Chapter 13: The Monster in the Meadow

  "Litleo, Ember!"

  "Sobble, Water Gun!" Tupp bellowed intensely.

  Litleo spat out a burst of flames which were quickly extinguished by a precise stream of water. Sobble lowered its aim and fired another stream of water at Litleo, who bounded to his right quickly and began closing in on Sobble with an unreal quickness, its mouth aglow with burgeoning flames.

  "Get Sobble to fall back!" Ian called out to Tupp.

  "Sobble, uh-"

  Litleo crashed into Sobble, taking it to the ground but not biting the scared amphibian as it cowered in terror. Coaching Tupp to completely change his battle style was never going to be easy, but boy did I underestimate how hard it would actually be. Maybe I'm just a bad coach.

  Litleo released Sobble from the hold on it and scampered back to Ian, beaming with pride. "Excellent work there Litleo, you're really using that agility training with Liepard to good use."

  "S-sorry Sobble…" Tupp said as he comforted his terrified amphibian, letting it climb up his arm and onto his shoulder for its perch. "That Litleo's just so fast yo."

  It has been two days since Grimsley showed up, and when berries aren't getting harvested we've been training nonstop. Litleo had taken to training with Grimsley and Liepard with astounding vigor. Every time he ended up in a scrap and needed ointment and potions for his scratches, he was always rearing to go for another round with Liepard. His confidence is growing as well. Sawsbuck and Ian grew closer with every practice riding session, and Sawsbuck had started growing a section of thick moss to make Ian more comfortable when on his blessed stag's back. Even Wartortle had started buying into training, but only because Sobble had embarrassed the seasoned turtle in target practice the day after Grimsley's first appearance. Maybe I could get advice from Grimsley, or he could just straight up show Tupp some stuff? After seeing how close they are but are on totally different planets when it comes to battle synergy, maybe Grinsley would agree to give 'em a session.

  "You hear me, bro?" Tupp asked.

  "What? Sorry, got lost in thought," Ian answered.

  "So is Sobble supposed to be fast or something?" Tupp asked.

  Ian shrugged. "Not particularly. It's not slow mind you, just not fast either. I bet the little guy could use some agility training like Litleo got."

  "Agility training?" Tupp asked, befuddled.

  "Just making its movements more crisp, being decisive. Grimsley's Liepard really helped with Litleo being more agile," Ian explained.

  Tupp rolled his eyes. "The teacher guy from Driftwood? You sure he's cool?"

  "He's great bro," Ian answered. "If he was trying to pull a fast one on us, he wouldn't be trying to help me get stronger."

  Tupp grimaced, still not liking the idea but with nothing else to say and dropped the matter. Litleo suddenly perked its head up and turned aggressively before calming down and purring softly as Grimsley and Liepard approached.

  "Got started without me, that's good," Grimsley said. "I expect this Skull grunt is your friend? What was his name, 'Cup?'"

  "Tupp, yo," the aforementioned young man corrected.

  "The guy who's trying to make Golbat a brawler?" Grimsley teased.

  "He used to be trying," Ian corrected. "With the Sobble I got him, he's trying to get more comfortable attacking from range."

  Grimsley nodded approvingly. "Fair, and sorry I'm late, Neroli is my usual Teleporter and something's going on with her. This other guy's Teleport spot was like three miles away from here."

  "I figured you were taking a day off, this is your third in a row of helping me train, right?" Ian asked.

  Grimsley shrugged. "I have a number of days I signed up for in exchange for my marker being taken care of and I've barely scratched the surface," Grimsley explained. "You haven't been going too hard with your Pokemon so far, right?"

  Ian shook his head. "Aside from a couple Water Guns hitting Litleo, nothing too crazy."

  "Good. Driftwood has a task for you," Grimsley said.

  "Driftwood Guild? Nah bro, we Team Skull here," Tupp chimed in,

  Grimsley gave Tupp a sour look and returned his focus to Ian and pulled an Ultra Ball from his kimono sleeve, "Something's going on with the Ula'Ula Meadow. Who better to investigate the disrupted harmony of a sacred place than the trainer of a blessed Pokemon?"

  Ian grimaced, feeling Tupp's judgemental glare on him. "The Ultra Ball?" Ian asked, not wanting to give an answer.

  "To help relocate the disrupter," Grimsley said almost cryptically.

  "I take it you stop helping me with training if I deny you, right?" Ian asked.

  Grimsley shrugged. "That wasn't said, but it wouldn't surprise me if that's how things play out."

  "You wouldn't come over here just to be an altruist?" Ian teased.

  "Oh course not," Grimsley said with a chuckle. "If you saw my current living situation you wouldn't be doing what I'm doing for free."

  "Where are you living? Gotta at least tell us that yo," Tupp chimed in.

  "I met up with some Driftwood guy at Heahea Beach on Akala, if that means anything," Grimsley said. "Me saying anything more about where Driftwood's keeping me could potentially jeopardize their neutrality."

  "So it's with a faction," Ian said.

  Grimsey shrugged. "Well considering most of Alola off these islands is controlled by the Alola Security Forces, if I'm not staying on this island then what does that leave?"

  "Driftwood's a bunch of ASF stooges, I fuckin knew it!" Tupp exclaimed.

  Ian rolled his eyes. "No, what I think Grimsley means is if he's on another island here in Alola, he's in ASF territory, but remember, the ASF on other islands isn't dealing with Ula'Ula's factions and stuff so they wouldn't care if Driftwood's around. Heck, they might not even know what the Driftwood Guild is."

  "Well said Ian," Grimsley said. "You keep making deductions like that and I may have to acknowledge you as my student."

  "What, I'm not?" Ian asked.

  "I'm not bragging to the world about it," Grimsley said with a mischievous grin. "One day that might change, assuming some circumstances do first."

  Ian nodded. "I hear you…" Ian's mind did hang on to a phrase Grimsley had said that seemed a bit off. "Grimsley, you did say most of Alola off these islands is controlled by the ASF. Is there a place that isn't?"

  Grimsley sighed. "Yeah. Not really relevant to us right now, but the Aether Foundation's Island has been abandoned and the ASF forbids anyone from going near it. I've heard some rumors, but Driftwood thinks some experiment went wrong and made the island too dangerous to inhabit. Happened a few weeks after the Ultra Rift opened up apparently, and it would explain why Aether and President Mohn have been so giving with their aid packages. That or the president's daughter's relentless drive to help this island out has inspired him."

  Lillie? With Mohn around I guess some things must have been different for the family. Also means there's a chance Aether doesn't have Nebby.

  "That Aether princess chick? Bro she fine as fuck," Tupp said.

  Aged up Lillie? I'll take Tupp's word for it.

  "How do you know her? You don't get TV out here," Grimsley said.

  "One of the last broadcasts we got when things started going whacky, she urged everyone on the island to get to Malie City or Haina Town so they could take shelter. Guzma already said we weren't doing that, and before we knew it, Breon went nuts," Tupp said. "Almost forgot about Selene until she showed back up here." Tupp leaned closer to Ian and whispered. "Don't go telling her that though."

  "I won't," Ian promised with a chuckle.

  "So, you gonna go to the Meadow or not?" Grimsley asked.

  Ian sighed, remembering the dilemma he now found himself in.

  "It's cool you here yo, but we Team Skull and we ain't takin' orders from nobody, ya feel?" Tupp said seriously.

  "Except Surge apparently with that peace settlement," Grimsley said with a smirk. "But besides that, I didn't ask you."

  Tupp frowned and tensed, but Ian got his attention and gave a subtle wink with the eye Grimsley couldn't see at that angle. "I have a proposition for you, Grimsley. I'm down to go to the meadow, but you gotta do something to keep Tupp from blabbing about me being a Driftwood Guild errand boy."

  Grimsley rolled his eyes, landing on Tupp. "Don't tell me…"

  "He could use some Sobble training. And Golbat for that matter," Ian said with a smirk.

  Grimsley gave a frustrated exhale. "Fine. But if you ever get off this island, you're taking me to a casino for a weekend. All expenses paid."

  Ian shrugged. "Fine." With how close I've come to dying in the week I've been here, there's a good chance I never got off this damn thing anyways.

  Tupp motioned to get Ian's attention and hushed his voice. "Thanks bro."

  "So it's in the Ula'Ula Meadow? That's like an hourlong bike ride from here," Ian stated.

  "Yeah so? Get going," Grimsley ordered drearily.

  "I'm like half an hour away from Sawsbuck's effect refreshing," Ian said. "Gotta stay until then."

  Grimsley sighed, eyeing Tupp with disdain. "Fucker…"

  It didn't take long for Grimsley to need a break from Tupp's stubborn demeanor, which coincided well with Sawsbuck's Grassy Surge refreshing and he took it for a quick trot around the grove, making sure not to tire Sawsbuck out. The more Ian thought about the task ahead, the more dread he felt. I'm this nervous about it and I have a partner like Sawsbuck with me, explain that. When Ian got back to Tupp and Grimsley, he dismounted and figured he needed some more information before going. "Any idea what's going on in the meadow? Is it a group of people, a strong Pokemon?" Ian asked.

  Grimsley shook his head. "It's a Pokemon, pretty gnarly I reckon. Kicked out all of the Oricorio. Driftwood thinks it's an intruder since most jungle Pokemon tend to leave the meadow alone."

  Interesting. "Tupp, wasn't there an Ultra Storm just north of the Akua Jungle a few days back?"

  "Yeah, that one Rapp caught Ponyta in," Tupp answered.

  "Did you guys see if an Alpha came out of it?" Ian asked. There does seem to be one per Ultra Storm.

  Tupp shook his head. "Once Rapp got hurt we went outside of it, then Ponyta came out and cried on her arm and she was good to go. Plumeria wanted to stay to find some treasures, but between you and me, Selene pushed us to leave. Later on she told me she heard something real scary in there and didn't want to fight something like that Crawdaunt again."

  "Looks like your culprit might've left the Ultra Storm," Grimsley said with a mischievous grin.

  "That sounds terrifying. Why are you excited Grimsley?" Ian demanded.

  Grimsley smiled. "If you come back with that monster in this Ultra Ball, it'll mean you've learned something." Grimsley extended his hand, holding the Ultra Ball for him to take.

  "This sounds like a fetch quest. What is this, a video game?" Ian fired back with a grin as he took the Ultra Ball.

  Grimsley shook his head. "No, it's a gamble."

  ***

  An hour and almost thirty minutes later, Ian was buzzing down The Straightaway, the breeze complementing the light humidity of the tropical air. The sea with its light blue hue shimmered as he rode on by, With the treeline of the Akua Jungle fast approaching, Ian noticed something gleaming on the side of the road. I know this isn't the meadow, but something seems strange about this.

  He slowed his bike down and put its kickstand up, getting off and noticing more gleaming in the clearing on the side of the road the longer he looked. Did a bunch of glass shards get broken here or something? Ian found the first patch of shimmering particles in dirt and scooped up the patch of dirt, noticing the shimmer was from very fine, tiny crystals mixed into the dirt. Ian felt one of the larger crystals carefully in case it was sharp, but they seemed blunt. "Odd…" Ian said to no one in particular. Ian noticed more patches of shimmering light and investigated more, noticing more fine crystals like he had before. He followed along for a good bit before they seemingly disappeared from view. He turned around, seeing similar glimmering in his peripheral vision.

  Ian followed the sparkling for patches of crystals before coming across a small indent in the dirt, a hoofprint more like. With more leading away from the area. Is this where the Ultra Storm was? Are these crystals some sort of post-Ultra Storm residue-

  "Oh, oh shit! It's Stardust!" Ian bellowed aloud. "It's gotta be…"

  Ian began looking for large enough clusters and started putting as many crystals as he could fit in his pockets. I'm sure the Dirtbags aren't going to like all of the literal dirt I'm putting in here, but I gotta see something. Ian spent the next ten minutes going through and filtering the crystals out as best he could, knowing he'd need a sieve or something to do it effectively. If a Stardust sieve exists, which who knows. Ian spent a few more minutes scouring the ground before his pants started to get weighed down a bit, only being held up by his belt with Poke Balls on it. And the Ultra Ball Grimsley gave me. Ian gave one last look at the ground, this time seemingly on the southern edge of where the Ultra Storm had been and noticed large tracks imprinted into the dirt. Ian gulped as he saw it looked more like what a dinosaur track would look like, with three claws pointing forward, to the left, and right. On the back of the footprint was the track of a small, clawless digit. Ian gulped nervously as he realized the size of the print, putting his foot next to it for scale, his shoe being comically dwarfed in scale. The tracks led out of the Ultra Storm range and to the Akua Jungle, as if heading toward… The meadow.

  Ian calmed himself and hustled to his bike, riding it cautiously as he entered the initial jungle thicket before it started to clear up. He got to the Ranger Station and leaned his bike up against it. I may need it for a quick escape in a bit.

  Ian treaded very carefully as he followed the path to the meadow proper. He noticed a bright red, crumpled Oricorio feather sticking out of a shrub and felt the pit of dread in his stomach form up again. Might be a good time to get Sawsbuck ready. Ian grabbed Sawsbuck's Heal Ball, which he'd recently decided would always be first in the order on his belt. The quiet only grew more ominous as Ian got closer to the tall grass of the meadow.

  He figured now was as good a time as any and let Sawsbuck out, shushing his blessed stag as Sawsbuck prepared itself to be mounted. Ian did so much more fluidly thanks to the vine, getting into a comfy position in one motion, settling his tush on the mossy equivalent of a saddle on Sawsbuck's back and taking the vines that sprouted from Sawsbuck's antlers that had for all intents and purposes become reins. Being able to see over the tops of the tall grass was only slightly helpful, as Ian noticed patches where there was no visible tall grass. Likely crushed down by something heavy. Then Ian gasped as he looked upon the wooden walkway. The regularly segmented posts that kept the walkway up were mostly intact, except for one segment of walkway that had one side still on its supports but the other side having fallen to the ground. Ian felt his heartbeat quicken and he tightened his grip on Sawsbuck's reins.

  As Sawsbuck approached, the edge of the meadow began to shift slightly, growing from Sawsbuck's Grassy Surge effect. Thankfully it's not too loud, I don't want to tip off whatever monster is in here. Ian whispered commands to Sawsbuck, having his blessed stag go up and down the tall grass border, still unable to see much more than crushed areas of grass and some more ruined segments of walkway. We're not getting anywhere with this. Ian took a deep breath and guided Sawsbuck to the wooden stairs, which even Sawsbuck had second thoughts about. Maybe we just find out what it is so we can have a plan of attack later. When Sawsbuck did take the first step onto the wood it broke the eerie silence and Ian instantly felt a pang of regret. He urged Sawsbuck up a bit more, wanting to see more of the meadow's devastation. There were numerous trails of crushed tall grass, and the glowing red flowers with the special nectar the Oricorio drank were nowhere to be found. The tall grass rustled and elongated as Sawsbuck's Grassy Surge emanated through the air, making spotting the evidence of whatever this monster was even more difficult.

  Sawsbuck seemed to be as on edge as Ian, walking slowly and peering around suspiciously. Ian decided now would be a good time to dismount from his blessed stag, as Sawsbuck was going to be necessary for any clash. His shoes hit the wood hard as he dismounted, and he heard a faint rustle of grass from deeper into the meadow. It's going to know we're here now. "Sawsbuck, get ready," Ian whispered as he positioned himself so he could leap out of the way at a moment's notice and caught rustling happening well beyond the range of Sawsbuck's Grassy Surge. There you are. Ian stepped back a bit and figured he should help give Sawsbuck an edge. "Sawsbuck, Agility," Sawsbuck began shuffling its hooves in place as its legs glowed with Psychic Type Energy.

  The rustling stopped for a moment before changing direction and beelining for Ian and Sawsbuck. Ian instinctively stepped back, scared to look where the steps were. A reptilian cry hit Ian's ears, and he struggled to place what the Pokemon could be. Maybe a Krokorok or Gabite? An Alpha one-

  Then a terrible roar hit his ears and Ian felt like his whole body had just been punched into the air, falling backwards before hitting the hardwood, stunning him for a moment as he figured out what happened. He looked to Sawsbuck and saw his blessed stag leaping off the raised walkway, when suddenly a large, two legged dinosaur with brown scales and bright glowing red eyes took its place. Ian froze as he realized what the monster in the meadow actually was. An Alpha Tyrunt!

  Ian scrambled off the walkway, slipping into the grass as the beast that was nearly as tall as Sawsbuck roared triumphantly from atop the wooden walkway, turning to Ian menacingly. Ian finally remembered he could move and rolled off the platform as Tyrunt began heading his way.

  Can't use Bulldoze if Tyrunt's up there. Tyrunt's huge head bursted through the platform, interrupting Ian's hysterical thinking and it gave a frenzied battle cry. "Sawsbuck, Double Kick!" Ian shouted as he staggered into the tall grass.

  Sawsbuck leapt into the air quickly, front legs aglow with dark red Fighting Type Energy and landed on Tyrunt's body, sending both Pokemon crashing through the wooden platforms. "Sawsbuck, to me!" Ian shouted as he continued crab walking backwards in desperation. Sawsbuck turned to move but a determined growl from Tyrunt and a pained cry from Sawsbuck meant it had been too late. Ian noticed Tyrunt's jaws had caught a part of Sawsbuck's body, just below the front of its neck. "Get it off with Horn Leech!" Ian commanded.

  Sawsbuck's antlers glowed green and he swung his head into his enemy, forcing Tyrunt to release its maw's grip on Sawsbuck's now bloody chest. Green energy bubbles floated from Tyrunt to Sawsbuck, mending the worst of the deep gash on Sawsbuck's front torso. Sawsbuck leapt away, still clearly slowed and bothered from the Alpha-inflicted wound. Ian took a deep breath as he seemed a decently safe distance from the fight and he remembered how Sawsbuck usually won its fights. "Leech Seed!" Ian called out.

  Sawsbuck fired a glowing green missile at Tyrunt, who had already wound up for something and roared with incredible force again, making Ian cover his ears as the roar's sound rattled around his brain torturously. When Ian finally got to open his eyes again, he realized he'd been pushed back another few feet, and Sawsbuck was on the ground stunned with Leech Seed leaving no trace on the scene as Tyrunt closed in with a dark purple energy engulfing its mouth. The fu-

  Tyrunt leapt gracelessly as plunged its jaws into Sawsbuck's torso, making his blessed stag shriek in agony. No! Ian instinctively reached for his Heal Ball, recalling his blessed stag before Tyrunt did anymore damage. The Alpha Tyrunt appeared bewildered for a moment as it looked for where its prey had gone before fixing its gaze onto Ian. Shit... Ian reached for his belt and thoughtlessly tossed a Poke Ball out desperately. Out came his proud little lion cub who immediately recoiled from the now charging Tyrunt. "Litleo, dodge!" Ian yelled desperately.

  Litleo leapt adeptly to his left, even spitting an Ember attack in midair. Tyrunt's charge suddenly stopped as it growled in pain. If Tyrunt's a Rock and Dragon Type and Fire Type attacks are like one quarter as effective, why is Tyrunt bothered? Tyrunt growled once more with frustration as it favored the left side of its head which Litleo had hit with the Ember. Wait, maybe its eyes got some of the Ember? Is that a weak spot? Worth a shot. "Litleo, keep peppering Tyrunt's eyes with Ember!" Ian shouted. Litleo suddenly leapt from its hiding spot in the tall grass, waiting until it was close to the disoriented Tyrunt and fired another burst of flames at Tyrunt's other eye. Tyrunt turned its head just in time as the flames hit its head, but the Alpha quickly gave a bloodcurling growl as it glowed with brown energy and floating rocks manifested around it. Stealth Rock? Ian's question was answered as Tyrunt swung its head forward in Litleo's direction, one of the rocks colliding with the lion cub as Ian heard a pained cry. Tyrunt growled in triumph as its body began to flicker with white energy for a few moments. Tyrunt took off for Litleo once more with incredible speed, faster than it had been during the encounter so far. Really? That was Ancient Power, and of COURSE it buffed all of Tyrunt's stats.

  Litleo leapt at the last moment, barely missing the charging Tyrunt's body and making the bewildered beast crash into a post, causing the portion of the walkway it held up to collapse onto it. Litleo's not going to be able to do much, and Leech Seed didn't put this thing on a timer. Maybe it's time I pull back? Litleo growled determinedly as if sensing Ian's doubt, and Ian shook his head and smiled. We might die doing this, but we can't turn back now. "Alright Litleo, we got one way of making this work," Ian said with a calm, controlled tone. "We need to burn that thing."

  Litleo growled excitedly as it got in a crouching position. Ian watched on as Tyrunt pushed itself up from the wreckage of the fallen walkway, eyes still glowing red with ferocity. It opened its mouth a bit, its tongue brushing over the sides of its mouth and it gave a fierce battle cry once more. Litleo did its best to roar an equivalent, which sounded like a growling Chihuahua, but Litleo charged at Tyrunt as the monster did the same. Litleo let loose a small fireball, causing Tyrunt to lower its head a bit, then Litleo leapt in the air, locked onto Tyrunt's right eye and fired a burst of flames at it, causing Tyrunt to roar a terrible, pained cry as it collapsed.

  Grimsley's agility training sure is coming in clutch right now. "Litleo, don't hold back, keep peppering it with Ember while you can!" Ian ordered. Litleo already had another burst of flames at flying before Ian finished his sentence, with Litleo launching more Ember attacks every couple of seconds to Tyrunt's body, although by the fifth one Ian noticed their potency diminishing with each successive use. Tyrunt was slower to recover as the skin around its eyes had burn marks that the Alpha's red eyes weren't able to cover. Suddenly Tyrunt's body pulsed with Fire Type Energy and it yelped in pain, causing Ian to pump his fist. "Well done Litleo," Ian said coldly, a calm intensity coming over his whole demeanor. Tyrunt lifted its snout up first as it began sniffing the air. Once it locked on to Litleo, it lowered its head and charged with a battle cry. Litleo readied to pounce once more, and leapt pre-emptively. Tyrunt suddenly left its feet as well and spun in the air, whipping its massive tail around as it became engulfed in dark blue energy and slammed into Litleo, sending the lion cub careening across the meadow. Maybe even out of it, jeez. No wonder Dragon Tail forces a switch in the games. Tyrunt roared triumphantly, having seemingly vanquished its foe before its whole body became engulfed in red, fiery energy once more, causing it to wince in pain. Tyrunt growled menacingly as it turned around, its snout in the air, turning in Ian's direction. Damn it. Ian bolted back, realizing he had no real cover. And if it can sniff to catch Litleo midair then there is nowhere I can hide. Ian sent Wartortle out, who manifested with an angry croak before locking in as the Alpha Tyrunt approached. "Icy Wind!" Ian shouted in a panic.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Wartortle wound up and fired a burst of cold air with shimmering crystals at the charging monster, slowing it and causing it to shriek angrily. When the brunt of the icy blast had faded, Tyrunt fired itself up with another roar and began charging Wartortle once more, and when it was only steps away, Tyrunt's mouth became engulfed in electricity. Thunder Fang? Seriously!? Wartortle retreated into its shell and rolled on its side, dodging the attack, but it came out a bit disoriented and Alpha Tyrunt now upon it. Tyrant lunged, this time its mouth engulfed in Dark Type Energy and landed a harsh bite on Wartortle's shell, which it retreated into at the last minute.

  Litleo charged in suddenly, growling fiercely as it landed on the back of Tyrunt's neck, biting into it, its jaws engulfed in Fire Type Energy. Tyrunt roared in pain as it shook Lilteo off and turned to it, closing in for the kill. "Wartortle, Icy Wind!" Ian commanded.

  Wartortle fired off another one, this time seemingly less effective as Tyrunt was further away from the area-of-effect attack. Litleo leapt to escape, but Tyrunt caught one of its legs with its jaws and whipped Litleo around like a ragdoll before slamming into the ground, its leg mangled and bleeding. Ian was already running closer to the scene and managed to recall Litleo into its ball before Tyrunt could do any more damage. Tyrunt hissed at Ian as it realized who had robbed it of its second potential kill and charged him. Wartortle's shell appeared in front of him and his turtle fired off a Water Pulse, the rings colliding into Tyrunt quickly. Tyrunt's left leg suddenly slipped underneath it, causing the tyrannosaur to trip and fall on its face, its body glowed red with the burn status effect Litleo had left it with. It's gotta be close to going down soon, like goddam. Tyrunt got up, clearly bruised and battered but its eyes still glowed red with wild might. Tyrunt charged at Wartortle, and Ian realized something. The ground is icy, wouldn't that make Wartortle able to slide with its shell easier?

  "Wartortle, Rapid Spin underneath it!" Ian commanded. Wartortle looked back like it was seriously questioning Ian's sanity, but he calmly shook the protest off. "Try it," Ian growled lowly as Tyrunt gained momentum and charged for the duo. Ian felt his heart thumping in his chest, but he stood unshaken and with a scowl. Wartortle withdrew into its shell and began spinning, before angling itself and propelling the shell across the icy ground. It moved with an unreal quickness, and while Tyrunt could still track it, it was much too slow, slamming its head into the dirt clumsily. Wartortle came out of its shell and slid to a stop not ten feet behind the Alpha Tyrunt. "Icy Wind!" Ian roared.

  Wartortle wound up and fired another blast of cold air and icy crystals, making Tyrunt recoil in pain as it did. Tyrunt stumbled forward, still keeping its balance but clearly strained from the damage it took, and Fire Type Energy glowed on its skin once more, making the tyrannosaur wince in pain once again. Tyrunt gave a loud, desperate battle cry and charged, not to Wartortle but to Ian. Ian felt his heart begin to pump in his chest as the monster nearly as tall as himself rampaged forward with savage fury. His first instinct was to run, but something told him to stay, to not move. "Wartortle…" Ian called out confidently.

  Moments later, Wartortle's shell zipped under Tyrunt and as Tyrunt stepped down, it slipped as it made contact with Wartortle's shell, tripping the great beast. Wartortle's shell flew straight up into the air and Wartortle's limbs popped out smoothly, with one of Wartortle's arms becoming engulfed in light blue, icy energy. Wartortle landed on Tyrunt's fallen neck and smacked it in the back of the head with an Ice Punch, seemingly slamming the Alpha Tyrunt's head into the ground as the Ice Type Energy creeped onto Tyrunt's scales. Tyrunt gave one last whimper before going limp.

  "YES!" Ian roared in celebration. "Fuck yeah Wartortle!" Ian found himself pumping his fist in midair as he jogged to his victorious team member. "I owe you big time after that."

  Wartortle sassily crossed its arms as best it could and smirked at Ian. "I got a little worried there," Ian said, pointing to where he'd been standing when Tyrunt had refocused on him. Wartortle just croaked like it was chuckling and nodded triumphantly. "That was amazing! Nice Ice Punch," Ian said with a big grin. Ian admired his fallen foe, noting how terrifying something like a dinosaur was now that he was confronted with one.

  Tryunt stirred with a low whimper and Wartortle panicked, hopping off the defeated dinosaur. "Right, better catch it…" Ian said, getting the Ultra Ball that Grimsley gave to him. He expanded it and tossed it lightly on the fallen foe and the ball shook violently into midair at first before going still. Ian sighed in relief, giving Wartortle a nod of approval. Wartortle croaked, pointing at Ian's belt. "You want to go back in already?" Ian asked, to which Wartortle quickly agreed. "Whatever you say, bud."

  Ian recalled Wartortle and reviewed the damage. A total of five segments were down now, and one of the wooden stairways branching off from the raised walkway had been ripped asunder. It might be a good idea to get some people down here to fix this. Ian took a deep breath, finally able to relax a bit before inspecting the Ultra Ball containing the Alpha Tyrunt. It sure was a dangerous menace, but imagine it evolving into an Alpha Tyrantrum… He thought on the possibility, figuring it would definitely grow to be more than twice his own height which made him shiver in fear. I should probably talk to Grimsley about training Alphas. But then again, wherever Tyrunt goes, it'll probably cause major problems to the ecosystem. Ian shook his head, realizing the quandary he'd gotten himself into, and it was until he saw bright, crackling red feathers in his vision that he noticed a number of floating, red, Oricorio had begun to surround him. "I'm sorry folks, I'll get on my way. And I'll try to get the damage from the fight repaired…" Ian paused as he noticed the large Oricorio float to him, an Oran Berry in its beak. Oricorio stared at him intensely before motioning him to take the Oran berry, which he did. "Thank you, Oricorio…" Ian said, bowing deeply.

  The group of over a dozen Oricorio chirped excitedly, and Ian smiled, taking the happy scene in. "I'll be back with Sawsbuck tomorrow to fix the plants that give you guys nectar, okay? I just need him checked up on." Litleo too, don't forget.

  ***

  Ian beamed the whole ride back to Po Town, pride in his team's resilience coursing through him, not to mention his pockets were full of what he hoped were Stardust crystals.. All three of his team members needed a reward. I need to find a place that Wartortle enjoys being out of its Poke Ball. He zoomed up The Straightaway, passing by a few curious Yungoos and Fletchlings along but, but little else of note. When he got back to Po Town, he headed for the grove first, where Sobble and Liepard were hard at work doing agility drills as well, causing Ian's grin to get even wider.

  "I'm back boys!" Ian called out triumphantly.

  "So you didn't die," Grimsley said with mock surprise.

  "You fight the thing?" Tupp asked.

  Ian nodded, pulling out the Ultra Ball. "Caught it."

  "So what was it?" Grimsley asked curiously.

  "It was an Alpha Tyrunt," Ian answered.

  Grimsley gasped in shock, while Tupp just stared on blankly before opening his mouth. "So… what's that mean?"

  Ian eyed Grimsley. "Want me to show it?"

  Grimsley shook his head. "Not here, hell no. If you caught an Alpha it's going to be pissed that it's caught. Especially something with as bad an attitude as a Tyrunt."

  "The fuck's a Tyrunt?" Tupp asked with frustration.

  "It's like a dinosaur…"

  "You know the big lizard with enormous teeth and tiny arms?" Grimsley asked.

  "Oh yeah, that one!" Tupp said, pulling his arms in so it looked like he just had his hands sticking out of his chest and flailing them playfully. "Tyrantrum, that's what it is."

  "Yeah, that one," Grimsley said with a chuckle.

  "Those things are badass! They get like, eight or nine feet tall, right?" Tupp asked.

  Grimsley shook his head. "Normal Tyrantrum, he has a Tyrunt that's an Alpha."

  "It's basically my height," Ian said.

  Tupp's jaw dropped. "No way! You saying the Alpha gets like…"

  "Fifteen to sixteen feet at that rate," Grimsley said. "At least."

  "That's fucking awesome bro!" Tupp said.

  Grimsley shook his head. "Some of the best trainers I've ever met have struggled keeping a regular Tyrantrum under control. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever heard of a living Alpha Tyrantrum…"

  "Well, I can't just relocate it to a spot on the island. It'll wreck the ecosystem. You should've seen all of the Oricorio feathers around the meadow…" Ian protested.

  "I can just give it to Driftwood, they can get it to a lab and use it for research," Grimsley said.

  Ian looked to Tupp, who shook his head and mouthed "I'll help." Ian then shook his head and shrank the Ultra Ball, putting it on his belt.

  Grimsley smirked. "If you thought getting Litleo over was hard, you're in for a world of hurt with that Alpha Tyrunt."

  Ian nodded. "Yeah… But you saying it's the only one you've ever heard of made it that much more appealing."

  Grimsley chuckled. "Yeah, that didn't help."

  "Let's go show the boss, yo!" Tupp cheered.

  Ian took a deep breath. "Gotta heal up Sawsbuck first, he took a pretty gnarly wound."

  Grimsley nodded. "You know, I'll give you tomorrow off. You did good today."

  Ian nodded. "Appreciate it."

  ***

  Ian went to his locker at Tom's first, dropping off what he hoped were Stardust crystals before meeting back up with Tupp at the Pokemon Center. Minutes later, Tupp opened the door to the building for Ian, now excitedly chattering away. "Bro, you were so right about Grimsley, Sobble's already way better at dodging stuff. He even said Sobble doesn't have the Torrent ability, it has Sniper. I don't know what it means, but it sounds dope," Tupp said before Ian spotted Rapp behind the counter and flagged her down.

  "What's happening fellas?" Rapp asked as she put a tray with slots for Poke Balls out.

  "Need some team members healed up," Ian answered as he grabbed the various balls from his belt. "Sawsbuck most of all, need it out in the grove in like twenty minutes for more berry harvesting."

  Rapp nodded. "Gotcha-" She paused as she saw Ian place the Ultra Ball. "The hell's that?"

  Ian smiled proudly. "Just caught it, it was a real monster."

  Rapp eyed it skeptically. "What is it, a Raticate you found in Tupp's bed?"

  "No-"

  "Boys, why you happy?" The accented voice of Doc demanded. "No good when you two happy here." Ian waved hello to Doc as she came over and immediately focused on the tray. "New Pokemon, nice. Where you get Ultra Ball? You steal from boss?"

  Ian shook his head. "Bought it off Driftwood."

  "You pay them?"

  Ian nodded.

  Doc eyed him suspiciously, her wrinkled face becoming even more so. "Okay, I heal. But you no deal with them, kay? Very fishy…"

  Ian nodded. "I hear you."

  Doc quickly scurried off, leaving Ian and Tupp at the counter with Rapp. "Oh Ian, someone's been asking about you…"

  "Oh, who?" Ian asked.

  Rapp shrugged. "Guess."

  "Definitely not Guzma or Rook…"

  "It's a girl Ian," Rapp corrected, tone dripping with sass.

  "Selene?" Tupp asked in a panic.

  "No, numbskull. You know she's got a thing for Rook anyways," Rapp said with an eyeroll.

  "No I didn't-"

  "Then you're as observant as a blind Sliggoo," Rapp said, returning her attention to Ian. "Guess."

  Ian wanted to Tupp a comforting pat on the back but knew it wouldn't suffice. "So it's definitely not you or Plumeria-"

  "I bet I have a better shot with Big Sis-"

  "Don't ever say that phrase in that context again," Ian said with a smirk.

  Rapp started blushing as she realized what he meant. "Shit… Um-"

  "Mina, I presume?" Ian asked.

  Rapp smiled devilishly. "So you do know…"

  "She gave me a wink before I left Pula's classroom the other day. Wouldn't surprise me…"

  "So you gonna make a move?" Rapp asked.

  Ian opened his mouth to answer, but no words came.

  "Oh you do like her…"

  "It's not like that," Ian dismissed. "I'm fresh out of a relationship. I need some 'me time' before I even think of doing anything else," Ian said.

  "Relationship? Oh do tell Ian, you've been so mysterious…"

  Ian rolled his eyes. "It's a long story," he lied.

  Rapp shrugged. "You got some time before Doc comes back."

  Ian grimaced but remembered he hadn't told Tupp the story either. "Well…"

  ***

  "...and that's when I had this weird falling sensation and woke up in an Ultra Storm, a few minutes before I met Plumeria and you guys," Ian finished.

  Rapp and Tupp both looked at him in disbelief. "Bro, that happened before we saw you?" Tupp asked.

  Ian nodded. "Yeah. Crazy ain't it?"

  "That's rough dude," Rapp observed.

  "Rapp, out of way!" Doc's voice ordered as she came walking quickly to the counter. "Sawsbuck okay, no battle today-"

  "I figured, but you're saying he'll be fine tomorrow?" Ian asked.

  Doc looked at him with a sense of disgust and held up two fingers. "Two day."

  Ian rolled his eyes. "Right…"

  "Wartortle fine, Litleo need one day. Your girl though…" Doc took Tyrunt's Ultra Ball and held it in front of Ian. "Your Alpha, crazy girl."

  "So Tyrunt's a female?" Ian asked.

  "Yes. Alpha female, no let out alone. Danger," Doc explained.

  "I hear you," Ian said, getting the balls together and placing them in their proper order on his belt.

  "Very danger, must understand," Doc said sternly.

  "It almost ate two of my Pokemon, I get it," Ian said seriously. Now that I put it like that, maybe keeping this Alpha around is a bad idea.

  When Ian and Tupp left the Pokemon Center, Plumeria flagged them down and summoned them over to talk to her.

  "Feels like I haven't talked to you since that day at the school," Ian commented as the duo grouped up with the squad leader.

  "What now, Big Sis?" Tupp asked.

  Plumeria folded her arms but smirked a little. "We got a rally tonight, and you're the star of the show, Ian."

  "Rally? What?" Ian asked.

  "Think of it like a big team meeting. Guzma gives updates on how things are going, any big news. Just done in Guzma's… unique style of leadership," Plumeria explained.

  Ian nodded. "Okay… What do I have to do with it?"

  "Well considering we were on the brink of starvation without that Sawsbuck of yours-"

  "Ah…" Ian said.

  "So be there a little before sunset. Side of Shady House with the pool," Plumeria said.

  "Sawsbuck's ability refreshes around that time," Ian said.

  "Then you better get to the rally the moment you're done. Take a bike if you have to," Plumeria ordered.

  "And how will I know it's started?"

  "You'll hear it before anything else," Tupp said with a chuckle.

  "Gotcha…"

  ***

  As Ian got on his strategically placed bike having just finished a slower trot around the grove with his still wounded Sawsbuck, he heard the booming sound of hip beats blasting over the wall. Must be starting up soon. Ian got the bicycle in motion and went as fast as he could down the road to Po Town's gate. When he passed it, he noticed a couple grunts standing guard and heard the gate's metal screeching as it began to close up for the night.

  Funny how Guzma's got enough power to blast music so loud I can hear it from outside of town but the lights flicker in Shady House every few seconds. Ian noticed no one else was out and about as he pedaled up The Spine urgently. He heard the music quiet down and Guzma's voice came over the speakers. "Team Skull! You know who it fucking is, it's YA BOY, GUZMAAAAAAA!"

  A roar erupted from the crowd as Ian pedaled faster, not wanting to know what the punishment was for being late to a rally, especially since he was, as Plumeria put it, the "star of the show." Guzma started speaking faster and the crowd grew more raucous, so Ian couldn't quite tell what was being said until he got the bike slowed down just behind the back row of the rally.

  "So no foraging past our border with Surge. Our recon parties got their asses kicked and Surge has a stick up his ass or something. For anyone that goes into Outrigger territory, be real fucking quiet about it. I said we wouldn't do it for four weeks, but Outrigger won't snitch if we're good about it. Surge is too busy with the ASF," Guzma said definitively. "Everyone got it?"

  A cacophony of "yeah boss" to unintelligible hollering hit Ian's ears as he maneuvered his way through the crowd of Team Skull members. He tapped the shoulder of a large man in front of him and he turned around with a scowl on his brown face. "Fuck off, you late to the rally, you standing behind me."

  Ian rolled his eyes. "Fine," Ian croaked.

  "Hey, is that my favorite fucking pizza boy right there?" Guzma shouted in the mic, Ian realizing Guzma was pointing right at him and the big guy in front of him. Ian waved back. "Hey Ruckz, out the way!"

  The big brown-skinned grunt recoiled in a panic before motioning Ian to go by. Ian did, the group of dozens of grunts parting to create a path to Guzma's makeshift wooden stage.

  "For you fuckers who don't know, this is Ian Cougar coming up here right now, I call him 'Coogz,'" Guzma began. "Plumeria brought him in barely a week ago with a dirty shirt that said 'Prince Street Pizza' on it. And this guy promised he wouldn't be dead weight…"

  Ian stepped onto the stage, noticing Larvesta was hiding behind Guzma's legs. Looks like I'm not the only one who doesn't know where to be. He turned around seeing almost a hundred eyes fixed on him. He spotted Plumeria with her arms folded, watching from a corner.

  "I didn't believe his promise," Guzma continued. "He said he'd trained Pokemon before too, and to be in my position you gotta be able to read people, and he looked like he was lying his ass off. But you know what? Pizza boy here proved me wrong. He caught three Pokemon in two days and went face to face with one of Surge's goons and came out with a Sawsbuck that's singlehandedly keeping this town from starving!" Guzma said, spitting into the mic as Team Skull members hollered and cheered. Larvesta recoiled in fright at the noise.

  "Notice all that fresh fucking fruit Grillz been making the past couple days? That's all Ian and his fucking deer!" Guzma put his arm around Ian and gave him a couple endearing, but strong slaps on the back. Team Skull roared with hollers and applause. "Would you believe this guy came from a town called Elk Grove back in Unova? And he ends up catching a fucking baby elk and grows berries in a grove- y'know what, we ain't calling it the 'Berry Grove' anymore. From here on out, that grove is called 'Elk Grove' in honor of Ian Coogz right here!"

  Ian's jaw dropped as more hollers and shouts rang in his ears.

  "And next week, I'm sending Plumeria and the recon team across Ula'Ula to go buy seeds so we can take this food growing shit to the next level!" Guzma announced, grabbing Ian by the neck and putting him in a headlock before giving him a nookie over his Skullcap. "Soon we gonna have so much food here Slugg's gonna stop losing weight!"

  The crowd laughed as Ian looked for Sophocles, and realized he was probably buried somewhere in the back of the crowd thanks to his short stature.

  "So next time you see my man Ian Coogz around, give him a holler and a fist bump!" Guzma called out to the crowd, which gave a lackluster response. "Hey Team Skull, I'm fucking saying you give this man a fucking holler and a fist bump!" The crowd got the message, giving an overwhelming roar of noise. "Good. Now let's party!" Guzma bellowed before throwing the cordless mic to a short Team Skull member behind a makeshift DJ setup. Wait, is that Lil' Dizz at the controls? Oh yeah it is. "Hey Coogz!" Guzma called to him, gesturing to him to join him.

  "What you want boss?" Ian asked, realizing he was grinning from ear to ear.

  "Good stuff man," Guzma said. "I mean it. You keep doing what you're doing and Team Skull gonna run this island, ya' feel?"

  Ian nodded. "For sure." Ian then remembered the newest addition to his team and realized now might be a rare time to talk to Guzma. "Hey boss, earlier today I caught an Alpha. You got any tips on training one?"

  Guzma's eyebrows rose in surprise. "An Alpha? Not bad Coogz." Guzma's smile faded as he opened his mouth again. "My advice on that though? Don't try to train an Alpha. You're too green."

  "When'd you get Ariados?" Ian asked.

  "A few months before this Ultra Rift nonsense began, my whole team was already established. Was a bitch and a half to train it up from a Spinarak," Guzma explained. "When you are ready for training though, I'll give you some tips. But you ain't ready."

  Ian nodded. "Gotcha," he lied.

  "Enjoy the party," Guzma said, giving him a playful jab on the shoulder before going to the DJ table. "Hey Disnethorpe, hurry this shit up!" Guzma barked.

  In moments the subwoofers boomed as a heavy bass beat blasted, causing Ian to cover his eardrums. The rally quickly turned into an unruly dance party as Team Skull members began dancing all around, and Ian stepped off the stage to find Tupp. Ian realized Tupp was already in the center of the dancefloor, doing hip hop dance moves Ian didn't even know existed. I shouldn't be surprised. Ian made his way out of the mobbed dance floor, occasionally getting pats on the back as he made his way to the perimeter where a number of people had taken up residence not dancing. Before Ian found a spot to get set, various members of Team Skull came up to him and fist bumped him, giving a nod of acknowledgement and telling them their name. After the tenth one, Ian realized there was no way he'd remember them all, and that's if he'd heard the names correctly the first time with the booming music.

  Grillz and Tom came over and bumped fists with Ian. "Nice job Coogz," Grillz said in his gravely voice. "Once the food situation's solved I'll be able to start doing some real fun stuff."

  "Like bacon?" Ian asked.

  Grillz chuckled. "Maybe that too. But I was thinking moonshine."

  Ian's eyebrows rose. "Nice…"

  "You ain't ready for it. The only problem is I can't have everyone drinking it all the time or we'll start losing battles!" Grillz said with a gravely laugh before heading away to the stage.

  "Finally getting some recognition," Tom said with a knowing smile.

  Ian shrugged. "I'll take it."

  "This whole town owes you big time," Tom explained. "Anything the stewards and I can do as thanks?"

  "No- wait…" Ian remembered the carnage his battle with the monster in the meadow had left in its wake. "Actually, you know the raised walkway in the meadow?"

  "Yeah," Tom said.

  "I fought an Alpha there today and destroyed a few raised platforms. Any chance those could get fixed up?" Ian asked.

  Tom shrugged. "I don't see why not. There'll be some annoying logistics involved, but we should be able to make it work. How many platforms?"

  "Like five or six," Ian said sheepishly.

  "That's not too bad. It's the least we can do. The Oricorio are very important to the island," Tom said. "I'll get some guys to look at it tomorrow."

  "Thank you," Ian said as Tom turned away. On the edge of the crowd of dancers, Ian saw a familiar face dancing very strangely compared to her surroundings, flailing her arms in front of her with her torso moving in a circular motion. She locked eyes with him and started dancing over toward him, careless of the awkward stares sent her way.

  "You're pretty popular," Mina said, still flailing her arms about.

  "I have my moments," Ian said with a grin.

  "Before people start trying to snag you up to join their friend groups, can you do me a favor?" Mina asked.

  "Depends on the favor, but sure."

  "I'm painting this mural on Kai Avenue and could really use some background music. Any chance you and that guitar are free tomorrow?" Mina asked.

  "I'm free tomorrow, just have to hit the berry grove- Elk Grove I mean every three hours," Ian said.

  "Good. I'll be there bright and early," Mina said as she turned and flailed her way back to the dance floor.

  Ian realized his chest was rather tense and he sighed, letting the tension out. You know, Po Town's really turning around for me…