//------------------------------// // Chapter 30: A Family Dispute?! Setting Sail for The Aether Paradise! // Story: Journey through Alola // by darkmage1997 //------------------------------// The Next morning, Having gotten up bright and early, our heroes were quick to gather their belongings, and make their way to the main lobby, "Morning everyone! I trust you all slept well?" Will asked the Louds. "All things considered, we were lucky to fall asleep at all," Lisa replied. "Had trouble sleeping?" Toby asked. "Yeah, you could say that," Lori replied, as some of her sisters shot Lynn dirty looks, not that Lynn was unnerved by them, as they all went to the restraunt for breakfast. They all got plates, ranging from eggs and toast, to big stacks of pancakes. Looking at the Pokémon, who were also enjoying their breakfasts, Lana noticed that Toby's Pikachu was still as it was. "Hey Toby, doesn't Pikachu evolve with a Thunder Stone?" Lana asked. "Yeah, it does. But I think Pikachu wants to stay as a Pikachu for a while. So I'm going to hold off on using a Thunder Stone," Toby replied. "Lame. If I were you, I'd evolve it straight away if it wants to get stronger," Lynn stated. "LYNN!" her siblings all yelled. "What? It's true! Pokémon only get stronger if they train and evolve! End of story!" Lynn snapped. "It takes more than just that to make a Pokémon stronger. A trainer must become close to his or her Pokémon, and their bonds of friendship are able help a Pokémon grow," Will countered, but he was ultimately ignored by the brash Loud sister. "Don't try arguing with Lynn. She feels she always has to be right about everything, and will never admit she's wrong, even when she makes a humungous mess," Lori whispered to Will. "If you have something to say, then say it so everyone can hear you, otherwise, shut up!" Lynn harshly snapped. This made Serenity flinch. This didn't go unnoticed by the bully sister, and a wicked smirk worked it's way onto her face. "Don't even think about it Lynn!" Luna warned, but was ignored by Lynn, who got up, and approached the youngest of the group. Sensing what Lynn was about to do, Lori, Luna, and Luan went to restrain their sister. "Hey, let go! She flinched, and you know what happens when someone flinches!" Lynn yelled, as she struggled to break free. "Toby, maybe you and Serenity should go take a walk," Will suggested. "Good call. This atmosphere ruined my appetite," Toby stated, as he and Serenity got up to leave, followed by their Pokémon, who had all finished their breakfasts. "Will you excuse us for a moment?" Lola asked, as the Loud Siblings all dragged Lynn outside the Pokémon Center. "Lynn, we get you feel the need to slug someone twice when they flinch, but really! Serenity is way younger than you! How can you be so cruel!?" Lori scolded. "Hey, it's how I learned to fend for myself. Besides, I do it all the time to Stinkcoln, and you don't hear that dork complain!" Lynn snapped. "That's because you threaten to beat me up if I even mention it to someone. I can't even talk to my friends about it!" Lincoln argued. "Lynn, is this true?!" Lori demanded. "So what if it is? I'm trying to toughen Stinkcoln up so he can be ready for the world!" Lynn snapped. "Well, all your toughening up does is show me how he shouldn't act. Unlike you, our brother is quite intelligent, and can come up with well thought out plans to make ends meet," Lisa countered. "Shut it four eyes! All that smarty pants business can't help him out of every jam! That's why he needs to get tough!" Lynn angrily snapped, as she stomped away to vent. "Lynn is becoming way out of control. She's probably going to make a mess of things if she continues to act this way," Lucy commented. "We need to get her under control before she get's hurt, or she hurts someone else," Lincoln suggested. "Good call, bro," Luna replied, as they followed after their temperamental sister. Back with Toby and Serenity, Having left the unpleasantness of Lynn's actions behind, Toby and Serenity walked through the streets of Koni'koni City, in the hopes of keeping Serenity calm, "You don't need to worry Serenity. Lynn's just acting like a bully, but her brother and sisters will, hopefully, reign her in," Toby said, trying to make Serenity more comfortable. "I-I hope you're right," Serenity murmured, as they continued walking. A few minutes while they were walking, and they saw something that piqued their interest. It appeared to be what they assumed was a laboratory. Outside, they saw a sign that read "Pokémon Fossil Research Lab: If you have a Fossil, we can turn it into a Pokémon from days long past!" "That looks interesting. Pokémon restored from fossils," Toby commented. "I think Will had some dinosaur Pokémon back on his ranch," Serenity added. "Well, I guess we could take a quick peek," Toby replied, as they walked over to the lab, "Hmm, looks like it's open to the public," Toby commented, as the sliding doors opened on their own. Inside, the two of them saw a bunch of people looking at massive displays of fossils and other archeological treasures, "Huh, looks like a little mini museum," Toby commented. "I guess you could call it out like that," the voice of Chaz said. They saw him walking over to them, "These are but some of the many treasures that archeologists have found during their expeditions. They range from the fossils you see in those display cases over there," he motioned to a display case, that had several fossils in it, "To ancient artifacts from civilizations of long ago," Chaz finished, showing more display cases with stuff like rusted silverware or old pots. "I see. Looks like they've been busy. So, what brings you here?" Toby asked. "I found this Sail Fossil, see? And I asked the scientists if they could restore it into an Amura for me. If you go over to those cases, you'll see the various fossils you can uncover, and from them, what Pokémon you'll get," Chaz replied, pointing to the fossil case. "Hmm, maybe we'll do that," Toby said, as he and Serenity walked over to the cases, while Chaz went to go wait for his Amura. Looking into the case, the two siblings were in awe at how many fossils there were, "Oh, wow! So many," Serenity quietly exclaimed. "I'm counting..... ten fossils," Toby said, counting up the fossils in his head. They both went on to read the information cards that were provided. "Omanyte, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, Lileep, Anorith," Serenity sounded off. "Cranidos, Shieldon, Tirtouga, Archen, Tyrunt, and Amura," Toby finished, "When you look at the fossils, they kind of look like the Pokémon, don't they?" "I think I see that," Serenity replied, "Archen looks like it's lots of fun," she added. "According to this, Archen is believed to be the ancestor of all Flying Type Pokémon, even though it can't fly," Toby said, reading the card. "What about you? Are there any ones you like?" Serenity asked. "Well, let me see," Toby said, looking at the cards, "I think I like Anorith, Shieldon, and Amura, and Tyrunt," he replied. "Tyrunt looks kind of scary," Serenity admitted. "According to this card, Tyrunt behaves like a spoiled child. If it eats something it doesn't like, it'll throw a tantrum," Toby commented, reading the card. "You guys considering getting your own fossil Pokémon? I would recommend it highly. They can prove valuable team members," Chaz suggested. "But we don't even know where to find fossils," Toby admitted. "No worries. You can often find them on the Rare Items Path on Poke Pelago's Isle Aphun. As a bonus, you can also score a bunch of rare objects too!" Chaz explained. "That sounds promising," Toby commented. "You bet! And it can be really rewarding too! But don't get your hopes up. You may not always find a fossil, and if you do, it may not be the one you're after," Chaz explained further. "We'll keep that in mind. Thanks Chaz," Toby said, as they party dude left the two siblings to look around at the exhibits. Back with the rest of the Ponyville Group, Having finished what they could of their breakfast, Will, Fluttershy, and Silver Spoon went out to go looking for the Louds, Toby, and Serenity, "Maybe one of us should've gone with them," Silver Spoon commented. "Probably would've been a good idea. But Toby's smart. He can take care of himself and Serenity. Besides, they're not alone. They have their Pokémon with them," Will replied. "Still, I don't like the thought of my little ones being out on their own," Fluttershy said, as they continued looking around for the others. They eventually saw Luna, Luan, Lola, and Lisa, all looking around for something, or someone, as the case may be. "Hey, what are you girls looking for?" Will asked. "Lynn's getting out of control. It may not be long before she does something that may cause us to become social outcasts," Lisa replied. "She did seem rather irate about something. Any idea what she could be throwing her little tantrum about?" Silver Spoon asked. "Well, she was a little sore that Lincoln showed her up in the battles they had yesterday against Busujima and Davis," Luan replied. "I see. So she's being a bad sport," Will commented. "I think the more correct term is sore looser, but basically, yeah," Lola replied. "Well, whatever you call it, she's bound to do something, not only to embarrass the rest of you, but she can also put herself in danger," Will said. "What do you mean?" Luna asked. "See, some Pokémon have tendency to be extremely territorial, and will do whatever it takes to drive trespassers out. They'd even attack humans too," Will explained. This didn't bode well with the four sisters. "That means we need to find her before something like that happens!" Lisa exclaimed, as the dashed off in hopes of finding their rowdy sister. "We should try to find Lynn too. We can look for her while we look for Toby and Serenity," Silver Spoon suggested. "Good call," Will said, as they took off looking for Lynn, Toby, and Serenity as well. With Lynn, "Stupid sisters. Even stupider brother! Who do they think they are, talking at me like that?! I'm a winner! It's what I'm supposed to do!" Lynn snarled, as she kicked a rock on a beach. However, she didn't look at where she was kicking it, as it bounced off of a Pokémon's head. The Pokémon in question? It was a Mareanie, but it had dark blue tentacles, and it looked rather peeved at the Sporty Sister, "Hey, that's one of those Mareanie things that Busujima jerk and those Team Skull guys use!" Lynn exclaimed. But her thoughts were cut short when Mareanie went of the attack, firing a Spike Cannon at Lynn, who quickly dodged, "Ok, that's not cool! I didn't even try to hit it at you!" Lynn yelled, only for Mareanie to fire a Sludge Bomb at her, "Why is this even happening to me?! I've been having a bad day already! Why are thing's getting worse for me?!" she whined. The commotion was able to get the attention of Lori, Leni, Lincoln, Lucy, and Lana, who were passing by the beach, and saw Lynn running away from the angry Mareanie. "Oh no, that Mareanie looks pretty hot under the collar!" Lori commented. Lincoln thought fast, and picked up an abandoned Dive Ball, and approached the beach, "Lincoln, what are you doing?!" Lori exclaimed, trying to pull her brother back. "It's a long shot, but maybe catching that Mareanie should be able to calm it down," Lincoln commented. "Or at the very least, it can buy us enough time to get Lynn away. But are you sure you can handle raising that Mareanie if you catch it?" Lori asked. "I'll manage. Besides, I can always ask Will for advice if I need some," Lincoln replied. Reluctantly, Lori let her brother go, and he continued to slowly approach the battle. This was able to get the attention of Mareanie, who was now focused on the orange clad boy. "Here goes something!" Lincoln exclaimed, as he chucked the Dive Ball at Mareanie. Thankfully, the capture mechanism activated, and it encapsulated Mareanie. The Dive Ball began rocking. "Did.... that actually work?" Lana questioned, as the Dive Ball continued rocking. After a moment or so, the ball clicked. "No way," was all Lori was able to say, as Lincoln picked up the Dive Ball. "Guess.... Mareanie is mine now," Lincoln commented, eying the Dive Ball. The sisters he was with were speechless, but Lynn seemed absolutely furious, but a cruel smirk appeared on her face, as she approached her brother. The sisters broke out of their trance, and went to intercept Lynn. "Well, Stinkcoln, since you're that Mareanie's new trainer, you had better take responsibility for what it tried to do to me," Lynn said spitefully, as she grabbed Lincoln by his shirt, and geared up to deck her brother. But it wasn't meant as a friendly sibling slug, but a full on, nothing held back punch, intended to hurt him. "LYNN! NO!" Lori said, as she, Lucy, and Lana all tackled Lynn away from Lincoln. Leni then pulled Lincoln back to keep him from Lynn. "Hey! Let me go! He needs to answer for what Mareanie did!" Lynn yelled, struggling against her three sisters. But since they were on sand, she couldn't get a firm enough grip to break free. "Lynn, you need to calm down! This reckless behavior is going land you in a heap of trouble, and we're not going to help you out of it!" Lori ordered. "Trouble?! For what?! I haven't done anything wrong! It's stupid Stinkcoln's stupid Mareanie that started it!" Lynn yelled, as she was somewhat overpowering her sisters. "You're wrong!" they looked up to see Delila, standing before them, "I saw you kicking that rock at Mareanie. If anyone is to blame, it's you and you alone," she stated coldly. "Karma can bite back just as hard, if not harder Lynn. You of all people should know that," Lucy stated. "Karma only occurs when you do something wrong! I never mess up, unlike Stinkcoln!" Lynn snapped. "Is she always like this?" Delilah asked Lincoln. "Normally, she can be, but since yesterday's battle against Busujima and Davis, she's been acting more and more like a spoiled, undisciplined child," Lincoln whispered back, trying not to let Lynn hear him. "Well, such unbeautiful nonsense like this is beneath me," Delilah stated, as she took her leave. It was right about that time that the others, save for Toby and Serenity arrived on the scene. "We heard there was some commotion around here. Is everything alright?" Will asked. "Well, Lynn got into some trouble with a Mareanie, but it's all taken care of," Lincoln replied, showing them the Dive Ball. "Wait, so.... you actually caught a Pokémon?" Luan questioned. "Yeah, and on my first try too," Lincoln said, releasing Mareanie, who sparkled upon being released. "That twinkle means it's a Shiny variant. That's pretty lucky," Will commented. Mareanie looked quizzingly at Lincoln. "Uh, sorry for catching you out of the blue like that, but I couldn't let you hurt my sister, even if she was being a brat," he muttered the last bit under his breath. Mareanie chittered, sounding like it understood what Lincoln was getting at. "Uh, yeah, I'm glad everything is alright over there, but can someone help us hold down Lynn? She's getting...." Lori was cut off when Lynn was finally able to overpower her three sisters, and charged at Lincoln, with the sole intention of harming him. Mareanie thought fast, and used Knock Off to stop the sporty sister. "Whoa, that was a bit on the harsh side," Silver Spoon commented. "But absolutely necessary. Who knows what that barbarian would've done if she had gotten her hands on our brother?" Lisa questioned. "We have to get her under control, and fast!" Luna added. "It would appear this bad behavior stems from her loss against Busujima from yesterday. She may want to even the score with him or me," Lincoln theorized. "Why you?" Lola asked. "Because I won my match, while Lynn lost hers. She's going to hold it against me unless she avenges her loss," Lincoln explained. "But she can't do that unless she has her own Pokémon. And after what went down with Mawile, none of our Pokémon are willing to help her out," Will commented. "Yes. So she may just have to catch herself a Pokémon. Maybe we can look into something when we get to Ula'ula Island," Lincoln suggested. It was then that they all remembered. "WE WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET THAT FABA GUY!" they all yelled, as they rushed back into the city to look for Toby and Serenity, with Luna and Luan dragging the still down Lynn by her ankles. With the two kids in question, "That was a most fascinating experience," Toby commented, as they exited the laboratory. "I hope we can find some fossils in the future," Serenity commented quietly. "I do too. Was there something we were supposed to do from yesterday?" Toby asked, as he and his sister tried to remember the events from yesterday. It was then that they saw the rest of their group, racing around, "Hey guys!" Toby called out to them. This was able to get their attention. "Toby! Serenity! We were wondering where you guys got to!" Will commented. "Where's the fire?" Toby asked, noticing that they were all in a rush. "We forgot that we were supposed to meet up with Faba at that big resort!" Silver Spoon exclaimed. Both of Fluttershy's kid's eyes widened in realization. "We need to hurry! Call our Air Ride Pokémon! We can get there in a flash!" Will exclaimed, as the five trainers used their Ride Pagers to call their Air Ride Pokémon. When they were all safely mounted with an equal amount of the Louds accompanying them, they took of for the Hano Grand Resort. About five minutes later, Having landed on a beach near the resort, our heroes rushed to meet up with Faba, "I hope we're not too late!" Will commented, as they neared the entrance of the Hotel. Upon seeing it, they were all in awe and shock. "Wow, you would definitely need some deep pockets to crash here," Luna commented. "The average booking time this Resort has is at least three years in advance," Rotom informed, as they entered the building. The inside was just as luxurious as the outside. Fancy fountains decorated the interior, as did a large chandelier and several small palm trees. It didn't take long to find Faba, as he was the only one dressed in a lab coat and had large green glasses. "Ah, there you lot are! I was wondering what was taking you so long?" Faba asked. "Well, we hit a few snags this morning, which put us behind schedule," Will replied. "Well, in any case, I'm going to fulfill my promise to you all, and show you something spectacular. As you know, I work as the Branch Chief for the Aether Foundation's Alola branch. My surprise for you all is to show you the pinnacle of our efforts of the Aether Foundation; the Aether Paradise!" Faba explained. "Sounds interesting. Where is this paradise, anyhow?" Will asked. "Why, it's right in the middle of the entire Alola Region! Which is why we'll be taking a boat all the way out there. The question I must ask is if you all are willing to come and see?" Faba asked. A round of agreements was his response, with a bitter one coming from Lynn, who was calmer than before, but was still in a sour mood. "Wait! You guys aren't leaving me behind!" they heard Hau exclaim, as he came rushing in, with Kukui and Olivia trailing behind him. "Oh? Even the Island Kahuna has come to see you off?" Faba asked. "I care for each Island Challenge Goer as if they were my own children. Not that I have any.... I never even got married," Olivia replied. "Well, I hope you guys have a blast at the Aether Paradise. I'll meet you all in the Malie Gardens, in Malie City on Ula'Ula Island," Kukui said. "You're not coming with us?" Fluttershy asked. "Nah. I have some important stuff that needs doing," Kukui replied, as he took his leave. "Always remember, that your greatest opponent will always be yourselves. Never loose hope, and keep your eyes on the prize," Olivia said, as she left as well. "Well, my boat is out on the dock in front of the resort. We'll be shipping out in a few minutes," Faba said, as he went to prep the boat. "Hey, do you guys know that the reason such a massive place like Aether Paradise floats is because of a bunch of Pokémon pushing it up?" Hau asked. "Is that right?" Will asked. "That's what I heard, anyways," Hau said, as they went to the docks, where Faba had just finished prepping to go. Once everyone was safely aboard, they took off.