And so we walked.

The weather was nice and clear; while hiking would never be anything I would get used to anytime soon, there was something pleasantly mind-numbing about walking for hours on end.

An endless panorama of craggy hills greeted us as we continued down the path of Route 3. A soft breeze made the summer sun a little bit more manageable, carrying in the scent of dry grass and salt. This wasn't an easy path to tread, as rocks and boulders of every size dotted the trail and we found ourselves having to adjust with every step.

The midday sun shone high and so I found myself carrying Petal in my arms and Oran Juice in his ball. Ahead of me, Hau, Lilliane and Tuula seemed deep in conversation. Their Pokemon buzzed around them, chasing after one another. For once, Loa the Torracat was in eyesight, the secretive feline skulking ahead in stumbling steps, looking a little bit leaner since I had last seen her. A few paces behind, Sawney lagged in exhaustion as his bug cheered him on, and right to my side–

"Are you sure you don't wanna fight?"

I tried not to give too much attention to the male Tuari twin. This hadn't been the first time he'd asked me this question this week since Hau had denied him his duel, and I doubt it would be the last. Maybe if I didn't acknowledge him for long enough, he'd go away?

"Fighting off a Noivern is badass and all but that's– that's just the wilds, you know? You gotta face off real skilled trainers from time to time." I felt him adjust his sleeveless shirt, and I could practically predict what he would say next. "Trainers like me."

There it was.

"Pff. Oddish."

Wait, no! Petal! Don't provoke him!

I felt the languid weight of my starter stir around as they glared at the other teen, bleary eyes squinting under the midday sun.

"Heh. So you can recognize greatness when you see it." His Rattata snickered as he scampered along at his side, and I knew he had his second Pokemon out but I could only hear the faint echo of her giggle from somewhere–

"Uh. No. No thank you." I clutched my Oddish a little closer to my chest and got muffled whining in response. There. Now maybe he could leave me alone. "Petal needs their sleep."

"What about your snake? He could fight. Come on, Matsu– one on one."

"...We've been working on his moves this morning and he's still tired."

"Tch." Finally he looked away as he scoffed, but still he continued as we walked. "Digging big holes isn't really training, and you're gonna need it. Nerd like you, you're shooting for– what, seven? Eight trials?" I nodded. He raised an eyebrow. "Conference-level?" I shook my head. He scoffed and threw his hands in the air.

"We got two people shooting for eight trials and no-fucking-body wanna spar! Whadda hell!"

"They don't need to because they would trounce you down, you bonehead." Tuula shouted, as the split off group slowed down to join ours. "Hakalaua's starter is evolved and we all know Matsu's got a little monster of a weed. Not much your rat can do!"

"My Rattata's champion material! He can take on both, no sweat!"

"You know my Spinda takes on your 'champion material' any time, bro."

I could see attention slipping away from the male twin as he argued and I chose it as my opportunity to slip away. For a second, though, I shot a look at Sawney. I gave him a questioning expression, mouthing 'eight trials?' He held up an open hand and a finger– five plus one, so six trials? Since when had he decided on stopping at six trials?

I shot another confused look and he waved me off. Something to ask him later, then.

Up a hill we went and in the exertion, all talking stopped. Our pairs and groups shifted; Sawney lagging behind to help a struggling Lilliane, Hau up in front chatting up with Rui.

Tuula sneaked up to me, elbowed me on my shoulder, and covertly shoved her phone in my grasp.

O-kay then.

I flipped it open and looked at the cracked screen.

One page opened on a forum website - whoa, formatted sometime when the internet was first created - for a community of farmers and ranchers– "Tuula, what is this?"

She crossed her arms and wordlessly motioned at her phone in my hands once more.

So I kept reading.

The post was from around 5 years ago; the poster was from a rural Hoennian town and managed a small farm with their partner. They thanked the community for their help with a previous problem, so I started to skim through it.

Something something a local wild Lotad community got into their crops - that's a water and grass type, right? Something something their partner's Zigzagoon was fancy with one of the Lombre, cute– oh?

The poster's partner spent a few months practicing a dance with them then suddenly collapsed?

That seemed far more relevant. I glanced back at Tuula for a second, who looked at me with one eyebrow raised, arms still crossed.

I went back to the beginning.

----------------------------------------

Farm Assistance - Pokemon Matters

Page 01 of 04

Topic: Lotad Outbreak Followup

Mark Hatton - Apr 02, 2036

=> Mark Hatton

[Arable Farmer]

I'm a farmer from Oldale, Hoenn.

You might remember my situation from a previous thread which was resolved thanks to everybody's advice……

hpps:/farmersforum.pl/index/how-to-deal-with-a-lotad-invasion.408400/

As a quick summary: a Lotad and Lombre community from the route nearby snuck into the small pond on my property by the city border. My partner and I were torn whether to relocate them or allow them to stay. The rangers helped clear things up, and they've helped with some of the farming duties since!

Everything has been pecha since then. The Lotad help with keeping plants watered. My wife's Zigzagoon has been really sweet on one of the Lombres and so I make sure they get plenty of time to themselves, and so I spend a lot more time with the Lotad since then.

That's when I noticed something.

The Lotad have a real funny way of doing things. They take care of the plants in the same way every time, doing a little song and dance for 5 to 10 minutes as they do so. Enclosed with this message is a little video my granddaughter took of Zigzagoon joining in.

202-02052040.vp4

A few months ago, my wife takes it upon herself to do it "as the Lotad do", and decides to mimic them as they do their thing. Seems innocent enough, wife is having fun, Ziggy and Lotad are overjoyed.

A few days ago, Ziggy arrives at my porch barking up a storm. I follow, and I find my wife, collapsed on the dirt, unresponsive, surrounded by Lotads and a bunch of overgrown tall grass.

I chase out the critters and bring her back home in a panic, call in the center nurses and they get her vitals: she's unharmed, though her heart rate and blood pressure is higher than normal.

She awakens.

She's had a very strange dream, she says. One moment she was dancing with the grass types, the other she was seeing the grand union of Groudon and Kyogre and such flowery nonsense. My wife is the spiritual type, and she'd say she's had a religious experience if her food was just a little too spicy, so I cautiously take it in stride. Nurses find nothing wrong, they say she's had a heatstroke or a dizzy spell, rangers have been notified and we move on.

Now, there's the issue:

I don't want her to spend any more time with wild ´mons, even if they meant nothing by it. Not if she could huff something foul and get herself sick - but I don't know if I'm making a mountain out of a diglett-hill either.

Do any of you know anything of this?

----------------------------------------

I almost tripped on a boulder as my eyes stayed glued to the screen. I caught myself, Petal stirring in my grasp as I held Tuula's phone with the other hand.

Tuula caught my shoulder and helped me continue walking as I looked at the enclosed video over and over, eyes blinking rapidly.

It was the same dance. The movements differed but the rhythm was the same - it was the same dance.

"Tuula, this is–"

"Shh-shh-shh. Skip to the end, Matsu. Check out that last post."

I returned my eyes to the screen. I didn't miss how Tuula's grin grew even wider.

----------------------------------------

Page 04 of 04

…

=> Nogueira Kukui PD

[Pokemon Professor]

Hey there! Everybody on this thread has done a fantastic job helping you so far, I got nothin to add myself.

I'm pretty late to the party, but I'd like to ask if your partner is still taking part in those Lotad ritual dances since then? I have a few questions to ask, if that's alright.

=> ADMIN

[Automated]

The topic of this thread has been answered. Thread locked and archived.

----------------------------------------

"...That's Professor Kukui? Our Kukui?"

"Yup." She popped her mouth at the end of that. "Sure is. I checked out the other posts he made, and everything. That's the real deal."

I pushed back Tuula's phone back in her hands and held a hand up to my forehead. The elusive Alolan professor had been a major public figure at the start of his career. My mom spoke glowingly of the man, from way back when she did her own trial. He knew everyone in Iki Town, so it was said, but relations had soured as he had become more and more busy during the last few years–

"The other posters mention a bunch of ideas; how it's like, maybe the woman huffed some spores or powder or whatever, that Lotads are harmless but Lombres are little fuckers, yadda yadda yadda– that shit doesn't matter. What matters is this." She tapped at Kukui's name, written right here on her screen. "Shame that we won't get to meet him ever. I guess you might, if you become a big shot scientist and whatnot. Or…"

"...Or?"

"Or we ask Hau. Hau asks his grandpa; if we're lucky, the Kahuna knows the professor well enough to get us a chance."

"I don't know… that's…" Hau wouldn't be too hard to convince. Having to tell him about our experience with the Melemele grass ritual would be a different problem entirely. Having to speak with the Kahuna would be scary but manageable.

The real issue was this;

I was nowhere ready to meet an actual professor. I knew nothing. To meet and ask something of the Pokemon Professor– I know I'd make a mockery of myself, I'd put my foot in my mouth, I would ruin my life if I went out of my way to waste the professor's time!

"...That's a lot of ifs." I could feel my face heat up. "Hau, Kahuna Hala, Professor Kukui– this is a lot of people to rope into this."

Tuula huffed, rolled her eyes and gave me a pout. "I mean yeah, but nothing will happen if we don't ask. We're nobodies. The worst they can say is no."

I couldn't say anything to that, so I kept my gaze forward and continued walking up the trail.

A silence set on our conversation, Tuula's eyes boring into the side of my face as I tried my best to ignore them. The sound of conversation ahead broke the lull as we neared the top of the trail. The others ahead had stopped walking, and for good reason.

We climbed over the hill and a great expense of sparkling blue greeted us from over the horizon; the sea, as seen from the eastern coast.

We had traveled around a half of the island on foot.

----------------------------------------

Groans and sighs echoed around us.

The long trek continued.

For a few days we followed the coastline south, traipsing through the narrow trail snaking up and down steeper and starker hills. The sun beat us with the fury of Ho-Oh themself. We were feeling the strain of walking for such a long period of time, feet raw and aching, shirts drenched in sweat, bags stuck a little too close to our skin–

The novelty of traveling was seriously starting to wear off. All I wanted was a long and nice shower, Tapus above!

Beyond that, there was much I wanted to show Oran Juice the Dunsparce, now that we were approaching civilization. He and Petal had reached a clear understanding - maybe they'd even become friends - and I longed to be able to spend some time with my Pokemon just being able to enjoy the amenities of Hau'oli.

But not any time soon - for now, we still had days of mountainous terrain to cover.

We stopped under the shade of a rocky outcropping for the evening.

Roots and dry grass hung from the top and draped over the sides, providing us with cover from the evening sun. Tuula, Lilliane, our Pokemon and I sat on the ground, bodies falling over in exertion, breath coming out in ragged spurts. Rui and Hau had put down their stuff, and were starting to set up camp as Rui's Rattata scampered between their legs.

While we couldn't see Pokemon, we'd occasionally hear them – distant hoots of Mankey and caws of roosting Vullabies that had thus far given us a wide berth.

"Oh shit! Hold on, I'm getting news!"

Sawney looked up from his phone with an excited smile on his face - reception had been very spotty over the past few days, internet came and went, and he had been waving his phone in the air for a while now this afternoon.

Hau moved to stand behind him, followed by Tuula casting a curious look over Sawney's shoulder as Sawney scrolled through something on his phone.

"Hey, Abi and Cora made it!" Hau exclaimed suddenly. "They took on the first Trial yesterday, and looks like it went well!"

Tuula cracked a small grin. "So did Spencer and his goons. Others of the class are finally catching up."

They were. News of the other groups had been very sparse, and while I hadn't connected much with others over the years, I still hoped they were doing good - their future prospects depended on it!

"...How many of us passed, now?"

"Let me check." Sawney scrolled up, counted up in his head, tongue sticking out in concentration. "I think Chloé's group was the first to pass, then Herbie's–" He looked up at me for a second and pointed. "You guys might have been the third. The twins and I were the fourth. With Abi's group and Spencer's, that makes over half the class passing the first trial!"

"Yeesh, looks like the Mercado triplets and Janice's group failed it on their second go, though," Tuula winced. "Big yikes."

Hau rubbed the back of his head and uttered. "Both the Mercados and Janice? Shit, that is bad."

Where were they getting all of this from, though? I didn't know that Sawney kept contact with so many other members of the class…

"Is it that surprising that practically everybody failed their first Trial once?" It was Lilliane's voice that suddenly pulled the three others out of their huddle around Sawney's phone. She caught herself quickly under the attention, and followed it with "It's just– I'm simply very used to hearing about young trainers on their gym challenge throwing themselves at the first gym over and over until they get it right. Failing once or twice is practically a given."

"...That's a cool world you live in, but that's not how it was last year," Tuula pointed out. "What was it– Spencer's brother and his friends were on their Challenge last year and breezed through the first four Trials with no problem. Then he got to the Akala Grand Trial and hit a wall. They did like three attempts and gave up."

"...Three is– not a lot of attempts– wasn't there more time? Couldn't they have tried again?"

"I guess, but it wouldn't amount to anything. Here, if you fail the same trial twice in a row, it's– well, you're still allowed to take it again, but at this point it's game over. Nobody believes you'll pass it." Tuula gave her a shrug and a shake of the head. "I don't know about his team-mates, but I know Spencer's bro quickly swapped to doing some kind of internship for home building or whatever, so good for him."

Lilliane looked back disbelieving, gaze drifting from Tuula to Hau, to Sawney then to me. I only gave her a shrug – that's just how it is, here. What could I say!

"Wait, wait wait– hold on. There's more. Look at this."

Sawney turned his phone to face Tuula, Hau, Lilliane and I and played a video.

A massive amphitheater carved into the earth, decorated in colorful banderoles and fabric- by comparison, not that many people in the audience, only a few dozen. The video focused onto the center and we saw the arena come into view. A few trees, a few boulders, an artificial river dividing the arena roughly – and on opposite sides, the Kahuna and his opponents.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Kahuna Hala stood arm crossed, stoic and imposing, letting a Meditite fight of his own accord. The little Fighting type vaulted around the battlefield with graceful flips, fighting back against powerful winds and struggling to reach his adversary.

On the other side, Chloé and two other teens stood, anxiety on their faces. Chloé flipped back her platinum silver hair with one tanned hand and thrust the other in front of her, giving a confident order.

Once more, her Dratini let out a shriek and blue energy swelled around it. Winds picked up with it at the center, a small hurricane – no, a Twister – buffeting the grass and rocking the trees, pushing back its Fighting type opponent.

Kahuna Hala gave a sudden bark of an order and the Meditite shot a wave of force at the Dratini from its palm– that crashed against a shimmering protective dome around the Dragon type.

I blinked, and the Meditite had disappeared – wait, no, it had moved so fast I couldn't see it – and it stood inside of the Dratini's Protect, having Feint-ed through. It didn't stop there, battering its opponent with powerful Force Palms that forced it back– up until the Dragon type leaned into it, wrapped the Fighting type within its coils and squeezed, then smashed its helpless prey into the active Protect once, twice, thrice– until the Meditite stopped moving entirely.

"Hey, what the fuck." "Yeah holy shit." "Yikes."

Kahuna Hala recalled his Pokemon, then moved forward to the center of the arena to congratulate the trio on their successful Grand Trial.

"...That was around two days ago. So, yeah. That's Grand Trial number one, I guess." Sawney handed off his phone to Hau, and it passed hands, everybody taking a look at the footage. "That's gonna make waves on the forums - if it hasn't already."

"...Congratulations to her, I suppose." Lilliane replied as she declined to take a look, then dropped the phone in my hands. "I guess we know who you'll be competing against then, Hau? Looks like she trained that Dratini well."

Clang clang clang!

We all turned to the source of the sound– Rui Tuari, his face black with anger, having dropped his tent supplies.

"Trained it my ass– I don't wanna fucking believe that she trained that thing to that level in just three weeks. That shit's fucking unfair."

He crouched down to pick up his dropped things, hands shaking in frustration. Hau held up his hands and approached, speaking softly to the other boy.

Where did this come from, anyway?

Minimizing the video, I couldn't help but take a look at the text conversation that Sawney had pulled this footage from. Messages of congratulations from people I recognized as my classmates. At the top, the title "Cool Kids' Club". The side had listed who was online and who was not: Chloé and her teammates, Abi's team, the Mercados, Sawney himself though no signs of the Tuari twins–

…Wait.

Did this group convo have over half of the class in it?

Why wasn't I invited to it?

"Hakalaua, get the fuck out." On one end of our shelter, Rui's voice rose and threatened to creep up to a shout. Everyone stopped their commentary and turned to Hau and Rui's exchange.

The male twin had risen to his full height and looked at Hau with death in his eyes. The other teen had put his hands up, and seemed at a loss of what to say.

"I don't want you saying that to my fucking face." Rui's tone rose higher. "You don't get to fucking baby me."

"...I'm not trying to baby you, dude. We're all friends and equals here."

"We're not equals, and I'm not your friend," Rui lashed out, arm whipping out in a violent motion. "You don't get to tell me that it's fair that Chloé has all the money she wants for a regional Starter, and a Dragon, and a TM! It's too– it's too easy for you to say. Look at you."

"Uh– what?" Hau jerked away, taken aback. "What about me?"

"Do I have to spell it out? Starter that evolved at the first fucking Trial? Kahuna's grandson? You're just like her. You were born with a silver spoon lodged in your asshole. Wake the fuck up."

Hau winced and gritted his teeth. Lilliane, Tuula, Sawney, our Pokemon, we all looked at one another. I struggled to register the situation, conflicting emotions rose through me like a storm– This was not the time to think about this! We had to stop the boys from coming to blows–

Tuula slowly approached her brother, brows furrowed, caution coloring her face. "...Hey Rui, let's just get out for a second–"

Rui took a sudden step forward and Hau jerked back. "Why are you not fighting back?! Defend yourself!"

"You're not my enemy, man, I got nothing against you. I don't want to upset you."

"I'm already upset. I'm upset you're not taking me fucking seriously." Rui grabbed a Pokeball from his bag and we all tensed– "Let your Pokemon do the talking. We're gonna fight."

Hau's fingers flexed, grasping at the air, frustration turning to something like anger. His mouth opened to contest the decision but before he could say anything– Loa slinked out of the shade.

Her tail whipped. Her back arched and her hairs rose tall. Her bell organ at her neck flared with volatile sparks, embers falling visibly at the ground below and leaving a dusting of glowing ash.

She glared at Rui and lowered her head, keeping her eyes locked, answering the challenge.

For a second, her head turned to Hau. He tried to shake his head no. Loa glared only the harder until Hau gave off a defeated sigh.

"Fine." Hau capitulated.

----------------------------------------

Outside, the evening sun colored Route 3 in orange and purple hues.

To the west, our makeshift shelter rested underneath a small rocky hill - a few paces beyond, the start of the jungle and the official limit to the route. The distant setting sun outlined the jungle tree top in a golden glow, as long shadows stretched from the canopy.

To the east, after a hundred feet or so, the ground started to slope down into the distant shore.

For now, we would make do with what flat space we could find.

Golden drygrass lined our makeshift arena. The field would be mostly coarse earth peppered with boulders and patches of thick, tangled roots. A large crooked tree loomed above, its trunk starting from around the arena center.

"Standard league rules," Lilliane enunciated. She fiddled with a rock in her hands for a second, as uneasy about the situation as we nearly all were. "One on one. First to faint or surrender loses. We begin once this stone touches the ground."

For a second, she looked at Rui, then at Hau. One boy threw his pokeball rhythmically in the air, Rattata recently recalled, an angry gaze focused intently at that Iki Town teen. The other boy stood on the other side of the field with clear frustration in his face – frustration and bitterness. Maybe Rui's harsh words had finally gotten to him and he'd begun to feel genuine anger.

I couldn't help but be caught in it, too – I was angry at Rui for going so far to make a battle happen. I was hurt at the idea of Sawney having kept a secret from me since the start of the Challenge. I was frustrated with myself for being so foolish.

Tuula, Sawney, our Pokemon and I made the audience for this match. Tuula sat on the ground with her Spinda sitting in her lap. Sawney had recalled his Grubbin, taken his phone and started to record– and so I squeezed my Oddish a little closer to my chest.

Lilliane held up the rock that would signal the start of the match. Her Ledyba stayed close, ready to intercept a stray attack with a Barrier or a Light Screen.

With a deft motion, the rock was thrown and fell.

Thump.

"Begin!"

Two pokeballs flew through the air in a blur.

Loa the Torracat materialized first. She hit the ground on her four paws, her heavier weight pushing her sharp nails into the earth and gravel. Her golden eyes scanned the field and immediately she bolted forward.

Killer the Rattata appeared in a heartbeat. All I saw, for a second, was a glimpse of his form: bristly black fur, twitching whiskers– and was that some kind of scarf he was wearing? Light grey fabric wrapped around the rat's throat, keeping secured some sort of spherical lump...

In other circumstances, it would be hard to call the rattata killer, but in the blink of an eye - "Quick attack!" - he disappeared and I was ready to rescind my statement.

Loa fell upon Killer's position– and there the Rattata had already zoomed away in a blur of white, the Torracat's claws lacerating the barren ground and throwing dust around. Loa's eyes narrowed and she repositioned her back leg, surging to Killer's position– only to find empty air.

Still, her weight crashed onto the ground and left deep furrows behind. The Rattata had moved again, his eyes shining red from under a narrow tangle of roots closer to the tree.

For a second, we held our breaths.

The Torracat's stance widened, back arching and head lowering to the ground, paws pushing and digging into the earth. Her flame sac flared and burst with glowing embers, red dots falling onto the ground below. For a second, I couldn't help but root for her opponent, so small in comparison; If Loa could get her paws on him, the fight would end in an instant.

Two orders were thrown; cat and mouse clashed. Loa rushed down to the ground and her paw squeezed through the narrow knots, wood creaking against her strength, claws scrambling and drawing streaks wherever it can reach– another blur of movement and Killer had jumped up onto the feline, bit into her shoulder and sprung away once more.

Loa hissed and recoiled. She repositioned, scanned her surroundings frantically, eyes narrowing and locking onto the Rattata, standing perched on a nearby boulder.

In a mad rush, Loa surged to Killer and unleashed a flurry of attacks: a strike of her meaty paw, crashing onto stone, a dart of flame grazing black fur, and with a spin her tail smashed against the Rattata's chest. He was thrown a few paces away, rolled and stumbled on the ground until he caught and righted himself up with exertion.

On one end, the Rattata's breath came out in gasping, erratic spurts, wind taken out of him.

On the other, the Torracat clearly cradled her hurting paw, having struck solid stone with her Fury Attack.

"Rui, this sucks!" Hau snapped out. "You're allowed to be angry and all but I can't help but feel like I'm the wrong target, here!"

Rui stomped the ground and gritted his teeth "You're exactly the right target. You're a rich privileged fuck who gets to have everything handed to him."

"...If you wanna talk to my grandpa, it shouldn't be a problem!"

"You shouldn't get to meet the Kahuna because you just asked his grandson, goddamnit! That the fuckin opposite of what I wanna hear!"

"Then stop yelling and tell me what you want, then!"

A sharp impact lit up the clearing suddenly– Rui's Rattata rolling off with smoke trailing off his form. Loa had shot a quick Ember without Hau's order and it had finally found its mark.

My heart thumped in my ears. A few paces between us and the field, Lilliane's shoulders relaxed – her duty would surely finish soon–

Drips of liquid fell from Killer's maw. His jaw bit into a blue fruit - rawst berry - held tight in the grey scarf he wore for it. His burn wounds slowly receded, and he slowly ambled up to an upright position, ready for battle once more.

"This one was a fucking freebie, Hakalaua," Rui asserted. "Next time you won't be so lucky. Killer, Laser Focus!"

Killer's stance straightened. In the span of a breath, his pupils contracted, all four limbs tensed, and he prepared to leap–

The Torracat crashed into his position – the Rattata's shining eyes hidden under her chest – she raked her claws back – and Killer scrambled up her shoulder, biting deep into one ear–

I shook my eyes, vision feeling like it was starting to blur. It wasn't that the Rattata was any faster than he was before - it was that he was far, far more reactive, and it became all the harder to follow his movements properly. Could his senses be stronger, as well?

Turning my head around, I saw other spectators similarly stumped; Sawney's eyes drifted from his recording phone to the fight repeatedly as though one was going to be easier to watch than the other, while Tuula gnawed nervously on a nail as her Spinda cheered eagerly on her lap.

"Rrra-yowl!"

A loud wail from the Torracat brought me back to the fight.

The cat and mouse's back and forth had brought them closer to the central tree. Loa stood awkwardly with one back leg raised, back arched, blood running down from a piercing wound on her ankle. Two more wounds marked her ear and shoulder.

Killer hid once more into the tangle of roots, the reflection of light in his eyes the only sign of his presence.

Fury danced in Loa's eyes. Her throat sac glowed brighter than before, accompanied by ringing sound buzzing louder and louder.

"Loa! Snap out of it!" Hau cried out, his tone tinged with growing panic. "Shoot Embers on the ground around yourself, you can breathe it but he can't!"

She registered it only a little too late, acting on Hau's order not before Killer got a chance to bite into her front paw. She pushed off the Rattata and breathed a fine stream of fire at her feet - no longer single globs of fire but a surge of fine flames licking at the roots and sending them ablaze.

All of us took a step back - what was Hau doing? Did he want to set fire to the whole clearing?? I saw Lilliane keep an eye on the growing flames, getting ready to stomp on it if need be. I understood how one would start being reckless during a fight, but we weren't exactly in an enclosed arena where fire wouldn't spread…

Nevertheless the Torracat had surrounded herself in a wall of fire. She stood painfully on her feet, two legs aching from her wounds, strength starting to fail her.

The Rattata had hidden behind a boulder. Though he'd only taken one hit - exhaustion was still clearly apparent, and the strain of keeping up Laser Focus had taken its toll. His whiskers twitched as he took in quick swift breaths, and surely breathing in the slowly growing cloud of smoke would make everything worse.

"I have nothing to prove, Rui– I'm not here to undermine you or whatever."

"Tch," Rui scoffed, and he let out a disappointed sigh. "You've proven that you stand for nothing alright, Hakalaua. Nothing at all."

Hau gritted his teeth. "Loa, we have one shot at this. Get ready."

Rui's eyes did not move away from the fight; silence his only response.

Nothing but the sound of embers crackled on the field.

Two sudden blurs of movement, two voices barked out separate orders–

"Take Down!"

"Counter!"

Somehow my eyes kept up.

Killer rushed from below, the white of his eyes tracing a faint line through the air, dust clouds left in his wake.

Loa tensed. Her ears followed the Rattata's movement and she flexed open her jaws, fire gathering at her fangs, charging a move that had nothing to do with Counter–

The Rattata pivoted, leaped onto the tree trunk and jumped from it to crash headfirst into Loa's temple.

Loa's eyes went blank.

Fire in her maw fizzled out, as did the flames around her as control over her energy dissipated.

She toppled and crashed onto the ground, unmoving. Killer the Rattata landed next to her, limbs trembling.

We all held our breath.

Three seconds passed.

"Hau's Torracat has fainted. Rui wins."

----------------------------------------

The aftermath of this battle resolved itself in a strangely muted way.

There had been no gloating from the victor. Rui had looked at Hau as though he expected something more, but Hau had just frozen in place, disbelief in his eyes. Rui simply returned his starter, and got to his tent.

A few seconds after, Hau rushed to his Pokemon's side and gently gave her first aid, hands trembling. Lilliane had joined his side soon after. For the first time in my life, I heard the faint sobbing of a fifteen year old boy.

I tentatively approached, and laid a hand on his trembling back.

We wouldn't understand the ramifications of this loss until the next day.

It had begun with the sound of rustling. The usual echo of one's body tossing and turning, of claws and fur against fabric, tearing, the pitter-patter of paws on the ground.

Then had come confused mumbling, a pause from shock and disbelief, speech growing quicker and quicker with panic and now Hau's voice now loud enough that we'd all peeked out of our tents with our heart in our throat–

Hau had stepped out of his tent. The latter's entrance had been ripped open, faint scorch marks reflecting on the plastic and the ground.

The boy was breathing quickly– too quickly for comfort. Eyes open wide and unfocused. He'd paused on his tracks for a second, seemed to come back to his senses as he saw us, and he gasped:

"Loa took her ball and left."

No-one moved.

"I'm going after her," he rasped,

then rushed after the trail of embers

off route, into the jungle.