Pokemon Island Sun (on hiatus)

[EmeraldSky]

Letter 17: Circles (and other things) in the Sand

Dear Serena,

Our adventures keep getting more and more interesting--what started as a day at the beach took a terrifying turn. But on the bright side, Popoki did learn a new move (not that Fire Fang will be any help against Lana, but I'm still proud he learned a new move)

It all started yesterday morning, on one of the rare sunny days around the hill. Tarina had found a beach close by the Pokemon Center, so we decided to just relax on the beach (and I could get some training in for Lana's trial)

Misty was probably the happiest to be on the beach after the long journey here, and wasted no time in getting settled on a towel to work on a tan. Tintri and I decided to train for the trial, and Brock helped Tarina build a sand castle, to the accompaniment of Mahina's ukulele as she serenaded the waves and the Wingulls overhead.

The problem started when Tarina found what she believed to be a sand castle that someone had forgotten to finish. Imagine her surprise when she discovered that it wasn't a sand castle, but a Pokemon!

Sparks had this to say about Tarina's discovery:

"Sandygast, the sand heap Pokemon. Born from a sand mound playfully built by a child, this Pokémon embodies the grudges of the departed.

Tarina didn't seem to heed Sparks' warning--she noticed the picture on Sparks' screen and the Sandygast before us had a huge difference--our Sandygast had no shovel on its head, and it seemed saddened it had lost it.

Being the brave Pichu she is, Tarina offered to help the Sandygast, despite Brock's misgivings. Brock, Hikina, Popoki, Kia'i, and Mele came with Tintri and I, just in case Tarina ran into trouble.

We did eventually find the shovel in a small cave near the beach, but when Tarina tried to pick it up and give it back to the Sandygast, the shovel somehow flew off! Naturally, this angered the Sandygast, and it evolved into a huge sand castle...thing.

Hekili warned us:

Palossand, the sand castle Pokemon. Buried beneath the castle are masses of dried-up bones from those whose vitality it has drained.

Poor Tarina--I don't think I've ever seen her run that quickly to get away from the vengeful Pokemon. Mele distracted it with a Bubblebeam, which bought us enough time to return to the beach, and form a strategy as to how to defeat or otherwise appease the enraged Palossand.

Tintri wouldn't be much help, and neither would Popoki, even though he insisted on protecting Tarina--she was only trying to do a good deed, he explained. Hikina replied that good deed or not, Palossand was still a very dangerous Pokemon, and there were very few ways to appease it or defeat it.

About then, Lana found our hideout (for lack of a better way to describe it), and after we filled her in on what had happened, she told us that the only way to appease an angry Palossand was to appease the spirits inside of it, which would make it disappear, and cleanse its presence from the beach.

The question was--how were we supposed to appease it?

As we were debating our options about what to do next, the Palossand found us--intent on adding Tarina to the many people and Pokemon it had killed.

Popoki was not about to see Tarina die, and charged to meet the Palossand. With Mele supporting him, we watched in awed as his fangs turned red--a Fire Fang!

That Fire Fang was enough to burn the Palossand, so Lana took that opportunity to begin the cleansing ritual

The prayer for banishing evil spirits goes something like this, as per Lana's translation:

O wandering spirits from antiquity,
Caught between heaven and earth
The gods of heaven see your tears, and have mercy upon you all
They await your arrival in heaven, where you will receive your eternal rest
Trouble us no more on earth
Your time here is over
The prayer is freed

The cleansing ritual worked like a charm, and the Palossand disappeared into the sand, never to return again.

We were all relieved Tarina was okay, but she wondered what had happened to the shovel she was trying to return to the Sandygast before it attacked. Brock just smiled and told her "I'd like to think it went to heaven with all the spirits that made up the Palossand."

He went on to gently tell her that not everything was a friend, and not every Pokemon was nice. Misty went on that while what Tarina wanted to do was commendable, not everything would appreciate or want her help.

I was especially proud of Popoki--but he just gave me his trademark fanged smirk and told me that he was just doing the right thing and protecting Tarina.

Our beach excursion went without any further incident. Mahina thought our encounter would make a good ballad, so after she wrote the lyrics, Brock wrote some music for it (with both guitar and ukulele chords--it's a little complicated for me still, but I'm perfectly fine with improvising on open chords and easy songs for now--as well as a few session tunes that work really well on ukulele.

Tarina did not want to leave Popoki's side--the two of them even slept together last night. (Popoki's body kept Tarina warm, so she didn't need a blanket.

We're getting closer and closer to the hill itself--I can hardly wait to prove myself in Lana's trial. But we still have a ways to go, so for now, the adventures will continue!

Until next time,
Ash

[EmeraldSky]

Letter 18: Rock n' Roll Forever

Dear Serena,

You know 'Legendary Idol Kochou' has always been one of my favorite shows...and you certainly remember when I rounded up the gang and had them play the Beautiflies (and you told me afterwards that playing Mikanchou was a blast).

It turns out that I had to round up a few new volunteers to inspire an Alolan Dugtrio that was in a funk, very nearly breaking up the act and its band. Rest assured, I can still do Kochou's voice, but I have to warm up beforehand to hit those high notes--otherwise, I crack.

Things got started when we saw an ad for a band called Leo and the Rockies playing in Heahea City. Mallow is easily their biggest fan, as is Lana, and they let me listen to some of their CDs. While you may think it's a group of three boys singing lead, it's actually an Alolan Dugtrio singing with itself in three part harmony!

Lana had been lucky enough to win tickets and backstage passes for all of us, but when we got backstage, the Alolan Dugtrio was having a heated argument--each of its heads were all arguing over who was the greatest one, and had Brock not stepped in to break it up, the band would've broken up.

Leo, the band's manager and the lead guitarist, explained that the Alolan Dugtrio (which we never did learn the name of) was obsessed with being a rock star ever since he was an Alolan Diglett, and watched "Legendary Idol Kochou" pretty much every day. So when he evolved, Leo started the band, and the rest was history.

They amassed a huge following in just Alola, and had been planning on a full world tour before each of the Dugtrio's heads decided it was the greatest.

Inspired, Misty asked if I could still do Kochou's voice. When I said yes, I could do it if I had time to warm up beforehand, she recruited Mahina, Lana, Mallow, and some of Leo's band to help play the Beautiflies. Brock was going to reprise Midorichou, and Misty would reprise Kiirochou (after dolling up the band's drums and their piano to look like the instruments in the show.)

Mahina begged to play Akaichou--it turns out she can in fact play guitar a little (although ukulele's her favorite to play) Tarina was floored Mallow could play harmonica and sing, so she played Mizuirochou, and Lana has a little skill on bass, so she played Aiirochou (one of Leo's band members played Mikanchou)

So several costumes, some wigs, and some hurried rehearsals later, we found the Alolan Dugtrio bickering on the hill outside of town, so we set up our stage nearby, where the Alolan Dugtrio could see us.

When I emerged from the dressing room as Kochou, Tarina let out the cutest little fangirl scream, and dashed into my arms, amazed that her favorite cartoon rock star had come alive! She had no idea it was just me in a costume, though.

Once we were in costume, in tune, and in character, we agreed on our set list to inspire the Alolan Dugtrio:

--"There's a Melody Playin'" (Tarina's favorite song from the show)
--"Believe in Yourself" (one of the Alolan Dugtrio's favorites)
--"I've Got My Eye On You" (Mallow's suggestion)
--"Back in Shape" (Lana's suggestion)
--any of the other inspiring songs from the show we rehearsed
--"Music is Magic" (my big finish)

With that, we started our show with Leo looking on. The Alolan Dugtrio looked on with stars in all six of his eyes, amazed the animated singer that had inspired him to become a star himself was before him!

I could've sworn I saw tears in his eyes as we performed "Back in Shape"--for all he knew, the cartoon star that inspired him all those years ago was telling him not to give up on his dream.

We were going to play another song, but before we could play, the Alolan Dugtrio's heads apologized to each other--hearing Kochou (aka: me) sing had reminded them why they had decided to be musicians in the first place--and that all of them had an important role to play in the band, so they were all the greatest!

Leo was relieved that his Alolan Dugtrio was himself again, and the band was safe for a good long time. We were going to play "Music is Magic" for our big finish, but Tarina had a better idea: "Rock n' Roll Forever".

Everyone liked that, so we played it--Tarina tried to sing along, but she kept cracking on the 'No matter what they say' line. (Brock thought her heroic effort to sing with me was cute, though.)

Thanks to our channeling Kochou, the concert was able to go on--and the Alolan Dugtrio sang his hardest as a mahalo nui--a big thank you--for reminding him why he had become a star in the first place, and that every band member has an important part to play.

But the Cheri Berry on top--hearing the Alolan Dugtrio sing his own cover of "Rock n' Roll Forever" in remembrance of our show! He had no idea that the Kochou he had seen was just me in a costume, either.

Don't worry, we were actually singing and playing our instruments, not lip syncing. Mallow and Lana had the time of their lives playing their characters, and Lana was curious when we could do it again.

For now, we're back in a hale near Brooklet Hill--Tarina's trying her hardest to mimic me singing as Kochou, much to our Pokemon's bemusement. I do wish that Lillie was there to see us perform--wonder how she would have reacted to me as Kochou?

Until next time,
Ash

[EmeraldSky]

Reply 2: Like Mother, Like Son

Dear Ash,

Hello from home! It sounds like you guys are having a lot of fun exploring the islands and making new friends. Taran and I eagerly look forward to your letters and dispatches every day--although if you ever get homesick, I'll be more than happy to send you some cookies to share with your friends in Alola. (what is the word for "friend" in Native Alolan, again? You told me once in a dispatch, but I seem to have forgotten it.)

I couldn't help but smile when I received your last letter--you always did like "Legendary Idol Kochou", and even on vacation, you never miss an episode! Serena told me to tell you she would have liked to have seen your performance for the Alolan Dugtrio.

Speaking of Serena, she's in the process of packing for a trip to Houen, and wanted to know what else in that area is a must see or must do besides what you told her on your last dispatch. So I went through the attic and found your photo album from your Houen adventure, and we went through it together when she needed a break in packing. But she hopes to also see the Battle Frontier facilities here, as well--hopefully before she leaves.

Are you practicing your ukulele every day? I really enjoyed your last performance with everyone--who knew a harp and a ukulele would sound so pretty together? (although I think your dad secretly wants to try learning to play one, judging from how he swayed to you guys' cover of the map song from "Yoshi's New Island" you guys played during your last show dispatch--right down to Totaka's Song on the harmonica!) Getting one is probably easy, but the next question would be motivating him to practice once he has one. Of course, you have no trouble at all remembering to practice--it's actually eerily quiet without your instruments ringing through the house.

Mimey misses you too--when I told him where you were, he decided to hula dance right there in the living room--he'd probably like your ukulele too. I let him look at some of the pictures you've taken yesterday, and he was gawking over them for hours. (I have been saving the pictures you've sent with your letters, so we can compile them into a photo album when you get home.)

Prof. Oak sends his regards as well--I'm sure Samson is a real sweetheart, for giving you all kinds of helpful gifts and Pokemon eggs.

Lillie seems like a nice girl--how is she doing with Keokeo? I hope she still remembers your tips--having a Pokemon companion is a mutual friendship--you take care of them, and they will take care of you (or as all the old TV commercials used to say, "You teach me, and I'll teach you!"). The bond you have with Tintri is a shining example of that old jingle--no more are you that scatterbrained and hot-headed young trainer. You've grown into a young man that exudes confidence and courage, someone that would move heaven and earth for their friends if they had too (although judging from some of your adventures you've told me about, you have probably had to move heaven and earth a few times to stop a gang of hoodlums or three--I'm sure you're happy not having to deal with Team Rocket around every corner.

Of your new Pokemon, they all seem very energetic--how do Rocky and Popoki get along without...well, fighting like Growlithes and Meowths? Mimey would probably enjoy Alegria as a friend, but I would most like to meet Kala. She'd probably enjoy basking in the kitchen window, and the yard is large enough for her to run and play in--Rocky probably is a good chase partner for her, as well.

I still have no idea how Kirisame ended up stowing away in Misty's luggage--he probably needed the vacation as much as you did after your epic adventure in Kalos. Taran's in the process of adding your Kalos medallion to your award collection and expanding the award wall--but remember that even though accomplishments are to be celebrated, don't let the glory go to your head. Brock has a very good point when he tells you that "no great hero ever fought alone".

Having a Pokemon in your Pokedex sounds entertaining--I'd actually like to meet Sparks (even if he is a little camera shy). Does he get along well with Tintri and the others? He'd be right at home charging PokeNavs if he ever gets tired of living in the Pokedex.

I find it hard to believe that you've ventured across seven major regions (and a few smaller ones), won forty-eight badges (and counting), and even saved the world a few times on the way. But knowing you, you probably won't rest until you've explored every inch of our beautiful world, and met every Pokemon to boot. As Prof. Oak always says, we still don't know everything about Pokemon, and so long as there is something to discover, keep your spirit of adventure alive.

So after you get done at Brooklet Hill, where are you going next? Is there anything you're looking forward to doing or seeing? I'm sure you'll tell me all about it in a reply to this letter or in a video dispatch.

Know that no matter where you go, or what you do on your travels, you will always be our young hero, and a shining beacon of courage and hope to people everywhere. Your dad and I are proud and honored to call you our star performer, our music man, our video game master, our creative genius, but most importantly, our son.

I wish you good luck on your Island Challenge, and safe travels for everyone.

Love,
Mom

[EmeraldSky]

Interlude 2: My Answers

Dear Mom,

It was quite the surprise to get your letter, actually--of course, I enjoy getting letters (and gifts!) from anyone interested in following my Alolan adventures.

To answer your questions as best as I can:

There's actually several different words for "friend" in Native Alolan depending on how close you and the other person (or people) are--you refer to them affectionately as "makamaka", in general as "hoa" or very close friends as "aikane". I think Misty, Brock, Serena, Tintri, and my other companions would all count as aikane--we've been through so much together, and I would do anything for them.

It's kinda funny Dad wants to try learning ukulele even though he has said he can't play anything or sing to save his life. However, once you get the hang of it, ukulele's pretty easy to play.

However, if he really, truly, wants to learn, get a good quality instrument. You'd be surprised how many nice instruments you can get for under 1000 credits. That being said, you want to stay well away from those gaudy colored cheap ones with characters on them that are only 100 or 200 credits. (Mahina's advice)

Some of Mahina's other suggestions for ukulele shopping:

--Decent beginner ukuleles typically run 250 credits to 750 credits. This would be a good idea if Dad just wants to test the waters, so you're not out a lot of money if he doesn't enjoy playing.

--Ideally, your first ukulele should be in the 750 to 2000 credit range. That being said, Brock would also add that a higher price doesn't always equal a better instrument! (he speaks from experience, having been burned by a few subpar guitars, flutes, and brass instruments)

Once you know how much you want to spend, the next question is the size (Mahina will be happy to explain the different sizes to you on our next dispatch, if you like. Mine is a concert size, but Dad may want a tenor due to his bigger hands)

I wonder if Melody's doing okay without hearing me playing in the house. If she gets lonely, you can always turn on the radio or play the piano for her.

As for the Pokemon, Rocky and Popoki get along just fine. Brock keeps a Braviary eye on Rocky, and I keep an eye on Popoki when they're playing together. While Popoki wouldn't do much damage to Rocky if they were to battle, Rocky would majorly injure Popoki, never mind that a torracat is usually much more powerful than a little Rockruff. Should Rocky decide to evolve, that would be a different story. For now, they're eager playmates, and know how to play nicely under supervision.

Both Sparks and Hekili get along well with everyone--I'm sure Sparks would get along with Mimey and Melody just fine. He can be a little impulsive, but his heart's in the right place. He typically has a new obsession almost every week, so don't be surprised if all he wants to do is indulge in it for the whole week.

After we finish the trial at Brooklet Hill and earn our Aquas Sapphire, we're headed south. Hikina says that on the way, there's an arena for something called the Battle Royale, where twelve Pokemon (three each from four trainers a side) battle at once. It sounds a little chaotic, but if Tintri wants to give it a try, I'll let him.

As for us, we've been Eevee hunting around the hill. Misty found a Water Stone buried in the dirt when we left the hale this morning, and wasted no time in cleaning it off when we got back. She says that as soon as we do find an Eevee, she plans to evolve it into Vaporeon immediately.

I also did some more research and found out something about the Totem Pokemon of the hill--apparently it is a Wishiwashi. According to Sparks:

"Weak Wishiwashi school together to concentrate their power. Their united force makes them the demon of the sea, feared near and far."

Hekili also added:

"At their appearance, even Gyarados will flee. When they team up to use Water Gun, its power exceeds that of Hydro Pump."

Misty was impressed--she was wondering how the three of us could take down one of those. Mahina suggested bringing a lot of Electric and Grass types, and Misty's Water types could help if one of them fell. So Tintri, Kia'i, Kala, and Tarina should be more than enough to take it down.

Don't underestimate Tarina just because she's a little Pichu--she's easily taken out Pokemon several times her size, and even defeated some of my best teammates. So if she can take down large bird Pokemon and dragon Pokemon, a big fish Pokemon should be no trouble at all for her.

We gave up on Eevee hunting not long after lunch, so after Tarina had had a nap and we got cleaned up, we decided to explore some more of the little towns around the hill. There was one place where a festival was going on, and seeing the traditional instruments of home made me nostalgic for the time Misty, Brock, and I visited Ecruteak City.

The musicians were accompanying a performance of "Hikari Slays the Seviper", so we had to stay and watch. Tarina was awed by the size of the Seviper puppet they used--Brock explained that some of the bigger puppets need multiple performers to perform them. She was a little unnerved at seeing the puppeteers at work, but Misty explained to her that this was expected in traditional theater. Brock added that anyone in black--musician, stagehand, or puppeteer--was understood to be a shadow, and therefore invisible to the audience, never mind that audiences very clearly saw them at work.

We all had a great time at the festival, but we returned home early, so I can get some rest for the trial tomorrow!

I love you--tell Dad, Serena, and Melody I said hello!

Love,
Ash

[EmeraldSky]

Letter 19: Ballad of the Water

Dear Serena,

Yes! We have an Aquas Sapphire!

The trial to get it however, would be like one of Brock's folktale ballads. Brock was intrigued by how a folktale ballad would sound on a ukulele, so he challenged me to write out today's adventure in ballad form and then play it.

I'm still working on writing out the lyrics, so this letter will be the detailed version of what happened.

The day dawned beautiful and sunny, but with Brooklet Hill being one of the wettest spots in Alola, we had been warned that it would soon rain, so we packed rain gear (Tarina looked so cute in a red poncho and Pichu sized rain boots).

The last little bit of the way was relatively uneventful until we ran into this character named Gladion on the way. He looked like he was one of Team Skull's cronies, but at the same time, it seemed he wanted to help us. When I say Gladion was a character, I mean that--I'd need a whole letter to tell you about my initial encounter with him, and then our encounter with him on the way back that involved Rocky.

Encounter with weird ambiguous person aside, we made it to the hill relatively unscathed. Lana met us on the path, and offered to heal everyone before we went inside. Poor Misty--she wanted to go look for new Water types so bad, but Lana reminded her that no Pokemon are to be captured during a trial. I assure her she could look all she wanted after we finished the trial.

So what did we have to do, you ask? Our challenge for the trial was to figure out what had caused a whirlpool in the lake. Granted, whirlpools were common in the lakes by the hill, but Lana had never seen any as huge as these were, and was curious to know if something had riled up the Totem. Barring a huge sacrifice of Magikarps, the only way to appease it was to battle it.

Lana saw my D whistle and taught me the song to call a Lapras, if we needed a way to cross water. My first time playing it resulted in a whole fleet of them coming to us--one for each of us, and one for Lana, who would be our chaser if something went wrong.

We set sail across the water, and found the culprit of our first whirlpool--a single Wishiwashi. Misty remembered Sparks' and Hekili's warnings about Wishiwashis and cautioned me to be prepared--we could very well face what happens when a bunch of Wishiwashi school together.

After dispatching a few more little Wishiwashis, Misty's warning proved true when we found the Totem--a HUGE Wishiwashi created from millions of little Wishiwashi's schooling together.

In addition to its defensive aura, the big Wishiwashi kept calling little Wishiwashis to help it and putting up barriers to boost its defense even more. Lana was spotting Brock's arrows (Totem barriers are easily dispelled by attacks the Totem is weak to, or something sharp--doubly so if you use a weapon enchanted with something the totem is weak to), Tarina pitched in by dispatching all the little Wishiwashis, Misty was on healing duty, and Kala, Tintri, and Kia'i did their best to hit the Totem.

The Totem could hit, and hit hard--poor Misty was doing everything in her power to keep everyone healed. Lana pitched in by refilling Misty's stock of healing items when she needed it (she has zillions of every conceivable healing item any trainer could need or want, which proved to be a big help in this battle.) Eventually, Misty got so annoyed, she summoned her Golduck Michelle to attempt to draw the Totem's attacks away from our little group of Electric and Grass types.

But just when we thought we were making progress on the Totem, it called an Alomomola to help it, which healed it to full. Frustrated at having to start over from square one, I asked Sparks for advice:

"It uses its special mucus to close the wounds of injured Pokémon. The reason for this behavior remains unknown."

Inspired, Brock told Tarina to shift tactics away from helping Tintri, Kia'i, and Kala, and focus on taking down the Alomomola. Misty was more than happy to have Michelle helping us--she put up a Reflect on herself, which turned the Alomomola's attacks back on itself. This gave me an idea--since physical attacks weren't doing much of anything, why not change tactics and focus on special attacks?

Sparks informed me Kala knew the attack Magical Leaf, so I told her to use that. Brock instructed Kia'i to try Energy Ball, since his Leaf Blades weren't working. Tintri was already using special attacks, so I told him to keep doing what he was doing.

Little by little, we wore the Totem and its allies down, periodically dispelling barriers (with Brock's electric and earth arrows) or stopping to heal our attackers. The breakthrough came a little after noon, when a little bit of sunshine peeked through the rainclouds. Tarina managed to take down the ally Alomomola about then, so Brock called to Kia'i to try Solarbeam. Combined with Kala's Magical Leaf and Tintri's Thunderbolts, that was more than enough to take down the Totem once and for all.

We were celebrating all the way back to shore, but Lana was the most proud of us--she told us she was very impressed by our teamwork, and gave us a set of fishing rods and the Aquas Sapphire (which Misty currently has for safekeeping--Mele would be a great choice to use its move, Hydro Vortex.)

Lana did tell us that Mele would ultimately be able to use her own unique Z move as a Primarina, Oceanic Operetta, which both the Aquas Sapphire and a special Z Crystal just for Primarinas share.

For all the trouble we went through to get he Aquas Sapphire, I don't think anyone will ever forget our epic battle for it--it really was the stuff of legends.

When I get the ballad version ready (and I've practiced it a little), I'll be sure to play it for you!

Until next time,
Ash

[EmeraldSky]

Letter 20: Whose Side is He On?

Dear Serena,

Remember the guy named Gladion I told you about on the way to the trial on Brooklet Hill? On our way back from the trial, Lillie met us on the road, and floored us by telling us he was her big brother.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, here...let me start from the beginning, when we met him on the way to the trial.

Misty immediately jumped into defense mode when she saw him in Team Skull-like garb. He just looked at me and asked me "You're Ash?" I wanted to reply "That's Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town to you!" but Brock warned me not to out of fear of how Gladion would react.

Gladion just looked at me, and replied "Hmph. Not very cautious. Even some Pokémon have better sense of self-preservation than you apparently do."

This really angered Misty, but Brock tried to talk some sense into Gladion before Misty or me did something we regretted later. However, Gladion didn't seem to hear a word of Brock sticking up for me.

He did introduce himself to us, and told us "I fight for my partner, Null, to make it strong. Though most of our time gets used up doing small jobs for Team Skull." This appeased Misty a little bit--Gladion didn't appear to want to harm us--he was only doing what Team Skull told him to do, and had his own motivations, whatever those were.

Mahina asked him what or who Null was, but all Gladion did was look at me again, and said "Battle me. I won't take no for an answer."

I gladly accepted, and sent out Popoki against his Midnight form Lycanroc (which we never learned the name of) Popoki did some major damage with Fire Fang, but I was a bit reluctant to use Tintri or Kala, because I wanted to save them for the trial.

But just when I thought I had the battle in the bag, his Lycanroc started fighting back. But minutes before he could use Rock Tomb to batter Popoki, Kirisame (by some act of Arceus), came to the rescue!

Popoki had done well, so I called him back and let Kirisame take over. They grappled for a while before I heard Gladion say as he recalled his Lycanroc "Just give it up already. You know you can't beat me."

This gave us both the resolve to keep fighting, so then Gladion summoned this very strange Pokemon--or at least, I think it was a Pokemon. Not even Sparks or Hekili knew what it was, so Gladion explained that the odd being (for lack of a better way to describe it) was Null.

None of us had any idea what to do next, so Gladion recalled the weird being and walked off, muttering all the while. I did hear him say "I've got to keep fighting stronger opponents. Looks like I'm still not ready..."

After thanking Kirisame for saving my skin (and he hopped back to Kukui's Lab--don't ask how he managed to get to where we were from there), Misty couldn't help but wonder what it was Gladion was getting ready for. Hikina assured us we would know soon enough--if we even saw him again. Misty accepted that answer, so we continued on our way to the hill.

Once we had finished the trial, Lillie met us on the road, and floored us by explaining Gladion was her big brother. She assured us that he was not a bad person, just very cold and somewhat distant. I was curious to know why he was with Team Skull if he was not a bad guy, but Lillie only told us that he had his reasons, but he had only told a few trusted friends what those were.

We spend the rest of the night debating if Gladion was a friend or foe--and what we should do if we met him again. Misty suggested he may be willing to talk to us more if we said we were friends of Lillie, since he seemed to speak fondly of "his sister"

Brock brought up a good point--it was possible that he was a neutral character--neither a friend or enemy, just working for the side that currently suited him best, similar to Colress, a scientist we had met in Unova--I may have told you about him once.

Mahina suggested that we keep an eye out for Gladion again, and try Misty's suggestion of letting him know that we knew Lillie, and he could trust us.

Only time will tell if we can see Gladion again--I hope Misty can get him to open up to us.

We decided to make our next plans for our own journey--from the hill, the next trail was Wela Volcano, where Kiawe hosted a fire type trial, with the Fire Z Crystal, the Pyros Ruby, as a reward. To get there, we had to pass through Royal Avenue, where something called the Battle Royale Dome was located. Mahina told us that the Battle Royal Dome was a relatively new type of battle where four people all battled against each other. With three Pokemon for each participant, that equaled a massive twelve on twelve match.

The thought of twelve Pokemon all fighting against each other made Misty's head spin, but I wanted to try it, so we made plans to stop at the dome on the way to the volcano.

Prof. Kukui called to check on us, and let me know Kirisame had made it back to the lab safely--he explained that Kirisame was able to find me because of the deep bond that we share. When we informed him of our next plans, he told us that sometimes Kiawe likes to come watch the battle royales, and if we were lucky enough to battle with him looking on, that would effectively be a free pass for the trial.

Everyone's exhausted from the last few days, so I'm gonna call it a night. Maybe one day we'll learn the truth about Gladion, and if he is someone we should trust, or fear.

Until next time,
Ash

[EmeraldSky]

Letter 21: An Adventure on the Water

Dear Serena,

I apologize for not getting a letter out as of late--not much has happened in the last few weeks that was really letter worthy. But when Olivia offered to take us on an excursion around the island's largest lake, Misty immediately jumped at the opportunity to go, so the rest of us came too.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here, so let me start from the beginning.

So after bidding Brooklet Hill goodbye, and starting back towards Paniola Ranch, we met Olivia on a fork in the road. She was enamored with Rocky, which is no surprise, because she uses Rock types. After Misty whispered for Brock to behave himself--since he was interacting with the Island Kahuna, after all--Brock proceeded to show Olivia a few tricks he had trained Rocky to do. This went beyond your traditional come, sit, stay, heel, and other basic dog Pokemon tricks--Brock has managed to train Rocky to stand still by simply saying "Hold still". To Rocky, "hold still" means a brushing is on the way, so he will stand there as long as Brock needs him to or wants him to--"Okay" means he can move again, or just the general command that he has done what Brock wants him to do, and has earned a reward.

Olivia was especially enamored with Rocky jumping over a stick (a common test of bravery for young Rockruffs, she told us), but Brock confessed that he was working on jumping through a hoop. Olivia just assured him to keep practicing with the stick, and then once the stick had reached the height of a hoop, try the hoop again.

After Brock's little show with Rocky, Olivia saw our Aquas Sapphire, and congratulated us on clearing Lana's trial. She then invited us to see Lake Keia, the island's largest lake. Misty was more than happy about seeing some water Pokemon, so off to the lake we went. I was more than happy to see Lillie again, and she also wished to come along. Olivia didn't mind this at all--there was plenty of room on the boat, she said.

We set sail after getting lifejackets on and making sure everything was in order. Lillie was enthralled by all the little coastal towns around the lake, and Misty was enthralled by the Primarinas and Popplios frolicking in the water. Mele even popped out to tell some of them hello!

Of course, we had remembered to pack a lunch before coming on board the boat (a light one, since Olivia told us it's not a good idea to have a huge meal when sailing--Lillie added you're more likely to get sick that way)

According to Olivia, one of the lakeside towns we passed is famous for its abundant Magikarp, and that they even have whole leagues for Magikarp jumping. Brock wasn't sure how Magikarp jumping could be entertaining, so Lillie pulled up a video of such a competition. True, there wasn't really much to see (the Magikarps just jumped as high as they could, and whoever reached a higher peak of the jump won.), but Misty was riveted by the cheering crowds and leaping Magikarp.

However, our excursion took a frightening turn when a pack of Gyarados attacked the boat not long after we finished lunch. Olivia saw we had Grass and Electric Pokemon, so she took Lillie inside a cabin to calm down while we dealt with the Gyarados. (she was also pained about not being able to help us, but Rock types don't like water, so she never would have a chance.)

Tintri struck first with a Thunderbolt, and Kia'i helped with some blade quills, but he didn't do very much damage. Misty remembered that Gyarados is part Flying, so it was little wonder that Kia'i wasn't helping very much. Tarina was able to help Tintri out for a little while, but she tired quickly--Lillie volunteered to look after her while we dealt with the Gyarados. We feared that even Hikina and Mahina would have to step in and help us.

I didn't want to wear out Tintri, since I knew Kala wasn't going to be much help, so I had Alegria tag team with Tintri--when one got tired, the other would relieve them.

It turned out that Alegria is a lot stronger than she initially appears--the Gyarados kept pounding at her with all kinds of Water attacks, but Alegria took them all, and was hardly fazed by the constant barrage of water. She even withstood a few Ice attacks, which would be suicide to any other Flying type.

Lillie was worried that the Gyarados were going to attack one of the towns. Brock assured her she had nothing to worry about, but Hekili warned us that Lillie's fears were not completely unfounded:

"There are people who swear that any place Gyarados appears is fated for destruction."

About then, Olivia came on deck to discover that the boat was close to a town, and altered course in that direction to stave off the Gyarados. That seemed to help, but Olivia did warn the townsfolk, just in case the Gyarados followed us.

Luckily, Tintri managed to defeat the chief Gyarados, which frightened the others away. Lillie was especially relieved the town would be all right, and Olivia was pleased we had defeated the Gyarados by ourselves.

The excursion continued on without incident after that, and we made it back to the dock around sunset. After saying our goodbyes to Lillie (and Nebby, of course), Olivia found us a place to stay in one of the towns near the dock. We agreed that once I had gotten a Pyros Ruby from Kiawe, and a Gaia Emerald from Mallow, we would meet again in Konikoni City on the west side of the island for my Grand Trial.

Despite the Gyarados, we had a fantastic day--I look forward to the day I can battle Olivia, but I also know that she is likely Brock turned up to 11, so I plan to train as we continue exploring the island!

Until next time,
Ash

[EmeraldSky]

Letter 22: A Festive Flame

Dear Serena,

We made it to the Battle Royale Dome after a relatively uneventful trek (or at least nothing happened that was letter worthy.) The notion of twelve on twelve battles made Tintri's head spin, but it didn't help that we were roped into one against our will after a competitor didn't show--me, Misty, Brock, and Gladion against a team of up and coming trainers. It was a surprisingly tough match, but we managed to pull through.

It turned out that Kiawe was in the audience for our match, so after Gladion left us, he met us near the dome entrance, and invited us to a local festival near Wela Volcano that honors Fire Pokemon.

Brock was eager to share some stories, and Misty and I were itching to play a little music, so it goes without saying that we accepted.

The Wela Festival (as this festival is called) is said to honor the spirit of the volcano. According to local lore, the people held the first festival to show the volcano god they wanted to live when he threatened to destroy them all because of their bickering and laziness. (Brock eagerly wrote that one down, and I think he told it at one point during the festival--it appears to be a variation of how the lantern festival came to be from here at home--I know Brock told that one, because I was there to watch him tell it!)

As part of the festival, one of the many Fire Pokemon present is named as the Lord (or Lady) of Fire, and all the other Pokemon have to do what this Pokemon says for the day. But this year, the ceremony nearly didn't happen thanks to a mischievous Alolan Marowak.

The Alolan Marowak is hardly the brown skull-wearing creature it is at home--they are actually classified as a Fire and Ghost type. Misty wondered how that was possible, so Hekili told her this:

"Its custom is to mourn its lost companions. Mounds of dirt by the side of the road mark the graves of the Marowak."

Tarina felt sorry for the Alolan Marowaks, but Kiawe assured her "It is true the Alolan Marowaks have shed many tears, iki kekahi, but more than ever, they need to know joy." (Brock of course than had to explain that "iki kekahi" meant "little one" in Native Alolan.)

Now, the Lord (or Lady) of Fire wears a special silver crown with a huge ruby inside called the Wela Crown. Supposedly, this crown will make Pokémon stronger while they wear it, as a sign of the volcano god's strength and power.

The festival kicks off with the Lord (or Lady) of Fire being crowned, but when we went to see this year's recipient (a local Braxien named Lilelile) get crowned, we were all shocked to find the crown missing!

Kiawe assured the people that we would get to the bottom of how the crown had disappeared--and that maybe the volcano god was testing us. Test or not, I eagerly volunteered to help Kiawe find the crown so the festival could start. Brock and Misty came, as well--just in case we ran into any trouble.

So with that, we started up the trails leading to the volcano. Kiawe warned me not to take any of the many volcanic rocks or glass on the trails--that would anger Tapu Lele, and she would send bad luck to anyone that did. As beautiful as all the glass and obsidian was to look at, I kept Kiawe's warning in mind as we made our way up the trail.

It did not take long for us to find what had taken the crown--an Alolan Marowak with a fondess for shiny things. I was not about to send Tintri to take on the crowned Marowak, so Kiawe took the first shot with his Turtonator, Kame. Misty called out Mele, and Brock told Rocky to be ready in case Kiawe needed help.

Surprisingly, Kame held his own in battle, and held up very well to the Alolan Marowak's enhanced strength, thanks to his shell. Mele did have to step in and help Kame by extinguishing the Alolan Marowak's flaming bone. (Kiawe told us later that Alolan Marowaks carry flaming bones as a mimic of human fire dancers, and that they themselves can be trained to do this.)

Brock had to step in some moments later, when the Alolan Marowak attempted to crush Kame with its now-extinguished bone in anger for Mele putting out the fire. Rocky came to the rescue, and leaped on the Alolan Marowak, causing it to lose the crown in all the confusion. Tintri immediately recovered it, and I stashed it in my bag for safekeeping.

The terrified Alolan Marowak confessed it had taken the crown because it had liked the huge ruby on it, and begged Kiawe's forgiveness for nearly ruined the festival. Kiawe assured it that he would ask the forgiveness of the volcano god on its behalf.

The prayer of forgiveness loosely translates to this (as per Mahina):

O mighty guardian of the volcano,
I know someone has wronged you
They come before you now
To admit their wrong
And make things right again.
Grant them your forgiveness
And guide them down the path of light
The prayer is freed.

After bidding the Alolan Marowak farewell, we returned to the town, and Lilelile was crowned Lady of Fire without further incident, officially declaring the festival open.

Hikina discovered Brock's vina in his bag, and Brock explained he had packed it in case he wanted to use it in a storytelling show. Mahina wanted to see him play it, so Brock was happy to oblige with a traditional melody from home--"The Scent of Flowers Everywhere".

Brock then proceeded to tell the legend of the Kanto Lantern Festival for everyone to kick off his show. Overall, he told a good mix of stories from around the world--no fire Pokemon festival is complete without a version of a Moltres tale (especially if Brock sings the Swanna Song at the pivotal moment!)

Despite losing the crown, we had a blast performing for the festival--I only hope I'll enjoy Kiawe's trial this much!

Until next time,
Ash

[EmeraldSky]

Letter 23: A Glittering Recap

Dear Serena,

Have I got a lot to tell you! So much, in fact, I'll need two letters to fit it all in. So this letter will cover my other two trials on Akala and a few other events, and the other letter will cover my match with Olivia and an amazing encounter in the local ruins (known as the Ruins of Life) that spurred Rocky to evolve!

Just as a teaser for my second letter: Rocky evolved into a third form of Lycanroc no one's ever seen before, called the Dusk form. Brock was both surprised and overjoyed for Rocky, and I was just plain surprised--if there is this third form, could that mean there is a fourth form we don't know about yet?

But I digress...more details on that next time.

After the Wela Festival ended, we journeyed up to the volcano to take Kiawe's trial. This trial sounded easy enough--watch Kiawe's trio of Alolan Marowaks dance, and see if you could spot the difference between the dances. But it was harder than we thought--sometimes the differences were very subtle, such as spinning the flaming bone in the opposite direction from the others. This turned out to be not so easy to spot in the whorl of fire the bones made, but Brock's encouragement to "look closer, look closer" helped us spot the differences. (he actually wrote a song about our taking the trial, appropriately called "Look Closer"--I'll have to ask him to play it for you on our next dispatch)

The Totem was a Salazzle, and was not a problem with Rocky and Mele working together--Kiawe was more than happy to give us a Pyros Ruby after seeing our teamwork. (Tintri was on standby in case anyone needed help, but that turned out to not be needed

Our next stop was the Lush Jungle and Mallow's trial. On the way, we ran into Colress, the scientist character from Unova I told you about. He was in Alola doing research on the Z Crystals, so we showed him the ones we had thus far, and told him their names.

After telling Colress goodbye, we made it to the Lush Jungle, where Mallow was waiting for us. She told us that our trial was to prepare the Totem's favorite food.

Misty whistled for some Stoutlands, and we started combing the jungle for the four ingredients Mallow needed--a Mago Berry, a Tiny Mushroom, a Miracle Seed, and a Revival Herb.

It didn't take us long to find the ingredients, and Brock eagerly helped Mallow make the food. (which smelled delicious)

The Totem was a Lurantis, and this battle was surprisingly tough, even though we had Popoki, Alegria, Mele (who knows some Ice moves), Hinata, Yuki, and Brock's fire, ice, and wind arrows. No matter how much damage we did, the Totem would heal itself by absorbing sunlight, then firing it back onto us!

It was a long and sometimes desperate struggle--Hikina and Mahina pitched in by healing the Pokemon that fainted, thankfully. But we hit a breakthrough two hours later--Brock managed to freeze the Totem Lurantis solid with a lucky shot of an Ice Arrow, allowing me to induce Popoki to use Inferno Overdrive, the Fire Z Move!

That was enough to take the Totem down, and Brock accepted the Gaia Emerald from Mallow. She offered to let us try the food that had lured the Totem, but I found out the hard way that Mallow had made it very spicy!

We celebrated all the way back to Heahea City, where we decided to visit the Dimensional Research Lab there. Lillie met us by the entryway, where she was happy to see that our pendants were glowing brighter.

Lillie led the way inside, where we met Prof. Burnet, the chief researcher--who turns out to be Prof. Kukui's wife!

She told us a little of how Lillie came to Prof. Kukui (but I don't remember half of it--the technobabble nearly made me fall asleep), and about something called the Ultra Womhole and the Ultra Beasts.

It was interesting, but a little complicated--before we left, Prof. Burnet told us that Olivia was waiting for us in Konikoni City.

But on the way out, Misty swore she saw a glowing rift appear in the sky for a moment or two. She brushed it off as her imagination, and we continued on our way.

I was surprised to find out that there is a Diglett's Cave in Alola too--and this one is a direct route to Konikoni City!

We met up with some Aether employees, who were trying to chase out some Skull grunts from the cave. This time Brock made good on his promise to shoot, firing his shot into a Zubat cave. That scared off the Skull grunts, and the Aether employees gave us some credits as thanks.

Misty was amazed at Konikoni City--it looked like something out of a martial arts movie! It wasn't hard to find the jewelry shop Olivia owned, but when we got there, she was nowhere to be found.

Her Probopass gave us a care package she had prepared and a letter saying to meet her by the Ruins of Life--we would battle there (Lillie had gone on ahead to the ruins by this time)

But that's not even the half of what happened the next day--not only did I battle Olivia and get the Rock Z Crystal, the Terra Agate, but we encountered a Skull admin, met up with Gladion again, had Rocky evolve, and invited to see the Aether Foundation's headquarters!

I'll tell you about all this and more in my next letter!

Until then,
Ash

[EmeraldSky]

Letter 24: Dusk in the Wind

Dear Serena,

As I promised, I'll tell you about my match with Olivia and how Brock ended up with a Lycanroc form no one else has ever seen before.

But before I took on Olivia, I first had to deal with one of Skull's admins, a girl named Plumeria. Apparently the other grunts look up to her as a role model, but her Golbat and Salandit were easy pickings for Tintri and Mele.

I think she somehow knew that Gladion knew us--when we beat her, she said "Mess with anyone in Team Skull again, and I'll show you how serious I can get."

This made Misty shudder, but I assured her that we'd taken on many evil teams stronger than Skull, and won. Brock warned us that even so, it was not a good idea to consider Team Skull pushovers--who knew how powerful a whole lot of them--or their boss--could be?

With that thought in mind, we met Olivia for our promised match, after turning Lillie loose to explore the ruins. She led off with Nosepass, but Misty was shocked to find out Nosepass had Electric moves (a lesson I learned very much in the same fashion on my Houen trip when I faced Roxanne.) Luckily, none of his Sparks and Thunder Waves hit Mele, but Rocky dashed to shield Mele, and held his ground against the flurry of Electric attacks.

Since it was late in the afternoon when we started the match, the sun was already beginning to go down, so imagine Brock's surprise when Rocky evolved into a Lycanroc that resembled the Midday form, but also had aspects of the Midnight form--not even Sparks and Hekili knew what Rocky had become!

Brock, however, was beyond happy that Rocky evolved, and told him to give me and Mele a hand. It was not long before the Nosepass was down for the count. Mele was happy that Rocky had saved her life. Misty thinks she may have a little crush on Rocky now, but who knows?

Olivia's next Pokemon was Boldore--even Kala had a little trouble against something that big, so Mele pitched in to help. Rocky remained on standby if any of us needed help, but Kala and Mele worked together to bring Boldore down. I did, however, manage to induce Kala to do the Grass Z move--Emerald Rain.

Emerald Rain was a big help in penetrating the Boldore's defenses. But once the Bolodore went down, we next had to face Olivia's Midnight Lycanroc.

We saw that her Midnight Lycanroc carried the Rock Z Crystal, the Terra Agate. The Rock Z move, Continental Crush, easily made short work of Popoki. This angered Kala, and after grappling with each other for a good hour or so, managed to defeat him just as the stars came out. The cool part? Lillie happened to watch Kala defeat the Midnight Lycanroc.

Olivia congratulated us on a job well done, and gave us a Terra Agate of our own. But just then, Tapu Lele appeared to Brock. She had seen how bravely he had protected Mele at the risk of his own life, and awakened a third form of Lycanroc, known as the Dusk Form. (no word if there is a Dawn form too, but it would be cool if there was)

Brock thanked Tapu Lele for revealing this new form of Lycanroc to us, and left her an offering of Passho Berries (which are considered sacred to her) as thanks before we left.

Lillie was stunned when she saw Rocky, and agreed we needed to go back to Melemele and show Prof. Kukui what Rocky turned into. So we made plans to head back there (and possibly explore Melemele Island a bit more thoroughly, since we just blew through it earlier)

On the way back, an Aether employee met us on the outskirts of Konikoni City, and gave us a letter in official Aether Foundation stationary. It turned out the foundation president had heard about how we had protected their employees from Skull, and wanted to personally thank us.

Misty, of course, was excited, and to be honest, I was too, but Brock had his doubts. We decided we would discuss what to do back on Melemele, and stashed the letter in my bag for safekeeping.

I do remember what it said--something to the effect of "We cordially invite you and your friends to take a tour of our paradise, and see firsthand our efforts to conserve endangered Pokemon around the world."

I asked Brock on the ferry why he was concerned, but Brock wasn't sure--he was confident in the Aether Foundation's goals, but he just felt something didn't feel right. Exactly what, he didn't know yet, but if we did accept the invite, it would be a good idea to be on guard.

There was no timetable to accept the invite--all it said was "Should you choose to accept this offer, meet our envoy at the Hano Resort in Heahea City. If you choose to decline, we understand."

The way back to Melemele was uneventful--Tarina took to Rocky's new form right away, and happily snuggled in his fur to take a nap (much to Rocky's bemusement)

Prof. Kukui was stunned when he saw Rocky, and even more amazed when we told him what happened--he was excited, and that the reveal of a new Lycanroc form was a major discovery--one that could shake up the understanding of how Lycanrocs evolved and lived.

I also brought up the Aether invite, and shared our concerns, but Kukui assured us "I can't make the decision for you, cousin, but if something seems off, pay attention!"

That seemed to comfort Brock a little--at least someone else echoed his concerns.

So at the moment, we are resting in the lab before we commence our detailed exploration of Melemele in the morning. Rocky's asleep on the rug, and Tarina's still snuggled in his fur.

I wonder what we'll find as we explore the islands in detail. Needless to say, things have really gotten interesting!

Until next time,
Ash