//------------------------------// // Chapter 36: Hokulani Observatory Trial (Ultra Rewrite) // Story: Journey through Alola // by darkmage1997 //------------------------------// After being told what happened to their family after the events of the Bad Luck ordeal, our heroes hiked down the side of the mountain, where a variety of Pokémon were living, "Alright guys, like before, we'll split up into smaller groups to check out the mountain side. If you find a Pokémon you think you'd like, inform one of us, and we can weaken it for you so you can catch it," Will instructed, as they all broke off into smaller groups. Will was accompanied by Luna, Lucy, and Lana, Fluttershy and Serenity were joined by Lori, Leni, Luan, and Lisa, and Toby and Silver Spoon were joined by Lynn, Lincoln, and Lola. "So, you aren't going to hold it against us for what we told you, are you?" Luna asked Will, as they searched the tall grass. "It's not my place to say. However, as I said, I don't approve of lying, but I can't approve of what you and you family did to your brother anymore. You should count yourselves lucky you got off so easily. So I strongly recommend you THINK things through BEFORE you make an action like what you did," Will replied. "Lincoln said the same thing when we came back from Boot Camp," Lucy replied. "He said the forgiveness he gave us was a one time only deal, and that the next time we do anything like this, we're basically on our own with the consequences," Lana added. "Well, as long as you know not to make the same mistake twice," Will replied, as they continued to search for some Pokémon. With Fluttershy and Serenity's group, A small alien like Pokémon was sent flying as a result from Lycanroc's Accelerock attack, "Ok Lycanroc, that will do," Fluttershy said, handing a Heal Ball to Lisa, "Here you go. Make it count," Fluttershy said. Lisa walked close to the alien Pokémon, and tossed the Heal Ball at it, encapsulating it. It rocked three times, before clicking. "A most efficient capture," Lisa commented, retrieving the Heal Ball. "So, what kind of Pokémon is that one?" Leni asked. "I don't know. We'll need to ask Rotom," Fluttershy replied. The sound of something screeching echoed, as something sounded like it was getting closer. "What was that?!" Serenity squeaked, latching on to Fluttershy's leg. It was then that a Skarmory landed close by them, "O-Oh, it was just a Skarmory," Serenity commented. "Wait, doesn't that look like the one we saw at the base of the mountain?" Luan asked, noticing the scratches. "Now that you mention it, that Skarmory does look like the one from down below," Lori commented, as the Skarmory walked closer to her, "Um, can I help you?" she asked, as the Skarmory circled her. "Looks like this Skarmory may be interested in you," Luan theorized, as Skarmory nuzzled Lori. "Well, since it's here, you could try and catch it," Fluttershy said, handing Lori an Ultra Ball. Lori then pressed it against Skarmory, encapsulating the Armor Bird Pokémon. It rocked three times in her hand, before it clicked, "You and your siblings have been catching quite a few Pokémon for yourselves," Fluttershy commented. "Yeah, and some of them are either similar or different than how we act," Lori replied, as they went back to exploring. With Toby and Silver Spoon's group, The five of them were sneaking around, trying to startle any Pokémon that could've been hiding in the grass, "I remember Rotom saying that there's supposed to be some wild Beldum around here," Toby commented, as they continued sneaking. Eventually, they came across a clearing, where they saw something truly amazing: a white and yellow Beldum was snoozing on a rock. "WE FOUND ONE!" Lynn exclaimed cheerfully, only to be hushed by Lincoln and Lola. However, it was too late, as the Beldum woke up, and assumed a fighting stance. "Well, so much for the element of surprise," Lola commented. "I'm still going to try and catch it," Toby said, as he sent out Pikachu. Beldum then charged at Pikachu, "Quick, dodge that! Then use Thunderbolt!" he instructed. Pikachu moved out of the way, and fired the electric attack at Beldum, who was then paralyzed by the attack, "Now, let's try an Iron Tail attack!" Pikachu then slammed Beldum with a metallic tail, causing Beldum to struggle with floating, "Now's my chance!" Toby said, tossing a Heavy Ball at Beldum, encapsulating it. The Heavy Ball rocked a few times, before it clicked, "Sweet! Now I have a Beldum!" Toby exclaimed happily, as the Heavy Ball teleported away. "Are you going to switch it out when we get back to the Pokémon Center?" Lincoln asked. "Yeah. I may change up my entire team while we're there," Toby replied, as he gave Pikachu a Pokebean before recalling her. "I should probably do the same with my team," Silver Spoon commented. "I don't see any other Pokémon around," Lola commented. "Well, we may as well head back. It's getting late, and we should try to get in the trial before bed," Lincoln suggested. "Good call. And if we don't make it in time, we can always wait till tomorrow," Toby replied, as they hiked back up the mountain. Back at the summit, The sun had begun to set over the horizon, as our heroes all rendezvoused back at the Pokémon Center, where they got their Pokémon all healed up and changed out their teams, "Ok then, we're going to see if the Trial Captain is accepting challenges now. If he is, we'll proceed with the Trial. If not, we'll wait for tomorrow. With the later, we can better coordinate our strategy for the Trial," Will explained. "We have Pokémon that are not only resistant to Electric Attacks, but also those that are immune to them as well," Silver Spoon pointed out. "Ok, if we're all ready, then let's get going," Will said, as they made their way over to the observatory. Inside, they saw Molayne, and a short, chubby boy looking quite concerned, "Hey Molayne, is something up?" Will asked. "Oh, hey guys. We were feeding our Charjabug, but some of them haven't come back. Your trial can't commence unless they're found," Molayne replied. "Well, I'm sure we can find them if we all pitch in. Where were they having their dinner?" Will asked. "In the empty lot in the parking lot. There should only be three to find," the chubby boy replied. "By the way, this is Sophocles, Trial Captain of the Hokulani Observatory Trial," Molayne introduced the chubby boy. Everyone gave their introductions. "So, I was told only four of you would be taking the trial?" Sophocles asked. "That would be us four," Will replied, motioning to himself, Fluttershy, Silver Spoon, and Toby. "Well, one you find the other three Charjabug, we'll show you to the Trial Site," Sophocles said. "Come along now. I'll help you guys with finding the other three," Molayne said, as they exited the building. He then took them over to the spot they had indicated, "Alright, you should find them around here," he said, as they entered. Almost immediately, they found two of the other three Charjabug. "Alright, so how do we get them out?" Will asked. "You can just dig them out, but be careful NOT to grab them roughly. They can discharge electricity if they feel threatened," Molayne warned. With that, they dug out the two Charjabug, and ushered them over to Molayne. "Ok, we still need Sevenjabug, then we can go on to the Trial," Molayne commented. "'Sevenjabug'?" Lori asked. "We nickname all the Charjabug here, from Onejabug all the way to Ninejabug. Sevenjabug likes to wander around at it's leisure. It should be around somewhere close by," Molayne commented. Lucy then noticed something behind the bus. Her curiosity piqued, she went over to investigate. And lo and behold, she saw another Charjabug. "Is that Sevenjabug?" Lucy asked. Molayne looked over to where she was looking, and he confirmed it, by going over, and gently picked up the Charjabug. "Yeah. This troublemaker is always wandering off," Molayne replied, as they went back into the Observatory, "Alright, all Charjabug are present and accounted for. Now, if you'll all follow me into the back, we can begin your trial," he requested, taking them into the back of the Observatory. "What kind of Trial is this one going to be? And why does it need all those Charjabug?" Lincoln wondered. "Well, it IS an Electric Type Trial. Maybe there's something that needs a lot of electricity," Luan replied, as Molayne led them into a lab, where Sophocles was waiting. There was a large table in the center of the room, and a robot of a beetle like creature at the opposite end. "Ok, so you're all here. Good. Now then, let me explain the way my Trial works. As you can see, this table has a 3x3 grid conveyor belt. The goal of the Trial is to line each Charjabug on the table to the point where they're parallel with each conduit on the four corners of the table. Once you've done that, the Charjabug will charge up the Totem Pokémon Pinger 2.0 device here. That will be what calls the Totem Pokémon here," Sophocles explained. "I see that you modeled it after Vikavolt, the Stage Beetle Pokémon, a Bug and Electric Type, and Charjabug's evolved form. They have a long standing rivalry with Pinisr and Heracross. It often clutches Charjabug in it's pincers to aid with generating more electricity," Rotom said, displaying a picture of the machine, only as an actual beetle. "Any who, you know you can't leave the Trial Site until you've completed it. Are you ready?" Sophocles asked. "We are," Will replied, as the other three also stepped forth. Hokulani Observatory: Night: Trial Goers: Will, Flora, Toby, Sylvia With that, Molayne helped three Charjabug up onto the table, "Ok, Onejabug, Twojabug, and Threejabug are all in place," he said. "To rotate the Charjabug, just hit the buttons on top of those columns," Sophocles instructed. Will pressed a button on his column, which in turn, rotated one of the Charjabug, but not in the way it was supposed to go. "I see. It's a puzzle type challenge," Lincoln commented, observing the way the conveyor belts rotated the Charjabug. Soon, the four of them got the hang of it, and were able to align the Charjabug properly. They were then ramped in the line of the two conduits, linking their electricity, which was then sent to the Pinger. "We're getting some electricity, but not quite enough," Molayne commented. Just then, four, little bipedal Pokémon that looked to be egg shaped, with two plug like prongs on it's head appeared, "Elekid! They love electricity!" he commented. "Elekid, the Electric Pokémon, an Electric Type. It generates electricity by swinging it's arms around. This Pokémon's main weak spot is the top of its head between it's horns. But powerful electricity runs between these horns," Rotom explained. "Alright, I wasn't expecting it to be that easy. Go, Decidueye!" Will exclaimed, sending out Decidueye. Fluttershy sent in Pupitar, Silver Spoon sent in Lycanroc, and Toby had Beldum go in for him. All four Elekid began swinging their arms around, firing off a Thunderbolt, "Quick, Decidueye, use Spirit Shackle!" Will instructed. Decidueye then fired off it's Arrow Quill, which managed to take out one of the Elekid. "Pupitar, use Stone Edge!" Fluttershy instructed. Pupitar jumped on the floor, sending the attack at another Elekid. The other two went on to attack Lycanroc and Beldum. "Quick, use Accelerock!" Silver Spoon instructed. Lycanroc then slammed into one of the Elekid. "Beldum, use Take Down!" Toby instructed. Beldum charged at the last Elekid as well, only using it's entire body. When it backed off, some sparks flew off of Beldum. "What was that?" Lana asked. "Take Down's effect also damages the user," Rotom explained, as the four Elekid ran off. When they did, Beldum began to evolve. It became large, and grew a second body, attached to a hexagonal body with a long spike between it's eyes. "Oh, cool! Beldum evolved!" Toby exclaimed. "Metang, the Iron Claw Pokémon, a Steel and Psychic Type. With it's two brains, it fires off powerful psychic energy blasts, which stops it's prey in it's tracks. Upon evolving, Metang learned the following moves: Metal Claw, Confusion, Iron Defense, and Zen Headbutt," Rotom explained. "Not a bad line up of moves," Will commented. "Well, the Pinger was able to call on those Elekid because of the electricity, but it wasn't enough to call on the Totem. Maybe another three Charjabug should do," Sophocles theorized, as he and Molayne placed three more Charjabug on the table. "Ok, now just rotate Fourjabug, Fivejabug, and Sixjabug so they're lined up with the other conduit," Molayne said, as he got out of the way. Toby and Silver Spoon then rotated the Charjabug, so that they were parallel with the conduit line. The three Charjabug were then ramped into the line, where they began generating electricity, which was then sent to the Pinger. "Good. Maybe this will be enough to call on the Totem Pokémon," Sophocles hoped. Just then, four more Pokémon appeared, two of them looked to be ape like Pokémon with lightning patterns on their bodies, while the other two were Electrike. "Electrike and Electabuzz!" Molayne exclaimed. "Electabuzz, the Electric Pokémon, an Electric Type, and the evolved form of Elekid. If a major power outage occurs, it is certain that this Pokémon has eaten electricity at a Power Plant," Rotom explained. Like before, the four wild Pokémon engaged each trainer. The Electabuzz went after Will and Fluttershy, while the Electrike went on to attack Silver Spoon and Toby. An Electabuzz then threw an icy punch at Pupitar, causing major damage. "That was Ice Punch!" Will exclaimed. "I see. Ground type Pokémon are immune to Electric Type attacks, so Electabuzz must be able to learn Ice Punch to work around this weakness," Lincoln deduced. "Quick Metang, use Zen Headbutt!" Toby instructed. Metang then charged at his Electrike opponent with a headbutt that had a mysterious, psychic energy emanating from it. "Lycanroc, use Stone Edge!" Silver Spoon instructed. Lycanroc then fired the attack against her Electrike, knocking it out. "Decidueye, use Leaf Blade!" Will instructed. Decidueye then slashed at the Electabuzz it was facing, knocking it out. "Pupitar, try and use Dark Pulse!" Fluttershy instructed. Pupitar then fired off the black rings at her Electabuzz opponent, knocking it out as well. With that, the four Electric Pokémon ran off, "You want to take a rest?" Fluttershy offered Pupitar, who nodded. Fluttershy then recalled it. "Guess six Charjabug weren't enough. We'll have to go for broke. Let's put Sevenjabug, Eightjabug, and Ninejabug all on the table with the others," Sophocles suggested. He and Molayne then placed the last three Charjabug on the table. "Ok, so how should we do this?" Will wondered. "I know! Maybe we can try rotating them to the point where they form a big 'Z'," Toby suggested. "Well, it's worth a shot," Fluttershy commented, as they proceeded to rotate the Charjabug, putting them in a position looking like a Z. This was the right move, as the electricity between all nine Charjabug began flowing between them. However, things started going south, as the Pinger began shaking violently. "Is.... it supposed to do that?" Lori asked. "No. I think it may be too much electricity!" Molayne exclaimed, as the Pinger turned around, pointing two electrified prongs at the Charjabug. "Oh no!" Sophocles exclaimed. Just as the electricity fired off, a small, round Pokémon about the size of a baseball got in front of the electric blast, "Togedemaru?!" "It is true that Togedemaru's ability is Lightning Rod, but even that ability has it's limits!" Molayne commented. Sophocles was panicking at this point. "Just try and hold out as long as you can Togedemaru! We'll think of something!" he fretted. They then felt something big up above. And lo and behold, another Togedemaru appeared, but it was the size of a beach ball. It then leapted down from the rafters, and began absorbing the remaining electricity. It then landed on the ground, and turned to the Trial Goers, it's Aura flaring up. "Togedemaru, the Roly Poly Pokémon, an Electric and Steel Type. It's ability to generate it's own electricity is poor, so it absorbs nearby electricity with the spikes on it's back, acting as a lightning rod. As a result, it often get's into fights with Elekid," Rotom said. "They're so cute!" Serenity exclaimed. "Cute or not, it IS still a Totem Pokémon, and it's bound to give us some trouble," Will replied, as he and the others geared up to battle, with Fluttershy sending out Crabrawler. Totem Togedemaru started off by using Discharge, which struck all the Pokémon it was facing. Decidueye took the least amount of damage, but the others still took considerable damage. "Quick, Metang, use Zen Headbutt!" Toby instructed. Metang then charged at the Totem Pokémon, who only turned it's back, and extended it's spikes. Not only did that stop Zen Headbutt, but Metang also took damage. "Spikey Shield, a Grass Type move that not only nullifies almost any attack, but also inflicts damage if a Physical Move was used against it," Rotom explained. Togedemaru then went on to attack by rolling up into an electrified ball, and rammed into ALL four Pokémon, knocking out Metang, and Lycanroc as a result. "No way, how strong is this Totem?!" Silver Spoon questioned, as she and Toby recalled their Pokémon. She then sent out Numel, while Toby had Typhlosion go in for him. "With Spikey Shield, our best bet would be to rely on ranged attacks," Will commented. "In that case, Crabrawler, use Bubblebeam!" Fluttershy instructed. Crabrawler then fired the stream of bubbles at Togedemaru, which seemed to do something to it. "Alright Numel, use Flamethrower!" Silver Spoon instructed. "Give it one of your Flamethrowers too, Typhlosion!" Toby instructed. Both Fire Pokémon fired off Flamethrower at Togedemaru, who once dodged out of the way. "I don't think so! Decidueye, use Spirit Shackle! Keep it from moving!" Will instructed. Decidueye did just that, and Togedemaru was then rendered unable to move. "I'll finish this up!" Silver Spoon said, doing the Z Move Pose for Inferno Overdrive, "Rage across the land, let our passionate flames blow away our foes!" she chanted, as Numel became enveloped in Z Power, "Now Numel, use Inferno Overdrive!" Numel then gathered up flames into a big ball of fire, and fired it at the Totem Pokémon. When the smoke cleared, the Totem Togedemaru was knocked out. "And that settles it! You guys have successfully passed your Trial," Sophocles stated, handing out four yellow Z Crystals with a lightning bolt symbol in the center, "That Electrium Z will enable you to use the Electric Type Z Move, Gigavolt Havoc, as long as you move like this," he said, demonstrating the Pose. He swung his arms around, before crossing them like a lightning bolt. "I knew I made the right choice when I appointed you Trial Captain," Molayne commented. "You mentioned special circumstances on Ula'Ula Island. What's the Kahuna like?" Will asked. "He's a bit of a slacker, and would prefer to be left alone with all of his Dark Type Pokémon," Sophocles replied. "Dark Types, eh? Could be trouble for some of us," Will murmured to himself as the Totem Togdemaru bellowed, summoning a bunch of Electric or Steel Type Pokémon. "Looks like the Totem has recognized your skill, and wants you to add more Electric and Steel Types to your rosters," Molayne commented, as they all proceeded to catch the Pokémon. "Anyhow, now that you've cleared the trial here, you can head on south to find the Ghost Type Trial," Sophocles stated. "But before you do that, could you give this back to Kukui? He must've dropped it when he was here before," Molayne said, giving Will a familiar mask. "Huh, guess the Professor's a fan of the Masked Royal," Luna commented. "We'll be sure to give it to him when we see him next time. But for now, we should go and get some shut eye before we leave tomorrow," Will suggested. "Yeah, I'm getting sleepy," Silver Spoon commented. The others shared similar sentiments. "Well, whatever you do, please make sure Kukui gets his mask," Molayne requested. "We will. Thank you for having us," Will said, as they all left. Somewhere else in the Sinnoh Region, A flock of Murkrow were just downed by a powerful electric attack. The largest of the flock tried to get up, only to see some people looming over it, with evil intent in their eyes. Their outfits all differed, but they all had different letters, ranging from "R", "G", "P", "F". One of them held a sinister looking Pokeball, before tossing it at the Murkrow. Unlike regular Pokeballs, the energy that the Murkrow turned into was pitch black, "Heh, gotta love these Dark Balls," a man dressed as a pirate commented, as the others captured the rest of the Murkrow. "Ok, that should do it for Flying Pokémon. We should report in to the Admins," a woman dressed in a red suit suggested. "Good call. Nothing will stand in the way of Team Rainbow Rocket, or our ambitions," another woman dressed as a mobster replied.