Leo woke to the sounds of rain hitting palm tree leaves, and with a yawn he sat up to look outside his little shelter. The sun was just starting to rise in the distance, where the skies were clear, while rain dropped from the dark grey clouds overhead, providing a crisp chill to the usually incredibly humid air. The smell of rain filled his nostrils and he let out a content sigh, stretching out on his bed of palm leaves.
Two months he had been here, and he'd spent all but three days out in the wilds of Alola. And wasn't that something he hadn't really been expecting – wilderness. Truthfully Leo had been expecting something like Hawaii; a chain of islands that were relatively large, but nothing too big. He expected to be able to hike across Melemele Island in a day – but no. The islands were big, big enough that it took Leo a full week to cross from one end to the other, and sparsely populated enough that he could go hide in the dense jungle without seeing anyone for a while. Unless he sought them out.
"Ready to get up and at 'em, bud?" Leo asked rhetorically, gently pushing the still-sleeping Zuko away from his legs and rolling off of his sleeping mat, crouching in the low-hanging ceiling of his shelter and dusting off the dirt and twigs that stuck to him.
"Bell!" Link called, wandering in from outside and dripping from the rain. In his little hands he carried a small wooden bowl Leo had carved himself filled with berries and a few multi-colored pokebeans; his breakfast for the day.
"Right on time as always," Leo praised, popping one of the beans in his mouth and biting down. It hard, dry, and had little flavor, but they were excellent sources of nourishment and as such were perfect survival food. Link nodded and set the bowl down, twirling once then wandering back out from the small shelter – well, Leo says small. It was large enough for him, Zuko, Diana, and even Santiago when he felt like it to lay under comfortably. The roof was built of thick tree limbs to hold everything together and multiple layers of palm leaves, tilted so water would run off rather than gather on the roof.
It'd taken trial and error to get it properly done, but after a week and two good rainstorms he'd figured it out. Still had a bit of a wind problem, but it wasn't bad considering the shelter was built in a decent grove of trees that protected from most of the wind.
"Today's the day we need to go back to town to give Professor Oak a call, right? To check in? I'm sure Samson would appreciate us checking in too, y'know, to make sure we're still alive and all that," Leo reasoned aloud, munching on his breakfast and staring out into the world. His shelter was built atop a small hill, just high enough that he could see the glittering blue ocean just over the tops of the palm trees. A sailboat with neon orange sails slowly cut its way across the water, only visible as a bright orange dot.
"Quil," Zuko replied with a yawn, stretching and blinking at Leo. Leo nodded.
"Yeah, we've had a few lazy days recently. Some battles with actual trainers and a nice hike will do us some good. Today we head back to town; now I just have to round everyone up," Leo said, finishing off his breakfast and putting on some clothes. Really he only put on his shorts – as filthy as they were from two months out in the dirt and wild – and slid out into the now-drizzle. This kind of weather was actually common in Alola – where it was raining one place, but just over the next hill or just off in the distance the sun was shining and the skies were blue.
Link stood off to the side, spinning and dancing in the rain with a giant grin on his face. Leo smiled as he watched, having decided to take the day off of training himself – off days were important – but after a few moments put a move on. He grabbed his teams pokeballs and slid them into his pockets along with Spiritomb's keystone, patting each one to make sure they were all there.
Diana was already recalled, having not wanted to stay out in the rain. Plus she was usually too restless to sleep the entire night anyway…
Who knew that a rock cocoon could be so lively?
"Zuko, Link, with me. Let's go find Santi," Leo whistled, waking Zuko up – who stretched and yawned, and breaking Link out of his routine. The little grass type happily trotted over to Leo and held his hands up in a demand to be lifted, a demand he complied with, bending down and picking him up to set on his shoulder.
"Bell!" Link cried pointing his arm towards the ocean dramatically.
"I'm going, I'm going. Man, I feel like your steed or something," Leo chuckled, whistling for Zuko, who darted forward ahead of him and disappeared into the undergrowth.
There wasn't much moving in the jungle yet thanks to the rain, though Leo figured that would rectify itself soon. By the time he had reached the beach, where Santiago usually liked to hang out, the drizzle had slowed to become almost non-existent, leaving the plants wet and shining in the early morning light. Santiago himself stood at the edge of the water, looking out over the waves with his arms clasped behind his back.
Leo suppressed a laugh as he snuck up, carefully pushing through the last of the jungle growth and bare feet making no noise in the soft, wet sand.
"Whatcha doin'?!" he called loudly right next to Santiago, slapping his shoulder and making the Slowking jump. Leo cackled and danced backwards as his starter whirled on him, one paw swinging to try and cuff him on the back of the head. "You left yourself wide open, bud," he said, grinning.
Santiago huffed and snorted in annoyance, but Leo could still see the smile on his face so he counted that as a win.
"Plan is to head back to town today. I've had my fun, and we need to check in with the Professor again. Probably see about hitting the island challenge soon as well; you and Diana have had plenty of time to get used to your new power and bodies," Leo said. Santiago nodded, closing his eyes and heaving a breath. "Don't give me that, we can't have lazy days all the time. Besides, there's plenty of island to explore! Not to mention other islands to see, and a thousand watering holes to go fishing in. That, and we've got so many fights to pick,"
Santiago hesitated for a split second, and Leo knew that he'd hooked his partner. If there was one way to get him to go anywhere, it was with the promise of battle and fishing. He loved it, and it was quite the sight to see a Slowking holding a fishing pole, luring fish to bite the lure with his psychic powers.
That part was absolutely cheating, but hey. It meant they ate fresh fish almost every day. Magikarp and Goldeen tasted good. And so did Tentacool, actually. They were a little harder to eat because Leo had to carefully extract the poison sacs – he had a book the described the process and showed pictures, a surprisingly simple process once you figure it out – but afterwards? Oh, Leo had forgotten how much he missed calamari, even if it wasn't fried. Granted, a few times they'd caught feral pokemon – the intelligent kind of pokemon, not "domestic" which were animal-levels of intelligence and used as food sources – and Leo had to toss them back, but that was to be expected.
It was surprisingly simple to tell the difference between feral and domestic 'mon. The feral ones typically were bigger, stronger, and had a certain…look in their eyes. Personality, intelligence. That sort of thing.
"Yes," Santiago said slowly, enunciating the word carefully. Leo slapped him on the shoulder.
"Great, let's get going then. We've pretty much got everyone rounded up now," Leo said with a grin. Santiago nodded, and Leo immediately turned and headed back up to his camp. It only took a half hour for him to get everything reorganized and to tear down his makeshift shelter – he didn't intend to really return, and it had served its purpose – slinging his backpack over his shoulder and grabbing the guitar Gary gave him, stored safely in its case and wrapped in a plastic trash bag just to be sure, before heading off in the direction of Iki town. Santiago lumbered along behind him through the jungle, Zuko romping ahead chasing after Cutiefly and various non-pokemon bugs, while Link walked a little way ahead of Leo. The Bellossom occasionally bent to pick up a stick that caught his interest, or to sniff a flower. But he never strayed too far, and always looked ready to act if the need arose.
It was maybe an hour into the hike that Leo started frowning at the rapidly darkening sky, the clouds having returned with a vengeance and rumbling with thunder. He was still a good two to three hours away from Iki town, his camp had been set up somewhere off of route one, not too far from the Kala'e Bay – or so he figured, he was still figuring out the layout of the island– and didn't want to get caught out in the rain again.
He was still wary about storms, and this one seemed to have whipped itself up out of nowhere.
"If it starts dumping I'll need to return Zuko," Leo muttered, Spiritomb whispering in agreement. With a grunt he stepped over a bush and pushed aside some dense leaves, revealing a small clearing filled with dense green grass. Zuko stood just at the edge next to Link, sniffing the air curiously as Leo admired the view…for a split second.
Before he even had time to think a yellow flash of light blinded him, the crack of thunder setting his ears to ringing as he stumbled backwards with a yelp of pain. He hissed and blinked away spots, shaking his head to clear it – his sight and hearing returning with surprising speed, revealing the shadowy tendrils of Spiritomb swirling around him protectively and the meadow itself now ruined from the lightning strike. Or, more importantly, the pokemon responsible for said lightning strike.
Lightning crackled around the outside of the Tapu's yellow and black shell. With deliberate slowness it cracked open, revealing the slim orange body of the legendary pokémon and piercing eyes that bore right into Leo, who swallowed thickly. With a mighty shriek the Tapu shoved its arms apart and burst with power, electricity racing across the meadow, wreathing the ground in lightning. Its intentions could not be clearer as it give Leo and his pokémon – who had stepped forward protectively – a challenging look. It danced back and forth in anticipation, bouncing like a boxer before a fight.
"BATTLE," he demanded in a voice like booming thunder, rattling through the trees. Zuko growled, his back-fires flaring. Santiago growled, water building up in the back of his throat. Link whipped one of his leaves from his skirt and held it like a sword, and Spiritomb hissed.
Leo, on the other hand, just stared at the Tapu incredulously. There was no way it had waited until he was ready to battle seriously – until Diana and Santiago were used to their evolutionary forms – to reveal itself, just so it could fight him. Could it?
"You didn't really wait until we were all ready to battle to come here, did you?" Leo asked. The Tapu paused in his dancing to cock his head to the side curiously, then nodded happily.
"YES," he said. "NOW BATTLE ME, MOON-TOUCHED OTHERWORLDER,"
"For the love of – fine, fine! You all up for a fight?!" Leo shouted, letting Diana out of her pokeball. His team responded in the affirmative and Tapu Koko made a happy noise.
"GOOD! COME, ALL OF YOU!" he cried.
And all hell broke loose.
"Sunny day!" Leo ordered, and Zuko flared up as Link knelt, focusing their powers to create a ball of heat and light that floated between the two of them. Tapu Koko whirred, electricity crackling off of his form and blasting out in a massive wave – only for an entire section of it to be blocked by Diana, caused a spire of rock to burst from the ground, absorbing part of the attack. Santiago closed his eyes, gem flashing as psychic energy built up. Whatever he was planning, Leo left him to it.
The Tapu wasn't still after his attack was blocked, crashing through the rock with his shield-like arms and sending stones flying towards his team – stones that were mostly grabbed mid-air by a psychic from Santiago and sent hurtling back towards the Tapu, cracking against his shell with such force the stones shattered. Diana shot forward to intercept with the roar of a jet engine, but was knocked away when the Tapu violently spun, redirecting her momentum and sending her crashing through the jungle.
That small diversion was enough for Zuko and Link to finish charging up their sunny day, and as Santiago blasted Tapu Koko with a wave of psychic force and Spiritomb spat a shadow ball at him, the glowing ball of heat shot into the sky. The clouds instantly cleared, chased away by the intense heat of the false sun, and Zuko and Link blurred into action. Fire washed over the Tapu's shields and Link leapt in front of a thunderbolt aimed at Santiago, soaking up the worst of the damage with a grimace.
"Diana! Unbalance!" Leo bellowed over the sounds of combat, hoping she could hear him. His command was answered swiftly and with extreme prejudice, spires of stone bursting from the ground and knocking Tapu Koko to the side, knocking his shields apart long enough for Leo and the legendary to lock eyes once again.
There was no mistaking the unbridled glee in his eyes. The Tapu was enjoying this.
"All out! Beat him down!" Leo roared out in command. Attacks surged on the Tapu, Santiago prying his shields apart with sheer psychic force and an audible grinding of his teeth; Zuko immediately peppering him with embers and swift stars and a massive sunny-day powered heatwave; Diana came hurtling out of the jungle at full speed, intent on body-checking Tapu Koko; Spiritomb unleashed its tendrils, slapping at the legendary's exposed body; and Link began to sling solarbeams, swinging his leaf like a sword and unleashing screaming blasts of light from the tip.
Tapu Koko weathered the attacks for the few moments it took Diana to approach…then blurred into action. Suddenly he was above Diana, one shield bashing her into the ground with such force she left a crater. Leo didn't even have time to curse as the Legendary sped forward, smacking his shield into Zuko with a burst of yellow lightning, knocking him out with a single blow.
Leo fumbled for Zuko and Diana's pokeballs as the legendary sped forward, tanking another psychic from Santiago before smacking him with his shield and a thunderbolt for good measure. To his credit, Santiago did not fall from that. He skidded backwards, gem flashing brilliantly as he bellowed out in rage and defiance against the legendary, who screeched back with glee.
Link interrupted him, darting forward as a little green blur, sliding into Tapu Koko's guard with a leaf blade coming to bear, intent on striking him…only to be blasted away by a massive discharge, knocking out Santiago and sending Link flying away. Spiritomb hissed in anger as its shadows swirled around Leo, shielding him from the few stray bolts of lightning that came too close for comfort.
"Return!" Leo said, shocked by the sudden destruction of his team. Santiago, Zuko, and Diana were all returned swiftly, but Link slowly stood from where he had fallen to the ground. "Link," Leo started, and a small glance from the grass-type told him everything he needed to know. Any hesitation was swallowed, and Leo locked eyes with Tapu Koko, who was bouncing back and forth like an excitable child.
"Show him what you're made of," he said, and Link was off. Bolts of lightning struck from the Tapu at Link, who shouted in defiance and spun quickly, whipping up a storm of leaves and petals that deflected the worst of the electric attack. All the while he glowed with a healing light, the rays of the sunny day strengthening his synthesis.
"Solar blade!" Leo commanded, and Link whipped his leaf blade to the side as he charged, leaping into the air, up over the Tapu, and swinging down with his leaf blade to unleash a slashing line of burning solar energy that struck the legendary and made him stumble. Link couldn't actually use solar blade, but they'd come up with the leaf blade/solar beam combo regardless.
The Tapu whirled and bashed with his shield but Link spun away, kicking off of his shield to get some distance. He continued to back up when he landed, dancing across the ground in a quiver dance all while the petal blizzard raged about him.
"GOOD!" the Tapu roared, and Leo knew it was over for Link. The scent of ozone filled the air and Link squeaked out his best imitation of a roar in defiance, charging the biggest solar beam Leo had ever seen him make in a matter of seconds. But the high-powered attack was no match for the legendary pokemon's power, a streak of lightning bursting from his body and blasting straight through the solar beam, knocking Link unconscious. Leo returned him, thanked him for his hard work, and turned his attention back to the Tapu.
He still had one pokemon left, and Spiritomb was ready and raring to go.
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…though he said that, Spiritomb wasn't actually attacking, and hadn't been for a moment yet. The ghost hovered around Leo protectively, hissing and screeching at the legendary pokemon even as its ectoplasmic body roiled and twisted, seemingly caught in indecision.
Attack, or protect Leo? He could almost feel that question burning in his connection with the ghost – something that, most days, just faded into the background anymore.
"YOU…ARE NOT WHOLE," the Tapu boomed, cocking his head to the side curiously as he stared at Spiritomb. "THIS BROKEN CREATURE. WHERE DID YOU FIND IT?"
Leo scowled at the Tapu.
"Spiritomb isn't broken. I met Spiritomb at the Burned Tower, if you know what that is. A sacred building built for Lugia by humans. A…friend asked me to help it, and I've been trying to," Leo said, patting his pocket where Spiritomb's keystone resided.
"I WILL NOT FIGHT IT, IF IT IS NOT ITSELF YET. STILL TOO MANY VOICES. HEAL IT," the Tapu said. "HELP IT FIND ITS TRUE FORM. THEN COME FIGHT!" Leo scowled at the legendary as he puffed his chest out proudly, the plume of feathers on his head fluffing themselves.
"Sure, yeah, maybe, if you answer some questions for me," Leo demanded. The Tapu cocked his head to the side and deflated a bit. "Don't look at me like that, Lunala dropped me off in the middle of the mountains with no explanation. Then you come by, decimate my team, and I still have no answers. I even met Celebi, and she didn't give me any real answers besides showing me a vision of the future! I've got a good friend out there and haven't been able to contact him either! So please, please, give me some help here,"
"I DO HELP. A LITTLE. YOU NEED STRENGTH. OTHERWORLDERS MIGHT SENSE YOU, COME FIGHT YOU. I TEST, YOU TOO WEAK. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO DO, WHO TO SEEK. MEET THE MOON AND SUN. LEARN THE DANCE," the Tapu boomed. Spiritomb hissed as he bent his head and swung one shield-arm forward, tossing up a spray of dust. In that spray was a glittering object, and Leo snatched it out of the air as it passed harmlessly through Spiritomb's shadows. Then, with a cry and a crackle of electricity, the Tapu shot into the sky and vanished, dispersing the sunny day before vanishing into the sky. Leo stared up at the sky for a moment, then glanced down at the stone in his hands.
It sparkled, unrefined and dirty though it was. He really hoped this was what he thought it was, even if he was still supremely annoyed at the Tapu.
Man, he thought he was getting stronger too. That battle put things into perspective for him.
"C'mon, Spiritomb, let's go to Iki town. After that battle everyone needs some healing," Leo said, then paused as he surveyed the battlefield. What was once an idyllic clearing in the jungle was now a mess of torn-up ground and scorched plants.
All that destruction, and they had hardly managed to put a scratch on the Tapu.
"I think their egos are going to be more bruised than their bodies, however," Leo said with a rueful chuckle. Spiritomb joined him in the small laugh as he started walking again, Leo thanking the Tapu mentally for at least showing some restraint in beating his team.
Though that thanks was mostly overshadowed by his cursing and grumbling at the legendary for being vague, and for picking a fight in the first place.
He still had a lot of jungle to walk through.
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Iki town was an old town, with hints of the modern. Most of the homes were traditional Alolan – wooden buildings with roofs made of palm fronds layered atop each other. The few modern buildings were mostly quality of life things – the clinic for example, as well as the small police station. But as for the three restaurants and the grocery store? All traditionally Alolan, albeit with a few modern amenities stored away inside. They kept ahold of their traditions, but didn't deny that technology just made things so much easier.
The coolest things about Iki town, however, was that it was built around the pokemon battling arena at the center of town. With how much importance the Alolan people placed on battling, it made sense in a way. In fact, as Leo walked through one end of the town towards the other, where the clinic was located, he noticed at least three different pokemon battles all happening at once. Two were on little side-streets and were just casual battles, kids fighting with Yungoos and Rattatta, but the third was more serious. Two teenagers battled on the large arena in the center of town, watched over by their elders, their two bird pokemon duking it out.
Leo watched them for a few minutes before moving on towards the clinic so he could get his team healed, and make a video call to the Professor. While it wasn't a pokémon center, and thereby not held to the same standards as the Joys, it was still excellent.
Alola had gotten on fine without the Joys for centuries – in fact, they only started allowing true pokemon centers to be built on their islands in the past twenty years, when globalization really started to become a thing. Places like Iki town stuck to their roots and local healers. Not a bad thing, really, and the services were relatively cheap.
So he left his team with the medical staff on duty, save for Spiritomb who was still ok, and proceeded to hop on the video phones located off to the side, much like a pokemon center. They were dated, but they did do inter-regional calls so that was good enough. It took a good five minutes for the call to connect with Professor Oak, who looked bleary-eyed and tired. Leo stared for a moment, mentally calculating the time-difference, and frowned when he recalled that it was eight o'clock in the morning in Kanto compared to mid-afternoon here. The Professor was usually up and about at this time and had been for hours – he looked far too tired for just that.
"How are you, Professor?" Leo asked cheerily, despite his confusion over the Professor's disheveled state.
"Ah, Leo. I was wondering who this was. How are you?"
"Good, just calling to check in. Santiago and Diana have finished acclimating to their evolutions, so I figured I'd try to start the Island Challenge now. Any ideas where to start for that? I was going to ask your cousin Samson too, but I wound up calling you first," Leo said.
"Other than talking to the Kahunas, I haven't the faintest idea. How is my dear cousin by the way? Seen him recently?" he asked, a little bit of life returning to his face at the line of questioning.
"Not really. I've stopped by to say hi a few times since I got here but for the most part I've been running about in the jungle like a wild child," Leo said, shaking his head. The Professor grinned as the video feed flickered slightly, distorted by the distance.
"You know, he told me when I first mentioned you coming to Alola that he was going to put you in his school and give you an education. He gave me quite the earful about allowing you to ditch school so much when you were younger – and as strange as it is for me to say, it does give me a small measure of satisfaction that you've done the same to him," he said with a chuckle.
"Now that you mention it," Leo said slowly, rubbing his chin. "I do remember him saying something like that when I first got off the plane. Didn't really give it much thought – I was busy watching a Toucannon," Oak laughed, shaking his head fondly.
"Of course you were. Either way you won me a bet with my cousin," he grinned, and Leo grinned back.
"How's Victoria?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Good, or as good as can be expected. You watched her Champion match, right?" he asked, and Leo nodded. That had been televised, and he had returned to civilization for a full day just to watch it. Every other time he'd stopped by civilization for a few hours, he'd still spent the night sleeping outside; for Victoria's match he had slept in a pokémon center on the other side of the island, near Route 3. "Well after winning her match and earning herself the Champion title – not of Indigo, as I'm sure your aware, she just proved herself to be worthy of being a champion tier trainer – and after Lance's subsequent victory and election to become the new Indigo Champion, she had a few ceremonies to attend and whatnot. It's not fun for her, but she should be done soon. After that she'll come to Alola, but it might be a week or two more," the Professor said.
Leo nodded in acceptance. That made sense at least. The battle itself had been pretty intense, to say the least. Martin had been Champion for a reason, and his Starmie was an absolutely insane powerhouse, especially with recover keeping it in play for such a long time. But Victoria was Victoria, and bulldozed her way through all of Martin's tactical schemes…in much the same way that Lance had beaten Martin, come to think of it. Raw power could go a long way.
"Any other news?" Leo asked, once that line of conversation had died down.
"No, not really. Professor Juniper still hasn't been able to contact either your songwriter friend or Roxie for some reason – I'll let you know if there are any updates. She did hear that there's talk about Roxie going on another international concert tour, but that's about it. What about you?" Professor Oak asked.
Leo shrugged, then rubbed the back of his neck, hiding his disappointment at the lack of news regarding Jack. "Well, I got my butt kicked by Tapu Koko earlier today. Then he gave me this," Leo said, producing the shining stone from his pocket and showing it to the camera. Spiritomb hissed as he jostled the keystone with his movement, and Professor Oak's brows furrowed.
"I cannot say I exactly know what that is…is that Kahuna Hala?" Oak asked, suddenly looking at something behind him. Leo blinked and turned around, immediately spotting the rotund man in a yellow floral jacket and with white hair striding towards him. Leo vaguely remembered Kahuna Hala looking similar to that in the games…well, this made things much easier.
"Did I just hear you right? The Tapu battled you?" the old Kahuna said, eyes fixated on Leo.
For once, Leo was glad that the video phones in this particular clinic weren't private. He hadn't been quite sure how he wanted to approach the Kahuna about starting the island challenge yet – Indigo didn't seem to have the best reputation in other regions, and they'd fought multiple wars in trying to conquer Alola. It wasn't always as simple as asking to challenge another league, though the Alolan people had been remarkably accommodating so far. But, so long as the stone Tapu Koko had given him actually was a Z-crystal, that should expedite things.
"Alola, Kahuna Hala," Leo said formally, trying and failing to do the little hand gesture thing. "Yes, that is what I said. My team is currently being treated,"
"I'm sorry, I hope he wasn't too harsh on your team," Hala said with a weary sigh, rubbing his temples as his shoulders slumped. "Our Tapu is a fickle beast – for the past two months he's been running about battling just about every trainer that caught his eyes, which was an unfortunate many. Hopefully he'll calm down soon,"
I get the feeling he's much calmer now, Leo thought icily, not voicing that the reason the Tapu had been so restless was most likely because of him. That would be difficult to explain, and was just a thought anyways. Tapu Koko seemed flighty to begin with.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you were on the phone, forgive me. I am Kahuna Hala, the Kahuna of Melemele Island," the Kahuna said, leaning over Leo and putting his face in the camera. Leo blinked in surprise and leaned back, a little miffed that he had just butt in like that.
"Hello again, Hala. It's been a while," the Professor greeted, seemingly unperturbed.
"Ah, Samuel! It has been a while! How are you? How are things in Kanto?" Hala asked.
"Well we recently crowned a new Champion, so things have been busy as the region settles into that," the Professor said, waving his hand dismissively. Hala hummed, then glanced at Leo.
"So, this must be Victoria's boy, then?" he asked. "I've heard a lot about him,"
"Yes, that would be him," the Professor said. Hala turned to face Leo fully, eyeing him up and down as he lounged in the chair. It was kind of intimidating, in all honesty. Hala was a big man – not tall, not just fat, but big. He had a gut to him certainly, but his shoulders were broad and arms thick; Leo imagined he could see the man he had been in his prime hiding in that old man's body. Someone who, if rumors were to be believed, could wrestle with a Hariyama and win.
"Nice to meet you," he said politely.
"Nice to meet you," Hala returned with a warm smile, his eyes drifting down to the stone Leo held in his hand. "May I see that?" he asked. Leo wordlessly handed the stone over, and Hala grunted. "And the Tapu already gave you your own," he said.
"Is that what I think it is? I wasn't sure," the Professor asked, and Leo kept his mouth shut this time around. Please be a Z-stone, please, please, he mentally prayed. That would be so freaking cool…and he'd heard very little about z-moves even after coming here. For that matter, he hadn't heard anything about mega evolution either – or much of anything along those lines. It was probably a secret or something.
"Yes," Hala said simply. "Boy, let me hang onto this for a few days. It'll take me a little bit to refine it properly, but it's an important part of taking on the Island Challenge,"
"What is it?" Leo asked, hiding his excitement.
"That is a secret of the island challenge," he said, pocketing the stone and stepping back. Leo suppressed a smirk. Called it. "After I get this back to you we'll get you started on your Island Challenge. It was nice meeting you, Leo. Sam," Hala said, bidding farewell and leaving just as quickly as he came. He hummed to himself as he walked away, nodding respectfully to one of the secretaries at the front desk before pulling a soda out of his coat pocket and placing it in front of the old woman.
She thanked him, he said something, they laughed, and then he left.
"Well, that happened," Leo said, turning back to the Professor with a smile. He just shook his head, chuckling.
"I can't say I'm surprised. From what I hear, there are many ways to start the Island Challenge, and gaining the interest of the Tapu is certainly one way to do it," he said.
"I wonder why I did that," Leo asked rhetorically, earning himself another chuckle from the Professor, followed by a yawn.
"Indeed. Well, I have quite a bit to get done today – the Tauros got out last night, and fences need fixing. Don't get into too much trouble now," he said.
"That doesn't sound good. I'll talk to you later though, and good luck with that," Leo said, and the Professor ended the call.
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Iki town at night was quite the sight to behold. The only electric lights were in homes, with the streets lit by tiki torches and regular torches. This was not the norm in Alola, but Iki town was special. It was one of the few places that held onto the old ways, as an homage to their ancestors. And Leo was lucky, in a way, as a few kids from Melemele were about to begin their Island Challenge – something he was quickly learning was more nuanced than the games suggested.
For starters, there were two different island challenges. There was the challenge, then there was the Challenge. The first was what happened every year – it was the equivalent of the Gym Challenge. Most people went through that, and, in recent years, it had become a bit of a tourist attraction. Not entirely so, but it did attract foreign trainers for its…uniqueness. The other, however, was…different.
It was only started once in a blue moon, in times of unrest, and as a means to appease the Tapus and honor the celestial gods – Lunala and Solgaleo. That was the challenge that was starting today. That was the challenge Hala was putting Leo, a foreigner, on in defiance of tradition, and all because Tapu Koko had picked a fight with him and given him a stone.
Honestly can't say I wasn't expecting the attention though, Leo mused, watching the Litten and Rowlet duke it out on the large stage. It's not like the Tapus won't know what I am. They're literally here to guard against otherworldly threats. The two kids who were commanding the pokemon, their starters from the looks of it, were twelve years old maybe, and no one Leo recognized. Or at least remembered. So, his focus wasn't really on them, not to say it wasn't interesting. It was just a low-level, first-time battle, and they were doing alright but he was mentally preoccupied.
Mostly with what the Tapu said to him about Spiritomb, and now that he'd done everything he needed to for the day he had some time to sit down and really examine it. As he sat there next to a small fire, tuning out the small crowd cheering on the battling trainers, he focused his mind inward to where the connection between himself and his ghost was.
He could vaguely feel it, it was clearer to him now than it was when he first started, but it still took a few minutes for him to really focus on it. All other thoughts slowly trickled out of his mind, and he felt Spiritomb turn its attention to him. It was like a hundred eyes were suddenly fully focused on him, a feeling he was only partially used to now, and he took a deep breath to keep his calm.
"Let me see, bud," he said slowly, in barely a whisper. Indecision wracked Spiritomb for a brief moment, but soon enough Leo felt the connection between them widen. Voices whispered in his head, shapes swirling about in his minds eye as a myriad of emotions and fragmented memories flooded him. For a moment he was overwhelmed, but it wasn't anything like how it was when he first met the ghost. As such he slowly stemmed the tide and refocused on the task at hand.
What did the Tapu mean by "too many voices?"
Spiritomb was a hundred and eight spirits in one body, or in this case fragmented spirits and one whole ghost type, so it made sense that it was really disjointed. Not to mention Tapu Koko said something about Spiritomb not being whole, so was there not enough spirits within it?
Leo sucked a deep breath and pushed even further, allowing himself to be drug deeper into Spiritomb's subconscious. The ghost did not resist as he entered that same swirling mindscape it had pulled Leo into before, for the first time since the Burned Tower. To be honest Leo had never expected to be there again, and took a few moments to gather his bearings. Purple and black mists swirled about as shapes moved in the darkness, undoubtedly the spirits that formed Spiritomb's conscious mind.
Two forms approached him through the mists, ones he recognized. One was Froslass, flickering in and out of her frozen form as she spun around Leo. Whispers filled his ears and he nodded to her, smiling. The other was a warrior, standing before him silently and respectfully, as nothing more than a shadowy figure. He vaguely remembered this one, though it somehow seemed far more…substantial than before. Its form more solid.
"I need to count you," Leo said, and the two nodded, whistling sharply. The shapes moving in the mists froze in place and Leo whispered his thanks before beginning his count.
Once he was done, he counted again. Then again, just to be sure, making sure he didn't miss any.
"There's only sixty-three of you," he said with dawning realization. "What happened to the others?" Froslass and the warrior remained still, Froslass turning into little more than an incorporeal blur with an unsettling smile. The shades in the distance began to come closer, whispering and chattering as memories began to flash in and out of existence in Leo's mind, until they were all settled in front of him – with Froslass and the warrior in the center. Leo waited for a moment, just feeling their intentions over their connection, as he slowly digested what they were trying to tell him.
It was difficult, parsing out meaning from feelings and instinct, but eventually he understood and reached out to touch one of the shades. Memories of a guard in the Burned Tower bubbled up in his mind, first of a man wielding a spear, then of a Noctowl, and then of flames. It was fragmented, and he looked at the warrior shade, more formed together than all the rest besides the ex-Froslass. She watched him closely as he pressed the shade towards the warrior, the weaker shade not resisting and even seeming…eager.
Help us, the voices insisted, and Leo pressed further. The warrior remained still as Leo squished the guard shade and it together – there was no resistance as the two merged, clicking together almost like puzzle pieces.
But it wasn't that easy. It couldn't be – and Leo understood where the difficulty lay when the memories of the guard and the warrior shade surged through him, warring with one another and filling his mind with their emotions. Rage, regret, the desire to do battle and the desire to protect alongside a myriad of others rampaged through his mind until, finally, the merge was completed and Leo broke free from the mindscape.
Sweat poured down his body when he opened his eyes, breathing labored and arms shaking. He felt exhausted. That little exercise left him drained physically and mentally, and Spiritomb's whispers were anything but comforting when they started. The ghost poked an eye out of his pocket, watching him as he tried to regain his composure.
He said nothing as he rubbed his face and slouched. It sucked that the rest of his team were still recuperating – the clinic not being nearly as fast as a Pokemon Center – as he could've used some of their…well, presence. Not that Spiritomb wasn't comforting in some ways, but considering what just happened? It was like when Zuko got too insistent on playing, even after Leo was done. Sometimes he needed a break.
With a groan Leo stood and, fighting back a wave of nausea, looked out over the fire to see Hala looking at him. He smiled and waved and the Kahuna waved back before he wandered off to bed. The clinic had provided him a room for a small fee, and he would gladly take it tonight.