Lillie was a nervous wreck and I looked around the cave. It was the first time I was able to take in the scenery. It was a large cavern similar to the Verdant Cavern. This one was not full of mossy rock and vines, though, but large fields of flowers. Everywhere there were yellow flowers that seemed to fill the cave with light. I could not find anything that looked like Nebby.
Lillie was sitting on the ground with her face in her hands, a low weeping filled the cave.
I turned around and knelt down next to Lillie putting a hand on her shoulder, “Lillie.”
She looked up and tried to brush the tears out of her eyes,” Y….y…yes?”
“I need you to call Professor Kukui using your Holo Caster and tell him what’s happening. Tell him that we are safe and that we are…ummm….” I stopped and looked around, “Where are we?”
Lillie continued to wipe her face, “This… is… Melemele Meadow…”
“Right, well tell the Professor you’re here and that we just had a run in with another Team Skull Grunt. We need authorities and if they found Ilima, bring him too, you understand?” I said.
Lillie flinched a little and I realized that I my command had a little too much force behind it.
I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around her, “It’s going to be ok, Lillie. You’re strong. You can do this.”
She wrapped her arms around me and tears started down her face again. I pulled back breaking the embrace and then stood up. Lillie stood up and rummaged through her bag pulling out her Holo Caster.
Lillie clicked a few buttons and then a picture of Professor Kukui appeared.
“Lillie? Lillie are you alright?”
“Professor, Alexis and I are in Melemele Meadow, we need some help.” Lillie said and then went into explaining the situation to Professor Kukui.
I waded out into the yellow flowers trying not to stomp on any of them. The yellow flowers were tall enough to come up to my waist. I slowly moved them out of the way as I walked father into the flowery fields.
“Nebby! Nebby!” I yelled out cupping my hands around my mouth.
There was no response.
“Nebby! Nebyy!” I yelled again.
Still no response as I kept walking forward. Eventually I appeared on the other side of the cavern where the flowers stopped. There was a raised stone platform connecting to the side of the cavern. On that platform was a small ball of cosmic energy next to an unknown yellow bird Pokémon.
“Nebby!” I yelled pulling myself up from the flowers onto the stone.
“Pew pew!” Nebbie bounced up and down.
“Ori?” The bird turned its head in confusion.
I knelt down and patted my legs mimicking a motion I’ve seen some trainers have done to call over a Rockruff or Growlithe, “Come here Nebby!”
Nebby continued to bounce and up teasing me from afar.
“Come on, Nebby. We don’t have time for this! Lilie is worried about you!”
Nebby didn’t slow down with its bouncing.
“Oricorio?” The bird chirped at me.
I reached into my bag and pulled out Rotomdex, activating it. It turned on and floated in the air.
“Bzzzt. Alexis. How is it going? The internal clock says that it is 4:34 Am. I’m surprised you’re still awake. Bzzzt,” Rotomdex said.
“It’s kind of hard to explain but I need you to identify that Pokémon,” I said.
“Bzzzt. Certainty!” Rotomdex said and then buffered for a second. “Oricorio. The Dancing Pokémon. Oricorio is an avian Pokémon that can change between four markedly different forms. The form it takes on depends on the kind of nectar it consumes. In its Pom-Pom Style, native to Melemele Island, Oricorio is primarily yellow. Pom-Pom Style Oricorio’s dancing charges its feathers with static electricity. While charged, its feathers can be used to attack and unleash electric shocks. A friendly Pokémon, it will also use its dancing to cheer up people who are feeling glum. Bzzzt.”
“So it’s a dancing bird Pokémon that uses pom-poms to build up static electricity,” I said to myself.
“Bzzzt. I’m pretty sure I said that already, Alexis. Bzzzt.”
I laughed a little, “Yes you did, Rotom. Thanks for helping me.”
I put him back in sleep mode and then put him back in my bag. I then pulled a Pokéball from my bag, “Maybe my own electric Pokémon will help the situation.”
I opened the Pokéball and Storm the Pichu appeared in a flash of red light.
“Chu?” Pichu rubbed its eyes and yawned.
“Hey Storm,” I said. “I know you’re tired but I was hoping you could help out Nebby and I by talking to that Oricorio.”
I pointed to the yellow bird Pokémon and Storm nodded. “Pichu!”
Storm ran on all fours towards Nebby and the Oricorio. I decided to stand back hoping that I wouldn’t disturb the Pokémon. I wasn’t sure how Nebby would react if I ran up to it so I thought Pichu could be a good ambassador between us.
All three Pokémon seemed to converse with one another and there was an exchanging of words, none of which I understand.
“Ummm…Pichu?” I called out.
All three Pokemon turned around and looked at me.
“Can we hurry this up a bit, we need to get Nebby back to Lillie,” I said.
“Pichu. Chu.” Pichu nodded to me and turned back to converse with Nebby and the Oricorio.
There was a lot more Pokémon babble that I didn’t understand and I started to grow impatient. I needed to get back to Lillie, make sure everything was ok, and then get some rest. I’m sure the tiredness wasn’t helping my mood.
“Storm!” They all turned to me again, “Did you forget about the mission?”
“Ori Ori! Oricorio jumped up and down shaking its pom-poms and then started running away from the other two POkemon in the opposite direction of me.
“Pew!” Nebbie then followed quickly bouncing after the Oricorio.
“No!” I started running towards them but they moved surprisingly fast towards this small hole in the wall. They both ran through it disappearing from view.
I looked down and the Pokémon were nowhere to be seen. Storm ran up next to me and tugged on my shirt. “Chu?”
“We have to go after them, Storm,” I said. “We have to get Nebby back. It’s too dangerous out there.”
Storm nodded its head and then squeezed between my arms. She stood at the hole in the wall.
“Chu. Chu.”
For some reason I think I understood what she was trying to say. We needed to crawl through this hole.
“Ok you go first and I’ll follow,” I said.
Storm nodded and then began to crawl on all fours. It was simple for Pichu to crawl through the tunnel to the other side of the hole. For me it was a little harder. The tunnel was narrow for a human to crawl through and I had to wiggle my body like a Caterpie to get through this tunnel. Several times I accidentally bumped my head on the roof of the small tunnel. Eventually I crawled through and emerged on the other side.
I reached up and rubbed the back of my head.
“Chu?”
I smiled and petted Storm scratching behind its ears.
“Pichu!” Storm smiled and rubbed against me producing little zaps of static electricity.
“Let’s go find Nebby,” I said as I stood up in this new cavern. I lifted Storm and placed her on my shoulder. She stood there grabbing onto my hair to steady herself.
I looked around and noticed that this place was very different from Melemele meadow. This was a large cavern with very tall ceilings. There were a few stalagmites rising from the floor of the cavern as well as stalactites hanging from the ceiling. The ground here was barren and had no flowers growing on it, but the ground was less rough compared to the ragged terrain of Route 3.
I started to look around and saw no signs of Nebby or the Oricorio.
“Where did you think they got off to,” I asked out loud.
“Pichu!”
“Yeah I’m not sure either.”
I started walking away from the hole towards the entrance of the cavern.
“Nebby!” I yelled out.
“Pichu!” Storm yelled out as well.
We made our way out of the cavern and the ground became softer and softer until the rocky ground became sand. We emerged from the cavern and found ourselves standing on a beach. The sun was just emerging from the skyline. A line of purple and dark red started to fill the sky, but the sky above was still dark and filled with stars.
I looked back and forth searching for Nebby and the Oricorio. The beach was not very big so looking around I found them quickly. There were a few palm trees along the beach similar to the ones I’ve seen all over Melemele Island. One of them to the right of me had a pile of berries underneath it and eating those berries was Nebby and the Oricorio.
“Nebby!” I yelled as I ran across the sand towards both Pokémon.
“Pew pew!” Nebby bounced up and down with a smile on its face.
“Ori ori!” The Oricorio bounced up and down mimicking Nebby.
“Nebby, we need to get back to Lillie. She’s worried about you,” I said kneeling down to talk to Nebby.
“Pew pew.”
I’m not sure if Nebby understood me. It just bounced there up and down and the Oricorio seemed to bounce around almost like they were doing a synchronized dance. I looked at Storm for some help.
“Pichu. Chu. Chu.” I hoped Pichu was translating for me.
“Pew pew!”
“Oricorio. Ori.”
Both Pokémon ran over towards me. Nebby jumped into my arms almost knocking me over.
“Pew pew!”
I laughed feeling relieved that I had rescued Nebby. The adrenaline in my body started to subside knowing that Nebby was safe. Unfortunately that feeling didn’t last for long. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the mass of berries move and shift.
I quickly grabbed the Oricorio in my arms wrapping up both it and Nebby and started to walk backwards. The berry pile erupted and a blue and purple shape emerged from the pile. I stumbled backwards and fell onto the sand.
“Crabrawler!” The Pokémon yelled out.
This Pokémon was a purple and blue crustacean with large pincers that looked similar to Hitmonchan’s punching glove like fists. It looked kind of beat up and angry we had disturbed its nap in the berry pile.
“PICHU!” Stormed jumped forward off of my shoulder towards the crab Pokémon.
I managed to crawl backwards putting a little distance between me and the new Pokémon. The Oricorio shook out of my arms not wanting to be held by a stranger and fell onto the sand with a small thump. Nebby continued to stay in my arms and I could feel it shaking with fear.
“Crabrawler!” The Pokémon took a step forward.
“Pichu!” Storm yelled out trying to be intimidating even though it was only half its height.
I stood up and continued to hold Nebby.
“Storm, we need to take care of this!” I yelled out.
Storm nodded and prepared for battle. The Oricorio ran over beside Storm and hunkered down which I assumed meant that Oricorio was going to help in the battle.
“Ok Storm, let’s do this! Start with a Thundershock!”
Pichu closed its eyes for a second and static built up on its cheek pouches. It opened up its eyes and unleashed a blast of electrical energy surging forward and striking the Pokémon. The Crabrawler slid backwards a little bit leaving drag marks in the sand.
It shook it off looking a little hurt but not as hurt as I was hoping.
The Crabrawler launched out one of its fist and struck at Storm sending it flying. It flew through the air about three feet and landed in the sand with a thud sending up a small cloud of sand and dust.
“Storm!” I yelled out.
The Crabrawler looked amused with itself. The Oricorio took this moment to attack the Crabrawler. It flapped its pom-pom wings creating a wind gust that sent sand and dust flying everywhere partially obscuring my view. The wind whipped past Crabrawler and it used its pincers to guard its eyes. The wind was strong enough that it seemed to leave little cuts and scrapes on the Crabrawler.
I ran over to Storm who was laying in the sand. It looked really hurt but managed to stand. I reached for my bag to retrieve its Pokéball, but it gave me a look of determination. I could tell it wasn’t ready to give up yet.
“Ok,” I said. “Be careful out there. We need a lot of electric. Do you think you can do that?”
Storm nodded. “Chu.”
I looked back at the dust cloud and could make out the shapes of the Crabrawler and the Oricorio. Crabralwer was launching out fist attacks but could not make contact with the Oricorio because of the sand getting in its eyes. Storm rushed forward on all fours towards the battle. Once it got closer the Crabrawler launched a fist towards the Oricorio and managed to make contact with a huge thud. The Oricorio was sent backwards knocking it onto the ground and it rolled for a few feet laying on the sand.
“Crabrawler!” It laughed triumphantly.
Storm launched itself off the beach creating a small puff of sand and then unleashed a torrent of electricity from its body with a loud yell.
“PICHU!”
A blast of electric shot in all directions striking several spots on the beach, the berry pile, the neighboring palm tree, and most importantly, the Crabralwer. The electrical energy struck it directly and there was a bright white light that encapsulated the entire battle. There was an explosion and I was knocked backwards once again onto my butt. I used one hand to shade my face with the other was wrapped around Nebby.
After the dust was settled and I began to view the situation, I saw that the Crabrawler was leaning up against the tree. Badly hurt by the electricity surging through its body. Little sparks of static still jumped off of it.
Pichu stood in front of it breathing heavily as it stared down its opponent. The Crabrawler surveyed the area and realized it might have underestimated the little, electric mouse. It quickly grabbed any remaining berries it had and took off down the beach away from Pichu, Oricorio, and me.
I yelled out, “Yeah you better run!”
I then ran over to Storm and wrapped it up in my arms, “You did it!!”
“Pichu!” Storm smiled back at me. Then suddenly it began to glow with a pulsing white light.
Again I was blinded by a white light but I was unable to shield my eyes. The white light grew larger and brighter until I couldn’t see Storm at all.
“Storm!” I called out.
Suddenly the white light disappeared as fast as it appeared and instead of a Pichu in my arms, there was a slightly larger Pikachu.
‘Pika pika?”
Storm seemed confused at it stared up at me. Pichu had evolved into a Pikachu.
“Storm, you evolved!” I hugged Storm again this time lifting both Storm and Nebby up and I swung them around.
“Pew pew!”
“Pikachu!”
Both of them yelled out with enthusiasm and laughter. I swung them around for a few seconds and then put them down as my body became exhausted. The lack of sleep was really wearing on me.
“Pika pika!” Storm yelled out and I put both Storm and Nebby on the ground.
Storm immedialty took off in the direction of the Oricorio that had been assisting us.
I realized that in all the excitement I forgotten about our helper and I ran over after Storm with Nebby bouncing right beside me. We ran over and it was barely conscious. It had taken a lot of damage from Crabrawler’s punch. Pikachu tried its best and gave little shocks of static electricity from its body trying to give some energy to the Oricorio since it was an electric type. I reached into my bag and pulled out a Potion. I sprayed medicine on it trying to heal its wounds.
“Ori.” It sounded weak.
I looked at Storm and Nebby. “We have to get back and get this Oricorio healed up.”
Both Storm and Nebby seemed to nod. I lifted Storm onto my shoulder and then placed Nebby into my bag. At this point Nebby was too worn out to care it was being place into the bag. I then picked up Oricorio and ran towards the entrance of the cavern we had emerged from.
It took a bit to figure out how I was going to get through the hole with this extra baggage. Storm was able to drag the Oricorio along through the tunnel with it. It wasn’t pretty but it was the only way to get them back. I then crawled through wiggling like I did before bumping my head several more times. Once I got through the tunnel, I picked up the Oricorio. Pikachu ran ahead as I got closer and closer to the entrance of Melemele Meadow and Lillie. I waded through the flowers with a little less hesitation from before. I managed to make a path through the flowers without damaging too many of them.
Eventually we emerged on the other side of the flowers. Standing there was Lillie, Hau, Professor Kukui, and Ilima. They all looked really happy to see me.
“Alexis!!” They all cheered and ran up to give me a group hug.
I held one hand out, “Woah! Stay back guys, I got an injured Pokémon here.”
Lillie’s face instantly went pale, but I showed them the injured Oricorio.
“Don’t worry Lillie, Nebby is safe in my bag,” I said.
Lillie ran over and helped take the bag off my shoulders, she reached in, and then she grabbed Nebby lifting it out of the bag.
“Nebby!” She yelled.
“Pew pew!” Nebby was still groggy from the quick nap in the bag but it seemed happy to see Lillie again.
“Pikachu!” Everyone looked up at Storm sitting on my shoulder.
“And who’s this?” Professor Kukui asked.
“This is Storm,” I said. “Pichu evolved into Pikachu after a battle with a Crabrawler.”
I explained what happened including finding Nebby and the Oricorio on the other side of the flowers, crawling through a tunnel, finding them on the beach, and the battle with the Crabrawler.
“That’s how this Oricorio got injured. It defended Storm and helped us defeat the Crabralwer,” I finished.
“Yes I heard that Crabrawlers are very territorial. If you disturbed its berry supply, it is possible that it was just attacking to defend its turf,” Professor Kukui said.
“Well either way we need to get this Oricorio to the Pokemon Center so it can heal up,” I said.
“Right, let’s head there now,” Hau said.
“Professor, is that alright if we go?” I asked.
“Yeah you guys have been through a lot today,” Professor Kukui said. “Head to the Pokémon Center with Hau and Lillie and rest up. I’ll stay here with Ilima and the officers. They are still investigating and searching the area.”
Ilima gave us a little wave.
I could feel the exhaustion come over me and I almost fell asleep on my feet. Hau reached out and helped me from falling over.
“Woah, are you ok?” Hau asked me.
“Yeah fine, just tired,” I tried to give a smile.
“You guys better go,” Ilima said.
“Right,” I said. I left carrying Oricorio in my arms with Hau and Lillie right behind me.
Allen The Writer 
Leave a Reply