Hau, Lillie, and I are took a deep breathe of the cool air. The breeze off of the lake was vastly different from the volcanic air that we had just came from. We were all relieved to get out of the heat and the volcanic ash. Of course this was a bittersweet moment for me. I had lost to Captain Kiawe in our match and he had recommended that I travel to Brooklet Hill to pick up a Water-Type Pokémon. A Water-Type Pokémon would have type advantage over the Fire-Type Pokémon that Kiawe trains, so I went with his advice. Also Hau would be able to complete his trial with Captain Lana.
“So this is Brooklet Hill, huh?” Lillie asked.
“This place is gorgeous,” Hau smiled.
I nodded.
“Yeah much better than the volcano,” I said.
We stood there in our matching red tracksuits that Kiawe had let us borrow while are ash-stained clothes were cleaned in his facility in Wela Volcano Park. We received a lot of stares as we traveled from Royal Avenue to Brooklet Hill, but we just ignored them. The tracksuits were actually really comfy.
“Steenee!”
Bouncee pulled on my hand. I squeezed her hand and smiled down at her and she returned a smile.
I had let all of my Pokémon out of their Pokéballs to play around and burn off some energy. Mud Puddle and Storm were on the beach chasing eachother around. Smokey had found a nice rock far from the water where it could nap in the sun and Bouncee had been holding onto my hand or my clothes ever since we left Royal Avenue. She had been a little shook up since our battle with Kiawe and continued to stay by my side. I didn’t mind the company.
“So where is Captain Lana?” Lillie asked surveying the beach.
“I’m not sure. Last time I was here, she found me right on this beach,” I said. “But after my battle, she did tell me she would have to fix the pier that I broke.”
Hau looked up from the drawing he was making in the sand.
“You broke a pier?” Hau asked.
I laughed.
“Yeah, it was a pretty intense battle that Storm and Bouncee were a part of,” I said. “Isn’t that right, Bouncee?”
“Stee! Stee!”
Bouncee jumped up and down with excitement.
“Wait, I see something,” Lillie pointed out towards the water.
There on the horizon was a blob traveling across the water in our direction.
“What is that?” Hau asked.
“That’s Captain Lana and her Lapras,” I said.
I picked Bouncee up and ran towards the beach.
Smokey opened up one of his eyes and then shut it again.
“Lana! Lana!” I waved one arm while carrying Bouncee in the other.
“Steenee!” Bouncee joined in.
Lapras made it’s landing on the beach and Lana jumped off its back onto the soft sand.
“Well who do we have here?” Lana asked with a big smile on her face.
Lana surveyed me in my red tracksuit.
“So I see that you made it to Wela Volcano Park based on your attire,” Lana said.
“Yeah I did,” I said with a half smile.
“So what brings you back? And I’m guessing these are your friends.”
I nodded.
“Yeah come on and let me introduce you to my friends,” I said.
I brought Lana over to Lillie and Hau. Lapras stayed on the beach with Storm and Mud Puddle. They enjoyed climbing up Lapra’s spiky shell and jumping off onto the sand.
I explained to Lana about my travels with Lillie and Hau. I then told her about our journey up the Volcano, the battle with Captain Kiawe, and our purpose here. She seemed to be paying attention, but her eyes would always dart over at Hau. He seemed a little nervous that she was starring at him.
“So basically, in summary, you are here to befriend and capture a water Pokemon that will help you defeat Kiawe,” Lana said.
“Correct,” I nodded.
“And these two are here for my trial.”
Hau spoke up.
“Actually just me. I’m here for your trial. Lillie is not a Pokémon trainer,” Hau said.
“Right,” Lillie chimed in.
“So just me and Hau, huh?” Lana asked with a smile.
Hau laughed nervously.
“Ummm…Lana,” I interjected. “I was hoping you could suggest a Water-Type Pokémon that I should add to my team.”
Lana turned to me, “Hmmm… well there are a few options. I’d say that Lapras is a wonderful Water Pokémon, but unfortunately there aren’t any Lapras wild in this part of Alola. What about a Wishiwashi? You saw their power firsthand.”
“They seemed kind of weak by themselves,” I said. “Plus how are they supposed to battle on land? Don’t they need water to battle?”
Lana brought her hand up to her chin like she was thinking.
“Yeah that logistics don’t make a lot of sense, but I think it would work out,” Lana said. “Well if you’re not into Wishiwashi. I might have another Pokémon you could use.”
Lana met my eyes with hers.
“How do you feel about bugs?”
Lana led Lillie, Hau, and me along the shoreline. Storm was riding ontop of Lapras’ head as Lapras followed behind us from the water. Bouncee was holding my hand and Smokey and Mud Puddle followed behind us. Eventually we made it to a small patch of tall grass hidden from the entrance of Brooklet Hill.
“You said there was going to be…bugs?” Lillie asked.
“Yeah I think this will be the perfect Pokémon for Alexis,” Lana said.
“And this is a Water-Type Pokémon?” I asked.
Lana nodded.
“Yup. A duel Water/Bug-Type Pokémon,” Lana said.
“I didn’t know there are Pokémon that are both Water and Bug-Type,” I said.
“There aren’t very many, but in the Alola region there are a couple. One of which lives here in Brooklet Hill,” Lana explained.
“Well I can’t wait to meet this Pokémon,” I said with a smile.
“You aren’t afraid of Bug Types, are you?” Lana asked me.
“Me? No I’m not afraid of bugs,” I said.
“Well that’s good,” Lana replied.
I looked back at Lillie who seemed nervous. I’m guessing she wasn’t a fan of Bug-Type Pokémon.
Lana lead us further into the patch of grass. There was a large tree in the middle of the opening. The tree’s branches were covered in spiderwebs which caught dew.
“Woah,” Hau said.
“That’s really cool,” I said.
“Yeah it is,” Lana nodded. “You’re new friend made it.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yup,” Lana said with a smile.
She then waded into the grass.
“Come here Dewpider!” Lana called out towards the tree. “There’s someone here that I want you to meet.”
We waited there a moment, but there was no response from the tree.
“Ummm…maybe it’s not home,” Lillie suggested.
“Oh it’s home alright,” Lana said.
She approached closer to the spiderweb covered tree.
“Where are you?” She asked.
“Should we help her out?” Hau asked me.
“Ew! I won’t want to go near that thing,” Lillie said.
“Honestly I think she might be a little crazy,” Hau said.
“You just asked if we should help her out,” Lillie turned towards Hau.
“I was just being polite. I was hoping that Alexis would say no,” Hau shrugged.
“I’ll go up there and help her,” I said.
“Good luck,” Hau said.
“Be careful Alexis,” Lillie said.
I nodded.
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry,” I said.
I walked through the tall grass towards where Lana was standing.
“Any sign of the Pokémon?” I asked Lana.
She was standing close to the tree but just far enough away from it that she wasn’t touching any of the webbing.
“I’m not sure where it might be. There’s always a Dewpider around here,” Lana said.
“Maybe Lillie is right. Maybe it’s not here,” I said.
There was a shriek and Lana and I both turned around.
“Ummmm…little help here,” Hau said.
Lillie and Hau stood there paralyzed as a small, green, blue, and black Pokemon stood near them it. It stood there on three pointy legs and its head was encapalated by a large bubble.
“Hey you found it,” Lana yelled in excitement. “That’s Dewpider!”
“Dew?”
Dewpider tilted its head and the bubble sloshed around a bit.
“What do we do?” Hau asked.
Both Hau and Lillie had scared looks on their faces. Bouncee grabbed hold on my hand and hid behind my legs.
“Don’t worry everyone, things will be fine,” I said.
“Yeah Dewpider is pretty much harmless,” Lana said.
I turned to her.
“Pretty much?”
“Well Dewpider does like shooting webs and can have a nasty bite,” Lana said.
“Bite?” Lillie looked terrified.
I stepped forward towards Dewpider.
“Hey little guy,” I said. “Lana has told me a lot about you. You’re a Water-Type and a Bug-Type Pokémon, right?”
Dewpider looked from Hau and Lillie towards me.
“Dew? Dew?”
“Ummm…I’m not sure if Dewpider understands Typing,” Lana said.
“Oh right,” I said. “Ummm…do you want to be my friend?”
I leaned down to the Dewpider’s level.
It looked up at me and then spat a large ball of webbing in my face. The sticky web completely covered my face and I flailed trying to get it off.
“Woah Dewpider, completely uncalled for,” Lana yelled.
I stepped back falling to my butt. Bouncee pulled at the webbing as I pulled it off my face.
Dewpider was on the ground laughing.
“Dew! Dew! Dewpider!”
“Oh you think that’s funny, do you?” I asked standing to my feet.
The Dewpider looked up at me.
“Why don’t we see how funny it is after you battle with me,” I said. Lana clapped her hands with glee.
“More Pokémon battles with Alexis? I’m in,” Lana said.
Dewpider launched itself into the branches of the tree.
“Dewpider!”
It shook one of its legs at me.
“I think that’s a call to battle,” Hau said.
I looked down at Bouncee.
“Ok Bouncee, let’s do this,” I said.
Bouncee gave me a nervous look but eventually nodded her head.
“Stee! Stee!”
“Dew. Dew. Dew. Dew.”
The Dewpider in the branches mocked me from above.
“Go, Bouncee! Use Razor Leaf!”
Bouncee unleashed a stream of razor-sharp leaves at Dewpider. Dewpider jumped away and landed on another branch. The leaves sliced through the tree branch and left it dangling; only being held by spiderwebs.
“Dewpider!”
Dewpider launched an array of bubbles at Bouncee which collided. Not doing a ton of damage.
“Bouncee! Use Razor Leaf!”
Bouncee attacked with another stream of leaves which struck the Dewpider this time. It fell backwards, but it managed to catch itself on some of the spiderweb.
Dewpider then launched balls of webbing at Bouncee. One struck her leg and then her body. Another hit her in the other leg. She was trapped in the webbing.
“What a move,” Hau said.
“That’s Dewpider’s Spider Web attack. They use it to immobilize their foes and keep them from running away,” Lana explained.
“Smart,” Hau said.
“Creepy,” Lillie chimed in.
Bouncee struggled against the Spider Web.
“Bouncee! Razor Leaf!”
Bouncee tried but she couldn’t move enough to attack.
“Dew! Dew! Dew!”
Dewpider laughed as it hung from a strand of webbing.
I groaned in frustration. There had to be some way to get out of the webbing.
“Come on Bouncee! Try harder! Use Rapid Spin!”
Bouncee strained against the webbing. She tried to harder and harder. She pulled at it as Dewpider laughed and laughed. Then I saw a glint of determination in Bouncee’s eyes. She pulled against the web and there was a loud ripping sound. Bouncee began to spin shredding the webbing and freeing herself.
Lana, Hau, and Lillie all cheered.
“Way to go, Bouncee!” I shouted.
“Steenee! Stee! Stee!” Bouncee jumped up and down with excitement.
Dewpider was not amused.
Dewpider launched more bubbles at us.
“Bouncee, Rapid Spin!”
Bouncee began spinning and shredded the bubbles without taking any damage.
“Now, Bounee. Use Razor Leaf!”
Bouncee unleashed a stream of leaves which struck Dewpider. Leaves also struck the tree and the webbing. Dewpider’s strand of webbing was slashed and Dewpider fell to the ground. There was a loud thud as it hit the tree and then bounced off, landing in the grass.
I pulled a Pokéball from my bag and tossed it at Dewpider. It made direct contact and there was a flash of red light. The ball shook once. Twice. Three times. And then it settled there. Dewpider secured inside.
“Alright!” I ran forward and picked the Pokéball off the ground.
“Steenee!”
Bouncee ran up after me and I gave her a great big hug.
“Way to go, Bouncee. You were amazing out there,” I said.
I swear that Bouncee almost blushed.
“Come over here so we can celebrate your new Pokémon,” Hau said.
“Yes, but please keep it in the Pokéball,” Lillie said.
We all laughed.
I walked over and Hau, Lillie, and I had a group hug to celebrate adding a new Pokémon to my team.
“Wow, that makes five Pokémon in your team, right Alexis?” Hau asked.
I smiled and nodded.
“Yeah I almost have a complete team,” I said.
“More importantly, you now have a Water Pokémon and can use the Waterium Z I gave you. A powerful Water-Type Z move just might be the thing that will help you defeat Kiawe,” Lana said. “Just remember that you can only use a Z move once.”
“Yeah I know,” I said. “Thanks for the advice, Lana.”
“No problem, Alexis,” Lana smiled at me.
I turned towards Hau.
“So I guess we should get on with your trial.”
“You don’t have to wait for me, Alexis,” Hau said. “You can go back and challenge Kiawe if you want.”
“What? No. I want to be here to see you complete your trial,” I protested.
“Seriously Alexis, it’s ok. I know you are dying to get back and take on Kiawe. Plus I know you are going to beat him this time around,” Hau said.
“Also I don’t really want to climb the volcano again, so soon,” Lillie chimed in. “And there’s only room for one on the Charizard Kiawe gave to you.”
“Woah, Kiawe let you borrow his Charizard? He must really like you,” Lana said.
“Why do I feel like you two are trying to get rid of me?” I asked Hau and Lillie.
“We’re not getting rid of you,” Hau said. “I just have a lot of catching up I have to do to be on your level and I want to make sure I can get up to your level. You need to go and defeat Kiawe. I need to take on this trial. We both have goals we need to achieve short term.”
I hung my head.
“Don’t worry Alexis, we’ll see each other again. Don’t worry,” Hau smiled at me.
I tried to smile back before turning to Lillie.
“And you’re going to stay with Hau?” I asked her.
“Yeah I think someone should be here to keep an eye on him, you know? Plus I don’t think I can take anymore of that volcanic ash and heat. I care about you, Alexis, and want to see you win, but I really don’t like that Volcano,” Lillie said.
I nodded and gave her a smile.
“I understand.”
“I have an idea,” Lana spoke up. “Why don’t we camp here on the beach for tonight. And then tomorrow Hau can complete his trial here and Alexis can take the Charizard express up to Wela Volcano Park to complete her trial.”
All three of us nodded in agreement.
“Sounds like a great plan, Lana,” I said.
We all set up our tents on the beach and went to bed. We all had a long day, so we didn’t spend much time talking. All of my Pokémon returned to their Pokéballs and I went to bed. I laid in my tent thinking about the upcoming battle and how I was going to complete my trial. It was going to be a tough one, but I was determined to sucueed. With a Water-Type Pokémon by my side, there was no way I could lose.
I was thinking of Pokémon battle strategy as I fell asleep.
Header Photo Credit to TJ Moons Studios’ Tumblr
http://www.gramunion.com/tjmoonstudios.tumblr.com
Pictures of Characters and Pokemon from Pokemon Sun and Moon come from Bulbapedia
https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page
Allen The Writer 
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