In the morning, Hau, Lillie, Captain Lana, and I are packed up our things and got ready for the day ahead of us. I used this time to train with the Dewpider I caught. It seemed to calm down some and we were getting along a lot better. We both had issues with one another, but I believed we were on the same page when it came to the upcoming battle. I was finally ready to go back to Wela Volcano Park and challenge Captain Kiawe to a rematch. I had a Water-type Pokémon and a team ready to try again. Bouncee my Steenee had recovered fully and she was more confident than ever, Mud Puddle seemed healed and ready for action, Storm was recharged and happy as ever, and Smokey wanted its opportunity for a rematch. My Pokémon were ready to return to the trial and this time we were prepared for the fight.
“So Alexis, are you nervous?” Lillie asked me.
Lillie kept her distance from me as I held Dewpider in my arms and was feeding it some Poké Beans.
“I’m a little nervous, but I think my team is ready,” I said.
“That’s good,” Lillie said.
Hau ran over to join us.
“What are you two talking about?” Hau asked.
“My upcoming battle with Captain Kiawe,” I replied.
“It’s going to be a tough one, but I believe you can do it,” Hau said.
“Thanks Hau,” I said. “I really appreciate it. And I know you’re going to be amazing at your trial.”
“Thanks Alexis, that means a lot to me,” Hau said.
Hau turned his attention to Dewpider.
“So what did you decide to nickname Dewpider?” Hau asked.
“Well I thought about it and I decided that Dewpider deserved a manly name,” I said. “So I decided to go with ‘Bubbles.'”
“Bubbles?” Lillie said with a laugh.
“Yup, Bubbles,” I said with a smile.
I looked down at Bubbles.
“Isn’t that right?” I asked Bubbles.
“Dew! Dew!”
Bubbles nodded his head.
“You guys ready to to do this?” Captain Lana yelled from the beach. She was currently tending to her Lapras.
“Yeah I’m ready,” Hau yelled back.
Hau then turned to Lillie, “Are you ready?”
Lillie nodded her head and then turned to me.
“Good luck, Alexis. We’ll see you soon, ok?”
“Very soon,” I said. “Then I will tell you both all about my victory over Kiawe.”
“Of course,” Lillie said with a smile.
Hau, Lillie, and I all hugged one another and said our goodbyes.
Hau and Lillie then hopped on the back of Lapras with Captain Lana and they set sail across the lake to take on Captain Lana’s trial against the Wishiwashi. Clouds began to form overhead and I knew that was the Wishiwashi’s doing.
“We better get out of here,” I said to Bubbles, “I’m not sure how well Charizard can fly in the rain. ”
“Dewpider!”
I’m pretty sure that Bubbles agreed with me.
I reached into my bag and pulled out the special Pokéball that Captain Kiawe had given me when we got to the bottom of the Volcano.
“Go, Charizard!”
I tossed the Pokéball into the air. With a flash of red light, there stood Charizard on the beach before me.
“Char!”
It let out a roar which rippled through Brooklet Hill. Then it looked at me still wearing the Black and Red tracksuit.
“Hello…Charizard. My name is Alexis. Your trainer, Captain Kaiwe, lent you to me so I could get back to the Gym in Wela Volcano Park. Do you think you could get me back there?”
Charizard nodded its head and then crouched down.
“Awesome,” I said.
Still holding Bubbles in one arm, I crawled up on the back of Charizard.
“Ok Charizard, let’s go nice and slow,” I said.
I was nervous about being around a Pokémon that I had no control over. I was also nervous riding said Pokémon. I had flashbacks to the wild Tauros and how it kicked me off. I did not want that to happen when we were in mid-air. None of my Pokémon could fly and they would not be able to save me if I fell off of Charizard’s back. Or if it kicked me off.
“Charizard!”
It let out another roar and flapped its wings. Clouds of sand rose up around us and Charizard lifted itself into the sky. With only a few beats of its powerful wings, we were flying through the air. First I could see the ground below me in great detail, then as we climbed higher and higher, Brooklet Hill and its sandy beaches were nowhere in view.
“Dewpider!”
Bubbles cried out.
“It’s ok, Bubbles. It’s going to be ok,” I said trying to calm Bubbles while also gripping onto Charizard’s neck.
Charizard on the other hand seemed nice and calm. It was like it was used to flying around Alola with strange trainer’s on its back. It seemed happy to be flying through the sky.
I on the other hand was kind of freaking out. I wasn’t a fan of flying through the sky on the back of a fire-breathing Pokémon.
I did my best not to look down when we were that high in the air, but that didn’t work out well. I glanced down over the side of Charizard. I saw the small blot of water which was Brooklet Hill, the rolling fields that surrounded Paniola Town, the large urban area that was Royal Avenue, and finally the volcano which was hardest to miss.
“We’re going there,” I yelled out pointing to Bubbles.
I’m not sure if Bubbles could hear me over the sound the wind flying past us or if it had its eyes closed. Either way it didn’t react. I did notice that it wrapped itself and my arm in spiderwebs in order to hang on to me. I guess that means it trusts me or just really hates heights.
Charizard then began its decent towards the top of the Volcano. It let out another roar which startled me. I held on to its neck harder and also squeezed Bubbles.
The Volcano became more and more in focus as we got closer. I saw the asphalt path leading down the Volcano through Wela Volcano Park and I saw Captain Kiawe’s Gym. As we got closer, we dropped below the billowing clouds of ash. The air became thicker and full of the ash and the heat increased greatly. This was no longer the beaches of Brooklet Hill. This was the harsh environment of the Volcano. This was also the location for my victory over Captain Kiawe.
Charizard continued to flap his wings stirring up clouds of dust and ash before finally touching down on the ground. I didn’t think I’d be happy to be standing on rocky, volcanic soil, but I was. I was so happy to get off of Charizard and onto the ground. I gave Bubbles a hug which it accepted. I’m pretty sure it was still in shock from the flight.
“Char. Char.”
“Thank you, Charizard,” I said. “I…uh…appreciate not having to walk all this way. That’s for sure.”
“Charizard!”
It seemed to say “you’re welcome”, but most of the time I just guess at what Pokémon are saying based off of context clues.
I opened up Charizard’s Pokéball and he disappeared in a flash of red light.
I then returned Bubbles to his Pokéball.
“You’re my secret weapon,” I told Bubbles. “When you come out, prepare for a fight.”
Bubbles nodded before returning to his Pokéball in a flash of red light.
I then walked up to the doors of the Gym while brushing ash off of the Black and Red Tracksuit I received the last time I was here. The glass doors opened automatically and I was hit with a wave of cool air which was refreshing. I stepped into the Gym and saw the same battlefield which Kiawe had bested me on.
This image just made me more determined.
“Well hello Alexis, welcome back,” Kiawe said.
I looked and there he was standing on his stone platform which overlooked the battlefield.
“Hello Captain Kiawe,” I said. “How did you know I was here?”
Kiawe laughed.
“I heard Charizard’s roar. Woke me up at a dead sleep,” Kiawe said wiping his eyes. “So did you visit Brooklet Hill?”
I nodded.
“Captain Lana helped me find a suitable Water-type Pokémon to help me defeat you,” I said.
“Straight to the point,” Kiawe said. “Well I can’t wait to see it in battle.”
Kiawe looked around.
“Where are your friends?” Kiawe asked.
“They stayed back in Brooklet Hill so Hau could complete his trial with Lana,” I said.
“So it’s just me and you, then?”
“Yeah I guess so,” I said.
“I guess we should just get started then,” Kiawe said.
I nodded.
“I’m ready,” I said stepping up on my stone platform.
“Wonderful,” Kiawe said with a smile. “Prepare for a three-on-three battle. No substitutions. Whichever Trainer can knock out the other Trainer’s Pokémon first will win. Any questions?”
I shook my head no.
“Great. Then let’s get this battle started,” Kiawe said.
“Go Marowak,” Kiawe said.
There was a flash of light and his Alolan Marowak was on the battlefield.
I took a deep breath. I can do this.
“Go Smokey!” I yelled.
I opened Smokey’s Pokéball and with a red flash, Smokey the Torracat was on the battlefield.
“Hmmm…an old rivalry is growing,” Kiawe said.
I wasted no time with banter.
“Smokey, use Bite!”
Smokey launched forward and lept at Alolan Marowak. It opened its mouth and clamped down on Alolan Marowak’s arm.
“Nice!” I cheered.
“Marowak, use Bone Club!”
“Smokey, dodge it!”
Smokey let go of Marowak’s arm and ducked. Marowak’s Bone Club swung overhead of Smokey missing him.
“Now Bite again!”
Smokey bit down on Alolan Marowak’s tail and then proceed to fling him. Marowak slammed into one of the large boulders.
Kiawe winced.
“Much approved, Alexis, but that battle is far from over,” Kiawe said.
“Marowak, use Bonemerang!”
Marowak threw its bone club and it spun towards Smokey like a boomerang.
“Dodge, Smokey!”
This time Smokey was not fast enough. The club slammed into Smokey knocking him back into a boulder with a loud thud. The club then returned to Marowak who caught it out of the air.
“Smokey, use Ember!”
Smokey readied itself and then unleashed a ball of fire form the necklace around the bell on its collar. It made a little bell chime as the fireball was released.
“Marowak, use Fire Spin!”
Alolan Marowak spun its club creating a spiral of blue flames. The two fires collided in the middle of the battlefield. It was a mix of blue and red flames until they both subsided doing no damage to either Pokémon.
“Marowak, Bonemerang!”
“Smokey, Bite!”
Smokey jumped forward preparing its bite attack. However, Marowak’s bone club launched forward and collided with Smokey in mid-air. It slammed into him and knocked him back. He slammed into the same boulder and slumped to the ground.
“Smokey!”
Alolan Marowak jumped up on top of one of the boulder.
“You’re Torracat is unable to battle further,” Kiawe said. “This round goes to Marowak.”
“Return, Smokey!” I said opening up his Pokéball.
Smokey returned to his Pokéball.
I thought to myself. I knew I needed to save Bubbles until it was completely necessary. He was my secret weapon. I was hoping that Smokey would be able to get through at least one of his Pokémon or maybe even two. Now I needed a new sweeper.
“You ready?” Kiawe asked.
“Of course!” I yelled. “Go, Bouncee!”
“Steenee!”
In a flash of red light, Bouncee the Steenee was on the battlefield.
“An interesting strategy for sure,” Kiawe said.
“Don’t worry, we’re ready,” I said. “Isn’t that right, Bouncee?”
“Stee!”
Bouncee jumped up and down in excitement.
“Ok Marowak, let’s show Alexis what we got,” Kiawe said. “Use Fire Spin.”
Alolan Marowak unleashed a cyclone of blue fire at Bouncee by spinning his bone club.
“Dodge Bouncee, and use Magical Leaf!”
Bouncee jumped behind a boulder to dodge the fire. Then in it spun creating a field of rainbow leaves. The leaves then shot in all directions and acted like heat-seeking missles. They slammed into Marowak from all directions creating a cloud of rainbow dust.
“Marowak.”
It swayed for a second and then fell over. It slammed into the gym floor and remained motionless.
“Impressive,” Kiawe said.
Marowak returned to its Pokéball.
I jumped up and down.
“Way to go, Bouncee!”
“Don’t celebrate too early,” Captain Kiawe said. “There is still a lot of battle left. It is now down to two on two.”
“I’m ready for whatever you got,” I said.
Kiawe nodded.
“Let’s go, Marowak!”
There standing in front of us was another Alolan Marowak.
“Another one?” I asked.
“What can I say? It’s my favorite,” Kiawe said with a laugh.
“Let’s go, Bouncee! Use Magical Leaf.”
Bouncee unleashed another cloud of rainbow leaves which went after Kiawe’s Marowak.
“Marowak, use Fire Spin!”
Marowak began spinning its bone club and created a cyclone of blue fire around itself. The leaves crashed into the fire and were obliterated by the flames.
The fire subsided and Marowak stood there unaffected by Bouncee’s attack.
“Now Marowak, track down that Steenee and use Fire Spin!”
Marowak jumped from the boulder it was standing on and landed on the boulder that Bouncee was hiding behind. It began spinning its club and created the same cyclone of fire.
“Dodge Bouncee!”
Bouncee tried its best, but the fire hit it as it ran. Bouncee fell forward and rolled into the closest boulder. It wasn’t a direct hit, but with Fire being Bouncee’s biggest threat, it still did a lot of damage.
“Bouncee use Razor Leaf!”
Bouncee spun again sending a barrage of leaves which slammed into Marowak. Unfortunately, it didn’t do that much damage against it.
“Marowak, use Bonemerang!”
“Bouncee use Rapid Spin!”
Marowak threw its boneclub at Bouncee. Bouncee began spinning around. The two collided. The bone club bounced off of Bouncee and returned to Marowak.
“Now, use Magical Leaf!”
Bouncee continued spinning and then created the cloud of rainbow leaves. They all launched forward and hit Marowak directly.
Marowak stumbled back but regain its footing.
“Marowak! Use Fire Spin!”
Marowak prepared to unleash another cyclone of fire.
“Bouncee! Dodge it!”
Bouncee quickly ducked behind a boulder as Marowak unleashed the fire. The blue flames struck the boulder missing Bouncee.
“Bouncee, use Magical Leaf!”
Another wave of rainbow leaves struck Marowak and it was getting worn down.
“Way to go, Bouncee!”
Bouncee turned towards me and smiled. Then it began to glow.
“No way,” Kiawe said.
White light began surrounding Bouncee until she was completely obscured from my view.
“Bouncee is evolving,” I said.
The white light vanished and there standing where Bouncee the Steenee was, was now a new Pokémon. This one was similar to Steenee being a bipedal plant type with long legs and long, green leaves acting as hair. It even had a small, purple crown on its head.
I pulled Rotomdex from by bad.
“Scan that Pokémon please,” I told Rotomdex.
“Bzzzt. Right away. Bzzzt,” Rotom said.
In just a moment it pulled up the information I asked for.
Bzzzt. Tsareena. The Fruit Pokémon. This Pokémon has a high-class nature, and punishes anyone that approaches it with evil in mind. In battle, it attacks using finely honed kicking skills and graceful movements. Additionally, its fragrance acts as distraction in battle. Because only the most powerful Steenee evolve into Tsareena, this Pokémon uses its power to protect its pre-evolutions. Tsareena is the only known Pokémon capable of learning the move Trop Kick. Bzzzt.”
“Thanks Rotom,” I said dropping it back into my bag.
“So Bouncee is a Tsareena now,” I said. “I say we try out this new move. Bouncee, use Trop Kick!”
“Tsar!”
Bouncee launched herself over the boulder and came crashing down into Marowak. She extended her leg and her legs glowed with a green energy. The kick collided with Marowak sending it backwards. Alolan Marowak slammed into the boulder and then fell to the ground, unable to battle.
“Alright, Bouncee!” I cheered.
Two down. One to go. If it was a third, Alolan Marowak, it would be no challenge to Bouncee the Tsarenna and Bubbles the Dewpider.
“Well that’s two of my Pokémon defeated, but the next one will be the most challenging,” Captain Kiawe said. “It’s time to show you the power of the Totem Pokémon.”
Kiawe cracked his knuckles and pulled a Pokéball from his belt.
“Go Salazzle!”
A new Pokémon I’ve never seen before emerged from the Pokéball. It was a long and lanky reptilian Pokémon with Black, Purple, and Pink scales.
“Salazzle!”
“Salazzle is the evolution of Salandit, which you encountered on your way up the Volcano the first time. Only female Salandit’s evolve in Salazzles which are powerful Fire-Type Pokémon as well as Poison-Type,” Kiawe explained. “And that’s not all. This Salazzle is special because it is infused with additional energy.
At that moment an orange aura surged around Salazzle just like other Totem Pokémon I’ve encountered.
“Come on Bouncee, we’ve got this,” I said.
“Tsareena!”
Bouncee looked back at me and nodded.
“Salazzle, use Flame Burst!”
Salazzle got down on all fours and waved its tail in the air like a flag. Then a burst of fire was unleashed from its mouth.
“Bouncee, Dodge it!”
The fire ball exploded behind Bouncee and sparks of fire shot up and collided with Bouncee. She rolled forward and landed on her feet.
“Now, Salazzle, use Smog!” Kiawe yelled.
Salazzle unleashed a stream of poisonous gas. It surrounded Bouncee and obscured her from my view.
“Bouncee, use Trop Kick!”
Bouncee jumped up into the air escaping the poisnous cloud and slammed its leg into Salazzle. Salazzle was knocked back but regained its footing. Bouncee on the other hand was looking rough.
“Bouncee, use Trop Kick again!”
“Salazzle, use Flame Burst!”
Bouncee jumped into the air. It’s legs glowed green with energy. It came down with a kick at Salazzle. Salazzle tracked Bouncee’s movements and readied a ball of fire. As Bouncee came down to land her kick, Salazzle unleashed the fireball. It slammed into Bouncee’s chest and sent her flying back before she could pull off the kick.
Bouncee laid there unable to battle.
“No, Bouncee!” I yelled out.
“Good job, Salazzle,” Kiawe said.
Bouncee returned to her Pokéball.
“That was impressive, Alexis,” Kiawe said. “Even with type disadvantage against Salazzle, that Trop Kick did major damage. Now I’m ready to see your last Pokémon. I’m guessing it will be your Water-Type.
I nodded.
It all comes down to this. Smokey and Bouncee got me this far, but now it was up to Bubbles to save the day.
“Go, Bubbles!”
With a flash of red light, Bubbles the Dewpider was on the battlefield and ready to fight.
“Hmmm….a Dewpider. An interesting choice. Well let’s see how well it does against my Salazzle,” Kiawe said.
“Bubbles, use Spider Web!”
Bubbles climbed up on top of one of the large boulders and then unleashed balls of webbing. They collided with Salazzle trapping her in webbing. She was stuck to the ground.
This didn’t seem to bother Kiawe though.
“Salazzle, use Smog!”
Salazzle unleashed a torrent of poison gas at Bubbles who was consumed by the cloud.
“Bubbles, use Bubblebeam!”
Bubbles unleashed a stream of bubbles all launching towards Salazzle. It was able to break up the smog cloud as well as strike Salazzle. It seemed to do a decent amount of damage to the Fire-Type Pokémon.
“Salazzle, use Flame Burst!”
“Bubbles, dodge it!”
Bubbles wasn’t quick enough to get away from the fire ball that left Salazzle’s mouth. It struck Bubbles directly and it toppled over falling to the ground. It’s ability and Water-typing protects it from Fire a little bit, but the attack still did a ton of damage.
“Bubbles, use Bubblebeam!”
Bubbles unleashed another stream of bubbles. Salazzle tried to get out of the way, but the Spiderweb stopped it from getting too far. The bubbles hit directly.
“Ok I have to finish this quickly. Bubbles won’t survive another hit,” I said out loud.
“Salazzle, use Flame Burst!”
“Bubbles, use your Z-Power.” I yelled out. “Hydro Vortex!”
I held out my Z-ring which began to glow. Bubbles began to glow with bright blue energy.
“No way, a Z-move,” Kiawe stood in awe.
Salazzle unleashed its Fire Burst, but the attack met a wall of water. Bubbles had surrounded himself in a typhoon of water and bubbles. Then Bubbles unleashed the typhoon. It slammed into Salazzle tossing her like a rag doll. All the water came crashing down on Salazzle leaving the entire battlefield soaked.
After the typhoon disintegrated, Salazzle laid there unable to battle and Bubbles was standing triumphantly on to p of the large boulder in the middle of the battlefield.
“Way to go, Bubbles!”
I ran forward and scooped Bubbles up in my arms. I swung him around and gave him the biggest hug. I stood on top of the boulder drenched in water and mud from the Z-move.
Kiawe came over and gave me some applause.
“That was amazing, Alexis,” Kiawe said.
“Thank you, Captain Kiawe,” I said wiping some mud off of my face.
Kiawe was also covered in mud and his clothes were soaked.
“That was truly an amazing battle. That Z-move was impressive. Especially since your bond has just started with this new Pokémon,” Kiawe said.
“Again Thank You, Captain Kaiwe,” I said.
“For all your effort, let me give you this,” Kiawe pulled out a small, red gem out of his back pocket.
“This is Firium Z. The Fire-Type Z-Crystal. It will let you pull off powerful Fire Type Z-moves so maybe your Torracat will be interested in it.”
I took Firium Z and put it into my bag.
“Thank you Kiawe, I really appreciate it,” I said.
“No problem, Alexis. I know you are a wonderful trainer and you work hard. Just don’t be discouraged going forward if you run into challenges that seem too great. Just give it some time and you will find a way to overcome them,” Kiawe said. “Now you must head towards Lush Jungle. There you will find your next challenge lead by Captain Mallow.”
“Any idea on how I get there?” I asked Kiawe.
“Well first you need to get down the Volcano,” Kiawe said.
I let out an audible groan.
“Don’t worry, we can take the jeep down to Route 7 where I dropped you off before. Then you will follow Route 8 alongside the backside of the Island. That will lead you to Lush Jungle and Mallow’s Trial,” Kiawe explained.
“Sounds like a good plan,” I said. “So should we go now?”
“Why don’t we take a moment to calm down after that battle. We’ll get your Pokémon healed, we’ll get you fed, and then we’ll leave for Route 7,” Kiawe said.
“That sounds like a great plan,” I said.
Header Photo Credit to Dribble user Pixelwolfie
https://dribbble.com/shots/2927304-Alolan-Marowak
Pokémon images come from Bulbapedia
https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page
Firium Z image comes from CriisAngelB’s DeviantArt page
https://criisangelb.deviantart.com/art/Firium-Z-Pirostal-Z-653709421
Allen The Writer 
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