Alice awoke to the sound of Sam’s violent retching in the bathroom. Rolling over to the window, she sighed in relief to see sunlight, marking that morning had already come. Fluttershy soon came awake due to Alice’s stirring beside her, and Sam’s continued vomiting eventually awoke Starlight and Lady on the bed where Sam had slept.
“My goodness,” Fluttershy whined in sympathy. “Is he going to be okay?”
“Yeah,” Alice sighed, throwing her covers off of her. “He must still be working his Salandit’s venom out of his system.”
“He’s still poisoned!? He won’t die, will he?”
“No, I stopped the worst of it with a Full Heal last night. Just let him finish *ahem* expelling, and he should be just fine.”
The yowling stopped after a while, and the sound of a toilet flushing was heard behind the door. Sam came out shirtless and in his underwear and covered head to toe drenched with sweat, the sight of him making Alice quickly turn away and Fluttershy and Starlight’s faces to turn bright red beneath their fur.
“Sorry,” Sam panted, leaning against the door, “I wanted to fight it until sunrise, and it made me feel very hot.”
Starlight couldn’t help but notice Sam’s slightly toned muscles in his torso and abdomen. “Well, you certainly look very…warm.”
Sam huffed with a smile at Starlight’s sudden choice of words, an awkward silence soon following. “You don’t mind if I shower first, do you?”
Sam slipped his clean black t-shirt on, his washed jacket lying folded on his bed beside his belt and Poké Ball clip, which was now adorned with three balls. Everything else in the room was left exactly as it was when they came in the previous night, including the spilled blood on the carpet cleaned up spotlessly. He slid his belt through the loops in his shorts and fastened it before flinging his jacket open by the sleeve and tying both sleeves around the front of his waist.
Last was his clip, and upon picking it up, he studied the ball his Salandit was kept in. He detached the ball from it and clipped his other balls to his belt. Lobbing the ball onto the bed, Salandit emerged from it, eagerly and joyfully running to his outstretched hand that pet, massaged, and scratched its head and back.
“Good morning to you too!” As Salandit rolled to its back, expectant for belly rubs, Sam stopped, resting to his knees before the bed and laying his body down on the mattress. “I want to talk to you.”
Salandit twisted itself so that it could still look at Sam while upside-down.
“Listen, my sister and I are both doing our Island Trials. We couldn’t beat the last one because we weren’t strong enough. I’m certain that with you on my side, we’ll be strong enough to beat it this time. You think you can be strong for us?”
Salandit let out a couple of affirmative grunts, nodding its head, grinning open-mouthed as Sam’s hand lowered to its exposed stomach.
He stopped just inches from the lizard’s belly. “I’m serious!” he said in singsong, the taunting voice prompting Salandit to reach up and try and pull his hand down. “I really need you out there. I won’t give you belly rubs unless you promise to give it all you got out there in the jungle. Deal?”
Salandit’s nodding quickened.
“Okay, good girl!” Sam commenced the tickling of its stomach, and Salandit could not look or sound happier about it.
Starlight, Lady, and Fluttershy looked on as Sam played with his Pokémon, Alice coming out from the bathroom fully dressed and equipped with her bag, her hair just slightly damp. She stood behind the two ponies and watched Sam as he let Salandit crawl up his shirt and pop its head out from the back of the collar.
“Whenever you’re done playing with your lizard,” Alice exclaimed, “we can get going!”
Sam reached behind his back and let Salandit crawl up his arm, putting it back in front of him to face it. “Sounds like its time to go,” he said, bending over to pick up Salandit’s Poké Ball. “You ready for this?”
Salandit squealed loudly with its eyes closed and its joyful smile wide open. Sam aimed the center of the ball at his Pokémon and returned it inside. Picking up his backpack leaned against the nightstand, he turned on his heels and toward the door.
“Let me check us out first, then we’re off.” Sam had already exited and turned to the lobby before he had stopped talking.
“Come on.” Alice turned to Fluttershy. “Let’s see how that Comfey is doing.”
“Yes!” she agreed. “I sure hope Mallow was able to keep it safe during the storm.”
Starlight, Lady, and Fluttershy all went out first while Alice did a quick glance around the room to look for anything they may have left. Seeing that nothing was out of place, she closed the door behind her.
Sam, Alice, the ponies, and Lady stepped up to the Lush Jungle entrance, already feeling uneasy with all of the puddles that they could see on the pathway in.
“Damn,” Sam hissed. “It’s going to be a swamp in there.”
“Hello!” The group turned around to see Mallow waving to them from the last ledge up the northward hill before climbing up it, swinging her left foot up to reveal a larger brown boot than the ones she wore the previous night.
Pulling the rest of her body up, Fluttershy was elated to see Mallow wearing the Comfey around her neck. Sam and Alice also noticed a large sack that she wore upon her back. As she approached them, Comfey detached itself from its tail and flew over to Fluttershy, giving her face a hug with its tiny arms.
“It’s good to see you too, Comfey!” Fluttershy said
“What’s in the bag?” Alice asked. “You didn’t happen to save your tools from yesterday, did you?”
Mallow blushed sheepishly. “I actually didn’t!”
“Oh, shit!” Sam whipped his backpack off and looked into his bag finding the slot for his chef’s knife that was now empty, leaning his head back to face the sky in anguish.
“Is something wrong?” Mallow asked.
“I left my own knife in there! Hoping it isn’t sitting in a pool of mud now or got blown away.”
“I wouldn’t be too worried. The winds were pretty spicy last night, but it shouldn’t have been able to blow a big heavy knife like that away. And if it’s dirty, I’ll clean it. In the meantime, I brought some spares! Oh yeah, one last thing!”
Pulling the hole in the sack open, she took out two pairs of what appeared to be long red rubber socks with soles on the bottoms.
“What are these?” Starlight asked, studding them closely.
“I call them mud slippers!” Mallow tossed the pairs out, each one landing in Alice and Sam’s grasp. “Just slip those on over your shoes and legs, and you shouldn’t have to worry about wet, muddy shoes or soggy socks.”
“Oh, neat. Thanks!”
Starlight held both of their bags in her magic as Sam and Alice began putting their mud slippers on. Mallow approached Fluttershy and Comfey, squatting down to look them in the eye.
“So what are you two talking about?” she asked them.
Fluttershy turned to her. “Comfey was just apologizing to me if I thought she betrayed us yesterday during the trial. She said that she only wanted to join in the battle to see how strong Sam and Alice were.”
“Well, it seems that she gets to see that again today. You don’t mind her fighting with the Totem Lurantis again, do you?”
Fluttershy calmly shook her head. “If it’s to help make my friends stronger, I’ll support her.”
“Okay!” Alice called. “I think we’re ready!”
Fluttershy and Comfey turned around to see Sam and Alice looking professionally suited for the trial minus their cartoonishly bright mud slippers that reached just below their knees.
“Wonderful, if you just want to follow me in!” Mallow led the way, and the group went out to follow her.
Lady leapt onto Starlight’s back and lied down. “Good thinking, Lady,” Starlight whispered back. “I’d much rather not have you get too muddy today.”
As they walked through the path, Sam and Alice would look down to see mud already caking the tops of their feet, though leaving their good shoes and their feet and legs dry and clean. Once they were entering the first clearing where they had their battle, Sam and Alice glanced to each other, fortunate for Mallow’s convenient footwear.
Entering the clearing, Sam, Alice, and the ponies grimaced at the swamp that the Lush Jungle had indeed become. Virtually every patch of tall grass was now standing in shin deep water, and the dirt pathways had simply become a trail of muddy slop.
In the clearing, Sam could see the various tools that had been left behind half buried in the mud, noticing both his knife and cutting board among them. “Oh, thank God they’re still here!”
“Yep!” Mallow began to pull the tools up, gathering them under her arm. “Looks like everything is still intact. If you want, you can go ahead and gather the ingredients again while I wash all of this off. You remember what to get right?”
“Tiny Mushroom,” Sam said.
“Mago Berry,” Starlight added.
“Miracle Seed,” Fluttershy spoke.
“And a Revival Herb.”
“Good!” Mallow pointed them forward. “Let’s start cooking with fire!”
Sam and Starlight and Alice and Fluttershy looked to each other once again, the four of them splitting off in their pairs to go out searching, Lady and Comfey following Starlight and Fluttershy. Mallow had already began pulling her tools from the muddy ground.
Sam, a Mago Berry in his hand, faced a Fomantis floating upon a large palm leaf, the grassy patch flooded up to the middle of Sam’s shin. Salandit rested safe and dry on Sam’s shoulder as it eagerly hissed at the Pokémon they both looked at.
“Salandit, use Ember!”
From Salandit’s mouth shot a small ball of flame that struck the Fomantis in the stomach and knocked it off its makeshift raft and into the newly-formed pond.
The Comfey floated above that standing water of another grassy spot, its eyes trained on a Miracle Seed floating on the surface. Gingerly picking it up, it carried it back to Alice and dropped it into her hand.
“Good job.” Alice rubbed under the Comfey’s chin with her finger. “I almost feel bad that I’m going to have to take you down again.”
The Comfey bashfully tilted itself down and to the side, looking away. Fluttershy grimaced awkwardly, both for Alice’s statement and more-so, the Comfey’s response.
Salandit was standing on dry land, facing a large mushroom-shaped Pokémon with a purple cap and a white stalk with two black holes and a curved line for a smiling face. It stood before a Tiny Mushroom growing in the ground between it and Salandit.
“No fooling around!” Sam shouted. “Use Smog!”
With a loud breath, dark purple fumes flew from Salandit’s mouth and washed over their foe.
Noibat floated over a Fomantis as it fell onto its back onto a puddle, taken out by its last attack. Feeling that it was safe to advance, Fluttershy flew to beside the fallen Fomantis before pulling a Revival Herb out from the ground.
She bent down to the side of the Pokémon’s face. “Sorry about that… again.”
Flying back to Alice, she handed her the root, earning a thankful nod from her. She then tossed the Revival Herb in her bag where her Miracle Seed, a Mago Berry, and Tiny Mushroom were sitting.
“Alright,” she said, walking back south, “let’s hope Sam’s almost done.”
Alice and Fluttershy ran off while the Comfey hovered close beside them.
Sam was already at work cutting and chopping the Mago Berries with his now shining knife on his acceptably clean cutting board. Alice was hard at work grinding the Miracle Seeds to powder in the wiped-dry mortar, despite the moisture they collected turning them more to paste. As Fluttershy peeled the Revival Herbs, Starlight used her magic to mince the Tiny Mushrooms with Mallow’s other knife. Mallow stood with her fists at her side and observed the sight of them preparing the ingredients with tremendous pride.
Finally, Sam and the ponies were finished and transferred their ingredients to the mortar, Sam wiping down his knife and board the best he could with a napkin before putting them both back in his bag. Mallow handed Alice the larger pestle, and Alice began to mix. Sam and the ponies, prepared for what would happen next, stepped back and awaited the oncoming battle. The aroma of the paste started to become intoxicating, and Alice continued looking around, waiting for the Totem Lurantis and its allies to arrive.
Several loud screeches and a rustling of leaves accompanied by the water on them falling to the ground was heard to the north. Immediately, Alice hopped back and put her hand on her first Poké Ball.
“We take out the Trumbeak first,” Sam said, keeping his eyes focused ahead. “Agreed?”
“Yup!”
The Totem Lurantis shot out from the trees, slashing its arms out in a threatening matter. Quickly after, the Trumbeak and Castform joined its side. Fluttershy and the Comfey shared one last nod before it went to join the Totem Lurantis’s other allies. With their foes lined up, Sam and Alice both tossed their first Poké Balls.
“Let’s go, Honedge!”
“You’re up, Pikachu!”
At the same time, both of their Pokémon emerged from their respective trainers balls and stood between them and the four Pokémon before them. Pikachu suddenly felt a sharp tingle all over its body as a pink aura seeped out of it. It was then pulled off painfully, Pikachu crying out as the aura flew toward the Comfey and was absorbed by the flowers on its vine.
Alice grunted as Pikachu already began to pant. “You’re doing great, Pikachu! Use Thunder Shock on Trumbeak!”
Pikachu, focusing all of its energy into its cheeks, shot lightning out from them and struck Trumbeak, felling it into standing on its talons. The Castform then shot out a bright flare up above the treetops from its mouth, the bright light shining down and transforming Castform into its sunny form. The Totem Lurantis’s arms began to glow brightly, turning to face Pikachu.
“Oh no!” Starlight stepped forward nervously. “They’re ganging up on him!”
Sam threw his arm out to Pikachu. “Honedge, take it!”
Honedge zipped out to Pikachu as the Totem Lurantis swung its arm up and over, the light on its arm stretching out to slam down on Pikachu. Before it could, Sam crossed his arms, and Honedge formed a defensive X, intercepting and catching the attack. Starlight and Fluttershy both breathed out in relief.
“Nice job, bud!” Sam shouted. “Now finish off Trumbeak with Return!”
Honedge pushed the Solar Blade attack up and off, and before it could lunge at its target, the Trumbeak breathed in and then let out a blood-curdling scream at Pikachu, who pressed its hands down on the bases of its ears and whining with sheer discomfort.
Honedge darted at Trumbeak, who, still distracted by its Screech attack, was caught mostly unaware as the side of Honedge’s blade collided with its head, sending it to its side where it didn’t even stir to get back up. Sam pumped his fist as the Comfey picked the fainted Trumbeak up and carried it away to safety.
“Okay,” Sam turned back to his sister. “Get the Comfey next, then Noibat won’t have anymore Pokémon to face that it isn’t strong against.”
Alice nodded keeping its eyes trained on the Comfey, who sported a confident, almost cocky grin. With another blown kiss, pink energy was drained from Pikachu and absorbed into the Comfey’s flowers, though Pikachu continued holding steady.
Alice clenched her fist and pointed at Comfey. “That’s it! Use another Thunder Shock!”
Pikachu blasted the Comfey with a stream of electric beams, though it appeared to shake it off. Castform then shot a fiery Weather Ball at Honedge, striking it dead where the blade met the cross-guard and throwing it back, though it still found the strength to continue floating. The Totem Lurantis then looked back to Honedge, charging up another Solar Blade.
Pikachu gasped as it realized the attack wasn’t for it. Sam already crossed his arms, prompting Honedge to cross his scabbard over its blade. Lurantis brought its arm down, Honedge waiting for the moment to push and deflect, but before the large blade of light could come down on it, Pikachu collided into the side of it, knocking it out of the way and blasting mud up into the air as it collided with the ground.
Spotches of it came down harmlessly on Honedge, but the initial explosion of the collision threw Pikachu back to Alice, where it tumbled to the ground, too weak to pick itself up. Starlight’s mouth hung open at the sight.
Fluttershy reached her hoof out. “No! Pikachu!”
Alice knelt down and pet Pikachu down the side as she took its Poké Ball from her belt. “Awesome job, Pikachu. That really was awesome.”
Sam watched as Pikachu was brought back to its ball, prompting him to reach and pull up the right side of his jacket and unzip it, pulling out his Normalium Z. “Yeah. Thanks for the save there.”
Sam detached his Fightinium Z from his Z-Ring and inserted the Normalium Z. Dropping the other Z-Crystal back into his jacket pocket, he wasted no more time in crossing his wrists in front of his face, bringing them back down, and crossing both arms out. As his Z-Power built up inside of him, he finished with putting his arms down to the left and then forming a “Z” with both arms.
His Z-Power flowed out of him and into Honedge, who, even with its single cloth arm, puffed its sword body out. With Honedge, looking dead into the Comfey’s eyes, its poised expression suddenly morphing into one of shock and dread.
“Nothing personal,” Sam breathed out, the Z-Power invigorating him, “but I gotta’ take you down for my Sister’s other Pokémon. Alright, Honedge, go get her! Breakneck Blitz!”
Quickly slipping itself inside of its scabbard, Honedge shot out like a cannon, the tip of its sheath locked on to the Comfey’s small body. The Comfey attempted to shoot itself up, but Honedge easily tracked it, hitting its target dead center. The Comfey was blasted back into the treetops, almost disappearing behind the thick abundance of leaves and vines.
Both Castform and the Totem Lurantis, who looked out to where the Comfey was flung out to, turned back to Sam and his returning Honedge with a similar face of amazement. Starlight let out a chuckle, already feeling the tide turning favorably.
Sam himself smirked at the unintentionally flattering gesture. “Yeah. I know.”
Alice already took out her next Poké Ball and threw it out. “Go, Mudbray!”
The brown donkey filly came out from the ball, looking out at the Totem Lurantis and Castform with newfound determination.
“Alice!” Starlight began to look afraid once again. “You know Mudbray is weak against that Lurantis!”
“She knows.” Sam looked to his Honedge. “Prepare yourself, buddy.”
Honedge held its scabbard up, ready for what was to come. Just then, the Comfey floated back down from the tops of the trees, joining Castform by its side. Fluttershy's mouth hung as wide as her eyes.
“Crap!” Sam’s eyes were wide with sudden fear. “That didn’t beat it?”
The Comfey looked to its remaining two teammates, and they both looked back and nodded, knowing what it needed to do. The Comfey then grabbed its tail and tilted to the side, forming a disk running parallel to the ground.
Traveling in the path of its own ring, the Comfey sped up faster and faster, picking leaves from both the trees and loose ones from the forest floor, creating a treacherous whirlwind that entrapped every Pokémon on the field. The Castform and Totem Lurantis were hit by the dozens of leaves that slashed them, but they appeared to withstand the blows easily. Honedge also appeared to weather each strike against its body, but Mudbray began to cry out with each hit it tried to endure.
“Holy god damn!” Alice growled from her clenched teeth, pressing her hat onto her head before it could blow away. “Such a strong Petal Blizzard for such a tiny Pokémon.”
Starlight and Fluttershy blocked the force of the winds into their faces with their arms. “You can hardly see anything in there!” Fluttershy yelled over the gales.
As the assault continued, Sam and Honedge both noticed a small red glow appear where Castform stood. Sam tensed up, knowing what was to come.
“Honedge!”
The fiery Weather Ball shot out from the twister, heading straight at Mudbray, whose eyes were closed as its only means of protection. Honedge flew out as quick as it could pommel-first. It made it just in time, taking the Weather Ball attack right in the base of its hilt. As Alice watched Honedge, fall limply off to her right, Mudbray looked over as well, realizing it wasn’t hit by the last attack. Seeing Honedge’s state, it bared its teeth and brushed the ground with its hoof, ready to charge.
“Nice work, Honedge,” Alice whispered. “Now we’re golden! Mudbray, hit them all with Bulldoze!”
Mudbray began to run out at the Castform, the landing of each of its hooves picking up mud, its still-charging body plowing the mud into a large wave that looked to engulf the three Pokémon before it. The Totem Lurantis and the Comfey were both struck by the outer edge while the Castform was struck by both the mud and Mudbray’s check.
Both Lurantis and Castform managed to get back up, now covered in patches of dirt, that gradually but noticably dried up under Castform’s harsh sunlight. The Comfey, on the other hand, was half buried under the mud, its body and the last few inches of its tail the only things visible. Mallow ran over and dug it out, cradling it in her arms. As she ran back toward the ponies and Lady, Sam detached Honedge’s Poké Ball and returned it inside.
Fluttershy ran to Mallow as she knelt down to allow her, Starlight, and Lady to see the Comfey. “You’re quite strong for such a small little… Comfey.”
Mallow giggled. “They may be small, but Comfey’s can really take and pack a supremely spicy punch.”
The Comfey stirred in Mallow’s arms gently floating up out of them and looking at Fluttershy with a relieved smile. Behind them, the Totem Lurantis put both of its arms out, its entire body glowing as it regained the energy it lost that turn.
Fluttershy smiled back, glad to have her friend back. “Come on. Let’s watch the rest of the battle together.”
With a squeak out of its mouth and an enthusiastic throwing up of its arms, the Comfey wrapped itself snugly around Fluttershy’s neck, holding on tight to part of its tail.
The four of them turned back as Sam pulled out his second Poké Ball and threw it out. “Let’s keep it going, Fomantis!”
Sam’s Pokémon emerged from its ball and pointed the tip of its leafy limb to its eyes and then at the Totem Lurantis, ensuring that it knew who it would come after.
Alice turned to her brother. “Sam, what are you thinking? This is the perfect time to call out Salandit!”
Sam shook his head, his eyes still trained on Lurantis. “Not yet. I want to wait until we can single that Lurantis out.”
Alice continued staring at Sam, but nodded in acceptance with his choice, turning back to her foes. “Okay, Mudbray, take out that Castform with Double Kick!”
Mudbray galloped at its target, who tried to charge up another Weather Ball, only to find its process going much slower than before. It could not fully form its attack as Mudbray spun itself around and kicked Castform, sending it flying into a tree behind it. As it got its bearings, Mudbray continued running at it and spun around again, delivering another kick that thrust it into the bark of the tree.
Fluttershy and Starlight gasped at the seemingly violent display, but were mostly reassured to see the Castform peel itself out of the Castform-shaped imprint left in the tree and plop to the ground. They then watched as the Totem Lurantis walked over to it and picked it up in both arms. After looking at each other and making conversational noises to each other, the Totem Lurantis set its arms back down, allowing Castform to fly back into the jungle.
“And then there was one,” Alice said. “We’re already in a much better spot than yesterday.”
“Don’t get your hopes up.” Sam’s face reflected his deadly serious comment.
“Seriously? Always Mr. Negative with y–”
A sound of quick, small slicing noises sounded out in front of her, and when Alice turned back, she could see that the Totem Lurantis, had concluded a finishing Razor Leaf attack, the remnants scattered around and behind her Mudbray, who tried to stand for a single moment before tipping over in exhaustion.
“No, Mudbray!” Alice ran to it, ignoring the Totem Lurantis’s lethally defensive stare.
Sam spread a grimace across his face, knowing it was not the time to say anything to her. “Fomantis, quick! Use Fury Cutter!”
With the Totem Lurantis turning itself to face Alice, it was caught off guard as Sam’s Fomantis lashed at its torso with both of its bladed leaf arms. Fomantis quickly bounded back as Lurantis fell to one knee. Alice knelt down and cradled Mudbray’s head in her arm as she took out its Poké Ball.
“Don’t worry about it,” she whispered to it. “You did great. Get some rest.”
Alice aimed the front of its ball at Mudbray’s face, the red beam shooting from it pulling it back inside. Both Alice and Lurantis stood up at the same time, facing each other before Alice backed up to stand beside Sam, already taking out her next Poké Ball.
“Go, Rockruff!”
Alice’s brown puppy came out from the ball, growling confidently at the now lone Totem Lurantis. Both Starlight and Fluttershy looked confused and a bit scared.
“I assume there’s a strategy behind this?” Sam asked.
“Absoluetly. Now that we cut down Lurantis’s speed, let’s try and chip away its defense.”
Sam smiled, completely understanding. “Okay, you do what you need to.”
“Thanks. Rockruff, use Leer!”
Rockruff locked eyes with the Totem Lurantis, and a glimmer of sudden, harsh light shone from them, appearing to take it’s opponent aback. Undaunted, Lurantis began to absorb the Castform’s sunlight as it started to wane, its arms glowing strongly enough to use another Solar Blade.
Sam reached out to Rockruff, fearing the worst. “Fomantis, use–”
“No!” Alice called out. “Go after it!”
Sam looked devastated, but looking back at Rockruff’s stoic preparedness for its fate, he then looked out at the Lurantis as it swung its arm up to slam the beam spreading off of it down on its target. The blast from the attack threw Alice backwards to Starlight and Fluttershy’s front hooves, Starlight’s magic catching her before her back could land in the mud. Starlight then lifted her back to her feet to allow her to see Sam pointing out at the Totem Lurantis, his Fomantis sprinting out at it. Pulling herself into a seated position, she watched as Fomantis delivered an even stronger dual slash with its arms than before, throwing the Totem Lurantis onto its back.
Alice walked back and looked down to see Rockruff had fainted, lying in the crater made by its attack. She continued smiling proudly as she returned it back to its Poké Ball. “I know we’ll win now, thanks to you.” She then put the ball back and took out her last one. “Your time to shine, Noibat!”
With a purposeful lob, Alice’s final Pokémon soared out of its ball, keeping its altitude and distance from the Totem Lurantis.
“We shouldn’t have much left. Use Aerial Ace!”
With a harder flap of its wings, Noibat shot down at the Totem Lurantis, slashing its entire body into it and pushing it down to its knee and left arm. After a couple of breaths, Lurantis threw its arms out, its entire body glowing as it took as much sunlight it could to heal itself.
“Yeah, that won’t get old,” Sam breathed. “Hit ‘em with another Fury Cutter!”
Fomantis lunged at the Totem Lurantis, though in its newly invigorated state, the Totem Lurants was able to avoid the attack with a sidestep. Watching the exposed Fomantis pass it, the Totem Lurantis delivered an X-Scissor with a dual slash of its arms, flinging it out to Alice’s side of the field.
“No!” Alice barked. “Hit him with another Aerial Ace!”
Noibat made another dive at its target. Though the Totem Lurantis attempted to dodge, Noibat twisted its body and smacked it in the face, sending it to its back again. From the sidelines, Starlight turned to Mallow with a direly inquisitive face, and seeming to understand what she asked, she nodded to her.
Starlight picked Fomantis up in her magic and floated it back to Sam, where he let Starlight place him in his arm. Sam could tell that Fomantis was virtually motionless and no longer in any state to battle. He gently stroked its stomach where it was hit, keeping the Totem Lurantis and its taunting displays in his peripherals.
“Okay…” Sam detached Fomantis’s Poké Ball from his belt and returned it inside. “Now it’s our turn to toy around with you.” He put the ball back and took out his last one, throwing this one out with much vigor. “Let’s end this, Salandit!”
With a cheerfully bloodthirsty screech, Salandit popped out from Sam’s ball and threateningly wagged its tail.
Mallow gulped in genuine surprise. “Where’d he get that?”
“Last night in the storm,” Fluttershy answered.
“The storm?”
“The story can wait,” Starlight said. “Let’s see how well it can fight against a Totem Pokémon.”
Mallow looked back out to catch what would clearly be the end of the battle.
“This won’t end well for you,” Sam said to its opponent. “Salandit, use Dragon Rage!”
“Dragon Rage?” Mallow, Starlight, and Fluttershy shouted in unison.
Opening its mouth, a pulsing dark-blue aura surged inside the Salandit’s mouth before it shot out with near incalculable speeds straight into the Totem Lurantis’s stomach, sending it sliding back on its feet.
“Quick, while it’s still keeping its balance, use Aerial Ace!”
Alice’s order was well met by Noibat, who used the Totem Lurantis’s adjusting of itself to strike it in the head, easily knocking it onto its back. Sam and Alice were dismayed to see the Totem Lurantis kick itself back onto its feet and use another Synthesis, gaining stamina and health that it had lost. However, Sam could tell that the restoration of life did not fix itself as well as it had the previous times. Sam smirked, knowing this was where the battle was won.
Starlight gasped happily realizing this too. “Now they’re dealing more damage than that Lurantis can restore! They’re going to win this!”
“Keep it going!” Sam shouted. “Another Dragon Rage.”
The Salandit spat another blue blast of energy into Lurantis, hitting it in the side of its chest and spinning it around until it fell to its forearms and knees.
“Aerial Ace!”
Noibat swooped into the Lurantis’s gut, throwing it on its side to the ground. Weakly standing up, the Totem Lurantis faced the Noibat and Salandit, their trainers expecting another futile Synthesis. Instead, the Totem Lurantis revealed another Power Herb in its grasp, crumbling it as its arm began to brightly glow. It kept its eye on Salandit, though quickly twisted its body so that it swung its Solar Blade upwards at Noibat, striking it even higher up into the air. Alice and Fluttershy looked up, but were only mildly relieved to see it already flying high and strong, having quickly recovered as expected.
“It wasted its attack,” Sam said. “Even it knows its over. Salandit, you get to finish this! Dragon Rage!”
With a final blast of blue from its mouth, the Totem Lurantis turned to face the unavoidable attack, throwing its arms out as it readied itself for the hit. The aura struck the Totem Lurantis hard, sending it flipping back before it tumbled to its stomach, no longer able to fight.
For a couple of seconds, Sam and Salandit began to breathe heavily in perfect synch with each other. Once the victory became clear, Sam suddenly shouted out with his arms up, crouching down to allow his Salandit to run to his chest and allow him to catch it, twirling it about as he stood back up.
“We did it!” Sam cheered. “You were awesome!”
“Woohoo!” Fluttershy cheered. “Great battle!”
“I’ll say!” Starlight put her hoof up and allowed Fluttershy to clop her own into it.
Noibat perched itself on Alice’s shoulder as she approached him, giving him several hard pats on the shoulder. “You did good today, bro. You did good.”
Sam smiled proudly at the rare, genuine compliment from his sister, grabbing his sister’s shoulder and giving it a congratulatory shake. The Totem Lurantis finally got back up to its feet and walked itself and its broken pride back into the jungle as silently as it could. Just before it could disappear into the brush, it stole a final, begrudgingly respectful glance to both trainers, continuing its walk back.
“Nice job, Sam!” Starlight and Fluttershy approached the two trainers and their Pokémon, Lady yipping in agreement.
“Your new Pokémon was truly outstanding!” Fluttershy sighed in adoration, the Comfey mewing in additional support.
“Okay, guys! Keep rubbing it in, why don’tcha?!” Alice’s sudden outburst earned laughs and chuckles from Sam and the ponies.
Mallow began applauding, standing before the entire group. “Well guys, you and your Pokemon certainly showed you have quite a bit of flavor, and your exceptional teamwork finally pulled you through. Well, I know you’re probably stuffed full of the Lush Jungle at this point, so I’m just going to give you these… ‘After-Dinner Mints!’ …It’s Grassium Z. You both deserve it.”
She stepped up to Sam and Alice and pulled out two green crystals from her pants pockets, presenting them in each hand. Sam and Alice both clasped their prizes and put them away with their other Z-Crystals.
“Before I let you dash, let me show you how to use it.”
Mallow began the ritual with the usual cross of her wrists, setting down of her arms, and reaching her crossed arms out. She then jumped down to a crouch with her cupped hands held in front of her face. She then slowly stood as she continued pressing her fingers and the sides of her hands into each other, making them tremor. Spreading her legs out, she finished the move by throwing her arms up into the air in a Y-formation.
Alice couldn’t help but smile. “That’s probably one of the more simpler moves we’ve been taught.”
“That’s good,” Mallow said. “They will get a lot harder. Just you wait!”
“Uh… That’s okay.” Sam began to back toward the pathway to the jungle’s exit.
“You can also leave your mud slippers on the ground at the foot of the entrance. I’ll pick them up later. I’ll see you all later! Good luck on finding your friends!”
“Thank you, Mallow,” Fluttershy said. “Come on, Comfey, it’s time to go back home!”
Looking down at it, the Comfey looked back to her, but refused to let go of its tail and detach itself from her.
Fluttershy tried gently tugging the Comfey off, whining as each pull failed to do the trick. “Comfey, please, don’t make this harder than it has to! You have to go home now!”
Mallow simply giggled. “I think its home is wherever you are, Fluttershy.”
It was a simple phrase, but it instantly clicked with the yellow pegasus, tears welling up. “You… you mean…?”
“You take good care of her. I think you two make a really cute pairing.”
Fluttershy’s grin grew larger as she realized that Comfey was now hers. “Oh, thank you, Mallow! I promise to take the best care of her!”
Fluttershy hugged her neck where Comfey continued to stay, and it wrapped itself tighter around the neck to return the embrace.
“I think you’ll both be taking care of each other.”
“Thank you again, Mallow!” Alice waved, beginning the trek back out.
“Bye!” Sam followed her, but waved back to Mallow, Starlight, Lady, Fluttershy, and Comfey also bidding her their farewells.
Soon, the group disappeared down the path, leaving Mallow alone to begin picking up the tools left from the trial. Hidden from a perfect vantage point inside of a bush, a pair of half-open purple eyes attached to a dark-colored shadow purred as it continued to survey the area. Realizing that the trainers it had watched were now gone, it quickly shrunk back from the bush and scurried away, the noises too far away for Mallow to hear it.