"Is it always so devilishly bright here?", Phyco queried. "I don't know Phyco, I like the light! There's so much color!", Zossie contradicted. "Bright? I mean it's almost a full moon so it's pretty bright for nighttime", I said, but Phyco interrupted halfway. "Ah, that explains it. So this moon gives off more light at different times, how quaint." I cleared my throat. ", But", I cut in before he started rambling, "it's several times brighter during the day, when the sun comes out. You can't look directly at the sun, it hurts even my eyes. There's enough light that the sky turns blue and the stars can't be seen anymore." Both Phyco and Zossie were stunned silent at that. I wasn't bothered, enjoying the opportunity to pet baby Waiola in silence.
Waiola was, oddly enough for a female Salandit, a recluse by nature. Her and I got along, but she shied away whenever other people or pokémon were involved. The little lizard had retained her proclivity for being held in my arms from before she hatched, curling into a bundle whenever the space was free. She barely even used the luxury ball I had gone to such lengths to steal from a tourist in Malie Garden. My fingers gently massaged her head, giving an extra squeeze to the two scaly... fins? Not ears, lizards don't have external ears, and there were no holes. Protrusions. Flaps. Thingies. Her two neck flap thingies, I gave them special attention, both from curiosity and trying my best to do a good job petting her. She enjoyed it, the fiery streaks on her back thrumming like a purr formed from temperature instead of sound.
"My legs are tiiiired! Can we take a break?", the alien child asked. I turned to my two least favorite new traveling companions. We weren't even out of the canyon where the altar stood. "Sure. I'll go ahead to the trial site and make sure the dragons are okay with you guys passing through. I completed the trial already, hopefully that'll give me a leg to stand on.", I answered. I was beginning to get an inkling that it wasn't intentional how strange these people were socially, it was just a difference between how we lived. I still didn't like it, but I would manage.
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With Totem Kommo-o's blessing, we passed through the trial site. As Zossie stared at some sort of readout on the strange high tech gauntlet she wore, I pulled her back from the pedestal with the Dragonium Z-Crystals. She pouted but I didn't let up, and before long we were out the other side. Phyco just gave a calculating look to every new pokémon we passed. "The aura readings in that place seemed ridiculous! Why did you stop me Kau'i?!", Zossie interrogated once we had left.
"It's a dragon's lair, and I only had permission to get you out of there, not to loiter. You two haven't completed the trial like I have, if you messed with the dragons, nothing was stopping them from ripping you to shreds.", I told her succinctly. She gave me a look, something between shock, doubt, and bitterness, but Phyco stepped in to help me again. "We've just gotten here, with this world's aura your measurements may be on the fritz. If this place or these trial sites in general have a particular connection to aura, we may study that in due time.", Phyco consoled her.
"Do ya really think aura's got anything to do with the trial sites or totem pokémon? With what you guys know about it already, I wouldn't be surprised.", I said offhandedly. Already having forgotten her consternation, Zossie jumped at me, "Why!? Is there something special about them?" "I dunno, you said aura was most common around powerful creatures, totem pokémon are powerful creatures. Makes sense to me.", I stated. "Certainly a worthwhile starting point, unless you have any other ideas Kau'i.", Phyco said. My idea was simple, and I was happy to share it. "I'll get you connected with people who actually know about all this ultra space junk and make you their problem."
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As the sun began to rise, the squad members insisted we take a break to adjust. I grabbed two pairs of sunglasses for each of them and, with nothing else to do, called for Kawami to track down some Murkrow for a shortcut out of the canyon and set to making a meal for everyone. A camping stove, small pan, and bag of "just add water" pancake mix appeared from the many compartments of my bags, and before long I was cooking. "You guys want berries in your pancakes or not?", I asked. "What's a berry?", Zossie said, answering my question with a question.
"Oh it's this again.", I said, primarily to myself. "What do you guys eat? You know, for nutrients or whatever?" Zossie gave me another strange expression, and Phyco once again butted in. I was beginning to get the rhythm of talking with these two. "With limited access to the light from the Blinding One, we grow nutrient dense algae that is later formed into a sort of hardtack. That is the only form of 'food' available to us that remains from before the Blinding One's aura grew weak. Outside of the occasional bit of toxic meat or vegetation scavenged from beyond the borders of the Ultra Megalopolis, which have to be thoroughly processed for consumption, the algae is all we have.", he explained morosely.
"Yeesh...", I capitulated, processing what he'd said. "Well then I'll add the berries for you, I'm sure you'll appreciate the sweetness. Just give me a couple minutes and you'll have some proper food." I made sure the little pancakes I gave to Phyco and Zossie were the most evenly cooked; My pokémon and I were used to things being a bit off, but these slapdash rawst and pomeg berry pancakes would be the first *real* food the two otherworlders would ever eat. Carefully, I built the shortstacks on each paper plate and drizzled just enough syrup on each that it soaked in but didn't overflow.
The moment Zossie bit into it, her face lit up with elation and she practically spat it back up as she shouted, "THIS IS AMAZING!!" Phyco ate in silence, his face glowing with delight and shock as, for the first time in his long life, he ate food made for taste instead of simple nutrition. Zossie continued, scarfing down the entire stack in moments. Phyco took his time, savoring not just each bite but each chew and the changes that occurred as the confection was slowly digested by his saliva. Both seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the meal.
I would like to say I had given myself the most burnt pancakes, but once Kawami returned she practically begged for the burnt batter and scraps, provided I dumped extra syrup over all of it. Alongside her, a familiar Murkrow watched us from a small landing in the cliff face, spry, young, unruffled, and with an alert gaze. Seeing the bird, I tossed the last of my little pancakes up to them. They swiped it out of the air as they flew down to meet us. "Will you show us the way out?", I asked the young Murkrow who had acted as the trainer of the other Murkrow when we trained with them. With a sage nod, they told us in no uncertain terms, 'This one's on the house.'
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When we reached a cave entrance on the far side of the canyon from where we started, Murkrow squawked instructions to Kawami and flew off. "You know where to go?", I asked Kawami. With a bob of confirmation, I turned to the Squad. "Alright, stay quiet while we're in there. I had an encounter with a Dugtrio on the way in, still have some of the bruises and it's been at least a week. If you need to say something, mouth the words, Kawami will hear you and will send it to Toma, who can translate it into web pictures. Otherwise, silence." "If you say so...", Zossie agreed. "Of course.", Phyco seconded.
In moments we were cloaked in darkness, all people and pokémon present except for Waiola pulling ahead of me as my eyes adjusted. Faintly, the salamander glowed red and followed at my side in a measured, silent skitter. As we took turn after turn around stalagmites and past pits, the figures ahead slowly came into more detail. With so little light, only the sensitive monochrome receptors in my eyes registered anything and color seemed like a forgotten memory.
After something like an hour of walking, a gurgling sound interrupted our faint footsteps. With the six of us huddled in a tight circle, Phyco mouthed a few words as he curled his handlebar in frustration and his eyebrows knit together. The message was passed along and Toma drew out a stomach with jagged lines radiating off of it, a stack of pancakes with foul lines rising from them, and a skull and crossbones. His stomach wasn't handling the pancakes well. Thinking on it, I realized that should have been the obvious outcome; The people of the Ultra Megalopolis had never eaten berries or grains and didn't have the gut bacteria to digest them, which would lead to an upset stomach.
I mouthed for Kawami, "There's nothing we can do about it, especially here. All we can do for now is take breaks and keep going.", which Toma rendered as a shrug, a picture of a cave entrance, an even larger shrug, people walking, sitting, and getting up to walk again. Zossie gave Phyco a mocking bump on the arm, then her stomach growled as well and she frowned. After another minute or so, we got up and pressed on.
Vaguely, as we pressed further, the cave seemed more and more familiar. Finally, as we took a right turn I was certain where we were. "Mother fucker!", I shouted, unconcerned with the consequences. Everyone stopped to stare at me and look around frantically for threats, but I ignored them as I pulled my flashlight from my shoulder bag and turned it on, blinding our friends from ultra space. "This is where the Dugtrio attacked us, the exit is across that gap.", I said with a scowl. The actual realization that prompted my swearing was this: the path we had avoided all that time ago because of that Boldore would've led us straight to the trial site. "Does this mean we can talk again?", Zossie asked with a palpable twinge of excitement.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Quickly, Toma constructed a fully-fledged web bridge over the chasm that had threatened my life just a short while ago, which I told him to leave up for other trainers. The pair once again equipping their pair of pairs of sunglasses, the Ultra Recon Squad and I left the cave.
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The townsfolk had been very conspicuously ogling the people that, in the bright Alolan sunlight, were very clearly blue the whole way over. After years as a Team Skull grunt I was used to it, and continued pushing them all the way to Kahuna Ranch. I knocked on the door, gave a small smile to Phyco and Zossie, and waited.
Finally, the door opened and Hama gave me a hug, her cold hands wrapping around my shoulders as she laid her head on top of mine. I hung limp for a moment before clearing my throat, to which Hama pulled away from me. "This is the Ultra Recon Squad.", I introduced, "They came here from ultra space and don't know anything about pokémon, so I brought them along to meet Hapu." Keeping her face calm and cool despite the outstanding circumstances, she responded, "I'll call her over, but she's busy so you'll have to wait."
Hama welcomed the aliens into her home with grace and I showed them quickly to the bathroom. "I made them pancakes and they've only ever had algae. Do you have some kind of probiotics?", I explained to Hama as we walked back to sit in the dining room. "I have froyo and that Yanmalt liquid yogurt stuff. No proper medicine.", she replied as she burrowed into the fridge. "They might be lactose intolerant, maybe hold off.", I told her with an abundance of caution. Hama stared icy daggers into me at that. No one could stop a grandmother from offering snacks to a guest. I lowered my head, silently petting Waiola.
Walking back into the room, Zossie's pearlescent eyes locked onto the small bottle of Yanmalt and bowl of froyo set in front of the empty chair next to me. "Is this more food!?", she exploded. "Eating it will hurt your stomach more, and there's a good chance it'll be even worse than before. Is poisoning yourself like that worth it?", I asked her frankly. "Oh please, I know plenty of lactose intolerant people who still eat dairy!", Hama helpfully sprinkled on top of my comment, making it go down smooth. Just like that, Zossie slammed the Yanmalt back and began shoveling the froyo into her maw.
As Phyco's disheveled face came around the corner, Zossie shouted "OW MY HEAD! POISON! MY HEAD IS FREEZING!" Phyco's hand clenched and a mechanical arm made of the same flexible material as their suits' joints emerged from his high tech backpack and handed him an odd device. He pointed it at Zossie, looked at it confused for a moment, before normalizing and stating plainly, "Nothing is wrong, your nerves have misunderstood the exposure of your mouth to extreme cold. Do not eat cold foods so fast." "We call it a brain freeze.", I supplied. "The proper term is a cold-stimulus headache.", Hama corrected. Zossie pouted.
While Phyco sat down to join us all snacking, Hama called Hapu. "Kau'i's back.
Yes the Salandit did hatch, she's calling her Waiola.
No I'm not wasting your time young lady, you're the one asking poor questions.
Thank you. Kau'i met people in the canyon who claim to be from ultra space, she brought them back to the ranch with her.
Yes, as soon as you can. Bring probiotics." I stared at Hama in shock at their exchange. The efficiency she had shown dealing with Hapu was chilling.
As Phyco and Hama began to prattle on about pokémon types and the effectiveness chart, I snuck out the back door. "Finally, some alone time. Waiola, do you mind showing me your moves? You should have Scratch and Poison Gas to start, then we'll go through egg moves." At my request, Waiola Scratched the air, leaving faint white trails behind her claws. "A good start, we'll need to work mostly on power for now since you're freshly hatched. Poison Gas?" Following along again, Waiola was wrapped in a thin veil of purple haze. "Not great, but I already have ideas to improve. Plumeria told me that the way a Poison-Type is poisonous is vitally important for training, and her example was her Salazzle. Your species burn your bodily fluids to create gasses, but those fluids are still toxic in their own way beforehand. If we build on your fire now, your gasses will be better and Ember will be easy to achieve. Those are our paths forward, fire and power."
Waiola shrunk back as Zossie leaned over my shoulder. I pushed her out of my personal space. If these people didn't have our social norms, I could break social norms to get them to act with basic decency. It was honestly getting to be slightly cathartic. "So what type is Waiola?", Zossie asked with her arms wrapped coyly behind her back. "Poison and Fire-Type.", I said dryly, returning the pokémon in question to her luxury ball. "And Kawami? And Toma?", she pressed. "Poison and Flying-Type and Bug and Poison-Type.", I said in the same tone. "What's with you and Poison-Types? Isn't that weird?", she continued. "Not really, most trainers are some kind of specialist, even if they don't specialize in a type. I train Poison-Types cause I have a knack for it, or at least people say that about me. I kind of get it, but I wouldn't just not catch a non-Poison-Type.", I answered. All she had left to say was, "Huh."
With nothing more to do here and the Ultra Recon Squad firmly someone else's problem, I walked away from Zossie and hopped the fence with considerably more ease than when I'd last lived at Kahuna Ranch, taking care not to further rip my overalls. Oddly enough, Zossie followed, clambering awkwardly over the fence in her spacesuit. I turned and questioned her, "I'm leaving. Shouldn't you stay with your captain?" Staring at me with a stupid grin, she raised her forearm to her mouth and spoke into it with glee, "Captain Phyco do you copy?" Phyco's voice came through the gauntlet with crystalline clarity, "Indeed I do Zossie. Is there something you wanted to say?" "I'm leaving with Kau'i! You have my location right?", she said. "Yes of course. Best wishes.", he confirmed, and the call ended. I sighed.
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"You lived here!?", my blue and orange tagalong choked. "Yeah, a couple years ago. I'm an orphan, I don't know what you expected." Weeds, mosses, and molds had taken over the shattered ruin I had used as a hideaway years prior. Unlike Rich, I wouldn't be bringing Zossie into Team Skull after returning to this little nook. Releasing the rest of my team, I sat down on the corroded pile of blankets and towels that had been my bed and opened my textbook. "What are you doing?", Zossie asked, leaning over my shoulder again. "Shut up.", I answered, pushing her away again.
I needed to shore up our shortcomings, first and foremost being Waiola's overall inexperience. Next, a few small things for Toma to practice and two new moves for Kawami to learn. The debate over what to do next scrawled across my marginalia, but this seemed the most sensible way as things actually stood. I began to instruct while Zossie hung on every word. "Waiola, your heat is an internal force. It flows through your body with your blood and venom. When you spit gas, you'll light it on fire with that heat and shoot it outwards. Your poison and your fire are tied together. Focus on Poison Gas, using the heat to boil your saliva, and once you're ready, use your breath instead and try to light the gas with it."
"Kawami,", I turned, "I want you learning Screech and Swift. Screech should be jarring, take what you know from Supersonic and Astonish in that area. Swift is a move that never misses so it'll be super useful for you. Apparently it should make little stars, I'd bet they'll shoot from your mouth. Overall, I want you to give alot of thought to Normal-Type energy, since it'll be important for these moves. You know Frustration, that should help." Kawami slammed into me for a hug and I gave her a scratch behind the ear before she took a corner for herself to practice.
"Toma,", I said to the trees around us where he was hiding, "keep guarding the area. Shoot some threads Waiola's way for practice, but mostly I want you to focus on positioning. Make some progress on Baton Pass if you can and see if you can't make a half decent Night Shade with the shadows you're so good at moving through. Night Shade won't be an attack for you as much as a way to hide." Hearing the end of it, a web firework shot up from the canopy where I was facing. Zossie stared at me. "What? Never seen a pokémon trainer before?", I joked.
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I walked to the Seafolk Village with the whole posse in tow. Phyco, Zossie, Hapu, and all the pokémon we had with us strode down the road through the Poni Wilds. "I truly appreciate you two kind ladies escorting us to the Seafolk Village.", Phyco said from atop Mahā where he sat behind Hapu. He was so much taller than her, I couldn't hold in a chuckle at the sight of him chastely holding onto her shoulders. "And for letting us spectate your trial Kau'i!", Zossie added. "Better I do it than let some poor random trial-goer deal with the combination of Mina and the Ultra Recon Squad.", I said with what anyone who knew Mina would agree was an appropriate amount of dread in my voice. We rounded a corner onto the docks, and approached Mina's houseboat, which we were assured she would be actually staying in for the whole day.
Hapu and Phyco dismounted, Hapu's team were returned to their balls, and she knocked on the door. Mina's parents answered the door and greeted everyone with a smile. "Come in, come in! She's a bit distracted, but only a bit. I'm sure you'll get your trial in no time.", Mina's father said. I had slept here a few weeks in total when I was being raised by the village, so to speak, and Mina's parents were quiet folks. They'd wait for months without seeing their daughter, and at the time they still weren't used to that. I'd heard stories of her wandering off and getting lost in pursuit of a good painting, even stranding herself in Kanto when she was young, but time proved she always ended up back home eventually. Every time I talked to Mina herself, it was like trying to get an attack past Protect, she was a solo act.
Hapu did her sweet talking with the parents and the Recon Squad flanked me at either side, lost in their readouts and gizmos. I stood silently, watching Mina as she painted an abstract depiction of a flock of Sensu Style Oricorio flying over the ocean's surface. Each shape flowed out like a liquid, and as she continued the strokes of the brush the reflections of the Flying-Types took on brilliant color in the water of the painting. Pausing, she lifted her hand to her chin in a comical thinking pose, dabbling her chin with pale periwinkle paint from the brush in that same hand. Then she lifted the easel and placed it in the corner of the open studio space. "You're the trial-goer right? What's with the whole audience you brought along?", Mina asked, skipping all pretext.
"Aliens, they'll be doing some science measurements or whatever, but let's put that aside for the time being.", I answered. "Can only they see the Time Being?", Mina asked with a hint of fear. "What?", I stammered. "The Time Being! Is it gonna hurt me?! Do they worship it!?", she said, freaking out now. "Huh? Holy Arce you mean... Shut up!", I struggled, working through the trial Captain's joke. "Heh heh heh heh!", she chortled at my reaction, any pretense of the joke having disappeared like a Substitute after serving its purpose.
She recovered, finally, and spoke, "No but really, what are they here for?" "They are actually aliens, from ultra space. They're investigating something called 'aura', think it might have to do with trials and totem pokémon.", I informed her. "Is that why their skin is blue?", she asked. "Yep!", Zossie answered for me. "Can I paint you two after this?", she continued questioning, now at Zossie. "Sure!", Zossie replied. "If these measurements 'bear fruit' as you say, then certainly we would owe you that favor.", Phyco agreed. "You do not want to owe her a favor.", I told him. Before he could ask why, Mina set things under way.
"Little Kau'i, are you ready for your trial?", she said imperiously. "Yeah.", I confirmed. "Well then you gotta fight me.", she declared. "What?", I reeled. She just laughed some more.