Chapter 39 Tempest

  When Ian saw Po Town's walls in the distance he smiled. After asking Plumeria to look into Rook's suspicious behavior, he was able to replay the conversation with Keahi in his head. Considering how much I started to dread it on the boat ride to Breakwater Isle and how hostile she seemed to me being Unovan, her giving me her own Z-Ring at the end is a pretty big deal.

  "Yo bro," Tupp said harshly. "You know how to use that Z-Ring?"

  Ian shook his head. "I mean, not really. Gotta learn some weird poses, right?"

  "Poses? What?" Tupp asked in bewilderment. Tupp then gasped as the lightbulb hit him and he moved his bike closer to Ian and lowered his voice. "Wait, was that how they did it in those video games you played?"

  "Yeah, but they seemed kinda silly," Ian said.

  "Hella silly, yo," Tupp said.

  "Speaking of silly," Ian said, remembering something coming across his mind. "I thought I was your bro for life and I didn't know your real name's Tanner?"

  Tupp cackled incessantly. "Yeah bro, it's pretty lame. Been Tupp since I was runnin' amok around Tapu Village."

  "Why Tupp?" Ian asked.

  "It's my initials," he said. "Tanner Uriah Porter."

  "No shit…" Ian said, realizing that it did in fact make sense.

  "But I'm Tupp, yo," Tupp clarified.

  "Got it," Ian said.

  As they closed in on Po Town, Plumeria slowed to match pace with Ian and pointed to the small camp outside of the crop fields where a couple Pearl Clan tents rose up, where the assistant patrols stayed. "So about the Pearl Clan…"

  "What about 'em?" Ian asked.

  "Storm's gonna fuck 'em up real bad," Plumeria said.

  "Shit, you're right," Ian cursed. Ian thought of the conditions of Fort Acuity. The wall's not very tall, and how secure are those tents? No way they can withstand hurricane-tier winds. "They're our allies…"

  Plumeria nodded. "They've bled with us. You gotta help me convince Guzma to take 'em in Po Town for the storm."

  Ian grimaced. That's a tough ask. "Not sure how well it'll go, but we can at least try, right?"

  Plumeria nodded. "Yeah… Start thinking of ideas or I'll bring up marrying Irida again," Plumeria teased.

  Ian scoffed. "You sure know how to motivate a guy."

  The squad of six strolled into Po Town's front gate moments later and put their bikes on the side, with Mina coming down the stairs with a big smile on her face.

  Plumeria cleared her throat, her gaze fixated on Ian. "No loligagging today, Ian," Plumeria warned.

  Ian caught Mina as she jumped onto him, kissing him exuberantly before he withdrew his lips.

  "C'mon, just a couple minutes?" He asked Plumeria.

  "Nope," Plumeria croaked. "You met someone too important. C'mon."

  Mina eyed Ian mysteriously and whispered. "Too important?"

  Ian looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping and leaned in. "Keahi."

  "Really? How-"

  Ian shooshed her and gave her a playful peck on the cheek. "Gotta be quiet about it," he whispered.

  "Okay…" Mina said.

  "Tell you about it soon though, promise!" Ian said with a smile.

  A few minutes later, Plumeria led Ian into Guzma's throne room, where he laid on the arms of the throne, tickling his Larvesta. "Ah great. Fun's over Larvesta." Larvesta collapsed onto Guzma's torso and Guzma turned his attention to Plumeria and Ian. "Got our envoy back from Sinclair, they still want to keep this stupid fucking war going after a ceasefire for some stupid storm that's supposedly heading this way…"

  Plumeria cleared her throat. "There is one, a bunch of radio transmissions from Malie City are saying it. Category one hurricane by the looks of it, two days out."

  Guzma grunted with frustration. "Well, looks like we gotta send our guy back to them. Aside from that, how was Outrigger?"

  "Interesting," Plumeria said. "We got more than enough bikes for the Pearl Clan, and Rapp says she was able to sweet talk a boat mechanic. Assuming we come out of the storm okay, he'll come by afterwards-"

  "Only two days to prep for this fucking storm?" Guzma barked harshly.

  "I don't fucking control storms, boss," Plumeria clarified.

  Ian cleared his throat, eyeing Plumeria, wordlessly asking permission to speak, which Plumeria granted. "Boss, there's a good side and bad side to this storm."

  "Good? What's good?" Guzma demanded.

  "Sinclair's boats are gonna get fucked up," Ian explained. "Gonna be no mercy from the waves."

  "Heh, I'll take that, Coogz," Guzma said. "What's the bad news?"

  Ian grimaced. "The Pearl Clan."

  "Why? They'll just hang out in their tents," Guzma dismissed.

  Plumeria shook her head. "I've been to Fort Acuity, those stakes won't stand a chance against these winds heading our way."

  Guzma grimaced. "So what do you want us to do with them?"

  Plumeria took a deep breath. "I'm only saying this because they've bled with us, they're making three hour trips to harvest food for us-"

  "They were on the brink of starvation too, okay?" Guzma fired back.

  "Yeah, but it would be a disaster for them now. We need to take them in. Not doing so could be a major setback in relations," Plumeria warned.

  "We're in the middle of a war and you want to put a faction of questionable loyalty inside our walls? Are you two fucking with me?" Guzma demanded.

  "They've bled with us Guzma," Plumeria answered stubbornly. "They're not gonna jump on Sinclair's side once behind our walls."

  "There's no way to guarantee it," Guzma said.

  "Actually there is," Ian suggested, expecting to get shouted down, instead being met with intrigued glances from Plumeria and Guzma. "They hand over their Pokemon and weapons to us for the duration of the storm. It's not a big deal if there are no hostile intentions."

  "Not a terrible idea, but I'm a bit skeptical…" Guzma said, his mind still toying with the thought.

  "Sounding more paranoid than Rook at the strategy meeting," Ian teased.

  Guzma smiled with amusement. "You're even more convincing than Plumeria is, Coogz."

  Ian smiled as another idea hit him. "And boss, when they see how dangerous the storm actually is, they'll be grateful that we were proactive," Ian paused. "Especially if we say the idea came exclusively from you."

  Guzma snickered wickedly. "I'm really gonna have to watch out for you, Coogz. You're too sweet of a talker for your own good."

  "So?" Plumeria asked.

  Guzma grunted. "It sounds like a good idea if they consent, but you two will have to negotiate it. They're cool you guys though, right?"

  "I'd say so," Plumeria said. "And now that Gaeric and Irida aren't trying to get in our respective pants, we're cooler with them."

  "Gaeric? That buff guy? He was trying to fuck you?" Guzma asked in amusement.

  Plumeria's expression soured. "For a bit. Lex got to him at the celebration of Atman's Point, so I'm in the clear."

  "Oh yeah, forgot about that," Guzma said, turning his attention to Ian. "You should've heard the way Irida was talking about raising her future children with you Ian. It even started making me blush."

  Ian laughed nervously. "I'm spoken for, boss."

  "If they agree to shelter here during the storm, we'll have to keep her separate from you just in case, the way she was talking," Guzma said with a chuckle before pointing at Ian. "I see you got a Z-Ring all of the sudden, Coogz. Where'd that come from?"

  Plumeria turned to Ian nervously before redirecting her attention to Guzma. "We saw Keahi."

  "What!?" Guzma demanded, shifting his entire body forward causing Larvesta to launch a couple feet into the air, scrambling frantically as it flew in the air. Ian dove forward with his arms stretched forward, hitting the floor hard as Larvesta landed on his hands, the brunt of the impact having lessened. Larvesta chirped in shock as its eye focused on Ian for a moment.

  "Hey there…" Ian said with a smile as he felt fresh bruises on his elbows beginning to form.

  "Larvesta, I didn't know you could fly," Guzma teased. "Get back over here."

  Larvesta whined a little before it got on its own legs and turned, trudging back to Guzma slowly.

  "C'mon Larvesta, you know I didn't mean it," Guzma said, stretching his arm down and lifting Larvesta back onto his lap. Guzma turned his attention back to Ian, but Ian noticed a puff of smoke come up from the fiery Bug Type and Guzma winced. "Larvesta, calm down."

  Larvesta plopped its body onto Guzma's lap rather unhappily but stirred no more. "So… Keahi…" Guzma began. "The hell's she been all this time?"

  "Breakwater Isle," Plumeria said.

  "The fuck's that?" Guzma demanded.

  Ian could feel Plumeria's eyeroll and she pointed to the map mural Mina had painted. "It's that little landmass off the coast of Outrigger. Technically not on Ula'Ula, but not far away either."

  "So she's just been hanging out there after causing all this nonsense?" Guzma asked.

  "Apparently," Plumeria said. "She greeted us, then asked everyone but Ian to leave."

  "Really now?" Guzma asked, almost sounding impressed.

  Ian shrugged nervously. "Yeah…"

  "What'd she want to talk to you about?" Guzma asked.

  "I think she just wanted to get to know me…" Ian began. "She was kinda hostile at first cuz of the Unovan accent, but I told her the story of how Tapu Bulu blessed Deerling, talked a bit about why I'm still here in Po Town… I guess she liked what I had to say. She gave me this after all." Ian raised his right hand, indicating the Z-Ring.

  "She give you one of her Z-Crystals too?" Guzma asked.

  Ian shook his head. "No, but I have an Ice Type one. Icium-Z I think?"

  "She teach you how to use that thing?" Guzma asked.

  Ian shook his head. "No."

  "I can teach him, boss," Plumeria chimed in.

  Guzma shook his head. "Maybe after this damn storm blows over," Guzma sighed with frustration. "Get Rook, Tom and Grillz over here. I wanna tell 'em what's coming. I suggest you dip and go down to the Pearl Clan before Rook hears of this plan of yours, he ain't gonna like it."

  "Got it," Plumeria said, eyeing Ian. Oh yeah, no Mina time. Lame.

  ***

  The Pearl Clan leadership's first reaction to the offer from Guzma was rather cold, but after

  Lil' Dizz crashed the meeting and mentioned a ceasefire had been agreed to between Sinclair and Guzma, along with a major description of what the oncoming storm would do, the clan begrudgingly agreed. Ian was thankful he really only had to deal with a few glances from Irida during the talks.

  Afterwards in Po Town, Tom's stewards went into overdrive boarding up every window and doing last minute fixes on the most crucial rooftops they possibly could, as well as getting makeshift sandbags going in the most populated places. Teams of trainers went out to get more wood to continue the effort even as the winds picked up massively and the sky darkened overhead. Plumeria's squad had finished up their last run of gathering lumber and dropping it at Tom's Warehouse when Ian heard an abnormal horn call from beyond Po Town's walls.

  "The fuck's that?" Tupp demanded.

  "It's a Pearl Clan horn," Plumeria answered quickly. "About time they got here. Just a couple hours away from it getting real nasty."

  "It's already nasty!" Selene called out, holding onto her hat as a gust blew Ian's hat into the warehouse wall.

  "Just put the fucking hats away and follow me!" Plumeria barked as she turned to the front gate.

  "What's going on, Big Sis?" Hyde asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

  "I don't trust Rook to deal with the Pearl Clan surrendering their Pokemon and weapons very well," Plumeria said.

  Ian stuffed his hat into one of his pockets and followed Plumeria up The Spine as rain began to fall. He didn't care about his messy brown hair as it soon got damp enough, and everyone else's hair began looking matchingly ridiculous when combined with wind before they arrived at the front gate.

  Ian sighed as he beheld the dozens of people that made up the Pearl Clan. He noticed they'd all bundled up in the sweaters they'd used while in Makamae Town, and the front row was the leadership group of the clan, all holding their Poke Ball Belts.

  "Can't believe we're doing this," Rook croaked lowly.

  "Some people actually care about saving lives, especially those of our allies," Plumeria spat back.

  Rook scoffed. "Always being so fucking dramatic. You know what I meant," Rook said.

  Ian could see the frustration in Plumeria's eyes, but she dropped the issue as Irida and the Pearl Clan wardens made their way to the front gate.

  "Apologies for the delay, these conditions have been rather severe," Irida called out as she approached.

  "That's why we're fucking taking you in," Rook sneered.

  Plumeria glared daggers at her fellow Bone. "Apologies Irida, this one didn't think Guzma consulted him enough on this move."

  Rook returned a sour scowl at Plumeria for a moment before relenting. "It's whatever. You guys have bled with us, it's the least we could do."

  Irida gave him an overly sweet smile. "Considering this storm is only to worsen, the Pearl Clan and myself give our most tremendous thanks," Irida said, turning back to Plumeria. "Where shall we be housed?"

  Plumeria pointed up The Spine to the two-story building with the red roof. "The Pokemon Center. It's spacious enough and is one of the high points in town, meaning it's less likely to flood. It's our hospital for Pokemon and trainers alike, so it's well protected."

  Irida bowed her head as a gust of wind sent raindrops sideways into her face. "Again, we thank you."

  "I'll take your Poke Ball Belt, Irida," Rook said bluntly.

  Irida shook her with a sweet smile and fixated her gaze upon Ian. "I would prefer Ian to hold my Pokemon for the duration of our stay. I trust no one more."

  Ian suppressed a frustrated sigh, but Irida already held her belt of six apricorn Poke Balls out, and he knew it would be bad diplomatic form to reject it. Ian took it begrudgingly. The rest of Plumeria's squad handled the Pearl Clan wardens' Poke Ball Belts and led them up The Spine to the Pokemon Center, where Ian noticed dozens of what looked to be plastic bags full of sand tied up at the ends near the entrance.

  "For when we fully lock down," Plumeria noted.

  "We'll be in Shady House though, right?" Ian asked.

  Plumeria nodded. "Yeah."

  Thank goodness.

  After a quick welcoming from Doc and subsequent handshake from Irida, the Pearl Clan hastily moved into the Pokemon Center lobby, water dripping from their clothes as they breathed sighs of relief.

  Palina made her way to Ian with a smirk on her face. "So you're telling me this storm will get even worse?"

  Ian nodded. "Supposedly."

  "Hmm…" Palina hummed as she pondered. "Our dwellings in Fort Acuity would barely be holding together right now, I shutter to think about how a more severe storm would have done to our camp. I will not lie, it was a surprise to us all when Guzma was the one to offer us Po Town's hospitality. Almost too surprising."

  Damn Palina and her ability to read into things. Ian shrugged and gave the perceptive woman a big smile. "Even our boss has a soft side sometimes."

  Palina tittered dismissively, but did not pursue her idea any further much to Ian's relief. Ian heard a deep male voice bellow inside the quickly filling up Pokemon Center.

  "Who wishes to brave this challenging storm with me outdoors?" Gaeric asked aloud, flexing his muscles as water dripped from his person.

  Ian cautiously made his way over to the rest of Plumeria's squad, where Gaeric had begun speaking to the squad leader in earnest. "... what of the lady Lex?" Ian heard Gaeric ask.

  "I think she's out leading a foraging party," Plumeria explained. "Should be back any moment though."

  "With conditions as they are, she may be in need of rescuing," Gaeric proposed.

  Plumeria smirked. "Doubt that, but I guess we should go check with Rook-"

  The Pokemon Center doors opened suddenly, with a half-dozen Team Skull members surging through hastily. "Where's Doc at?" Lex demanded angrily before pausing as she processed the dozens of Pearl Clan members inside the Pokemon Center. Gaeric gasped as he spotted the woman he'd spent a crazy night with and he charged toward her.

  "What may I do for you, my lady?" Gaeric asked, bowing his head respectfully.

  "Get my Pokemon a fucking doctor," Lex fired back.

  "Why so mad?" Doc's accented Galarian called back from across the lobby.

  "I need my Pokemon healed up, stat!" Lex barked. "Disnethorpe's squad ain't back yet and we got hit by this crazy horde of Trevenant. The other squad was in the same forest we were."

  "Lex," one of her male squad members said meekly. "Are we really going back out there?"

  Lex shook her head. "I won't force anyone. It's a miracle we're back in one piece."

  "Yes, someone to join me in the storm!" Gaeric bellowed as he approached Lex. "I volunteer for this operation!"

  Lex handed her Poke Ball belt to Doc and turned back around to Gaeric. "Long time no see, muscle muffin," she teased. "But if you're truly dumb enough to go back out there with me, I'll give you a treat when we're back."

  "A treat?" Gaeric asked with a lascivious smile.

  "Even more fun than last time," Lex said coyly.

  Gaeric tensed. "Is that… possible?"

  "The trick is you gotta survive this fucking storm," Lex explained. "The forest Pokemon are all riled up."

  "How far away is everything?" Plumeria asked.

  "Just a little up the ridge," Lex said. "Wasn't even fifteen minutes before the rain got bad."

  Plumeria grimaced, her eyes instinctively turning to Ian. Ian nodded knowing exactly what Plumeria was asking.

  "You want me to go too, Big Sis?" Tupp asked.

  "I won't make anyone go since it's dangerous, but if Lex has her panties in this much of a twist it's gotta be a big deal," Plumeria said. She turned to Hyde, who declined.

  "You know, I really shouldn't but…" Selene began. "I'll go too."

  Tupp gave Ian a look of annoyance, but Ian shrugged it off. If there's a horde of Trevenant out there, we're gonna need all of the help we can get. Ian noticed Hyde had skulked off somewhere, and Rapp had followed Doc into the back of the Pokemon Center.

  After a few short minutes, Doc returned Lex's Pokemon to her, Gaeric's belt was returned to him, and the group of trainers trudged out into the storm. Since the rather short amount of time since they'd gotten out of the storm, Ian felt the wind and rain had both increased in ferocity and a pang of regret hit him. Remember, Team Skull's one and only rule… Also if Disnethorpe's out there, that means the other Backstreet Boys and the rest of his squad are out there too.

  Ian was barely able to see more than a few dozen feet in front of him thanks to the rain sometimes blowing up into his eyes. Ian wished he had some sort of sweater on to shield him, but he realized it wouldn't matter. With how much rain was coming down, it would've offered little respite.

  Upon reaching the gate house, Rook emerged. "The fuck you guys going?"

  "Lil' Dizz's squad isn't back yet, are they?" Plumeria asked.

  "No," Rook responded. "You guys are gonna go look for 'em?"

  "We gotta try at least," Plumeria said.

  "We can't lose two squad leaders to this idiocy!" Rook barked back. "I was just about to shut the gate and go back to Shady House."

  "First rule of Team Skull!" Ian shouted out as a gust of wind blasted their ears.

  "You don't understand the first part about it!" Rook roared. "You die and Sawsbuck goes missing, we all starve. Don't you fucking get that?"

  Ian tensed, unable to think of a proper response.

  "There's a horde of Trevenant out there, and Lil'Dizz isn't the trainer I am!" Lex yelled. "They shouldn't be very far anyways!"

  Rook shook his head. "I gotta close this fucking gate ASAP!"

  "Give us an hour!" Plumeria said. "Shouldn't take us that long, and the worst of it won't be here yet."

  Rook grimaced as he checked his watch. "Fine, you have an hour tops, okay? Then you're shit out of luck."

  Plumeria motioned for the crew to move on through the gate, while Ian noticed Lex turn as she passed, flipping off Rook. "Pussy!"

  Rook returned the bird himself and made his way back to the gatehouse.

  ***

  Ian didn't appreciate how much the structures of Po Town helped disrupt the wind until they'd passed Elk Grove and bore the full brunt of mother nature's fury. Trees billowed to one side, and Ian would occasionally get knocked in the head by flying fruit from Elk Grove that the wind had finally managed to separate from the berry trees' branches.

  Behind him, Selene shivered frantically as Lex led the group, making their way forward and up the ridge outside of town. It was a well worn hiking trail, but the mud slowed their progress and the wind and rain constantly swept over them in domineering fashion, making the group hunch their heads and cover their eyes during the particularly fierce gusts. And this isn't even the worst of it? Fuck, we better get back soon.

  "How much further up?" Plumeria asked.

  "Just over this bit-" Lex's voice disappeared as an overpowering gust swept over them, causing Ian to need to steady himself. Selene fell to the side with a yelp, with Tupp and Plumeria turning to help her back up, although the left side of her body was now covered in mud. They finally got to the ridge they'd been hiking up to and Ian heaved a sigh of relief, only to remember what horde of Pokemon Lex's squad had encountered.

  They quickly made their way to the trees, and every gust of wind made the branches groan and crack as they were pushed to their very limits. The trees seemed to decrease the ferocity of the rain slightly, which Ian was thankful for even if the wind kept a steady stream of water in the air.

  "Lex? Big Sis?" A desperate male voice called out. "Over here!"

  The squad turned their attention to the source of the voice, and when Ian focused on the source, remembered as one of the members of the Backstreet Boyz. He was the clumsy one who fell off the awning. Tupp and I fought Flexx and Lil' Dizz, I think his name was Verse? The young man scowled in pain and held his foot out from the trunk of the tree he'd posted up on. Ian followed the rest of the group as they made their way over to him.

  "Verse, what happened?" Plumeria demanded.

  "There's a bunch of Trevenant around here and they're all pissed off!" Verse said pleadingly. "We got cornered by the Alpha and Lil' Dizz had me go for help but I fucked my foot up. They're somewhere up the hill away from the trees!"

  Plumeria eyed Lex. "Any reason you didn't alert them?"

  "We didn't know until after we saw them, and it's a miracle we got out unharmed," Lex explained.

  Plumeria grimaced, clearly disapproving of the squad leader but she shook her head. "No reason to focus on it now, we need to get them to shelter now." Plumeria turned to the rest of the party sternly. "I'm thinking we get a few trainers to distract 'em, rest of the crew tracks down the stranded group. Any ideas?"

  "I volunteer!" Gaeric shouted proudly, raising his hand. "Who is with me?"

  "Gaeric, you have an Avalugg right?" Ian asked.

  Gaeric smiled proudly as he reached for black ball from his Poke Ball Belt. "I have Lord Avalugg's strongest son as one of my partners."

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  Ian turned to Plumeria with a smile. "I'll have Sandslash use Snowscape which'll buff our Ice Types' defense. We'll be able to withstand 'em for a while."

  "Only two?" Plumeria asked skeptically.

  "Two is all we shall need to vanquish these vermin!" Gaeric bellowed before a gust of wind blasted the party.

  The concerned look in Plumeria's eyes seemed to be asking him if he had enough, but Ian smiled in the downpour, mouthing "be quick." Plumeria nodded, motioning them to go deeper into the bank of trees.

  Gaeric held his black ball at the ready, with Ian holding his Premier Battle in his hand as they trudged deeper. "Okay Gaeric, when we see the Trevenant, release Avalugg."

  "Of course. And may I ask what our enemies will look like?" Gaeric asked.

  "Ghost Pokemon that are possessing small trees," Ian said. Except for the Alpha that's supposedly around.

  "And Ian," Gaeric began lowly. "Lord Avalugg's progeny is not a fast mover, but he hits rather hard with his wide ranging attacks. Make sure your Pokemon steers clear," Gaeric said over the howling winds of the storm.

  "Got it!"

  The two trudged deeper, and not even half a minute later he noticed a tree move against the wind. " They're here. "Get ready," Ian said, trying to not be too loud.

  "What!?" Gaeric bellowed loudly.

  Ian put his index finger over his mouth and then pointed down. Gaeric nodded and placed his black Poke Ball in a shot-put position. Oh yeah, those things are literally called "Heavy Balls." Ian tossed his Premier Ball forward, catching a gust of wind which sent it even further forward before releasing.

  Sandslash manifested, showcasing its claws for a moment before quickly covering its head from the fierce weather. Sandslash turned back to Ian, clearly irritated as Ian caught its Premier Ball. "I'm out here too girl, okay?" Ian said. He doubted she heard it, but the sentiment appeared to get through.

  Ian turned to Gaeric who was on his knees, holding the Heavy Ball in his hand before he roared a battle cry and shot-put the ball into the air. The ball went halfway that Ian's lightweight Premier had gone before bursting open with a low boom, and the largest outline of a Pokemon Ian had seen in Alola manifested. The shock wave sent the rain fleeing in every direction from the beast. Brown, earthy legs and a shell melded with stone and ice stood in front of Ian. Its shell rose above Ian's head, and an ear-splitting screech of a roar hit Ian's ears. Ian suddenly felt no rain hitting his person, if only for a moment before a torrent of water fell onto him. "Incredible," Ian said aloud.

  Gaeric grinned with pride as he caught the Heavy Ball like a weighted medicine ball. "Indeed."

  Ian returned his focus to the task, and noticed the trees themselves seemed to be shuffling and approaching. Here we go. "Sandslash, Snowscape!" With that, his Alolan Sandslash spread her arms and a mixture of ice, snow, and slush covered a vast radius around the two Ice Types. Ian noticed both the Alpha Hisuian Avalugg and Alolan Sandslash glowing slightly, and he nodded proudly seeing Snowscape's defensive buff for Ice Types taking effect. Suddenly a few bubbles of Ice Type Energy floated from the ground into Hisuian Avalugg's shell. Healing from Snowscape too? Must be Ice Body.

  The woodland itself seemed to be approaching now, as seven Trevenant all of varying sizes ranging from just under Ian's height to likely a foot or more. Four legs sprouted from the bottom of their wooden bodies, and they were coated in numerous sections of green plant life. Ian noticed one eye with a slight glow at the top of their trunk-torsos, and Ian allowed a small sigh of relief. No Alpha. "Now Swords Dance!" Ian called out.

  "Avalugg, show them a proper greeting. Mountain Gale!" Gaeric roared. The great beast raised its head, and Ian finally caught a sight of the tusk-like ice wedges on its front as it channeled more light blue energy. Once a massive sphere had been channeled, Hisuian Avalugg gave a roar and launched a massive chunk of ice at the oncoming elder tree Pokemon. They were too bunched together to maneuver, and the speed of the projectile made dodging futile anyways as it crashed into two Trevenants, blasting them dozens of feet backwards in a haze of splinters and ice crystals. I suppose the ice missiles from the Avalugg battle in Legends Arceus weren't exaggerated.

  "Now it's your turn while Avalugg recharges," Gaeric said bluntly.

  The five Trevenant that hadn't been blasted away looked at each other in disbelief of what had just occurred, and four suddenly disappeared in a haze of purple energy. It's that disappearing move, Phantom Force. The one left behind began glowing with purple Ghost Type Energy and Ian squinted, noticing most of the glow was around its eye and what was likely its mouth. Confuse Ray! "Sandslash, Ice Shard!" Sandslash threw an icy projectile which careened over to the Trevenant, and right as an unholy sound hit Ian's ears, Ice Shard smacked into the Trevenant's head. "Now let's skate!" Ian ordered, anticipating the Trevenant re-emerging to attack the duo.

  "Brace yourself!" Gaeric ordered his Hisuian Avalugg.

  Sandslash took off, and right on cue a Trevenant appeared from the shadows, smashing into the ground just behind the speeding Alolan Sandslash. Sandslash veered right just as another Trevenant sprang from shadows in its path. Sandslash leapt, somersaulting and firing Icicle Spears from its back. Four icy daggers embedded themselves within the Trevenant closer to the trainers, causing the Grass-Ghost Type to yelp like scraping wood. Two shadows appeared next to Hisuian Avalugg, and both Trevenant slammed into the great beast, only for the two attacking Pokemon to have their wooden bodies crack, while Avalugg seemed unphased.

  "Crunch!" Gaeric called it, a hint of sadistic glee in his voice. Avalugg's front tusk-like protrusions glowed with dark energy and Avalugg shifted backwards for a moment before positioning its wedges around the Trevenant on the right. The wedges suddenly snapped together and the victim Trevenant's torso snapped, its lower body falling limply to the wet, icy ground. The other Trevenant's right arm glowed green, and it slammed its arm into Avalugg's tusk-like protrusions. Avalugg seemed unaffected by this, and swung its tusks around, still holding the disembodied Trevenant in its maw as it smacked the Trevenant that had used Wood Hammer away a dozen feet, with the top half of Avalugg's victim Trevenant careening close behind.

  Ian picked up his jaw from the sheer force of the mighty Alpha Hisuian-Avalugg, and he remembered there was a battle going on. Sandslash had already dished out a number of Icicle Spears, causing the last Trevenant that had rushed them to fall back and join the other one which had recovered from the Ice Shard to the face.

  "Look, there are more approaching!" Gaeric called out.

  Sure enough, another wave of Trevenant hurried over as quickly as their little root-legs could carry them, their bodies creaking eerily with every movement. The harsh wind only made them look even more foreboding. "Swords Dance again!" Ian called out to Sandslash. No wonder Lex didn't want to tangle with this horde.

  "Get them to disappear, Ian. Avalugg will crush them once more," Gaeric said bluntly.

  "Gotcha," Ian said in agreement. As Sandslash finished up her Swords Dance, she took off like a speed skater, charging the Trevenant as they creeped forward. Now numbering nine, five of the approaching disappeared into dark purple shadows, leaving three enemies side by side and another which hung back. Sandslash suddenly slowed, and Ian realized he needed to re-up Snowscape.

  "Mountain Gale!" Gaeric called out.

  "Snowscape!" Ian followed. The radius around Sandslash turned to ice, snow, and slush once more, distracting the approaching trio of Trevenant, just long enough for another ice missile to launch at the set, blasting through them like a bowling ball crashing into a set of pins.

  "Protect!" Ian called out. Sandslash suddenly curled up into the closest it could do to a ball as two Trevenant leapt out of spontaneously appearing shadows, smashing into the glowing, impervious Sandslash. The other trio appeared around Avalugg, smacking into the incredibly sturdy Ice-Rock behemoth.

  "Crunch once more!" Gaeric ordered confidently. Avalugg managed to snag one elder tree Pokemon between its tusks and dismember it from its lower body like before. Avalugg began to turn to swing its victim asunder when a purple shadow, twice the size of the other Trevenants' shadows appeared, and a towering Trevenant with a bright red eye appeared, smashing into Avalugg, causing the behemoth to buckle from the tremendous force. Before Ian could curse aloud, a roar of cracking wood hit his ears and Ian found himself on the ground, his head and back aching. He realized the wind and rain had stopped for a moment before another torrent of water hit him.

  The Alpha Trevenant readied another attack, its hand turning dark green as it unleashed a powerful Wood Hammer on Alpha Avalugg. Avalugg gave a low, bellowing cry of pain.

  "Icicle Spear!" Ian called out, finally regaining initiative. Sandslash fired off a series of icy daggers, with only two hitting home, not even eliciting a response from the Alpha Trevenant.

  "Do you not have something that hits harder?" Gaeric asked frantically.

  Ian grimaced, looking down at his Z-Ring with Icium-Z locked in. Fucking hurricane prep. I never got time for Plumeria to teach me on how to actually use this thing. Sandslash only has Ice Shard and Icicle Spear though, they wouldn't be strong Z-moves. "Not really…" Ian said woefully.

  Sandslash skated her way back to Ian and Gaeric, getting between them and the regrouped lesser Trevenants creeping towards them. Avalugg gave a loud cry as it roused itself, its tusks glowing with Dark TE once more. It lunged forward, digging its tusk-like wedges into Trevenant before squeezing, causing the Alpha Trevenant to roar in agony.

  The horde of Trevenant closed in on Sandslash, with half of them disappearing again. "Icicle Spear!" Ian called out desperately. Sandslash launched three icy daggers at the first Trevenant, landing direct hits and knocking it back, with three more elder tree Pokemon closing in.

  One shadow manifested behind Sandslash, crashing into his icy rodent, which tanked the hit well. Ian began to wonder where the other three were going and when it hit him, he dove out of the way into the mud and slush. Three Trevenant leapt out of shadows that appeared right where he had been, and he felt his heart drumming frantically in his chest as he got back up. Way too close a call!

  Suddenly a flash of Ice TE came from Ian's peripheral vision and four massive icicles crashed into the Trevenant trio, knocking them out of his field of vision. Sandslash raised her claws triumphantly and Ian heaved a sigh of relief. That must've been Icicle Crash. "Hell yeah!" Ian called out, pumping his fist to his savior who quickly skated away from two attacking Trevenant.

  A mighty roar from Avalugg brought Ian's attention to the struggle between Alphas, and Ian's jaw dropped as he saw numerous cracks in Avalugg's rock-ice shell, as well as vines he recognized from Leech Seed covering it. Alpha Trevenant had seemingly sections of its wooden body, and the two were locked in heavy struggle. One of Alpha Trevenant's arms dislodged itself from a puncture in Avalugg's shell, and numerous bubbles of green energy followed the path of Trevenant's arm, regenerating part of the assailant's wooden body. Looks like Horn Leech…

  "Icicle Crash! Get that Alpha off Avalugg!" Ian roared. Sandslash zig-zagged through the trees and leapt into the air, firing off another barrage of large icicles. The four massive, pointed projectiles crashed into Trevenant, knocking the Alpha off its legs and onto its side.

  "Finish it, Mountain Gale!" Gaeric bellowed. Avalugg channeled more Ice TE, and roared as it launched the even more massive missile. The missile landed with such speed all Ian could make out from the impact was a cloud of mud and rain.

  "Fucking finally…" Ian croaked.

  "Ian, Gaeric! Get outta there!" Plumeria's voice managed to reach them amidst the storm.

  Ian turned to see the source, and Plumeria was about thirty feet to their lower right accompanied by numerous Team Skull grunts as they trotted away from the scene. "C'mon!" Ian called to Gaeric and Sandslash. Sandslash left the two Trevenant minions she'd been engaging and skated over to Ian casually.

  "Ian, wait," Gaeric said cautiously.

  "What?" Ian called back.

  Suddenly a massive purple cloud of shadows appeared before him and out came Alpha Trevenant, descending upon him faster than he could dodge. Sandslash's light blue, icy form leapt in between,taking the brunt of the blow as she got smacked into the dirt harshly. "Shit!" Ian called out instinctively. Ian's ears seared with pain when he heard Trevenant's Alpha Roar at such close range, but soon the rest of his body did too as he crashed into the mud, sliding seven to eight feet from where he'd first impacted.

  Everything hurts… Ian's mind was fuzzy from his head banging against the sleek terrain. Trevenant's hauntingly bright red eye closed in, its arm glowing with green energy. I might be well and truly fucked.

  A booming, high pitched shriek hit his ears, a familiar one he hadn't heard in some time. Alpha Trevenant withdrew its hand, which had reverted from glowing. The wind and rain calmed significantly, making it seem almost tranquil compared to the maelstrom they'd been battling in. Ian followed his adversaries up to the treetops and gasped as a familiar black and red form hovered above. Tapu Bulu!

  "Mountain G-"

  "Stand down Gaeric!" Ian shouted frantically. "That's Tapu Bulu up there!"

  Gaeric held his hand up to halt Avalugg, and the ceasefire seemed to take hold across the battlefield. Gaeric then knelt reverently. Tapu Bulu pointed one of its arms to Trevenant, grunting as it did, then used its other arm to point the opposite direction with a grunt like it was directing the Alpha. Trevenant suddenly de-manifested into a shadow, disappearing entirely within moments.

  Tapu Bulu then pointed at Ian and Sandslash, grunting once more, then pointed in what Ian realized was the direction of Po Town. It wants both sides of this battle to take shelter. Ian scrambled to get to his knees and bowed to Tapu Bulu, wordlessly thanking the island guardian. After a few moments of reverence, Ian got up slowly, watching Tapu Bulu closely as he walked to the rest of his party. He recalled Sandslash, and Gaeric had already recalled his Alpha Hisuian-Avalugg, joining Ian through the trees. Tapu Bulu gave one last shrieking call before taking off inland. Ian noticed Alpha Trevenant's hands glowing with green energies as it picked up wounded Trevenants from the battle and Ian felt a pang of regret. Maybe there was a way we could've gotten Lil' Dizz's squad out peacefully.

  ***

  Going down the slope was treacherous in the hurricane conditions, but the group made it back to Po Town, albeit drenched and muddy as all hell. One of Lil' Dizz's squad members had a broken arm, another a hurt knee, and their Pokemon were mostly spent. Rook was able to close the gate and the group made it to the Pokemon Center, with the doors getting fortified by the makeshift sandbags, meaning they'd be weathering the tempest in the Pokemon Center with the Pearl Clan.

  Ian was bruised, aching, and terribly sore but he had no major injuries so he put his clothes in the facility's dryer and curled up with a blanket on a spare chair close to the lobby. The stench of too many people in a poorly ventilated space hit his nostrils, but he was too sore to care.

  "Mr. Ian, Mr. Ian!" A familiar young girl's voice called out.

  Ian turned to see Rylee with Plusle on her shoulder dashing to him with a big smile, and for a moment all of his aches and pains faded. Rylee jumped on him even though he was wrapped in a blanket, and he did his best to hug her. "Good to see you Rylee, Plusle."

  "You went and saved all those people?" Rylee asked as Plusle jumped on Ian's shoulder and curled up.

  Ian shook his head. "Not just me." One of Ian's hands made its way out from under the blanket and pointed at Gaeric, who was busy regaling his Pearl Clan comrades of the battle against the Trevenant horde. "He did more than me actually."

  "Really?" Rylee asked skeptically.

  "Yes really," Ian confirmed. "Is there a reason you're here at the Pokemon Center and not at Ms. Sarah's apartment?"

  "There's a leak in the ceiling, and the wind was really scary. Plusle was so frightened that Ms. Sarah took us here," Rylee said.

  "The wind is howling here too though," Ian said.

  "Yeah, but Ms. Irida's been telling all us kids these amazing stories!" Rylee said enthusiastically. Rylee then leaned in close, whispering. "Back in the old world, I got a card with her on it in my first booster pack."

  Ian smiled. "That's cool."

  "And she's so pretty," Rylee said. "I wanna be just like her one day."

  "She's a good person to look up to," Ian said.

  "Oh is that praise I hear from Ian Cougar?" Irida's elegant voice said in a simultaneously accusing tone as she approached the chair he'd taken up in.

  Ian's heart sank as he turned to face the head of the Pearl Clan. Quickly he got a bit nervous as her sapphire-blue eyes fixated on him intensely. "Just because we're having a problem doesn't mean I think you're not worth admiring."

  "Thank you," Irida said as she stood in front of Ian blanketed up in his chair with Rylee on his lap.

  "Ms. Irida, your stories were so good! I really liked the one about how Lord Arcanine evolved from a little Growlithe!" Rylee said excitedly.

  Irida's gorgeous smile even made Ian blush. The Pearl Clan leader tittered happily. "I'm glad you liked it, young Rylee. And may I ask how you're so close to Ian?"

  Rylee gasped with excitement. "When I came in the Ultra Storm, he saved me from the giant lobster!"

  "Did he?" Irida's eyes drifted to him for a moment. "Isn't he so brave?" Using Rylee against me, this isn't fair.

  "Yeah!" Rylee agreed, nodding frantically. "Even though I don't have a mommy and daddy in this world, Mr. Ian looks after me like a big brother I never had." Rylee gave Ian's blanketed form a big hug, practically melting his heart.

  "He does, does he?" Irida said with a dazzling smile. Damn Irida being so hot.

  Irida cleared her throat and knelt closer to Rylee's level. "Rylee, I am sorry but I need to speak with Ian alone for a bit. I promise I will give him right back to you when I am done though."

  "Okay…" Rylee said, suddenly dejected. She gave him a goodbye hug and climbed off Ian's blanket. "And Mr. Ian, can me and Plusle play with Impidimp later? We really miss him."

  Ian's heart tensed as he grimaced. "Maybe…"

  Plusle jumped off Ian's shoulder and onto Rylee's and she marched off, petting her electric rodent partner all the way.

  "Is she the one you rescued and were subsequently punished for?" Irida asked calmly.

  "That wasn't the whole story…"

  Irida shook her head disapprovingly. "She is such a pure soul in such a difficult world."

  Ian nodded. "That she is…"

  "I know this is not a possibility, but if in some world we were married, I would want to adopt her," Irida said.

  Ian grimaced. "With how dangerous this island is, I wouldn't want her to lose another father figure if something bad happened."

  Irida sighed. "There is the rub. That's rather thoughtful of you, Ian," Irida paused. "Gaeric told the story of you two and your battle against the horde of haunted trees."

  "Trevenant," Ian said. "Gaeric's Avalugg did a lot of the heavy lifting."

  "It was a noble cause, I deeply admire that about you Ian," Irida said. "Putting your life on the line, having one of my warden's backs to save your comrades…"

  Ian realized he was tensing up quite a bit, so he exhaled deeply. "Thanks."

  "I am glad you can finally relax around me," Irida said.

  Ian shook his head. "Only so much."

  Irida tittered. "You should have seen how tense Adaman would get once we realized we had feelings for each other…"

  Ian tensed up again as he realized he hadn't told Irida about the story that Leilani's grandmother had told him about the true name of Atman's Point- Adaman's Point.

  "What is it?" Irida said, reading him like a book.

  Do I tell her? If it's not true, this would be horribly cruel, but maybe she should know? At the very least, if that love letter is Adaman professing his undying love for her, she might finally get off my back for good.

  "I can tell something has captured your mind, Ian," Irida said.

  Ian smiled nervously. "Well, I'm not sure if I should tell you…"

  "Tell me what?"

  Ian sighed. "It's a story I heard from an elder in Outrigger. I haven't been able to tell if it's true or not, but it's something you'd probably want to know."

  "Then out with it, please," Irida said, a hint of concern in her voice.

  "Okay. Now just remember, it might not be true, but there's a lot of stuff that lines up that makes me think it is," Ian explained.

  Irida's eyebrows lowered as she listened to him attentively. "Fine."

  Ian gulped nervously. "Where to begin… So you know of the place called 'Atman's Point,' right?" Ian asked.

  Irida nodded. "Yes…"

  "Apparently that's not its real name. Its original name was Adaman's Point."

  Irida froze as the words hit her.

  "It was named for a man from a faraway place, a man the elder described as the most handsome man the islands had ever seen, and had a distinct hair color and style-"

  Irida flinched as the words hit her. "She said this to you unprompted?"

  Ian nodded. "It was like a casual little story to her. Something she'd been told since she was a little girl."

  Irida nodded slowly. "Continue…"

  "There's an altar at the point," Ian continued. "Apparently there's a message carved into the stone in the language of the Unown."

  "Oh…" Irida said meekly.

  "And apparently, a woman whose name starts with an 'i' is who it's addressed to," Ian said, not wanting to overwhelm her with the specific mention of her name.

  Tears began falling from Irida's eyes. "Ian, this is not some cruel joke?"

  Ian shook his head. "I haven't verified it, but this is what I was told. Plus the time appears to line up."

  Irida turned away from Ian as she let out a slight sob. "Since finding out that Adaman left Hisui not long after taking in our clan's young ones, I was curious about where he went. To think he came here of all places… it is unfathomable."

  Ian gulped as he remembered another part that clicked into place. "The altar also faces an island in Mahiki Bay, an island called 'Momi Isle,'" Ian explained.

  Irida turned back to Ian and sniffled, tears running down her cheeks.

  "Momi means 'pearl' in Alolan," Ian said carefully.

  Irida sobbed once more, putting her head in her hands. "It must be…"

  "I promise I'm just telling you what I've heard, I'm sorry about anything-"

  "Do not apologize," Irida said, her head still in her hands. "Just do two favors for me."

  "What?" Ian asked.

  "Do not speak of this to anyone, and when this storm is over, take me to this altar," Irida said coldly.

  "I can do that…" Ian said nervously.