upper right, barely managing to slip in between its hands before they switched. Coming around behind it, the end of Honedge’s pommel was aimed at the back of Hariyama’s head.

Hau gasped as his Hariyama turned around to see Honedge from the corner of its eyes. Sam then thrust the bottom of its fist out, Honedge, speeding down and striking Hariyama in the temple, the hit making Hariyama crumple to its stomach.

Sam, Alice, Starlight, Fluttershy, and Makana held their breath as they watched Hariyama tremble as it tried pushing up to stand. As Honedge returned to Sam’s side, Hariyama grunted as its arms struggled to support itself, finally buckling away to make Hariyama lie still. Pikachu stared out at the still Pokémon, almost entranced by it.

Sam began breathing quickly as Hau approached his fallen Pokémon, smiling wider as he approached his victorious opponents. Kneeling before his Hariyama, he pulled out its ball from his belt and returned him inside.

“Hala would’ve been so proud.” He placed his forehead upon the ball above the center button.

With his thanks given, Hau stood before Sam, who restrained the urge to celebrate until he could hear what he knew he would say.

“You’ve shown me an amazing battle, man,” he said. “I still can’t believe that it only took you one Pokémon to beat me. Regardless, it really serves as proof that you two share an exceptional bond. But, a win’s a win.” Hau began reaching into his jacket pocket, pulling out a reddish-brown crystal with a fist-shaped icon inside of it and placed it on Sam’s palm. “Please take this Fightinium Z, as proof of your victory over the Melemele Grand Trial. Congratulations.”

Hau stood back and applauded Sam who continued looking at his prize, ignoring the cheers of his friends off on the side. He was suddenly pulled from his concentration by Alice leaping onto Sam and hugging him tightly.

“Oh my god, you won, you won!” she bellowed. “My brother cleared the Grand Trial everyone!”

“Alice, shh!” Sam hissed, struggling with the urge not to laugh. “People are still sleeping!”

Sam was then pulled from Alice’s grasp by Makana, who locked him into a hug and patted his back with the side of his fist. “That was awesome, sir. Respect.”

The two ponies and Pikachu came up to the platform next, and once Sam turned to see them, he knelt down, tears beginning to well in his eyes. With open arms, he invited Fluttershy and Starlight into a hug, and they both came up with their arms around his neck and his arms around their bodies.

“I’m not going to fail you,” he whispered, a tear falling from one of his eyes. “You’re safe with me.”

Honedge joined in and wrapped its cloth arm around Sam’s head, resting its hilt on his temple.

The sound of Hau clearing his throat, broke Sam, Honedge, and the ponies up, and Sam stood to face him. “Just one more thing before I let you go. If you want to use that Fightinium Z and draw its Z-Power, you need to perform a special pose. Here’s how it’s done.”

Hau crossed his arms before his face at the wrists, swung them down to his sides, and held both arms out and crossed over, he then pulled his right wrist to his side and punched out with his left fist, then punching with his right and moving his left wrist to his side. With a quick series of punches and a step off the ground with his left foot, he delivered a final punch out with a step back to the ground.

“Looks easy, right?” Hau asked in a more relaxed stance.

“Yeah,” Sam responded. “It does, actually.”

“Then that’s really all I can do now. You and your Pokémon will probably need a shower after such an intense battle. Go ahead, you’ve earned it.”

“Thanks again, Hau.” Sam nodded so vigorously that his whole body bowed with him. “Thank you so much.”

Sam ran off the platform and threw his arm up before hitting the ground. As he walked back to Hau’s home, Honedge and Starlight following him back, Alice stayed behind and approached Hau.

“Sorry,” she said, “I know your Pokémon had quite a battle there, but I just want to know when I can have a go.”

Hau put his hands on his hips, looking impressed. “You must be so revved up seeing your brother’s battle that you want to go as well. Well, tell you what, my Pokémon will need a few hours to rest up, but once they’re ready, I’m sure they’ll be dying to try your Noibat and Pikachu on.”

Pikachu watched from the other end of the platform, it’s ears drooping down and a look of worry coming across its face.

“Thank you, Hau. We’ll be ready” Alice made her way to the platform steps with Fluttershy following. “Pikachu?”

Pikachu sprinted out from around the platform and onto Alice’s back, climbing over and sliding into her arms, much to her surprise.

“Well, someone’s energetic this morning!” Alice hugged Pikachu close as they approached the doors of the house.

Pikachu kept its gaze on the inside of the house once Alice opened the doors, not wanting to look back until it was inside and the doors were closed again.

Chapter 11 – Meet the Parents

“Check it out!” Sam pulled his Holo Caster away from his face to give room for his Z-Ring, which he held up with his Fightinium Z inside the face, also revealing his casual day wear.

“Whoa, that’s cool!” The full 3D head and torso of Sam’s mother was projected in a blue light from the top of Sam’s device. “Where’d you get that thing?”

“It’s a bit of a long story, but I can now use Z-Moves with this.”

“Oh, that’s one of those Z-Rings I’ve heard about. Did your sister also get one?”

“Yes, we got ours together.”

“Benji, come and say good morning to your son!” Susan’s turned to the left as she called for her husband.

After a few moments, his image also appeared beside her. “Hey, kiddo. What’s going on?”

“Sam just told me he completed all his trials!”

“Already? You already beat the Island Challenge?”

“No, no…” Sam couldn’t help but look annoyed at his mother’s mild ineptitude. “I’ve completed all my trials on Melemele. I still need to take on the ones on the other three islands first.”

“Oh, my apologies,” Susan responded. “It’s a bit different from the gyms.”

Sam forced a smile. “So, I’m guessing you’re calling other than to see how we’re doing?”

“Right!” Benji jumped in. “Your mother and I were planning on taking a little trip over to Ten Karat Hill for a picnic this afternoon and wondered if you and Alice wanted to come with.”

Sam looked to his side to the bathroom door, still hearing the shower head running inside.

“Where is she?” Susan asked.

“In the shower. She’s planning on taking her Grand Trial in a few hours.”

“Oh, really? You’re still in Iki Town? That’s not too far from where we’re going. Maybe we can come and watch.”

“Uh… Sure! I’m sure she’d love that.”

“How much time do we got?” Benji asked.

“Well, Hau’s still resting his Pokémon up from our battle, but he thinks it should only be a couple of hours.”

“Sounds perfect!” Susan exclaimed. “We’ll be there in less than one!”

“Okay… so, I, uh… yeah, see you soon!”

“We’ll call you when we’re close. Maybe show us around a little bit.”

“‘Kay then, I’ll see you.”

“Okay, then. Bye.”

Sam flicked his Holo Caster off, feeling alone enough to take an anxious breath.

“Oh boy…” he mumbled with his hand over his face.

“Sam!” Fluttershy came from the bedroom with Starlight, the latter’s magic brushing her hair out straight. “Were those your parents?”

“Yeah, they were.”

“You didn’t let us say, ‘Hi?’” Starlight chided.

“Oh, believe me, you’ll meet them soon enough. They’ll be coming over in the next hour to watch Alice and Hau’s battle.”

“Oh, how lovely!” Fluttershy chirped. “I can’t wait to meet them.”

Sam turned away from them and made his way to the kitchen. “I can,” he whispered.

Walking inside he found Hau in the dining room with his Passimian and Hariyama sitting along the back wall, Passiman shoveling in handfuls of fruit salad from a large metal bowl, and Hariyama drinking from quart-sized measuring cup full of raw, unbeaten eggs.

“Don’t eat too much, Passimian!” Hau chuckled. “You don’t want to get a stomachache against Alice’s Pokémon, do you?”

Hau reached for the bowl, only for his Pokémon to pull it away and hug it close with a defensive hiss. From the corner of his vision, he saw Sam standing at the counter, clearly waiting for him.

“Sam.” Hau walked to Sam, standing at the end of the counter. “What can I do for you, man?”

“It’s uh…”

“Hey, you’re not still scared about going off to the other islands, are you? Because after the way you and Honedge–”

“No, it’s not that, it’s my parents.”

Hau could tell from the quickness of Sam’s speech that something about them was clearly troubling him. “What about your parents?”

“They’re coming to Iki Town in a little bit.”

“What?! That sounds awesome! Why the long face about it?”

“It’s just… God, how do I say this without sounding weird… I mean, I’m sure you know how protective parents can be.”

“Sure. Are yours like, super overprotective?”

“I… wouldn’t say that, it’s just. How do you think they’re going to react when they see the ponies and then either Alice or I have to say, ‘Oh yeah, these two things came from that portal two nights ago, and now we’re traveling with them to find the others because we’re friends now. You can trust these talking, magical ponies from another world with your kids!’ I mean, I thought of just hiding them in the bedroom or something until they leave, but I don’t have the heart to do that to them, but–”

“Whoa, whoa, dude, slow down!” Hau approached Sam with his hands placed on his shoulders. “I think you’re overthinking this way too hard. I’m sure your folks will love the ponies just like we do.”

“It’s not really them loving them that bothers me.” Sam backed away from Hau’s grasp. “I really just don’t want to deal with a lecture about how we should leave the ponies in more capable hands.”

“I honestly don’t know whose hands the ponies are more capable in than you and your sister’s. I mean, you defeated my trial with only one Pokémon. I’ve never had anyone do that since I’ve become a kahuna.”

Sam couldn’t hold back a smile to hear such an honor, but resumed his worried grimace. “I… know, and I’m certain my sister is an even better trainer than me, but that really won’t matter to them. I’ve already nearly had the ponies taken from me yesterday, I don’t want to go through that again today.”

“Listen, for what it’s worth, I guarantee you’ll have an easier time with your parents than you had with Gladion.” Hau then sighed as he passed Sam and went to the exit door. “But it seems this is going to be one of those bridges that we’ll have to cross when we come to it.”

“Hey, where are you going?”

“The ponies and your sisters have a right to know what to expect. Let’s tell them.”

Sam opened his mouth to object, but Hau had pushed himself through the open door and into the main hall, where Starlight and Fluttershy continued to wait. They both turned their heads to face them.

“Oh, hey you two!” Fluttershy chirped. “What’s going on?”

Before Hau could even form a thought to answer, the bathroom door opened and Alice walked out, wearing only her red shirt and grey shorts, her hair and patches of her arms and legs still damp.

“Was that mom and dad you were talking to just now?” she asked Sam.

Now faced by them all, Sam turned to the ponies and took a deep, but silent breath in.

A small yellow car crept up the hill, the tires following the faint dirt tracks of the sparse number of cars who made the same journey up. As it continued its ascent, its driver, Benji, looked to see a large dirt lot bending off from the right side of the road with a sign posted in the grass in between, which depicted a black slash through a car icon. Understanding what to do, Benji pulled into the lot and quickly pulled into one of the very few parking spots still available.

“Lucky…” Benji commented as he exited his car, sporting a polyester yellow polo, white shorts, and light-brown boots.

Susan followed her husband from her side, wearing a low-cut sky-blue tee and skinny jeans while carrying a large white handbag, and began making the way further up. After a small bend to the left, Benji and Susan sighed with slight relief to see the gateway to Iki Town and all the buildings behind it.

“It’s like an actual tropical village,” said Susan. “Deep in the woods and hills and everything.”

“Have to imagine the locals put on an amazing barbeque,” Benji replied.

Once they got to the final five steps, Hau appeared from around one of the poles for the entryway, his fanned-out jacket giving off a threatening appearance that made Benji and Susan stop in their tracks.

“Hey there!” he said with a wave. “You must be Sam and Alice’s folks!”

Benji leaned in to shake the young man’s hand. “Yeah. How’d you know that?”

“I’m good at these things! Name’s Hau, the Kahuna for the island. And you are?”

“Benji. Call me Benji. And this is my wife, Susan.”

Hau moved to shake her hand as well. “Pleasure. I’m guessing you came to see your kids?”

“Yeah,” Susan responded. “You know where they are?”

“At my place, getting ready for the battle! Follow me!”

With a cartoonishly long swing of his arm, Hau led the two to follow him, his charm making them do so almost immediately.

“So,” Benji said, “our son already beat you, I heard.”

“You heard right, sir.”

“How else do you know them?”

“Ben!” Susan slapped her husband on the shoulder, offended by such an accusatory question.

“It’s alright ma’am, I understand. Kind of weird that the chief trainer of the island lets a couple tenderfeet crash at his place, but yeah. The kids were looking for a place to stay after the wormhole appeared, and so I was kind enough to shelter them until it blew over.”

“Oh, I see.” Ben was visibly more relaxed. “Thank you very much.”

“I should thank you. Your two kids are really something. We spent the night talking and got to know a bit about each other. Kind of nice to have one of them beat me in the Grand Trial this morning.”

“I can imagine,” Susan said. “I assume you didn’t go easy on him just because you became friends.”

“Absolutely not, and I don’t plan on giving a handicap to your daughter either. They’re very strong trainers; you shouldn’t have to worry.”

Walking up a flight of stone steps and turning left, the battling platform and Hau’s home were now in plain view.

“Wow!” Susan took her sunglasses off at the sight of the Kahuna’s house. “You live here?”

“Yeah. It’s passed down to each Kahuna from the last.”

“Who was the last one?” Benji asked.

“My grandfather, Hala.”

“Grandfather…” Benji’s words were hushed as he must have realized what this meant.

“Anyway, we’re here. After you.”

Hau stood at the foot of the wooden steps to the deck and front door, allowing the Benji and Susan to go up first. Upon opening the door and stepping slowly inside, they were first greeted by Sam, Alice, who was now fully dressed, and both ponies relaxing on the couches. Sam and Alice stood up, initially glad to see them, while Fluttershy and Starlight stayed seated, turning to see who it was.

“Oh, are these them?” Fluttershy asked.

Susan let out a small gasp with a hand over her mouth as both ponies got up to join Sam and Alice’s sides. “Oh my gosh. What kind of Pokémon are those?”

Starlight failed to hold back a scowl. “We’re not–”

“Just be cool,” Sam sighed, quelling her mild anger.

The room was suddenly silent as Benji and Susan stared at the ponies, Starlight in particular. Alice and Sam’s suddenly relaxed faces turned disappointed and slightly bitter.

“Did… she just talk?” asked Benji.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Hau’s sudden appearance and voice behind the two parents forced them to leap to the sides. “I’d like to introduce you to our newest friends, but maybe it’d be better if they did it themselves.”

Starlight, happy to take the stage, stepped up to the still stupefied Benji and Susan. “My name is Starlight Glimmer. It’s a real honor to meet you.”

“Sam…” Susan stammered. “Alice… what are these things?”

“They call themselves ponies.” Alice crossed her arms, knowing what was to come. “They’re our friends.”

“Wait…” Benji looked down to Starlight and then to Fluttershy, who began to slink behind Alice’s legs. “These thin– ponies. They… weren’t what came out of that wormhole Monday night, were they?”

“Please,” Starlight spoke up, her optimism fading, “let me explain.”

“They are, aren’t they?” Susan’s voice became hushed with shock.

“Yes,” Sam blurted. “Please, don’t be upset!”

Benji and Susan’s continued silence came as an unexpected response to Sam and Alice, and their frightened expressions softened almost immediately. Benji continued looking down at Starlight before him, and slowly came down to a kneel, making Starlight shift back in confusion, Susan looking warily on.

“May I?” Benji queried with a reaching hand.

Starlight stayed still and uneasy as he gently cupped his face around the bottom of Starlight’s muzzle, moving and running it over cheek and gently running it down the sides of the neck, shoulder, and stomach, mouth agape over the softness of her coat. Removing his hand, they both looked at each other, and finally, he put his palm out slowly to her.

“Starlight, right?” he said.

Starlight, understanding the gesture, lifted up her hoof and rested it in Benji’s hand. He grasped it and put his other hand over it, finally allowing the two to smile at each other over the bond they’ve established.

Susan looked to Hau, still flustered with concern. “How did you find them?”

Hau came between “Actually, it was your kids who found them wet, cold, and alone inside a cave near Kala’e Bay and kept them safe until I came across them. I’ve been letting them stay at my place ever since.”

“But… you said–”

“I know what I said.” His hands reached behind his neck. “I just thought I’d save the ponies for when you got here.”

Benji couldn’t help but chuckle as he stood, unable to find any sort of untruth in Hau’s words. “That’s… that’s really incredible.” He then also turned to face Hau. “I’m glad to know you’re taking good care of them.”

“Well, I get by with a little help,” he replied with a cock of his head towards Sam and Alice.

Sam and Alice smiled, and even Fluttershy stepped out in fuller view for their parents. It looked to be going much better than anticipated.

“Are there others?” asked Susan, then glancing toward Starlight. “Are there more like you?”

“Yes, there are.” Starlight’s ears drooped as she looked down. “My friends also got pulled here and we’re pretty certain they’re on the other islands.”

“But it’s good to know you have a strong trainer like Hau to help you find them,” Benji responded.

“Actually,” Hau said in full confidence, “your kids are seeing to their rescue.”

“What?” Both Benji and Susan’s sudden voices brought a grimace to both Sam and Alice’s faces.

“They can’t do that,” Benji responded. “They just started their island trials. Sam especially–”

“–Is a fine trainer,” Hau interjected. “If he can defeat a Kahuna like me with only one Pokémon you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. And considering how highly he thinks of his own sister, you should be doubly assured of their safety.”

“But…” Susan looked to her children, who appeared quite pleased with Hau’s praises. “Her other friends must be worried sick, and… no doubt frightened. They may see our children as trying to hunt them.”

“Fluttershy and I will be right there with them to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Starlight said. “Trust me, if they see we can trust them, they’ll trust them too.”

“Mom…” Alice stepped forward and leaving Fluttershy in the open, though she stood still where she was. “…Sam and I knew what we were getting into when we came here… I mean, other than the ponies, but yeah, that happened, and it is what it is. We agreed to help them, and we know what we’re going into with this too.”

Benji looked to his wife, who glanced down, knowing she couldn’t convince her daughter otherwise. “Sam,” he then said, looking dead into his son’s eyes. “Are you really prepared for this?”

“Dad–”

“I’m not trying to talk you out of it. If you want to help these guys, then your mother and I will support you 100%, but I know how hard it’s been for you to leave home, your old life, and go off on your first journey as a trainer. I just want to know if you can also handle them.”

Starlight and Fluttershy looked to Sam, who looked at his Z-Ring, smiling as if the answer was written on its face. “You know, I missed so many opportunities in Kalos. Missed so many potential friends and memories. After meeting Hau, the ponies, and getting this far in my journey already, I can tell you I’ve never wanted anything more than this.”

Starlight smiled warmly at such a proud and steadfast response, and Fluttershy managed to step out further towards him. Benji closed his eyes and broke a smile.

“I guess that’s that, then.” Benji looked down to the general direction of both Starlight and Fluttershy. “And I can trust you to take care of my kids?”

“I think we’ll all be taking care of each each other,” she responded with a bow of her head, “won’t we, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy snapped into attention. “Oh, oh! Yes, we certainly will. We’ll all need all the help we can get!”

Fluttershy smiled sheepishly, unsure if she said the right thing, and even the other humans in the room were visibly puzzled by her remark.

“Hey!” Hau suddenly shouted with a clap and reach out with his hands. “Now that we’re all buds now, let’s see how my Pokémon are doing!”

With Hau’s jacket sailing behind him, he appeared to fly to the kitchen before he opened the door and entered inside. Either way, it seemed to distract everyone else from Fluttershy’s statement.

“Okay…” Susan sat cross-legged on the floor and fished a Poké Ball from her purse. “You.” Fluttershy turned her head to her. “Yes, sorry, I don’t think I got your name.”

“Oh, right.” Fluttershy came to her and laid on her stomach with her hooves tucked in. “I’m Fluttershy. I really can’t say enough how wonderful your kids are.”

“I’d like to think I’m partly responsible for that. Are you liking the Pokémon you’ve seen so far?”

“Oh my, yes! I especially love your daughter’s Noibat! Such a sweetie she is.”

“Here, I’d like you to meet one of mine.”

Susan held out her Poké Ball, where it opened up, the white energy popping out from it forming into a small, bipedal dark-blue cat with a spikey white tufts of fur on its head, neck, and on the tips of its two tales.

“Oh, he’s so cute!” she squealed, putting her face close.

The cat shifted forward and sniffed tentatively at her snout before falling onto her face while holding to its muzzle, purring as its face rubbed her forehead.

“My,” Susan exclaimed, “my Meowstic is never usually this friendly to strangers, yet alone other Pokémon.”

Fluttershy stood up, causing the cat to float off her face and sit atop her neck. “It’s a little gift I have.” She looked as far up as she could and gave the Meowstic a wink.

“They’re ready!” Hau burst through the doors. “Alice, you ready?”

“Huh?” Alice spoke up. “You mean–”

“Yeah! If you’re ready for your Grand Trial, just say the word and we’ll get this show on the road.”

“Uh, do you think…”

“Come on,” Benji egged on, “we may have come to take you to Ten Karat Hill, but I don’t want to miss your trial for the world!”

Alice looked to her friends and family, all of whom looked pleasantly expectant for an affirmative answer. Feeling boxed in, she relaxed herself and huffed in laughter.

“Alright, you guys win. Let’s do this thing.”

“Great!” Hau shouted. “I’ll meet you out there!”

He strolled to the door and exited just as quickly. Susan, her Meowstic, and Fluttershy looked to each other before they decided to follow him outside, followed closely by Alice after placing her Normalium Z inside the face of her Z-Ring.

With Sam, Benji, and Starlight alone, Benji let out a sigh and rubbed his neck. “Hey, Sam, listen, I’m sorry I didn’t get to see your trial. I’m sure it was really neat.”

“Hey, jokes on you,” Sam said with a nudge to his father’s shoulder, “now you have to watch Alice beat Hau to a pulp in the most boring battle of the century.”

“Still looking forward to it.”

As Sam and Benji left the house together, Starlight, gladdened by seeing Sam find humor in his father’s absence and his sister’s strength, rolled her eyes with a smirk, trotting behind them before the door could close on her.

Chapter 12 – Dual

Hau stood at the platform with his hands excitedly at his hips as Alice stepped up to the side of the white ring opposite from him. As Fluttershy and Susan stood at the edge of the platform beside the steps, several of the townspeople and a couple of other tourists began to gather around to the other sides. Upon seeing the increasing numbers of Alice’s audience, Sam and Benji broke into a brisk jog, Starlight galloping close behind.

“Hurry,” Sam panted as another group of people began to close the gap next to his mom.

He jumped into the last space as he scooted over to make room for his father and Starlight.

“Hey!” An overweight male tourist moved his arm up as Sam took up the space he hoped he would. “You’re not the only one who wants to watch!”

“That’s his sister up there,” Benji remarked, turning only his head to the tourist. “Try and be more considerate.”

The tourist took one step aside, allowing plenty of room for Benji and Starlight to stand. Both Starlight and Fluttershy took another step forward and put their front hooves on the platform floor, being able to peer over and see Sam take out her first Poké Ball.

Hau grinned to see her so prepped to go. “Looks like we’ll be having a much bigger crowd to watch us this time around.”

“Couldn’t imagine a better scenario for when I beat you,” she remarked, lobbing her ball up. “If my brother can beat you with only one Pokémon, I can easily do it with two.”

“Your brother may have had only one Pokémon, but his was the right type to fight against me. You’ll have a much harder time this time around, I guarantee you.”

Hau pulled out his Ultra Ball from the belt on his waist, keeping it in his hand as he crossed his arms over.

“Now, I just have to ask one last time. Are you ready to face me?”

Alice grinned. “Go, Noibat!”

Tossing her ball out, her purple bat-like dragon appeared from the white aura that shot out from it. As Noibat fluttered patiently in the air, Hau smirked wide, expecting nothing less of a response from Sam’s headstrong sister.

“Very well,” he muttered. “Let’s go, Passimian!”

With a throw of his ball, the large, muscular monkey stood before Alice’s Pokémon, suddenly looking nervous as it frantically looked around it for something, bemusing the audience.

Starlight’s eyes widened as it realized what was missing. “It lost it’s–”

“Hey, Passimian!”

The sound of Hau’s voice had his Passimian turn around just as a large, light-yellow melon was lobbed from its trainer’s hand to it. The monkey screeched loudly with joy as it caught the melon in both of its arms, hugging it close with its face rubbing affectionately against it.

“Looks like he lost it after the last battle,” Hau reasoned.

“Okay, then,” Alice shouted out, “he’s got his little fruit now. Let’s get this started!”

“Right. Passimian, Focus Energy!”

The monkey, already relaxed with its melon in hand, stood on its feet and began meditating with a red aura gently flowing around its body.

“Using up that first turn again?” Alice asked. “Suits me fine. Noibat, use Supersonic!”

Noibat shot a bit further up in the air and kept its head steady and aimed at its motionless target. With a high-pitched whine, transparent rings pulsed out of its ears in quick repetition, the inner spaces perfectly ringing around Passimian.

“Fight it, Passimian!” Hau shouted.

Hau’s Pokémon groaned and grit its teeth as it continued to try and focus as the onslaught of sonic rings began to end.

“That’s it,” Hau exclaimed, “now use Smack Down!”

“Noibat…” Alice kept her mouth open to make her next command, but it hung over at the sight of Noibat focusing on regaining its breath.

Alice looked ahead to see the Passimian holding its melon in its hand, the arm connected to it wound back to throw. Just before the monkey could hurl its weapon at the opponent, it slipped from its hand. The Passimian, as if perplexed by its own body’s motions, continued following through, the force of its throw pulling it forward and forcing itself on its stomach.

“Yes, it worked!” Sam cheered. “Nice one, Noibat!”

Noibat gently squealed in reply, its stamina full again.

“While it’s down,” Alice commanded, “use Aerial Ace.”

Noibat quickly flew in an upward arc over the Passimian, who slowly got up as it fought its uncalibrated limbs. Once it was high enough, Noibat dropped from its ascent and shot down at the Passimian’s back, striking it dead on in the center of the spine, dropping the monkey once more with a piercing screech.

“Okay, that’s it!” Benji shouted with two hard claps.

Hau began to frown with slightly bared teeth. “That’s okay, man! Use another Focus Energy!”

Passimian crawled back to its dropped melon, picked it back up, and stood focused once again as its red aura covered it.

“Wasting another turn?” Alice asked. “Noibat, hit him with another Supersonic!”

Noibat let out another high-pitched scream as the sonic pulses flew back out at Hau’s Pokémon.

“Alright,” Hau shouted, his confident grin returned, “now use Smack Down!”

Before Noibat’s attack could hit, the Passimian opened its eyes and rolled out of its way, its wound-back arm throwing its melon at the distracted Noibat, this time hitting it square in the stomach.

Alice, as well as Susan and Fluttershy gasped as Noibat fell from the air and bounced to the floor onto its back.

“That’s it!” Hau clamped his fist shut. “Now, use Beat Up!”

Passimian lunged forwards into a gallop, Noibat still squirming from the exceptionally hard blow it received. Alice took note of her Pokémon’s position as the Passimian was only a few feet away.

“Deflect it with Wing Attack!”

Hau’s Passimian was now standing over Noibat, with its fist coming down to strike. With a hard slap, Noibat managed to deflect the attack away with the membrane of its wing. Passimian quickly got over its surprise and threw down its other fist, which Noibat also managed to knock away with its other wing.

“That’s it!” Alice shouted.

“Keep going!” both she and Hau shouted.

Passimian wildly struck its hands down on Noibat, several hits being blocked by its opponent, some landing their marks on its stomach or face. Alice continued looking at the sight nervously, knowing that Passimian had the higher ground.

She then saw one of its left hand come up. “Noibat, quickly, use Bite!”

The hand came down, which Noibat avoided with a juke of its head to the left, shifting back and clamping its sharp teeth down on the monkey’s fist. Passimian squealed with pain as it began stumbling about, whipping its arm to get Noibat off, but to no avail.

Hau grunted to see his Pokémon in such a shape. “Passimian, Beat Up!”

Alice and Sam both gasped as Passimian’s right fist reeled back, a guttural growl from its mouth growing into a piercing shout.

Alice hissed, knowing what she needed to. “Let go, now!”

Noibat saw the fist beginning to come at it, and at the last moment, it leapt off opened its wings out, taking the hit right in the chest.

Fluttershy cried out as it watched Noibat wheel back away from Passimian, only to be moderately relieved when it managed to regain its senses and keep a somewhat still flying position before it could hit the ground.

“Come on, Alice!” Susan yelled out.

“You seriously can’t tell me Noibat can’t survive the Passimian when Honedge could!” Sam loudly scolded.

“Shut up, Sam…” As much as she hated to hear it, Alice could tell that Sam was lighting a fire within her.

Hau examined the states of both his Pokémon and Alice’s, a small drop of blood dripping off Passimian’s fist while Noibat’s longer, more forceful wingbeats were each accompanied by an audible whine.

Alice could note her Noibat’s state too. “Noibat, land.”

Noibat stopped flapping its wings, nearly falling straight down, but keeping its form upon its feet hitting the floor.

“Hmm.” Hau looked rather guilty about whatever he had just though up. “Looks like she lost her air advantage. Passimian, finish Noibat off with Low Sweep!”

With a wave of his hand, Passimian leapt forward, its right leg back and ready to kick. Noibat dug the ends of its wings and its feet to the ground, certain its trainer was planning something.

“Noibat, Aerial Ace!”

Passimian landed and began to run its right foot along the floor, the top aimed squarely at Noibat. Noibat lunged forward, the kick grazing beneath it, leaving Passimian unprepared as Noibat’s right wing slashed at Passimian in the side of the neck. The momentum of the swing made the already unconscious Passimian’s fall even harder, and with a slight bounce, Hau could tell that it would not get up for the rest of the battle.

“Woohoo!” Starlight cheered, hopping her front hooves on the platform floor.

“Yes…” Sam pumped his fist discreetly.

Hau, with his Ultra Ball in grasp, came up to his Passimian which continued moaning in exhaustion. “Once again, nice job, Passimian.”

Passimian’s whine rose in pitch, acknowledging the compliment as it was returned inside of its ball. Hau put his ball back onto his belt, taking out his Hariyama’s ball as he watched Alice kneel down to her still grounded Noibat.

“You were awesome, Noibat!” she said to it.

Noibat threw its wings open and let out a happy yowl, but clacked her teeth after feeling the strain in its arms and stomach.

“Well, then.” Alice and Noibat were brought back to attention by Hau’s commanding voice. “Looks like you have one more Pokémon of mine to go. Your Noibat looks pretty spent, all things considered.”

“Yeah, and I bet he’ll still make short work of your Hariyama.”

Hau feigned a surprised gasp. “Those be fighting words! Let’s go, Hariyama!”

Hau threw his final Ultra Ball out, his Hariyama appearing from the white energy that came from it and landing on the platform with a heavy bang.

Alice’s cocksure grin refused to leave her face. “Fine with us. He’s still a Fighting-type.”

“And look at how well my Passimian fared against your Noibat. I don’t see more than three hits before I take her out.”

“Hmm, now them’s fighting words. Noibat, Aerial Ace!”

With a beat of its wings, Noibat shot at Hau’s Hariyama, who stood resolutely as it waited for its trainer’s orders.

“Fake Out!” Hau suddenly called.

Before either Alice or Noibat could react, Hariyama clapped both hands together in front of itself, Noibat’s head popping out from the top. Alice gasped as her Pokémon struggled and failed to break free of the Hariyama’s hold.

Hau threw his arm out. “Heavy Slam!”

Hariyama lobbed the disoriented Noibat up, and once it reached the right level on its way back down, Hariyama thrust forward with its shoulder slamming straight into Noibat’s body. With a final scream, Noibat tumbled to the ground and stopped just before Alice’s feet.

“Noibat!” Fluttershy cried out.

“Oh, no…” Susan caged her fingers around her mouth.

Alice knelt down and gently picked Noibat, flipping it over to look at its face, seeing from it’s lazy eyes and agape mouth that it had fainted.

“Oh, man,” she muttered while taking its Poké Ball from her belt. “Great work, Noibat. Get some rest now.”

Noibat was brought back into the ball, and Alice stood back up as she put the ball back onto her belt, facing Hau and his Hariyama.

“Wow,” Hau said, “my Hariyama didn’t even take a hit there. Looks like your Pikachu and my Hariyama will now get to fight at full strength. Let’s do it, Alice. Last one to go for each of us!”

“Yep…” Alice pulled out her last Poké Ball and tossed it out. “Let’s go, Pikachu!”

Pikachu came out of the ball, suddenly perplexed and wary of its surroundings. Hau took immediate, suspicious attention to how nervously it looked up to the imposing figure of his Hariyama.

“What’s going on?” Benji asked to himself.

The excitement of the crowd itself seemed to die down as they too began to realize that Alice’s Pikachu did not look remotely ready for battle.

“It’s okay, Pikachu,” Alice cooed. “Sam’s Honedge took him out no problem, and I know you can too.”

Sam subtly shook his head as Pikachu faced Hariyama again, its body tensed with preparedness, but its face still showing clear signs of fright.

“Pikachu, Quick Attack!”

Pikachu reeled its body back, and began to run, but rather than the near unfathomable speed that Alice and Hau came to expect, its run was slow, labored, and not the least bit stealthy.

Hau grimaced. “Hariyama, use Knock Off!”

Hariyama bent down as Pikachu came close and swatted it with the backside of its hand, sending it rolling back to Alice with a miserable whine. The crowd gasped at the display as Pikachu stood back up, looking at the ground, dejected and ashamed.

“That’s okay, Pikachu!” Alice called out, fighting the lack of confidence building up in her. “Use a Thunder Shock now!”

Pikachu’s cheeks charged up and with a loud yell, its body went alight and a heavy stream of electricity arced out of it and came down on the Hariyama. Alice, and even Pikachu looked very surprised as Hariyama went down on a knee as it tried to regain its stamina.

“Perfect, Pikachu! I knew you could do it!” Pikachu mewed with a slight renewal of vigor, smiling as trails of steam and static could still be seen coming off of its opponent.

“That’s it…” Starlight whispered.

“Okay, then,” Hau huffed with a smile. “Now go, Hariyama!”

Hariyama ran out at Pikachu, prompting Pikachu to charge out as well, shocking Alice.

“No, Pikachu, wait!” she cried out.

“Close Combat!”

At Hau’s command Hariyama’s hand curled up as its punch began to glow bright red. Alice and Pikachu’s mouths both opened wide as Hariyama’s fist slammed into Pikachu’s body, sending it flying back so hard that upon Alice catching it, she slid back nearly to the edge of the platform.

“Alice!” Sam yelled.

“Is he okay?” Fluttershy asked.

Alice pulled Pikachu away from her bosom to see its face, only for Pikachu lean back in and clutch Alice even tighter. Alice shuddered as she brought her arms back in for a consoling hug. Hau crossed his arms and took a deep breath as Hariyama relaxed its stance.

“Pikachu,” Alice said, “it’s not quite over yet. You just need a bit more…”

Pikachu moaned as its grasp on Alice’s chest refused to let up. Looking back at the ponies, and her family, Sam last of all, Alice sighed as she seemed to figure it all out.

“I see. It’s about that Lucario, isn’t it?”

Pikachu stopped trembling and looked up at its trainer, almost surprised she found it out.

“You do know why I let you on my team, right? After I saw the way you took on my Noibat, a Pokémon I’ve trained for years, I knew you were special. And that’s also why I chose you to take on Gladion yesterday, and I’m truly sorry I didn’t see how unprepared we were.”

Hau’s arms relaxed so that his hands were cradling both his elbows.

“However, I want to remind you…” Alice turned around so that Pikachu could look down at Fluttershy and Starlight on the sidelines. “See them? You’re fighting to help them out, okay? They want to get back home, and the only thing standing in your way right now is that Hariyama.”

Alice turned back to Hau and his Pokémon, and Pikachu stared at Hariyama, who struck its offensive stance, inviting it to conclude their fight. Pickachu’s eyes glimmered it heard the joyful laughing and cooing of Fluttershy’s voice echoing in its head.

“So,” Alice finally asked. “You got this?”

Pikachu forcefully pushed itself out of Alice and landed to the floor two feet away from her, its back and arms tense and straight and its face determined and almost vengeful. Sam jerked both fists forward and huffed with a smile, while his parents both grinned at their daughter’s natural talents.

Hau chuckled loudly, putting his hands back to his hips. “Nicely said. You both ready to resume the battle?”

“I do believe so.” Alice threw a pointed finger at Hariyama. “Pikachu, let’s make this easier and use Thunder Wave!”

Pikachu purred contently at the command and bounded forward. At the tip of its arc, Pikachu’s glowing cheeks shot out multiple bands of electrical pulses that hit virtually every inch of Hariyama’s front side, making its body and limbs contract and stiffen.

Hau’s frowned with unpleasant surprise. “Oh no! Quick, Hariyama, use another Close Combat!”

Hariyama attempted to step forward, but couldn’t even get its leg up halfway before it brought it back down, groaning furiously at its sudden impotence.

“Darn…” Hau muttered. “Such power…”

“Alright!” Alice cheered. “Now we have him where we want him. Ready, Pikachu?”

Pikachu cried out in affirmation, and with its audible approval, Alice brought crossed her wrists over her face. Both Benji and Susan, along with the other audience members sighed in awe as Alice and Pikachu’s movements mimicked each others in perfect synchronicity, finally ending when their arms formed a Z-shape.

Yellow energy shot out of Alice’s back and joined before her before covering Pikachu in its light as the Z-Ring’s insignia pulsed out from Pikachu’s chest. Alice spread her arms and looked to her hands, feeling the warm aura coming off her skin like soft mist.

“This is incredible.” She then turned to face Sam. “Oh my God, Sam, this is amazing!”

“I know,” he replied matter of factly.

Alice turned back to face Hau and his Hariyama, who continued standing still, unable to even lift its arms to defend itself.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Alice said to Hau. “With your Hariyama now paralyzed after a Close Combat, he couldn’t be any more wide open for our next attack.”

Hau bared his teeth, completely astounded yet enraged over Alice’s incidental strategy, though it refused to falter his opponents’ excited grins.

“Let’s do this now, Pikachu! Breakneck Blitz!”

Pikachu darted out at Hariyama so fast that in a single blink of the eyes, Pikachu’s head and hands were rammed into Hariyama’s stomach, the bright red tail of the excess energy still lingering behind it. The immobile Hariyama was slammed to its back and slid back so that Hau had to land on his stomach to keep from getting pushed off the platform.

“Oh, yeah!” Susan shouted in a volume that frightened Fluttershy.

“That was awesome,” Benji could only say in response. “You can do that too?”

“Yeah,” Sam replied. “Just wait, though.”

“Wait for what?”

Hau quickly rolled off of it and knelt to its side, unsure if it actually survived the attack. “Hariyama! Hariyama! You okay?”

Hariyama then surprised Alice and Pikachu as Hariyama slowly, but assuredly stood back up on its own two feet. Hau’s worried expression shifted to one of typecast giddiness as his Hariyama thrust his belly forward, reeled both arms back, and squatted low, a chorus of loud crunching and cracking accompanying it. Both Starlight and Fluttershy slightly retched with their tongues out.

“Hariyama!” Hau happily cried. “You feeling better?”

With a much less labored motion, Hariyama stood with its hands held up and out, the left palm aimed at Pikachu.

“That’s it.” Hau pressed down and cracked left knuckles with his right hand, revealing his own Z-Ring and Fightinium Z inside of it. “Your brother may have lucked out last battle, but your Pikachu isn’t a Ghost-type. So now, it’s my turn to unleash my own Z-Power!”

“Pikachu,” Alice instructed, “on your marks.”

Pikachu lowered itself just above the ground, ready to intercept whatever would come. Hau crossed his wrists together and with a bright sparkle of his Z-Crystal, he put his arms at his sides, his Hariyama doing the same as well. Sam and Alice looked amazed over the fluidity of Hariyama’s motions as it mirrored Hau’s.

With a spreading of both of their legs, Hau and his Hariyama began punching at the air, finishing with a wound up arm and a final, stronger punch forward. Hau’s body erupted with Z-Power and flowed into Hariyama, the Z-Ring symbol pulsing off of it.

“Alice!” Hau shouted. “Now its your turn to taste a sample of the Z-Power inherited by my grandfather Hala! Now, Hariyama!”

Hau threw both arms out, firey energy trailing out from them.

“All-Out Pummeling!”

Hau then pushed both hands forwards. Though Hariyama’s hands appeared to stay out to the sides, large, bright, orange auras in the shape of its hands began firing at Pikachu in rapid, almost incalculable succession.

“Pikachu, try and dodge it!” Alice ordered.

Pikachu kept its eyes on each subsequent fist that came, jumping and juking to the left and right in the same speed, managing to avoid each palm as they came. Alice braced herself for the ones that passed her Pikachu, only for them to evaporate before they could hit her.

The wind from the force of each hand blew out into Alice and the portion of the audience behind her, who all looked down and closed their eyes as specks of dirt and pebble blew into them.

“Come on…” Alice managed to peek over her shielding arm, seeing as Pikachu continued to evade the onslaught.

As Pikachu continued dodging, one of its feet finally slipped beneath it, causing it to falter and take one of the last hands dead one, the hand exploding upon contact. Alice gasped as she tried to look through the resulting dust cloud.

Hau also looked into it intently, unsure whether Pikachu managed to tough it out. “Hariyama, fan the cloud away!”

With a wave of the broad side of its hand, most of the dust blew away from where Pikachu last stood, only to be blown away to see Pikachu there, scuffed-up and breathing heavily, but still standing strong. Fluttershy swooned and nearly fainted, only to be caught by Starlight’s body, who couldn’t help but smile, all things considered.

“Unbelievable,” Hau muttered. “After a Close Combat and my Z-Move, her Pokémon still stands.”

“Okay now.” Alice quickly patted as much dirt off her shirt, vest and shorts as she could. “Both of our Z-Moves are used up. Now, we settle this the old-fashioned way.”

Alice held her hand out and motioned her fingers to tell Hau and Hariyama to come forward, making Hau grin again.

“Okay, Alice! Let’s finish this the old-fashioned way! Hariyama, use Knock Off!”

With a dramatic point forward, Hariyama made its charge toward Pikachu.

“Oh, no you don’t! Pikachu, Quick Attack from the back!”

Hariyama chopped at Pikachu, only for Pikachu to run in the opposite direction, and with about ten feet of space between them, dove into the small of Hariyama’s back.

“He’s close now!” Hau shouted. “Try another Knock Off!”

Before Hariyama could fall forwards, it caught himself with its foot and with a push, turn, and lean, managed to bouce Pikachu off and then strike it down to the ground again. Pikachu took a hard bounce and rolled away from its foe.

“No, Pikachu, get up!” Alice cried out.

Alice’s words encouraged Pikachu two quickly stand on all fours again, though its legs began to wobble from fatigue. Hariyama’s standing back up straight also looked slow and strained.

Hau smiled wider, knowing the match wouldn’t last much longer for either of them. “Alright, Hariyama, this should be it! Let’s not take any chances! Use Close Combat.”

Hariyama slapped both of its massive thighs before running out at Pikachu with its hands balling up into fists.

“Don’t let him touch you!” Alice shouted. “Use one last Thunder Shock!”

Bright plasma danced off of Pikachu’s cheeks while it kept its eyes focused on the charging Hariyama. The electricity grew brighter and brighter until Hariyama’s fist began to thrust out at Pikachu’s cheeks. At that moment, Pikachu screamed out and let every ounce of energy zap out from its body, the lightning hitting Hariyama’s hand with such ferocity that it stopped its punch just inches from Pikachu’s face and kept it there. Pikachu continued pressing on, Hariyama groaning as it struggled to keep pushing with the energy beginning to cover its whole body.

By now, the stage had erupted into a ball of light that every human and pony off to the side couldn’t look away from, mesmerized by Pikachu’s strength. At once, the stream of electricity had stopped, leaving Hariyama steaming, but still standing. Making Pikachu and Alice gasp with horror.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy squeaked.

“That’s it…” Hau croaked. “Just a little more, buddy.”

Hariyama raised its hand up, ready to deliver the final blow. Pikachu shifted itself to move, but found its legs could no longer pick themselves up. With no way to escape, Pikachu winced and waited.

However, Hariyama’s eyes began to roll to the back as he swooned forwards, limply falling with its hand still raised. Without the strength to move any of its limbs, Hariyama tipped face first into the floor, it’s hand harmlessly slapping down on the ground to Pikachu’s left.

Pikachu opened its eyes to see Hariyama fainted before it, confusedly looking about to find out what had happened.

“Huhuh…” Susan shuddered, “did she…?”

“She did!” Sam shouted with an ecstatic swing of his fist.

Benji and Susan began to start cheering wildly, followed closely by Fluttershy, Starlight, and the remaining audience members. Alice fell to her knees in exhaustion, only to be met with Pikachu leaping at her and clinging to her chest. Alice was quick to hold on and nuzzle her face into the top of Pikachu’s head in thanks. Fluttershy excitedly threw her arms around Starlight, hopping her up and down. Starlight, also knowing what Alice’s victory meant for them, responded with a tight hug in kind.

Hau approached his Hariyama and pulled out its Ultra Ball. “Once again, very nice job.”

The red beam brought his Hariyama back, and with the battlefield cleared again, he walked toward Alice and her Pikachu, the two of them looking up to him.

“Well, looks like you both did it,” he said. “Now that you’ve completed my trial, you can now head to Akala Island, complete their trials, and look for your friends there. But first…”

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out another Fightinium Z and presented it to Alice in the palm of his hand.

“You have now earned the Fightinium Z, the proof of your victory over me. Congratulations.”

Alice picked the crystal with her fingers, smiling in reverence as she looked through it with the sun shining behind it. Hau couldn’t stifle a chuckle as Pikachu climbed up onto Alice’s shoulders to look at it as well.

“Now,” he continued, “you don’t need me to teach you how to use it, do you?”

“Nah…” She pocketed the crystal inside her vest. “I think I learned it just fine after Sam beat you.”

“Fair enough.”

Though the applause had long since ended, another set of clapping hands broke through the crowd. Upon the audience parting the way for whoever was clapping, Hau and Alice gasped to see Professor Kukui coming forward and leaping up to the platform.

“Kukui!” Hau addressed.

“Nicely done!” he chortled. “I saw the whole thing from the back. So, where’s your brother and your new friends?”

Sam came up to the stage, approaching his sister, while the ponies stayed put.

“We can trust this guy?” asked Fluttershy.

Starlight shrugged. “Looks like.”

Both ponies leapt to the stage and joined themselves beside Sam, Kukui grinning even wider to see them both in the flesh.

“So these are the ponies I’ve been hearing about,” he said with his hand pinching at his patch of a beard. “So, you’re all here! Sam, I assume you’ve already passed your trial?”

“Uh, yeah!” Sam looked to his Z-Ring, seeing the Fightinium Z inside the face.

“Excellent then. Before you head off to the next island, I have some things I want to share with you back at my lab! Come!”

“Sure thing, Kukui! Can you give us a couple of seconds to pack our things at Hau’s?”

“Of course! Take your time! I’ll be waiting at the town entrance whenever you’re ready!”

“Wait!” Benji and Susan came up to the platform and walked up to Kukui.

“Sorry,” Benji said, “but how long is this meeting of yours going to take? We wanted to spend a little time with our kids at Ten Karat Hill this afternoon.”

“Ha!” Kukui patted Benji hard on the shoulder. “What a coincidence! My lab is actually just outside the entrance to Ten Karat! You can join in on our conversation if you’d like. They are your kids after all. I’ll wait for your kids and their friends, and then I’ll lead you all there!”

“That sounds fine,” Susan responded. “Thank you.”

“Come on,” Hau said, “let’s get you guys ready for the road ahead. I’ll even stamp your trainer passports too.”

Hau walked to Alice’s edge of the platform and stepped off towards his house. As he did so, the rest of the audience began to disperse back into their normal routines. Sam made a step to follow Hau, only to be playfully and lightly bumped into by Alice, who gave him and turn back to him and a cock of her head towards the house. Sam smiled as he, Starlight, and Fluttershy made their way over, leaving Benji, Susan, her Meowstic, and Kukui to wait patiently behind.

“They’re going to Ten Karat Hill?”

The electronic voice from an earpiece was too quiet to be heard by anyone near the platform, especially high up in the trees overlooking the forested path to the Ruins of Conflict.

“Sounds like,” the earpiece’s owner, a young man, replied. “Sounds like they’ll even bring the ponies too. Do you need us to bring them back?”

“How many of them are unicorns?”

“Unicorns? Uh…” the young man’s eyes could barely make out the features on Starlight and Fluttershy’s heads through the leaves as they entered Hau’s home. “Just one, it looks like.”

“Then yes, bring them back. But most of all, ensure they find nothing there.”

“Got it… I’ll let you know how it goes.”

With a small rustle and discreet shaking of branches and leaves, the spy in the trees had disappeared, everyone around the Kahuna’s trial platform none the wiser.

Chapter 13 – Prism

Kukui plopped into his office chair at his desk, spinning around once before stopping before the bemused family and the two ponies.

“So,” Kukui began, “looks like you two kids found the most interesting things to come to these islands since the Ultra Beasts.”

“But,” Starlight interrupted, “we’re not dangerous, so let’s clear that up now.”

“Don’t sweat it, cousin.”

“But I’m not your–”

“Just a term of endearment is all. Anyways, I’m already pretty certain you too are cool. I wouldn’t exactly call “cheering on Pokémon battles” dangerous.”

“Hahe, right…” Starlight bit her lip, focused on keeping her mouth closed until a more appropriate time.”

“So, why’d you bring us here?” Alice asked.

“Yes, and I don’t want to sound like the typical mom here…” Susan glanced peevishly at him. “…but you said this wasn’t going to take long? We want to spend some time with our kids before they go off to the next island.”

“That’s fine, Benji, I also want to make sure your kids leave for the next island by tonight as well. The only reason I brought you here is to let you know that there’s someone I’d like you to meet tomorrow who can possibly help your kids’ friends here.”

“Who’s that?” Susan asked.

“Oh, none other than my lovely wife, of course!” Kukui’s sudden manic laughing made whatever joke he apparently tried to tell fall quite short to the others in the room.

Kukui stopped only once he realized he was the only one laughing. “Oh, you thought I was joking. I’m actually not! My wife, Professor Burnet, runs the Dimensional Research Lab in Heahea City on Akala Island.”

“I hope it’s not too far,” Fluttershy mumbled with a downward glance.

“Unless a five minute walk from the ferry is considered ‘far,’ I’d say you have nothing to worry about on that end.”

“Hold on,” Sam said, “you said that she studies dimensions and stuff. Does this mean she’s part of the Aether Foundation?”

“Well, she collaborates with them frequently for their own research, but for the most part, her work is independently run. Why do you ask?”

Starlight finally spoke up. “Let’s just say we had, um… a rough time with one of their… tougher employees.”

“Huh, that doesn’t sound like them. At least not anymore…”

“Anymore?” Benji looked down to his kids. “Who are these people that are following you?”

“So far, it’s only the one,” Alice said, “his name is Gladion, and–”

“Ahh!” Kukui exclaimed. “That explains it. Yeah, a bit edgy, he is. Other than him, I assure you that the Aether Foundation is–”

“Yes,” Sam interrupted again. “Hau told us this last night. It’s just considering that they’re responsible for Starlight, Fluttershy, and their friends being here, and we don’t quite know why, or even fully how.”

“That’s understandable. What I can tell you is I taught two of the head researchers there everything I know, and I can tell you that–”

“They have good intentions? Yeah, Hau said that too.”

“Sam!” Benji hissed. “Stop interrupting him.”

“It’s alright,” said Kukui, “I seem to be repeating myself, and your kids already have a good idea of what’s going on, so I guess that’s it then.”

“Wait, that’s all?” Alice spoke up. “Just go see your wife on the next island?”

“Yep! That’s all. You go and enjoy your time at Ten Karat Hill now.”

“Any idea where to find this place?” Starlight asked.

“There’s a tourist center right outside the ferry harbor. They should be able to direct you. Now please, spend some time with your friends and family before tonight’s ferry.”

“Th– Thank you.” Sam bowed his head.

“There’s also a lot of neat Pokémon for you to catch there, so get moving!”

“Thanks again, Kukui.” Susan began ushering her children to the exit, prompting Starlight, Fluttershy, and Benji to follow.

Without another word, Kukui’s guests had all left. Once the door shut and he was certain he was alone, he took a deep breath and frowned.

“Just what is happening with this world now…”

Sam and Benji came from the cave carrying a large plastic cooler, Benji wearing a large backpack filled to the brim. The sight of the area around them forced them to drop the cooler at once and marvel at their surroundings. They were standing inside a massive, steep crater with the outer edges covered by hilly, cliffy greens.

“Hurry up!” Alice called out, stepping from the cave with Susan and the ponies. “Put your backs into it!”

Sam huffed out a laugh as he flexed and stretched his arm and hand. “I will literally kill you.”

“What, no!” Fluttershy screamed, jumping onto Sam and pining him down. “Don’t even say something so terrible!”

“Fluttershy, calm down.” Starlight’s magic aura pulled Fluttershy off and set her back down beside her. “I’m sure he was just joking… even if it wasn’t that funny at all.”

Sam rolled his eyes over the ponies’ naïveté as she stood back up and patted the dirt off of the seat of his shorts as Susan and Alice came up to him.

“You need me to carry the cooler some?” Alice asked.

Sam responded with a melodramatic swing and point of his arm, as if saying, “Be my guest.”

Sam scoffed as she took one handle with her father and began leading the way. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m actually the older brother here.”

“Ditto…” Sam continued walking beside Fluttershy and Starlight.

“You really won’t hurt your sister, will you?” asked Fluttershy.

“Absolutely not,” Sam replied. “She’d never give me the chance.”

Starlight couldn’t help but make a short chuckle this time, but Sam’s additional self-deprecation was just as unfunny for Fluttershy as his other remarks. They all began climbing a small slope to the northern edge of the crater where a perfectly flat part of the knoll invited them to set up their picnic.

“Ah…” Benji sighed, “this looks nice. Thank you, Alice.”

“You’re welcome, dad!” Though Sam was only a few yards away, Alice’s shout was directed right at his face.

“Okay, seriously,” Starlight said, “you two need to stop fighting. We’re supposed to be relaxing here, and you’re already making Fluttershy and I uncomfortable.”

“Yes, sorry,” Sam admitted. “After all, we should also use this moment to celebrate our clearing of our Melemele trials, right?”

“Wonderful idea.” Susan slipped her bag off her shoulder, allowing her to stretch up both arms and feel the breeze. “Now that we’re all here, why don’t you and your sister go off and look for some Pokémon like Kukui said.”

“Actually, I was going to help dad with the grill, if that’s okay.”

“I’ve got it!” Benji hissed through his teeth as she slipped the heavy backpack off his shoulders. “You go play with your sister and your friends.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘playing,’” Alice said with curl of both index and middle fingers, “but yeah, this is our last chance to catch some new Pokémon on Melemele before we leave, so we should make the most of it, and I don’t mean this as an insult, Sam, but you could do with some new Pokémon yourself.”

“We still have three other islands to go through.” Sam already began unzipping Benji’s backpack. “I’d rather wait and see what they have to offer.”

“Come on, Sam, you can’t let Honedge fight on his own forever. I’m sure he’d love to have a new Pokémon partner to battle with.”

Sam looked out along the plains, suddenly feeling the seconds to their departure ticking away bubble around his body.

“Alright, alright,” he said, dropping a red bag of charcoal beside the backpack. “Dad, how much until you think lunch is ready?”

“I’ll give you two an hour,” Benji responded, “how’s that sound?”

“Perfect.” Alice already began bounding down the hill and to the grassier areas, leaving a now flustered Fluttershy behind.

“Alice, wait for me!” Fluttershy galloped after her.

Sam looked about the area, only to be distracted with a light whip of Starlight’s tail hairs at this leg. “Where should we head first, Sam?”

“I saw some neat looking cave paths on our way here,” he said.

“Well then, lead the way.”

Sam walked forwards to the cavern exit, Starlight matching his speed beside him. Sam looked back to his parents as Benji pulled out a circular cast iron grate from his bag.

“Sam,” Starlight’s voice called out, “it’s okay, I’m sure they’ve got it. Come on!”

Starlight broke into a mild gallop, about to leave Sam behind, pressuring him into running after her. From the top of the crater on the southwest, a figure stood crouched and balanced on its edge. Most of its body was shrouded by a black hooded sweatshirt with a long hood that reached down to the lower back, even with it covering the owner’s head. Seeing both the ponies in their sights, they hopped back and slid down the crater’s edge, lobbing a Poké Ball from his belt beside him.

Sam and Starlight kept going as they passed by Alice peaking around the grass with Fluttershy. Suddenly, she saw a mound hiding under the tops of the grass, and with slow, calculated motions, she slipped her hands between two bunches. Quickly, she parted them, only to deflate over the mound of dirt she had uncovered.

“Is it nothing?” Fluttershy asked timidly as she came from behind.

“As far as I’m concerned,” she responded, “it’s nothing to me.”

“I just saw Starlight and Sam going into the cave. Maybe we’ll have better luck there.”

“Nah, I’m not looking for any Zubats. I’ve already got Noibat for a Flying-type, so what I’m looking for is something I can’t get anywhere else. I mean, we’re about to leave Melemele behind, so I want get as much out of this place as I can.”

“Well, how many Pokémon are you allowed to bring with you at a time?”

“You can only carry six at the most, and–”

“Just 6? That means you’ll be halfway there, and we still haven’t been on the other islands yet. Maybe we should settle down until then.”

“Jeez, you’re sounding like my brother…”

As Fluttershy and Alice continued arguing, they were unaware as a shape snuck up under the grass towards them.

“Maybe your brother has a point,” Fluttershy continued. “You shouldn’t want to catch Pokémon that you can’t take care of.”

“Fluttershy,” Alice replied with slight condescension, “it’s only my third Pokémon. Plus, I want to have the strongest team I can when I take on the other trials–”

*ARH* *ARHARH* *ARH*

The loud barking behind Fluttershy made her leap over Alice and huddle up behind her, who was already grinning at what came up to them. Jumping around with each yip was the small, brown puppy with the organic white collar that she could remember.

“Oh!” Alice pulled out her Pokédex. “Kukui has one of those.”

“Rockruff,” the Pokédex explained, “the Puppy Pokémon. This Pokémon has lived with people since times long ago. It can sense when its Trainer is in the dumps and will stick close by its Trainer's side.”

Fluttershy peeked around Alice’s legs and saw the Rockruff continuing to bark at the two of them, her ears drooping and her lips curling into a smile. “Aw, he’s a cutie!”

“Go, Pikachu!” Sam threw out her Pokeball, her Pikachu coming out from it and standing before the Rockruff, who now began growling.

“Wait! You’re going to catch it?”

“Hell yeah, I am! Go, Quick Attack!”

Pikachu bounded out in a zig-zag motion, the Rockruff completely unable to dodge in time as Pikachu’s body check into it.

Sam and Starlight ventured further into the caverns, the holographic display of his Holo Caster providing a small amount of light. As they went in deeper, the amount of light around them began to dwindle until they could only see a few inches from their faces.

Sam checked the brightness levels on his display and groaned to see that they were already maxed out. Suddenly a bright light glowed out from beside him, and when he turned to see the source, he found Starlight’s face illuminated by the light of her horn, allowing him to see her helpful wink.

“Ha…” Sam put his Holo Caster away, smiling gratefully for her help. “Thanks a bunch.”

“Come on, let’s go deeper!” Starlight hopped in front to lead. “I wonder what kind of Pokémon live in here!”

“Yeah. Just hope it’s not another Zubat.”

“What’s wrong with a… Zubat?”

“It’s just… they’re everywhere, and I don’t just mean on Alola. They had so many back in Kalos too, and while they’re a good beginner’s Pokémon, it’s just not what I’m looking for.”

“You know, I think your sister has a point.”

“About what?”

“That you can’t just rely on just your Honedge forever. You’re going to need to get other Pokémon to help you, and I don’t think the other trials are going to be nearly as easy for the both of you.”

“I know that, it’s just… I want to find a Pokémon that will be as special to me as Honedge is.”

“But… you and Honedge have been together for years, right?”

“Right, and–”

“The point is that you should find a Pokémon that can help you on our journey, and if you devote the same level of kindness and trust into it as you did with your Honedge, it’ll become just as special to you.”

“But that’s just it. I don’t just want any Pokémon. When I saw my Honedge for the first time, I saw a Pokémon that I wanted to represent who I was and what I wanted in life. I want to find the Pokémon that completes a part of me the same way that... that your friends complete you! You can understand that, right?”

“I do, Sam, but sometimes, the friends we make can be just as good as the friends we find. I mean, who knows? You might get something better than what you hoped for.”

Sam stopped for a second and sighed, slowing Starlight to a stop too. “I suppose you’re right. Alright, how’s about next Pokémon we see, I catch, okay?”

“Hey, that’s not what I’m saying at all! I want you to have the best Pokémon team you can, but at the same time, you still need a team. How’s about before lunch, we find a Pokémon here that you like enough to put on your team. Sound like a deal?”

Sam cocked his head as he thought about the compromise he’d have to make. “Sure, I suppose that’s fair, but we’re going to have to fight a lot of Zubat’s in order to find the right–”

At once, the air around the two of them began to harden and the walls, ceilings, and floors of the cave seemed to ripple and wave like oil, accompanied with the bassy crunch of the stone around them. At once, Sam and Starlight collapsed to the ground, grunting loudly as they felt every centimeter of their body being pushed in, just slightly harder and harder with each passing moment.

Sam croaked in fear as Starlight’s horn light went out. “Starlight… your magic…”

Sam couldn’t see her or anything at all, but could hear her strained moans.

“I can’t!” she cried. “This force is…”

Sam could already tell that she was close to fainting, and with the push making his arms feel like forty pound weights, he reached to his sole Poké Ball and tossed it out as hard and as quickly as he could before his arms gave out.

“Honedge!” he roared. “Shadow Sneak!”

Honedge popped out of the Poké Ball and raced forwards through the cave, its offensive shadow attack trailing further ahead. After several seconds of feeling even more immovable weight on their bodies, a blast and subsequent scream up ahead sounded. The force had stopped, and Sam ended up pushing himself off the ground hard enough to almost stand still on his knees.

Upon landing back on his stomach, he crawled over to Starlight, feeling her upper body about until he found her head to cradle in his hands. “Starlight?! Starlight!”

“Kadabra, Flash!”

As instructed by the matured male voice in the darkness, a bright flash several yards ahead illuminated every inch of the natural corridor, allowing Sam to see a groggy Starlight in his arms.

Looking forward where his Honedge was, he saw that it was confronted by a humanoid Pokémon with a fox-like face with a long moustache that draped down from the end of its snout that matched the mustard-yellow color of its body, minus its brown chest that resembled a breastplate and shoulderpads. The bright light shining throughout the cave came from the single silver spoon that it held in its three-fingered claw of a hand.

Standing behind it were two black hooded figures with tight black pants, black boots, and glittery black tank tops with three paper thin white lines across their chests.

“What was that?” Sam stood to his feet. “What the hell were you trying to do to us?”

“We didn’t intend to kill either of you, if that’s your concern.” The man pulled his hood off his head, revealing a young, lightly-tan skinned man with short sandy-blonde hair on the top of his head, the hair on the side of the head buzzed shorter. “We just needed to take the pony with us.”

“Pony!?” Sam gasped incredulously. “You know about them? Just… who are you?”

“You were simply supposed to get knocked out and let us take her,” the second hooded person said, the voice belonging to an older teenaged girl, “but then you decided to attack us.”

The second figure pulled her hood off, revealing a baby-faced woman with a bright-purple bobbed haircut.

“Now that you have your silly little Honedge to try and protect you, I’m sorry…” the girl pulled out a Poké Ball of her own. “…I’m afraid we’ll have to show how rough Team Prism can really be.”

“Team…” Starlight moaned, “Prism?”

“Go, Bruxish!”

The female grunt tossed her ball out, and from it came a yard-long triggerfish with a yellow underbelly and magenta top with splotches of light-blue and purple about the rest of its body. At the end of its mouth were a row of razor sharp teeth and a set of voluptuous lips. Sam and Starlight were both amazed that it was able to float in the air as if it were water.

“Bruxish?” Sam asked himself as he brough his Pokédex out. “What’s your deal?”

“Bruxish,” the Pokédex said, “the Gnash Teeth Pokémon. It stuns its prey with psychokinesis and then grinds them to mush with its strong teeth. Even Shellder's shell is no match for it.”

“Damn,” Sam said, producing a bluffing smile. “And you’re so threatened that you need to two on one me?”

“We don’t need to do anything,” the male grunt said.

“We’re just not keen on giving our opponents any chance of winning,” the female grunt finished.

Despite himself, Sam’s smile melted back into a nervous frown. He glanced behind him, feeling even more cornered without Alice there to back him. But with her and, most of all, Fluttershy away, he tensed his body confidently, smiling in realization.

“Psychokinesis,” he said, “Kadabra. You’re harping about me not winning, but you send two Psychic-types to face a Ghost-type Pokémon? So much for that. Honedge, you already got a piece of Kadabra, use Shadow Sneak on Bruxish!”

Honedge’s shadow slithered quickly along the ground and came to an end beneath the Bruxish, where it blasted upwards and tossed it up into the ceiling, the hit disorienting the fish long enough for it to fall back to the ground.

“Ha!” Sam shouted. “You’re making it really hard for me to take you seriously right now.”

The female grunt’s Bruxish swam up back to its original position before her. “You got two easy hits with a fast and weak move. Big deal.”

“Right,” her partner said. “Now it’s our turn. Kadabra, use Shadow Ball!”

Sam and Starlight gasped as the Kadabra tilted its spoon to the side, the bowl centered in the gap of its thumb and middle finger. An insidiously swirling ball of dark purple expanded before the spoon, and with a push, Kadabra shot it out at Honedge.

“Block it!” Sam crossed his arms, prompting Honedge to cross its scabbard over its blade.

The sphere hit Honedge in the center of the cross, the strength of the attack enough to pull Honedge’s defensive stance apart, much to Sam’s horror.

“No!” Starlight cried. “Honedge!”

“Now we go!” the female grunt shouted. “Quickly, Bruxish, use Crunch!”

Bruxish swiftly swam at Honedge, managing to come from below and clamp down where the hilt met the blade. Sam growled as Honedge’s moans of pain echoed through the cave. As fast as he could, held both crossed arms out, and chopped both arms out. Honedge managed to cross his scabbard at the tip of its blade and with a swipe, managed to knock the Bruxish off, where it swam back to its trainer.

“Did you really think that because we have Psychic Pokémon, we wouldn’t have the proper moves to counter Pokémon that are typically stronger than them?” The male grunt asked. “You must be as foolish as you thought we were just a few minutes ago.”

“You’re right,” Sam said, removing the Fightinium Z from the face of his Z-Ring. “I should have been more thoughtful.” Putting the crystal in his pocket, he pulled out his Normalium Z and put it inside. “Which means I need to get really serious to defeat you two clowns.”

“It’s true,” the female grunt gasped.

“He really does have a Z-Ring,” the male grunt added.

“Not the small fry you made me out to be, huh?” Sam crossed his arms at the wrist, the Z-Ring shining in response.

Sam performed the activation pose for the Normalium Z, showering both him and his Honedge with energy. He looked down to Starlight, who continued lying down watching the battle.

“Sorry,” he said under his breath. “I’m going to need some extra help here. Now, Honedge, take out his Kadabra. Breakneck Blitz!”

The male grunt seethed nervously as Honedge began to sheath itself in preparation for its attack. “Kadabra, quickly, use Protect!”

Sam seized up. “What?”

Honedge shot out, the tip of its covered blade darting at Kadabra with tremendous speeds as Kadabra held its spoon out again. Right before the moment of impact, Kadabra’s spoon twinkled, Honedge’s blade striking it in the center, producing a loud and powerful bang that shook the entire cave.

Pikachu attacked the wild Rockruff with another Thunder Shock, and while it whined loudly from the hit, it stood resolutely and still energetic enough to continue fighting. Pikachu smiled as it panted, the intensity of the battle entertaining it greatly.

“Dang…” Alice drew out. “You’re a real trooper. Let’s see if you’re ready to come with us.”

As Alice began pulled out an empty Poké Ball from her bag, the Rockruff’s tail wagging eagerly, she felt the ground tremble beneath her, followed closely by a deafened boom from the direction of the inside of the cave.

“What was that?” Fluttershy squealed.

“Sam?” Alice immediately put the Poké Ball back into her bag. “Pikachu, Fluttershy, let’s go, now!”

Alice gave one regretful glance to the Rockruff and sprinted toward the cave, her Pikachu and Fluttershy just a couple paces behind her. Rockruff looked out where Alice and Pikachu had gone, whimpering as it approached the cave slowly, hoping in vain that she’d come right back.

Honedge’s hit still managed to send the Kadabra sliding back, causing it to crash into its trainer.

“Kadabra,” he said, “you alright?”

Kadabra nodded and grunted. With his trainer treating it with an assuring pat on the shoulder, Kadabra ran back to join the Bruxish in battle. Starlight winced in disappointment.

“No way,” Sam muttered. “Even moves like Protect can soften a Z-Move.”

“You act surprised,” the male grunt said. “It’s clear you haven’t had that Z-Ring of yours for very long.”

Starlight began to stand to her four hooves. “For someone who doesn’t have one,” you sure act like you know a lot about them.”

“Don’t have one, you say?” the female grunt asked.

Both the male and female grunt unrolled the left sleeve of their hoodies, revealing Z-Rings of their own. Unlike Sam’s natural, stony one, both of theirs looked metallic and electronic. A magenta Z-Crystal was lodged inside the faces of each.

Sam was visibly dumbfounded. “Where did you–”

“Yeah, ours aren’t the real deal like yours are,” she explained, “but they still get the job done. We’ll show you!”

“Even though the Psychic-type Z-Move won’t be too effective on your Honedge,” the male grunt said, “it will probably more than enough to take him out. Now…”

Sam felt time and gravity disappear as he helplessly watched his two opponents began to move their arms to cross. Tears welled in Starlight’s eyes as she watched Honedge’s grip on its scabbard loosen, knowing that it wouldn’t survive.

“Noibat, Bite on Kadabra! Pikachu, Thunder Shock on the fish!”

As Sam suddenly came to, Noibat had whooshed past him on the left while a stream of thunder arced around him and headed straight at the Bruxish. At the same instant, Noibat bit down on the side of Kadbra’s waist while Pikachu’s attack covered Bruxish in electricity.

“What the–” the female grunt gasped.

“Who’s she?” the male grunt yelled.

Both Kadabra and Bruxish cried out as Alice’s Pokémon’s attacks refused to let up. Finally, Kadabra used its psychic powers to pull Noibat off while Bruxish formed a bright pink bubble around itself from the top of the protuberance on its head, bending the electric beams away from it until they finally stopped. Noibat rejoined Pikachu’s side as it came up beside Alice on her right. The female grunt, once angered, lit up upon seeing Fluttershy.

“Oh, wonderful. You brought the other one here!” she said. “How considerate of you.”

“Shut it!” Alice barked. “Sam, who are these people?”

“They call themselves Team Prism,” Sam said. “I wonder if they’re like that Team Skull that popped up that one time.”

“Hey,” the male grunt said in a joking manner, “I dislike that comparison!”

“Yeah!” his partner responded. “We’re much cooler and stronger than them.”

“More like more twisted and deranged,” Starlight spat back. “If I still had my magic–”

“No doubt we’d have a hard time,” the male grunt said. “Why else do you think I used my Kadabra’s Psychic before our battle?”

“Because you… don’t tell me!” Sam’s realization began to freeze his spine. “Are Psychic-type moves strong against magic?”

“Sorry,” the female grunt said, “I was having fun taking out your pathetic friend here.”

“We’re going to have to escort you out now…” The male grunt crossed his wrists, followed by his partner, the lines and gaps of their Z-Rings glowing red.

Alice stepped back in shock over the sight of the Z-Rings. “No way! They have them too?”

The two grunts widened their stance as they began their poses. Once they held their crossed arms out, they both swung their arms in and around until they placed their index fingers on their temples. Stepping back to the center with their right feet, they reached back out with their right hand and then joined the left foot with the right.

Both grunts howled as the Z-Crystals in both of their Z-Rings began glowing red, similarly red beams of energy shot from the center of their backs and covered their respective Pokémon, the sensation making the Kadabra and Bruxish shout loudly.

“What’s happening?” Fluttershy asked. “They look like they’re hurting.”

Both the Kadabra and Bruxish breathed heavily as the Z-Energy flared off their bodies, both grunts now standing more casually.

“Your friend’s Honedge may be stronger against Psychic-moves,” the male grunt said, “but your Noibat and Pikachu aren’t.”

“Next time,” the female grunt said, “you’ll know better than to interfere, now go! Bruxish!”

“Kadabra.”

Both of them threw their right hand out. “Shattered Psyche!”

Kadabra held his arms out and Bruxish wagged its whole body, countless red auras orbiting Kadabra’s spoon and Bruxish’s protuberance. Sam and Alice looked nervously as both Noibat and Pikachu were now glowing red as they were lifted up with nowhere to go.

Kadabra and Bruxish moved their limbs to the left, sending both Noibat and Pikachu flying into the cavern wall, pulses of hexagonal-shaped energy shooting out where they had hit. Alice gasped at the sound of her Pokémon’s agony-riddled cries. With a move of Kadabra’s arms and Bruxish’s body to the right, Pikachu and Noibat were flung into the other wall, the next hit leaving them too disoriented to shout anymore.

Kadabra and Bruxish continued going, slamming them into the ceiling, and then the floor, and then the walls, ceiling, and floor once again, going faster with each hit. Starlight, Fluttershy, and Honedge watched helplessly as the assault on Alice’s Pokémon continued on.

Finally, Kadabra and Bruxish had stopped, and Noibat and Pikachu were left motionless and silent on the floor. As Alice fell to her knees, scooping both of her fallen Pokémon up, Sam fearfully looked to Kadabra and Bruxish, only to see something that surprised him.

Kadabra swooned to one knee while Bruxish floated tiredly down to the ground, red sparks occasionally flickering off of their bodies.

“That fake Z-Power…” Sam huffed. “It’s damaging them. I might be able to… Honedge, hurry, use Return on Kadabra!”

Honedge, its eye squinted with raw fury, rushed out at the still weakened Kadabra. As Kadabra tried shielding its face with its scrawny arms, Honedge whipped around and chopped Kadabra square in the chest with the side of its blade. Kadabra’s head hit the ground and slid back to the male grunt, who fearfully looked down at his now fainted Pokémon.

“No!” The female grunt, looking worried for her partner’s fallen Pokémon, shot a seething, vengeful scowl at Sam and his Honedge. “That’s your last Pokemon. I’m going to make sure it doesn’t survive this! Bruxish, use Crunch!”

Bruxish let out a gargled yell as Honedge crossed its scabbard over itself, its eye closed as it hoped it could just survive this next hit. Just then, Sam, Alice, Fluttershy, and Starlight heard a barking behind them coming closer, and when Alice turned around, she saw the wild Rockruff rushing around the corner and continued its sprint toward them.

“No way…” she whispered.

Rockruff leapt up past Alice and Sam. At once, Sam cross his arms and then flexed his forearms down. Honedge quickly tilted downwards, its X formation now parallel to the floor. The Rockruff landed up on the center of Honedge’s cross just in time, and then leapt up again at the now shocked and frightned Bruxish.

Before it could turn away, the Rockruff locked its jaws on the bottom of the Bruxish’s mouth and sent it down. Bruxish struggled to escape, only to be stomped at by the Rockruff’s paws, rendering it more and more immobile with each hit.

The female grunt ran up and lifted her foot up. “Get off of her!”

“No!” Fluttershy immediately galloped at the female grunt with uncanny speed and butted her head into her stomach, sending the grunt crumpling to the ground several feet away. “Don’t ever try that again!” she shouted.

Finally, the wild Rockruff let its prey go and backed away, leaving the fainted Bruxish on the ground. Lowering its upper half, Rockruff growled at the two grunts, daring them to try it.

The female grunt whined as she pulled out her Bruxish’s Poké Ball. “Dammit.”

The male grunt also picked out Kadabra’s Poké Ball, and both he and his partner brought back their respective Pokémon at the same time. The male grunt, keeping its eyes on the wary Rockruff, scuttled over and picked his partner up, draping her arm around his neck and standing her to her feet. The cave had grown dark again, but Starlight managed to produce another light from her horn, brightening the area.

“Don’t ever think you’ll get that lucky again,” the female grunt managed to spit out through the shooting pain in her gut. “We won’t forget this.”

“Next time,” the male grunt said, “we will take those ponies from you.”

The wild Rockruff hopped forwards and continued barking, and with that, the two grunts hobbled off down the cave. Once it had felt they were truly gone, the Rockruff turned back and trotted to Alice, who whimpered as it sniffed the fainted Noibat and Pikachu, giving the latter a couple of worried licks.

Alice let out a single sob as she set her Noibat on her lap, allowing her to pet their savior. “Good boy. That’s a very good boy.”

“Jesus Christ,” Sam huffed. “Where the hell did he come from?”

“Alice was trying to catch it outside the cave,” Fluttershy answered. “We heard you battling and rushed to help you. I guess it followed us here and came to help too.”

Sam chuckled, kneeling down to the Rockruff and holding its hand out to it. The Rockruff sniffed the hand tentatively, and then pushed its head into Sam’s palm, allowing him to scratch the side of his neck. Fluttershy turned to Starlight, who breathed audibly as she kept the light on her horn lit.

“Starlight,” Fluttershy said, “are you alright?”

“I’m fine, thanks to all of you.” Starlight’s horn light flickered as she strained to keep it up.”

“Guys,” Sam said, “let’s get to a lighter area so Starlight doesn’t exhaust herself.

“Right.” Alice picked her Noibat up and led the group back toward the cave’s exit. “What happened to her? Who even were those guys?”

“Team Prism,” Sam said. “I guess they’re some Psychic-type using group who are trying to take the ponies for some reason.”

“I think…” Starlight wheezed. “That Psychic-types… affect my magic somehow. They knew enough about us… to…”

“Easy, Starlight,” Alice said. “I’ve already got my hands full with my Pokémon. We don’t need you keeling over for one of us to carry. Besides, I see light up ahead.”

Sure enough, as Starlight’s horn light faded out, mild sunlight could be seen from the next turn in the cave.

“Either way,” Sam said, “we have enemies on our tail now, and the fact that they know enough about these ponies to take Starlight out is frightening enough, but being able to use Z-Power without the use of a real Z-Ring? That’s scary.”

“What do you mean ‘real Z-Ring?’” Alice asked.

“Like those aren’t like the ones we got from Hau. The Z-Power coming from those things didn’t look natural like ours did, and after Kadabra and Bruxish used their Z-Moves, they took some kind of recoil-like damage.”

“So whoever they are, they can just make their own Z-Rings, just like that.”

“Whoever they are,” Starlight added, “they came prepared, and while I hate to admit it, that female one was right; we lucked out with them. If it weren’t for that other Pokémon that came in at the end, we would have been gone by now.”

“So we’ll train harder, catch more, and get stronger. All of us. But first…”

Sam knelt down and gently laid her Noibat and Pikachu on the ground, rummaging through her bag, pulling out two Revives, two Super Potions, and finally a Poké Ball.

“Here.” Alice handed Sam the Poké Ball. “While I heal up my Pokémon, why don’t you go ahead and catch Rockruff?”

Rockruff whimpered questioningly as it looked up at Sam.

“What?” Sam asked. “Why should I–”

“I already have two Pokémon, you should have one for yourself.” Alice put the Revives on her Pokémon’s tongues. “Go ahead. I think you two will get along.”

Sam stared at the Poké Ball as Rockruff continued looking up at him, sitting down expectantly for him to make a decision. Sam watched as both Noibat and Pikachu groggily got up, being sprayed on the chests by both Super Potions, bringing them both back to their energetic and chipper selves.

As Alice got smothered by her two Pokémon, Sam glanced back down to see Rockruff in exactly the same place, cocking its head in confusion. Honedge floated down closer, interested in Sam’s decision. Sam knelt down and petted the rocky puppy on the head, which it seemed to enjoy. Finally, Sam lowered the Poké Ball down.

Alice and Fluttershy came into the crater from the cave first, the former looking back as Sam and Starlight came from the cave next. She looked at Sam’s waist, seeing only one Poké Ball attached to his belt. Alice reached down and felt the third Poké Ball on her belt beside her other two.

“I still can’t believe it,” Starlight said. “He was right there ready for you to bring him with, and you still gave him to your sister.”

“He was never mine to catch,” Sam simply responded. “I can never thank my sister enough for all she’s done to help me, but I could never live with myself anymore for catching Pokémon that she helped me catch.”

“But now you’ll have to go to the next island with only Honedge.”

“Yeah, I know. But the next Pokémon that comes with me will be mine and mine alone, and I can’t think of anything better than that.”

Starlight breathed out, glancing at him with a slightly worrisome look.

“Actually, scratch that!” Sam suddenly exclaimed. “I can think of something better.”

“What’s that?”

Sam took in a huge whiff. “Lunch.”

The four of them looked up ahead to see Benji working hard on the grill, the food he was cooking smelling as if it would be ready as soon as they arrived.

Chapter 14 – Quarter of the Way

Sam gently flicked a small scoop of potato salad beside his grilled fish skewer and cold roasted squash and mushroom. Sitting back down beside Fluttershy and Starlight, he looked to both of their plates, smiling to see that their plates were filled with food, though without any fish.

“You have enough there, Starlight?” he asked. “Fluttershy?”

“Oh, yes!” Fluttershy then turned to Sam’s father. “Thank you very much for making us lunch, Benji. It smells lovely.”

“My pleasure,” he replied. “I always bring enough for seconds. Plus, we have several hungry Pokémon to feed as well.”

Fluttershy peered past Benji and Susan, watching Honedge, Noibat, Pikachu, Rockruff, and Susan’s Meowstic sitting around and picking from a large pile of roasted squash and mushroom salad with several filets of grilled fish beside it, bowls of water before each of them.

Sitting next to Susan’s Meowstic was a white bird-like Pokémon with a red chest and wing bar with green feathers coming down like a short cape. It’s curved green head resembled a luchador’s wrestling mask.

“What’s that one?” Starlight asked. “The masked bird?”

“Oh him?” Benji replied excitedly. “That’s my Hawlucha. He’s an invaluable help in the kitchen. He’s half the reason for our little meal here.”

“I certainly wouldn’t call this little.” Starlight was still amazed by the lack of space on her wide paper plate. “I still can’t thank you two enough for feeding us.”

“You don’t need to thank us for anything.” Susan said. “Any friends of our children are friends of ours.”

“So, do you two run a restaurant or something?”

Benji looked rather impressed as he wiped his mouth and gulped down his bite. “Very good. What gave it away?”

“It’s just…” Starlight took a bite of potato salad, her eyes very quickly rolling into the back of her head before she chewed and swallowed. “…I highly doubt someone who cooks this well wouldn’t want to keep his gifts a secret like that.”

“That’s really kind of you, but I’d like to think it’s possible to do both.”

“What do you mean?”

“Take my son for example.” Starlight glanced up to Sam, whose sheepish smile told Starlight everything. “Before he decided to go off as a trainer, he was gearing up to join me at the restaurant.”

“But what made you move here?” asked Fluttershy. “Sam and Alice said you came from some place called Kalos. Why did you want to come to Alola?”

“We thought it’d be a nice change of pace,” Susan responded. “Plus, it’s paradise here.”

“Mostly,” Benji interrupted, “we thought we’d share some more… inland cuisine to these people. I mean, everywhere you go on Hau’oli alone, it’s sushi bar after ramen stand after hibachi place. I thought we’d, you know, shake things up around here.”

“That sounds really cool, and I wish you the best.” Starlight lifted her plastic solo cup up with her magic just before the grill’s coals.

“Yes, thank you– Oh!” Susan grabbed her water bottle and held it up too. “And let’s also celebrate our children’s completion of their trials.”

Alice and Sam lifted their cups as well. “And to the safe rescue and return of Starlight, Fluttershy and all their friends,” Alice added, Fluttershy picking up her cup by the rim with her teeth.

“Here, here!” Benji took his beer bottle and moved it towards his wife’s bottle.

As Benji and Susan tapped the tops of their bottles together, Sam, Alice, Fluttershy, and Starlight, moved their glasses about, clinking them together while exclaiming light cheers. Sam’s smile shrunk as he glanced behind him, seeing nothing but calm greens and hills all around. He tilted his head up and quickly ran his head around the top edge of the crater and around.

“Sam?” Starlight questioned. “What are you looking at?”

Sam looked back down, seeing his sister, parents, and Fluttershy laughing as they continued enjoying their time together.

Sam sighed in slight embarrassment. “It’s… nothing.”

Now facing his family, Sam sported a smile matching the others around him. It seemed for the time being he and those around him were safe for now.

Fluttershy and Starlight sat snugly between Sam and Alice inside Benji and Susan’s car. Quite often, both ponies would crawl across their laps to take in the sights of Hau’oli City and the beachfront, the sunset painting the sky and sea a bright orange.

“Wow,” Fluttershy said. “This place is amazing. It’s hard to imagine someplace like this existing so close to Iki Town.”

“Best of both worlds,” Sam reasoned.

Starlight looked at the many families and friends playing in the sand with their Pokémon. She kept her mind focused on a little girl with curly red hair being picked up by her dad as he swung her around by the arms. She was too far away to hear, but could tell the girl was laughing.

“Hey girls,” Pinkie Pie’s voice suddenly rang in her head, “you’ve done a real swell job out there. Go to the beach and chill for a week or two!”

Two tears came from Starlight’s eyes, one of which dripped on Sam’s arm. Sam looked up, seeing a sad frown she clearly struggled to fight back.

Starlight wiped her eyes, as if knowing she was seen. “I’m sorry she said. Was just reminded of something.”

“What’s that?” Alice asked.

“It’s just… on the night we got sent here, one of my friends, Pinkie Pie, made a comment about wanting to go to the beach. All I want is to know they’re alright, and safe, and–”

“I have to imagine they are.” Sam softly laid his hands on Starlight’s back. “If the people here are as accommodating and protective as Hau has been for us, I’d say they’re in the best possible hands they could be in.”

Starlight sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her hoof. “Thanks for saying that, but we don’t know if Gladion found any of them, or if Pr–”

“Hey, mom!” Sam’s voice was loud and sudden enough to frighten Starlight out of speaking. “Our place is coming up, right?”

“Uh, yeah.” Benji glanced to the right, eying their building coming up ahead. “Don’t need the whole city to hear it.”

“Sam!” Alice hissed. “What was that about?”

Sam, his voice so silent that he appeared to be mouthing out words, said, “Ixnay on the Ismpray.”

Alice, understanding his reasoning, sat back quietly in her seat.

“Uh, nothing,” Sam quickly responded to Alice’s original question. “I just want to be sure I have enough time to pack before the ferry leaves.”

“We have a couple of hours,” Susan said. “You’ll have plenty of time.”

“Alright then.”

As Sam sat back in his seat, Starlight looked up to him. “Thanks,” she whispered. “I was getting a little carried away there.”

“I understand,” he replied just as softly. “Let me just say this. If the other Kahunas are just as strong as Hau is, and if a couple of kids like Alice and I can take down Team… You Know Who, do you really think you need to worry?”

Starlight took a second to ponder Sam’s words. As her sad frown began to melt away into a relaxed smile, the car suddenly took a sharp turn right.

“We’re here,” Benji said. “You ponies can get a little rest in the bedrooms while Sam and Alice pack, okay?”

“Mmhm,” Fluttershy agreed.

“Sure,” Starlight said.

The darkness of the alleyway leading to the parking garage made the ponies tense up on Sam and Alice’s legs. Sam relaxed his own legs, ignoring every impulse to stiffen up too, gently moving his hand from the base Starlight’s neck to the small of her back. As the car turned into the parking garage, the inside becoming darker, Sam looked over to his sister to see Fluttershy huddled up as close to her as the seat cushions could allow.

Fluttershy collapsed on Alice’s bed, the strength of her landing tossing the corners of her Haxorus comforter up, which wrapped over the exhausted pegasus’s back. Alice was preoccupied as she flipped through her stack of t-shirts in her drawer, looking for the right color among them.

“Those Team Prism meanies won’t attack us here, will they?” Fluttershy asked, poking her head through the covers.

“Not if they want to be seen and cause a panic, I presume,” she replied.

“What?!”

“Relax.” Alice managed to find a dark purple shirt and pulled it out from the middle of the stack quickly enough to not ruin the shirts above. “They wouldn’t go and attack us again in the middle of the city. We’re safe… for now.” The last bit she whispered under her breath as she bent down to the lowest drawer, looking through her shorts.

“Where do you think our friends on Akala will be? Before we do anything, we should try and look for them.”

“Of course, Fluttershy, of course.” Alice then pulled out a pair of short dark-grey shorts with a matching purple stripe down the center. “Though, and I don’t want to sound like a bitch for this, but, if we need to do a trial first, we will have to do one.”

“But, why? Don’t you–”

“Of course I do, but if they’re being hidden at any of the trial sites, we’ll have no choice but to take the trial on to find them. Not to mention, finding and helping your other friends is going to be difficult if we don’t train our Pokémon along the way.”

Alice then went to her closet doors and threw them open, looking through the vests that hung inside. “Chances are, the Team Prism guys are really mad at my brother and I for thwarting them back at Ten Karat Hill, and they’re going to come back stronger and tougher than before. A wild Pokémon happened to save our asses today, and I highly doubt we’ll be so lucky when we do face them again.”

“Oh!” Fluttershy zipped beneath the covers

Alice turned around with a black vest with gold-colored lining in her hand, seeing only a trembling lump in the covers where Fluttershy had been. Sighing, Alice sat on the edge of her bed, and gently laid her hand on the lump, the shaking easing down with her touch.

“And that’s why we need to take this one step at a time.” Alice began slowly peeling the covers back, revealing Fluttershy to her. “If it’s any consolation, I have to believe that if the other Kahunas didn’t find them yet, the island guardians did, and either way, it means they’re safe and sound.”

“But…” Fluttershy wiped her wet eyes. “What if someone from Team Prism beat them and took them?”

Alice felt another smile coming on. “Come on, do you really think either of them would lose to a few jerks in goofy black hoodies?”

“I guess not…”

“Hell, you can even land a better hit on them than they did.”

“Huh? What do you–”

“When that one chick tried stomping Rockruff, you smashed her in the stomach so hard. I almost laughed out loud.”

“It’s not funny! She would have seriously hurt him!”

“And you saved him. To be honest, I didn’t know you even had it in you.”

“I get that sometimes…”

The vulnerability in Fluttershy’s voice and turn away of the head were palpable. Alice scooted herself closer to her and leaned into her neck, wrapping her arm around it and resting her cheek into the side of her head below her ears.

“You’re far stronger than you give yourself credit for,” Alice said. “We’re going to get them back.”

“Thanks, Alice.”

Fluttershy pushed against Alice’s embrace, giving back the affection she was receiving.

Starlight sat on the edge of Sam’s bed, her back legs hanging off the side, watching Sam as he wrapped two pairs of black underwear around several pairs of socks. She made an inaudible gulp as he came back and stuffed them inside the backpack he set beside her.

“Sam,” she finally spoke up, making him turn his head to her. “Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.” Sam backed away to give each other space to look each other in the eye.

“Back at Ten Karat Hill, after you let Alice catch Rockruff, you said that you wouldn’t want Alice to help you catch a Pokémon again… or, something along that line.”

“So, you’re asking me if I even caught my Honedge?”

“Did you?”

There was a bout of silence that Starlight seemed to take as a confirmation, as told by the deflation in her stance and the disappointed rolling of her eyes.

“I did,” Sam said, “but she still helped.”

“What do you mean?”

Sam sat down on the bed beside her. “When Alice and I were still living in Kalos, yes, like my dad said, I wanted to be a cook and a chef at his restaurant more than I wanted to be a trainer. I was never an adventurous kid growing up, and my sister was my polar opposite.

“She had actually gotten her Noibat about two years before she was old enough to leave home as a trainer, and, I’ll admit it, I was jealous. Like, seven deadly sins envious.”

Starlight’s grimace grew out, understanding the expression from his tone despite not knowing what it meant.

“One night,” Sam continued, “when we were taking a trip to Camphrier Town, I just… ran into the tall grass. Honedge was the first Pokémon I came across. All I had was a single Poké Ball…

12-year old Sam lobbed the Poké Ball out, striking the Honedge in the center of blade. The Honedge became a red energy that was sucked inside the ball upon opening. Closing back up, it hit the ground, the center button glowing as it wiggled about on the ground. After three shakes, the ball split open, freeing Honedge inside. Sam looked both devastated and afraid as the Honedge slowly approached him.

“Ahehehe,” Sam nervously chuckled. “No hard feelings?”

“SAM!”

Sam turned around to see his 9-year old sister running out with her own Poké Ball in her hand. With an underhanded toss, Alice passed the ball to her brother.

Sam was flustered. “What are you–”

“Battle it already!”

Sam saw that Honedge was now just a few feet from him, and without thinking, Sam tossed the ball down close to him. Noibat shot out from the ball, leaving the Honedge to retreat a few paces so it could read its opponent.

“I may have caught him,” Sam said, “but it’s all because of her that I did.”

Noibat delivered another Aerial Ace onto the Honedge, sending it falling to the ground, the grip on its scabbard lost.

“Nice one, Sam!” Alice cheered. “Here, try again!”

Alice threw out another Poké Ball, Sam noting its lighter weight upon catching it.

“Where’d you get this?” Sam asked.

“I found some on the ground at camp once. Just do it!”

Sam, seeing that Honedge was about to get up, kept his eyes locked on to his target. With a hard throw, Sam felt a rush of sudden excitement as he felt the ball leave his fingertips.

Sam clicked his tongue against his mouth, the memory making him smile fondly.

“So… you did catch him on your own.” Starlight said.

“Huh?” Sam seemed confused by her response. “Do you really think that counts?”

“Sure I do! The Pokémon you used to battle him and the Poké Ball you used to catch him may not have been your own, but you were the one who called the shots. You were the one who eventually threw the ball out and caught him.”

After a pause, Starlight smiled softly. “Now I understand why you let Alice have the Rockruff. Even now that I get it, I still have to say, what you did for your sister was very sporting of you.”

“Whether you think that or not,” he responded, “it was the right thing to do. Yeah, I’ll have to leave here with as many Pokémon as I came with, but now I have a whole island of new Pokémon to encounter when we get there.”

“I look forward to it. Now hurry up and get packed. Akala awaits us.”

Sam nodded and pulled open his drawer of shirts as Starlight slid off the bed and trotted to his window, looking out as far east as the edge would allow her. Though she couldn’t see them, yet alone know which of her friends she’d find, her stare to the horizon gave them as much assurance as she could muster.

Sam, Alice, their parents, and the ponies stepped out of the elevator in the lobby, the former two’s bags filled with clean clothes and other supplies. They only took a few steps forward before stopping, the sight of the two people in front of them surprising them greatly.

“Hey there, guys!” Hau said with a wave, Ilima standing beside him. “I know you gotta’ get going, so we’ll make this quick.”

“We just wanted to give you two these before you left.” Ilima held out Ride Pagers to Sam and Alice, the two of them slowly approaching as they studied the devices from a distance.

“What are they?” asked Alice.

“They are called Ride Pagers. I developed them with a little help from a friend. Where trainers on Kalos and abroad use HMs outside of battle to help themselves on their journey, these will alleviate that problem.” Finally, both Sam and Alice took the devices and began playing through the menu screen.

“I’ve had two Pokémon registered to those devices:” Ilima continued, “Tauros and a Lapras. Tauros will allow you to charge at high speeds and also break apart boulders you may see in your path, while Lapras will allow you to paddle across bodies of water.”

“I see,” Sam said, “like a super-speed Rock Smash and a Surf.”

“I’m glad you understand the idea. You can register other Pokémon along the way on the other islands to help you with other objectives.”

“Thanks a lot, Ilima,” Alice responded. “But Hau, you didn’t need to come all the way down here just for him to tell me that.”

“I know,” Hau said, his hands behind his upper back. “I just wanted to bid you both alola before you left.”

“Right.”

Both Sam and Alice approached the two, where Sam was the first one Hau turned to acknowledge. Sam reached for a handshake, Hau slapping his hand into Sam’s, with Sam catching it and squeezing hard enough to withstand Hau’s grip.

“Alola, Sam,” he said. “I hope you make it all the way.”

“Me too, man,” Sam agreed. “Me too.”

Hau let go and turned to Alice, and without warning, Alice jumped onto Hau’s chest and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Thank you so much, Hau,” Alice said.

“It’s my greatest pleasure,” Hau grunted. “You two take care and make it all the way, okay?”

“I won’t disappoint you.”

Alice slid off of Hau’s body as he gently walked up to Starlight and Fluttershy, kneeling down to meet them at eye level. Both Starlight and Fluttershy’s eyes welled with tears as Hau held his arms wide open, finally leaping into them as they both hugged him on the neck and chest.

“We can’t thank you enough for helping us,” Starlight said. “Just… thank you.”

“Goodbye, Hau,” Fluttershy said. “We won’t forget you.”

“And I know I’ll never forget the two of you,” Hau choked, his own eyes becoming misty.

He slowly stood to his feet, the ponies’ arms unraveling off of him, but he managed to grab hold of one of each pony’s hooves and hold on to them for a few moments before letting go, returning them on all fours.

“Alright,” Hau said, stepping back beside Ilima. “Get going now. Your ferry awaits you.”

Sam, Alice, Fluttershy, and Starlight led the way to the lobby exit, Sam and Alice waving to them before stepping outside the doors.

Benji and Susan were next, turning to the Kahuna and captain. “Thank you again for everything.” Benju said. “If you have time, please come visit my restaurant, and I’ll make you a dinner on the house.”

“If you insist,” Hau laughed, slapping his hands onto his stomach. “Nothing spells friendship faster than a free meal!”

Benji smiled and nodded, understanding the good intent behind his response as he followed his children and the ponies out.

“You’re also welcome at our home any time,” Susan said. “Just say the word, and our door is open to you.”

“My gosh!” Hau put his arms behind his back again, his cheeks blushing. “You’re treating me like I’m the champion again!”

“Regardless, you’ve earned it. Thank you again for seeing to my children, Hau.”

As Susan jogged outside to follow the rest of them, Hau and Ilima both walked outside to see them off. Sam glanced back and saw them standing there, feeling a twisting feeling in his gut.

“Guys, hold up.” He stopped and let his parents, sister, and the ponies pass him as he slowly backed away. “I just have one last thing.”

“Hurry up.” Alice said flatly.

Sam ran quickly to Hau and Ilima, slowing to a stop.

“Sam?” Hau asked, suddenly slightly concerned. “What’s up?”

“There’s something I wanted to tell you…” Sam panted. “Both, actually.”

“What is it?” Ilima asked.

“Beware of any guys you see that are wearing all black, namely anyone with a hoodie with a really long hood.”

“Why?” Hau wondered. “What’s wrong?”

“They’re called Team Prism. They use Psychic-type Pokémon and use moves that are strong against Pokémon who are strong against Psychic-types.”

“Team Prism? You mean, like Team Skull?”

“I’m not sure. But there are two really important things you two need to know. Apparently, Psychic-moves are strong against Starlight’s magic and can make her lose her powers for a little bit, and they know about this… about them.”

Hau gasped.

“What?” Ilima exclaimed. “How do they know about the ponies?”

“I don’t have much time. Lastly, they have man-made Z-Rings that allow them to use Z-Moves.” This last bit stunned Ilima and Hau to their core as they looked at each other with eyes open and mouths agape. “I’ve only seen them use a Psychic-type move with them, but after they use them, their–”

“Sam!” Benji called from behind. “Let’s go!”

Hau turned to face Sam, a grateful, but worried expression on his face. “Thank you, Sam. We’ll be on the lookout.”

“Yes, thank you very much for the warning. We’ll be sure to let others know too.”

Sam began backing away from Hau and Ilima, and with his arms and hands, he waved them in a partial outward ring, mouthing the word, “Sorry” as he did. Once Hau nodded in understanding, Sam ran back to join his friends and family.

“Sam,” Alice asked. “What was that about?”

Sam merely glanced to his sister and nodded. From the silence from their parents to thinking about Hau and his Pokémon, Alice understood and kept her face straight.

“Well?” Susan asked. “What was that about?”

“Nothing,” Sam replied with a chuckle, “just a silly question about our Ride Pagers.”

Hau and Ilima stood still as they watched Sam, Alice, and the ponies disappear into the busy night crowds, contemplating everything they just learned.

“Be safe,” Hau muttered. “Please be safe.”

Sun stood along the balcony of the Aether Paradise, the soft glow of the light from the coastline towns and cities calming him. It had been a busy week, far busier than most, and it probably would continue being busy until the ponies were found and the mystery surrounding Solgaleo and Lunala was solved.

As sleepy as he was, Sun did not want to retire for night just yet. He just wanted a few minutes between himself and Alola, the lights along the southern edge of the islands calling him back to a simpler time.

“Sir! Sir!”

Sun shot up and turned to face the female Aether employee as she ran to him with a holographic tablet in hand.

“What is it?” he asked her.

She took a few moments to catch her breath. “Sir, we’ve just confirmed that two of the creatures that came from the portal are now being kept at the House base on Ula’ula Island!”

“What? Let me see!”

Sun took the tablet from her hand, scrolling through the report she was given until he reached the pictures. He stopped at the third one, which showed a somewhat fuzzy image of a purple alicorn and a small purple and green dragon.

Sun couldn’t help himself. Seeing two of the Equestrian’s in their fullest clarity yet, he chuckled with excitement, a single world leaving his lips.

“Amazing.”

E1 – Gladion and Mina

Gladion woke up to the sound of a ringtone, his eyes shooting open at the sudden, loud volume. Sitting up in his bed, he turned to his ornately carved ivory-white dresser and saw a bright light flashing inside the top drawer.

Slipping out of the bed, he walked to the dresser and pulled the drawer out to reveal a red, star-shaped device with a more rectangular-shaped bottom and a large screen at the bottom of it. His mouth hung slightly open to see that Hau’s name appeared in the caller ID. Picking it up and hitting the “Answer” icon, Hau’s face suddenly appeared on the screen.

“What is it?” Gladion asked.

“Gladion,” Hau said, his face stoic and serious, “I’m sorry if I woke you, but I need to tell you something very important.”

“Well? I’m waiting.”

Pinkie Pie paced about the top of the Vast Poni Canyons, looking up at the sky for Rainbow Dash. Her stomach began to growl, making her stop and turn to look at it, her belly visibly rumbling.

“Shh,” she whispered to it, massaging the side of her stomach, “don’t worry. Rainbow Dash will be here soon, and then we can eat!”

A sound of wings beating was audible in the distance, and with Pinkie Pie turning to the direction of the sound, she smiled to see Rainbow Dash flying up over the top of the canyon and following the tops of the walls until she finally reached her.

Rainbow Dash landed before Pinkie Pie and dropped two large blue berries that she held by their two stalks. “Sorry, Pinkie. These were all I could get before the crabs started attacking me.”

Pinkie Pie whined as she made a tentative sniff at the berries. “I don’t like these kinds.”

“I know you don’t, but it’s all we have.” Rainbow Dash took one of the two berries and dug her mouth into it, squirting juice over her face and the ground. “Yeah, they’re a little bland and bitter, but I’m sure it beats whatever that one guy would do to us.”

“Can’t you just go again and find better berries for us to eat?”

“I can’t be flying around this island all day and risk getting us spotted. I did what I could today, and we’re just going to have to live with it. Now please, Pinkie, eat.”

As Pinkie Pie leaned in toward the other uneaten berry, mouth slowly opening, she suddenly heard the sound of wooden sticks hitting the ground. Before she could respond or even wonder what the sound was, she was tackled to the ground by Rainbow Dash.

“Hold on,” Rainbow Dash hissed. “Someone’s here. Let me check.”

Rainbow Dash trotted toward the source of the sound, peeking around a large slab jutting out from the rock. While the sight was different and surprising enough into softening the pegasus’s tensed muscles, she couldn’t help but feel perplexed over what she saw.

Sitting on a small boulder and looking out over the land below the canyon was a young woman in her mid-twenties, a paintbrush held in her right hand and a multi-color stained pallete in the other. Her golden blonde hair was tied back about six inches from the tip, while two long bangs hung down the sides of her face, bound together by pink paint at the tips.

Her white shirt was stained with splotches of green and pink paints, and her greyish-blue cargo pants were speckled with small holes and spots of white paint. Her bright-red Converse sneakers appeared to be the only new piece of clothing that she was wearing. Rainbow Dash continued watching as the woman continued painting the sea on her canvas with sat on a small, but long-legged easel.

“Who is she?” Rainbow Dash asked herself.

“I don’t know.” Rainbow Dash jumped back to see that Pinkie Pie had been standing atop of her, though Pinkie Pie managed to catch the face of the slab to maintain her position. “But look…”

Pinkie Pie pointed at the greyish-blue cylindrical single-strap backpack that was set behind the woman, next to several brushes of differing shapes and sizes, namely the couple of granola bars that were poking out through the top.

“Food…” Pinkie slid down the slab and began to walk around, only to be quickly pulled back behind the slab by Rainbow Dash’s teeth on her tail.

“Are you nuts?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as quietly but effectively as possible. “You don’t know who she is! What if she’s working for that other guy?”

“Come on, Rainbow Dash,” Pinkie Pie retorted just as quietly. “She’s just sitting there painting. What kind of evil-doer just sits and paints? I don’t know about you, but I’m getting some breakfast.”

“Pinkie, no!”

Before Rainbow Dash could pulled her friend back, Pinkie Pie wagged her tail out of the way and bounded excitedly towards the woman. The woman continued diligently on her painting, working on the lighter shades for the sun rising on the horizon.

Pinkie Pie’s head suddenly popped up from behind her easel. “Hey, what’cha painting?”

The woman threw herself back and gasped loudly, dropping her palette and brush as she continued falling backward. Before she could fully tip over, she suddenly felt something supporting her back. Looking behind her, she found herself supported by Pinkie Pie’s right side.

“Shurry ubut thet,” Pinkie Pie said with the woman’s palette and brush held in her teeth. “I ulso gut yur peenting stff.”

The woman’s hands took the supplies from the pony’s mouth, looking at them as if she wasn’t even sure how they got there. Pinkie Pie then pushed her back into her seat on the rock, appearing in front of her the moment she got comfortable.

“I’m sorry again,” Pinkie Pie said, her words sounding like one, “but my friend and I have been stuck on this island for a few days, and we’ve been hiding from this guy for a while…” Rainbow Dash slapped her hoof to her face as Pinkie Pie continued rambling to the human stranger. “…and we’ve been eating these yucky berries this whole time, and I saw some of your granola bars, and I would rather eat a granola bar than a yucky berry. The point is, can we have a granola bar?”

The woman’s eyes were wide as she took everything the pony said to her in. Her eyes then began to droop half shut as her senses began to settle down.

“Okay,” the woman said in a flat, almost bored tone, “I’m going to need you to repeat all that. In fact, don’t. What even are you?”

“Who me?” Pinkie Pie refused to miss a beat, nor yield her smile. “My name’s Pinkie Pie, and my friend Rainbow Dash is here somewhere. What’s yours?”

“My name? I didn’t even…” The woman glanced away, readjusting her next words. “My name… is Mina. Sorry, I don’t mean to sound rude, but… you by chance didn’t pop out of a wormhole recently, did you?”

Pinkie Pie gasped as if her mind had been read. “As a matter of fact, we did! Sorry for interrupting your painting just then. We just wanted to know if we could borrow some granola bars.”

“Uh… sure help yourselves!”

“Yeeee! Come on, Rainbow Dash! The coast is clear!”

Mina turned around to see Rainbow Dash poking her head out from behind the slab. Realizing that they were seen, Rainbow Dash walked skittishly over to Mina’s bag, eyeing the wrapped up bar that stuck out the most.

“Here, let me help.” Rainbow Dash sunk to her shins as Mina set her painting tools down, leaned over and pulled her bag closer, taking out two bars from her bag. Rainbow Dash relaxed herself more as she watched Mina tear each wrapper open one by one.

Finally, Mina was holding out two unwrapped granola bars with chocolate chips and dried red fruit in the palm of her hand. “Here, take them. They’re chocolate and cherry, my favorite.”

While Rainbow Dash was still off set by the woman’s monotone voice and vacant expression on her face, Pinkie Pie trotted over and pulled the top bar off with her teeth. Rainbow Dash reached out to warn her friend, but was too late as Pinkie Pie scarfed the entire bar down, licking her lips with an excited moan.

“Ooh, that was delicious!” Pinkie Pie chirped. “Thanks a million, Mina!”

“Not a problem,” she responded, still holding out Rainbow Dash’s bar out. “However I can help a Pokémon in need.”

“Pokémon?” Rainbow Dash asked, sounding slightly offended. “Whatever these Pokémon you talk about are, we’re not that. We’re ponies!”

“Oh, my apologies. I suppose we both have a lot to learn about each other.”

Rainbow Dash stepped forwards and swiped the last granola bar out of Mina’s hand with her front hooves. She looked down at her gifted breakfast, then back at Mina, her expression softening apologetically. “Listen, thanks for the food…” Rainbow Dash chomped out half of her bar, “…but once I’m done here, Pinkie Pie and I gotta’ go.”

“I think I heard,” Mina said. “Something about some guy being after you?”

Rainbow Dash stuffed the rest of her bar in her mouth and swallowed the rest whole. “Yeah. Not to sound rude, but we don’t want you getting wrapped in with us. This guy we’re hiding from controls a bunch of creatures that are really strong.”

“No offense taken, I’m not too worried really. If you want, you can stay with me. I also control a bunch of creatures that are really strong, which by the way, are called Pokémon.” She lifted her shirt up, showing off her five Ultra Balls.

“Come on, Rainbow Dash! We can totally trust her!”

Pinkie Pie grinned eagerly, hoping it would win the stubborn Rainbow Dash over.

Finally, the pegasus sighed and stepped over to join her pink friend. “And you can really keep us safe?”

“I’d like to think so. I am a Trial Captain for this island, after all.”

“So, what does that mean?”

Mina cracked the slightest of smiles as she reached back to her palette and brush beside her, dipping the bristles with fresher paint. “There’s this thing we have called the Island Trials…”

As she continued her explanation, Mina resumed her painting, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie lying down on the ground in their first moment of relaxation since their arrival.

Gladion began to fly above the southeastern-most point of Poni Island on the back of his Charizard. As he came close to the Vast Poni Canyon, he saw the unmistakable blue and pink ponies sitting on the top with Mina.

“Got you,” he whispered to himself. “Charizard, land where they are.”

With an affirmative yowl, the Charizard reduced its speed and came down.

“Wow, that’s actually kinda’ cool.” Rainbow Dash marveled the way Mina painted the sun’s reflection along the waves of her ocean. “How long have you been doing this?”

“Since I was, like, 5, or so.” Mina began outlining on the borders for the Poni Gauntlet and the cliffs. “It takes a lot of practice, but I can hardly think of a better way to spend my time.”

“Ooh, I have an idea!” Pinkie Pie yelled. “Why don’t you put Rainbow Dash in there?”

“Huh? Why would I do that?”

“I dunno! I just thought it could give your painting a little pizzazz!

“Well, I mean the paint is still wet. I’d have to wait at least an hour before I could if I wanted to, but I just don’t see her as part of my–”

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash’s shout broke Mina and Pinkie Pie out of their tranquility, finding Gladion’s Charizard approaching from their right. “Dragon incoming.”

With its stomach ten feet from the ground, the Charizard swung its bottom half forward and upright, falling down and onto its feet, the force sliding Gladion off its back and to the ground, landing on a knee to break his fall. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie seized with fear upon seeing him.

“M– M– M– Mina?” Rainbow Dash barely had the strength to walk around Mina and hide behind her, Pinkie Pie quickly following her. “That’s him! That’s the guy.”

Mina looked unfazed as Gladion returned his Charizard to its Ride Pager ball and then approached the three of them.

“Mina,” Gladion said.

“Long time, no see, Gladion.” Mina replied. “What’s going on with you and these ponies?”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait,” Pinkie Pie interrupted, flabbergasted. “You know him?”

“Sure. He came to take my Island Trial several years ago.”

“Which still remains to be seen,” Gladion scoffed, “but I can see your painting has improved. Glad to see it takes priority over your duties as a Captain.”

“I’m still working on it. Now, what do you want?”

“I have to take the ponies with me. They’re in grave danger.”

“Yeah, from you!” Rainbow Dash pointed an accusing hoof past Mina’s leg.

“That’s not true, and I’m sorry for back then, but you have to listen to me.”

“We don’t have to do anything!”

“There are people after you, and you need to come with me if you and your friends want to go back home alive!”

“Mina?” Pinkie Pie whined, cowering closer to her friend.

“Mina!” Gladion’s voice became hushed with desperation. “There’s another group of thugs running about Alola now, just like Team Skull did. They’re targeting the ponies and trying to do lord knows what to them!”

“He’s lying!” Rainbow Dash screamed. “He’s trying to trick you!”

“Rainbow Dash, calm down… it’s okay.”

“Huh? Mina?”

“Whatever Gladion did to you two back then, I can assure you that he had no ill intent in his actions.”

“Huh? You’re going to trust this guy?” Pinkie Pie asked. “How can you trust someone who wears all black like that? That’s villainy 101!”

Gladion coughed in disgust over her intensely simplistic judgment.

“Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash,” Mina said, “I know Gladion can be a lot of things, and judging from your experiences with him so far, you have no right to blindly trust him, but one thing I can tell you is that he is the furthest thing from evil.”

“So what does this mean?” Rainbow Dash. “You’re not giving us up, are you?”

Mina looked dead into Gladion’s eyes. “Gladion, if I let you have them, you have to promise to take the best care of them that you can.”

“Mina, no!” Pinkie Pie cried. “Don’t do it!”

“I’ll care for them like my own Pokémon,” Gladion responded, reaching his hand out. “Now, please…”

“Mina?” Rainbow Dash was close to tears as she backed away fearfully. “I thought we could trust you!”

“Don’t worry. He’s not getting them that easy.” Mina lifted the right side of her shirt up, revealing her five black-and-white Poké Balls on her belt.

“Mina!” Gladion gasped. “What are you– There’s no time to be goofing around here!”

“I’m not goofing around. I take these ponies’ well-beings seriously, and if you do too, you’ll battle me to prove it.”

“Mina?” Rainbow Dash shouted. “What’s going on?”

“Stay back, guys. I don’t need you getting caught up in this.”

“We should do what she says,” Pinkie Pie whispered to Rainbow Dash. “I have a feeling we’re in for one heck of a show.”

Both Ponies stepped back as Mina took out her first ball, tossing it out. “Go, Klefki!”

Appearing from Mina’s Poké Ball was a tiny creature with a silver, circular face with a keyhole for a mouth and a smaller pink ovular body. From the middle of the key-shaped protrusion on the top of its head, a ring looped well around its body, four keys of different shapes, color, and design dangling from it.

“Ooh,” Pinkie Pie sounded out. “What the heck is that thing?”

“Mina!” Gladion was furious now. “We don’t have time for this! Those creeps could be attacking their friends now as we speak!”

“Then go on, already.” Mina said. “I can take care of them.”

“I can’t! I need their help!”

“Then face me and prove that you’re strong enough. And since you’re in such a hurry, let’s do best two of three. How’s that sound?”

Gladion’s teeth bared, his hands slowly reaching for one of his Poké Balls. At last, unable to break Mina’s façade, snatched a ball from his belt and wound his arm back to throw.

“Fine, then!” he shouted. “I’ll play your game. Go, Lucario!”

With a toss of his ball, Gladion’s Lucario shot out from the ball’s energy and landed with a slight bend in the knees. The Pokémon’s appearance suddenly frightened Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie greatly.

“Mina,” cried Pinkie Pie, “watch out! That one’s super fast and strong!”

“I know…” Mina spoke under her breath.

Gladion smirked a bit. “Your Klefki is the only Pokémon of yours I can’t land a single super-effective hit on, but my Lucario is easily the best equipped to take him on! Lucario, Aura Sphere!”

Lucario held its hands above each other to its right, a blue ball of light expanding between them. Once the orb reached the size of a softball, Lucario whipped his arms forward, sending the ball flying out.

“Mina!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Klefki, Light Screen now!”

The reflection of the sun’s light on Klefki’s body suddenly grew brighter, the light peeling off and forming a large shimmering barrier in front of itself. The aura flew through the barrier, striking Klefki right in its face like a bullseye, sending it back.

“Youch!” Rainbow Dash winced seeing Klefki forced back so. “Is it okay?”

Klefki floated back to where it had been, pointing each of its keys at Lucario threateningly with a defiant, high-pitched yell.

“Don’t you worry,” Mina assured them. “Klefki is as tough as it is small.”

Pinkie Pie pumped her hoof, understanding Mina’s metaphor perfectly. “Nice.”

Gladion let a growl escape his lips. “Hit it with another Aura Sphere!”

His Lucario let another ball of light fly, once again flying through Klefki’s barrier and striking it.

“Come on, Klefki!” Pinkie Pie shouted.

“Okay, now we get serious.” Mina flowingly pointed her arm out. “Use Dazzling Gleam!”

Spots on Klefki’s body began to sparkle brightly, until its most of its body was just a white shape. Finally, each sparkle shot out in hair-thin beams that shot directly at Lucario. Despite bracing itself, each beam struck Lucario like a succession of needles that forced it back, even with its back paws digging into the ground. Once the last beam hit, Lucario buckled, nearly being brought to a knee.

“Lucario, are you alright?” Gladion called out.

Lucario turned back and responded with a purring huff, smiling back for extra assurance. The clear affection the creature had for Gladion made Rainbow Dash blink several times.

“Between your Light Screen softening my Aura Spheres,” Gladion said, “and your Dazzling Gleams, we’ll just be taking turns at each other until one faints. We’ll be at this all day.”

Mina stepped back put an arm up, already bracing herself.

“You know what’s coming.” Gladion revealed his Z-Ring with a gunmetal band, a silver Z-Crystal inserted inside the face. “Now your best line of defense will be shot down!”

Gladion crossed his arms at the wrists, the Z-Crystal glowing inside. As Gladion continued moving to activate the Z-Power, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie watched in sheer amazement as his Lucario mimicked his motions.

“What’s happening?” Rainbow Dash slowly and fearfully asked.

Gladion and Lucario then stood wide-stanced as the two of them punched their left fists in to their twisted right fists near the center of their chests, the sound of a hammer’s heavy clang sounding ominously from the impact. Finally, Gladion reeled both arms back and punched forward with both hands.

The Z-Power shot out of Gladion and arced around him from his back and flowed into Lucario, the Z-Ring’s symbol pulsing out once all of it went in. Though there was a slight breeze from where they were standing, they way Lucario’s four appendages and Gladion’s hair and clothes whipped about gave the appearance that they were in the eye of a hurricane.

“Mina!” Gladion shouted. “You may think I’m wasting my one and only Z-Move here, but if I want to prove myself to you, I have to go all out. Now go, Lucario!”

Lucario slid one leg back, ready to push off on its trainer’s order.

“Corkscrew Crash!”

Lucario lunged forward at immense speed, taking out a huge chunk of stone where the paw was. On the second step, Lucario twisted about, suddenly spinning faster and faster until its entire body was nothing but a shining grey tornado pointed at Klefki.

“Brace yourself!” Mina called.

The Klefki squeaked with approval as it crossed each of its keys in front of its face. The Lucario drill continued speeding at Klefki until it crossed over the Light Barrier. The tip of Lucario’s attack was caught by the ends of Klefki’s key’s, holding it away from its face.

Sparks began flying as Klefki struggled to hold Lucario back, the ponies marveled by the sight. Finally, the tip of the drill began running into Klefki’s face, the impact allowing Lucario to run it into the ground, a small cloud of dust whipped around them. Lucario shot out from the cloud, its spin significantly slower as it landed right back on its feet before Gladion.

“Very nice, Lucario,” he complimented.

Lucario smirked and mewed with a nod, studying the dust that was still left.

“Klefki!” Pinkie Pie cried out. “Don’t be out yet! I like calling your name because it’s fun to say!”

Once the dust settled, Klefki was still floating about as if nothing happened, despite the stripping in its keys or the small divot in its face.

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash cheered.

“Go, Klefki!” Pinkie Pie shouted.

“Okay,” Mina said, “now that it’s tuckered out, hit him with another Dazzling Gleam.”

Another band of bright beams sped out of Klefki’s body, sweeping Lucario off the ground and onto its back. Lucario winced through the sting as it attempted to stand back up.

“Don’t worry,” Gladion cooed, “you’re faster than her. You only need to land one last hit, and you’re set.”

“Mina?” Rainbow Dash looked nervous as Gladion’s Lucario stood straighter, encouraged by its trainer’s words. “You’ve got a plan, right?”

“Oh, yes…” she said.

“Finish it!” Gladion shouted with a point of his outstretched hand. “Flash Cannon!”

Lucario hugged his arms in as the horn in its chest began to glow white. Throwing his arms back out, an orb of white, wispy light soared out at Klefki.

Mina showed the slightest hint at a frown as she threw her arm out. “Klefki, use Reflect!”

Klefki’s body quickly illuminated, and with an outward stretch, the brightness came off from it and formed a thicker looking, more reflective surface than the Light Screen. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie winced as Lucario’s attack passed through both layers of Klefki’s defense and struck it, sending it down to the ground.

Mina wordlessly took gazed upon Klefki and its shut eyes and took out its Poké Ball, returning it back inside. She then put the top of the ball against her forehead and closed her eyes.

“You did really well,” she said. “Thank you.”

“Hmph!” Gladion cleared his throat. “You said this was going to be a two out of three match. What does that mean, exactly?”

“It means you call your Lucario back, and we each bring out a new Pokémon to battle.”

“I see then.” Gladion pulled out Lucario’s Poké Ball and aimed it at it. “Nicely done.”

Lucario purred before the red beam sucked it back inside. Once he put the ball back on his belt, he took out one directly beside it without even looking.

“Go, Crobat!”

With a whip of his ball, Gladion’s four-winged purple bat came out from it and kept a steady position above the ground in front of him.

“What are you going to do now, Mina?” asked Pinkie Pie.

Mina didn’t acknowledge her, and instead took out another of her Ultra Balls and tossing it out. “Go, Wigglytuff!”

Popping out from the ball was an oblong mound of pink fur and a white belly with long pointed ears, big blue eyes, and a puffy tuft of hair on its forehead. It raised its tiny arms up and squeaked, making its presence known.

“Oh my gosh, it’s adorable!” Pinkie Pie said.

Rainbow Dash bowed her head down. “We’re doomed.”

“I’m sorry it had to come to this,” Gladion said, “but my Crobat is undeniably stronger against your Pokémon. I’ll try and make short work of it. Crobat, use Cross Poison!”

“Wigglytuff, use Ice Beam!”

As the Wigglytuff inhaled, inflating its body up and out to the sides, a ball of white formed inside its mouth. As it continued charging its attack, Crobat swooped down and made a beeline at its target, the tips of its wings trailing with drops of purple ooze.

Crobat managed to make its mark, hitting the Wigglytuff hard in the stomach. Wigglytuff groaned as it kept its mouth closed and its cheeks puffed up. With Crobat just inches from its face, Wigglytuff opened its maw wide a beam of misty white shooting Crobat backwards towards Gladion. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie’s mouths and eyes shot open in complete shock.

“Whoa!” they both exclaimed.

From the wall of dust that was whipped up, Crobat came tumbling back to Gladion’s feet, stiff and frosted over. Gladion let out a forced gag from his throat looking down at his immobilized Pokémon. Before Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie could have a chance to cheer, Mina’s Wigglytuff doubled over and whined.

“What’s wrong with it?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Mina’s eyes widened as Wigglytuff turned back to her, the pulsing mark where Crobat hit it a deep purple.

“She’s poisoned,” Mina grunted in reply.

“Poisoned?” Rainbow Dash shouted. “You gotta’ take it to a doctor or something right away!”

“It’s fine. I have a Full Restore in my bag. In the meantime, we can’t waste our free turn.”

Wigglytuff, understanding its trainer’s intent, nodded with a grimaced and faced Gladion and his frozen Crobat once more.

“Now, hit him with Flamethrower, Wigglytuff!”

Mina’s Pokémon closed its mouth and inflated once again, but upon opening its mouth, a stream of fire shot out and bathed Crobat in its heat.

“Wowee!” Pinkie Pie shouted, suddenly wearing sunglasses. “That’s one strange dragon!”

Wigglytuff continued for a few more moments before deflating back to normal size, and once the flames subsided, Gladion’s Crobat rolled over to its front and pushed off the ground on its wings, flapping hard enough to remain airborne once again.

“Mina,” Gladion gasped, stunned by the move, “why would you–”

“I figured I could maximize the damage by subjecting your Crobat to extreme temperatures,” Mina explained. “It has nothing to do with thawing it out of mercy.”

Gladion’s mouth hung open as he contemplated her strategy, but closed it into a respectful smile. “Interesting. You’re a lot more well-read than I gave you credit for. However, your Wigglytuff is still pretty badly poisoned.”

As if to carry the point, a loud gurgling came from Wigglytuff’s gut as it held its stomach and leaned to the side, its eyes and lips pursed shut from the pain.

“I think after one last hit, I should be able to beat you. Now, Crobat, use Steel Wing!”

Crobat picked itself up as its upper wings glowed white, and with a swoop, it soared out at Wigglytuff, swinging the bars of its wings at Wigglytuff’s chest, the hit making Wigglytuff cry out.

“Oh no!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“Wigglytuff, no!” shouted Pinkie Pie.

As Wigglytuff fell, it quickly rolled into a backwards somersault and regained its footing, making Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie gasp excitedly.

“Impossible!” Gladion felt his hands tremble a little. “How did she…”

He then saw the flash of Klefki’s residual Reflect barrier appear between his Crobat and Mina’s Wigglytuff, the realization making him choke back in fear.

“You planned that all along,” he muttered out.

“Thank goodness for my Klefki’s Prankster ability,” Mina said. “Otherwise it would have never gotten that Reflect out in time, and yes, I may have lost just then. But now, all I need is one last hit.”

Gladion, realizing what would happen, seized up and his eyes narrowed. “Crobat, hurry, fly!”

Mina watched as Crobat took to the sky, pointing her hand out at it. “Ice Beam, now!”

Wigglytuff breathed in as hard and quickly as it could, shooting its white beam at the panicked Crobat. After tracing its path for a few seconds, Wigglytuff whipped its head to the upper right, the beam intercepting Crobat from the opposite direction and producing a chilly blast of snow and hail.

From the mist, Gladion and Mina gasped in horror as Crobat fell limply to the ground just past the edge of the canyon where they stood.

“Oh jeez!” Rainbow Dash screamed, several hairs in her mane standing on end.

Gladion took out Crobat’s Poké Ball and aimed it at his Pokémon with his other hand trying to steady himself, but his arms were shaking too badly as the time of decision came too quickly. Tossing the Poké Ball aside, he sprinted off the edge of the cliff and dove forward.

“Oh my gosh!” Pinkie Pie shrieked.

Gladion reached out as hard as he could, just managing to catch his Crobat with the ends of his fingers. Pulling Crobat close to him, Gladion kept his right hand free to pull out another Poké Ball from his belt and toss it out. From the ball emerged a balloony pink and blue bird with large, flat yellow eyes and no legs that quickly swooped down beneath Gladion and caught him and his Crobat on its back.

Mina, her Wigglytuff, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie ran to the canyon’s edge watch as Gladion rolled off the bird with his Crobat still clutched close, catching it by it’s smooth tail and riding it back up to the top of the canyon. The bird floated down back to where Crobat’s discarded Poké Ball lied, but Gladion let himself go five feet above the ground, landing on his feet.

“Holy cow!” Rainbow Dash galloped over to Gladion with Pinkie Pie following. “That was crazy what you did back there!”

Gladion ignored her as he reached inside of his waist pack, pulling out a beige polyhedron-shaped object that he slipped inside Crobat’s mouth.

“Is he okay?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Just wait…” he said.

After what seemed like no time at all, Crobat’s eyes fluttered open as it stretched its wings, looking very energetic.

“What was that you just fed him?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“A Max Revive.” Gladion lightly tossed Crobat up and pointed out and slightly down, giving the bat space to fly up and back down the canyon. “My Crobat fainted against Mina’s Wigglytuff, so I gave it one to bring it back to full health.

Rainbow Dash turned to where Crobat had flown off to, just to see Crobat come back with a Poké Ball in its teeth. Dropping it in his hand, Gladion rewarded his Crobat with a massage on the back of its head.

“Thanks a lot,” he said, putting the ball back on his belt and picking Crobat’s ball from the ground. “Very nice work today.”

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie watched in amazement as Crobat was brought back inside the small ball.

“Hey,” Rainbow Dash said, “how did you–”

“Technology,” Gladion simply said. “Not to sound rude, but our species may be a bit more advanced than yours.”

Gladion then picked up the bird’s ball, walked toward it, and stroked its neck down to the base of its wing.

“That was a great save there, Porygon-Z,” he cooed, holding the ball up to it. “You can rest again now.”

The red beam of the Poké Ball brought the Porygon-Z back as it let out a electronic chirp in glee.

“I have to say,” Rainbow Dash admitted, rubbing her arm against her standing forleg, “what you did for your… um, Pokémon back there was pretty cool.”

“I’ll say!” Pinkie Pie blurted in. “The way you rolled off that balloon animal and flew back up with your bat was tremendous!”

Gladion smiled to see their support and respect before looking back to Mina with a more serious demeanor. “So, are you ready for the last match?”

Mina applied the last of the spray from a grey, square spray bottle with a green liquid chamber to Wigglytuff’s poisoned mark. “I don’t think it matters anymore.” She then turned to face him. “The fact that the ponies now trust you enough to run to your aid means there’s no more reason to battle.”

“Huh? What do you–”

“I wanted our battle to show them that you were strong enough to keep them safe, but it looks as though your saving your Crobat showed them that you’re compassionate enough for them to want to follow you.”

Gladion, humbled by the explanation, nodded his head with a firm frown.

“Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie.” The two ponies turned back to her voice. “You think you can go on with Gladion?”

“Huh?” Pinkie Pie queried. “Where are we even going? I’m not even packed yet!”

“We weren’t even packed when we came here,” Rainbow Dash hissed from the corner of her mouth.

“Oh, right.”

“We’ll be going to Melemele,” Gladion said. “Two of your friends should be there.”

“Really? Who? Who?!” Rainbow Dash threw her front hooves on Gladion’s chest and put her face close to his.

“I don’t remember!” Gladion quickly said, backing away. “One was yellow and had wings like you.”

“Fluttershy!”

“The other was pink and had a horn.”

“Starlight? I think that’s Starlight! That’s Starlight!” Pinkie Pie hopped around ecstatically on each exclamation.

“We don’t have much time to lose though. We should get going.”

“Alright!” Rainbow Dash cheered. “You’re coming with too, right, Mina?”

Mina crossed her arms. “Sorry. As much as I’d love to, I have my duties as a captain to tend to.”

As Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie moaned in confusion, Gladion stepped forward. “Your duties now have pretty much amounted to giving challengers Fairium Z the second they meet you. I’m sure you could come and help us and be someone for the ponies to trust.”

Mina then did something that surprised the three of them: she smirked. “I already said, the ponies trust you enough already. You all should be going. Who knows where your other friends are by now?”

Though they knew their time had come to an end, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie smiled as they approached Mina. At the same time, they wrapped their arms around her waist, hugging her tight.

“Thanks for what you did for us,” Rainbow Dash said.

“And thanks for providing us with our best meal since we got here!” Pinkie Pie squeaked in unironic delight.

“Of course.” Mina then pushed herself off and separated herself from them. “Go now. Your other friends are waiting.”

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie looked to Mina for a few seconds more before turning back and joining Gladion’s side.

“Alright then, Gladion,” Rainbow Dash said, “lead the way.”

“Right.” Gladion pulled his Ride Pager out, conjured a Poké Ball, and tossed it to the ground, letting his Charizard back out. “Now, Pinkie Pie, do you want a lift with me, or would you rather ride with your friend?”

“Hmm,” Pinkie Pie rubbed her chin with the top of her wrist. “I think I’ll ride with you! Spend a little quality time together!”

“Alright, then.” Gladion climbed aboard his draconic steed while Pinkie Pie managed to sit right behind him in one bound, gripping on tight. “Okay, Charizard. Head to Iki Town!”

With a roar and a beat of its wings, Charizard took up to the sky, arcing over to fly straight east. Rainbow Dash leapt up and easily picked up speed to fly alongside, spinning around to give one last farewell wave to Mina before setting off on her journey with Gladion and Pinkie Pie.

Mina set up a goalpost formation with her thumbs and index fingers, keeping Rainbow Dash in her frame before she became too small to see. With a slight whine of confusion from her Wigglytuff, Mina looked down on it, and then back to her painting which still stood on the easel on near the edge of the canyon. Smiling slightly as she looked at the sky she had already painted, she walked back with her Wigglytuff to finish it and make a few necessary changes.

P2 – What About the Others?

Applejack’s eyes fluttered open, the foreign smell of sea and grass instantly filling her nose. Upon waking up and shooting up to sit upright, she was met with the terrifyingly alien Akala Outskirts. Even the crash of the ocean waves against the cliff just a few feet from her startled her, and she looked around to find Rarity stirring awake herself.

Applejack slid to her side, violently shoving her. “Rarity! Rarity!!”

The white unicorn groaned as she sat up, several hairs on her mane standing on end as she also had trouble knowing exactly where she and her friend had ended up. “Applejack? Where are we?"

“Dunno, but I can’t find anyone.”

Rarity got to her hooves, looking around in either direction along the pathway, finding no sign of her friends anywhere.

Applejack stood up and cupped he hooves over her mouth as best as she could. “Twilight! Rainbow!”

Only silence followed. Rarity trotted in place as she continued looking back and forth, the delusion that her eyes were deceiving her fading away with each second passed and each turn back. Just then, a soft magenta light came into Applejack’s vision from inside a distant canyon pass.

“Twilight?” Applejack didn’t even wait for a response, galloping as fast as she could toward it. “Twilight?!”

“Apple–” Rarity’s protest fell on deaf ears, and she took to a gallop as well, hoping to gain the ground she lost.

The two ran past a pair of stone idols, and in the back of the rock wall of the mountain was an entrance with an ornate wooden frame, the odd sight of which brought Applejack and Rarity to a halt.

“You think she’d really run in there?” Rarity asked.

The light shone again, prompting Applejack to lead the way. “Only one way to find out.”

The two walked slowly inside, Rarity illuminating the dark passageway to the next area further ahead. While light was just up ahead, the chase both Rarity and Applejack were being led on both left them quivering, especially as the light on Rarity’s horn flickered.

“Twilight?” Rarity called. “Come on, this isn’t funny anymore! I thought you had better taste than this!”

As the two came into an open area two stone pathways surrounded by green grass and flowers, Rarity turned off her horn’s light, allowing a being with a conical head to peak back over the back edge and observe them. Rarity and Applejack continued walking forward to the entrance to another cavern, this one having a more formal rectangular shape with and arched top with a purple outline.

Applejack slowly continued forward, prompting Rarity to pull her back. “Are you crazy?”

“What? She could be in there?”

“Do you really think Twilight would wordlessly lead us in here after we’ve just landed Celestia knows where?”

As the two ponies continued bickering, the figure watching them floated down shining its soft light.

“…Celestia herself probably doesn’t know where or what this place is!” Rarity added.

“Well, our only lead was that light we both saw, and if that ain’t Twilight, gosh darn it, I don’t know what it could…”

Applejack’s voice trailed off as both she and Rarity could see the glow getting brighter and closer to them, and slowly turning to see what it was, their faces contorted in pure terror as a humanoid being with a pure black body with a featureless face save for its shimmering red and turquoise eyes and markings above and below it appeared to them. It’s body from the waist down was covered in a pink egg-shaped shell with two appendages like wings sprouting from it. On its head, a similarly-shaped cone sat atop its pink-curly hair, two long bangs draping down the sides of the forehead that curled in at the ends.

The two ponies stood petrified at the strange creature, and as it came within a foot of them, Rarity stood on her hind legs as she caught Applejack, who leapt into her protective embrace as they both screamed for their lives. At once, the creature backed away with its hands over its face where its mouth would be. As it looked between the two ponies, beads of sweat and tears sprayed from both its brow and its eyes. The ponies looked to it again, unsure if it was any closer than before, only to see it waving its hands as a show of frantic innocence, leaving them gradually calm and nonplussed, slowing easing themselves down as their cries subsided.

They then watched as the being put its hands up and together before spreading them out, then pointing at the two and putting its hands back up, slowly lowering them and miming out an explosion with them. It then mimed them running to the best of her ability, finishing her charade by motioning to them with her hands and then pointing them down to the ground. The ponies could only watch in silence.

“I can’t be sure,” Rarity said, “but I think it’s saying that the portal sent us here and that this thing brought us here.”

The creature nodded vigorously and excitedly, spooking the ponies a bit, but the creature appeared less offended by it. However, something seemed off to Applejack.

“Can you… understand us?”

It nodded again. The ponies then looked to each other. Clearly this thing didn’t want to hurt them.

“Then why did you bring us here?”

The creature floated into the next cavern, and the ponies after looking at it for a spell more, walked inside. They then found themselves on a wooden floor before stone shrine, an idol atop of it decorated from behind by a large fan of palm leaves and a bulbous red vined plant on either side.

Before they could marvel over the place they now found themselves in, the being floated down with two thick wool blankets, setting them down at the ponies’ front hooves. As if to further clarify, the being put its hands together and placed them underneath its cocked head.

“Um… thank you?” Applejack spoke.

The creature floated up again, its eyes closed and its clamped hands put at the lower side of its face in a show of happiness and mild victory. Without another sound, it waved them goodbye as it went out the exit.

“Do you think she knows where our other friends are?” asked Rarity.

“Maybe,” Applejack said, setting and folding her blanket. “Maybe she’s going to look for them and keep us safe in here in the meantime. Speakin’ of ‘in the meantime,’ we should get some sleep ourselves.”

Applejack curled up on the blanket and shut her eyes, hoping that her exhaustion could drown out any bad ideas of what happened to her friends. Rarity sighed and charged her horn, dismayed to see that she seemed to have trouble lifting up the blanket provided to her. With another groan she haphazardly flattened her blanket and lied down on it, looking up at the starry night above. It was indeed a beautiful sight, and after long, she closed her eyes to sleep.

Rarity’s eyes slowly opened as the harsh sunlight from above became too difficult to sleep through. As her vision settled, she found the being from the previous night standing to the side of the room’s entrance, where a young woman stood, leaning against the inner entryway. She had cocoa-colored skin, shorter black hair, and wore a light-pink low-cut halter-top with darker-pink short shorts. Her arms and legs were adorned with nearly a dozen different bracelets, anklets, and bands, including a Z-Ring on her left wrist.

Rarity shuffled toward Applejack, the other woman’s appearance frightening her. “Applejack, Applejack!”

Applejack came awake but couldn’t withhold her shock at the other woman. “Whoa, whoa! What are you!”

The woman chuckled as she approached them, her hands raised in goodwill. “Relax, you two, I’m a friend of Tapu Lele’s here.”

“Tapu… Lele?” Rarity asked. “Just… who are you?”

“And how can you speak Ponish?” added Applejack.

“Otherworldly indeed…” the woman said to herself. “My name is Olivia, and I am the Kahuna and protector of Akala Island here in the region of Alola. After last night’s… incident, Tapu Lele brought me here to see to your safety.”

“Our… our friends. They got sent here too. Do you know where they are?”

“Unfortunately, I do not. However, I’ve heard from a friend that more portals appeared over the other three islands. There are other island guardians like Tapu Lele and Kahunas like myself, and I’m pretty certain that they are also seeing to their safety as well.”

“If that’s true,” Rarity responded, “can you take us to them?”

“While I could do that, I’m certain whoever is responsible for your appearance here will take it upon themselves to see that you are reunited with your friends.”

“How would you know that?” Applejack asked.

“Some dear friends of mine work for them, and knowing the work that they do, I can assure you that this was nothing more than a terrible accident.”

“How do we know we can trust them? How do we know that we can trust you?”

Olivia sighed, her choices of words this morning doing her no favors. “I can’t say that you should, but if you give me a chance, I want to make your time here as comforting as possible. Come.”

Olivia turned and took a few steps out of the shrine confusing both ponies and even Tapu Lele. “Hold on!” Rarity put her hoof out. “Where are you going?”

“Back home. There’s a bath and plenty of food in my fridge if you’re hungry and need to clean yourselves.”

“A bath!? Oh yes, please, take me now!”

Applejack looked stunned as she watched Rarity join Olivia’s side. “Rarity, wait! What are you–” She was interrupted by the violent growling of her stomach and the pains that accompanied them. “Eh… yeah, I guess I’m a bit hungry.”

Olivia huffed in humor. “Then follow me. It’s a bit of a hike to Konikoni City, and probably early enough so not too many people can see you.”

“People?” Applejack approached her on the other side and walked. “Is that what your kind are called?”

“Kind of. I am what we call a human, but collectively, yes, we’re people. And what are your kind called?”

“Ponies,” Rarity answered, pointing to herself and Applejack. “I’m a pony, she’s a pony, our friends are ponies. We’re just… ponies.”

“I see. Quite the number of similarities we have,” she muttered to herself.

Turning back, Rarity and Applejack saw as Tapu Lele waved them both goodbye, and the two responded with as kind and wide of a smile as they could, given their general situation.

“Twilig… Twilight?”

Spike’s voice and pushing on her belly woke the purple alicorn up, and as she sat herself up, she found herself in another shrine of a similar construct, though its stone walls appeared to be made from sandstone. From the sunlight that shone above, it looked to already be morning.

Twilight turned back to Spike, a look of horror on her face. “Spike, where… where are we?”

“I don’t know, but that thing has been hovering over us all day.”

Twilight turned up toward the back of the room where Spike had pointed. Sure enough, a being floated above the wooden platform up to the altar. Its large pig-like head appeared to be its entire body, its most defining facial feature other than its red and turquoise eyes and facial markings was its yellow nose with a white ring hanging from the nostrils. It had muscular arms with red rings on the shoulders and gold, cloven hooves for hands, and it had a tail that ended with what appeared to be a large golden bell. Atop its head appeared to two long red shells with white and gold markings with two black horns sprouting from the top.

The appearance of such a creature forced Twilight to hop back and crawl away in fear. The creature looked down upon her reaction, and while it produced no sounds, it put its arms to its hips and shook up and down as it bowed over, appearing as though it was laughing.

“What… what are you?” Twilight demanded. “Where are my friends?”

The being scratched its head, appearing unsure of what she was talking about. However, it turned around, and in its grasp, it produced a large wooden bowl full of berries, floating down to the two with it. Twilight and Spike scooted back several inches, leading the being to pick a random berry, a pear-shaped fruit with small orange specks, and put it towards its mouth. Despite the lack of a mouth, the berry went through its face where its mouth would be, and loudly chomped, finishing the gesture by rubbing its stomach.

“How do we know you didn’t pick the one berry that wasn’t poisoned?” asked Twilight.

The creature responded with a slouch and a defeated hanging of its arms, and floated back up to the shrine, shrugging as if it were saying “why do I bother?” Spike, feeling a small grumble in his stomach, reached forward and grabbed a small red-and-yellow cherry like berry with two leaves sprouting from it, only to have its hand frozen in place by Twilight’s magic.

“Spike!” she hissed. “Don’t eat that! That’s not even the same berry it picked!”

“If you don’t want to eat it, fine!” Spike managed to fight his hand from Twilight’s magic grasp. “But it beats starving to me!”

Before he could eat it, Twilight’s aura appeared around the berry and flicked it into the back left corner. The creature, having turned back to see them, moved its eyes to give the appearance of rolling them and turned back away.

“Twilight!” yelled Spike. “What, do you want to go hungry?”

“Until that thing can show me where my friends are, I’m not trusting it!”

Twilight further made her point by taking the bowl and throwing it up, sending all of the berries to the floor, several of them smashing upon landing. The creature, seeing this, soared down to the overturned bowl, picked it up in the space of its hoof, and slammed it on its side, smashing it into dozens of pieces. The sudden violent act caused Twilight to hug Spike closely as she charged her horn, teleporting themselves to the top of the shrine.

They then watched as the being turned around to find them gone. It quickly flew through the shrine’s exit into the pathway to the exit of the ruins, still finding no one there. Twilight could tell that it was getting close to knowing their hiding spot.

“Spike. Hold on tight.”

Spike did as he was told, hugging her body tight. “Okay? Now wha–”

As the creature began flying up, Twilight flipped back so that she and Spike were now diving back into the shrine, Twilight arcing back so that she could fly through the shrine exit and continued until she reached the exit for the ruins, only for her face to be hit by blistering winds of hot sand as they entered a large desert. The sudden sensation of blindness and heat grounded Twilight, knocking Spike off as well. Turning back, she brought him close and formed a dome from her aura around their bodies, deflecting the sandy winds around them.

“Don’t worry Spike,” she told the dragon, “I’ve also made our shield into an invisibility cloak. Now that thing won’t be able to see us through it.”

“Wow. Good thinking, Twilight.”

Twilight nodded in thanks for the compliment. “Come on. Let’s go look for our friends.”

From above, the creature tried looking for them through the sandstorm, but could find no sign of them anywhere. Throwing its arms down in frustration, it resolved to fly south to the other end of the desert.

The sun was already setting, and all Twilight and Spike could see was just more sand blowing so hard that they could not see more than ten feet in front of them. Having traveled for most of the day without any food or water, Twilight and Spike were close to breaking out of sheer exhaustion.

“Twilight,” Spike wheezed, “please tell us we’re close to the end.”

“Don’t worry, Spike. Have I ever let you down?”

“No, but if we just flew out of this storm, we could find our way faster.”

“And have that thing find us and do who knows what to us?”

“What if it gave up? We’ll be wandering this desert forever for nothing.”

“If you want to find that out for us, be my guest!”

Spike, already physically weakened, fell back on his rump as tears welled in his eyes. Twilight, realizing the unfairness of her remark, set herself down before him and stroked his face.

“I’m so sorry, Spike. I’m hungry, thirsty, and scared.”

“And I'm not?”

She glanced away, a stinging comeback that she knew she all but deserved. “Of course you are. I just don’t know what would happen if something happened to you because of something I did, especially now.”

Spike still didn’t look convinced, and Twilight knew what she needed to promise.

“Listen. We’ll go on for ten more minutes, and then we’ll try flying. How’s that sound?”

This looked to satisfy Spike, as he weakly smiled and nodded at a fair deal made.

“Alright,” she said, “lets keep going…”

Spike’s soft and mildly hopeful expression suddenly turned to fear as a shadow approached them through the wall of sand.

“…we shouldn’t be in here for much longer.”

Spike continued pointing behind her, as the creature, a blue bipedal shark-like dragon, came closer to them, cocking its head at the sounds coming directly in front of it and the sand that seemed to bounce off of thin air to it.

“Spike? What is…”

Before she could realize the danger she was suddenly in, the dragon slashed down on the shield, the strength of the hit making Twilight’s body and magic give out, as she was brought to her stomach, too weak to get up.

“Twilight!” Spike ran to her aid as he tried shaking her to no avail.

As the dragon approached, Spike blew a threatening plume of green fire at it, which only served to anger it. The dragon roared loudly, the volume of its screech and the overwhelming fear Spike faced making his body woozy. Before he hit the ground, he barely made out as a large red bipedal crocodile tackled into the dragon and sent it running off, clearly outmatched. As Spike’s eyes shut, a human approached them and joined the crocodile by its side, the two of them looking upon him and Twilight.

Twilight awoke with a start and shock-ridden shout, now finding herself in a bed with a blanket sliding off her body. Upon seeing the old man sitting beside her, she jumped up and slid as far back into the headrest as possible.

The man looked rather threatening himself, sporting grey medium-length hair that was ridden with days of bedhead, thick stubble, and wore a dirty black leather jacket, a dark red shirt that matched his eyes, dark-grey striped trousers and a pair of black flip-flops. He appeared unfazed by her frightened expressions, holding a bowl of a dark blue liquid in hand calmly and still. Twilight touched her lips, seeing the similarly-colored syrup on her hoof.

“What did you just feed me?” she asked.

“Chesto juice,” he simply said. “You and your little dragon buddy looked pretty tired after traveling that desert all damned day. I have to say, that takes guts. Not a lot of brains, mind you, but certainly guts.”

“Hey!” Twilight shot to her feet, approaching him so that her face was inches from his. “I don’t know who, or even what you are, but we don’t need your help!”

“Judging from how that Gabite nearly killed both of you dead, you could have fooled me.”

“Wait… Where is Spike?”

“So Spike’s his name? Last I saw, he was helping himself to some soup.”

“Helping himself to…”

Twilight shot off the bed and ran down the stairs that led directly into a kitchen dining room, where Spike was already slurping down a bowl of broth and bits of noodle that looked nearly as big as him. Twilight’s ears drooped in horror as she tried taking the bowl from him, only to see it empty.

“If you’re worried that I poisoned his soup,” the man said, “you shouldn’t worry. I don’t think Tapu Bulu would appreciate me killing his guests. Besides, if I wanted you dead, I would have left you in the hands of that Gabite. Would have been easier too…”

Twilight began breathing heavily, ignoring his crude joke.

“Twilight,” Spike said, “you should have some soup. It’s really good.”

Twilight was caught in a whirlwind as everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours fell on top of her at once, and she hung her head and wings down, and began loudly sobbing. The man approached her and knelt down, lightly placing his hand on her shoulder.

“Look,” he said, “I wish I could say I knew where your friends are, but if it’s any consolation, you and your friend here are now safe. Now please, have some ramen before the noodles get too soft.”

Twilight looked to be in no mood to do much of anything. He then sighed as he went to the stove where the half-empty pot simmered, grabbed another large bowl from the cupboard to the left, and poured two large ladlefuls of broth and noodles into it, setting it on the floor for her.

“Eat up.” He stepped back to allow Twilight some space. “Tapu Bulu told me you decided not to have breakfast… or lunch for that matter. At least eat some dinner.”

Twilight weakly lifted the bowl to the table next to Spike, and sat down at the chair.

“Here, have mine.” Spike handed Twilight his chopsticks, which she took in her magical grasp.

Nanu couldn’t help but smirk as he watched the alicorn pull some noodles out from the broth and gently slurp them up, getting more and more ravenous with each passing moment. Within a minute, she had eaten all the noodles and guzzled every drop of broth from the bowl, panting as she finished her meal. She turned to him, who quickly resumed his downtrodden façade.

The words seemed stuck in Twilight’s throat, but it were the only next words that she could possibly say. “Th… thank you… uh…”

“Nanu,” he answered. “You can call me Nanu. If you’re still hungry, you can finish what’s left in the pot.”

Twilight nodded, smiling. “Thank you, Nanu. This was good.”

“Don’t thank me. It was prepackaged.”

He returned upstairs as Twilight felt safe to go to the stove and pour more soup for her and Spike.

Twilight and Spike were fast asleep on Nanu’s bed. He peered through the crack in the doorway and closed it, satisfied with their relaxation. He went back downstairs, left his kitchen dining room and walked into a small study and towards a desk with a simple telephone resting in the corner.

He looked at it as if he were about to touch a thorny bramble, but he mustered the strength to grab the phone and dial a series of numbers on the keypad. Putting it too his ear, he waited for several moments before whoever he was calling picked up the other line. He winced as he heard the person’s voice.

“Hey,” he said to them. “You have no reason to say yes to this, but I really need a favor from you.”

By morning, a young woman approached the porch of Nanu’s home. With her buzzed-short purple hair, she looked more a boy than a girl, especially with her deep purple leather jacket, mauve low-cut tank top and torn dark-blue jeans. Her most feminine feature other than her girlish face was the eyeliner on the edge of her bottom lid and heavy mascara on her lashes. Stepping up to the door, she delivered five unnecessarily loud knocks. After ten seconds, Nanu opened the door for her, the sight of him making her grimace.

“Where are they?” she asked, trying to mask a sense of contempt. “I’d like to be out of here sooner than later.”

“Good to see you too,” Nanu said with indifference. “They’re up in my bedroom now.”

“Hmm. They’ll probably need a bath once they get to the Aether House then.”

Nanu sneered as he walked up behind her on the stairs. Once she opened the door, she saw Twilight and Spike turn to look at her, immediately bewildered by her androgynous appearance. She herself was caught completely off guard by the two of them.

“Twilight, Spike,” Nanu said, motioning to her with his hand, “this is Acerola. An… old friend of mine.”

Acerola was too wrapped up in the two ponies to come up with a remark, getting down to one knee and looking into their faces.

“Hey,” she said with surprising sweetness. “H– How are you?”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Acerola.” Twilight’s clear voice was another shock to the girl, making her fall back on her butt as Twilight approached her to shake her hand. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is my friend Spike.”

“Hey, there!” Spike said a bit sheepishly.

Acerola reached forward to shake Spike’s hand too, his eager and natural acceptance of such a gesture almost too much for her to taken in.

“Nanu,” she gasped. “Where did you find them?”

“Wandering the Haina Desert. Nearly half-dead from starvation and thirst.”

“So, then… Acerola,” Twilight spoke. “May I ask why Nanu brought you here?”

“Well,” she said, standing up, “Nanu and I don’t agree on most things, but one thing we can agree on is that he’s in no state to properly care for you, so I’m here to escort you to someplace that can.”

The sudden snideness of her response made Twilight and Spike force a smile. “Oh!” Twilight was the first to speak. “W… where is that?”

“It’s just a mile or so west of here. Don’t worry. The people there are really nice, and considering what you are, I’d be surprised if you weren’t treated like anything less than royalty!”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah,” Nanu said. “In fact, you should probably get going. My place is clearly not fit for a pony and dragon like you.”

“Pony?” Acerola asked.

“That’s apparently what she calls herself. Either way, you two should get going. I’m sure everyone there will get a kick out of you.”

“Uh… okay?” Twilight saw as Acerola quickly went down the stairs, and she and Spike followed her and towards the open doorway where she waited.

Nanu stood at the bottom of the stairs, about to watch them go as Twilight and Spike stopped. He looked expectantly as the two turned back to face him.

“Thank you again, Nanu,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, thanks a lot!” Spike called back.

“Come on, guys,” Acerola said, impatience filling her call. “Let’s get a move on!”

Spike slipped outside, and Twilight looked back at Nanu a few seconds more before she stepped out and closed the door on her way out. Alone once again, Nanu finally felt comfortable to sit himself at the foot of the stairs, pressing his face into his palm, a few dry sobs spilling from his breath.

Akala: Chapter 15 – Professor Burnet

Sam walked to the bow of the ship, just managing to see the distant lights of Heahea City in the distance. As the ferry rode over a little chop, he gripped the sidebar and held still, bending his body so it could remain level with the sea. As the waves settled back down, Alice came out and stood beside him, holding on. Alice watched him with Starlight and Fluttershy on either side of her.

“What’s he doing?” Fluttershy asked.

“He likes to be at the front when riding on a boat,” Alice replied. “I know, he’s weird.”

“It doesn’t really sound that weird to be honest,” Starlight commented.

Alice sighed. “Either way, we’ll dock into Akala Island in just a half hour. Let’s find a place to sleep tonight.”

As the others looked to the city light from the safety inside the ferry, Sam continued looking ahead from the front, ignoring the splashes of water that came near him as they rode to the bottom of each wave.

The four left the ferry station, instantly browsing around for a motel, bed and breakfast, or Heaven forbid the large towering hotel that stuck out like a sore thumb, even from the back north side of the city. In their search, they almost ignored a woman walking toward them, thanks to her loud voice.

“Hey! You must be Sam and Alice Brier!”

They stopped a foot or two from her, allowing themselves to see her more fully in the light of the streetlamp. She was a tan-skinned woman with messy pure-white hair held somewhat in place by a green band wrapped around the back of her head, a long piece coming from the back like a pony tail and two zig-zaggy bangs that hung just in front of her ears. She wore green rubber slippers and a short green skirt over a black full-body rubber suit that with the top pulled down to her waist with the sleeves hanging down, revealing a grey tank top and a necklace with a small obsidian stone inside.

“Are you Professor Burnet?” Sam asked.

“I am. It’s nice to meet you too, Starlight Glimmer, Fluttershy.”

“Thank… you?” Fluttershy was unsure to answer any other way.

“Where’s the cheapest motel?” Alice asked

“Motel?” The question came as a massive joke to Burnet, as she spent the next several seconds laughing hysterically.

Starlight grimaced flatly. “Yep. She’s definitely Kukui’s wife, alright.”

“Don’t be silly! You’ll be crashing at my lab!”

“Huh?” Sam seemed a bit confused and concerned by this prospect. “Does your place even have beds?”

“Mmhm! I had three extras made just for the four of you.”

Sam now felt incredibly sheepish. “Oh… well… You didn’t need to do all that for us to stay one night.”

“Don’t sweat it, man,” she replied with a hearty pat on his shoulder. “You and your sister are very special people with two very special ponies, and I wouldn’t give you anything less than what you’d pay for at the Tide Song.”

“That’s incredibly generous of you,” Alice said, unable to help bowing her body down a bit. “Thank you so much.”

“Not a problem at all! Now come on! It’s getting late!”

Burnet turned on her heel and began walking down the sidewalk, the others a bit late to follow.

Burnet led Sam, Alice, and the ponies out of an elevator, down a small foyer and to the right where a small, square room with four beds in the center of each quarter stood. There looked to be a door directly to the end facing the elevator, presumably a bathroom, and a small kitchen dining room directly beside the bedroom. Sam and Alice looked rather impressed by the simplicity of the set-up.

“Well, this is it!” Burnet exclaimed with a showcasing stretch of her arms. “Make yourselves at home, please! The cafeteria opens at 7:00 for breakfast, but please meet me down there at 8:00. Oh, this is going to be so much fun!”

“We look forward to it,” said Starlight, “but please understand this is about finding our other friends, so please forgive us if we aren’t quite as excited as you about this.”

“Well, yes, of course.” Burnet composed herself and stood straight with a hand at her hip. “It’s been a long day for you I’m sure, so I’ll let you be to catch some Z’s. See you all tomorrow.”

Entering the elevator, she gave another quick wave before the doors closed and she went down. Sam now felt comfortable to kick his shoes off, allowing himself to stretch his toes out more liberally.

He twisted around and landed upon his back on the mattress. “If I’m waking up early tomorrow, I’ll need all the sleep I can.”

“Eight o’clock is early?” Starlight asked Alice.

“Oh no, eight o’clock is early for me. Early for him is around 5 o’clock.”

The thought of such a time perked Fluttershy’s morbid interest. “Why would he wake up so early?”

“I guess my body is on permanent jet lag.”

“You’ve never even traveled outside Kalos until four nights ago.” Alice chided.

“I know, that’s weird, right?”

“Either way,” Starlight interrupted, “he’s right. We have long days ahead of us if we want to find our other friends quickly.”

“Right, so get to bed children, spit-spot!” Sam clapped his hands twice quickly, letting them fall to his sides limply, bouncing off the bed and hanging off the edge.

Starlight chuckled a bit at the demand as Alice and Fluttershy began pulling the covers off their beds. While Alice took her bag to the bathroom to change, Fluttershy and Starlight hopped onto their beds and settled themselves in.

“Goodnight, Sam!” Fluttershy spoke, but received no response from him. “Uh, goodnight? Sam?”

“I think he’s asleep already,” Starlight whispered.

“Oh. Sorry, Sam!” she hissed back.

Starlight snuggled into her pillow, quick to close her eyes. Another island, another step towards her reunion. Such a thought made it easy to rest and fall asleep.

Sam awoke feeling a bit groggy. He looked up to the small windows on the top corner of the wall above the kitchen, and saw sunlight was streaming down. He then went to his Pokédex and checked on the clock: 6:55. Sam shrugged as he put his device away and grabbed a pair of black shorts, another grey shirt, and a pair of socks wrapped in underwear, both black. He took his clothes into the bathroom and silently shut the door. He could already feel today would be a good one.

Alice came out of the bathroom, dressed in her purple shirt, shorts with the matching purple stripe, and black vest with gold lining. She looked to her brother and two equine friends, looking to the former with a playful sense of disdain over his virtually identical clothing.

“Wow,” she said, “what a brave and original outfit of yours.”

Sam looked to his jacket that he wore and took it off, taking the sleeves and tying them around his waist. He then put his hands to his hips proudly.

“Okay, now you’re just copying Burnet.”

Sam dramatically slapped his hand against his forehead. “Aye aye aye! I just can’t please her, though I doubt any man could.”

Starlight and Fluttershy jerked their heads back, completely shocked by the retort.

“Whatever!” Alice skipped herself to the elevator and pushed the ‘down’ button. “Breakfast is downstairs, and I’m sure any male cook down there who can cook me some good flapjacks will impress me.”

Sam felt no point in arguing any longer, and he joined his sister inside once the doors opened, Fluttershy and Starlight quick to enter. No more words were spoken as the doors closed on them.

With as late in the morning as it was, the cafeteria and dining area looked rather busy, nearly three-quarters full with around at least seventy to eighty employees sitting down and enjoying their breakfast or in line getting it. As Sam, Alice, and the ponies walked to the counters, Starlight and Fluttershy receiving amazed looks from many of the employees, they all easily spotted Burnet standing next to a salad bar where bagels and donuts were set for the taking.

Floating beside her was a pale-green Pokémon with stubby arms and legs and two beady black eyes on the far sides of its face. Its more defining features, like its ears and three-fingered hands, were made up of a gelatinous green substance. Starlight and Fluttershy looked inquisitively at the creature, but Sam and Alice appeared to recognize it, judging from their smiles.

“What is that thing?” Fluttershy asked.

“I see you’ve noticed my Reuniclus.” Burnet’s Pokémon responded with a happy high-pitched squeak.

“Here.” Sam pulled out his Pokédex and aimed it at the Pokémon. “Let me show you.”

“Reuniclus,” the Pokédex spoke, “the Multiplying Pokémon. When Reuniclus shake hands, a network forms between their brains, increasing their psychic power.”

“Psychic?” Fluttershy and Starlight said nervously at the same time.

“Yeah,” Burnet said matter-of-factly, “Reuniclus is a Psychic-type. Why would you–” It suddenly hit her. “Oh… That’s right. I was just told about them late last night. You shouldn’t need to worry though. Reuiniclus has been a friend of mine ever since I worked in the Unova region. I used to study dreams in my older life, and Reuniclus was my most helpful assistant.”

The Reuniclus mewed again and gently wrapped its arms around Burnet’s neck.

“But please,” she continue to say, “enough about me, let’s eat!”

Alice walked off with Fluttershy to where a middle-aged black man poured batter into a frying pan, while Sam eyed the platter of smoked salmon near the bagels and doughnuts.

“What kind of things do you like to eat for breakfast, Starlight?” Burnet asked her.

Starlight looked around and noticed the unmistakable sight of a very tan-skinned man sprinkling mushroom, green onion, and tomato into scrambled egg. “How are the omelets here?”

“Ugh, probably the best in Alola. The cheese, eggs, and veggies are grown and made fresh in the farms just north of here. You’ll never taste a better omelet, I guarantee you!”

It was enough of an endorsement for her, and both Burnet and Starlight walked together to the station.

“I can’t thank you enough again for buying our breakfast,” Sam said. “I would have been happy to buy my lox.”

Burnet and her Reuniclus led the others as they stepped off the elevator. “It’s not a problem, guys. Now, I’ll need to take you into my office for just a bit.”

Turning the corner from the hallway, Burnet continued past another room, the glass door and panels showing a small office space where about a dozen or so people dressed in lab coats were typing away on computers. In the back were five monitors, the one in the center far larger than the other, which appeared to showcase a topographical map of an island that was covered in bar graphs and some kind of seismographs.

Neither Sam nor Alice had time to make any sense of what showed on the screens as they were ushered inside a large room with a large bookshelf taking the entire back of the wooden wall, along with a small cocobolo desk where a desktop computer rested.

Burnet stood into the middle of the room, giving the others some space. “I’d like to take this time to say that yes, what my husband told you yesterday was true. I do indeed work with the Aether Foundation on numerous occasions such as this one, and I am helping them find your other friends easier so we can bring you back home sooner. I’d also like to apologize for forgetting your run in with this Team Prism yesterday. It wasn’t my intention to startle you with my Reuniclus, but there’s something I’d like to do with him. Starlight?”

“Uh, yeah Professor Burnet?”

“It’s true that for whatever reason, Psychic-type moves affect this magic that you speak of?”

“Yes? What about it?”

“May I please see you use your magic?”

“Um, okay.”

Starlight charged her horn, at once, nearly a quarter of the books from her shelf were pulled off by individual blue auras, where she then turned them flat and had them revolve above her in a near perfect circle.

Burnet smirked. “Incredible. Now Starlight, I’d like to use a Psychic move on you.”

“What?!” Alice and Sam could have hardly felt so struck by the request. “Are you crazy?”

“Why?” Starlight asked. “Is our word not enough?”

“That’s not it at all. I want you to pay attention to the effects of the Psychic energy as it gets stronger so you can tell me what you feel. I doubt that you had time to properly think about what you experienced when you were assaulted all at once. Perhaps it will allow us to help find a way to counter any future Prism attacks, but I won’t know until you allow me to do this.”

Starlight frowned, still mulling over the decision. “When can we stop?”

“I promise I won’t do it for long. Just enough to allow me to see some effects.”

“Starlight,” gasped Sam, “you aren’t seriously considering this, are you?”

Starlight ignored him, still taking several moments to answer. “Yes. I’ll do it.”

“Okay then, prepare yourself.” Starlight charged her horn more, the aura around her horn and the books getting brighter. “Reuniclus. Soft Psychic.”

Reuniclus began glowing green as its arms and hands aimed at Starlight, who also began glowing green. Sam and Alice squeezed their hands as Starlight began groaning, though still managed full control over the books.

“A little more,” Burnet said.

Reuniclus let out a soft yowl, its glow around itself and Starlight getting brighter. Now, Starlight’s magic aura began to falter, though the motion of the books continued unabated.

“Okay,” Sam said, “you can stop–”

“Just a bit more, buddy.”

Burnet’s Pokémon and Starlight went brighter. Starlight yelped slightly as her aura completely faded from about half a dozen books as they clattered to the floor. Soon, more books began to fall one by one. Sam opened his mouth to object again until–

“Alright, stop!”

On Burnet’s command, Reuniclus relaxed itself, its glow around both it and Starlight fading instantly. Starlight ended her magic and let all the books fall and clatter to the ground.

“I’m…” Starlight panted heavily. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll clean it up later. Now, please, tell me what that felt like.”

“At first… It felt like a dark… cloud was invading my thoughts… making it harder to concentrate. By the time it got really strong… I could no longer concentrate. I tried to focus on all the books at once, but my thoughts just felt… scattered. So much so that it was making me tremendously dizzy.”

“I see. So it’s not so much the Psychic attacks that are hurting you, it’s just that they are easier to invade your head and make thinking about using magic harder.”

“I mean, I’m still perfectly lucid, it’s just…” Starlight picked up four of the books that were left open on the floor, and as she tried to revolve them again, Burnet and the others could see the path of the books were far cruder and her magic flickered like an old lightbulb. “…somehow, magic just becomes so much harder after getting hit with a Psychic attack.” She then set them back down and closed on the desk, huffing as she ended her spell.

“I understand. Most Psychic-type moves don’t have long-term psychological or physical damages unless the move is somehow prolonged, but still, the only remedy I can think of to help you would be to train your mind against outside noise, per se. Perhaps solve puzzles or riddles while listening to loud music or engaging in a conversation. Are you good at math?”

“Ooh, very much so!”

“Good. I’ll lend you a Sudoku booklet to take with you.”

“Thank you. I’m sure that will be very helpful.”

“Good. I’m sorry I put you through that just now, but I think our little experiment was quite fruitful, wouldn’t you say.”

“Yes, thank you again.”

“I sure hope so,” Sam mumbled under his breath.

“Great.” Burnet walked out to leave her office. “Follow me one last time.”

Sam and Alice followed out first, followed by Starlight and Fluttershy, the latter of whom looked to the exhausted looking Starlight with concern.

“Starlight?” she asked. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah. Shouldn’t be too long before I’m at full strength again.”

Burnet led them into the office, stepping aside to allow them to explore at their leisure. However, the screen that interested Sam, Alice, and the ponies right away was the one in the upper right corner, which flashed between one of four images of heat maps for the Alolan islands, each one showing a bright white splotch bordered with red. Once the screen changed to show Melemele Island, Sam studied it closely, noticing that the splotch in this map was right over Kala’e Bay.

“Hey, Burnet.” Alice pointing to the mark on the map. “That mark over there on the Melemele, that’s where Starlight and Fluttershy landed from the portal.”

“We know.” Burnet stepped closer, not even bothering to look at the screen. “When your friends arrived here, we quickly recorded the energy signatures of each island and where they were the highest at the time. Look there.” The screen changed to Akala Island. Burnet pointed to the splotch on the right corner of the south side of the island. “That must be where another pair landed Monday night.”

“How do you know they’re in pairs?” Fluttershy asked.

“Simple. We share a lot of our data with Aether, and each group of ponies that landed on each island came down in twos. You and Starlight came on Melemele…”

The screen then changed to that of Ula’ula Island, where another splotch was found in an area on the south side of that island that was surrounded by mountain. “Another pair landed inside the Haina Desert and are currently being held at the House base, and to keep from boring you with the wait, the last two landed on the Poni Breaker Coast, but have so far evaded capture by either the island guardian, the Kahuna, or someone from Aether.”

Suddenly a set of words struck Sam’s mind.

“You’re not the ones I’m looking for, but you’ll do.”

“Gladion,” he said softly.

Burnet clearly didn’t hear him. “What struck me as interesting is that you all landed within a relatively close proximity to each of the islands’ ruins where the guardians reside. What this means, I’m not fully sure, but it’s a pattern nonetheless.”

“Can we see the Akala Island map again?” Sam asked.

“Certainly.”

She went to one of the desktop computers and browsed through folders on the finder until she found the image she needed.

“So yeah,” Burnet confirmed, “it looks like two of them landed in the Akala Outskirts.”

“So that means they must be in that south area!” Alice concluded.

“What are we waiting for, then?” Starlight asked. “Let’s get going.”

“Hold on,” Burnet interrupted. “There’s no guarantee that they’ll be there.”

“What do you mean?”

Burnet pointed to a small indent along the side of the rock wall in the south side. “The Akala Outskirts are close to the Diglett Tunnel, which they could have run through. There’s a Pokémon that live on the ranches just north of Heahea called Mudbray, and they sometimes wander into the city. If these ponies came out the other end of the tunnel, they might have been mistaken for Mudbray and headed north without issue.”

“What do these Mudbray look like?” Alice asked.

Burnet opened an interent browser and pulled up an image of the Pokémon, which resembled a brown donkey with a black mane and tail and a beige underbelly and soft, pudgy legs.

“Aw, it’s adorable!” Alice commented.

“You’re serious?” Sam asked. “You think that someone could mistake these ponies for one of these?”

“If they crossed through the city at night, certainly. Either way, they could be anywhere on the island.”

“So what, you’re saying we should just scope out everything north of us and hope we find them?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Not to mention, all of your next Island Trials are that way, and if nothing else, you’ll get yourselves stronger in case you get attacked by Team Prism once again. On that note, I think we’re done here.”

“Really? That’s it.”

“That’s it. Come, I’ll escort you out.”

Burnet stood up and walked around to the hallway to the elevator. This time, it took a few seconds and a couple of awkward, cautious glances to each other before Sam, Alice, and the ponies decided to follow her.

Burnet walked everyone outside, standing back by the door as the others stepped forward and turned back to face her.

“I’ll share what I’ve learned from Starlight to the higher ups at the Aether Foundation immediately.”

“Thank you again,” Starlight said.

“Lastly, you’ll want to go north to the Paniola Ranch. Just north of that is where your next trial will be. Take Route 4 up and you can’t miss it.”

“Thank you again, Burnet,” Alice said. “This has been really helpful.”

“Good luck, you guys! Alola!”

The others waved back as they began taking the sidewalk to their next destination. “Alola!” they all bid her.

After waiting a few moments after disappearing around the brick gate, Burnet pulled out a small phone from her pocket, typed in a few buttons and put it up to her ear.

“Sun?” she asked. “Yes, hi. I just finished meeting with the ponies from Melemele… And you have two of them at the Aether House now, correct?... Oh, and a dragon? Interesting…” She turned to walk back inside. “Do you think it would be possible to arrange a video call with them later today?”

The sliding doors opened and she stepped inside, closing back up quickly.

Chapter 16 – House

A young boy ran inside an empty white office, sliding around to the back of an ebony desk and hiding under it, huddling his khaki shorts legs into his blue striped polo chest for good measure. He steadied his breathing, fighting the urge to look around to see if she was still following him. Just as he leaned forward to peek, he heard the door sliding open, rocking himself back underneath the desk. With his breathing silent again, he could make out the hard, but faint steps onto the tile like the gentle placing of a wooden block.

The steps came closer to him, and he could already tell he would be found, and she’d be there. Sweat dripped from the short bangs of his black hair. He held his breath; maybe she’d ignore him and check another room. Now the room was dead silent. All he could wait for now was her face to appear.

“GOTCHA!”

Twilight swung her head around the side of the desk to find the boy in his hiding position. With a shriek, he attempted to crawl out and run away, laughing as he did, only to get pulled off the floor and onto her back by Twilight’s magic.

Twilight couldn’t help but laugh too. “Nice try, Noah, but you’re looking at Equestrian Hide-and-Seek Champion Twilight Sparkle here!”

“Wow, you’re really that good?” Noah asked.

“Sure am! My brother and I loved playing this game when we were foals, and now I have a niece who’s probably going to be better than I am!”

“That’s so neat! If you want, I can give you a hint where Amy is hiding.”

“That’s okay, Noah. I’ll find them.”

She trotted out of the room with Noah still on her back. “She’s to the right!” he hissed.

“Noah!”

She still heeded his direction and turned right out of the room.

The door to a large, brightly painted nursery opened, Twilight carrying Noah, Spike, and a girl Noah’s age wearing an orange dress, pink leggings, and had curly brown hair on her back. She levitated them off and set them all on the floor, who laughed at the merriment they just experienced. Twilight’s relaxed face found itself unable to withhold a smile, glad to have found some delight in this world she was stuck on.

“Thanks again for the game, Twilight,” the girl named Amy spoke, “I never knew you were so good at hide-and-seek!”

“According to her,” Noah added with aplomb, “she’s a champion hide-and-seeker on her world.”

“I’ll bet! You have to play with us some more today!”

“Perhaps after your naps,” Twilight giggled, “but it’s not even lunchtime and I’m already tuckered out!”

Just then, a click sounded from an intercom speaker above the door in the room. “Twilight Sparkle and Spike. Your presence is requested in Training Room C.”

Twilight looked back to the kids. “Well, would you look at that, I’m already being called away! Must be popular for a talking magical alicorn, huh?”

The two children giggled as Spike walked over and hopped back on her back. “See you later, Twilight!” Noah called.

“Yeah, don’t be too long!” Amy cried with a wave.

Twilight nodded to them and trotted out of the room. Perhaps her time in this place would not be so bad.

Olivia glanced around the cave, a small Pokémon with a small head, large flat ears, a white fluffy collar, and a body made of rock providing light wherever she turned with the crystals embedded into its body and the top of its head. Along with hard-tipped boots, pads on her knees and elbows, brown gloves, and a light sand-yellow poncho, she was carried a large drawstring sack over her right shoulder.Both Applejack and Rarity were not too far behind, each holding a pair of saddlebags along their backs.

“You know,” Olivia said, “you really didn’t need to come.”

“You’re right,” Applejack said. “We just wanted to.”

“And not even just to get out of the room!” Rarity excitedly breathed out. “Excavating for gems is a favorite pastime for me back in Ponyville!”

“That truly surprises me,” Olivia said, “though who am I to judge a lady who likes to hunt for treasure.”

“Like two peas in a pod!”

Olivia smirked, intrigued by the odd kinship she could find with such a proper creature. “So what’s you’re secret, then?”

“Oh, me? I just use my magic and…”

Rarity charged her horn, a bright light emanating from the tip. Just then she stopped, turned herself around and began to walk in the opposite direction. Olivia and Applejack had to run to catch up.

“Is this really foolproof?” Olivia asked.

Applejack chuckled as they slowed themselves to walk behind Rarity. “Just you wait and see.”

Rarity stopped along the cavern wall, looking so far up her chin stayed parallel to it.

“Found something?” Olivia asked.

“Pretty sure, but it’s a little high up. Olivia, might I ask what that creat– er, Pokémon rather, is?”

“Oh, this is Carbink! Say hello.”

The Pokémon responded with an eager wagging of its right ear.

Rarity seemed pleased. “Right. Carbink, darling, could you go up about nine feet?”

The Carbink floated up as per Rarity’s instruction, looking down while expecting another task. Olivia backed away, and the ponies were wise enough to follow suit.

Olivia cupped her hands over her mouth. “Carbink, use Power Gem!”

The Carbink aimed its bottom at the spot on the wall, its crystals glowing even brighter. Suddenly, countless rocks shot from its body as it began blasting away at the spot. After several inches of plain stone that fell from the hole that was made on the floor below, Olivia gasped as she suddenly found several chunks that were shimmering blue. Once it stopped, Olivia walked over to the pile that was left and observed one of the larger pieces in her hand.

“Is it sapphires?” asked Applejack.

“No,” Olivia said. “It’s lazulite. Look at this! It’s beautiful.”

As Carbink came back down to see, it’s luminous body behind it gave it a much fuller shine and color, making Rarity’s eyes widen. “Exquisite!”

She suddenly felt Olivia throw herself onto her, squealing with unbridled joy. “You’re a miracle, Rarity! That was incredible.”

“Glad I…” Rarity huffed as the air was squeezed from her chest, “could be of use.”

“Oh, sorry!” Olivia let herself off, giving the unicorn room to breathe. “Wow, I can’t remember the last time I had a haul this good! We still have a couple more hours until the store opens! Come on! Let’s keep the ball rolling!”

Before Olivia could start putting the gemstones away in her bag, Rarity’s blue magic covered all of them and placed them in her bag.

“No use wasting time picking it all up, am I right?” Rarity spoke.

Olivia smiled and stepped aside. “Lead the way.”

Rarity beamed and walked ahead, Olivia and Applejack close to follow.

“You know,” Applejack called, “I can break rocks with my hooves if you need me to!”

Twilight and Spike stepped inside a small white room with little features other than the tile floor she stood on. In the back of the room was a young man dressed in a white uniform with two large pockets on both sides near the waist, a cap, and elbow length gloves. Sitting lazily next to him was a large white ape with grey hands, feet, and muzzle along with purple fur draped over its back. Twilight and Spike couldn’t help but feel disconcerted over their lone appearance and the employee’s clothing.

“Hey!” the man said with as calm and friendly a wave as he could muster. “Sorry if we bothered you, but my boss wants to have a quick word with you.”

“Your… boss?”

Before she could receive an answer, the Aether employee put his finger upon one of the spaces of the cuff of his glove. With a click of a button, a section of the wall began to recede in before lowering down, revealing a large television monitor. As if compelled, Twilight couldn’t help herself but to move directly into the center line of the screen.

“What do you think it is?” Spike asked.

Finally, the image of Sun sitting at a mostly organized desk instantly popped on, making Spike jump back a little.

Sun ignored this, smiling at the first contact he was soon to make. “Hey there! It’s finally good to meet you both.”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight interrupted, “but who are you?”

Sun hardened subtly, feeling the conversation get immediately rocky. “Right. My name is Sun. I am one of the head researchers for the Aether Foundation, which oversees the rescue and rehabilitation of injured, missing, and abused Pokémon. You are currently in the Aether House, our main base of operations on Ula’ula Island.”

“I know about that. Acerola told us all this before she dropped us off here.”

“Acerola, you say? How nice. I wish I had the chance to say ‘hi.’”

“Why did you bring us in here.”

“Yes, sorry. Getting off track. I understand that your being here has been rather stressful, and I also apologize for not meeting you in person. Also, let me apologize in advance for this, because I don’t want to keep any secrets from you, but the Aether Foundation is wholly responsible for you and your friends being brought here.”

Spike gasped loudly while Twilight’s ears drooped down and her jaw hung down in horror.

“You can’t be serious!” Spike yelled.

“No…” Twilight’s tears began welling uncontrollably. “That can’t be. What– How… Why…”

“There was really no easy way to say this, and I couldn’t allow you to find out the truth on your own. I want to again apologize for what we did and to assure you that the Aether Foundation and I are doing everything in their power to correct what we did.”

“Where are they!?” shouted Spike.

“Whoa! Easy there kiddo, I was just getting to that. Fortunately, several of your friends have been found and are indeed safe.”

“What?” Twilight ears perked up on this news. “Tell me!”

“There were two on Melemele Island who were befriended by a pair of trainers who have taken it upon themselves to help them find you and the others. Just about an hour ago, I received word that one of our field agents had managed to bring two of them back with him from Poni Island, and is probably on his way to Akala Island to meet with the two trainers and get back the two others that had landed there.”

“Where are they now?” Twilight began to hop and shift around the room, her adrenaline pulling her every which direction. “I can go to them, let them know I’m alright!”

“That wouldn’t be a very good idea.” Twilight stopped dead in her tracks, staring intently at Sun’s enlarged face. “I’ve also received word from a friend on Melemele that there’s a dangerous group trying to find you and the other ponies themselves. While we haven’t been able to determine their motive, it seems that their intentions are malicious in nature.”

“Even more reason I have to be out there for them! Please, you have to let us go!”

“Twilight…”

“No! You can’t hold us in here! Come on, Spike, let’s get going!”

“Twilight!” Sun’s bark did nothing to stop Spike and Twilight from running to the control panel on the door.

The Aether Employee in the room quickly pressed another button on his glove, a hard metallic clunk being heard inside the doorway. Twilight used her magic to cover the door, and strained her head to pull it open. Sun looked disheartened as even Spike tried to help pull the door open, his attempts even more futile than hers. Finally, Twilight turned her head to the Aether Employee, who let out a short scream through his teeth as he pinned himself against the wall.

“Whoever you are, open the door, now!”

“I… I…” The Aether employee looked to Sun on the screen hoping he’d do something.

“I said now!” Twilight’s horn flared, covering the employee in her aura and lifting him up off the ground screaming and flailing.

“Oranguru, Psychic!” Upon Sun’s orders, the ape put out its hands and aimed them at Twilight with a purple glow surrounding them.

Twilight was soon covered by the glow as well, groaning loudly as she felt the hold on her magic slip. With each flicker of her horn, the employee was lowered back down, his frightened limbs refusing to stand as he was slid down until he sat agains the wall. Finally, the Oranguru put its arms back down, letting Twilight go. She attempted to charge her horn again, but only managed to get a few short flashes before she realized the futility in trying.

Spike stood wide-eyed and horrified as Twilight shifted down onto the shin of her right foreleg. “What did you do to her?”

“The same thing that would have happened to her if she tried to leave,” Sun answered, his face and voice cold and hard as stone. “Those people going after you and your friends use Pokémon like that Oranguru there to immobilize you so you can’t fight back. And though I apologize for having to do the same to you, I could not let you harm one of my men.”

“I wasn’t…” Twilight panted, “going to hurt… him.”

“I had no way of knowing. All I saw was an alien being threaten one of my employees, and I acted to save him without hurting either of you.”

Twilight looked to the man she had nearly assaulted, who continued to breathe heavy with his narrow-pupil eyes close to tears. She looked to Sun, whose face softened along with hers as she realized the error of her ways. “I’m… sorry.”

Though the employee still looked very scared, his breathing also began to quiet down.

“If you need someone to blame, Twilight,” Sun said, “blame me. I helped pull you from your world and caused all of this. I would rather you not traumatize someone simply because they work under me.”

As frightened as she was, she was even more frightened to admit her so-called captor was right. Regardless, without the use of her magic, and with nowhere else to go, there was only one way to stay safe through this. “I’m sorry. I just want my friends back.”

“Completely understandable. While neither of you have no reason to trust me, especially in light of our meeting, I ask that you do so. I promise you that you will be reunited with your friends safe and sound. You have my word on this. You’re dismissed then.”

With a pressing of a button on his keyboard, the door loudly unlocked and slid open, Twilight and Spike instinctively jerking their heads over to see it. Spike ran to the doorway, stopping to wait for Twilight, but she turned back to the screen where Sun still watched her.

“Goodbye, Sun,” she said emotionlessly. “I’m holding you to that promise.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less. Goodbye, Twilight.”

Twilight finally exited the room with Spike, turning back to return to the nursery. Sun glanced over to the employee who barely managed to stand back up on his feet.

“You there,” Sun said to him.

“Sir?” He stood as straight in attention as his wobbling legs could allow.

“Feel free to take the rest of the week off.”

Uh, yes sir! Thank you, sir!”

Sun smiled before he pressed another key on his keyboard, shutting the screen off where it returned inside the wall, the white panel covering it back up. The employee walked back out of the room as fast as his legs could carry.

As a young woman with medium blonde hair tied in a short ponytail, counted money inside of a register, she noticed the sound of the doorknob turning, looking up to see it covered in blue light. Upon the door’s opening, Olivia came inside with Applejack and Rarity, their saddlebags filled nearly enough to rip. The size of the bags was not, however, her center of attention, but instead the two ponies.

“Wow!” she said. “What kind of Pokémon are they?”

“Oh, these aren’t Pokémon,” Olivia said, sliding her heavy bag off her shoulder and to the floor. “Applejack, Rarity, this is Carly, my senior shopkeeper.”

After removing their own saddlebags, both Rarity and Applejack hopped their front hooves up to the counter, reaching to her with their right. “Pleasure to meet ya’, Carly!” Applejack greeted first.

“Likewise,” Rarity added.

“Ah!” Carly jerked back and put a hand to her heart. “Oh, so they talk, then. Neat.”

Though an awkward introduction, Olivia proudly smiled as Carly shook both of their hooves.

“I love your dress, by the way, darling,” Rarity said. “Who made it for you?”

Carly couldn’t help but look down to her simple lime-green knee-length dress, having thought nothing of it all day until just then. “I… didn’t, I got it from a store in Hau’oli, but thank you though!”

“Now, Carly,” Olivia interrupted, stepping forward, “I need you to listen to me, because it’s very important. That portal that opened up a few nights ago, these ponies came from that. I’m only telling you this because I knew you’d be here by the time we got back, but I don’t want to give these ponies *ahem* uneeded attention.”

“Uh, right! Sorry, Olivia. Don’t worry, my lips are sealed.”

“Thanks a million, sweetie.”

Finally, Carly noticed the haul that the three of them brought in. “Holy cow! What’s all in there.”

“Oh, just a little olivine, lazulite, rose quartz, even a few Thunderstones and Firestones.”

“Wow, that’s gotta’ be your best haul yet!”

“I can’t take full credit. With Rarity’s magical abilities and Applejack’s strength, we make one hell of a team! Now we just gotta cut these things.”

Olivia took out a Poké Ball hooked on her waist and lobbed it towards the stairs to the right, letting out a large Pokémon made of stone and shaped like an upside-down gem, having a massive red nose with a bushy coal-black moustache beneath it, along with a red-circular top and two floating limbs resembling smaller, wholly-grey versions of itself.

Applejack and Rarity both screeched out of shock. “What the heck is that thing?” Rarity yelled.

“And how did that thing fit in that little ball?”

“I suppose you still have a bit to learn about our world,” Olivia said, picking up each saddlebag in each hand, “but that can wait for later today. Okay, Probopass, you can head up now.”

Once she plopped both bags onto its “hands,” the Probopass floated its way up the stairs with Olivia following closely.

Just then, something hit Carly. “Wait, back then, did she just say ‘magical?’”

“Why yes, Carly,” spoke Rarity, “unicorns like myself are adept at the use of magic, like so!”

She pointed her sights at a gold-chain necklace with a ruby hanging from the center. With a light of her horn, the necklace floated from the mannequin and over Carly’s head, where Rarity set it down around her neck. Carly ran her fingers over the chain, unsure if her mind was deceiving her.

“And that’s the least I can do,” Rarity added.

“I think she got the point,” Applejack said. “Now, Carly, I have to ask, what’s up with Olivia trying to keep us a secret. Who are we being kept a secret from?”

“Oh, no one in particular.” Carly took of the necklace and placed it neatly on the counter in front of her. “It’s just that ever since she was taken out of the Pokémon League, all she really has going on now is being Kahuna and helping run the shop. As Kahuna, she treats every person and Pokémon on this island like they were her kids, so it’s only natural that she wouldn’t want to put your lives in danger, especially considering how you came here, you know?”

“Well, y’all shouldn’t worry. I guarantee you we’ve handled bigger threats back home than what we’d face here.”

“Not to mention,” Rarity said, “this island is a paradise! I can’t imagine anything really going wrong here!”

From the top of the stairs, Olivia cracked her living quarter door open over from where she sat, listening in while taking the magnifying headset off of her eyes. She smiled listening to Applejack and Rarity’s bravery before closing the door.

“Even so,” Applejack said, “We’re more than capable of holding our own when things go south.”

“That’s good to hear,” Carly said. “If it were up to me, I wouldn’t hesitate to let you wander a bit downtown, but I guess that’s why I’m not the Kahuna.” She laughed nervously, but Applejack and Rarity’s lack of laughter made it clear they didn’t understand whatever joke she was telling. “If you want to ask her, go ahead. The store’s going to open up in a few minutes, so you should get upstairs anyway.”

“Alright then,” Rarity said, moving toward the stairs with Applejack, “we shan’t bother you anymore!”

“Have fun with… eh, what you’re doin’.” Applejack’s attempt at a kind farewell was met with enough awkward silence to allow the two to go upstairs with Olivia. Reaching the top, they turned left and came to the door, Applejack stepping forward to knock on it three times.

“Come in!” Olivia called.

The ponies stepped inside. Olivia was busy at her desk with all three of their bags leaning against the left side. To their left was a single bed, straight ahead of it was a couch facing a large TV, and in the back right was a kitchen dining room. Upon entering, they were both greeted with yips and leaps by a pink bear with long, stubby arms and a white head. Rarity lifted up the bear in her magic and nuzzled it close, the bear affectionately hugging her face.

“And you seem in high spirits, Stufful!” Rarity squeaked.

“He sure is a cutie!” Applejack said, petting behind its ears with her hoof. “I know a certain filly back at home who would go bananas over you.”

Olivia stopped studying a piece of lazulite that she had in her latex-gloved hand and gently placed it on the desk. She took her headset off once again and rubbed her eyes. After staring at the wall for a few more seconds, she was suddenly interrupted by Applejack’s voice.

“Say, Olivia, what are the chances we can go out for a few sometime today?”

“I would also like to get the chance to stroll around the city. It just looks divine!”

“I overheard your conversation with Carly.” Olivia then swiveled around in her chair to face them. “I know how badly you want to stretch your legs and get out once in a while. I appreciate that you can look after yourselves, but still know that no matter what, I fear for your safety.”

“You really don’t have to,” Applejack said. “Between my strength and Rarity’s magic, we really don’t have to worry about much.”

“What if you came with us?” Rarity suggested. “You can still be with us and we get to see some of the city!”

Olivia smiled again. Their tenacity was becoming infectiously delightful. “I don’t think that would be a problem.” Rarity and Applejack beamed. “But it looks like you became your own worst enemy today. Thanks to all these stones we found, I’ll be trying to cut them for most of the day. If you let me get back to work, we can probably do something before dinner.”

Rarity and Applejack looked to each other with smug smirks. Rarity charged her horn and opened all five individual bags. She took what amounted to a handful of crude chunks of rock from each one, getting some olivine, some rose quartz, lazulite, yellow beryl, and red garnet. Looking upon each one, her horn shone bright along with each of the stones. The light made Olivia turn around to see what was happening, and once she took of her headset, Rarity’s horn dimmed along with the light of the gems, which were now each cut in a variety of shapes and sizes. Rarity sighed at a job well done as she gently laid the stones on the desk, which Olivia was far too dumbfounded to even notice.

Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle over Olivia’s face. “I think Rarity would like to give you some help.”

Olivia’s mouth continued to hang open, but Rarity looked up to whatever she needed of her.

Chapter 17 – Thick as Thieves

Sam and Alice looked about the pretty sights of the hilly and forested path of Route 4. As Fluttershy tagged closely behind, Starlight was several feet behind, struggling to carry a stone about half the size of her body in her magic. As they came up the top of another hill, Sam and Alice stopped as they watched Starlight carry herself and the rock up, each step requiring several seconds each. Sam hopped and slid down to her side as she finally set the rock down off to the side of the trail, panting heavily.

“You aren’t going to get your magic back faster by straining yourself,” Sam said.

Starlight lifted her head, her sweat-matted mane slapping against her left eye. “I have to get my magic back soon somehow. What if we get attacked by Team Prism here?”

“That shouldn’t happen. Look.”

Sam escorted Starlight up the hill, joining Alice and Fluttershy at the top, allowing all four of them to see the town about two miles up ahead. From its wooden buildings all set up on either side of a T-shaped intersection of streets, it looked like something straight-out of a Western movie, the bright leaves of the trees and grass making it look even more idyllic.

“Whoo.” Starlight’s breath came out far more audibly than either Sam or Alice expected or Starlight wanted. “We still have that much farther?”

“Hold on.” Sam shed his backpack off of his body, letting it plop down to the floor.

As Sam foraged around inside the bag, neither he, nor Starlight, Alice, or Fluttershy noticed two figures hiding within the bushes, ensuring their rustling of the leaves remained silent as possible. They watched as Sam finally pulled out a protein bar, unwrapped it, knelt down, and held it out to Starlight.

“Sam,” Alice scolded, “we just had breakfast. Put that away.”

“It shouldn’t be too filling,” reasoned Sam, “and she needs the energy.”

“No, it’s alright.” Starlight took two deep breaths, putting a little bit more life back into her. “Let’s get going. I’ll rest up when we get there.”

“Alright.” Sam slowly and sorely stood back up, moving his hand to the front pocket. “Just don’t try using your magic until we have a chance to–”

No one had a chance to see the green-and-red blur that shot out from the bushes at Sam’s bag. Only until Sam was knocked to his butt and his bag and the unwrapped bar went flying up did the others notice. Once the bag and the bar hit the ground, the mystery attacker revealed itself as a red-faced and red-bodied insect like Pokémon with green foliage and bulb on its head along with two small leaves for arms which it used to hug the bar close to its chest.

“What is that thing?” Fluttershy gasped

“Yo!” Sam shouted, crawling madly toward it. “That’s mine!”

Sam’s approach stood no chance, as the creature zipped into the bushes on the other side of the path. As Sam, Alice, and the ponies faced the bushes in amazement, a brown-haired Pokémon mildly reminiscent of a cat with long ears, cream colored collar fur, and a fluffy tail hopped out from the bushes on the other side. It bit down on the top strap of Sam’s bag, running up on Sam’s back and leaping further off its head until it and the bag also disappeared within the brush.

“What? NO!” Sam pushed off the ground with his hands and feet and took off sprinting.

“Sam, wait!” Fluttershy took off running too. “It could be a trap!”

Alice and Starlight looked to each other, surprised to hear such a clever deduction from her, and the both ran to follow after them.

Sam continued to run out, following the bushes that shook ahead of him and the bag that appeared to run away by itself. He grunted with each step he took, upset that he could not catch up but fiercely determined. The cries of his friends behind him fell on deaf ears as he continued following closely until–

He suddenly swung straight down, a root catching a hold of his foot. Within the last few moments, he put his hands out and braced himself, falling hard on his stomach and chest and feeling a sting in the heel of his hand. Sam shrieked as he saw his bag slide up another hill and over, now gone.

Grabbing as much loose dirt as his hands could dig, Fluttershy, Alice, and Starlight surrounded him, watching him as he moaned a loud sob.

“Dammit, Sam,” Alice panted. “You alright?”

“Do I sound like I’m alright?” Sam’s loud voice and sudden shooting up to his feet made Fluttershy squeak and hide behind his sister. “Everything I had was in that bag!”

“Even your wallet? Your Pokédex? Your Holo Caster?”

“No, but that’s not the point! My clothes, my potions, my balls, my snacks!”

“All sounds like stuff we can replace. Not to mention, you’re loaded.”

“I wouldn’t call ¥20,000 loaded, and I’d rather not have to spend most of that just to replace all my stuff.”

“Well, what do you want to do? We need to get to Paniola Town, and I’d like to get at least one Island Trial in today.”

“You go on ahead. I have to get my bag.” Sam turned back and continued heading out to where the bag had gone.

“Sam, come on!”

“Please?” Fluttershy called back.

“I’ll be right back!” Sam continued marching up until he too disappeared over the hill.

Alice continued to stand and watch, wrestling with the thoughts to either let him be until he came to his senses, or go out and help. Starlight frowned as she saw no decision about to be made soon, stepping forward to follow him.

“Starlight?” Fluttershy called. “Where are you going now?”

“What does it look like?” She turned back as she continued walking. “Just go on ahead, we’ll be close behind.”

Starlight turned back and broke into a gallop. Leaving Alice and Fluttershy alone. Though the day was still young, the deepness of the forest frightened Fluttershy and she began to tremble.

“Alright,” Alice said, “let’s get going. We’ll see how long this takes.”

Both of them turned back, following their prints toward the main trail.

With each new hill he climbed up, Sam scanned the area, seeing no sign of either Pokémon or his bag. After several minutes of looking over the same patch, he sat himself down, running his fingers through his hair and breathing heavily, hoping someone could hear and help him. Just then, the snapping of twigs and breaking of fallen leaves approached him. Turning back, he found Starlight panting as she came close to his side.

“Starlight.” He sounded relieved. “Please tell me you’re here to help.”

“Yeah, I am.” She really sounded tired, both physically and emotionally. “I want to try something, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll really need to turn back.”

“Wait, where’s Alice and Fluttershy?”

“I told them to go to Paniola Town. I told them we wouldn’t be far behind, so we have to make this quick.”

Sam looked around, running his hand over his head again and looking around and past Starlight, only to indeed find no one near them. Whatever she planned, it had to work.

“Okay, what then?”

Starlight led Sam to a small clearing where the sun hit the grass and the surrounding trees like a small coliseum. Sam looked around, unsure what good their location would do.

“Okay, what now?”

“Take out your Honedge’s Pokeball.”

Sam did as he was told, holding it up to her. “Then what?”

“Pretend like you’re eating a fruit of some kind.”

Sam’s face lit up, understanding immediately what was going through her head. Just then, his lips pursed and his teeth clenched. “But, what if it takes my ball away too? Then Honed–”.

“Will be fine. I’ll keep a look out. We know what to expect this time.”

Once again, Starlight hit the nail on the head. With a nod, he was ready to set the plan in motion.

“Now, follow my lead.” Starlight then sat herself down like a dog in an exaggerated fashion. “Oh, wow! It sure is exhausting walking through this forest! I could really use a snack right now!”

It was happening. Now or never. Commit. “I agree!” Sam spoke as loudly. “It’s a really good thing I saved this Pecha Berry just for this very occasion. MmMm! It’s chow time!”

Sam held his ball out with the white side out, slowly moving it to his face. Everything ran through his head. Did he overact? Was it even here? What if he hesitated at the moment of truth? Each negative scenario made him completely unaware of the swish of leaves and grass that bounded out toward him.

Starlight turned to the source of the sound just in time as the green and red blur shot out from the side of a tree and at Sam’s hand. “Sam, now!”

Sam did hear that, and he tossed his ball to the side right before the Pokémon could intercept it. Honedge came out of it and faced the Pokémon with an angry squint. The creature’s eyes widened as it tried to run back into the forest, but Sam was smirking, the path to success clear to him now.

“Honedge, Shadow Sneak.”

Before the creature could round around Sam and slip back beneath the shade of the trees, Honedge’s trailing shadow appeared beneath it and blasted it, throwing it to its stomach.

“Now, just what in the hell are you?” Sam picked his Pokédex from his shorts pocket and aimed it at the creature.

“Fomantis,” the Pokédex read aloud, “the Sickle Grass Pokémon. During the day, it sleeps and soaks up light. When night falls, it walks around looking for a safer place to sleep.”

“Not this one, apparently.”

As Sam put his Pokédex away, Honedge slipped around and loomed over the Fomantis, forcing it into the center of the clearing. The Fomantis retreated cautiously, looking ready to launch a sneak attack at any moment.

“Listen,” Sam called to it. “I just want my bag back. Show me where you and your Eevee friend took my backpack, and I’ll let you go. You can even have the protein bar, just please give me back my bag!”

The Fomantis responded with a frenzied Razor Leaf attack, Honedge deftly shielding its eye and most of its blade with its scabbard. Once the onslaught ended, Sam cocked his head in disappointment and focused on the battle.

“Honedge, Return!”

Honedge lunged at Fomantis, who once again went on the offensive, slashing both of its arms in, throwing a barrage of leaves at Honedge. The attack hit, but did nothing to prevent Honedge from swinging its blade at the Fomantis and striking it in the right side. The Fomantis went down, Starlight noting its difficulty in getting back up since the first attack.

“Just one more,” Sam said to himself. “Honedge, use another Shadow Sneak!”

The Fomantis looked to prepare another Leafage attack, but Honedge’s shadow appeared beneath it before it could do anything more, and the shadow blasted him up before it fell down on its back with a hard thud. Sam looked to the Fomantis, unsure what its next move would be. However, it did something that it didn’t expect. It started screaming.

Sam recognized the cry for help clear as day, and both he and Starlight looked about, awaiting for more Fomantis’s, or heaven forbid members of Team Prism. After a ten uncomfortable seconds of silence following the Pokémon’s failed call, Sam’s face softened. He then began to reach back behind him, only to feel empty space. He then remembered.

“Aw, come on!”

“What is it?” Starlight asked.

“I wanted to catch it, but my Poké Balls are in my bag!”

Just then, an Eevee sprinted out into the clearing and slid to a stop before the Fomantis, looking out at Sam and Starlight with arched back and offensive glare.

Sam huffed as he aimed his Poké Ball at Honedge. “Good job, buddy.”

Once Honedge returned to its ball, Sam knelt down to the Eevee, looking it dead in its eyes, allowing it to relax before him as it realized his intention to not fight.

“Hey,” he said to it, “do you know where I can find my bag. If you show me, I promise me and my friend will leave.”

Starlight watched the confrontation, seeing as the Eevee glanced down to the Honedge, the seemingly innocuous gesture telling her everything she needed to see. With gentle steps, Starlight slowly approached Sam’s side without frightening the Eevee away.

“Let me try something,” she whispered to him. “Do you have any kind of snacks whatsoever?”

“I’ve got some Poké Beans in my jacket pocket. Why?”

Charging her horn, Starlight’s magic aura pulled his pocket open, using more of her magic to pull out three light-blue beans. The Eevee’s defenses completely evaporated as its ears waggled at the sight of the three beans being placed down and even pushed a bit away from her to entice it further.

Sure enough, the Eevee’s curiosity was piqued enough to get it to walk over to the beans, the Fomantis, getting up to see what its comrade was doing. After a couple of tentative sniffs and a single nibble, Starlight was gladdened to see the Eevee chomping greedily on them.

Starlight managed to walk over to it and gently stroke down its back with the flat side of her hoof. “So, Sam. You said this thing’s called an Eevee?”

“Uh, yeah,” Sam said.

Just then, he turned his head to see the Fomantis charging Starlight. Though he gasped a breath to warn her, she was already aware, hopping back as the it stood in front of the Eevee, slashing out at her while warbling angrily.

“Hey!” Starlight looked hurt. “I was just petting her!”

The Fomantis then began shouting incomprehensibilities at the Eevee before running off back into the forest.

“Hey!” Sam shouted into the direction it went. “My bag!”

Both he and Starlight then saw as the Eevee also began to run out to follow the Fomantis, stopping to turn to the two.

“Please,” Starlight whined, “he just needs his bag.”

It looked to pain the Eevee over its decision, but it quickly turned back with a whine and ran quickly into the darkness.

“Wait!” Sam reached out, but knew there was nothing more he could do.

He put his arm down, fist clenched, and stood with his head hung low.

“Sam?” Starlight took a step forward. “Are you alright?”

He then pulled out his Holo Caster, looking a rising bar-graph symbol outline in the upper right corner, seeing no bars within the symbol’s border.

Sam sighed and turned back toward the path. “I’ll call my parents once we get out of this forest; ask them if they can lend me some money to help me get a new bag.”

The reservation in his voice was disheartening for Starlight. With drooped ears and a deeply dissatisfied mope, she followed Sam out of the clearing. Once they came over the hill, two shadows from the trees shifted, running toward them.

The Fomantis hopped up a large tree, stopping to rest upon the lowest of the branches. In the branches higher up, dozens of backpacks, purses, and cloth grocery bags hung neatly. After catching its breath, it went up to the middle, finding Sam’s bag. Reaching inside the front pocket, it pulled out the already half-eaten protein bar, continuing to nibble on it, until the Eevee eventually hopped up to the bottommost branch.

The Fomantis hopped down to it, handing it the protein bar to eat, but the Eevee slumped away from it with guilt in its frown. The Fomantis whirred impatiently, continuing to wave the bar in the Eevee’s face. When the Eevee looked back down to the ground and then north, Fomantis set the bar down and began to warble again, pointing out to where Sam and Starlight were headed. The Eevee started to bark at the Fomantis, taking it aback.

After a few more loud, sharp shouts, the Eevee climbed up until it reached the branch where Sam’s bag hung. With a few hard tugs up with its mouth, it pulled it from the leaves and twigs. It began to travel down to the bottom branch where the Fomantis still waited. With a few muffled meows, it prepared to head down, only for its right front paw to slip, sending it over the edge.

The Eevee was suddenly caught, hanging onto Sam’s bag for dear life by its teeth while the Fomantis wrapped one arm around one of the shoulder straps while clinging to the tree’s bark with the other. With a jerk, the Fomantis flung the Eevee back up alongside it on the branch and pulled itself back up with Sam’s bag.

The Eevee looked to Fomantis with puppy-dog eyes as it tried to get its point further across. The Fomantis looked back at Sam’s bag, wondering what it should do. Finally, with a final tight grasp on it, Fomantis let the bag fall to the ground below. The Fomantis looked back to the surprised Eevee, letting out a single sighing noise to get it to smile. Looking back down, the two leapt from the branch.

“My goodness, did we really wander off this far?” Starlight gazed around her, nothing about the area of the forest she and Sam continued to walk through looking nor feeling familiar.

“It’s fine,” Sam responded with a grumble. “We just have to head northeast, and we should get back on the path.”

“Your path has ended!” a loud, sinister voice shot off from somewhere.

Sam and Starlight stopped immediately, turning to find the source of the voice, but could not find it. Turning back, the two were immediately greeted with the sight of two Team Prism grunts, their black hoods covering their faces. Sam and Starlight stood defensively as the two pulled their hoods off, revealing two men in their very late teens, one who appeared lanky with red hair, the other looking muscular with spiked black hair.

Sam looked around him in desperation. “ALICE! FLUTTERSHY!”

“Call for them all you want,” the muscular grunt giggled, “but they’re probably already in Paniola Town, safe and sound.”

“And you decided to get lost all by your lonesome.” The lanky grunt squeaked his voice to mock the sound of crying.

Sam bared his teeth as the two laughed. Starlight began to charge her horn.

“Go, Slowking!” The lanky grunt tossed out his Poké Ball.

Appearing from the white light was a larger bipedal Slowpoke, though it wore a large, spiked stone on its head like a crown. As Starlight shot out a bolt of bright blue lightning, Slowking put its hands up, forming a disk of translucent pink energy that dissipated Starlight’s magic instantly. Starlight grunted as she realized she was useless in this battle.

“Of course,” the muscular grunt said, “you could just give us that unicorn and we’ll let you off the hook.”

“And what will you do to me?” Starlight spat.

“That doesn’t concern you yet.”

“Like hell it doesn’t!” Sam detached his Poké Ball from his belt. “Go, Honedge!”

Sam threw his Poké Ball out, and while Honedge looked positively ready to battle, Sam saw the scuffmarks of its battle with the Fomantis, and he could tell it was the reason for the grunts’ subsequent laughter.

“We saw you fighting against that pipsqueak Fomantis,” the lanky grunt explained. “It required that puny little Eevee to stop it too. Imagine that! A wild Pokémon having to stop the fight because its friend was beating up a trainer’s Pokémon too bad!”

Starlight looked to Sam with fear, but was perplexed to see him smirking. “Even if that were true,” he said, “you apparently still need to double team me to feel that you can beat me. What do you think that says about your Pokémon?”

Neither grunt could speak, as nothing they could say would negate his comeback. “Oh,” the muscular grunt muttered, “you’re good. Now, let’s just see how good you really are! Go, Oricorio!”

He tossed his Poké Ball, and out from it came a plump, pink bird with white feathers styled in both a headdress and a skirt, moving its wings to the side as if it were doing a hula dance.

“Sam?” Starlight nervously called out. “Please don’t lose.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. Honedge, use Shadow Sneak!”

With a point toward the Oricorio, Honedge’s shadow stretched and snaked around along the forest floor until it came underneat it, blasting it upwards. The muscular grunt looked a bit worried until his Pokémon fluttered safely back to its talons.

“That’s it!” the grunt shouted. “Now, use Mirror Move!”

Sam gasped, watching the Oricorio flare its wings open, its shadow also beginning to stretch out and away. Before Sam could cross his arms to signal his Pokémon to defend itself, the bird’s shadow came beneath it and struck it hard. Sam watched helplessly as the Honedge landed flat on the ground, slowly getting up to the entertainment of the two grunts.

“This one should finish it,” the lanky grunt said. “Slowking, use Fla–”

The grunt’s command was interrupted by the bright afterimage of a bladed attack that struck the muscular grunt’s Oricorio. Both grunts as well as Sam and Starlight looked down to where the flash ended, seeing the Fomantis kneeling with its right leaf arm held out before looking to Sam and Starlight with fiercely determined eyes.

“You?!” Sam shouted.

Just then, the Eevee also came from behind, biting down on the Oricorio, making it squawk wildly and spin around as quickly as it could before too much damage could be done, but it was too late. With a buck of its legs, Eevee launched itself backwards and sent the Oricorio with it, slamming its head into the ground. Eevee ran back to join the Fomantis by Honedge’s side.

The muscular grunt ran out to the Oricorio and turned it over, its lax groaning and eyes looking in two directions telling him that it fainted. With a wince, he brought his Poké Ball out and returned it inside.

“Yo,” the grunt growled to his partner, “kill those Pokémon dead.”

“Nothing would give me more pleasure,” the lanky grunt responded. “Slowking, Flamethrower, now!”

With a wave of its head, the Slowking sprayed a hefty stream of fire from its mouth, hitting Honedge and his two rescuers at once. Both grunts looked pleased as Honedge, spent from the day’s events, dropped its scabbard and fell to the ground unconscious. Sam called his Honedge back inside of its ball as the muscular grunt approached it.

“You’re out of Pokémon,” he said. “Now it’s time to take that unicorn there and–”

The Fomantis stopped his advance with a single Razor Leaf, slicing the grunt’s glove and leaving a small cut in the webbing between his thumb and index finger. The muscular grunt stepped back and yelled as he squeezed his wrist, watching a small trickle of blood escape his fresh wound.

“How ‘bout not?” Sam spoke, grinning madly. “Now, let’s see how you handle your version of a fair fight. Fomantis, use Razor Leaf again!” Instead, the Fomantis knelt down, sticking its leafy arms into the ground, making them, and soon, his whole body glow as it healed. “Or… use Ingrain. That works too.”

The Eevee mewed back to Sam, waiting to make its own move. “Okay, Eevee, use Sand-Attack!”

The Eevee yipped in excitement, running forward at the Slowking before quickly spinning its back end around and kicking up with both legs, the dirt it picked up flying straight into Slowking’s eyes. As Slowking stumbled around, trying to wipe and rub the dirt away, the Eevee returned to the Fomantis’s side.

“What a cheap trick!” the lanky grunt yelled out. “Use Psychic on Fomantis!”

With its left arm still wiping its face, Slowking reached out in front of it with its right hand, Sam, Starlight, and the two Pokémon able to move aside as a large mass of the ground was picked up and dropped.

“Nice moves!” Sam cried. “Now, Fomantis, use Razor Leaf. Eevee, use Bite!”

The Eevee shot back out, and Fomantis swung its right arm out, letting about a dozen leaves fly out at its target. The Eevee juked to the left and right, dodging each one as the Slowking regained its sight. It didn’t even remotely have enough time to dodge the leaves as they collided and cut it, followed immediately by Eevee clamping down on its left arm.

“That’s it,” Starlight hopefully whispered.

The Slowking whipped its arm, sending Eevee flying back to the Fomantis’s side.

“That one needs to go,” the lanky grunt spoke. “Slowking, Ice Beam on the Fomantis!”

With a widening of its mouth, a bright, chilly beam shot out straight at the Fomantis. It shielded its face with its arms, but before the attack could connect, Eevee ran around and leapt up, taking the attack as it rolled to Starlight’s hooves, frozen and immobile. Starlight gasped as she fell to her shins, cradling the Eevee in her arms.

While peeved by the Eevee’s sudden bravery, he smirked at the result nonetheless. “Same difference.”

The Fomantis’s eyes squinted in pure rage, charging at the Slowking with its arms completely glowing white. Sam reached out to stop it, but continued to watch as it jumped and delivered a hard slash into the Slowking’s chest. Both grunts gasped as Slowking was knocked to its back.

“Was that…?” the muscular grunt exclaimed.

“Yeah,” the lanky grunt growled.

“A Leaf Blade?” Sam wondered aloud. “Did that do it?”

The Slowking seemed to answer Sam by rolling itself into a seated position, continuing the momentum until it stood back on its feet. Sam took a step back, frightened that Fomantis would not avoid what was coming next.

“Man, you two are pests,” the lanky grunt said. “Whatever. You’ll be exterminated with this last hit. Slowking, use Ice Beam!”

As the Slowking opened its mouth to charge its attack, Sam was too distracted to notice a brown blur rush away from Starlight and at the Slowking. Not even the grunts noticed as the Eevee soared out at the Slowking’s face, headbutting into its forehead, the hit knocking the Slowking’s head up so that its attack went harmlessly into the air. Both grunts remained silent as Slowking was once again felled onto its back, this time lying still and fainted.

“Impossible!” The muscular grunt saw as the Eevee landed back down, shaking the bits of ice still clinging to its fur. “How did it thaw so quickly?”

“I did it!” Starlight shouted, her horn charging revealingly. “I used a heating spell to warm it back up.”

“And it looks like it used a Quick Attack before your Pokémon could take out its friend,” Sam concluded. “Looks like you two lost. Again!”

As the muscular grunt stepped back, the lanky grunt returned its fainted Slowking into its Poké Ball. “You kids aren’t even that strong! You can’t keep relying on wild Pokémon to come to your rescue forever!”

Fomantis threw its arms out rapidly, launching a flurry of leaves at the two grunts. They both groaned and yelped as they were continuously pelted before they finally decided to run off. Once they were far enough away, the Fomantis stopped its onslaught and panted heavily. The Eevee approached it and mewed, wondering if it was alright. The Fomantis let out a gentle screech at it and lightly waved its arm at its face. Sam and Starlight both laughed.

The Fomantis and Eevee then looked to the two and pointed out to the area behind the grunts. Sam looked out and saw familiar black mound just at the top of the hill. He jogged out to it, and his eyes lit up upon seeing his backpack in relatively unharmed condition.

“My backpack!” Sam looked through it and found virtually everything had remained untouched. “Oh my god, thank you so much!”

Fomantis scratched behind its head modestly while Eevee sighed loudly.

“And thank you for saving us!” Starlight came up behind them. “We really owe you one.”

Starlight scratched Eevee behind the ears, Fomantis taking a step back to politely refuse her touch.

“Yes,” Sam added. “Thank you very much for your help.”

Once Starlight walked around to Sam’s side and Sam slung his backpack on his shoulders, the Fomantis and Eevee looked back and nodded with a farewell, turning back to walk to their home. Sam watched them go, and everything with each passing step felt more wrong to him by the moment.

He took a deep breath. “Hey!” Both Pokémon turned back to face him. “Why don’t you come with us? You’ll never go hungry or have to steal for food again. How’s that sound?”

Both the Fomantis and Eevee looked to each other, their eyes wide with wonder and excitement. They both cheered and ran back up to them. Sam couldn’t help but smile wide as he took a Poké Ball from his bag and knelt down to the Fomantis.

“You ready?” he asked.

The Fomantis nodded eagerly, allowing Sam to tap the center of his Poké Ball into the the Fomantis’s forehead, sucking it into the ball in a wisp of red energy. With one shake, the Poké Ball latched closed. Sam let out a short, but loud laugh, unable to believe his very own first Pokémon catch. The Eevee approached him, looking at the ball with slight bemusement.

“You next?” Sam asked, fishing for another Poké Ball.

The Eevee let out another meow, signaling its excitement. As Sam lowered the ball, he stopped just inches from its head, looking back to Starlight, who, like the Eevee, was also confused why he had stopped.

“Huh?” Starlight stared at the side of his head. “What are you waiting for?”

Sam closed his eyes. It had to be this way. “Why don’t you have her, Starlight?”

Starlight shook her head, unsure if she heard him right. “Huh, what? Why me?”

“I saw the way you two bonded in that clearing. I think you officially ‘caught’ her when you gave her some of those Poké Beans. Not to mention, I think it would be really great if you had your own Pokémon partner; someone to help you out if you lose your magic?”

The thought of her own Pokémon was intriguing, and the Eevee’s expectant stares were becoming too hard for Starlight to resist. “Are you really certain about this?”

“I think as long as it gets to travel with Fomantis, she’ll be happy as a Shelder. Go ahead.”

“Then, so…”

The Eevee rubbed its body against Starlight and purred loudly, a bond formed between them.

Starlight picked the Eevee into her arms and twirled about, giggling stridently. “Yes! I ‘caught’ an Eevee!”

Sam nodded, happy to see his friend in high spirits. “Would you like to name her?”

“Name her? I can name her too?”

“Of course. Alice and I personally don’t, but you can do whatever you want with yours.”

Starlight stood on her hind legs, perfectly balanced, looking at Eevee with an extent of intensity. After studying it for a minute or so, she smiled, having come up with it.

“Lady…”

Eevee cooed, wondering what Starlight had said. “Yeah, I think it suits you. Do you like the name ‘Lady’ too?”

Eevee squealed again, happy with its new title, and Starlight hugged it tight like a doll. Sam gave them a moment. They deserved it.

Alice and Fluttershy stood lazily and tired beneath the wooden entrance banner to Paniola Town. Alice checked her Holo Caster; still no signal.

“I knew we shouldn’t have let them go in there,” Alice grumbled.

“What if Team Prism attacked him and Starlight?” Flutter shy asked

“I can’t imagine they’d be waiting for us in that forest, yet alone know to look in there.”

“Oh, wait, there they are!”

Fluttershy’s suddenly chipper voice startled Alice awake, and turning south, she saw both Sam and Starlight both smiling wide, Lady standing and balancing on Starlight’s back while Sam’s bag was equipped to his. Alice put her flat hand above her eyes, unsure if her eyes were fooling her or not.

“You can’t be serious…” Alice ran to meet the three, followed by Fluttershy, all of them stopping close to each other. “Don’t tell me that’s the Eevee that took Sam’s bag.”

“It is!” Starlight chirped. “Her name is Lady.”

“Not just that,” Sam added, showing off his Poké Ball belt clip with two balls attached to it.

“Is that the thing that took your power bar?” Fluttershy asked

“The very same. She’s called a Fomantis, by the way.”

“And how in the hell did you manage to do that?” Alice asked.

Sam smirked even wider. Boy, did he have the story to tell.

Chapter 18 – Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Olivia perkily hung a bunch of olivine necklaces with wooden-bead chains from a small rack on a chest-high shelf, where similar necklaces with lazulite were set up and ready for selling. While Olivia held her necklaces in around the four left fingers of her left hand, Rarity was off on the other side of the store, carrying several groups of about a dozen pieces of jewelry in her magic. After quickly and neatly hanging three groups of necklaces with silver, gold, and leather-rope chains, respectively, she floated four groups of earrings and rings and placed them neatly on the cashier counter for Carly. Carly smiled at Rarity’s assistance and opened the door to the display.

Just then, the sound of the bell hanging from the top of the front door rung, allowing Olivia, Carly, and Rarity to turn back to see a young woman wearing a bright summery blue dress and white sunhat walk in, already browsing around the walls with her mouth open in an “O” like a kid in a candy store.

“Hello,” Carly spoke with a wave, “welcome to Olivia’s. Feel free to ask us anything.”

“Yeah.” The woman was certainly off in her own world. “Wow, you must have gotten a lot of new stuff recently.”

“Mmhm,” Olivia hummed. “Made off with a really good haul just this morning.”

The woman browsed the earrings that were still left on the counter, admiring the craftsmanship. “And you still had time to cut them and put everything together? These look amazing!”

“Well, I can’t take full credit.”

Rarity then approached the woman, ignoring the slightly condescending way she looked down on her like a puppy. “If you need my help in picking something out, I’d be more than happy to assist you.”

The woman’s arms spasmed about as she let out a short yelp, setting Rarity aback. “Oh, wow. Sorry, I didn’t realize you could talk.”

“It’s quite alright, I’ve gotten that a lot as of late. Now, what were you looking for exactly?”

“Oh, I, uh… it’s just with all the new stuff you got, I was wondering if you have any diamond jewelry.”

Olivia smiled, already walking to the counter. “Yes, we have plenty–

“Nonsense!” Rarity blurted, shocking both Olivia and Carly. “You look more like a tourmaline kind of girl.”

“Sorry, what was that?” The woman sounded a bit offended.

“It’s just with that dress and that hat, I have just the thing to make you look as bright and hot as the summer sun!”

“Uh, okay? Let me see then–”

Before she could finish, Rarity had already placed a gold chain around the woman’s neck and closed the clasp. Just as the woman processed what had happened, Rarity already held up a mirror in front of the base of her neck, revealing a circular yellow gem with six, small wavy rays with smaller tourmaline and garnet stones each taking half of each ray, all of which were held together by a gold frame.

The woman slowly breathed in through her mouth as she held the necklace up closer to the mirror. The necklace worked wonderfully against the sky that was her dress.

“That’s…” the woman managed to mutter out, “beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Rarity said. “I’d never like anyone to leave a jewelry store looking anything less.”

“That’s very nice of you, but…” She suddenly took the necklace off and put it back onto the counter before Carly. “I don’t think I can afford something like that!”

Carly glanced to Rarity, noticing the subtle pang of defeat making her smile quiver. “We can… give you a discount! 20% for… New Gem Day!”

Olivia’s eyes glanced between Carly and the potential customer, wondering if she could make this work.

“How much would that be then?” the woman asked.

“That necklace was…” Carly pulled out a calculator from underneath the register and began punching numbers, muttering to herself. “That’s a medium-gem necklace, tourmaline and garnet, gold chain and framing…” Once she had put in the final numbers, she spoke at normal volume once again. “Normally that would be ¥15,000, but with the 20% off, that will come down to ¥12,000.”

“I don’t know, that still seems a little steep for me.”

As Carly nervously looked around for an answer, but Rarity suddenly thought of another option. “Pardon me, Carly, but your store wouldn’t by chance have a payment plan to offer her, would you?”

“That’s right!” Carly looked delighted with the reminder. “We can split the payments in two. You can pay ¥6,000 now and then pay the remaining ¥6,000 in the next thirty days… with interest, of course.”

“Forget interest,” Olivia said. “Just pay ¥6,000 and then you can pay the remaining ¥6,000 in a months time.”

“Wow,” the woman giggled, spinning the necklace with her finger, “you really want me to have this. Okay, sold! What should I do?”

Carly beamed. “Do you have a card? I can swipe it now and then charge the card in 30 days from today.”

“Certainly. That sounds great!”

As the woman dug around in her purse for her wallet, Olivia and Rarity walked away to allow Carly some room.

“That was excellent,” Olivia whispered. “You must have some serious entrepreneur experience.”

“Well, I do own my own clothing store back home,” Rarity quietly chortled. “Not to sound brash, but it’s required of me to pair the right colors together.”

“No offense taken, sweetie. That was quite a good sale we just made there.”

“You’re all set then,” Carly said to the woman. “You’ll be the envy of Akala Island!”

“I sure hope so! Thank you!” She then turned and waved to Rarity with her other hand on the doorknob. “And thank you too!”

“Have a wonderful day, darling!”

The woman pushed the door open and ran outside, clearly eager to tell any friends the purchase she had made.

Olivia crossed her arms and moved toward the stairs. “Follow me, please.”

Rarity wordlessly did as she was told, following her upstairs and into her living space. There, they found Applejack crouching her front down with her rump gently waving in the air, the Stufful eagerly wagging its but in preparation for its attack. The Stufful rushed forward, and Applejack stood on her hind legs, letting out a playful roar. Stufful continued forward and tackled Applejack down, Olivia and Rarity unable to hold back giggles as the two rolled around on the floor. Rarity cleared her throat, finding Applejack’s situation delightfully compromising.

“Oh, hey y’all!” Applejack and Stufful got off the floor and stood straight to face them. “How’re things goin’ down there?”

“Quite well, in fact,” Olivia answered. “Rarity just helped Carly and I sell one of our best pieces. Really though, I just wanted to thank you two for your fine work this morning, so I thought we could get out of here for a little bit and get some lunch.”

Rarity gasped. “Really?! You’d really take us out?”

“I’ll be with you, so it will be fine. Not to mention, the place I’m taking you is probably the best restaurant on the island, probably even the best in Alola.”

“Sounds good!” Applejack hopped and strolled to join Rarity by her side. “Where to then?”

From downstairs, Carly looked out of the window to see that the woman in the blue-dress had returned. However, her initial worries had gone once she saw three other like-aged women giggling and laughing beside her. Once the woman, looked to and pointed at the building of the store, there was no more doubt in Carly’s mind. The door opened, and the woman led her three friends inside, all of them looking just as wondrously as she did.

The woman in the blue-dress looked around, seeming to miss something. “Excuse me? Where was that Pokémon that was down here helping us?”

On cue, Olivia, a tan gem-encrusted purse hung on her shoulder, came down the stairs with Rarity and Applejack, the sight of whom made the other three girls scream with adoration.

“You weren’t kidding when you said how cute they were!” a woman wearing a green tank-top and blue jeans said.

“You said they can talk too?” asked a darker-skinned woman wearing an orange shirt and khaki shorts.

“No way,” the third friend, wearing a white jacket, teal shirt, and floral knee-length skirt guffawed. “That’s a joke right?”

“Sorry if I caught you in the middle of something,” the woman in the blue dress said, “but do you think you can help out my friends too?”

Rarity rolled her eyes and smiled. Food was on the front her mind, but she could and would gladly wait for the sake of fashion.

Noah and Amy sat impatiently in their seat at a long table inside a small, virtually-empty cafeteria lunchroom save for them, Twilight, and Spike, who sat across and just to the left of them. Twilight sat with her head staring at the spotless white table surface while Spike supported his head with his hands, his elbows supporting his arms. Occasionally, Amy and Noah would look to them, unsure what was causing them so much grief. They hadn’t spoke much since they were called into Training Room C, and it was clear they didn’t want to talk about it.

“Should I ask them? Amy asked.

“I dunno.” Noah looked back to them once again. “Maybe it’s supposed to be a secret.”

“I don’t like people keeping secrets that make them sad.”

“Then go ahead and talk to them.”

Amy scooted herself so that she was directly between and across from the two of them. “Hey, are you two okay?”

Twilight looked up, hoping her face would be the only answer they needed, but a door opened up from the back of the room where a female Aether employee carried out two plates, one containing a small cheese pizza cut into quarters, and the other holding a plate of four fish sticks with a small portion of fries and a small dipping cup of tartar sauce.

The employee placed the pizza before Noah and the fish sticks before Amy on the table. “Here you kids go! I’ll be right back with your salad and… carrot dog.”

“Thank you.” Twilight managed a single nod before slumping her head back over.

Their melancholy was not lost on the employee and she solemnly nodded back and walked back out of the room. Amy began dipping her first fish stick, but seeing the lack of food before either of them left her awkwardly stirring her fish stick absentmindedly.

Noah pulled a gooey slice from his plate, holding it up guiltily. “Hey, Twilight? Spike? Do you want a slice of pizza?”

Twilight and Spike turned to look at him, mustering the energy to sit straight to face him. Twilight smiled to him, both thankful for the offer and to offer a kind façade. “Thank you, Noah, but our food will be out here shortly.”

“Whoops, did we catch you at a bad time?”

Twilight and Spike jerked about to the entryway at the other side of the room, startled by the unfamiliar creaky male voice. However, the faces of both the children lit up as Acerola entered the room along with a man in his early 50’s.

His natural white hair was medium length, slightly messy, and pulled a bit back, but buzzed short and dyed black in the bottom few inches of his hairline and short sideburns. He wore a red-and-black tank top with a black tracksuit jacket over it with a white band and black zigzag pattern going down the sleeves and the sides, a matching pair of snug black sweatpants with a white “X” crossing on the bottom of the shins, and a pair of clean, white sneakers. A pair of sunglasses with circular, yellow frames were held in his hair, and on his left wrist was a dark-grey Z-Ring.

“Acerola!” both children cheered, leaping out of their seats and rushing toward them. “Uncle Guzma!”

“There they are!” While Guzma’s scratchy voice was indeed offputtingly, there was evident warmth and compassion that came from it as well. Squatting down, he caught both children in both arms, standing up with both of them sitting on his forearms. “So, what’cha get me for lunch? Pizza? Fish sticks? My favorites!”

“That’s our lunch!” Noah giggled. “You can have a bite if you like, though.”

“No, no!” Acerola scolded with a wagging finger. “Guzma and I are perfectly capable of ordering for ourselves.”

“Ugh, fine!” Guzma groaned, letting the kids back down. “But you better have ordered an appetizer for us before we got here.”

Spike huffed, a wobbly smile suddenly etched on his face. Twilight looked to Spike, who managed to keep a cool face, shrugging to her as if he didn’t know what she was looking at. With Noah and Amy returned to the table, Guzma’s eyes trained upon the alicorn and baby dragon sitting across from them.

“Where in the heck did you even find those things, anyway?” Guzma harshly whispered.

“I didn’t.” Even when hushed, Guzma could hear Acerola’s disdain. “Nanu found them wandering the Haina Desert, and he offered to let me take them here.”

“Hmph. Old man probably has some sense in that head of his after all.”

Acerola couldn’t help but giggle. “Come on. Let me introduce you.”

Acerola led the way as Guzma followed, his hands inside of his pockets. As they approached the table, taking the seats next to Noah and Amy, the Aether Employee served Twilight and Spike their food. As they sat down, the employee acknowledged them.

“Good afternoon you two. Something to eat or drink, Acerola?”

“Just a Roserade Iced Tea, extra sweet, and maybe a grilled cheese?”

“Certainly. And Guzma, the usual Tapu Cocoa and pan noodle bowl?”

“It’s like you don’t even need to ask,” Guzma cooed with his face pushed far out to her as his neck could allow.

The woman chuckled and made her way back. With her gone, Twilight and Spike had no one else to look at other than Acerola and the stranger sitting next to her.

“Twilight, Spike, this is Guzma, a… close friend of mine.” Acerola sheepishly put her hand up to show him off.

“Um, hello, Guzma,” Twilight seemed reluctant to, but Guzma’s lack of hesitation made the process of shaking hands with him much easier. “How exactly do you know Acerola?”

“Oh us?” Guzma finished shaking Spike’s hand, who seemed impressed by his firm, yet gentle grip. “Not to brag or anything, but you’re looking at half of the Pokémon League right here.”

“The Pokémon League?” Spike asked, his mouth full of carrot dog. “What’s that?”

“We have this thing in Alola called the Island Trials,” Acerola explained. “Trainers and their Pokémon have to defeat all the trials and defeat the kahunas of all four islands. Once they do that, they have to challenge and defeat the Pokémon League, which is comprised of four super strong Pokémon trainers, which, as Guzma said, includes the both of us.”

“That’s… very interesting.” Twilight stared down at her untouched salad, something that Acerola was quick to pick up on.

“I’m sorry,” Acerola said, “did you want us to wait until you finished your lunch? We can come back in a few minutes to give you some–”

“No, that’s okay, but since you’re here, I want to ask you some questions. First of all, why did you bring us here?”

Acerola seemed rather confused by the question. “This… place is quite arguably the safest place on Ula’ula Island. Why? Is something wrong?”

“Seems to be,” Guzma interrupted, twirling his finger at Twilight’s dish, “they apparently don’t make good salads here.”

“Guzma!” Acerola’s hiss made Guzma turn away from her and put his hands up. “But seriously, what’s the matter?”

Twilight squirmed, unsure how the two humans would take her reply. “We just learned that this Aether Foundation are the same people responsible for my friends and I getting stuck here. You can probably understand that that would make us feel like prisoners here.”

“You shouldn’t though.” Guzma turned back to face her.

Acerola came close to pinching the bridge of her nose. “Guzma, I swear to–”

“Relax, I have a point here. I knew this place back when they were at their lowest. I… hate to admit that I played a big part in a lot of their shady dealings.”

“Do you remember this?” Twilight asked Acerola.

“Very much so.”

“Then why would you bring us here?”

“People change, Twilight.” Guzma leaned back and put his ankle on the unoccupied seat next to her, and she reflexively shied away from it. “So did the people of Aether. I continue to be a friend of the family that owns the palce, and I can tell you that they’ve cleaned their act up quite a bit. Whatever freak accident happened to you and your pals was just that: an accident.”

“That’s also what Sun told us,” Spike replied.

“You talked with Sun?” Acerola brightened her face. “Is he doing well?”

“Our… conversation really wasn’t casual,” Twilight answered. “He basically told us that our being here was his fault, and that we couldn’t leave because some group was after us.”

“You mean Team Prism?”

“Yes! How did you know?”

“Probably not the best source for you, but Sun told the two of us about it.” Twilight’s ears did droop hearing that. “But he also said to me that he heard about it from Hau, who heard it from two trainers.”

“Wait, Hau?” Spike asked.

“Oh, sorry! He’s a childhood friend of Sun’s, but he serves as the Kahuna for Melemele Island. You can totally trust him, though. He’s the sweetest young man you’ll ever meet, if you get the chance, that is.”

“Besides,” Guzma breathed out proudly, “both of us specialize in Pokémon that are strong against Psychics. Those hooded punks would have to be real numbskulls to mess with you with us around.”

For what it was worth, Twilight and Spike both couldn’t help but smile at this ragtag duo. However, something struck Guzma’s statement as odd.

“Wait a second, did you say ‘Psychic?’”

Before Guzma could answer, the female Aether employee walked in carrying Guzma’s noodles and hot chocolate, as well as Acerola’s sandwich and iced tea.

“Enjoy your lunches, you two,” she said to them before turning to Twilight and Spike. “Also, Sun has scheduled you to talk with Professor Burnet later this afternoon. She claims that she met with two of your friends.”

“Is that true?” Twilight shot up with her front hooves standing on the table. “Is she available now?”

“I’m afraid not. She managed to squeeze some time in though before dinner. Speaking of, you should eat your salad before it gets too wilty.”

Twilight looked back down at her still-untouched salad, beaming with mild embarrassment before the woman bowed to her and went off on her way.

“I’m sorry,” Twilight whispered to the two, “you two aren’t leaving too soon, are you?”

“Not at all!” Acerola scooped up a wedge of her grilled cheese. “We can talk about everything you need to know before we do. But first…”

Acerola took a bite from her sandwich, allowing Guzma to pick up his chopsticks and grab at least one of each vegetable inside along with a half a dozen of the thick noodles. With both of their new friends eating, Twilight felt far more comfortable to begin on her salad.

Sitting on the elevated outdoor porch patio of what appeared to be a sizable rustic pub, Sam, Alice, Starlight, and Fluttershy looked off to their left, seeing two Mudbrays galloping around inside of a large pen. Lady, sitting on Starlight’s lap, whimpered and squirmed as the table of three beside them were served their entrees, the subtle steam wafting off of them making Starlight struggle to keep her from wiggling free.

“Lady, calm down!” Starlight groaned. “Our appetizers will be coming any minute.”

Lady sighed again as she glanced over to see one person take a large bite out of his burger. Sam and Alice ignored her and turned back to face each other at the table, picking up their lemonades well diluted from the melted ice in the harsh sun.

“So, what’s the plan, Sam?” Alice took a sip of her drink, the water reducing the tartness and sweetness. “Oh, much better.”

“Well, we have the Brooklet Hill trial just north of us,” Sam said. “Obviously we should do that first and see if any of your friends wound up there. The next part may not be well-received, but hear me out. I suggest that after the next trial, we split up near the Royal Avenue. A pair of us will go north and go clockwise around the island, and the other two will go east and go the opposite direction. Alice and I will both challenge the trials individually while we comb the island for any ponies that may be there.

“We’ll probably meet up again somewhere around Route 8, but we’ll continue going about until we meet up again at our split-off spot, since we’ll have to challenge the trials the other completed. That way, we can try and strengthen ourselves individually and essentially look for them twice.”

“Okay,” Starlight said, “that’s an interesting strategy, but why should we do any of that?”

“I…” Sam let out a single incredulous laugh, “didn’t you listen to me? I–”

“Yeah, we heard you Sam,” Alice jumped in, “and I appreciate that you want to learn to fight on your own, but we can’t afford to run into Team Prism by ourselves again.”

“It worked for me, didn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Starlight exclaimed, “because we got help from wild Pokémon. Again!”

“I’d have to imagine that would just make Team Prism even angrier now,” Fluttershy added.

“Fluttershy’s right,” Alice said, “We got lucky, and we got even luckier to get lucky twice. Chances are that Team Prism are going to pull all the stops and make sure they fight us like it will happen again when it most certainly won’t.”

“Okay, okay!” Sam threw his hands up, tiredly dropping them on the table. “I get it. I just want to be sure we don’t mess this up.”

“We won’t,” Starlight said. “You have me, Alice, Fluttershy, and Lady to help out. You shouldn’t have to worry about leaving any stones unturned.”

“Right. Now we just have to figure out where to go from here.”

“How’s about this,” Alice said. “We just go north and go clockwise from there. With your Fomantis and my Pikachu, we’ll get through the Brooklet Hill trial no problem, and with my Noibat and… your Fomantis has some kind of Bug-type move, right?”

“Yeah, it knows Fury Cutter.”

“There you go! With him–”

“Her.”

“–we can beat the Lush Jungle trial without a hitch. Hopefully, by the time we reach the Wela Volcano trial, we’ll each get at least one more Pokémon that can beat the Fire-types up there.”

Sam smiled, proud and relieved by his sister’s natural intuition. “Sounds great to me, and look.”

Alice, the ponies, and Lady turned in the direction, the latter breathing in heavy as four large baskets containing onion rings, mozzarella sticks, and potato skins were carried by a server on a tray, the sight made even more tantalizing once they were all put on the table.

“That’s a lot of food, there,” the server said. “You sure you don’t want to save room for lunch?”

Sam and Alice, their eyes and mouths slightly widening as if they had forgotten, took out each of their Poké Balls from their belts and tossed them out into an open space next to them on the patio. At once, Honedge, Fomantis, Noibat, Pikachu, and Rockruff appeared out and moved toward their respective trainers.

Honedge floated beside Sam, whose lap Fomantis hopped into, while Noibat perched itself on Alice shoulder, and Rockruff and Pikachu sat on Alice and Fluttershy’s laps, respectively.

“I think we’ll have plenty of room,” Alice whispered with assurance.

“Duly noted.” The server tipped the lid of his cap, and walked away with his tray held under his arm.

“Okay, Lady, you can dig in now!” Starlight laughed as Eevee leapt onto the table on one of the baskets and pulled out a potato skin.

Fomantis climbed off Sam’s legs and sat itself down beside Lady, pulling out an onion ring and feasting happily beside it. With the newest members of their party fed, the others began eagerly loading their plates with food and sauces for them and their Pokémon to enjoy.

Chapter 19 – Dark Skies Ahead

Gladion kept his sights on the land east of Hau’oli City as Melemele Island quickly approached them. Rainbow Dash hadn’t broken a sweat the entire flight, but the same could not be said of Gladion’s Ride Charizard. Upon seeing the land coming up, the Charizard moaned with exhaustion, dipping slightly as they were just about a mile away from being above the western shores.

Gladion pet his Charizard’s neck. “We’re almost there. We can rest in just a few minutes.”

A second groan, not as reverberant but nonetheless as loud, sounded off behind him from Pinkie Pie’s stomach. “We should also get something to eat. I’m sorry, Gladion, but those granola bars were not really that filling.”

“Where exactly are we even going anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“We’re going to see a friend of mine,” Gladion explained. “He can tell us where Starlight and Fluttershy are.”

“And you’re certain we can trust him?”

“Yes. Though it doesn’t seem we have much choice. My Charizard needs some rest and you clearly need to eat something.” He then smirked fondly. “He’s the kind of person who always keeps a stocked fridge.”

“Well, you know what they say!” Pinkie Pie quipped. “The best way to a pony’s heart is through lots of yummy free food! Or, something like that.”

By now, the three of them were already flying just north of the Hau’oli Beachfront, and the wooden buildings of Iki Town were visible behind the trees. Gladion kept his eyes trained on the stone platform outside Hau’s home, where he found him dueling with Makana. Hau had his Hariyama out while Makana’s Pokémon appeared to be a large wolf with sandy-brown fur and a long, fluffy white tail.

Even from their heights, Gladion could tell that both Pokémon looked tired. “Charizard, stay.”

The charizard moaned as it flew in place above the battle. Rainbow Dash flew in place beside it, looking annoyed. “What’s the holdup?”

“Their battle’s almost over,” Gladion said. “Let’s wait until the other trainer leaves before we go down.”

“Ugh, fine…”

Pinkie Pie peered over the Charizard’s other shoulder as the three of them looked down to observe the battle. Gladion looked down on Hau, wondering what kind of moves he’d make to finish the duel in his favor.

“Lycanroc,” Makana called, “Accelerock!”

Lycanroc appeared to vanish, only to suddenly appear before the Hariyama and swipe at it with its claws.

Hau was ready. “Hariyama, use Heavy Slam!”

Hariyama shifted its right leg bag, about to push, but Makana was also prepared. “Hurry, dodge it!”

As Hariyama thrust its body forward, the Lycanroc climbed up on Hariyama’s head and pulled itself just over its body with a single frontflip. As the Lycanroc landed on its paws, Hariyama stopped its advance once it realized its target was no longer there.

“That’s it!” Makana cheered. “Let’s finish this. Use Accelerock!”

Hau had to get there first. “Hariyama, Close Combat!”

Using its momentum to push its foot to the ground, Hariyama began to swing its body around, just as the Lycanroc disappeared and appeared before it. As it got halfway, Hariyama was hit by the Lycanroc’s attack, but followed through. With a thrust of its massive palm, Lycanroc was struck hard in the face and upper chest, being flung down to Hau where it slid to a stop just at its feet.

Makana knew his Pokémon did not survive the attack, and he ran past Hariyama and slid down on his knees before his fainted Pokémon. Cradling its head in his arms, he took out his Poké Ball and returned it inside.

“One day,” Makana promised it. “One day we’ll get him. Thank you.”

“You were much closer this time, man,” Hau said as Makana stood to face him. “Perhaps train your Slowpoke just a little more too an you’ll have it.”

“Right. Maybe by the time he’s a Slowbro, I’ll have a shot.”

“I wouldn’t count on waiting that long.”

Up above, Charizard moaned louder and began to descend, panting as its wingbeats became even more labored. From below, the Charizard’s cries made Hau and Makana look up to see Gladion and Pinkie coming down on Charizard’s back.

Rainbow Dash flew down alongside Gladion, looking incredibly annoyed. “Gladion,” she hissed. “I thought you said–”

“Doesn’t look like my Charizard can wait that long,” he answered. “We’re coming down.”

Hau smirked once he saw Gladion’s hair past the Charizard’s body, as well as the blue pegasus flying close beside him. Once the Charizard landed, Gladion and Pinkie Pie hopped off of it while Rainbow Dash set herself down beside Pinkie Pie. Gladion brought back his Charizard and retuturned the metal Poké Ball into his Ride Pager.

“More of them, I see.” Makana crossed his arms with a fond smile on his face.

“Hey!” Pinkie Pie, in a movement much like Makana’s Lycanroc’s Accelerock, appeared before Hau and Makana, the latter hopping back with sudden surprise. “Have you seen a pair of ponies just like us except one has wings like Rainbow Dash there she’s yellow and one who’s pink kind of like me except she has a horn so I guess they’re not quite like us at all?”

“You mean Starlight and Fluttershy?”

“Eeee! You do know where they are?”

“I do,” Hau said. “They’re no longer on this island.”

Pinkie Pie kept her happy demeanor, but her eye suddenly twitched. “…What?”

“As I’m sure Gladion has told you, the ponies you’re looking for have already befriended a pair of younger trainers and have continued on to Akala Island to look for the others.”

Rainbow Dash slowly turned to Gladion, the light in his eyes slowly draining. “Gladion, you never told us that.”

“I had hoped that they’d still be on the island and we could find them before they had a chance to leave,” he explained.

Hau shook his head. “No, man. They each defeated me yesterday in the Grand Trial and they took the ferry out last night.”

“Who are these ‘trainers?’” Rainbow Dash asked, flustered. “How do we know they can be trusted?”

“They can be trusted. In fact, they’re the reason why Gladion and I, as well as the other trial captains, Kahunas, and the trainers at the Pokémon League know about Team Prism. I have to believe that Gladion told you about them, right?”

“…Well, kinda’, but that’s no excuse for not telling us about these two trainers.”

“In any case,” Hau said, “your other two friends are safe with them.”

Gladion pressed his lips together, Hau’s remark sounding sour in his ears. “The ponies aren’t the only reason we’re here. My Charizard has been flying me around for the better part of the whole day and needs to rest. Also, these ponies haven’t had any real food to eat since they got here.”

Hau suddenly brightened like a Christmas tree, placing his arms over and behind his back. “Why didn’t you say so?! Let’s go to my place! Makana? Would you like to come?”

Makana gasped slightly over suddenly being recognized, but smirked cooly shortly after. “Sorry. I have to go and train some more. We’ll be back, Hau. I’m going to beat your trial eventually!”

“I look forward to it. See ya’ next time!”

Makana waved as he jogged away and to the end of town.

“So, you’re friends of Starlight and Fluttershy.” Hau casually put his fists at his side. “What are your guys’ names?”

“Me? I’m Rainbow Dash!” the pegasus said with a proud flap of her wings.

“And I’m Pinkie Pie!” she exclaimed, hopping up on Rainbow Dash’s back.

“Nice,” Hau replied with a nod. “Like I said, I should have plenty of food at my place. Follow me.”

Hau called back his Hariyama and led the way to his house. Once she realized which house they were headed to, Rainbow Dash was won over by the size of the place, her open mouthed smile getting wider. Once Hau opened the doors, both ponies were the first to walk inside, marveling over the authenticity and craftsmanship of the place.

“Holy crud!” Rainbow Dash gasped. “You live here?”

“Yeah,” Hau said. “This house has been passed down from Kahuna to Kahuna until it got passed down to me.”

“That’s so cool!” Pinkie Pie squeaked. “…What’s a Kahuna?”

“They’re the ones that protect the island and everything on it. As Kahuna, I also serve as the last challenge a trainer must face on Melemele during their Island Trials. But enough about me, let’s get you guys fed. Make yourself at home while I whip something up.”

Hau strolled into the kitchen, leaving Gladion, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie alone. Gladion went over to the couch and sat himself down, the ponies following him to lay down on the sofas on either side of him.

Rainbow Dash leaned and tilted her head toward him. “So… who exactly are these Team Prism guys?”

“They sound like some cool hippity-hoppy dance team!” Pinkie Pie chirped. “But… I’m guessing that’s not what they are, right?”

“Not at all.” Gladion put his fingers on his forehead, concentrating. “According to Hau, they’re a group of Psychic-type Pokémon users who are trying to kidnap the ponies. Why, I have no idea.”

“W– w– wait a minute!” Rainbow sat back up in her seat. “You haven’t even seen these guys yet?”

“No, and I really don’t want to. And if they’re as fearsome as Hau made them out to be in his call to me this morning, neither do you.”

“Well, it’s kind of hard to know what we’re up against if we don’t even know what they can do.”

“I’ll tell you what they can do.” Hau’s voice left everyone turning back to the kitchen doorway.

Hau carried in a large plate with eight sandwich halves with a layer of egg salad as thick as the two slices of bread holding it. “I’m super sorry, but I forgot that your friends already ate a bunch of my food, and all I had was this leftover egg salad.”

“It’s still free, right?” Pinkie Pie grabbed a wedge with her teeth before Hau could set the plate down on the table. “Free food is still good food!”

“I like the enthusiasm.”

Pinkie Pie swallowed her first sandwich half after a few chews. “I like the sandwiches, Hau! May I have another?”

“Yes, please! I made two for everyone.”

Rainbow Dash ignored Pinkie Pie as they both took their own sandwich from the plate. “Hold on! Did you say you know what Team Prism can do?”

“Yes, but I’m certain it’s nothing that Gladion couldn’t have told you.”

“Gladion could have told– So, you haven’t seen them either?”

“No, but one of the trainers that Starlight and Fluttershy went with gave me some interesting details. Have you by chance seen Gladion use Z-Power?”

“I’m pretty sure it has something to do with that Z-Move his Pokémon did this morning, right?” Pinkie Pie asked, licking her lips over the second sandwich.

“I guess so,” Hau said to himself. “Anyway, those kinds of moves are only usable by people who wear a Z-Ring, which are only made with stones granted to someone from the island guardian.”

“Island guardian?” Rainbow Dash questioned.

“They haven’t met Poni Island’s guardian,” Gladion explained, his right cheek half-stuffed with sandwich. “They ran off before it could catch up.”

“Oh… well then. Team Prism are in possession of artificial, human-made Z-Rings that allow them to draw Z-Power for Z-Moves. In great numbers, they can deal a ton of damage.”

“And you let those two trainers go off to Akala Island in spite of that?”

“I don’t see why I wouldn’t. They both survived their encounter, and they each were able to beat me on their first tries at the Grand Trial. As much as you’d hate to admit it, my friend, those two trainers are strong enough to–”

“They’re NOT strong enough!”

Gladion slammed his palm upon the table, the sudden volume of his voice, the bang of the wood, and the clatter of the plate shocked the entire room into silence. Gladion’s grimace grew longer and more furious as the Hau, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie refused to break the silence. Just then, he bowed his head down, a look of calm regret replacing his anger, and he set the last bite of his sandwich down on the plate.

Standing up, he began to walk to the door. “I’m sorry, but I cannot be the one to take you to Akala Island.”

“What are you talking about?” Rainbow Dash shot off her chair and took a couple of steps toward him. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Gladion?” Pinkie Pie also slid off her chair and joined her friend’s side.

Hau stood up as well, unsure what Gladion could say in this moment.

Gladion stopped, his hand upon the door’s handle. “There’s… something I should have told–”

*WOCKPH*

The doors violently swung open by themselves, the vaccum created by the pull tripping Gladion to the floor. From the outside, he could see five hooded figures in black hoodies surrounding the house in a semi-circle. Standing in the center beside another hooded figure was a creature similar in appearance to a Kadabra, though taller, possessing stronger, broader legs as well as two spoons in each hand. The creature held up both spoons, which began to glow.

Gladion turned back to the ponies to see them both covered in a silver light and lifted off the ground, being pulled screaming and flailing through the doors and outside.

“Rainbow Dash!” Gladion cried. “Pinkie Pie!”

Gladion charged outside, leaving Hau behind. Stepping onto the front porch, he looked on with teeth grit in a hateful scowl as the creature in the center held both ponies in each of its hands.

Rainbow Dash squirmed and swung herself with all her might, but the creature’s grip was too tight. “Gladion! Help… us!”

“You were right!” Pinkie Pie cried out. “These guys are really mean!”

Gladion widened his stance and placed a hand on one of his Poké Balls. “Let them go right now, you bastards!”

“Sorry, Gladion!” the person in the center had a high-pitched voice like it was spoken through a broken microphone. “We got all we came here for, and now we have to be off. Alakazam, Tele–”

“Pangoro, Thief!”

Before anyone outside could register whose voice that was, Gladion suddenly realized he was standing in the way, leaping off to the right. Charging out the door on all fours was a gargantuan black bear with white fur on its head and stomach, a longer fringe of black fur hanging off its back like some kind of cloak.

It’s coal-black eyes struck fear into the Alakazam holding the ponies, buying the Pangoro enough time to leap from Hau’s porch and straight in front of the Alakazam. With its hands held around the lower half of the ponies’ bodies, the Pangoro stood up and delivered a swift kick to the Alakazam’s head, the hit disorienting it into letting the ponies go, where they safely fell into his palms.

Pinkie Pie looked up to her savior with a sense of wonder before giggling almost uncontrollably. “You’re cute!”

The Pangoro looked down to her with its intimidating frown, but even with its angry eyes, managed to pull off a toothy smile, happy for the compliment. Hau ran outside next to Gladion as he saw the grunts beginning to pull out their own Poké Balls. The two shared a look before Gladion took out his own Poké Ball.

The grunts began calling out their own Pokémon. “Come on out, Hypno!”

Two grunts threw theirs at the same time. “Go, Espeon!”

“Let’s do this, Bruxish!”

“Show them what you’re made of, Oranguru!”

Along with the colorful floating fish from the fourth grunt’s ball and the white and violet ape that belong to the fifth, the first grunt’s Pokémon appeared to be a yellow bipedal creature with a white, furry collar, a long nose, and two long ears, holding a pendulum in its left hand. The two Pokémon that came from the second and third grunts’ Poké Balls both shared the appearance of a purple lanky, hairless cat with forked tail, a red gem in the center of its forehead, and tufts of fur jutting out just beneath each ear.

“Simple,” Gladion grunted, detaching one of his own Poké Balls. “Go, Silvally!”

Gladion’s chimeric Pokémon emerged, the membrane on its tailfin and the spines in the back of its head colored black. It landed beside Hau’s Pangoro, facing the area behind it. Just then, each grunt scattered off through the town, their Pokémon trailing not too far behind them.

“Silvally! Let’s hunt!” Gladion jumped from the porch and followed his Pokémon as it went after the group’s leader and their Alakazam.

Hau ran to his Pangoro as it let Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie down. “Are you guys okay?”

“We sure are, thanks to you,” Rainbow Dash answered as she brushed herself off with her wings.

“You both need to hide. I’m sorry, but I have to stop them!”

Hau sprinted off into the town, his Pangoro running alongside him. Rainbow Dash reached out to him, but put her arm down as he and his Pokémon disappeared behind the buildings. Pinkie Pie began to trot into a gallop, but was pulled back by Rainbow Dash with her mouth biting down her tail.

“What are you doing, Pinkie? Hau told us to hide!”

“That’s probably what these Prism meanies expect us to do. Besides, we’ve been through rougher scrapes than this!”

Rainbow Dash looked out where most of the grunts ran off, slowly smirking as she did.

Gladion kept his sights on the lead grunt and his Alakazam, running down the hill where the homes and stores formed a labyrinth down to the end of town. As he continued following them through the winding path, a sudden burst of snow and ice shot out between two of the homes, tripping Silvally and sending its front forward, flipping it onto its back. Gladion gasped and slid to a stop to see his Pokémon felled so easily. Turning into the alley, he found a grunt and their Bruxish smiling at him. Pulling her hood off, she revealed herself and her hot-purple bobbed hair. An elderly woman, hearing the commotion, stepped outside to see what the matter was. Seeing Gladion and his downed Silvally, he jerked his sights back to her.

“Get back inside!” he barked. “It’s not safe.”

The woman moaned, close to swooning as she stumbled inside and closed the door. The grunt refocused her attention to her vulnerable foe.

“Bite him,” she ordered.

Gladion balled his fists and held them up as the fish swam at him with its maw wide open. Just then, Silvally stepped in between them, allowing the Bruxish to bite the metallic joint on the side of its jaw. With a whip of its head, the Bruxish was flung back to the grunt.

With a smirk, the grunt ran at the two of them and prepared to jump. Gladion and Silvally could only watch as she suddenly soared and flipped forward several feet over them, Gladion noting the slight magenta glow around its body as the Bruxish flew close beside it.

Landing nimbly on her feet, she turned back to them and chuckled. “Try and catch me now!”

Immediately, both trainers and both Pokémon gave chase.

The two grunts with their Espeons split off in several directions at a time. While the grunts split off and separated on the paths, weaving around townsfolk with virtually no opposition, the Espeons leapt from rooftop to rooftop, using their psychic powers to lift themselves to buildings across the dirt road.

The grunts finally came to an intersection, where they were set to intersect. Just then, a large shape landed down in the unpopulated center of the crossing, launching a cloud of dust into the air, frightening grunt and citizen of Iki alike.

Once the cloud cleared, Pangoro faced both grunts, who were soon guarded by their Espeons, both hissing at him.

Hopping off the bear’s back, Hau walked circles around it, looking into the faces of each of the bystanders frozen with fear and intrigue. “Everybody, get inside somewhere! Don’t come out until I say so!”

It was clear the situation had to be dangerous, and at once, each of the people quickly shuffled away to the nearest building they could find.

Hau then faced both grunts, the fury in his eyes making the Espeons hiss again. “You must be very desperate to come to my town to stir up trouble.”

“We’re just here for those ponies,” one grunt, a male said, taking his hood off to reveal dark brown skin with buzzed short hair. “We wouldn’t have come to this if you hadn’t attacked us.”

“Besides…” The other grunt, a female, took off her own hood revealing black hair tied back in a short ponytail. “…they’re just simple townsfolk. Who cares if they get caught in the crossfire?”

Hau kept steadfast. “They still live on my island, and as Kahuna, I refuse to let you harm them.”

“Hmhm, cute. Espeon, Dazzling Gleam!”

The gem in the female grunt’s Espeon’s forehead shone bright, rays of harsh pink light shining into Pangoro and its face. The bear dug the claws of its feet into the ground, shielding its eyes.

The male grunt reached out. “Espeon, Grass Knot!”

With a glow of its gem, the other Espon summoned two vines out from the ground that shackled the Pangoro’s wrists from its face. The gem gleamed once more, and the vines receded back into the earth, throwing Pangoro down to its stomach and holding him there.

“Come on, buddy. Come on, buddy!” Hau quickly spoke. “Do the best bicep curl of your life!”

The grunts watched as the Pangoro crawled its legs up toward its wrists. “Espeon, another Dazzling Gleam!”

The bright shine of the Espeon’s attack nearly flung Pangoro back to the ground, but it managed to keep its left foot in place. Despite the onslaught of the Dazzling Gleam, Pangoro fought through it, getting to its feet and slowly pulling the vines up, unwinding to attempt to stand straight.

By the time the female grunt’s Espeon could no longer hold its attack, Pangoro pulled up again, roaring loudly as the vines were torn out from the ground, the roots holding large clumps of dirt like a ball and chain.

Hau smiled at the happenstance. “Alright, Pangoro, use Brutal Swing!”

Pangoro also smirked as it swung its arms out, sending his two makeshift weapons out as well. With a clap of its hands, the vines swung in, the dirt aimed at both Espeons standing in between it. They were too stunned to move as the dirt hit both Espeons and slammed them against each other, the dirt and dust exploding off the vines.

Pangoro slipped the vines off its wrists and flexed as it looked to the two Espeon’s buried under the dirt, both fainted from the attack. Both grunts called back their Pokémon, seething as Hau and Pangoro approached both of them. A loud whistle sounded off to their right, and the two grunts immediately leapt up, flying high to the elevated level of the town where a messy brown-haired grunt with his Hypno awaited. Once both grunts had made it up, Hypno dropped them both, allowed the four of them to continue running.

“Hey!” Hau clung to Pangoro’s cloak fur, and with a crouch, bounded up to the edge of the rock wall, climbing up the rest of the way as Hau hopped off, allowing the two to chase them.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie galloped around, turning their heads into every crevice and gap between houses. Once the reached the last pair of buildings before the next slope down, Rainbow Dash led Pinkie Pie in between them, where they stopped. From the edge, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie could see clouds of smoke and dust where Gladion and Hau were doing battle.

“What should we do?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Looks like Gladion and Hau are good down there,” she whispered. “We’ll fly down low to the next part down and take any of those Prism jerks by surprise–”

She was suddenly interrupted by Pinkie Pie’s screams, and Rainbow Dash turned just fast enough to see her get lifted and then pulled in above one of the houses.

“Pinkie!”

She leapt up and instantly stopped to hover so that she was face to face with a pale, bald muscular grunt and his Oranguru with Pinkie Pie in its tight grasp, both balance on the roof.

“You should have just hid,” he said to her before laughing.

Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth in anger. “Give her back!”

Shooting forward with incalculable speed, she swung her lower body out and put her back right hoof out, kicking the Oranguru square in the jaw. The hit made the Oranguru let go of the pink pony and knock itself into its trainer sending them over the side. While Rainbow Dash caught Pinkie Pie to keep from sliding off, the Oranguru caught itself and its trainer before they hit the ground and floated themselves to their feet.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie crawled to the edge of the roof to see the state of their attackers, only for the Oranguru’s open palm to be aimed to them. Quickly retreating, they were just inches away from a portion of the roof and side of the house to suddenly get ripped away by Oranguru’s Psychic attack.

A man in his mid-fifties opened the door of his bedroom, only to see the large gaping hole where his back wall and dresser used to be. He stumbled to the edge with his hands on his head with great sadness. He looked down to the grunt and Oranguru surrounded by debris and discarded clothing down below looking up where his roof was rather than the damage he caused.

“You can’t stay there forever!” he shouted. “I’ll raze this whole house long before you can try!”

“You–” The man pointed down with a trembling hand. “You destroyed my home!”

“This doesn’t concern you, old man!”

Rainbow Dash turned to Pinkie Pie, and before she could ask her what she could do, she was already staring Rainbow Dash dead in the eyes with a blue cannon with purple wheels and yellow flowers decorated on them suddenly sitting beside her. Rainbow Dash nodded, agreeing with whatever her friend had planned.

“Giving you to the count of three!” the grunt shouted.

Pinkie Pie’s voice broke out first. “Okay! Three!”

Pinkie Pie rode the cannon off the side of the hole in the roof, Rainbow Dash holding it steady for Pinkie Pie to aim.

The grunt and his Oranguru could not believe what they were seeing. “What the f–”

Pinkie slammed the purple button on the back, instantly blasting a heavy stream of confetti at both of them that blew them to the ground. Rainbow Dash swooped up, allowing Pinkie Pie to safely land her cannon down and drift to a stop. Both could see that neither the grunt nor his Pokémon with their lazy, fainted eyes would be getting up any soon, but with him taken care of, they felt comfortable in going back down to assist their other friends.

“X-Scissor!”

Gladion’s Silvally reeled both talons back at the Bruxish it chased, cornering it and its trainer between two buildings walled off from behind by the rocky elevation. As Silvally swung both arms diagonally down, it’s claws glowed a bright mustard-yellow, though the Bruxish managed to float up just above the attack.

The grunt thrust her pointed finger forward. “Bruxish, quick! Scald!”

With a deep inhale, the Bruxish blasted a hefty torrent of water at Silvally, the force making it slide back. Steam snaked around Silvally’s body and blew hard into Gladion, making him cover his eyes as the boiling hot water soaked his hoodie. Just being able to peak over one of his arms, he saw as the Bruxish lifted itself and its trainer up to the top of the elevation with its Psychic power.

Gladion spun so that the steam could now hit his back. “Silvally, Multi Attack!”

Crouching low, Silvally leapt up straight at Bruxish, who couldn’t see Silvally through its Scald’s stream and with a swing of its claws, a black aura trailing behind them, struck the Bruxish and caused it to faint. With nothing to hold her, the grunt and her Bruxish fell to the top edge of the elevation and tumbled forward, the former about to land on her head. However, Silvally landed before them and caught them both safely on his back, sliding them roughly off and to the ground. The grunt picked her Bruxish up and hugged it close, looking up at Gladion and Silvally from her seated position.

“You stay here,” he ordered.

Silvally growled at her, reinforcing its trainer’s point. Before they could run to get others, the footsteps of four sets of legs came toward him. He then spotted the two grunts with the Espeon’s running alongside the brown-haired grunt and his Hypno.

Gladion took out another Poké Ball. “Weavile, Night Slash!”

Gladion’s black-and-red weasel Pokémon emerged from the light from Gladion’s ball, sprinting out at the brown-haired grunt’s Hypno with its arms held out behind. The grunts and the Hypno saw it approach, coming to a sudden stop. “Hypno, Fire Punch!”

On its trainer’s command, the Hypno swung the pendulum around its hand until it wrapped all the way around. With the coin hanging from it dangling from the knuckles, it ran and thrust its closed fist forward, the coin growing red hot before it engulfed the Pokémon’s fist in flames. Weavile was far too focused to not see the attack coming, and with it closing on its opponent’s fist, it leapt up over the Hypno’s arm, swinging its white claw in to cut at the Hypno’s head, leaving three black marks across the front of its face.

“Silvally, Multi Attack!”

The Hypno paid no attention to Gladion’s command as it clutched its stinging face, unable to see as Silvally slashed at its ribs, sending it to the ground fainted. The brown-haired grunt called his Pokémon back, trying to turn back to escape with the other two grunts, only for Hau to appear in their way with his Pandora.

“Hey, come on!” Hau exclaimed, feigning light-heartedness. “You’re leaving the party already?”

The grunts looked back to Gladion, his Silvally and Weavile on either side of him. Rainbow Dash flew down from an elevation with Pinkie Pie, the bald grunt, and the Oranguru barely balanced on her back. Upon landing beside Gladion, Pinkie Pie got off, allowing Rainbow Dash to buck the grunt and his Pokémon back to the other three grunts. They both managed to weakly get up and join the others. Gladion looked back to the wall, where the purple-haired grunt pushed herself further back into the wall with her Bruxish.

Gladion glanced down to the ponies. “Nicely done, you two.”

“Would hate not to participate,” Rainbow Dash explained.

“Nice rhyme,” Pinkie Pie whispered to her friend.

“Enough!” Gladion, his Pokémon, and the ponies turned back to the source of the electronically-mangled voice, finding the grunt’s leader with their Alakazam. “I didn’t think I’d have to use this while pitting five of us against two of you…”

“We helped too, you jerk!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“…but now you’ll have to face this!”

The grunt held up their arms, crossing them in front of their veiled face, unveiling their synthetic Z-Ring with a bright-pink gem inside. Putting his arms down and stretching them out, crossed over, he then swung his arms out and reconnected his hands at the center, forming a heart-shaped hole with his fingers. Immediately, Gladion and Hau’s eyes widened with fear.

“Gladion, get out of there!” Hau screamed.

Gladion grit his teeth as he held his ground, his Pokémon stepping in front of him. The grunt finished their moves by standing on one foot and holding their arms up and out to the side, finishing by bending their left knee and elbows in and their wrists out.

Dark red energy shot out from the grunt’s body, enveloping their Alakazam with the aura.

“You know what’s coming now,” the grunt giggled. “Take it’s full strength! Akakazam, Twinkle Tackle!”

The red energy brightened, becoming pink. With a lunge, the Alakazam threw its arms out, its fists and spoons forming bright tails like comets that propelled him like a rocket. Upon reaching Weavile and Silvally, Alakazam threw its arms in, striking both Pokémon in the chests with sparkling blasts throwing them back. The force of the blast threw Gladion off of his feet as well, and he screamed in pain as he flew back with his Pokémon.

“Gladion, no!” the ponies screamed in tandem

Gladion, Silvally, and Weavile tumbled limply to a stop in front of the four grunts, who then formed a ring around him along with the purple-haired grunt. Hau ran forward with Pangoro, only for one of the Espeons, to appear from the ring, standing guard. Hau looked to the black male grunt and the black-haired female grunt, waving her hand with several revives held between her fingers.

“Your Pangoro isn’t strong enough to survive another Dazzling Gleam,” the grunt’s leader spoke, “and certainly not fast enough to avoid it. You and Gladion have both lost, and now, we shall collect our prize. Alakazam?”

With red sparks popping all over Alakazam’s body, it slowly and weakly attempted to form an “X” with its spoons. Rainbow Dash turned back to face it, her face contorting into one of pure fury. With a shriek and a frenzied flapping of her wings, she shot out at it just as Alakazam could hold it just inches from its face. Rainbow Dash continued flying, pushing against Alakazam’s Psychic hold.

As the grunts and the Espeon and Oranguru watched on, Hau blinked quickly, realizing his chance. “Brutal Swing, now!”

Pangoro heard his call, and with a wave of its arm, it struck the Espeon in the side just as it turned around to face it. It fainted before its body stopped rolling. The other grunts soon became aware of Hau’s surprise attack. The black-haired female grunt quickly began to pass out her Revives, giving one to the purple-haired girl and the black male grunt as the bald grunt sprayed his Oranguru with a Super Potion.

Before she could give one to the brown-haired male grunt, he and she were both blasted with inflated balloons and confetti, knocking them both out. Just as the black male grunt took out his fainted Espeon and fed it a Revive, Pangoro grabbed the Espeon by the scruff of the neck and threw it at the purple-haired girl’s revived Bruxish, knocking both out again.

As Pinkie Pie prepared to blast her cannon again, the bald grunt’s refreshed Oranguru threw and held the cannon up into the air, leaving Pinkie with nothing to defend itself. Stepping forward, the bald grunt gripped Pinkie Pie by the throat and held her up, his eyes wide and his lips spread out to reveal each tooth in its mouth. As Pinkie Pie gasped for air, Pangoro swung a low uppercut into the Oranguru’s lower jaw, throwing it back. Still focused on Pinkie Pie, the bald grunt didn’t see Hau running up from behind him, leaping up and climbing one step up on his back, giving Hau just enough height to then kick the grunt in the temple, sending him unconscious to the ground with Pinkie Pie.

As Hau pulled Pinkie Pie away, her cannon landing roughly back on the ground, Rainbow Dash continued fighting against the Alakazam. With sparks still shocking its body, the Alakazam strained one last time before its strength gave way, Rainbow Dash finally flying forward and punching the Alakazam in the face. As their Pokémon fell, the grunt’s leader backed away one step, observing Rainbow Dash standing before him with Pinkie Pie and Hau standing up to join Rainbow Dash’s side. The Alakazam slowly rolled to its side, only managing to get up on one knee.

The grunt’s leader hissed in distress. “Alakazam, Flash!”

With all of its strength, Alakazam held its spoons up, producing a blinding light that Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Hau were forced to shield their eyes from with their arms. After several seconds, the light piercing through their eyelids dissipated, and when they all opened their eyes, the grunt’s leader, the Alakazam, as well as the grunts and their Pokémon had all vanished.

Hau spread his legs and doubled over, his hands on his knees for support. “You’re okay, Pinkie Pie?”

“Yeah,” she panted. “That was really scary. I don’t want to do that again.”

“Yeah… me neither.”

Hau then looked to Pangoro, who also slouched its body and breathed heavily from exhaustion. “You were awesome, man. Get some rest.”

Hau aimed his Ultra Ball at his Pokémon and returned it inside. Rainbow Dash looked to see both of her friends okay, but found Gladion and his Silvally and Weavile still lying unconscious on the ground. “Gladion! Gladion!”

She galloped toward him, leading Hau and Pinkie Pie to tend to him as well. Rainbow Dash sunk to her shins, the sight of him and his fallen Pokémon proving to be too much for her to bear.

“Is he okay?” Rainbow Dash spat, her voice choking with oncoming tears.

Hau got to his knees and put his ear to his chest, sighing with relief. “I hear breathing and a heartbeat.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Oh, yeah.” Hau took out a Max Revive from his jacket pocket and put it inside Silvally’s mouth. “We just need to get him back to my place.”

Silvally lazily rolled onto its stomach, nuzzling its face into Hau’s face and chest as thanks for reviving it. Hau got up and picked Gladion’s body up, much to Silvally’s concern. After laying him across its back, Silvally stood up and waited for Hau to scoop up the Weavile and cradle it in his arms.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go home.”

Hau, the ponies, and Silvally walked their way back up to the top of the hill. As they went, Rainbow Dash came closer to Hau.

“Hey,” she said to him. “Before we were attacked, Gladion was about to say something to us. Do you have any idea what it was?”

Hau emotionlessly nodded. “Yes, I do. However, he can explain himself when he wakes up.”

Rainbow Dash looked back to Silvally and its trainer riding on its back. Somehow, she could just feel that the wait for him to awaken would be somehow more agonizing than they battle they had all barely endured.

Chapter 20 – Muddy Waters

Turning along the bending path of Route 5, Sam and Alice both saw the familiar sight of a Pokémon Center, sitting on the shore of a small lake that surrounded it on the left and back sides. The roaring sounds of waterfalls were not far off, as an old wooden stairway not even fifty feet from the Pokémon Center would lead them to the mouth of Brooklet Hill. The scent of freshwater mist wafted heavily from the west, and it was intoxicating to everyone in Sam and Alice’s small group.

“So this is Brooklet Hill,” Starlight said. “Your next trial site.”

“I wonder if swimming will be involved,” Fluttershy said.

“I wouldn’t mind it,” Alice said. “This is the first time we’ve gotten to do much of anything with water other than the ferry here.”

“Then it’s really a good thing I got by bag,” Sam said. “Wouldn’t want to not have a swimsuit to change into.”

“Well, we already healed our Pokémon in Paniola Town, so you all ready for this?”

A chorus of affirmation sounded out amongst Sam, Starlight, Fluttershy, and Lady, who continued standing atop of Starlight’s back. Just then, a young woman ran up the stairway entrance to Brooklet Hill and approached the five of them.

Her solid-blue hair was cut short and messy, and her dress consisted of a dark-blue long-sleeved full-body wetsuit with the legs concealed with wide ice-blue cargo pants made of polyester tied snugly to her waist by a white cotton belt, the pockets on the thighs and shins stuffed to the brim. With the pans cut just above the ankles, a pair of black water slippers were on her feet.

“Hey there!” She waved to them. “Are you here for your trial?”

“Yes, we are,” Sam answered. “You must be the captain.”

She smiled instantly. “That I am! Call me Lana. I appreciate your coming here, but I regret to tell you that Brooklet Hill is off limits right now.”

“What?” Sam and Alice shouted at the same time.

“Why’s that?” Starlight asked.

Lana turned back to the stairway. “A wild Mudbray wandered off into Brooklet Hill late last night, and something must have spooked it, as it keeps running around and attacking nearly every Pokémon it sees.”

Starlight and Fluttershy turned to face each other, intrigued by Lana’s wording.

“We have about half a dozen ranchers trying to rescue it,” Lana further explained, “but even with our combined efforts, we haven’t been able to calm the poor thing down. Until this issue gets resolved, I can’t let any trainers in there and risk them getting hurt too.”

Fluttershy came forward, a warm smile on her face. “I have a very special way with animals, as well as Pokémon. I can help in any way you need me to.”

“And you two must be ponies from that wormhole earlier this week.” Starlight and Fluttershy nodded at her inquiry. “As a trial captain, it would honestly make me more nervous to let you in and jeopardize your safety.”

“Please, listen,” Starlight said, “two of our friends also ended up on this island, and I have reason to think they might be in here. You said that something spooked that Mudbray; maybe it’s them. Please, we came all the way from Melemele Island to try and get them back home.”

Lana looked at Starlight with seemingly no hint of her decision changing then. She looked back to the pathway to Brooklet Hill, seeing two burly men in plaid shirts and overalls talk amongst each other. She then looked to Sam and Alice.

“Fine, you can go in,” she said, elating Sam, Alice, and the ponies. “To make it easier on yourselves, I’ll let you take the trial together. That way, you can team up if you happen to run into it.”

“Does that mean we’re allowed to catch it if we find it?” Alice asked.

“Considering the trial site now starts at the top of Brooklet Hill, I’m afraid you’d have to abide by trial rules: No catching of wild Pokémon until the trial has been completed.”

“Hmph, fine.”

“Just know that you’ll be doing me and these fellow ranchers a huge service if you can manage to calm it down, or, worst case scenario, have to battle it.”

“I’ll do my best to ensure it doesn’t come to that,” Fluttershy said.

“Great. With that, I just have to ask you one last thing. Have either of you brought a bathing suit?”

Sam and Alice smiled, excited for what Lana’s question implied.

Sam and Alice both emerged from the Pokémon Center with their bags, Lana, the ponies, and Lady waiting outside. Both of them smiled at their friends’ fresh new appearances. Sam wore a dark-grey pair of trunks with faded black flames decorated on the bottom of the legs, along with a pair of black water slippers. Alice came out with a bikini, the top striped with desaturated shades of blue with red borders and straps. Her bottom was a solid shade of the darker desaturated blue, the borders around the waist and leg openings also a solid red. She wore a pair of expensive-looking matching blue flip-flops on her feet and a pair of stylish looking prescription goggles over her eyes. The belts holding their Poké Balls were tied to their waists.

“Wow,” Lana chuckled. “Nice threads.”

“Thanks.” Sam quickly tied the string holding his trunks tighter without breaking eye contact. “All from Lumiose.”

“Oh, nice! They make such wonderful clothes there. Well, now that you’re changed, let’s head down, shall we?”

As Sam and Alice passed the ponies, Fluttershy couldn’t help but notice Alice’s right shin. What her green socks usually concealed was revealed to be a long scar running about eight inches down the right side with several small dot-shaped scars running alongside it. Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but as Starlight began to walk with Lana, Sam, and Alice, she closed her mouth and followed as well, finding the timing of her would-be query inappropriate.

Lana led the way down the stairs with the ponies, Sam and Alice lagging not too far behind. With every step down, Alice seemed to have to stop to kick a pebble out that had slipped under her bare foot. Sam walked slowly beside her, allowing him to also enjoy the trees that served as a beautiful tunnel for them.

Finally, they reached the bottom, the two tribal posts serving as the trial site’s entrance greeting them.

“Now,” Lana said, stopping just inside the trial gate, “while you have the extra-credit task, per se, of finding and calming down that wild Mudbray, your real task will be in the lakes along your way down. There’s a certain Water-type Pokémon making a ruckus in them. Trust me, you’ll know when you see them. Beat each one and face the totem Pokémon on the bottom. Sound good?”

From behind them, two farmers, male and female, each wearing red plaid shirt and overalls, approached them, each sporting natural red hair and fair-colored skin.

The woman farmer was the first to speak. “Lana, what are those trainers doing here?”

“Didn’t we say not to let anyone in here until we get the Mudbray out?” the man added.

“I did, but…” Lana then stepped back to give attention to the two ponies she revealed to them. “These two ponies have been traveling with these trainers, and have come here from Melemele to find their other friends who got stuck here Monday night. Apparently, one of them has a “magic touch” with Pokémon. We’ll give them a try, and if they can’t help calm down that Mudbray, then we’ll go back to square one.”

“But we just heard you going over your trial rules. What’s that all about then?”

Lana jutted her jaw to the side and her eyes up, unable to make up another excuse, “Well, since they’re already here, I thought–”

“It’s fine,” the woman farmer interrupted. “It’s your domain, and if you think these trainers and ponies can help us bring back that Mudbray, then I wish them all the luck in the world.”

“Thank you. Let’s get a move on, then.”

Lana stepped forward, and Sam, Alice, and the ponies ventured past the trial gate and toward a wooden platform stretching to the other side of the lake. Lana stopped halfway, and the others formed a line beside her at the edge facing the larger portion of the water. Alice slipped off her sandal and dipped her big toe in the water, bringing it back upon feeling the chill.

“If you look carefully,” Lana explained, scanning her finger about the water’s surface, “you’ll notice some splashing coming up over–”

*SKPWOOSH*

A louder splash sounded in front of them, accompanied by a burst of water as it converged where Alice had jumped in, a sheet of water landing on Starlight, Lady, and Sam. Fluttershy and Lana, who were still safely out of the splash’s reach, still stepped aside for safety’s sake looking to their drenched friends with a sense of dreadful sympathy. Lana looked to Alice, who spread her hair back as she surfaced, wading with her chest and up above the water. With a joyous shout, she had acclimated to the cold.

“Feels nice, doesn’t it?” Lana laughed. “Brooklet Hill is a lovely spot for swimmers and fishers alike. However, there are certain Pokémon that get a little nervous about intruders.”

Alice didn’t seem to think much of her statement until her entire body tensed up with the sensation of something toothlessly gnawing at her toes. With a shriek, she grabbed hold of the platform and pulled herself up to sit, hugging her legs close and spinning back around to safely stand.

As Alice skittered back to Sam’s side, he couldn’t help but notice and be entertained by her rubbing her bitten toes along the platform. “Hey, thanks for taking the bullet on that one!”

“Screw you, Sam.”

Just then, water began to rise up from the center of the lake like a graceless fountain, which Lana pointed to. “Over there. The Pokémon that nibbled at you is the one making all that commotion. Why don’t you go over there and see what it is?”

“Thanks,” Sam said with full sarcasm, “but I’d prefer not being shark food today.”

“I never said to swim over there. That is, unless, you have a Ride Pager.”

“Ride…” Suddenly, Alice remembered their final meeting with Hau and Ilima. She then excitedly reached inside her bag and pulled out her device, tapping on the buttons and the screen until she found the Pokémon she was looking for. “Lapras. Bingo.”

As Sam looked through his bag, Alice watched as a solid-grey metal Poké Ball warped into the top ring. Taking it off, she tossed it out above the water, releasing the Pokémon inside. Now floating on the water was a blue plesiosaur-like creature with a cream-colored underbelly, curled ears, and a large grey shell upon its back, a tall red seat strapped to it.

“Oh my gosh!” Alice’s voice couldn’t help but squeak as the Lapras looked at her. “Hi!”

The Lapras smiled in respect as it waded alongside the platform, looking to Alice and jerking its head away, signaling her to hop on.

“Oh, okay!” Alice leaned herself toward the shell and gently hopped on, using the protrusions on its shell for placement. Climbing up the tall steps, she finally reached her seat and plopped down. “Woo! This is awesome!”

“Alright, hold on!” Sam tossed out his own metal ball, sending out another Lapras virtually identical to Alice’s, seat and all. “Wow… hey there.”

Sam put his arms out to his Lapras, who swam over to him and rested its chin on them. He then laid his forehead down on its own and stroked his right hand down its neck. Lana smiled warmly as she heard the Pokémon purr.

“Come on!” Alice shouted. “Let’s get this show on the road!”

“K’, fine!” Sam backed away from his Lapras and pointed at its shell, nodding to it to gain its approval.

The Lapras arched its neck, ready for Sam’s mount. With a running start, Sam leapt from the platform and onto the edge of its shell, holding on as he and the Pokémon rocked about for a few moments. He then climbed up both the shell and the steps to his seat, sitting down and looking to Lana and the ponies below.

“Come on up, Starlight!” Sam shouted with an inward wave of his arm. This is so cool!”

Starlight smiled, excited to join her friend. “Hold on tight, Lady.”

With a mew and a wrap of her arms around Starlight’s neck from the Eevee on her back, Starlight charged her horn and magically levitated herself to the top of the Lapras’s shell, keeping her front hoof on the first step. Lady hopped off of Starlight and went on the knobs beneath her, perfectly balanced.

“Ready now?” Alice asked.

Sam nodded once with vigor. “Yep. Let’s sail! Lapras, that way!”

With a point towards the splashing, both Laprases paddled further into the lake. Lana stood in observance with her arms crossed, leaving Fluttershy to take off from the platform and fly alongside Alice and her Lapras. Starlight looked about her as she could see more of Brooklet Hill from her vantage, mouth agape at the plateaus behind her and the many waterfalls that crashed into the next plateau below. She suddenly nearly lost her footing as both Lapras’s came to a stop just a few feet from the splashing spot.

“Okay,” Sam muttered, pulling out one of his Poké Balls, “time to go to work. Go, Fomantis!”

With a gentle lob, Fomantis emerged from its ball and landed on the base of the Lapras’s neck, which instinctively rotated to allow it to see better.

“Let’s do this, Pikachu!” Alice held her ball and let Pikachu out on her lap.

Alice’s Lapras turned to the left, the Pikachu knowingly hopping off and standing upon the top of its shell to Alice’s right. Though both of their Pokémon were out, the splashing continued.

Alice thought up an idea. “Lapras, slap where they’re splashing!”

The Lapras did as was told, slamming its right flipper over the splashing spot. The water calmed itself for only a second as two shapes broke through the water and blasted some up as high as Sam’s head. Looking back down at what they’d have to fight, Sam and Alice seemed a bit perplexed by what they saw.

Wading with their heads above the water were two small white fish with blue backs and grey underbellies, their puddle-shaped eyes and perpetual frowns only serving to make them look more pathetic.

“You’re… you’re joking, right?” Sam asked to no one.

“Nope.” Alice’s face suddenly seemed frighteningly serious as she looked at the fish on the left. “You chewed on my foot. You need to go bye-bye.”

Plasma danced along the sides of Pikachu’s face as it awaited Alice’s instructions.

“Pikachu, Thunder Shock!”

With a loud yell, Pikachu shot out a strong bolt of electricity that shocked the fish Alice pointed at. It suddenly swam off towards a wall of boulders with spaces wide enough for the fish to swim through, a small waterfall along the other side. Sam looked to the other fish that face him and his Fomantis, taking out his Pokédex from his pocket.

“And what exactly are you?” he asked quietly, opening it and scanning the fish.

“Wishiwashi,” the Pokédex spoke, “the Small Fry Pokémon. When it's in trouble, its eyes moisten and begin to shine. The shining light attracts its comrades, and they stand together against their enemies.”

“Well, until then…” Alice pointed at it. “Fomantis, use Leaf Blade!”

With a shout, Fomantis leapt off Sam’s Lapras and lashed at the Wishiwashi wit its glowing green leaf arms, the strike strong enough to throw it back into the water. Sam and Alice watched as the Wishiwashi, like the last one, quickly swam for its life to the waterfall. Trailing their eyes there, they suddenly found Lana standing on a boulder closest to the waterfall’s edge, balanced perfectly.

“That was easy!” she shouted over the sound of the water’s crash below. “Looks like they swum down to the next lake! I’ll see you down there!”

Before Sam or Alice could respond, Lana leaned back and pushed off, bending back to dive to the next lake down.

“Oh, crap!” Sam sat up and tried to look over as much of the waterfall’s edge as he could. “She’s sure adventurous.”

“She’s probably made that jump dozen’s of times,” Alice commented, her Lapras swimming to the shore. “Come on. Let’s keep going.”

Follwing Alice, Sam and his Lapras swam to the small beach where the pathway down continued for them. Upon their Laprases’ bellies sliding into the sand, Sam, Starlight, Lady, and Alice climbed down while Fluttershy landed on the beach, awaiting them.

Sam pet his Lapras on the side of its face as he brought its ball out from his Ride Pager. “We’re not quite done yet, girl,” he said. “See you in a bit.”

The Lapras returned inside the ball. As Alice began returning her Lapras, Starlight noticed their bags still left on the platform. With a concentrated chew on her tongue, she focused her magic upon both bags and flew them both forward, splitting them off to place them in front of their respective trainers.

“Oh, right!” Alice slung her bag over her shoulder. “You’re a lifesaver, Starlight.”

“I do what I can!” she responded.

“Come on,” Sam began walking to the path. “Maybe the Mudbray will be here.”

“Maybe…” Alice muttered as she followed her brother closely with the ponies and Lady.

The path was guided on both sides by small canyon walls no taller than twice Sam’s height. The solid dirt was quickly replaced by taller grass, making Sam and Alice stop in their tracks.

“Why are we stopping?” Flutter shy wondered

“The Mudbray may be hiding out in here,” Alice said. “We don’t want to spook it and make it attack one of us.”

“How small is this thing?” Starlight asked.

“If they’re anything like what we saw at the ranch, probably no bigger than you.”

“Here, I can go ahead for this part.” Fluttershy gently flew over her friends and floated down to the front. “Hello there, little Mudbray! Don’t be scared. We won’t hurt you!”

Fluttershy walked slowly ahead as Sam and Alice just watched her go.

“All things considered,” Alice said, “these passageways are narrow enough that finding it shouldn’t be that difficult.”

“Not to mention,” Starlight added, “possibly finding our friends.”

Lady mewed in agreement.

“Fair enough.” Sam let Starlight and Lady be the first to step forward behind Fluttershy, followed by Alice and then himself.

“Mudbray,” Fluttershy continued to coo. “Come out, you sweet, little Mudbray!”

“Twilight!” Starlight cried out. “Rainbow Dash? Pinkie Pie!”

As the group continued doward through the winding slopes, Sam and Alice felt a bit of unease.

“Does something seem… off to you?” Sam asked.

“Yeah,” Alice said. “Other than those Wishiwashi, we haven’t really encountered any wild Pokémon since we got here.”

“Maybe that Mudbray scared them off?”

“Or perhaps… nah.”

“What’s nah? You mean Team Prism?”

“Well, that, and…” Alice jerked her head back to point her chin at Starlight and Fluttershy. “…their other friends. I don’t have any reason to believe wild Pokémon would have anything to fear from any of the ponies.”

“Now that we’re talking about it, what about–”

“Those Wishiwashi? What are you, high?”

Sam dropped the conversation with a shrug, continuing to look forward to the ponies, the last thought he had still nested in the back of his mind. With another left turn, the grass had once again been replaced by dusty and sandy dirt, and the canyon began to open wide to reveal another lake, the water’s surface just the slightest bit choppier than the first with the waterfall pouring water from a higher up cliff to their right.

Standing on a boulder jutting up twenty feet from the shore was Lana, who waved upon seeing the group. “Hey there! Any luck with finding that Mudbray?”

“Not yet!” Sam shouted. “Haven’t found any other ponies either!”

“I’m sorry about that, but look!”

Sam and Alice began to scan the lake, and on the farthest sides of it were similar splashes to the ones the Wishiwashi had done before.

Sam looked to the splashing closest to the waterfall. “I’ll go ahead and take that one?”

“Please do.” Alice had already began breaking out her Ride Pager. “Much rather not get wet again today if I can help it.”

“Looks like you’ve got the jist of it! I’ll leave you be! See you on the next level!” Lana dove off the rock and began swimming toward a wooden fence and wall of stones blocking off a section of the lake where another waterfall was dropping off.

Not much longer, Alice had called out her Lapras, who held its fin up to allow her to step on and climb up to its shell.

Sam began taking out his Ride Pager. “Would you like to hop aboard again?”

“That’s okay,” Starlight responded, “Fluttershy and I will watch over your bags while you go out.”

Sam nodded and smiled. “I’ll pick the three of you up when we’re done. If these guys are anything like the last, that shouldn’t be long.”

Starlight hummed with a proud nod and smile of her own. Sam took his Lapras’s ball from the top slot and tossed it at the water, his Lapras calling out as it eagerly awaited him. Suddenly, Sam felt himself being lifted off the ground, the sudden tingling sensation he felt all over making him shout loudly several times before he was set down on the seat on the Lapras’s shell, looking down to see Starlight’s aura fade from her horn and then himself.

“You may want to hurry!” she exclaimed. “You don’t want Alice to beat you!”

“Not if you end up giving me a heart attack!” Sam’s final quip as he and his Lapras sped off was met with secret chuckles from both Starlight and Lady.

Behind him, Alice had already brought out her Pikachu as Sam was still about thirty feet from the splashing spot. The mist splashing off the lake where the waterfall landed suddenly washed onto Sam’s entire body, making him tense up and shield his face. Unable to see, he was suddenly slapped in the mouth by a Wishiwashi’s tail.

As he regained his sights and loudly gagged and spit out the Pokémon’s body film, he took out a Poké Ball. “Ugh, sick! Come out, Honedge!”

Honedge emerged from Sam’s ball, completely unfazed by the wet breeze spraying onto it. Both it and Sam looked down in front of his Lapras, as a Wishiwashi faced them, leaping out of the water and flipping backwards, swishing its tail before it fell back into the water.

“No, once was enough, thank you!” Sam pointed at their target with his hand. “Honedge, Brick Break!”

Flying downward, Honedge shot itself toward the water. As the Wishiwashi attempted to dip beneath the surface and dodge the attack, Honedge swung its blade into the water, flinging the fish out and toward the waterfall leading the lower lake. Just as the Wishiwashi regained consciousness, he saw as the Wishiwashi that Alice had defeated swam through the rocks and down the falls, the one Sam defeated closely following it.

“Nice one!” Sam’s Lapras spun around so Sam could face his sister. “Need me to pick up the ponies?”

“Please do!”

Alice rolled her eyes as Alice returned to back to the shore while Sam continued to the beach on the other side. Once Alice’s Lapras, slid to a stop upon the sand, Fluttershy flew beside her while Starlight floated herself and Lady up to the Lapras’s shell.

“You’ll have to forgive my lazy brother,” she huffed. “I heard he did promise to pick you up.”

Behind them on the other side of the lake, Sam got off of his Lapras and returned it inside. As he began pacing around to wait, a Mudbray galloped out from the next sloping canyon and straight into Sam’s gut just as he turned around, sending him flying back into the water.

“To be fair,” Fluttershy said, “you… shouldn’t have offered.”

With Alice pouting at her with a furrowed brow, Fluttershy blushed as she gave her friend as innocent of a smile as she could, only for her ears to droop and her mouth to curve down in fright as she saw the Mudbray herself hopping franticly on the sand around where Sam floated.

“A… A– A– A– It– It– It–” Fluttershy gave up speaking and pointed out to the other side of the lake, leading Alice and Starlight to see the Mudbray gallop back down the canyon along with Sam just starting to stir back awake from the shore.

“SAM!” Understanding Alice’s cry, Lapras sped across the water as fast as its flippers could carry it.

By the time, Alice and her friends reached the other end of the lake, he was already back on his feet, coughing hard as he tried to recalibrate his body. Starlight and Lady hopped off the Lapras and galloped into the canyon, Fluttershy flying close behind.

“We’ll go after the Mudbray!” Starlight called out. “Take care of Sam!”

Alice ran up to him, crouching down to his level. “Hey, you alright?”

“Yeah–” Sam was brought to another violent coughing fit, finally managing the strength to stand. “Just got the wind knocked out of me.”

“That’s good, let’s go help Starlight and Fluttershy.”

“Right.”

Alice ran ahead, Sam trying his very best to keep up while still bending over to cough.

The Mudbray continued galloping on through the canyon until it reached the next lake. Upon seeing the water, it turned run back, its hooves slipping on the sand a couple paces before it could gain its footing. Before it could run back, Starlight, Lady, and Fluttershy came through and blocked its path, bringing it to a halt.

“Uh, hey there!” Starlight awkwardly waved to it. “It’s okay. There’s nothing here that can hurt you.”

The Mudbray glanced up, stepping with anticipation of its next plan. Suddenly, it got a galloping start and leapt high above both ponies, landing behind them and continuing to run back the other way.

“Ugh, come on!” Starlight and Lady ran back and Fluttershy came close behind.

As they made the next turn, they were relieved to see Sam and Alice blocking the Mudbray’s way with Fomantis beside them and Noibat flying above them. Mudbray turned back to see Starlight, Lady and Fluttershy blocking off that way. The Mudbray spinned around as it tried to find the right path to escape, its mouth hung open with an oncoming cry. Sure enough, the Mudbray sunk to its shins and let out a terrified yelp, trembling to the ground. Sam and Alice softened their defenses as looked down on it.

“Aw, you poor thing!” Fluttershy gently fluttered over to it and laid beside it. “You don’t need to be afraid. We won’t hurt you.”

Sam and Alice watched in amazement as her voice alone stopped the Mudbray’s tremors, but when she stroked its back with her hoof and then hugged its neck, the creature appeared to melt in her arms, pushing its head into hers. Alice then slowly approached the two of them and knelt down beside the Mudbray. With a couple of gentle strokes, the Mudbray looked to her, the comfort it felt from Fluttershy making it feel safe around her too.

“Hey, there,” Alice whispered. “You can trust us. We want to help. You wouldn’t mind showing us what scared you, would you?”

Fluttershy’s face brightened with realization. “You wouldn’t by chance have seen ponies that look like me or my friend here, have you?”

Just then, the Mudbray got to its hooves and walked back down to the next lake. Alice and Fluttershy walked directly behind it, sharing a content look of a job well done. Once they got to the lake, Starlight, Lady, and Sam came close behind the three. Suddenly, the Mudbray spun itself behind Alice, finding comfort hiding behind the backs of her legs. Looking out to the lake, she saw two splashing spots far out close to the shore where the next downward canyon led. Once she made the connection, the hope on her face deflated.

“You can’t be serious.”

Pikachu’s Thundershock took out the Wishiwashi, which quickly swan toward another waterfall that led to a larger lake down below, the last one before they reached the sea. The Mudbray was huddled on the Lapras’s shell still trembling from Alice’s battle.

“You see?” she called to it. “They’re just stupid, little fish. Nothing to be scared about.”

However, her words of encouragement didn’t seem to settle it down this time. Before she could think of something to calm it further, Lana’s voice broke out from the last canyon.

“Hey, congrats! You found her! Any idea why she was so scared?”

“Yeah, she’s scared of the Wishiwashi.”

“Oh… I see.” Her voice sounded darkly sympathetic, confusing Alice. “Well, whenever you’re ready, the Totem Pokémon is waiting in the next lake.”

Alice just sat still atop her Lapras’s seat in thought, just as Sam, Starlight, and Lady swam over on the other Lapras with Fluttershy flying beside it, all their bags slung from the knobs on its shell.

“You got yours?” Sam asked.

“Yeah,” Alice said, “but I think there’s something to these Wishiwashi that we should be careful about.”

Sam lowered his voice in a mocking tone. “What, are you high?”

“Well, they’re the reason this Mudbray is really scared, and what Lana said… I mean, the way she talked about them made me think there’s something else about them.”

Sam took his sister’s words in consideration, and then nodded. “Either way, the Totem Pokémon is down below. Maybe it’s a sign.”

“I guess.”

Both Sam and Alice beached their Laprases on the shore, allowing their passengers off. Fluttershy stayed down with the Mudbray as Alice climbed off her Lapras. Finally, both Alice and Sam got off and retrieved their bags, returning their Laprases back into their balls.

“Last part,” Sam said.

“Mmhm.” Alice nodded. “Last part.”

The group all traveled down the canyon together.

Chapter 21 – Deep Blue Lake

Once they got to the end of the last canyon, Sam and Alice couldn’t help but notice the pile of rocks on both sides of the entry to the last lake’s beach and the wooden stump in the center of each pile. They were quickly ignored as they approached Lana, who stood in the wet sand where the waves rolled into her ankles.

“Looks like you made it,” she said. “The final part of my trial. It should be pretty basic. The Totem Pokémon will be at the splashing spot over there.”

Looking around her, Alice and Sam saw that sure enough, there was a violent bubbling up in the lake’s center.

“I’m not quite sure how Ilima set his own trial rules, but I would like to set my own. As you both are taking my trial together, if either of your Pokémon all faint, you will both fail the trial and must retake the trial again. Either you both win or none of you do.”

“What?” Sam exclaimed. “That certainly wasn’t explained to us at Verdant Cavern!”

“Relax.” Alice slapped her brother hard on the left of his back. “You have your Fomantis, and I have my Pikachu. We’re going to win this.”

“Now that that’s out of the way,” Lana concluded, “I’ll leave you to face the Totem Pokémon. Good luck to you both, and be very careful.”

Without another word, Sam and Alice set their bags on the sand and stepped forward to the shore as Lana walked back to join the ponies, Lady, and the Mudbray, who stood still to watch. After sharing a last glance with their friends behind them, Sam and Alice brought out their Laprases from their Ride Pagers and quickly climbed aboard them. Mudbray whimpered and whined out to the two of them as both Laprases pushed off the sand and into the water.

Suddenly, Mudbray broke into a gallop and ran to Alice’s Lapras, ignoring Starlight and Fluttershy’s suddenly frantic calls for it to come back. With several feet already between the trainers and the edge of the waves, Mudbray ran several feet into the water before leaping into the lake, paddling just fast enough to climb onto the Lapras’s back flipper and climbed to the left side of the base of its shell, standing firmly upon the knobs. Alice looked down to see her impromptu passenger and grinned looking back ahead to the splashing spot.

From the beach, Starlight and Fluttershy couldn’t help but keep focused on the Mudbray. “Do you think we should have let her go?” Starlight asked.

“I don’t know for sure,” Fluttershy said, “but I think she wants to be by Alice’s side. I think she… wants to be there for her.”

Finally, Sam and Alice reached the splashing spot, Sam and Alice each taking out one of their Poké Balls.

“Go, Fomantis!” Sam shouted.

“Let’s go, Pikachu!” Alice exclaimed.

Both of their Pokémon came out and landed on the bases of their respective trainers’ Laprases’ necks. Before the Pokémon could emerge from the spot, Sam and Alice couldn’t help but look down to see many Wishiwashi swim beneath them and toward the bubbling spot, which began to grow larger with each fish that swam into it.

“Back up!” Alice shouted to her steed. “Lapras, back up!”

Both Laprases rowed themselves back, allowing themselves to see even more countless Wishiwashi converging until the splashing water rose up about ten feet up. The Mudbray on Alice’s Lapras began screeching uncontrollably, knowing what was to come. On the shore, even the ponies could see the splashing from their distance.

“What’s happening over there?” Fluttershy’s voice trembled.

“It’s the Totem Pokémon,” Lana answered. “Wishiwashi…”

Suddenly, the splashing began to stop, and with the waves rocking them, they could hardly make out a thirty-foot figure below.

“…School Form.”

The Totem Wishiwashi rose out from the water like a breaching whale. It’s blue body was made up entirely of other Wishiwashi, giving it the appearance of a shark with a large, gaping mouth, the eyes of the Wishiwashi inside glowing blue. The Totem Wishiwashi landed back into the water, creating a wave of water that rolled to both Sam and Alice. The Mudbray quickly clamped its teeth on one of the Lapras’s shell’s knobs just as the wave came near.

Sam saw as the Lapras tucked its head in, knowing what was about to come. “Alice, hold your breath!”

Alice could see it too, and both she and her brother inhaled and closed their mouths just as the water reached them, their Lapras’s paddling forward through the wall and emerging out the other side in roughly the same spot they were in.

As the wave approached the shore, Fluttershy screamed out and hid behind Lana. Starlight quickly pulled Sam and Alice’s bags back beside her with her magic before the wave could reach them. Once it hit the sand, the wave crested and crashed, threatening to wash into them. Starlight expanded the magic from around the bags and formed a half-rectangular wall from it, the corner facing the wave as it was pushed around the make-shift shield and kept them safely dry. The water that didn’t soak into the sand receded back toward the lake, allowing Starlight to let the shield down again to see the battle about to begin.

Sam looked about the water beside where the Totem Wishiwashi rose out to face them. “There should be others. There were others last time.”

Surely enough, three Pokémon came out of the water to join the Totem Wishiwashi, two of them appearing as large pink fish with mitten-shaped fins on the top and bottom of its disk-shaped body, and the other being another normal Wishiwashi.

“Alomomolas,” Alice hissed.

“Great,” Sam muttered. “Let’s do this! Fomantis, Leaf Blade!”

“Pikachu,” Alice shouted, “use Thunder Shock!”

Pikachu’s lightning shot from its face and covered the entire Totem Wishiwashi. As the attack continued, Fomantis climbed up Sam’s Lapras’s neck and stood-atop its head. With a running start, Fomantis hopped off and struck the Totem Wishiwashi hard with its leaf arms just as Pikachu’s attack ended, landing into the water.

“Good job, guys!” Alice shouted down to the two of their Pokémon, who both growled with appreciation.

Sam and Alice looked up and were immediately dismayed to see the Alomomola on the Totem Wishiwashi’s left face it and wiggle its body, producing a light-pink aura that covered it and appeared to give it more energy. Just then, both the second Alomomola and Wishiwashi dove into the water. Fomantis waded about, unsure where the attack would come from.

Just then, it could just make out the Alomomola’s form as it rose out of the depths and swam back up just inches from the surface, its top fin slapping Fomantis out of the air. Before the Fomantis could even finish its upward arc, both the Wishiwashi and Alomomola came out of the water. With perfect timing, the Wishiwashi swung its tail at its ally’s bottom fin, spinning it even faster to slap Fomantis back onto Sam’s Llpras.

Sam looked at their enemy foursome with a newfound sense of awe. “Such teamwork…”

Just then, the eyes of the Totem Wishiwashi began glowing brighter until a heavy blast of water shot out of it, striking Pikachu in the side of the stomach, rocking Alice’s Lapras and nearly making both her and the Mudbray on its shell fall off their respective spots.

From the shore, Starlight, Fluttershy, and Lady looked up at the tower of drops and mist that bounced off high into the sky, their mouths hung open.

“Sweet Celestia!” Starlight exclaimed. “And they still have to take on three other Pokémon?”

Lana stared out, not acknowledging them.

Finally, Alice’s Lapras stabilized itself and her Pikachu shook off the damage it took. “Damn,” Alice commented, “that was pretty much a Hydro Pump. Sam!” Her brother turned to face her. “I’ll take out the smaller Wishiwashi! Try and take out one of the Alomomolas!”

“Uh…”

“Pikachu, Thunder Shock!”

Pikachu shot out its lightning at the smaller Wishiwashi, where it sunk down under the water once the attack had stopped.

Alice then turned to the Mudbray, who looked up to her with slight confusion. “What did I tell ya’? Stupid, little fish.”

The Mudbray looked back to the three remaining Pokémon, looking at the Totem Wishiwashi with a bit less apprehension.

“Fomantis,” Sam ordered, “hit that Alomomola with Leaf Blade!”

Fomantis once again bounded up his trainer’s Lapras’s neck and dove off its head, delivering a hard slash to the Alomomola on the Totem Wishiwashi’s left. As the Fomantis fell into the water and immediately swam back to Sam’s Lapras, the other Alomomola wiggled at the first Alomomola and healed it with its own pink aura.

Sam hissed as he saw this, turning to Alice. “We can’t keep spreading out our attacks while these Alomomola’s can keep using Heal Pulse! We need to–”

“Take them out first and save the big-ass Wishiwashi for last?” She responded. “I hate that idea!”

“Any alternatives?”

“Nope. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Just then, Pikachu climbed up to the top of Alice’s Lapras’s head, which confused it. Alice also looked confused as the Totem Wishiwashi’s mouth glowed to prepare another supercharged Water Gun, the Alomomola right beside it and inhaling. Pikachu mumbled something to the Lapras, and it gently nodded its head in understanding, nonplussing Alice further.

The Totem Wishiwashi and Alomomola both shot their water guns out, producing a massive stream even bigger than the one before it. However, Pikachu managed to leap off Alice’s Lapras’s right before it ducked its head down, leaving plenty of space for the attack to safely pass between them.

Just then, Alice saw a connection that made her gasp and beam. “Pikachu, Thunder Shock the Water Gun!”

Pikachu’s cheeks already charged up, and with a shot of lighting on the water, the electricity quickly traveled down and hit both the Totem Wishiwashi and first Alomomola. The Mudbray observed the sight with an open-mouth smile, whinnying with glee.

Sam smirked in pride. “Fomantis, finish that Alomomola off with Leaf Blade!”

Fomantis panted as it dove off Sam’s Lapras’s head for a third time, coming down right on the Alomomola right as Pikachu’s attack faded out upon landing back on the Lapras’s head. With this attack Alomomola finally tired out, sinking beneath the water and swimming away.

Lady and the ponies on the shore cheered, glad to see the battle going off well.

“Yes!” Sam shouted. “We’ve got them!”

“Don’t jinx it,” Alice warned.

The remaining Alomomola went beneath the water, confusing Alice, while the Totem Wishiwashi’s mouth began to glow. The Alomomola jumped high out of the water, flipping its body just right so that its bottom fin missed the Lapras and smacked Pikachu upside the chin. As both Pikachu and Alomomola finished their arcs, the Alomomola slapped Pikachu again, this time sending it flying into Alice’s arms. Pikachu mewed weakly before fainting, making her hiss.

The Totem Wishiwashi took its sights to the Fomantis, who slowly paddled back to Sam’s Lapras, exhausted. Sam gasped as Wishiwashi rose out a bit from the water and shot its Water Gun down and forward until it struck Fomantis in the back and pushing it deep into the water.

Even from the shore, the ponies were shocked to see the power of the attack. “Oh no!” Fluttershy cried out. “Is she okay?”

Sam could tell that Fomantis would not have outlasted the attack, and with a swing of his legs around the chair, he leapt off his seat and dove feet first into the water, going down just far enough to see Fomantis there. Grabbing it and kicking back up to the surface, Sam paddled back to his Lapras and sat along the base of its neck, pulling out his Poké Ball.

“Great job, buddy,” he said as his Poké Ball’s red beam brought it back in. “Rest up, now.” Putting the ball back, he took out his last Poké Ball and lobbed it out. “You’re up now, Honedge!”

With Honedge floating beside his Lapras, eager and ready, Sam climbed back up the shell and back into his seat.

Alice took out her second ball and tossed it out. “Your turn, Noibat!”

Coming out from the ball, Noibat flew a lap around the Lapras’s head before perching atop of it.

Sam pointed to his target. “We have to take out the other Alomomola next and leave the Totem Wishiwashi with nothing else to protect it.”

“And you think you can take it out?”

He smirked. “I might.”

Distracted, Sam didn’t see as Honedge was suddenly hit by the Alomomola’s Water Gun, tripping it into the water. Sam turned back with concern, seeing his Pokemon coming back out and shaking the moisture off itself.

“Honedge, are you okay?” Honedge responded with a slow nod and quick glance back to its trainer, its eye squinted in slight anger. “Yeah, I’m sorry, bud. Get ready, though.” He brandished his Z-Ring to it.

Alice pointed out to the last Alomomola. “Noibat, use Air Cutter!”

Flying back up, Noibat hugged its wings in before whipping them back out, causing two blurry blades to fly out from them and both strike the Alomomola in the chin and the Totem Wishiwashi in the forehead. Finally, Sam stood up on his seat and crossed his arms at the wrist, sent them down and crossed them out. With several quick punches and a final stronger one, his Z-Power flowed from his body and into his Honed.

“Alright,” Sam bellowed out, “let’s see how you survive this! Honedge, All-Out Pummeling!”

Pointing both the tips of its blade and scabbard at its target, Honedge began to spin about, fist-shaped auras flying out like a gattling gun, striking the Alomomola quickly and forcing it backward where it tumbled about on the surface of the water. Finally, Honedge sheathed its blade and shot out at Alomomola, the tip punching into it and sending both into the water, the impact causing a splash that towered even above the top of the waterfall.

“Whoa!” Fluttershy sighed, watching the mist from the splash hit the sunlight and make a small rainbow. “How pretty.”

“And now that Wishiwashi is all they have left!” Starlight cheered. “You guys got this!”

Lady squealed in agreement.

Honedge emerged from the water to Sam’s Lapras’s left, unsheathing itself once again, and wiggling the wetness off again.

“Nice one, Honedge,” Sam said. “Think you can handle one more guy?”

Honedge responded with a much more invigorated nod. Just then, the final Alomomola swam just benath the surface, allowing it to give Sam and Honedge a look of resentful respect before it dove back down to the lake’s depths.

“Noibat, another Air Cutter again!” On Alice’s command, Noibat whipped out two more waves of solid air that hit the Totem Wishiwashi in the right corner of its mouth and just below its left eye.

With the Totem Wishiwashi alone, it began to charge up another Water Gun, this time aiming it at Noibat.

Alice, realizing this, looked up. “Noibat, fly! Dodge it!”

Noibat flew up and about in all directions, anticipating the attack’s direction. The Wishiwashi launched its water blast up, but the uncannily large size of the stream proved too frightening to avoid, and the attack struck Noibat and sent it plummeting down to the water behind Alice with a loud crack of a splash.

“Noibat!” Fluttershy and Starlight called.

Alice turned behind her to see that Noibat floated limply on its back, clearly having fainted. As Alice worriedly began to climb out of her seat and dive back to save it, she saw as Fluttershy was already quickly flying to it, scooping it up in her arms before it could sink down.

Fluttershy flew up to Alice’s eye level a few feet away. “She’ll be fine! No go and beat that scary fish! We believe in you!”

Fluttershy quickly flew back to shore as she took out her last Poké Ball reluctantly.

“Honedge, Swords Dance!” Sam mimed spinning and flipping swords with his arms and hands while Honedge mimicked its trainer’s motions, ending with a cross of its sword and sheath and sliding them along each other in a final sharpening.

“Sam!” Alice shouted. “What are you–”

“Preparing for the next attack!” Sam looked dead into the Totem Wishiwashi’s eyes. “If either of us can land a good hit on it, I think we have a shot!”

Alice looked down to the Poké Ball in her hand. With a meditative closing of her eyes, she shot them open and tossed her ball out.

“Let’s finish this, Rockruff!”

Her Pokémon landed on the base of her Lapras’s neck looking at its foe. Seeing what it had to face, Rockruff couldn’t withhold a terrified whine.

“Don’t worry, boy!” Alice showed her Z-Ring to her Pokémon. “We got this.”

Suddenly, Rockruff looked glad and yipped in excitement. With its approval noted, Alice crossed her arms, set them down, and crossed them out again. She pulled her arms down to the left and moved her right arm up to the right, then formed a “Z” with her arms, activating the Normalium Z in her Z-Ring and transferring the Z-Power from herself and into her Rockruff.

“Lapras, spin right!”

Alice’s Lapras paddled itself so its left side faced the Wishiwashi, and Rockruff instinctively bounded over to the left side of its shell, standing beside the mystified Mudbray.

“Now we’re ready!” Alice cried out. “Rockruff, finish it off! Breakneck Blitz!”

With a hard push off causing Alice’s Lapras to slide back a couple of yards on the water, Rockruff rocketed off at the Totem Wishiwashi with a tail of heat trailing behind it. Rockruff’s head collided in between the Totem Wishiwashi’s eyes, the blast of the impact sending it flying back where it fell into the water and sunk down.

Starlight, Lady, and Fluttershy hopped, whooped, and hollered about the sand cheering their apparent victory.

“They did it!” Fluttershy cried. “They won!”

“Way to go!” Starlight shouted out to her friends.

Sam and Alice looked down where the Wishiwashi fell, not completely sure if they had actually succeeded.

“Is it over?” Sam asked. “Did we–”

Sam was interrupted by the Wishiwashi swarm’s head to slowly rise back out from the water, its eyes now trained on Rockruff. Alice, realizing what was to come, slid off from her seat and quickly descended down to the left side of the Lapras’s shell, positioning herself between her Rockruff and the Mudbray.

Sam gasped as he saw the mouth of the Totem Wishiwashi glow as it fully emerged from the lake. “Honedge, Return! Quickly!”

The Totem Wishiwashi shot off its Water Gun at Rockruff, pushing it into the Lapras’s shell as the water spraying off it hit both Alice and Rockruff, the sting making them cry out.

“Oh no!” Starlight shouted out. “Alice!”

Honedge flew at the Totem Wishiwashi as Sam held his right arm and closed fist out. Once it got near the horde’s neck, Sam swung his arm down and in, Honedge also swinging down and breaking apart the left side of the Totem Wishiwashi’s neck in what appeared to be a huge gash.

With a roar of pain, the Totem Wishiwashi’s Water Gun stopped. Alice and Mudbray, now able to see, watched as the individual fish from the Totem Wishiwashi’s School Form began to tumble off and fall into the water. Sam, Honedge, and Alice looked down beneath them to see dozens and dozens of Wishiwashi swimming beneath them and away from the bits of the horde that remained. Finally, all that was left was a single, furious little Wishiwashi that kept its sights on Rockruff, who still held on to Lapras’s shell as it coughed up the water that it swallowed.

“Rockruff?” Alice turned to her Pokémon. “You alright?”

Rockruff let out a couple more coughs, but Alice could tell that it was going to be okay. However, the Totem Wishiwashi quickly swam at Rockruff, the Mudbray beside Alice looking at it with vengeful eyes. As the Wishiwashi leapt up to attack, it wasn’t prepared for the Mudbray to whip itself around and buck the Wishiwashi in the face, sending it back into the water.

The loss of balance almost caused the Mudbray to fall off into the water, only for Alice to catch and pull it by its forelegs, allowing it enough time to catch its footing on a pair of knobs on the Lapras’s shell. Resurfacing, the Wishiwashi let out a devastated, angry cry at the two of them before it swam away and out of sight.

On the beach, Starlight, Fluttershy, and even Lana were stunned by how the fight had concluded.

“Did…” Fluttershy wonder aloud. “Did they win?”

“Wait,” Starlight spoke up, “does that even count?”

“I…” Lana was nearly at a loss for words. “I’ve never had this happen to me before. I mean normally, outside help from trainers aren’t allowed, but that was a wild Mudbray. Neither I nor Sam and Alice can really control how a wild Pokémon can impact the trial, and considering Alice didn’t catch the Mudbray as per the trial rules… yeah, I guess they completed my trial.”

Both the ponies cheered and shouted with glee along with Lady. Sam’s Lapras turned around so that Sam and Honedge could see them celebrating. Lana then gave them both a thumbs up as a final confirmation for their completion.

“Looks like we did it,” Sam said to Alice. “We won.”

“Yep.” Alice pet the Mudbray along its right side. “We sure did.”

Mudbray laid the side of its head into Alice’s stomach, making her giggle as she hugged its neck.

Lana stood beside the two ranchers, facing Sam, Alice, and their group, including the wild Mudbray, at the entrance to Brooklet Hill. With their bags slung over their shoulders, they were both ready to go once they received their parting words from Lana.

“I have to say,” she responded. “In my ten years as Trial Captain, I’ve never been so fortunate to see a trial end so… interestingly. However, a win is a win is a win, and with your victory, comes the spoils. Congrats, you two. Here is the Waterium Z you’ve earned.”

She stepped forward to them and held out her hand, where two blue gems with a drop-shaped icon inside of it rested. Sam and Alice both took one and clasped it proudly in their hands.

“The way you use it goes like this.” Lana crossed her arms in front of her face, put them down at her sides, and then held them out crossed. With a lean and step off to the left, Lana set her foot back down as she gracefully swayed her arms in wave-like motions before swinging them to the right and curving her arms up. “You think you have it?”

Sam and Alice nodded, allowing the two ranchers to come forward. “We thank you very much for your help in calming that Mudbray down,” the male rancher said. “We had some left in our cooler, but we figured you should have some. Some free Moo Moo Milk for the lot of you.”

The woman rancher came forth with a small wire crate holding six pint-sized bottles of pure white liquid inside, each swaddled in a towel for safety. “Of course,” she said, “that Mudbray was a wild one, so we make no claim to it. If you’d like to catch it for your own, you’d be more than welcome to.

Sam turned to Alice with an understanding glance. “I’ll put these away, you do what you need to.”

Alice nodded, allowing Sam to kneel down and begin putting three bottles in each of their bags. She then faced the Mudbray and knelt down to look it in the eyes.

“You were really great out there,” she said. “We could really value your strength and bravery.”

Mudbray stepped into Alice and huffed contently, forcing her to hold on to keep from falling over.

Neither she nor her friends, Lana, nor the ranchers could help but laugh. “Alright then, hold still.”

She took a Poké Ball from the front pocket of her bag and pressed the button gently into the Mudbray’s chest, turning it into red energy that was sucked inside the ball. After a single shake, the ball sparkled out from the sides and latched closed.

“Nice,” she whispered to herself.

With the milk packed and their business over, Sam and Alice put their bags over their shoulders.

“I’m sorry you couldn’t find any of your friends in here,” Lana said with an apologetic bow. “I sure hope you do soon.”

“I’m certain we will,” Starlight said. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

“Bye, Lana!” With Fluttershy’s farewell, the group began walking out and up the wooden steps to the Pokémon Center where they could finally change into their regular clothes.

“Alola!” Lana shouted with a wave.

Sam and Alice waved back as well, the ponies walking backwards to face her. “Alola!” they all shouted.

Turning back, Sam and Alice could now continue onward to the next chapter of their journey. Their next trial. Their next opportunity to reunite their pony friends at long last.