Pokémon Eclipse

by moviemaster8510

Chapter 27 – Quarry of Qualms

Olivia walked treacherously along the edge of the oceanside cliff of the Akala Outskirts. Though Rarity and Applejack would have strongly advised her against risking her life as such, the inland breeze was strong enough to keep Olivia pushed away from a long fall down. What really made Rarity’s stomach churn was the small purse she hung over her right shoulder over the drop, almost teasing her with the possibility of losing what was inside.

“Olivia, darling!” she shouted. “I can’t really control where you decide to rock, but could you at least put that bag on the other side where it won’t fall?”

“Oh, come now, Rarity!” Olivia turned back with her feet still loyally guiding her, making both Rarity and Applejack gasp loudly. “You act like I haven’t been doing this for most of my life!”

“I imagine if you don’t look forward right about now, you won’t have much of a life left!”

“Hoo! Fiesty!” Olivia turned back forward, and Rarity breathed a loud sigh of relief. “Though… if you want me to keep the bag away from the edge.” Olivia spun herself around, now walking backwards with only half of her feet touching the surface, smiling at them fearlessly.

Applejack tripped in swooning, letting out a tired huff as well. “Okay, Olivia, I think you’ve terrorized us enough for one lifetime!”

“Alright!” Olivia swung back to walk forward, moving away from the cliff’s edge and putting the purse in her left hand. “Better?”

“Much…” Rarity panted. “I put a lot of work into that, and I’d hate to see it plunge to the bottom of the ocean so you could pull off a prank.”

“I would never let that happen. I’d simply have my Relicanth fish it back for me.”

As badly as Rarity wanted to protest that that was not the point, she simply bared her teeth and rolled her eyes, letting the argument finally die out. The three came up to a hill where a small, but wide passageway opened up inside the mountain, which contained a cemetery with well-worn white crosses and headstones neatly organized in rows. Neither of them noticed the young man standing at the mouth of the passageway dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt with the top button unbuttoned, black pants with grey vertical stripes, black sneakers, and sandy-blonde hair styled in a fauxhawk. He also wore a single black sweatband on his right wrist.

He whistled to Olivia with his teeth biting his lower lip, getting her's and the ponies' attention. “Hey! Over here!”

Olivia put her hand over her eyes, unsure if the sunlight was playing tricks on her. “Dexio? Is that–”

“Jeez, Olivia, do I really look that different?”

“You do.” She began to walk toward him, smiling fondly as she got used to his appearance. “It suits you, though.”

“You think?”

Olivia, suddenly remembering, fished into her purse, pulling out the completed Mega Ring with Mega Stone inside and handing it to Dexio. He wordlessly took it from her and observed its craftsmanship seemingly without emotion. Applejack and Rarity joined Olivia’s side as he continued examining it closely. With a sudden smile, he slipped it onto his left wrist, flexing his hand to feel the grip.

“It’s quite nice.” Dexio turned to face Olivia. “Thank you.” He then noticed the ponies, looking down to glance to each of them. “And who are you two?”

“We’re… ponies.” Rarity felt a bit off put by his casual addressing of them.

“You’re not weirded out by any of us, mister?” Applejack asked.

“I personally know an immortal man and his Floette back where I come from. A couple of talking ponies shouldn’t seem that out of the ordinary to me.”

“How did you even know about them?” Olivia asked.

“I couldn’t help but overhear a group of women talking about the ‘white unicorn’ who helped pick out their jewelry. It’s how I thought of stopping by your place to make me this.” He brandished his Mega Ring once more. “Though, I’m guessing you’re not from Alola… or anywhere from here, are you?”

The ponies looked to each other nervously, unsure how to confirm what he already knew.

Olivia took a step forward. “No, they’re not, though I’m guessing you already knew that.”

“I had my suspicions, but now, seeing and, well, hearing them in the flesh, it’s hard to think of anything else.” He then squatted down to look each pony in the eye. “And yet, it’s still harder to believe. My apologies, I’m Dexio, a friend of Olivia’s.”

Reaching his hand out, the ponies couldn’t help but recoil, but seeing his good intentions, Rarity reached out with both hooves and shook his hand.

“Rarity. I would say I’m charmed, but…” She let go and let Applejack take her turn.

“And I’m Applejack. Though, if you say you and Olivia are friends, then I guess that’s good enough for me.”

“Yes, sorry, I’m not usually this awkward with introductions. Please do forgive me.”

“It’s… quite alright, darling.” Rarity stepped forward. “I do hope you like your… Mega Ring, was it?”

“Yes, Mega Ring. I do like it very much.”

“That’s good,” interrupted Applejack, “because she’s the one who made it!”

“You made...” Dexio now appeared surprised, looking at the bracelet's craftsmanship once over agan. “Olivia, is this–”

“Every word.” Olivia smiled proudly. “If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have carried in the impressive haul of obsidian I needed to make that.”

“And she cut it and everything too?”

“I did!” Rarity stepped forward, fighting the slight contempt for her friends upstaging her. “Perhaps it was a little more difficult getting the curves smooth on it than some of the other stuff I worked on.”

“That’s quite impressive.” Rarity finally smiled at Dexio’s sincerity. “I’m guessing you’re here to watch me try it out.”

“You bet!” Applejack exclaimed. “Rarity and I also haven’t seen a Pokémon battle yet, and we’d like to spectate.”

“Excellent. Olivia? Are you–”

“Yessir!” Olivia stepped into the passageway, stopping herself at the mouth of the cemetary’s entrance and turning to face Dexio. “Applejack, Rarity, get behind me.”

The ponies did as they were told, walking into the cemetery and staying far enough behind until they were just a foot or so from the front of the first row of graves.

“Olivia, could you have found a more ghastly place to hold this battle?” Rarity’s sarcasm was palpable.

“It’s alright,” Olivia said without looking back. “I’m not actually in the cemetery. So, Dexio. How do you want to do this?”

“I’ve got an interesting idea!” Dexio turned to face his opponent. “We each bring out our first Pokémon, and they must continue battling until they faint, and we do this until the first of us loses three Pokémon.”

Olivia smirked. “Interesting indeed.” She then took out one of her Ultra Balls, tossing it out. “Go, Golem!”

Coming out from the ball was Olivia’s boulder-shaped Pokémon with the forked protrusion coming from its back and the rock on its face appearing as a beard and mustache.

Dexio tossed out his own ball of similar design. “Let’s go, Slowking!”

Olivia’s first challenger was met by the Slowking, who stood pleasantly aloof in front of the determined Golem. Olivia squinted at Dexio’s Pokémon, feeling uneasy about it before smirking in confidence. “Let’s get this started right. Golem, use Electric Punch!”

The Golem tucked its head, limbs, and protrusion into its body, becoming almost completely spherical. It then rolled quickly at Slowking, who widened its stance to move when needed.

“That’s it, Slowking,” Dexio shouted, “dodge it!”

Golem began to swerve about, widening its range of attack. It suddenly aimed to take out Slowking from the left, and on its trainer’s instructions, Slowking dodged just as Golem brought its body back out, the space between the forked protrusion arcing with beams of electricity.

Golem reeled its right arm and fist back, which also began to sparkle, and, to Slowking’s complete surprise, it swung wide at its target, striking it square in its cheek. Applejack and Rarity winced with surprise. Slowking caught itself before it could fall to its stomach, but its entire body sparked, trying to recover.

“Now, use Psychic!”

Slowking turned to face the Golem, putting its glowing arms out and lifting Golem high into the air. With a throwing of its arms, Golem sped quickly to the ground where it crashed, blasting Olivia and the ponies with loose dirt and small pieces of rock.

“Holy moly!” Applejack exclaimed. “I didn’t think this would get that violent!”

As the dust cleared, Golem was standing strongly and roaring at Slowing.

“Nice work,” Olivia shouted. “Hit ‘em with another Thunder Punch!”

Golem balled itself up again and already began snaking in its path at Slowking. This time, Slowking dipped and shifted itself in a wide juke, putting plenty of space between it and Golem.

“That’s it!” Dexio shouted. “Now use Ice Beam!”

Slowking breathed in heavily, and as Golem’s body poked back out of its thick shell, Dexio’s Pokémon shot a strong burst of ice into it, crystals forming on its head and around that part of its shell. With a heavy pant, Golem tucked its head in partway and did a single roll back, breaking the ice that formed there. Olivia could tell that even with its strengths against the Slowking, her Golem would not survive another attack from it.

Dexio pointed out at Golem. “Okay, Slowking, finish it off with one last Ice Beam!”

Olivia grunted. “Golem, block and attack with Stone Edge!”

As Slowking shot its attack, Golem pushed its arms forward, causing large rocky spikes to jut out from the ground, the first of them forming a shield that blocked most of the freezing beam. More spikes continued to shoot out from the ground as they traveled out to Slowking now trying to futilely push it back with the Ice Beam. Another punch of spikes came up and struck Slowking in the gut, sending it flying back to Dexio where it fainted upon its back.

“Nice effort out there,” he said to it as he returned it into its Ultra Ball. “Let’s see how she can handle this one.” He returned his first ball to his belt and tossed out another. “Let’s do this, Metagross!”

Appearing from his ball was the blue metal disk with four arms and dark red eyes along the front side.

“Okay buddy, use Bullet Punch!”

Metagross tucked its arms in and sped at Golem with intense speed. Olivia knew the attack would connect, but just in case… “Golem, Earthquake, quick!”

Golem hopped up high into the air, tucking itself in as it began to come down. Before it could hit the ground, Metagross stuck the closest arm to it out, the clawed end colliding with its body with a few sparks grinding off the impact. Golem’s body was knocked out of its shell, and it rolled helplessly to Olivia where it stopped before her.

Olivia could tell from its eyes that it had no will to battle any longer, and so with that done, she took out Golem’s ball and returned it inside.

She looked to it. “Excellect work, my friend.” She put the ball back onto her belt and threw another one out. “Go, Probopass!”

Olivia’s large head-shaped Pokémon appeared from the Ultra Ball and stood before Dexio’s Metagross.

Dexio let out a small snicker. “Of all the Pokémon you could have chosen… Metagross, use Brick Break!”

Metagross tucked its arms in and flew towards Probopass, who continued to stay where it stood.

“Quick, counter it with Earth Power!”

With its three smaller-head pieces, it floated them out in front of itself and began spinning them, making them glow bright. Metagross saw what was coming, and it already pushed one of its clawed arms out as it continued its approach. The ground between the two Pokémon suddenly began to glow red and then bright yellow, suddenly erupting molten rock at Metagross. With its arm held out still, Metagross fought through the blast and managed to strike Probopass on the center of the bridge of its nose.

The force of the hit threw Probopass back and made it collide into Olivia, who leapt up and let her Pokémon knock her back, allowing her to tumble further back before Probopass could regain its placement and return to its original spot.

“Olivia!” the two ponies yelled behind her.

“Y'all ‘right?” Applejack asked.

Olivia stood herself up, twisting her head up and cracking the joints in her neck. “Never better.”

“Okay, Metagross, finish it off with one last Brick Break!”

With Metagross still close to its target, it lifted itself up and raised one of its arms. Olivia hissed, knowing her Pokémon would not survive the hit. “Probopass, block it!”

Probopass’s mini-heads converged in a single mass as Metagross let itself fall, its arm colliding with the mini-heads and pushing them into Probopass’s forehead. With the force of the attack, Probopass was knocked onto its back where it fell with a heavy, earth-shaking thud.

Olivia took out her Ultra Ball and returned her immobilized Pokémon inside. “Sorry about that, babe. You did your best.”

“Olivia’s getting her flank handed to her,” Rarity whispered. “What do you think she’s going to bring out next?”

“I’m sure whatever she does is going to be fine.” Applejack then put her hooves to the sides of her mouth. “You got this, Olivia!”

Olivia smirked as she took out the third and final ball from her belt. “I know. Your turn, Lycanroc!”

Tossing her ball out, Olivia’s red-and-white bipedal wolf emerged, its evil, threatening grin refusing to strike fear into either Dexio or his Metagross.

“You may be the Kahuna,” Dexio said, “but when it’s steel against rock, I’ve got you beat. Metagross, Bullet Punch!”

Metagross shot out at Lycanroc, who continued wavering as if it refused to recognize the danger it was in. Before the claw could hit it, Lycanroc bent itself backwards and allowed the arm to graze harmlessly over its stomach and past its chin, the agility and dexterity of the maneuver making Applejack and Rarity gasp.

“That’s it, girl!” Olivia shouted. “Now, Crunch!”

Before it could lose its balance, Lycanroc grabbed hold of the arm and pulled itself up, allowing it to bite Metagross on the “wrist” of its extended arm. The squeal and screech of the Lycanroc’s teeth on the metal limb made even Dexio shiver with discomfort, but it was Metagross who appeared more pained, roaring out as it whipped Lycanroc off toward the wall of the passageway, only for it to land feet-first onto the wall before running down and returning to its original position.

“That wolf is frighteningly powerful!” Applejack exclaimed.

“And powerfully frightening!” Rarity added.

“Looks like it’s not so much of a sure thing anymore,” Dexio grunted as Metagross returned to him. “Metagross, use Meteor Mash!”

“Meteor Mash?” the ponies asked in tandem.

Pushing off the ground, Metagross shot up high into the sky and above the top of the passageway, Lycanroc widening its stance as it took the oncoming attack more seriously. Tucking in its legs, Metagross shot its way down in a nosedive aimed right at the Lycanroc. Rarity, her teeth bared in fright, charged up her horn and cast a six-foot-high corner aura in front of Olivia. Lycanroc leapt back just as Metagross collided with the ground, exploding it in al flurry of fire, rock, and bright colorful sparks that shot out in nearly every direction.

With the magic corner blocking the blast, it snaked around Olivia and the ponies as they looked through what they could to see the result of the attack. Dexio looked intently out, only for Metagross to get thrown back with Lycanroc’s jaws locked tight around the rim of its circular body. Landing down flipped on its top side, Dexio huffed with visible disappointment as Metagross didn’t appear to have any will left to continue.

Regardless, he smiled as he took out its ball and returned him inside. “Nice effort, there. We’re going to win this. Don’t worry.” He then looked at Olivia and her returning Lycanroc as he put away his ball and took out his last one, tossing it out with much more vigor. “Let’s finish this, Alakazam!”

Dexio’s Pokémon emerged from the Ultra Ball, pushing its arms and crossing its spoons out threateningly. Rarity suddenly noticed a marble with a yellow and brown swirl inside hanging from its right spoon on a short chain.

Olivia and her Lycanroc both grimaced, knowing what was to come. “Get ready for it, Rarity.”

“Ready for what, beg pardon?” she asked.

“Mega Evolution.”

Dexio smirked as he held his left wrist and his Mega Ring up with the Key Stone facing Olivia and Lycanroc. “Respond to my heart, Key Stone! Beyond evolution! Mega Evolve!”

Dexio pressed his index and middle fingers into his Key Stone, making it burst with light that began to snake out into four DNA-shaped beams as they traveled toward the Alakazam’s marble. Once they converged into it, the Alakazam roared as tremendous power flooded through its entire body, which was soon cloaked in an armor of energy that concealed most of its defining physical features.

Applejack and Rarity stood slack-jawed as they kept their eyes on Alakazam as a large beard grew off of its chin, an ovular gem protruded from its forehead, and the cuffs on its forearms sagged down like the sleeves of a mage’s cloak. It then clasped its hands and the spoons it held up above its head, and with a push of its arms, the energy broke away like liquid glass and evaporated, revealing its new form.

The Alakazam lifted its legs up and levitated as it sat in midair, pressing the bottoms of its feet together in apparent meditation. Along with its new beard and longer cuffs, five spoons now floated above its head in an arc, the Alakazam moving its hands back beneath the outer spoons as the ends to the chain.

Neither Rarity nor Applejack could find the strength to close their mouths. “Is… is that still the same Pokémon?” Applejack wondered aloud.

Olivia nodded. “It’s not Alakazam anymore. Now it’s Mega Alakazam!”

Dexio continued standing proudly as if the feat he had performed did not impress him in the slightest. “Your Lycanroc was extremely lucky to not take any damage against my Metagross, but now you have a fully-evolved Alakazam to deal with. Lets see if she can dodge this. Alakazam, Focus Blast!”

Alakazam reached back with its left arm and began to trace a ring out in front of itself with its right hand, the spoons following the path it drew. A bright brownish-red light formed in the center of the ring, and with a push of its arms, the light shot out as a harsh orb that came straight at Lycanroc.

“Lycanroc, look out!” Applejack cried.

Olivia ignored them, throwing her arm forward. “Lycanroc, dodge it!”

Olivia’s Pokémon got onto all fours and charged forwards at the attack before bending back and sliding on its knees, being flexible enough to get down to its back to allow the aura to pass over it. Olivia and the ponies ducked down as the Focus Blast passed over them, safely dissolving upon hitting the back rock wall of the cemetery.

“Okay.” Olivia stuck her arms out to her side, revealing her Z-Ring and a desaturated-brown Z-Crystal inside of it on her left wrist. “Now we get to finish this.”

Olivia crossed her wrists in front of her opponent, Lycanroc suddenly standing up to do the same. The two of them followed through on their motions to activate their Z-Powers. After stretching their crossed arms out, Olivia and Lycanroc jumped into a crouch before standing up straight and flexing their muscles up and to the sides.

Rarity and Applejack stood just as amazed when they witnessed the Mega Evolution as the trainer and Pokémon duo hopped into a lunge position, twisting their upper bodies in and pumping their arms one last time. Light then shot out of Olivia and flowed into her Lycanroc, filling its body with energy that blew a wind throughout the area.

“Applejack, Rarity!” The ponies redirected their focus to Olivia. “While Mega Evolution is powerful, do not underestimate the strength of the Z-Move…” She then turned to face Dexio. “…especially when performed by a Kahuna. Lycanroc, take the Mega Alakazam out! Continental Crush!”

Lycanroc threw its arms up, sending every loose pebble, stone, and boulder around them high into the air. Soon, chunks of the passageway’s walls broke off and joined the mass accumulating high above.

“Rarity, if you’d like to cast another shield-like spell, you’re more than welcome to.”

Rarity snapped out of her moment of awe and charged her horn. Finally, a titanic rock just about the width of the passageway and about half as tall was hovering above the Mega Alakazam, and with a throwing down of its arms, Lycanroc commanded the small mountain it created to come down, perfectly sliding between the walls and not letting up its speed. Mega Alakazam threw its arms up, the spoon circle coming up and appearing to catch the rock.

The mound struck the earth, producing a small quake heavy enough to knock Dexio and Olivia to one knee. The rock then exploded out, reducing the massive ton of rocks back to pebbles that threatened to fly into Dexio, Olivia and the ponies.

As Rarity’s spell protected the three of them, pebbles coming at Dexio were deflected by an invisible shield that rippled with pink energy with each piece of rock that hit it. The assault of gravel began to die down, Dexio energized by the very possible hope that his Pokémon had survived. The dust finally cleared from the attack, and the ponies could see the Mega Alakazam in a lower position than before.

“Is it over?” wondered Applejack.

“Did she do it?” Rarity then put her hoof against her brow, unsure if her eyes were fooling her.

The Mega Alakazam, much to Olivia’s shock, slowly and weakly stood itself back up and then gently hopped into its floating sitting position, its five spoons arcing back over its head.

Dexio couldn’t resist letting out a hearty chuckle. “Wow… how perfect.”

“Perfect?” Olivia asked. “In what way? My Lycanroc has still not taken any hits from any of your Pokémon yet, and I don’t think a single move you can make could finish me off before my Lycanroc can finish your Alakazam.”

Dexio’s joviality settled down as his expression became more apathetic. “Under normal circumstances, you’d be right, but this battle has been anything but normal. Hell, this week has been anything but normal…”

He then began to reach his left finger to his right wrist, hooking the bottom of his sweatband off and pulling it off quickly, revealing a mechanical Z-Ring with a Grassium Z attached that it had concealed

Olivia’s eyes narrowed with intense fright. “Dexio… is that…”

She looked up, hoping for some kind of explanation, but the lack of any hint of jesting all but confirmed it for her, making her take a step back.

“Olivia!” Applejack looked to the Z-Ring, unsure of what it meant. “Why does he have one of those things too?”

“Because…” Olivia, for perhaps the first time ever, was too scared to formulate a sentence. “He’s…”

“I’m sorry you had to find out this way,” Dexio said, “but the bosses are getting impatient. I do want to thank you for bringing them to me. You really did make it that much easier for me.”

“Olivia?” Rarity was getting close to tears. “I’m confused. What is he talking about?”

She couldn’t speak, too wrapped up in the fatal mistake she had made.

“It’s okay,” Dexio said. “I can explain later. But now...”

Dexio crossed his wrists, his right over the left. His Mega Alakazam mimicked its trainer’s movements as he continued through the motions. As Dexio crouched and cupped his hands in front of his chest, Alakazam bent over and clasped its hands down. Dexio shot up and threw his arms up to the sky, his Alakazam conluding the activation just the same.

The ponies recoiled as a sinister red energy burst from Dexio’s back and it enveloped his Mega Alakazam. Dexio looked to his wrist and slowly squeezed it, feeling the power coursing through him.

“This fight ends with me,” Dexio said. “Unless you surrender now, I won’t harm your Lycanroc.”

Lycanroc simply growled with a spiteful baring of its lips and gums. Olivia’s face also began to harden with hate. “Neither of us are interested in giving up. Do your worst!”

Dexio sighed. “Then it can’t be helped. Mega Alakazam, finish off her Lycanroc! Bloom Doom!”

Mega Alakazam’s spoons began to orbit it and glow brightly. With a push of its arms, a colorful array of flowers and grass began to sprout from the ground beneath it, spreading all over the area. Lycanroc watched suspiciously as the wave of instantly-growing flora appeared under its feet, spreading back into the cemetery where Applejack and Rarity stood, who both frightfully pranced in place as they felt flowers grow right beneath them.

“Lycanroc, get out of there!” Olivia screamed.

Lycanroc tried to pick its feet up, only for it to feel them entangled in the grass and stems of the flowers, trapping it. The air around Lycanroc began to grow bright and hot, making him whine and squeal as it realized its escape was impossible.

“NO!”

Olivia reached out to her Pokémon as the light around it grew too bright to see before the light exploded, disintegrating the flowers and grass that bloomed there and leaving nothing but an explosion of petals that threw Olivia, Lycanroc, Applejack, and Rarity back into the graveyard. Rarity hit her head upon one of the gravestones while Applejack’s back collided into one. Olivia weakly got up and glanced at her fainted Lycanroc, and then back at Dexio and his Mega Alakazam.

Dexio looked to his Pokémon as its body was covered in painful red sparks, and with a grunt, Mega Alakazam floated down to the ground with its arms and legs limp. It’s body shone brightly before the light covering it appeared to shatter away, revealing its original form as it laid on its side, no longer able to stay awake. Dexio returned his Pokémon inside its ball and pressed the top to his forehead in regret.

With the field now clear, Dexio walked up to Olivia. “My Pokémon may have fainted too, but so did yours. It’s a loss for both of us, but a loss is still a loss. Those ponies are coming with me.”

He approached further, forcing Olivia to return her Lycanroc inside of its ball and crawl back as quickly as she could, laying her body and outstretched arms over the weakened ponies, who could only look past her as Dexio stood menacingly in front of them.

“I have two more able-bodied Pokémon on me.” Dexio brandished the Ultra Balls on his belt as he stopped over her. “Your Relicanth is useless here, and your Carbink wouldn’t last against my remaining Pokémon. I wouldn’t fight this if I were you.”

“Go to hell!” Olivia spat through her grit teeth.

“Until then…”

He reached forward and bent down to grab her arm and pull her away, only for a bright light to come between them, forcing him back. Shielding as much of the light as he could with his arm, he could see the faint shape of Tapu Lele as it floated down over Olivia and the ponies.

Suddenly, the bright light vanished, along with Olivia, Applejack, and Rarity. With quick glances around, unsure how far away they disappeared to, he then looked up, hoping to hear a sign. Nothing but silence and solitude.

Dexio leaned back into the passageway wall and slid down on his back until he could sit, breathing heavily as he tried to relax himself. He then glanced down at his Mega Ring once more, the craftsmanship adding to his melancholy and disappointment.

At the foot of the Ruins of Life, a bright flash appeared that summoned Tapu Lele and Olivia, Rarity, and Applejack. The two ponies got up, Rarity rubbing the back of her head where she got hit.

“You okay, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

“Other than my heart about to burst out of my chest, yes, I’m fine. My head actually feels much better.”

“Same, actually. Hit my back something awful, and now I don’t feel much of anything.”

“Tapu Lele must have healed us as it teleported us here.” Olivia stood to her own feet, brushing dirt off the small scrapes and cuts on her legs and arms that had already scabbed over.

Tapu Lele clasped its hands and bowed as a means of saying “you’re welcome.”

“Olivia?” Rarity asked. “Who was that man that tried to take us?”

“And who in the hay are his ‘bosses?’” Applejack added.

Olivia sighed, unsure how to word this without coming across as much of an enemy as Dexio had become. “Yesterday… I had received word from another Kahuna from another island about a group called Team Prism. Apparently, a couple trainers ran into them, claiming they were trying to find and capture you and your friends.” Olivia sniffed hard and wiped her nose. “I didn’t want to tell you because I thought you’d be safe with me at the shop. I didn’t think that one of my own friends would be one of them.”

Olivia let out a couple of sobs, quickly drying her eyes to keep from betraying her tears. Applejack and Rarity looked to each other, unsure of what to feel or what to say.

“It’s… it’s okay, Olivia.” Applejack slowly approached her and put her arm up to console her.

Olivia quickly backed away, and Applejack just as quickly put her arm down.

“No,” Olivia choked. “I failed you. I failed as your protector, and I failed as a Kahuna. I can no longer be the one that looks after you.”

“What?!” Applejack and Rarity both exclaimed.

“But who’s going to keep us safe from this Prism gang?” Applejack asked.

“Where are we supposed to go?”

Olivia looked to Tapu Lele with desperate, begging eyes, receiving a sullen nod from it. “Tapu Lele will keep watch over you until more of your friends arrive.”

Olivia began to step back and away, frightening the ponies into realizing that she was really leaving them.

“No, Olivia, please take us with you!” Rarity cried, a stream of tears beginning to flow down her cheeks.

“I can’t. I only hope you can forgive me for everything.”

“We forgive you!” Applejack shouted. “Just don’t go!”

Olivia whipped around and sprinted off down the canyon pass to the Akala Outskirts, refusing to look behind even as Rarity and Applejack cried out for her. Once she was out of view, Applejack and Rarity quieted themselves, knowing their pleas would no longer reach her.

Tapu Lele floated behind them and gently laid its hands on their backs. Turning back to face it, the ponies watched as Tapu Lele slowly receded itself inside the Ruins, leading them both to follow it with their heads hung low. There was no doubt in their minds that the island guardian would keep them safe, but without their own guardian, it might as well have felt like they were both alone.

Comments

[raven618]

Ouch. I can't imagine what Olivia's going through.

On an unrelated note, is Dexio the same Dexio from Professor Sycamore's lab, or is he an original character?

[moviemaster8510]

10362257 No, he’s meant to be the same from X/Y & S/M.

[Teraunce]

10362257
Agreed. That is a big ouch.