(Pokemon Sun and Moon Fanfic) A Lily Blossoms In Kanto: Chapter 12
Chapter 12: Exploring Cerulean City – Part 1
Lillie stirred awake the next morning at the sound of barking. She rose from her linen sheets, fighting down a yawn as she noticed Koko blinking awake as well on the pillow next to her. They both leaned over the side of the bed where the window was, sunlight spearing through the blinds, and parted them to see what the commotion was.
Bill’s Leafeon, Viri, was sitting atop the hill that had berry trees planted on it and barking menacingly towards a fleeing orange Pokémon that Lillie hadn’t seen before. It had two cream-colored spots on its back, similar to the tips of its twin tails, as it darted on all fours around the trees. And it had a small branch with three Oran Berries attached to it in its mouth.
The Verdant Pokémon growled before she swung her tail around, releasing a barrage of Razor Leaf towards it. But the mysterious Pokémon was then wreathed in a pale light as it used Quick Attack to run away, rocketing towards the edge of the slope and then jumping out of sight as the leaves buried themselves into the ground. The sound of splashing faintly reached Lillie’s ears and she remembered that the tide should be high right about now.
Bill had said that past that hill was where the cape is. The inlet fed into the marsh between the tunnel and forest that went all the way down into Cerulean City, with a subterranean river that could be most evidently seen in the Cerulean Cave. He’d also said they could find several different kinds of water Pokémon there, but that it would be dangerous going down there during high tide since it was a tidal marsh and they could be swept out to sea.
Nympha, Bill’s Vaporeon, stuck her head out of the pond right about then due to the commotion. She let out an inquiring sound towards her younger sister, who responded by gesturing towards one of the berry trees and letting out a series of Leafeon noises that Rotom was needed to translate. Since the living Pokédex remained inactive inside of Lillie’s bag, hanging on the door-hook, it went undecipherable as the eldest sister dragged herself out of the pond and went towards the hill.
Lillie pulled away from the window and stretched her arms out into the air, a light ‘mmm‘ slipping through her closed lips. She then turned to her Starter that had mimicked her in rising off the pillow and stretching out. She reached over and gave the three-tailed Alolan Vulpix a gentle brush over her head, the smooth fur like silk sliding over her palm. “Good morning, Koko. Did you sleep well?”
“Pix,” the Fox Pokémon answered as she leaned into the touch.
Lillie smiled before pulling her hand back and getting out of bed. She had two—no, three Pokémon to feed at the moment before she could get ready to set out. She’d promised Koko that they would check out the Nugget Bridge after all.
She grabbed the bowls that she had in her bag and the standard dry Pokémon food, filling them halfway. The three Pokémon in her care were, after all, rather small so they didn’t need that much. Koko jumped from the top of the bed to the floor and then came over on her own accord to eat while Lillie then walked over to the corner where Shuckle had chosen to nap, head and appendages tucked away in his shell.
Gently rapping on it with her knuckles, she said, “Shuckle, it’s morning. Wake up so you can eat breakfast.”
“Kkklllle….” yawned the Mold Pokémon as he stuck his head out of an opening and looked around for a bit. Then he extended an appendage to rub his beady eyes before dragging himself over towards where Koko was eating.
Lillie then went over to her bag again and roused Rotom as well. “Rotom, wake up so you can eat too.”
The inside of her bag shifted before Rotom emerged in its base form, a body of plasma shaped like a lightning rod. Lillie could taste the ozone in the air around it that wasn’t normally present when it was in its Pokédex. It reminded her of the gym battle briefly as it flew over to a bowl and ate as well.
She took a moment to eat a travel ration herself. She figured that the others were still asleep, so she didn’t want to make too much noise or wake them up by rummaging in the Kitchen without permission. Then Lillie got changed in the bathroom, readying herself for the day ahead. She put her hair into its ponytail and took on her Z-Powered form once again.
When she emerged, the others had finished eating. “We’re heading into Cerulean City this morning to see the Nugget Bridge and then check out the rest of the city since we’ll be here for a while, but we may run into wild Pokémon along the way. I’ll have one of Mother’s Pokémon with me, but they’ll only help in an emergency, and Rotom can’t battle, so I’ll be relying on you two to keep us safe, Koko and Shuckle. Okay?”
The Alolan Vulpix gave an enthusiastic half-jump while the Shuckle gave a more subdued, hesitant nod. Rotom made a series of noises towards Lillie before realizing she couldn’t understand it. Then it darted back inside of her bag and stuck its possessed Pokédex out of the top to give her a salute. And I’m ready to record any Pokémon we come across, zzzt!
With that decided, she returned Shuckle to his ball and set in her pocket along with Koko’s ball since the Fox Pokémon preferred to walk. Then she stepped out of the room and went to her Mother’s guestroom, lightly knocking on the door.
It was Lilligant that answered, cracking the door open enough to see with her seed-shaped eyes. “Lilli?”
“Morning, Lilligant,” she said to the Flowering Pokémon. “Mother told me to bring one of you with me when I left out.”
Lilligant nodded and held one of its appendages up to ask for her patience before she closed the door again. Then there was some back and forth that Lillie could hear between her and Clefable as they discussed something on the other side. Rotom translated for her that they were deciding on who to send, ruling out Mismagius given the time of day, Bewear because of last time, and Milotic for obvious reasons.
A moment later they decided to send Lilligant since Clefable had been up all night with her Mother, who apparently stayed up late for some reason, and wouldn’t be fully alert. The Flowering Pokémon then emerged with her own Ultraball and held it out. “Lil.”
As she took it, Lillie found herself wanting to ask what her Mother was doing late last night when she needed her rest. But she decided against pressing Lilligant on it since she and Clefable were doing their best to take care of her and they wouldn’t actually tell her anyway. They were her Mother’s Pokémon after all.
Instead, she asked, “Do you want to walk with us since it’s a sunny day?”
Lilligant nodded with polite enthusiasm. “Lilli.”
That decided, they made their way out of the cottage. The moment they stepped outside, they were exposed to the gentle warming rays of the morning Spring sun. It gave Lillie a bounce in her step as they then made their way towards Route 25 and the forest that laid there.
[-A Lily Blossoms in Kanto-]
The forest was peaceful as they walked along the dirt path, staying the course that would lead them to the far end. There they could come out near the other end of the Nugget Bridge. Towering trees rose up to the sky along the path, their trunks somewhat thinner but with dozens of branches rising up to spread their leaves wide and tint the morning rays that touched down on the greenery around the path—grass, bushes, and moss that crawled freely over fallen branches.
Lillie could only imagine that it was even more vibrant away from the well-traveled road. And then there were the Pokémon that were up that early in the morning too. She spotted some Sunkern that were sitting beneath one leafy bush, nipping at the dewdrops there.
Koko observed the curious little Seed Pokémon with an inquisitive tilt of her head before inching closer. That caused them to notice. They started shaking their leaves at her in an effort to stave her off that was less useful than one would think.
“Koko,” Lillie called, causing the Alolan Vulpix to rise up and turn her head back to her trainer. “Don’t get too close. They don’t want to be bothered while they’re eating.”
Koko nodded once before turning her attention to a nearby Caterpie instead that was hanging on a branch nearby, carefully chewing on leaves while hiding the rest of its body within the foliage. She kept her distance beneath it as she observed it, leaving Lillie to wonder just how sheltered Koko had been before she came with her.
The Worm Pokémon didn’t mind her at first. But then Rotom floated up to it and snapped a photo, startling it. It released a pungent scent that Koko proceeded to hurry away from.
“The same goes for you, Rotom,” Lillie said as he snapped a photo of the Sunkern next.
But I was just gathering data, zzt! Rotom claimed as it floated back over.
“You can say that because you don’t have a nose,” Lillie pointed out. “What would you do if one of them attacked you because of it? Koko probably isn’t going to be willing to help when she has to put up with that scent.”
The Alolan Vulpix agreed a whimper before the repulsive scent was replaced with a sweeter smell. It wafted from her mother’s Lilligant as the Flowering Pokémon used Aromatherapy. Breathing it in made both Lillie and Koko feel more relaxed, as if all the tension melted and any mental fatigue they’d had was gone.
“Thank you, Lilligant,” Lillie told her. She merely shook her head in a humble manner, as if to say that it was nothing, when a Pokémon abruptly popped into existence. Lillie stumbled back at the surprising arrival of a Butterfree that fluttered its wings menacingly… well, as menacingly as a Butterfree could manage mere inches from her face.
The newly-arrived Butterfly Pokémon protectively placed itself between the Caterpie and them. “Fre-free!”
Koko immediately got in front of her, taking on an aggressive stance with her hackles raised and a chill that permeated air, while Lilligant grabbed her arm and pulled her back in anticipation of a fight. That seemed to be the case for the Butterfree as well, considering its wings took on a light-blue hue and its eyes were starting to glow purple. It was getting ready to attack.
“Everyone calm down!” Lillie insisted. She figured that scent the Caterpie put out must’ve served as a cry for help. She knew that Alolan Pokémon did that, but she supposed it was natural for one of the older evolutions to protect a younger one even here. “It must’ve been worried that we were attacking the Caterpie and came to help it.”
Koko didn’t back down and the Butterfree looked ready to fight either way until something landed between them from above. It was a humanoid Pokémon that had dark brown fur with the exceptions of its ears that hung long and low, the fluffy bands of its wrists, and from the thighs down. It held its arms out between them.
“Lop!” it said, looking between them all. “Lop! Lopunny!”
Zzzhe’s saying not to fight, Rotom translated.
“Don’t just teleport off like that, Pieri!” Another voice called out. Human this time.
Lillie recognized that voice even before she, along with the others, turned their eyes towards the approaching figure. It was Azuria, accompanied by another Pokémon in her arms. It was one that had a pair of flowers on its heads and a skirt of leaves that reminded Lillie of when Elio’s Oricorio was in its Pa’u Style.
The Coordinator panted as she came to a stop in front of them. “I’m sorry. He didn’t interrupt your capture, did he?”
Lillie shook her head. “Rotom just startled the Caterpie behind it and the Butterfree must’ve wanted to help it. I didn’t plan on capturing or battling either of them if I could help it.”
“Thank goodness…” Azuria let out a sigh in relief before she turned to scold the Butterfree. “You can’t go around being aggressive like that to prove a point. Much less picking a fight with a Pokémon younger than you. We raised you better than that!”
The Butterfly Pokémon looked down towards the ground, properly chastised and antenna drooping as he fluttered over in front of her. “Furee, freee…”
Her expression melted, going from stern in a sort of motherly way to gentle as she patted him on the head. “Don’t let what A.J. said get to you. You’re better than that and he hasn’t been himself lately. Okay?”
“…free…” There was still no heart in its response as it sulked.
With the hostility dissipated, Lillie crouched down and picked Koko up to calm her down before she asked, “Are all of those Pokémon yours?”
“Yeah. I caught Gracie when she was a Buneary and Zinn when he was an Oddish here, while Pieri was originally raised from a Caterpie by A.J. here as well. He traded him to me when we were younger since he liked contests more than battle. I thought I would bring them here bright and early so they could unwind, since its where they all came from.”
Are most of her Contest Pokémon native Cerulean City then? Lillie wondered as Azuria took notice of the Flowering Pokémon and her expression brightened. “Oh, I should introduce you. This is my mother’s Lilligant. She came with me today for a walk as well.”
Lilligant stepped forward and gave a curtsy in greeting when Zinn leapt down from his trainer’s embrace and made his way over to her. He then extended his short arm out for her to shake. She responded in kind with one of the leaves that served as her arms, only to be surprised when he leaned forward and kissed it. “Lilligant!?”
She pulled back in surprise, made only more confusing as the Bellossom made a sweeping gesture and said something that caused her to become slightly flustered. The Lopunny rolled her eyes and gave a slight shake of the head before she grabbed him by the petals and pulled him away. It only left Azuria sighing once more.
“Uh, Rotom?” Lillie began, confused by this development.
He complimented her beauty as surpassing that of the forest in its prime and offered to take her to someplace where they could watch the sunset over the cape, zzzt.
“I’m sorry if he made her feel uncomfortable,” Azuria said, a hint of resignation in her tone. As if she’d done this before many times. “He’s… normally more mature than that.”
“Lo, lop-lop…” the Rabbit Pokémon chimed in with a sing-song tone while holding the shorter Pokémon in the air to keep him at bay, to which Rotom translated as ‘No, not really’.
Her morning could be going better, Lillie suspected as the Coordinator sighed for a third time. Still, looking at the collection of Pokémon that she had, Lillie could see they were fairly well taken care of. The Bellossom’s flowers were vivid and bright, while the Lopunny’s fur looked neatly groomed.
“So, what brings you out here this early in the morning?” Azuria asked, quickly changing the topic.
“We’re heading to Nugget Bridge,” Lillie explained as she looked down to Koko staring at the newcomers warily. She had not forgotten the handling that she had been put through on the train, it seemed. “Koko is excited to try it out since she watched the Alola Title Defense Match last night, and I promised her I would take her there.”
“If that’s the case then you’ll want to get there soon,” Azuria told her. “From what Melanie has told me, since the Gym shut down it’s been a sort of pseudo-Gym that’s been used in its place for the kids around here to train before they do that League thing. You’ll have a long wait if you get there too late.”
“Oh, then we’d better hurry since we’ve got to get back later,” Lillie said. She still had that training session that her mother wanted to do as well.
“In that case, how about we help you get there a little sooner?” Azuria offered with a wink before she looked over to Butterfree. “It’ll be our way of making up for interrupting your walk, won’t it Pieri?”
He nodded once, but didn’t look any happier than he did before. Whatever was bothering him was still weighing heavily on his mind. Even so, his eyes shone for a moment and Lillie felt a tingling sensation that reminded her of when Nebby did so as it encompassed her, Lilligant, and Koko.
“If you’ve got some free time afterwards, I’ll show you around Cerulean for a bit,” Azuria promised as she gave them a wave. “Have fun until then.”
Then they abruptly—
Butterfree used Teleport!
—appeared somewhere else.
Lillie took a moment to reorient herself after the unexpected teleportation, adjusting her grip on the Alolan Vulpix so she didn’t accidentally fall. They were past the edge of the forest, which was to her far left, on an inclined hill that led into mountainous slopes to the right and rear of them. There was a bundle of trees where a group of Pineco began to stir in surprise by their appearance—
Butterfree used Teleport!
—and then they were teleported again.
Lillie took another moment to figure out where they were this time. They were on flatter grounds, further to the south and within a field that had flowers scattered about. To the south was a stretch of tall grass that bordered the water, with a small bridge that connected that patch of land to the other side of the river and had some Fishermen on it, casting their lines into the water.
And it ran under the Nugget Bridge.
“Fufuree,” Butterfree called out, drawing their attention towards him. He was fluttering above them, looking slightly winded.
Teleporting was taxing on the mind for most Pokémon that had the psychic potential to use it. Nebby had shown Lillie that, being almost completely immobilized after having done so when it had taken them from Aether Paradise to Melemele Island. So while Butterfree managed to get them there from the woodlands in two jumps, it looked like it hadn’t been easy.
“Are you going to be okay?” she asked, to which he gave a bob of his head before making soft Butterfree noises as he nervously fiddled with his fingers. Rotom translated that as an apology for what happened in the forest. “Well, no one was harmed so I suppose it’s fine. Just make sure you apologize to your Trainer, okay?”
“Free.” He nodded twice before his eyes grew luminous again. Then the Butterfly Pokémon vanished.
“…Well,” Lillie started, grabbing the attention of Koko and Lilligant, “it was faster than we expected, but we’ve arrived at Nugget Bridge. Should we go see how things work?”
Her mother’s Lilligant nodded. “Lil.”
“Pix!” Koko yipped excitedly.
So they crossed the under-bridge that stretched across the river’s surface and proceeded down from the other side to reach the mouth of Nugget Bridge. There to greet them was a brown-haired man with glasses who looked maybe around Professor Kukui’s age, with a badge on his shirt.
“Welcome to the Nugget Bridge Gauntlet,” he said as he gave them a once over. His eyes lingered on Lilligant and Koko with curiosity. Not surprising since neither were native to Kanto. “I think I would’ve remember if I’d seen you before, so is it your first time here?”
“Yes. We just arrived in Cerulean City yesterday and wanted to try our hand at it,” Lillie explained. “Can you tell us how things work?”
“Of course.” He reached into his pocket for a small case and pulled from it what looked to be a card of sorts. “First, this is for you.”
“What is it?” Lillie asked as she accepted it.
“That card serves to mark your progress through the gauntlet,” he explained. “Since Mrs. Waterflower became a member of the Elite Four and the gym closed, it was decided that the Nugget Bridge would become something of a pseudo-Gym for young trainers who needed to prepare for the Gym Challenge. To make it to the end and face the leader of the bridge, you need to beat every trainer along the way at least once. When you beat them, they’ll stamp the card to show you passed that section, and when the person at the end stamps the card you can take it to the Pokémon Center to receive a badge and TM as a prize.”
“It’s just like a real Gym then?”
“The rules are a little laxer in the beginning, but by the time you reach the end it’ll be stricter like an actual Gym,” he clarified. “For example, the first trainer will fight you in a one-on-one battle, and the second will allow for a two-on-two battle with substitutions, but the third will challenge you to a double battle since that’s become something of a popular format to battle with around the world. However, to avoid wearing out the trainers, if you lose then you’ll have to wait at least three days to come back.”
“That sounds like it was a lot of work to organize.”
“It was, but the Mayor wanted it done in an effort to keep the tradition alive. And, since a lot of younger trainers use it to gain experience on both ends, they’re more prepared for the challenges they’ll face.” He gestured to the bridge where there was a younger boy looking towards them. “Your first opponent will be Luka, if you’re ready.”
She nodded. “Yeah. We’re ready.”
“Then I wish you the best of luck.”
With that, Lillie took her first steps onto the bridge towards the trainer. The young boy looked practically enthusiastic as he jumped up from his perch on the railing and ran over to greet his challenger. He drew close to Lilligant, unperturbed by the fact that the Flowering Pokémon was a head larger than him.
“Is this the Pokémon you’re going to be facing me with?” he asked.
“Lilligant will only be watching,” Lillie explained as her mother’s Pokémon shook her head. She then set the Alolan Vulpix down. “Koko will be your opponent.”
“Vulpix!” Koko bobbed her head before taking a step forward, anticipating the challenge to come.
“Then it’ll be a one-on-one battle between it and Talon,” the boy said as he walked over to the first railing and jumped over it. “Get over to the other side so they’ll have the entire bridge to themselves.”
Lillie did so with Lilligant, leaving the central area of the bridge open for the impending battle as the boy flung his ball into the air. It burst open and light speared down to take the form of a Pidgey that spread its wings and let out a cry as it eyed Koko warily. Rotom quickly snapped a photo before floating back over to Lillie.
Since both Pokémon were out now, Luka flipped his hat backwards and gave the signal to begin. “Okay, the match is on now!”
Koko activated Snow Warning!
The air chilled as a flat layer of light-grey clouds formed, covering a radius around both the Pokémon and their trainers at the fringes. Glimmering flakes of snow began to lightly fall. The Pidgey looked up at the clouds, a fog billowing from his beak as he drummed his wings.
He then looked over to his trainer, craning his head as he tweeted, “Pidget?”
“Don’t worry about it!” Luka said, as if to alleviate any concerns the small Pokémon possessed. “Use Gust!”
At the sight of the Tiny Bird Pokémon hopping off the ground and beating his wings rapidly to kick up a powerful wind, Lillie snapped out with a counter order. “Powder Snow, Koko!”
The Alolan Vulpix inhaled and then billowed out a chilled wind laced with frost as the beating of wings stirred the wind. The two forces clashed, the winds meshing and pushing against one another for an instant that spread the chill further out. Then the Powder Snow began winning out, pushing back the Gust despite the Pidgey’s best efforts as beads of sweat formed from the exertion. He broke off his attack before it was completely overtaken, flapping harder to rise higher in the air and off to the side, narrowly avoiding the remnants of the cold wind as Koko ran out of breath.
The battle has a 95% chance of concluding in our favor, zzt! Rotom informed them after the exchange. Powder Snow and Gust have the same amount of force between them, but Snow Warning adds additional strength to the force of Ice-Type attacks, even if it isn’t fully developed yet!
“So what?” Luka said to that. “A little snow isn’t going to scare us off! Use Gust again!”
The Pidgey took two beats of his wings to fly a little further back and tried again, whipping up the wind.
“Koko, use Powder Snow again!”
Koko exhaled again and released another Powder Snow, this time aiming up at an angle to hit the aerial target. Frost spread out as it hit the rolling winds that rushed for ground-bound Pokémon, falling over the battlefield even as it pushed through the attack. Once more the Pidgey broke off his attack, getting out of the attack’s radius as it peppered out.
Maintaining his height while hovering in the air just in front of his trainer, the Pidgey looked back and gave an inquisitive, “Pigeo?”
Luka gave a slight nod. “Yeah, got it. Get a little higher and do it once more.”
He took flight into the air, closer to the cold clouds and then released a powerful Gust attack once more. Koko jumped forward as she exhaled a Powder Snow this time, trying to close the distance enough so that it wouldn’t be able to get away as her attack won over his even faster—
“Now dive!” Luka ordered.
—but there was no clash like before as the Gust died instantly when the Tiny Bird Pokémon closed its wings onto its body. He allowed himself to drop down before extending his wings again and gliding around with a turn, circling to get around to Koko’s side.
Her head traced it, refusing to lose sight of the Pidgey. The sweeping, frost-laden wind followed, like a cold hand of winter grasping for the bird to give it a freezing embrace. But then she reached her limit, her lungs stalling as the need for air forced her to stop. She inhaled to fire again, but at that point the Pidgey flapped its wings forward as though to brake and everything stung.
Talon used Sand Attack!
“Koko!” Lillie cried out as her Starter Pokémon was deprived of her senses. The sand-laced winds had caught her up close while she was inhaling, leaving her coughing and trying to wipe her eyes clean as the Pidgey trilled while it circled back around and picked up speed.
“First rule of battling: don’t become predictable just because you’ve got one attack that’s effective!” Luka said smugly. “If you keep using the same attack over and over, your opponent will naturally get the timing down. Now Talon, Tackle!”
“Look out!” Lillie shouted as the Pidgey took a dive for her Starter Pokémon. It was painful to listen as Koko yelped the moment she was slammed into by the Tiny Bird Pokémon and knocked down, unable to dodge since she couldn’t see. Lillie chastised herself at not having realized that something was wrong with how he kept ordering it to do the same attack over and over, despite it not working.
No, I have to support Koko. But she shook head to drive the pang of guilt down as she watched the Pidgey going for Koko again, slamming into her a second time. It was breathing faster, working its wings harder to stay aerial and active. The cold was still hampering it, so maybe…
“Koko, jump up and fire a Powder Snow down now!” Lillie ordered as it swooped down for the Fox Pokémon again. Koko still hadn’t regained her sight, so when she hopped up and fired down, she did so wide-spread to make up for the lack of sight, even as the Pidgey tried to stop its descent with frantic flaps to no avail.
It’s Super-Effective!
The result was billowing white mist, the frigid blanket covering the section of the bridge up to their waists as it rolled past. It joined with the evaporation fog rising over the edge of the railing, born from the cold air passing through the water vapor rising from below that left Lilligant shivering slightly as she ran her arms against her body until it thinned out.
“Ah, Talon!” Luka called out as they saw the Tiny Bird Pokémon was on the surface of the bridge that was coated in hoarfrost.
His feathers were rime-coated, its small body trembling even unconscious as its shallow and shuddering breaths came out as puffs of fog. “P-P-Pigeeoo…”
“Even after we got the timing down and everything, it still wasn’t enough.” Seeing that it was unable to battle further, the youngster gritted his teeth before recalling his Pokémon and admitting defeat. “Fine, it’s my loss.”
Since the battle was over, Lillie hopped over the railing and ran over to Koko as the Fox Pokémon tried to wipe the remainder of the sand out of her eyes. She crouched down and immediately pulled out a handkerchief and bottle of Fresh Water, wetting the former and then using it to clear the sand away until crystalline-blue eyes were visible once more. Next was a Potion to remedy the damage that had been done in the battle.
“Does that feel better?” she asked afterwards, to which she received an excited yip. Relieved, Lillie brought her delicate her fingers to the soft tuft of fur on Koko’s head and rubbed affectionately. “I was so worried that we’d make a mistake. But it looks like we pulled through.”
“Vulll…” Koko purred as she leaned into the touch, her tails flicking.
Lillie then looked over to Luka as he dragged his feet on the way over to her, pouting. “Your Pidgey really surprised me with how well-trained it was.”
“Well, yeah. We’ve been doing this for a while now, so he’s gotten a lot of experience. He’ll probably be evolving soon.” He puffed out his chest a bit at that before he extended his hand. “Anyway, gimme your card and I’ll give you the first stamp.”
Lillie received a Red Stamp!
“Thanks,” she said as she looked down at the stamp on her card.
“One last thing I’ll give you is some advice, since you’re new at this,” he added. “The battles on the bridge are something that everyone can see, including the other Bridge Trainers like me. That same strategy won’t work against Amaya, so you’re going to need to switch things up or you’ll come up short.”
Lillie nodded before she felt Koko’s paw pressing against her and looked to see she was excitedly gesturing for them to go further down the bridge, where a Lass was waiting. That must’ve been Amaya. When she gestured for them to come forward, Koko started running down the bridge with Rotom following after her.
“Goodness. She’s as excitable as Nebby was,” Lillie said with a sigh, albeit not unhappily. If anything, it was a good thing for a young Pokémon to be so active. Lilligant waited patiently for her to walk as well, following after her until they arrived.
“Good job getting here on your first go, but it only gets harder from here on out,” Amaya warned her new challenger. “It’ll be a two-on-two match. Have you decided who you’ll send out first?”
“Yes,” Lillie declared, to which Koko bounced up, eager to continue despite already having been in one battle. “Koko, I want you to rest a little more first, so we’re letting Shuckle get a turn, okay?”
Koko objected, citing through Rotom she could still fight.
But Lillie stood by what she said. “You had the first battle. Now let him have his own.”
Hearing the firmness in her tone, Koko didn’t argue further and instead followed Lillie as they went over to the side of the bridge while Amaya did the same in the opposite direction. Lillie then set Shuckle’s ball into an active state with a tap of the button before she tossed it out. “Shuckle, do your best!”
Shuckle’s head twisted around as he took in his surroundings before a second ball burst open across from him. It looked like a lavender gumdrop with stubby arms and eyes that looked like plus signs, feet and ears tipped with yellow. A tiny sound that was drowned out by the passing breeze left its mouth as it waved its tiny arms towards Shuckle, a Shell Bell affixed to a band just beneath its mouth.
Zzzzrtt! A new Pokémon to analyze! Rotom floated in front of Lillie and his back-mounted camera snapped its photo to reference it against the database until a match was found. Whismur, the Whisper Pokémon. A timid Pokémon, when startled it’s normally-quiet cries become an ear-splitting shriek that leaves it tired when it stops.
“If you’re ready, we’ll start the match now!” Amaya stated. “Raphy, you know what to do!”
The male Whismur inhaled and let out a shout. “Mur!”
The attack sent out a slightly visible sound wave that barreled towards Shuckle. The Mold Pokémon barely regarded the attack with more than a discomforting look as it passed through him, beady eyes narrowing slightly at being attacked in general.
It’s not very effective, izzz it? Rotom cited while continuing his surveillance and recording the battle.
“Shuckle, use Constrict!” Lillie ordered. Then she remembered he was still slightly wild and clarified so they didn’t get a repeat of the Vermillion Gym. “Aim for his body, not his throat.”
“Whis!?” squeaked the Whisper Pokémon as Shuckle’s frontal appendages snapped forward, stretching to get across the distance between them before wrapping around his body beneath his arms. It struggled a bit before inhaling and letting out another shout.
“Mur!!”
This time the sound wave was clearer, the air distorting as it made the gummy-like appendages wobble on its run towards Shuckle. The moment it hit, the Mold Pokémon flinched as though it had been physically struck, eyes scrunching up. The soft chiming of the Shell Bell resonated afterwards, tickling the ears of all that heard it.
“It was stronger?” Lillie seemed surprised. Then she recalled what Professor Kukui had told her about some moves getting more effective over time and use. “Rotom, what moves does Whismur learn that get stronger over time!”
Accessing Moves List for Whisper Pokémon, zzzt… data found! It’s using Echoed Voice! Rotom explained. The amount of damage it can do increases with every consecutive shout until it reaches a peak!
“Mur!!!”
The third shout was even stronger, actually managing to rattle Shuckle enough that he reeled back. His appendages shook loose from the Whisper Pokémon and snapped back to their normal length. The Shell Bell’s ringing was louder as well, the slight signs of flesh being bruised faded.
“That’s right,” Amaya said with a grin. “Luka’s thing is all about timing, but mine is about punishing you for taking your time. The longer the battle drags on, the stronger Raphy’s attack gets. The stronger his attack gets, the more his Shell Bell heals him for. If you can’t finish the battle quickly then your Shuckle will be knocked out and your Vulpix will have to face off against a fully powered Echoed Voice.”
“Shuckle, can do something else offensive?” Lillie asked as the Mold Pokémon got over the blow rattling him. He then turned his head and nodded. “Do that then!”
“Kle!” Shuckle’s eyes scrunched up, his frown deepening as he braced himself at the sight of the Whismur inhaling. Wisps of red seeped from his body as he did so.
“Mur!!!!”
Faster and stronger, the shout was loud enough that Lillie herself winced from proximity as the blow smacked Shuckle even harder. His head bobbed as though he was knocked for a loop, but he straightened up as he lightly shook his head while the blood-tinged light wreathing him grew brighter.
Shuckle is storing energy!
“Mur!!!!!”
The fifth shout. The strongest possible shout for the tiny Pokémon to unleash met with Shuckle in the form of a sound wave loud enough that everyone else had to cover their ears, including Koko and Lilligant as they pressed their paws and leaves respectively against their ears. Shuckle was actually sent backwards by several inches, tumbling over once before getting his limbs under him again.
“Shuckle, are you okay?” Lillie asked, noticing the Mold Pokémon’s head was actually drooping. He barely seemed able to keep his eyes open, despite the blood-tinged aura expanding once more.
His response was to withdraw into his shell before emerging looking energized once more. The area around his mouth was covered in a bluish liquid from the Berry Juice he had ingested. They must’ve been made from fermenting the berries she had given him the first night they met.
“It might’ve been able to recover a bit, but it can’t stand up to another hit!” Amaya declared. “Raphy, finish it!”
“Shuckle, look out!” Lillie shouted as the Whismur inhaled with the intention of releasing its most powerful shout once more—
Shuckle unleashed the energy!
—but before the next attack came, Shuckle unleashed his pent-up fury. The blood-tinged aura that represented all the pain and suffering gathered onto its right appendage that stretched like it was fired out of a cannon. It hit fast enough that the Whismur didn’t even get a whisper out before he was struck head-on in the face.
A Critical Hit!
The blow propelled the Whisper Pokémon backwards until he hit the ground, bounced off it, and then tumbled back several times until he was face-down on the surface of the bridge. Silence lingered as Amaya leaned over the railing and cradled her Pokémon that had gone limp. It was unconscious.
“What was that?” Amaya asked as she returned the Whisper Pokémon into his ball.
Rotom took the liberty to helpfully explain. Shuckle used Bide, zzt. The technique storezzz the pain and damage the user receives and converts it into power. Then, when that energy is unleashed, it shoots out in a fast, singular blow that doubles all the damage it took, zzzt.
And since Shuckle had taken two of Whismur’s strongest Echoed Voice attacks, Bide was significantly strengthened, Lillie figured. Shuckle couldn’t do much damage on his own, but by taking the damage he received and sending it back two-fold, he was able to turn the tide. “Good job, Shuckle!”
“Kle,” huffed the Mold Pokémon, still looking upset as he wiped his mouth with one appendage and then stuck it into his mouth. If Lillie had to guess, he wasn’t happy about having to use his store of Berry Juice.
“We’ll get you some more berries later today, okay?” Lillie promised, to which he nodded.
“In that case, I’ll conceded that your Shuckle beat Raphy,” the Bridge Trainer said as she pulled out another ball. “But you still have to beat my second Pokémon to get my stamp.”
Amaya tossed it and out came a rotund little ball of purple fur with compound eyes and a pair of drooping antenna. Its tiny forepaws were pressed against its body and the two protruding pincers twitched as it stared at the Shuckle. “Veno?”
Rotom did his job and provided the dex entry for it. Venonat, the Insect Pokémon. Sheltered in a coat of thin, stiff hairs that cover its body for protection, its eyes can perceive even the smallest of objects in even the dark.
“Natty will be my second Pokémon,” Amaya stated. “Will you switch out yours or leave it in?”
“Get some rest, Shuckle.” Lillie decided, recalling the Mold Pokémon to his ball and then looking down to Koko. “Okay, it’s your turn.”
“Pix!” Koko crawled under the railing and darted over to the side of the field where Shuckle had been, taking his place. The pale glow that shrouded her body was dismissed with a flick of the tail, leaving the weather to cool notably and glimmering motes began to fall from above.
“Okay then let’s start the second round!” The Bridge Trainer pointed her finger towards the Alolan Vulpix. “Natty, show them our one-two combo!”
“Koko, Powder Snow!” Lillie ordered quickly.
Koko immediately exhaled the frigid attack, but Natty’s compound eyes shone with a cerulean tone before that same hue wrapped around Koko tight enough to smother her. The attack petered out before it even reached the Insect Pokémon, and when she tried again it just wouldn’t come out at all. “Vul?”
That was Disable, zzt! Rotom warned her. You can’t use Powder Snow until it wears off!
The Venonat then followed through by pointed his antenna forward and releasing a series of thin, blue rings with a tinny ringing sound. The rings hit Koko headfirst and her eyes grew glassy. She then began to shake it violently, staggering and whimpering in a panicked tone.
Lillie recognized it being the same symptoms as with Bewear in the forest. “Oh no! She’s confused too!”
“Good job!” Amaya did nothing to hide her elation at the success of her Pokémon’s techniques before giving the next order. “Now, Tackle!”
“Venonat!” Clodhooper feet pattered against the wooden surface before the Insect Pokémon threw itself into Koko for a Tackle. The blow knocked the Fox Pokémon off her powder-blue paws, leaving her to hit the ground and yelp.
“Koko, snap out of it!” Lillie called out to the Alolan Vulpix as she got back to her feet, only to start staggering as though the bridge had turned liquid. Then Lillie winced as, for some reason, Koko lunged to the side and hit the ground as though she’d been trying to pounce on something that wasn’t there, hurting herself in confusion. Her voice grew more desperate when she noticed Natty coming in for a second blow. “Look out!”
The Insect Pokémon had already thrown himself forward for another tackle when the warning came, leaving her little time to react even if she had heard it. Koko was tackled for a second time, this time hit around the center of her body and thus sent rolling after being slamming into the ground.
The Fox Pokémon whimpered softly, her legs trembling for a pause. Then she steadied herself and shook her head, crystalline-blue eyes regaining their luster. “Pix!”
Koko snapped out of Confusion!
“Koko, move!” Lillie ordered as Natty came in for a third, decisive blow. The Alolan Vulpix twisted her body and then jumped to the side, getting out of the way of the blow and leaving the Venonat to miss.
“Don’t let her escape, Natty!” Amaya ordered. “Use Supersonic again!”
The Venonant turned to do so but Koko had begun to move, circling with as much speed as she could muster until the attack missed and then pounced forward to use her forepaws to knock him back. It didn’t do any damage as his round body rolled with the momentum. But by the time he got up Koko was already forming a swelling, pink orb of Fairy-type energy.
Koko used Moonblast!
The pink hue of the Moonblast shrouded the Insect Pokémon as he tried to get out of the way, but the resulting explosion of Fairy-energy swallowed Natty whole and spit him out. Pink tendrils, like smoke clinging to his fur, trailed off as he hit the ground and rolled. But the Insect Pokémon bounced right back up, a shuddering breath following from Snow Warning remaining in effect.
It wasn’t very effective, but Koko still did some damage, Lillie noted as she looked over to Rotom’s data. There’s a type-disadvantage since Venonat is part-Poison, and the longer it takes the more of a chance Koko will get confused again and hurt. But…
“Again, Koko!” Lillie ordered. Koko let another Moonblast fly in response, but this time the Venonat moved before it could connect since the distance between them was just enough to where it could get out of the blast range. “Get closer and fire once more!”
“Natty, use Disable before she can finish!” Amaya ordered in turn as Koko slid to a stop even closer and prepared a third shot. The Insect Pokémon used Disable once more before the next swirling pink sphere could be launched, causing it to dissipate mid-formation. “Now Tackle!”
Now’s our chance! Lillie knew that Disable could only affect a single move after looking at the data. Even if it wore off, Venonat could just disable it again unless they forced him to disable a different technique. Koko’s Moonblast took time to ready and if it landed another one it would hurt a lot, so the most logical thing to do was to stop her and use the opening to attack since Koko was already hurt. “Koko, leap backwards and use Powder Snow!”
The Alolan Vulpix jumped backwards while inhaling as the Venonat threw itself into a Tackle again, bringing it up close and with too little time to dodge. Exhaling, the frosty chill of her wintry breath was met with a shriek from the Insect Pokémon as his fur was blanketed by white frost, every strand of coarse hair serving as a foundation for it to expand upon.
A Critical Hit!
By the time that Koko had finished exhaling the shriek had died out. Only spots of faint purple could be made out while the rest of his fur was white. Ice ran up his antenna until they looked like poles sticking up from an unmoving snowball.
Natty was frozen solid!
“N-Natty?” Amaya’s voice came out softly. “Are you okay?”
Silence loomed until Koko pressed a forepaw against her opponent. Then the frost began to peel off as the foundation shifted beneath it. The Insect Pokémon let out a deep huff that came out as white mist before his body slowly fell backwards.
A whimper could only then be heard as the grey clouds above slowly dissipated. “…nat…”
“…If only I’d helped him learn Poison Powder to speed up the battle,” Amaya said, somewhat regretfully, as she held out his ball and recalled him into it with the press of a button. “Natty is unable to battle further. It’s your win.”
That would have been a nightmare if she’d been poisoned and confused at the same time. Lillie exhaled deeply in relief as Koko trotted over towards her, lacking the energy she’d had previously. Opened arms cradled the Alolan Vulpix that climb them and then held her tight. “That was another close one, but we did it. Good job.”
“Lil.” Lilligant added, giving polite applause until Amaya then came over.
Lillie received a Yellow Stamp!
“There you go,” the Bridge Trainer said as she finished applying the stamp and handing back Lillie’s card. “It was a good match. Both of your Pokémon did really well considering they were being put on the clock.”
“Yours too,” Lillie said as she looked down to see Koko was now yawning, no doubt exhausted. If Shuckle didn’t know Bide and she didn’t have Moonblast, they would have really been in trouble. “I think we’ll have to call it a day here though. We still need more training, and I want to take them to the Pokémon Center to heal and rest up.”
“That’s fine. As long as you have your card, those stamps are proof of progress. You can jump straight to the third match next time, but it’ll be a Double Battle. That’ll be a lot harder to deal with since you’ll have to command both of your Pokémon at once.”
“We’ll keep that in mind.”
Twilit Dreams Circle 