Alice and Sam continued watching over the balcony long after their Equestrian friends had disappeared into the distance, hoping to see them flying back. It didn’t take much longer for Sam to spin back around and approach Sun and Lillie in seething rage.
“Do you have any boats or helicopter’s ready?”
“Wha…” Lillie, still reeling over the disastrous attempt to return Twilight and the others, could hardly find the words to say. “What do you–”
“My friends are charging headfirst at an enemy they can’t stop themselves, and I need to be there for them!” The lack of a quick response from either her or Sun made Sam push past them and go to the lift. “Forget it. I’ll take a boat myself if I have to!”
“Sam, wait!” Burnet quickly ran between him and the elevator, putting her hands up in a futile gesture of calming. “I don’t think following them after all this is the best decision right now.”
“And letting them walk right into their capture is? Seriously! What do I have to do to get off this god-damned floating skyscraper?”
Alice ran further into the room and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Sam, please, I know this sucks right now, but you do need to calm down!” Sam was about to protest, but she redirected her attention to Gladion. “That said, we do need to get off this building. Gladion, how do we go about getting one of those Charizards for our Ride Pagers?”
Gladion made a slight grimace. “I can register them myself right now if you want. Where do you plan to go from here?”
“Ula’ula,” Sam quickly replied. “Apparently, the Kahuna got himself injured last night, and unless Acerola and Guzma are already on it, no one is out there that can protect them. I’m sure as long as we let Hau know about it, if he doesn’t already, he’ll be more than equipped to protect whoever came out of that portal, as well as Twilight and her friends. Plus, there’s something on Ula’ula that I need to get.”
“And what’s that?” Alice asked.
“Acerola said that there are Dusk Stones at this abandoned Megamart on the south side of the island, and if I can get one, I can evolve my Doublade into an Aegislash and make it even stronger.”
Alice took a few moments to ponder his words before nodding in acknowledgment. “Alright, fine. We go and find them, and then we can get you your Dusk Stone.”
“Perfect.” Sam fished into his pocket for his Ride Pager, tossing it to Gladion for him to catch. “Alice?”
Alice was already pulling her device from her bag before handing it to Gladion. “How long is this going to take?”
“A few minutes.” Gladion put Alice’s Ride Pager into his jacket pocket and began working on Sam’s. “I’ll need to do it individually, so maybe a bit longer.”
Sam breathed through his pursed lips, begrudgingly accepting the situation. Lusamine and Wicke approached them, the former’s hands tightly clutched. “Children, I know it’s not much of a consolation at this moment, but I do thank you for the work you’ve put into this thus far, and I’d like to give you something to help you on the rest of your journey. Hold out your hands, please.”
Sam and Alice cupped their hands up as instructed, and once each of her hands were over theirs, Lusamine dropped five dark-blue gem-shaped rocks into them.
Alice was immediately floored by the gift that she received, her mouth and eyes nearly forced open. “Are these Comet Shards?”
Lusamine nodded. “We carry plenty in a vault deep in the basement. It’s no trouble on our part at all.”
“Okay,” Gladion said, “Sam’s is done.”
Gladion whipped Sam’s device back at him, Sam deftly catching it in his free hand. As Gladion took Alice’s Ride Pager out to work on it, Alice turned to Sun. “What will happen to Solgaleo and Lunala now? How are we going to get the ponies home if we can’t rely on them?”
“We will determine that ourselves. Before we do anything, we have to get them better. I don’t know why Solgaleo and Lunala are acting like this all of a sudden, but I do promise that whatever avenue for the ponies’ return to Equestria we take, it will be the last.”
Alice nodded to him a single time. “I might hold you to that.”
“And… yours is done.” Gladion lobbed Alice her device, which she scooped down on when it came close.
“You don’t need us to heal your Pokémon before you two go off, do you?” Wicke asked with a step forward.
“No need.” Sam began tooling through his Ride Pager until he came across his new Charizard. “Got our Pokémon healed up in Konikoni before we came here.”
“Then I wish you both the safest of travels.” Wicke bowed and stepped back beside Lusamine.
“Same,” Burnet agreed. “Though, judging how you’ve been doing in your trials already, I’m certain you and your Pokémon will be all alright.”
“And hopefully our friends will be too.” Alice turned back and looked out the balcony, eyeballing the corner of Ula’ula Island at the right of the exit. “Come on, let’s go. Thanks for everything, guys.”
Sun shut his eyes and breathed out his nose, unsure how facetious her comment was. Alice and Sam went over to the balcony and stopped just before going outside. With their Ride Pagers in hand, they each materialized the metallic Poké Ball that their new Charizard was in.
With simultaneous throws, a Charizard, each with an identical saddle and harness, appeared from both balls at the edge of the balcony, roaring out to the sky while they freely flexed their arms and wings. Despite the situation, Alice couldn’t withhold a smile as she walked to her Charizard, who bowed its head down for her to cradle and hug in her arms.
Sam came to his Charizard, who looked down on him expectantly. With a slightly trembling hand, he reached to his Pokémon’s belly and stroked it. The Charizard, opening its mouth, brought its head down and licked the left side of his head. Sam, feeling the bond instantly strengthening, held Charizard’s cheekbones and pulled its forehead down to his, feeling and hearing the small purring coming from it.
“Alright.” Alice grabbed hold of her Charizard’s harness and pulled herself up, her Charizard bending over to let her sit level on the saddle. “Ready to go for a ride?”
The Charizard mooed with approval, and as her Charizard stepped up to the banister, Sam looked up to his. “You mind giving me a hand?”
His Charizard brought its head and neck down for Sam to grab hold of, and with a gentle lift up, Sam swung to the back of the neck and slid down before climbing down to his own saddle.
“Okay,” Alice called out, “where to, bro?”
“Well…” Sam cocked his head, actually unsure of a definite answer. “…we head east. Whichever town we come across first, that’s where we’ll land. From there, we’ll just continue making our way across.”
“Okay then. Are you ready for this?”
“Well, of course I am–”
“Good. Charizard, fly!”
With a jump, Alice’s Charizard took off from the Aether Paradise, diving down before opening its wings and banking right towards Ula’ula Island. Sam immediately felt his stomach turn with his gasp, and with a confused groan, his Charizard stepped up to the banister and awaited its trainer’s command.
Sam let out a shuddered breath as Alice continued growing farther from him. “Okay, Charizard, nice and steady.”
His Charizard leaned forward, Sam suddenly feeling level before he was tilted down toward the sea, falling straight down in a vertical drop. Sam screamed loudly before his Charizard pulled up at the last moment, its stomach just grazing the crests of the waves below.
Sam’s fists clutched the handlebars of his saddle so that his knuckles were pale, whimpering as the wind blasted his face. His Charizard, unflinching with its closeness to the ocean, looked back at him with a stern eye but an assuring smile. Sam’s breaths became more silent as he looked up to see they were closely gaining on his sister.
Managing to let go of one of the bars, Sam held his hand up out to the side so that it was parallel to the Charizard’s wing, the warm sea wind blowing above and beneath it. Calm finally washed over him, and with his hand going back to the handlebar, he looked straight ahead to Ula’ula Island.
Nanu, Guzma, and Acerola made their way through the ruins of a long-lost civilization perched at the base of Mount Lanakila. As they neared the entrance to a forest that would lead them toward the Haina Desert, Nanu glanced over to the right, where, at the cliffy shore further down, a rundown store sat hidden by the trees. Just before his view could be impaired by the forest, he noticed a creature waiting there with long, white fur, black paws, and a horn on the side of its head like a black blade. With an acknowledging nod, he continued his way into the forest with his two companions.
“Okay,” Guzma grumbled. “We got the place all ready for him. Hopefully that didn’t just buy Prism more time to find whoever crashed at the Haina Desert this time.”
“Relax, Guzma,” Nanu put his hands in his pocket, enjoying his walk as he kept watch for the end of the wooded path. “I had to be sure he can’t cheat his way in there.”
“Cheat his way…” Guzma couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “It’s a publicly accessible tourist site! Why would he need to–”
“Guzma, cool it.” Acerola’s soft but stern voice was enough to silence him. “I get what he wants to do, and to be frank… I’m impressed that I didn’t think of it first. It really is great to have you back again, Nanu.”
“In all honesty, it’s great to be back.” Nanu’s face brightened as he saw the red, rocky entrance of Route 13 come up ahead. “Not much farther now. Perhaps there’s still hope.”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Guzma quickened his pace, passing Nanu on the left. “Screw this, we need to roll!”
As Guzma broke into a sprint, Acerola went around Nanu to make chase. “Guzma! Come on, slow down!”
Nanu huffed reluctantly as the two went further away. “Okay, looks like we’re running now…”
With a very gradual increase in speed, Nanu went into a jog, struggling to move any faster as Guzma and Acerola continued outrunning him.
As Guzma exited the forest, coming across a small oasis with small patches of lush, green grass, the sight of something caught the upper corner of his eye, forcing him to stop and look up to it. Acerola slid to a stop beside him.
“Okay, are we going to wait for him this time?” she scolded.
“I think we’re going to have to wait for them too.” Pointing where he was looking, Acerola looked up and formed an expression of shock as Starlight began to descend toward them, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Lady all held up by her magic.
The five of them were set north of the oasis, immediately looking upon a narrow pass whose path was covered with sand halfway down.
“You think they’re in there?” Rarity asked Starlight.
“It wouldn’t be a bad place to start.” Starlight and Lady began the march toward it while Applejack and Rarity followed, Pinkie Pie hopping up and down as she matched their pace.
“Hey, wait!” The ponies stopped and turned about to see Guzma and Acerola heading toward them.
“Hey!” Pinkie Pie squealed. “It’s those guys who came with Twilight and Spike! Long time no see!”
“It’s only been a couple of hours,” Guzma huffed.
“That’s certainly a long time to be away from friends!”
“What are you even doing here?” Applejack sounded suspicious. “You weren’t stalkin’ us, were ya’?”
“Of course not. We were traveling with Nanu to– umm…” Acerola turned around to see Nanu finally exit the forest, leaning his hand against the closest tree as he wheezed air back into his tired lungs. “Nanu?!”
Guzma and Acerola rushed back to his aid, and, as if by pure instinct, the ponies followed them. Surrounding him, the humans and ponies all looked to him, waiting to see if he really needed any of their help. Nanu, feeling his stamina returning, picked himself up to see the four ponies and Lady looking at him, still unsure if he was okay.
“Hmm…” Nanu seemed more sympathetic than annoyed. “I’m guessing you’re here for the same reasons we are.”
Pinkie Pie brought her face close to his. “Are those reasons that you’re here to look for more ponies that the Aether Paradise accidently pulled out of our world that landed here on this very island?”
“…I guess that answers that question too.”
“Wait, what?” Acerola now looked genuinely frightened. “What do you mean they pulled more ponies out of your world?”
“Yes, well…” Rarity tried to form the words delicately. “It seems that when the people at the Aether Paradise tried sending us back, something happened, and now, we’re still here, and even more of our friends are stranded on this world.”
“Haah…” Guzma pinched the bridge of his nose. “Leave it to the Aether Foundation to screw up again this bad.”
“Well, we should get moving.” Nanu broke through the group and headed towards the pass to the desert. “If more of your friends are stranded as you say, they’ll be fish in a barrel to those Prism grunts. Come on.”
“Wait!” Pinkie Pie popped up in front of Nanu, stopping him. “As much as we’d like your help, Twilight is super angry at all of you humans, and she’d probably like it if we went in there alone.”
“What?” Acerola shifted her head far back as her neck could allow. “Why would she want something like that?”
Starlight and Lady broke away and walked up to Pinkie Pie. “I agree it makes no sense, but right now… Twilight’s not here, and I say we let these three help us.”
“Whoa!” Pinkie Pie shouted. “Are you sure of that, Starlight? What if Twilight finds out? She’ll get really angry!”
“I can handle angry,” Starlight responded. “What I can’t handle is her and everyone else getting captured and hurt. Listen, girls, I know that the Aether Foundation has screwed up big time on this, but we shouldn’t avoid every human because of them. That’s silly, even for Twilight. If he’s right about Prism tracking them down, then we should have some defense against their Psychic Pokémon, and I say we let them join us.”
Rarity and Applejack glanced to the pass, unable to repress the sudden memory of Dexio’s victory over Olivia. Even Pinkie Pie had a hard time wrestling with Starlight’s argument. With a defeated slouch, they came to their decision.
“She’s right,” Applejack said. “As ticked as I am right now, even I know how foolish it would be for us to go in their by our lonesome.”
“Although…” Rarity put her hoof to her chin. “We don’t really know you three all that well yet. What kind of Pokémon do you use?”
“Dark types,” Nanu answered
“Ghosts,” Acerola replied.
Guzma crossed his arms and smirked. “And I’ve got my Bug-types on my side.”
Starlight’s face lit up. “Oh my gosh, that’s perfect! All of those are super strong against Psychic Pokémon!”
Hearing the confidence in Starlight’s voice brought smiles to Rarity and Pinkie Pie’s faces as well. “Well what are we waiting for? We’ve got friends to save!”
Pinkie Pie began bounding toward the pass as Applejack and Rarity followed. Starlight and Lady waited until Nanu, Acerola, and Guzma were ready to move before they walked to follow the other three ponies.
“Thanks for vouching for us,” Acerola said with sweet sincerity. “It’s funny that you talk about Twilight like you did; you remind me a lot of her, actually.”
“Really?” Starlight’s ears drooped and looked a touch nervous. “In good ways, I hope.”
“Mmhm. You really know how to not give up on friends.”
Starlight’s ears remained low, now humbled as she turned away to hide her blushing and proud smile.
“Come on, slowpokes!” Pinkie Pie and her friends were already at the mouth of the pass. “We don’t have all day!”
Starlight and Lady got closer to the imposing entrance to the desert, but with the three humans behind her and the three ponies ahead, she and Lady fearlessly went into a trot.
Sam and Alice came upon the walled city of Po Town, their Charizards flying several stories above the top of its barrier. As they got closer, Sam began to feel uneasy as small droplets of rain began to fall onto him from the grey clouds above. Even his Charizard moaned as the rain grew more intense with each moment.
“Crap…” Sam turned to his sister. “We need to land these guys now!”
Alice looked to her own Charizard, who likewise winced as the rain pelted it. “Yep! Hopefully we’ll find some shelter in whatever’s inside that wall!”
Sam kept his sights back forward, gently patting his draconic steed on the side of the base of the neck. “Just a little more, buddy!”
The two Charizards swooped over the top of the wall and swung their legs down to glide to the bottom. Sam and Alice looked to survey their surroundings, and other than the gloomy weather, the town below looked rather quaint and tranquil with its pristine white buildings, tan-colored roofs, and brick roads. The one odd sight inside was the gigantic mansion at the west end of the town which was guarded by a moat filled with swirling yellow, green, and pink goo.
Once the Charizards’ feet touched the ground, Sam and Alice quickly slid off of them and brought out their balls from the Ride Pager, the two Pokémon giving them thankful moos before they were called in by their red beams.
As they returned the balls back to the Pager, they heard a voice call out from one of the nearby buildings. “Hey, you two! It’s rainin’ and freezin’! Come inside unless you want to start sneezin’!”
Both Sam and Alice looked to each other before they made a sprint to the door the feminine silhouette held open inside. Once they were indoors, the woman closed the door. The two of them went to the fireplace at the center of the lengthy living room wall, already feeling the roaring fire’s warmth.
“Thanks…” Sam panted and shivered. “Man, what’s with this place? The wall, the rain…”
“Hey, hey, hey!” The tank-topped woman with pink hair approached Sam and Alice. “Don’t just come into our crib and start dissin’ our digs!”
“Word!” A young man with the same black top and blue hair came up on the other side from the small kitchen at the back end of the room. “Yo, so who are you tykes supposed to be? You got a problem with her, you got a problem with me too, homie!”
“We don’t have a problem with any of you!” Alice defended, her swing around to face them slinging some of the rain off of her damp clothes. “We just came here because our Charizards didn’t want to fly around in the rain anymore.”
Immediately, the two tank-topped people looked pleasantly excited. “Oh wow, Charizards? That’s dope!” the man spoke up. “So what, you kids are here for your trial?”
“Not really,” Sam said. “I’m not sure how much you know of the situation, but there’s a wormhole that opened up over this island somewhere, and my sister and I are going to try and see whatever came out of it.”
“Wait, hold up!” The young woman approached them. “You wouldn’t by chance be Sam and Alice, would you?”
“Uh… yes?” Alice seemed confused and cautious. “Who’s asking?”
“Well, me obviously, but… hold on, I’ll get her on the horn!”
The young woman ran to the winding stairway at the end of the kitchen and disappeared behind the wall, her footsteps awkwardly blasting over the uncomfortable silence that formed between Sam, Alice, and the young man.
“So…” Alice finally managed to ask. “Who are we waiting for then?”
“Oh, our boss, Plumeria,” he responded. “She’s also the trial captain around these parts now.”
“Trial cap…” Sam began to figure things out. “Hold on, this is where the trial site is?”
The young man nodded his head slightly, smiling out the corner of his mouth. “Yo, check out the brain on Sam! You’ll smack this trial down like a Smack Down with those smarts!”
“Yeah, I’m sorry to disappoint you,” Alice interrupted, “but we’re not here to take any trial right now.”
“What? Then why did you–”
“We just said that our Charizards were getting wet from the rain and we needed to land here. Our friends are on this island and they’re in great danger. If it’s okay with you, we need to leave so we can go find them.”
“I mean, it’s not like we won’t be back,” Sam said as inoffensively as he could, “we just have more important things to do right now.”
“Hey, hold on!” The pink haired woman hopped down the stairs and rushed to join the blue-haired man’s side. “Plumeria said she’ll be right over! Can you at least wait until she has a chance to say, ‘Hi?’”
“No need!” a voice behind the door shouted out.
Once the four of them turned to the door, it opened, the woman with the yellow and magenta pigtails stepping inside. What seemed the most remarkable about the woman to both Sam and Alice was how none of her clothes seemed to be very wet and her pigtails maintained their shape and strength.
Grabbing a towel hanging on the wall next to the door, she gently wiped the excess moisture off her hair, looking to Sam and Alice without a break in eye contact. “So, you’re Sam and Alice, then?”
“Yep,” they both answered together.
“But I’m guessing you’re here to say more than just, ‘Hi.’” Sam added.
Plumeria nodded. “One of my grunts here told me you’re here to take your trial, right?”
“Not right. We just landed here and needed to give our Charizards a rest. We’re on our way to wherever that wormhole just opened up, and we need to get over there right away!”
“Looks like you’re a little late to the punch there, bucko. Nanu, Guzma, and Ace left a while ago to go investigate themselves.”
“Huh? Ace?”
“That’s the cute pet name Guzma and the rest of us here gave to Acerola. Either way, they’re taking care of it by themselves, so while you’re here, maybe you’d like to humor us and take on our trial?”
“Maybe after we find our friends and make sure they’re safe,” Alice said, “but right now, we should try and catch up and join them. Come on, Sam.”
Sam and Alice made their way to the door, but Plumeria backed up to block it, leaning her back against it and folding her arms in. “Sure, I’ll let you go, but first, show me your Pokémon.”
“Sorry, what was that?”
“Just show me your Pokémon. Give yourselves some room if you need, but I’m not moving aside until you bring them out.”
“Come on,” Sam moaned, “quit fooling around. We need to get–”
“Listen, kid. I may be many things, but one thing I’m not is a fool. I mean, you’re more than welcome to continue trying my patience and see how much of a fool I can make out of you.”
Sam bared his teeth, only to be stopped from his impulses by Alice’s hand on his shoulder. “Sam, let’s just do this so we can get on our way.”
Alice walked back towards the kitchen, Sam quick to follow her. Standing side by side as they each detached their four Poké Balls from their belt, the pink-haired woman and blue-haired man stepped aside to clear the room. With a single lob, Sam and Alice threw all of their balls out to the middle of the room. With a surge of lights spilling out from the balls, Doublade, Fomantis, Salandit, Archen, as well as Noibat, Raichu, Rockruff, and Mudbray all appeared, just barely managing to spread themselves out inside.
Without changing her expression, Plumeria put her hand on her chin, pondering their personal teams. “Looks like you each have an evolved Pokémon between you, but one of them hasn’t even yet reached their full potential.”
“So, you’re saying you won’t let us leave now until we take your trial?” Sam sneered.
“I’m not saying that. You showed me your Pokémon as I asked you to, so if you want to leave now, I won’t stop you from this point on. However, I want to warn you that at this point in your journey, you need to be as strong as you can possibly be, and if I were you, I’d be incredibly scared to go out through Ula’ula Island with either one of your teams.”
Sam and Alice frowned, Plumeria just barely curving her mouth in a grin as she lured them in. “I get your friends are out there, but they’re probably now in the hands of trainers who have earned their spot as some of the best in the region. I mean, you can go out and try and find them yourselves; you’ll be in capable hands as well. Or you can take my trial and perhaps be the capable hands your friends can be in.”
Sam huffed a laugh, this time surprising Plumeria and the man and woman on the sides of the room. “You sure know how to talk a big game, Plumeria. Alice, are you going to take everything she just said to us and our Pokémon?”
Alice shook her head. “No, sir. Let’s get this over and done with.”
“Okay, Plumeria. We shall partake in your trial.”
Plumeria finally pulled off a genuine smile, relaxing her pose for the first time in front of Sam and Alice. “Good. It’s a smart decision on your parts.” She then glanced to both of her grunts on the end of the room. “So how about it? You want to participate?”
“Uh, yes ma’am!” Both grunts stood at attention like soldiers.
“Good. Go upstairs and get yourselves ready!”
“Yes ma’am!”
As the female grunt slid by with her back against the wall to the stairs, the male grunt weaved around Sam and Alice’s Pokémon and also slid with his chest to the wall to follow his partner.
“Alright then.” Plumeria kept her eyes on the grunts and opened the door behind her. “Okay, call your Pokémon back and follow me.”
Opening the door wider, Sam and Alice could hear the rain outside had stopped. With this, they quickly took out all their Poké Balls and prepared to bring their Pokémon back inside of them.
Plumeria stood facing six grunts lined up with the oozy moat and mansion behind them, a man and woman alternating between them. Once she saw Sam and Alice come around from the building they were in, she put her arms behind her back and paced herself between both sides of the line of grunts like a drill sergeant.
Once Sam and Alice stopped themselves before her, Plumeria turned to face them. “Okay, listen here. See these guys on either side of me? They will be who you face for this trial. See the moat behind me?” Sam and Alice got a better look at the moat, spotting stepping stones every three feet or so apart from each other in a grid-like formation. “Lots of Grimers and Muks live in there, and if you don’t want to face any of them, you’ll have to get across this moat. But…”
Plumeria turned back and stood at the edge of the moat, reaching her foot over to the nearest stone. Putting her foot down and pressing on it, Sam and Alice watched as the stone and her foot sank down into it. The two of them were then frightened to see a large, slimy arm reach out and grab her leg with its big, stubby fingers. With a grunt, Plumeria pulled her foot out and dragged whatever grabbed her out, spinning around to kick the creature toward Sam and Alice for them to see.
The Pokémon looked to be an anthropomorphic pile of green sludge with a yellow lower jaw, big eyes with tiny black pupils, and a massive, smiling mouth with a blue tongue. It looked at them with a slightly hungry expression.
“Not all of these stones are stable,” Plumeria further explained. “And if you try getting across without knowing which stones will support you, you’ll fall in and have to fight one of these beauts.”
“And let me guess,” Sam asked, “we have to fight those guys behind you to know how to get across?”
“Man, this kid’s super smart, yo!” A blue-haired grunt exclaimed, flailing his arms excitedly.
“It doesn’t really take many brains to figure out how to do this,” Plumeria huffed.
“But still, this is a really cool concept for a trial,” Alice asked.
Plumeria put her arms at her hips, producing a humbled smile. “My grunts and I put a lot of sweat and tears into this. After we stopped being Team Skull, we kind of lost direction with our lives.”
“Team Skull!” Sam clapped his hands and shook a pointing finger at them. “I knew you guys looked familiar! I remember reading about you as a kid!”
“Those were dark days for all of us. Thankfully, Nanu helped us find a new purpose. After Ace stopped being a trial captain, this island needed a new one, and he was generous enough to give us all a second chance. What you see here is the fruits of our labor. And as trial captain, I’m honored to let you challenge our trial. Grunts, move out!”
Just then, the grunts split off into pairs, two men, two women, and one of each, sprinting off throughout the town. Sam and Alice turned back to watch as they each turned corners and entered into various buildings behind them.
“Seeing as how you two are taking the trial together,” said Plumeria, “you’ll be facing my grunts in double-team matches. Finally, and I’m sure you’ve heard this spiel a million times, but I still have to remind you that you can’t leave here until you complete or fail the trial, and you cannot capture any wild Pokémon you encounter. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Sam and Alice both responded.
“Good. I’ll get the Totem Pokémon and its allies ready. Good luck to you both.”
Plumeria then spun around and took a running start at the moat, Sam and Alice reaching out to try and help her. Leaping over, she was about to fall less than halfway across until another gloopy hand rose where she’d fall. Stepping onto it, the hand pushed her further up, launching her far enough to reach the other side safely. With a tumble, Plumeria broke her fall before twisting around and standing back up.
She frowned to see Sam and Alice standing there, dumbfounded and amazed by her agility. “What are you waiting for?! The trial’s begun!”
“Uh…” Sam felt flustered and frozen in place.
“Come on!” Alice ran past him towards the other end of town. “I already know where two are hiding!”
Finally, Sam finally moved his feet and ran to sprint after his sister. In their collective anticipation, they didn’t notice as the clouds above began to break, creating a patch of orange in the sky as the afternoon shone down.