Pokemon Island Sun (on hiatus)

[EmeraldSky]

Letter 25: The Vortex of Power

Dear Serena,

After a week of nothing interesting to write about, we've managed to meet a new friend, and Misty's gotten better at the Water Z Move, Hydro Vortex.

But let me start from the beginning.

This morning Misty was trying to teach Mele Hydro Vortex, but was having a rough time of it--Mele could get the initial drop to form, but not get it to expand into a whirlpool. After a few fruitless attempts, Mele was tired, so Misty decided to see if she could find someone with a Water type that did know the move, in hopes of getting help.

She didn't have to look very far before befriending Ia, a lady with a Brionne that knew the move. After getting to know each other and Nami, Ia's Brionne, Misty led the way back to the hale, where I was playing with Tarina, and Brock was serenading the sea with his guitar (he'd tuned it to an open G tuning to give his song a more "Alolan" flavor--I think he just made it all up, though.)

After introducing ourselves to Ia and Nami, we told her we were mainly in Alola on vacation, but we were also collecting Alolan songs and lore to share at home. Ia told us that supposedly, there was pirate treasure to be found around the island, and she and Nami were looking for one such stash.

Misty offered to help, in return for teaching Mele how to use Hydro Vortex. Brock and I wanted to come too, so after we had packed accordingly, we set sail for the cove where the treasure supposedly lay.

We arrived at the cove a little after noon, so after a quick lunch, we started scouring the shallows for any sign of treasure. At first we didn't have much luck, so Brock and I took Tarina to look for jewels in the shallows where Misty and Ia practiced Hydro Vortex together.

By the time we got back some time later, Mele was getting the hang of Hydro Vortex, but wasn't quite good enough to do it consistently. Tarina, meanwhile, had found lots of pearls (at least six different colors) on our expedition. Ia and Misty both needed a break by then, so Ia got some fishing line and strung them into a necklace for her.

I remembered we'd brought scuba gear in case we needed to venture into the deeper waters of the cove, so with Brock and Tarina keeping watch from the boat, Ia, Misty, and I suited up for our expedition into the deeper parts of the cove.

There were plenty of coral reefs near the cove--I wish I had brought the underwater camera so I could've taken pictures of the reef. It's okay though--I'm sure we'll get in a few more reef dives in before our vacation ends.

As we ventured into the trench where the treasure Ia was looking for was said to lie, we found out that what I thought was part of a shipwreck was actually a Pokemon named Dhelmise--it it was intent on guarding the treasure!

Sparks had this to say about Dhelmise:

"Swinging its massive anchor, it can KO Wailord in a single blow. What appears to be green seaweed is actually its body."

Ia had packed a Sharpedo stick to keep wild Pokemon away, but that didn't seem to help. It did, however, give Nami time to cover Misty as she got Mele to a safe place to attack from.

I was about to send out Tintri to help Ia when the Dhelmise found Misty! Panicked, Mele managed to pull off Hydro Vortex moments before it could try and hurt Misty.

After we had collected ourselves and Ia assessed Misty for injuries (she was okay, thankfully) she congratulated Mele on finally pulling off Hydro Vortex. Needless to say, Misty was proud of Mele too, and gave her a big hug when we surfaced.

Brock was amazed when we told him what had happened, and he too congratulated Mele on finally mastering Hydro Vortex.

Just when we thought we had lost the Dhelmise, did it surface again! Misty's first thought was to panic, but Mele dove back in the water and used Hydro Vortex again, in full view of Brock and his team!

That was enough to warn the Dhelmise away, so we returned to shore without further incident.

After Misty and I had both showered and rested from our adventure, Ia surprised us with dinner as thanks for helping her and Nami--shoyu Combusken and Kalua Tepig with all the fixings. Brock thought our adventure was worthy of a song, so after dinner, he proceeded to premiere his latest original ballad--"The Ballad of Brave Mele". I'll ask him to play it for you on our next video dispatch.

Ia loved the song, and taught Brock a few more Alolan songs and tales (all the songs had ukulele tabs on them as well as guitar tabs, so I can learn to play them too.) But all the other Pokemon were congratulating Mele too. Mele seemed flattered by all the attention, but she just told the others she was just doing what she had to do to protect her master, and nothing more.

We let Ia and Nami stay with us overnight before seeing her and Nami off the next morning. Misty thanked her and Nami for her help, and promised to keep practicing Hydro Vortex with Mele. Ia in turn wished us good luck on our travels.

I really hope we get to see Ia and Nami again, but Mele's heroic act has been all Tarina can talk about today--maybe there's a Pichu Z Move we don't know about, or she can tap into the Pikapaz?

It's an intriguing thought--we just rested today after our harrowing adventure--but we'll be back on the road again tomorrow!

Until next time,
Ash

[EmeraldSky]

Letter 26: Into the Aether

Dear Serena,

I apologize for not getting a letter out lately--we just needed some time to process just what happened when we accepted the Aether Foundation invite.

So let me start from the beginning--after we talked over the pros and cons of accepting the invite (and Brock reiterated his concerns), we decided we would accept the invite--if their cause was as noble as the invite claimed, Brock would see his concerns were unfounded.

After a quick breakfast of malasadas and fruit, we set out for the Hano Resort, just outside of Heahea City. Tarina was floored by all the amenities that the resort had to offer, but Brock had to tell her we were there for a reason, not to play.

We met the Aether Foundation envoy, a scientist named Faba, in the resort foyer. He explained to us that the Aether Foundation's mission was to protect Pokemon everywhere, and that their president had heard about our efforts protecting them from Team Skull, and wished to personally thank us. This seemed to calm Brock a little, and flattered Misty a bit--it had been some time since the president of any company or foundation wished to thank us (the Devon Co. president for me, and the Silph president for Misty and Brock) so it was a bit of a surprise.

The ride over to the foundation was uneventful, but there's no way you could get lost at sea trying to find it--it looked like a massive white obelisk in the middle of the water, with several other buildings around it.

We were met by Wicke, another scientist. After welcoming us to the facility, which was named the Aether Paradise, she explained to us that any weapons were not allowed except in emergencies and designated areas, and Poke Balls were jammed--the Pokemon inside were not for catching (we could still summon and recall any Pokemon we had with us, she assured us.

After Brock's archery gear was whisked away into a storage area (he would get it back in the event of an emergency, or when we left, Wicke said) we were taken up into the Aether Paradise itself aboard this cool futuristic elevator that would be right at home in a sci fi movie!

It really was a paradise! We were awed by the millions of Pokemon romping around, so after Wicke assured us that taking pictures of the Pokemon was welcomed and encouraged, I very nearly filled up Sparks' memory taking pictures of them all. It was no easy task deciding which ones to keep and which ones to trash, either. (I have however, made some progress on an album just for the pictures we took there--you'll be getting those very soon)

Once we were done admiring the paradise itself, Wicke introduced us to the foundation president, Lusamine.

Brock's first reaction was to literally sing Lusamine's praises, but one glance from Misty (that angry look I like to call the "tsunami look"), and he quickly decided to behave himself.

Lusamine was flattered someone would sing to her, so after introducing ourselves, she told us that she founded the foundation so rare Pokemon could be conserved and protected. While that goal sounded noble, something about it caused a sick feeling to well up in my stomach. i just assumed it was Beautiflies over seeing a company leader, and let it go.

But what happened next was proof that maybe that sick feeling was Arceus telling us that there was merit to Brock's worries.

As Lusamine continued to show us around the paradise, what looked like a portal suddenly appeared in the room, and this weird Jellicent looking thing came out of it. Lusamine told us that the Jellicent-thing was one of the Ultra Beasts we had learned about back at the Dimensional Research Facility.

Even though Lusamine told us to stay back, something in my heart told me to sing the Swanna Song to the odd being, in hopes the song would warn it away (since it is effectively a promise to cleanse evil).

So I challenged the being by singing the Swanna Song to it...and no sooner had the last "si" echoed through the paradise, did the Ultra Beast try to attack me! Luckily, the Swanna Song had created a shield around me and boosted Tintri's attack power, but I still managed to jump away from the energy wave it fired at me.

Tintri and the Ultra Beast traded blows for a few minutes, before the Ultra Beast disappeared back into the portal from whence it came. I was naturally tired from using the Swanna Song, and Tintri was tired from battling, but Brock and Misty were wondering what in the world had just happened.

Lusamine allowed us to rest in the infirmary until we were well enough to travel again, and chartered us a boat to Ula'ula Island, telling us that she admired my bravery, and if we found any more Ultra Beasts, to let her know. I told her we would do what we could, and after Brock was reunited with his gear, we set sail.

Now, we're on our way to Ula'ula Island, and it's been really quiet as we try to figure out what in the world just happened--are the ultra Beasts in fact real? Where are they coming from, and what do they want with our world? Is Lusamine and the Aether Foundation everything they say they are?

Misty assured me not to worry about it for now. Brock added that even though he too had a lot of questions, he figured we'd learn the answers soon enough.

According to my map of Alola, we should be arriving iin Malie City, which is a hotbed of knowledge and culture in Alola, thanks in part to its exchange program that has worked in Kanto and Johto both. I'm looking forward to seeing the gardens the city is known for, and Brock wants to try and find some Alolan folktales to tell in the local library.

Whatever just happened back there, it just made our vacation a lot more interesting!

Until next time,
Ash