Following a trail leading through what looked to be farmlands, our heroes continued their journey. Their next destination, Brooklet Hill, site of their next Trial. As they walked, they saw all manner of Pokémon that looked like what you'd find on a farm, which ranged from Tauros, several large pink cow Pokémon, several small brown donkey like Pokémon, and a bunch of Mareep, "Quite the number of cattle and sheep Pokémon," Lisa commented.
"Pokémon like Tauros, Miltank, and Mareep are pretty common around farms," Will stated, as they rounded a corner. As they did, a farmer noticed them.
"Oh hey, are you kids on the Island Challenge?" he asked.
"The four of us are," Will said, motioning to himself, Fluttershy, Toby, and Silver Spoon.
"Then you may want to go see the captain. She's right in there," the farmer said, motioning to a pasture, where they saw their friend, Mallow, chatting it up with some of the farmhands and some Miltank.
"Thanks so much for the MooMoo Milk!" Mallow exclaimed happily, as a truck was getting ready to take off somewhere.
"No problem Mallow. Oh, it looks like you got company," the farmhand commented, noticing the large group. Mallow turned to see the group as well.
"Hey guys! Did you come to try some MooMoo Milk too?" Mallow asked.
"Um, sure, if you guys are up for some?" Will asked, turning to the group. They all gave their sentiments about the milk.
"You guys are going to love it! MooMoo Milk is way richer in taste than plain milk, and it also helps revitalize a Pokémon's energy," Mallow said, as they were all given a bottle of MooMoo Milk.
"Is it really that good?" Lisa asked.
"Of course! I myself love the taste," Will replied. With that, they all drank the milk. The moment it hit their taste buds, it was an explosion of flavor. This rich, creamy texture was almost too good.
"Now THAT'S sweet!" Lincoln commented.
"I don't think I've ever tasted anything this yummy before!" Silver Spoon added.
"I know, right? You can add MooMoo Milk to a variety of recipes to help them taste tons better!" Mallow replied.
"By the way, we were told you had something for us?" Will asked.
"Oh right!" Mallow said, as she took each of their Ride Pagers, and entered something into each one, "There, now you can call on a Pokémon called Stoutland to help find hidden objects," Mallow explained.
"Makes sense. Stoutland are pretty good at tracking down lots of things," Will commented.
"By the way, Brooklet Hill is just another 15 minutes in that direction. My friend, Lana, will be supervising your trial," Mallow said, as she hopped into the truck, and left the ranch. Needless to say, the Louds were surprised to hear that someone named Lana was a Trial Captain.
"When did Lana become a trainer? I want to be one too!" Lola insisted.
"I doubt extremely that she was referring to OUR Lana," Lisa replied.
"It's more than likely that Mallow was talking about another Lana. Remember, tons of people have the same name," Lincoln added.
"Is that true Sweetie Pie?" Silver Spoon whispered to Toby.
"Yeah. Though I guess for ponies all have their own unique names, right?" Toby whispered back. Silver Spoon nodded, as they left the pasture, and continued onward. They were passing through some tall grass, when out from the grass came a pink Mareep, with a lazy look in it's eyes.
"Oh cool, a shiny Mareep!" Will exclaimed.
"I-is it alright I-If I were to try to c-catch it?" Serenity asked.
"Go for it," Will urged. Serenity then took out a Nest Ball, and "chucked" it Mareep. But it really more like it fell out of her hand and rolled over to Mareep, who lazily, yet accidentally, activated the capture mechanism, encapsulating Mareep. The Nest Ball rocked three times before clicking. it then teleported away.
"Are all Mareep like that?" Lynn asked.
"Yeah, Mareep tend to be laid back, and mellow Pokémon," Will said, as they continued to walk. As they were walking, they took notice of a small shack, that had the sign "Pokémon Nursery," "Huh, wonder what this is?" Will asked.
"The Pokémon Nursery," one of the farm girls replied, "We heard about these things called 'Pokémon Day Cares' from other regions, so we decided to try it out for ourselves. Though the Pokémon don't get stronger. But there is one thing that makes us just as similar to the Day Cares. Often times, we find eggs that Pokémon will often be holding. We give them to trainers who are willing to raise them. Speaking of which, we have four eggs here. Would any of you be willing to take care of one?" the girl asked.
"You know, it would be a good learning experience for you guys to learn about raising a Pokémon from an egg. You should do it," Will urged.
"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt," Fluttershy commented.
"Another cute Pokémon sounds lovely," Serenity whispered.
"I'd like to raise a baby Pokémon too," Silver Spoon commented.
"And it would be nice raising a baby Pokémon again," Toby added.
"Great! The eggs are right here," the girl said, showing the eggs to the trainers. One was a sky blue color. One was darker blue, with black and yellow stripes at the bottom. The last two had plus and minus symbols on them, "Take you pick," the girl asked. Fluttershy took the sky blue egg, Toby took the dark blue egg, Silver Spoon took the egg with the plus symbols on it, while Serenity took the one with the minus symbols on it, "One other thing, don't go cracking those eggs just 'cause you want to know what's in them," the girl told in a serious tone.
"We won't," Will said, as they went on their way. Up ahead, they saw some familiar faces, in the forms of their friend Hau, and much to their dismay, Busujima. They both look like they were worn out. In front of them, they saw a blonde boy, dressed in tattered black clothes. Hau then took notice of his friends.
"Hey dudes! This guy is scary strong!" Hau said, his smile never fading. The boy in question took notice of the large group.
"Are any of you named 'Will' by any chance?" the boy asked.
"Uh, well my name is Will from Mahogany Town," Will said. The boy simply glared.
"Hmm, even Pokémon have a better sense of caution," the boy simply stated, "The name's Gladion, and I am working with my partner, Type: Null, to battle the strongest trainers out there. Though, our time does get wasted doing odd jobs for Team Skull," Gladion stated.
"Wait, 'battle the strongest trainers'?" Toby questioned.
"Those two," Gladion said, looking at Hau and Busujima, "Their Pokémon aren't weak, but they each lack a certain trait to truly make their Pokémon stronger. I want to see what you are capable of," Gladion said, holding out a Pokeball.
"It has been a while since I was openly challenged like this, Sure, you're on!" Will said, pulling out his first Pokeball, while the others got out of the way.
"So, what really is the deal with this Gladion guy?" Lynn asked.
"He's crazy strong, unbelievably so. And his ace Pokémon looks like something out of a Horror Movie," Hau replied.
"Even with both of us, we couldn't lay a scratch on it," Busujima said, still sounding rattled.
"Alright, Makuhita, let's go!" Will said, sending out Makuhita.
"Zorua, may your Illusions bewilder our opponents!" Gladion said, sending out a Zubat.
"I thought Zorua were little fox Pokémon?" Leni pondered.
"Allow me to explain. Zorua, and it's evolved form, Zoroark, are the only Pokémon that have the Illusion ability, which allows it take on the appearance of another Pokémon it your party," Rotom explained.
"But it's still confusing," Will commented.
"Zorua, use Dark Pulse!" Gladion instructed. The Zubat turned back into Zorua, who then fired a stream of dark rings at Makuhita, who tanked the attack.
"Dark Type Moves are not very effective on Fighting Type Pokémon," Rotom stated.
"Makuhita, use Arm Thrust!" Will instructed. Makuhita then charged at Zorua, pushing it back with arm thrusts.
"But the reverse is true. Fighting Type Moves are best against Dark Type Pokémon," Toby commented.
"Now, use Brick Break!" Will instructed. Makuhita then finished off Zorua with a karate chop, knocking it out.
"A job well done Zorua, take a rest," Gladion said, recalling the Illusion Fox Pokémon. He then readied his next Pokeball, "Zubat, take to the skies!" Gladion said, sending out a Zubat.
"Makuhita, return!" Will said, recalling Makuhita. He then readied another Pokeball, "Go, Dartrix!" Will said, sending out Dartrix.
"Wait, I'm lost. Why did Will send out Dartrix? I thought Grass Type Pokémon were weak against Poison Types?" Lola questioned.
"Maybe he wants to fight Zubat in the air, which is why he's using Dartrix to battle," Toby theorized.
"Zubat, use Confuse Ray," Gladion instructed. Zubat then fired off several bright lights.
"Quick, dodge!" Will instructed. Dartrix then got out of the way, "Now, use Peck!" he added. Dartrix then charged beak first at Zubat, striking the bat Pokémon, who seemed to shake it off.
"Zubat, use Wing Attack," Gladion instructed. Zubat's wings then began glowing, as it charged at Dartrix, trying to strike it.
"Dartrix, use Leafage to get some distance!" Will instructed. Dartrix then began swirling Leafage around, not only defending, but attacking Zubat at the same time, "Now, Peck it once more!" Will instructed. Dartrix then Pecked Zubat once again, knocking it out.
"Well played Zubat. Take a rest," Gladion said, recalling Zubat. He then held up a pure white Pokémon, "Alright Null, it's your time now!" Gladion said, sending out the very Pokémon that Hau had described.
"What in the world is that?!" Lincoln exclaimed.
"NO DATA! NO DATA! It's a completely unknown Pokémon!" Rotom exclaimed, taking pictures of the Pokémon.
"Looks like a real Frankenstein Pokémon," Lisa commented, noticing the various parts of Type: Null's body.
"Hmm, I don't know what to expect from this thing, but we should keep our distance just to be safe. Now, Dartrix, use Razor Leaf!" Will instructed. Dartrix then fired Razor Leaf at Null.
"Air Slash," Gladion said. From the tip of it's mask, Null fired blades of air that not only stopped Razor Leaf, but cut right through it, striking Dartrix, knowing it out.
"Thanks Dartrix, you did great out there!" Will said, recalling Dartrix, "Let's see, it can't be a Flying Type, but that mask looks like it's just for show. Maybe if I can get Grimer to Poison is, then I may stand a chance," Will said, sending out Grimer, "Now, Grimer, use Sludge Bomb!" Will instructed. Grimer then fired Sludge Bomb at Null.
"Crush Claw," Gladion said. Null's claw began glowing, as it slammed the Sludge Bomb down, "Now, use Iron Head," the mask on Null's head became metallic, as it lunged at Grimer, striking the Sludge Pokémon, knocking it out.
"No way. Return, Grimer!" Will said, recalling Grimer, "Ok, so I couldn't use distance or status moves against this thing, so I may just go for broke and use power, and where there's power, there's Pikachu and it's Z Move," Will whispered to himself, readying one of the Pokeballs that held a Pikachu.
"Will must have some other plan cooked up," Fluttershy commented.
"Alright, Pikachu, let's go!" Will said, sending out the Kanto Pikachu.
"So, you're going to attempt to use speed over power?" Gladion questioned.
"More the reverse to be frank," Will replied, equipping the Pikashium Z into his Z Power Ring.
"I thought his name was Will?" Leni questioned.
"I'll explain later," Lori said to her little sister.
"Alright, they didn't show me how to do the pose, but I'll just have to wing it," Will said. Pikachu then turned back to him, smiling confidently, "You're right, we can do this," Will said, as the Z Crystal began reacting. Will and Pikachu did a fist bump, and then Will high-fived Pikachu's tail. They then both extended the same fist, as Pikachu then became enveloped in Z Power, "Alright, this move feels like its more powerful than a Thunderbolt. 10,000,000 times more powerful. So let it rip Pikachu! Use 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt!" Pikachu then leapt high in the air, and lightning bolts of varying colors began pouring into Pikachu, who then let off all of the power at once, aimed directly at Type: Null. It looked ready to tank the attack, as it made contact. A huge column of electricity then erupted from the impact. Will, his friends from Ponyville and Royal Woods, Hau, and Busujima, all looked completely startled by the attack, even Lucy, whose eyes were briefly seen. When the light died down, they saw that Type: Null was just barely standing, "No way, even that didn't do a thing?!" Will exclaimed.
"No, it damaged Null significantly enough. We can call the match here," Gladion said, recalling Type: Null.
"That Pokémon, just what is it?" Lincoln pondered.
"If you must know, it is the reason I want, no.... why I MUST get stronger," Gladion replied, "All for the purpose of facing those Beasts," he murmured the last part.
"Man, what a waste of time!" they all saw Team Skull Grunts, including the Butt Grunt, walking towards them, "We was hoping to catch that Totem Pokémon at Brooklet Hill, but what do we find? Our errand boy loosing to some scrubs! Guess we're gonna have to deal with this ourselves," the Butt Grunt said, as he approached.
"Wait," Gladion said, catching the Butt Grunt's attention, "You know you can't beat me. Your Pokémon are good Pokémon. You shouldn't go getting them hurt for your own selfish devices," Gladion said, glaring at Butt Grunt, who glared back.
"Alright dudes, let's pull out of here!" The Butt Grunt said, as the others took their leave, "One more thing Gladion. The boss may like you and all, but you're not a real member of Team Skull, not really, and you never will be. Remember that," he said, as he followed the other grunts. Soon after, Gladion took his leave as well. Busujima also took off without anyone noticing.
"So, Hau, I guess you already got through the Brooklet Hill Trial?" Will asked.
"Yeah, but I have to admit, that Totem Pokémon made me work for that Z Crystal," Hau said, showing them the Z Crystal. It was blue with a symbol of a water droplet in the center.
"So that's the Z Crystal we're going for?" Toby asked.
"Yep! It's called Waterium Z," Hau replied.
"So, what kind of Pokémon is the Brooklet Hill Totem?" Silver Spoon asked.
"I could tell you guys, but where's the surprise in that?" Hau chuckled.
"Fair enough," Silver Spoon replied.
"Well, my next trial is going to be up at Wela Volcano Peak," Hau said, taking his leave.
"Well, we should stop by the Pokémon Center first. My Pokémon are pretty tuckered out," Will commented.
"Good call," Fluttershy said, as they headed to the Pokémon Center.