Chapter 198 (OLD) (Patreon)

Thank you to everyone who responded to the poll! It will close tomorrow at the usual posting time (just past 3pm PST), and I'll make the results public and include an announcement post detailing the victor. If you missed it, you'll still have 24 hours from now to vote on the Type for the next fiction here.

And, without further delay...

It's ya boy.
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Malie Garden was less of a garden and more of its own, miniature biome. Designed by Johto natives who moved to Alola, it consisted of an entire area as large as a small town, complete with its own lake with an island shaped like the Johto region in the center. Gilded, arcing bridges connected the shores where the water was thin, and an entire artificial mountain sat in the back with a recreation of Johto's Bell Tower positioned next to it.

It would have been an incredible place to visit if Hope and I weren’t being summoned there by a potential emergency alert.

"Lillie, you need to stay back," I said as we ran towards our destination.

"No! I want to go with you!"

"Alex and I have trained as Ace Trainers, Lillie,” Hope replied. “This isn’t just fighting Team Skull. This is us potentially responding to an emergency. Please, can you wait at the entrance when we arrive? Nebbie needs to stay safe, too.”

Lillie’s face scrunched up in annoyance, a scowl being held back by the knowledge that we were right. Nebbie still needed to be protected, and her alongside him, too. She didn’t argue, merely nodding her head with a huff, and we continued to rush to where the entrance of the gardens sat at the edge of the city, walled off from everywhere else.

We moved fast enough that it didn’t take us too long to arrive, especially since Malie Garden was almost right next to Malie City’s port. Once it was in sight, we noticed a small group of people crowded around the red archway entrance, and both Hope and I sent out Pokémon out of caution.

“Altaria.”

“Bellossom.”

“Protect Lillie,” we said in unison.

Altaria took off into the air while Bellossom stayed on the ground. Lillie pressed her lips together out of resigned annoyance as we split off to head to the entrance, moving through the small crowd of people that had formed.

“Really?” Hope moaned as we pushed towards the front. “It’s these guys again.”

Three, familiar grunts glared at the crowd of people, standing crouched under the air with their Pokémon out next to them. A blue haired, wiry-looking trainer stood next to a Salandit, a pink-haired woman had a Zubat flying in the air next to her, and a heavyset male crossed his arms next to a particularly vicious-looking Yungoos. All three of them were decked out in the classic black and white outfit of a member of Team Skull, complete with skull-skullcaps and a bandana covering their mouths.

Huh. None of their Pokémon have evolved.

“Let us through!” Someone in the crowd shouted.

“Nah,” the tallest of the bunch, the one with the blue hair, replied. “Boss says to not let anyone interrupt his fight.”

A man tried to step forward in the crowd, but the three Team Skull grunts just stood up to properly loom towards him. The increase in menace made him stop where he was walking, and he hesitantly took a step back to fall in line.

Hope and I exchanged a simple look.

"I got this. I'm still mad about Plumeria," I said.

Hope's eyes widened.

"Alex, what are you—"

While people either shouted in annoyance or were held back by the thugs’ intimidating glares, I pushed to the front of the crowd while Hope followed. The three Team Skull grunts, having never truly seen Hope and I before, looked wholly unimpressed as the pair of us made ourselves known.

“Oh? And who’re you supposed to be?” the same blue-haired one snorted.

“Alex, Fairy Type specialist and a member of the Pokémon League’s Wandering Elite,” I replied to the murmurs of the crowd. “Next to me is Hope, Grass Type specialist and also a member of the Pokémon League’s Wandering Elite.”

“Yeah? What does that have to do with anything?”

I grinned, stepping forward. Every bit of acting training I had with Phoebe was put in place here, mustering up an aura of pure authority set in stone by my sheer swagger and the confident, amused expression on my face. The three grunts suddenly stood up straighter and directed their full attention to me as I moved a step closer, and then a step closer, and a step closer.

"B-back off,” the heavy one said. “Big man said no one gets—"

"Alola Law Section 32, Sub-section B: Public disturbances,” I began, speaking as if reading off a piece of paper. “Illegal blockage of publicly accessed roads and walkways constitute a public disturbance, and violators may be subject to immediate arrest."

They didn’t move, but I did see them stiffen slightly.

Huh. Loyal.

“Or...” I continued. “I could use that same law to issue a fine of upwards five thousand Pokédollars. Given that you’re preventing the work of two different Wandering Elite, I can also double that and tack on—”

The three grunts didn’t let me finish. Out of pure terror, they jumped to the side and saluted both Hope and I with as much respect as they could muster.

“S-sirs!” they shouted at the both of us.

With the entrance unblocked, I smirked and quickly moved inside. Hope easily caught up and moved to keep in pace.

"I didn't know you have the Alola legal code memorized," Hope whispered.

"I don't, but if someone isn’t afraid of getting arrested, it’s nice to bluff with a threat to hit them where it hurts—their wallets."

Hope choked back a laugh as I smiled. The Johtonian Bell Tower loomed ahead with the central island sitting in the distance. A few people lingered around the edges of the gardens, either walking casually and doing their best to ignore the disturbance going on in the center, or they were sitting in groups and having picnics, though their attention was elsewhere.

Notably, a small group of visitors stood at the base of one of the arcing bridges that connected the main walkways with the island in the lake. The two of us moved inwards. Visitors stood off to the side as they watched what was going on in the center. The bridge they were all staring at was made of yellow wood with black railings, and gilded representations of ancient Growlithe were built onto its edge as decorations.

Across that bridge, a few basic arches were built as decoration over the wood. The small crowd at the base of the bridge craned their necks up, and a flash of red appeared followed by a crash.

The wood of an arch cracked as stones just barely missed a scurrying Ariados.

“Yeah! Just like that! Show me what you got!” someone on the bridge yelled out.

Hope and I picked up the pace to move there even faster.

As we arrived, no one paid us any mind, their gazes too locked onto the fight occurring on top of the bridge itself. Strange sounds started to echo out when we got closer, and I felt myself stumble slightly as we made our way through yet another crowd.

"Oh my god," I whispered.

"What is it?" Hope asked.

"He brought his own theme music."

Grainy music with simple, repeating lyrics played out as we finally gained a good view of what was going on in front of us.

There were four people involved, all whom I recognized. However, I’d only seen three of them in person, but the last had been in my thoughts for quite a while.

A young trainer in a blue-and-white-striped shirt leaned forward towards the battle, his stance making it clear that he was giving this his whole focus. Elio, the Alolan games’ male protagonist, shouted out one-word orders to tell his Pokémon to use specific moves. An orange, Lycanroc-Dusk jumped around ahead of him, and, behind him, Professor Kukui watched with a concerned expression on his face as Hala’s grandson, Hau, stood in front as if to protect the professor from any attacks.

I don’t think they realize Professor Kukui is one of the strongest Pokémon trainers here.

However, none of those three truly drew my attention. My gaze only lingered on them for a second before I turned my head upwards. There, at the very peak of the bridge, a white-haired man crouched on the ground with a mad grin on his face, squatting with his arms resting on his knees.

As Ariados and Lycanroc exchanged attacks, the man gained a mad grin that stretched across his face. In his hair, he wore a pair of lopsided, yellow sunglasses, and a bronze chain that ended in the symbol of Team Skull’s “S” hung around his neck. He looked as if he was greatly enjoying himself, and he had a certain air to him that made it seemed like he believed he deserved to stand there, above all of us.

"Yeah! How do you like that?!” he shouted, cackling like a villain straight out of a stereotypical television show. “The big bad Guzma showing his strength right here and now! You're making me laugh, Kukui! You really gonna hide behind a child this weak? C’mon!"

Guzma, the leader of Team Skull pressed his hands against his knees and leaned forward just like Elio. His Ariados sprung into action.

The red-carapaced spider leaped into the air, its yellow legs held out wide to stabilize it. A web of sticky thread shot out of its abdomen in an attempt to grab its opponent, but the Lycanroc-Dusk jumped to the side to dodge.

Unfortunately for the Rock Type hound, it wasn’t prepared for the Ariados to redirect that thread onto a different arch and carry itself forward in a swing. With incredible speed, it used its unoccupied head to spit out several sharped, poisoned needles that trailed after Lycanroc in a line. Given that this wasn’t an official battlefield, only a bridge, Lycanroc didn’t have the room to maneuver and was struck by the Poison Sting right into its side.

Guzma just laughed as the dog whined from its newly acquired poisoned condition. Hope and I approached Professor Kukui. The battle continued as everyone watched.

“Professor,” I said.

Hope nodded as Kukui turned our way.

“Alex. Hope. I didn’t expect you two to show up when I made the call.”

“Well, with all of the Island Challenge-goers heading to Ula’ula today, it makes sense we’d be nearby with Lillie,” I replied.

The Professor merely grimaced at my words as he turned back to the battle. Elio was struggling to have his Lycanroc land any hits against Ariados, and the wooden bridge was suffering for it.

This is going to be expensive to repair.

“I hate to say it, but Guzma hasn’t technically broken any laws, but I want you to be nearby in case he does,” Kukui said, his voice lacking any emotions at all. “Asking for Ace Trainer assistance might have been a bit premature of me. Pokémon battles are allowed in the gardens, but property damage is meant to be kept to a minimum.”

At that moment, Elio shouted for an “Accelrock!” and a set of stones launched out from Lycanroc. Ariados caught them in its web only to whip them right back at the dog. They crashed into the bridge’s wood and caused several of its darkened planks to crack.

We all winced at the sharp noise the sound made.

“Do we need to step in?” Hope asked.

“Only if—” Kukui gritted his teeth. “Only if things look like they’re about to take a turn for the worse.”

Frowning, our attention turned back to the battle, where Ariados jumped forward to leap right at Lycanroc and land on its back. The dog tried to summon a Rock Tomb to defend itself, but the spider was too fast as its legs jabbed into its side, and it bit down into Lycanroc’s neck.

A horrible howl rang out as the mandibles on the bug pressed down even harder. Several weak stones floated into the air before clattering to the ground, and the Lycanroc collapsed under the weight of the spider’s attack.

Guzma just continued to laugh.

“Fell Stinger, fool!” he shouted. “Now Ariados is empowered to sweep the rest of your team!”

Elio’s expression didn’t let up. He maintained a simple, determined stare forward. His eyes narrowed slightly as he silently considered what team member to send out next, and after returning Lycanroc, a new Pokémon appeared on the bridge.

I recognized this one immediately. It was a cat—his starter, specifically. Red and black, it stood on all fours with a small lick of immobile flame that almost looked like a bell around its neck. The Pokémon, Torracat, crouched down, readying itself for the battle, and Guzma just grinned even though Elio had just sent out a Pokémon with a distinct Type advantage.

“Ariados, return,” Guzma said.

Both Hope and I quietly expressed our surprise at that. Fell Stinger was a Bug Type move that drastically boosted a Pokémon’s capabilities if it fainted its target, which Ariados had successfully done against Lycanroc. Even with its disadvantage, it should have been more than strong enough to take out Torracat as it was now.

"You really want to be strong, kid? Face it! There's no point in any of this!” Guzma shouted. “The Island Challenge, the Pokémon League, even our battle! We've already established who the strongest trainer is, so why even bother with this nonsense?"

Elio stayed silent. Hau, nearby, shouted to respond.

"Oh yeah? And who's that?" he yelled.

I heard Hope groan, and I had to stop myself from covering my face. Kukui shook his head as Hau really fell for that obvious setup, hook, line, and sinker.

Of course, when presented with the expected reply, Guzma stood up, stretched by pressing his arms against his lower back, then he snapped into attention by swinging his arm around and pointing up at his face with his thumb.

“Me,” he said confidently. "I’m the strongest.”

Guzma then tossed forward a yellow and black Ultra Ball.

“Golisopod! Show yourself, once again! Go ahead and make your dramatic second impression!”

Hau yelped in surprise, mumbling something about having thought Guzma’s ace Pokémon had fainted earlier. Guzma pointed forward confidently as Golisopod, a plated, bipedal arthropod, extended its heavy claws out to slash the surprised Torracat across its chest.

The First Impression landed well enough.

“Flamethrower!”

“Razor Shell!”

The flame sac on Torracat’s neck rang like a bell as a burst of flames left its mouth. Golisopod, while Bug Type, was also part Water Type, and it pushed through the attack to slash its opponent once more, dealing super effective damage.

The heavy impact launched Torracat back, but, as it was a cat, it landed on its feet and slid down the sloped bridge. A hiss left its mouth as its hair stood on its ends. Burn marks appeared on the wood around its paws as flames licked off its body.

Hope scowled at the sight.

“They’re going to burn down the bridge if this keeps up,” she said quietly.

Guzma looked even more excited now than he did before.

Exchanging one last look, Hope and I nodded once, and Kukui didn’t stop us as we rushed forward. Torracat looked to be preparing another Fire Type move—a Fire Fang, likely—and Golisopod held up its claw for another Razor Shell. However, right when they were about to unleash their attacks, Hope and I sent a pair of Pokémon out.

Florges appeared in front of Torracat, surprising the feline and grabbing it as it jumped through the air, spinning with momentum before placing it back on the floor with a startled “Mrow!” Behind her, Hope’s heavy Tropius appeared with a burst of wind, and it turned to parry the incoming Razor Shell with its wide, back leaves.

“Yo! What’s the meaning of this!?” Guzma shouted.

Hope and I ran in front of Elio. The boy blinked in surprise.

“This battle is over. You’re risking too much property damage already. Based on the state of the bridge, we should get you to pay for the damage you’ve already caused, too!” Hope shouted.

Guzma sneered at us as he called Golisopod back. It jumped to land in front of him, and Torracat looked up to tilt its head towards Florges out of confusion.

“And who are you, anyway?” Guzma asked, annoyed.

“Hope, Wandering Elite,” she replied.

“Alex. Same,” I added.

He glanced between us, a scowl on his face. His eyes flicked between our Pokémon out of curiosity.

"You got the strength to back those words up?" Guzma replied.

"I do. Eleven star team,” Hope said. “Want to try us out?"

Guzma clicked his tongue again and immediately returned his Pokémon.

"Good. Now, you need to—"

"Hey, is this really what you want, Kukui?" Guzma suddenly shouted. Hope wasn’t able to keep talking. "Some random foreigner doing your job for you? Is this really what the Pokémon League will amount to? You’re inviting outsiders to police our region, involve themselves with our politics, and make demands where they don’t deserve to make demands!”

Murmurs spread around the crowd. I noted their tone. It wasn't positive.

"You're just as I remembered. A coward," Guzma spat. "You'll just roll over and show your belly to anyone as long as you get what you want."

Kukui bit his lip and didn't respond. He was visibly glaring at Guzma, but at the same time, it was clear something more was going on.

“Whatever. This is stupid. I’m—”

“Guzma!” I shouted.

The Team Skull leader paused out of annoyance and sent a glare my way. His hand lingered on an Ultra Ball on his belt, ready to send out his next Pokémon if pressed.

“What?” Guzma practically hissed.

“Do you really think you’re the strongest trainer in the region?” I asked.

For a moment, the annoyed look on Guzma’s face vanished as he blinked, surprised at my comment. He squinted his eyes at me, mostly out of suspicion, and he nodded his head one before gaining another grin.

“I’m destruction in human form!” he yelled. “Your boy Guzma’s the strongest trainer here!”

He glanced over to Kukui with a grin. Kukui clenched his hands into fists.

“Then...” I started. At this point, everyone’s attention was on me. “If you think you’re so strong, you should be aware of a chance coming up. Hope and I aren’t just here on coincidence. Alola will be getting its Pokémon League, and Alola’s eight Gym Leaders need to be decided.”

Surprised murmurs in the crowd. Guzma scowled.

“We’ve been testing strong trainers to see if they’d be able to fit in that role,” I continued. “While focused on them, the tests aren’t limited to Trial Captains, and anyone strong enough with the proper perspective has the potential to become a Gym Leader. If you’re as strong as you say you are, you should know that you’re on that list.”

Guzma froze, and this time, the crowd went utterly silent. Any sense of annoyance or anger completely vanished from Guzma’s face, being replaced by utter bewilderment.

“‘Cuse me?”

“You’ve trained under Hala. You’re an exceptional specialist in the Bug Type. Your lean towards crime is not in your favor, but the sheer level of loyalty you’ve inspired in Team Skull is something else. While I don’t know if you have the Pokémon to battle at all tiers of strength, you already have the support structure to have quite a number of possible Gym trainers.” Guzma opened and closed his mouth without forming any words. “We’ll be coming for you eventually to test your potential. If you think you could make it as a Gym Leader—”

“Tch.” He scoffed, interrupting me. “Nice joke.”

“I’m not kidding.”

The tense silence returned. The crowd behind us displayed a mixed reaction to my words. On one hand, rumors of people going around to test for Gym Leaders had already existed prior to this, but explicit details had never been concerned. That garnered a bit of excitement, but, at the same time, to hear that the infamous Guzma, of all people, was being tested as well?

To say people had their concerns was an understatement.

Guzma, still staring at me, seemed unable to respond. An arm twitched as if he wanted to make some sort of dramatic motion, and his eyes rapidly flicked between Hope, Kukui, and me. Eventually, he forced himself to turn away, and he finally sent out a bright red Scizor in front of him.

“Y-ya’ll are stupid!” he shouted. “I’m outta here!”

Before we could say anything else, he jumped up to latch a hand onto Scizor’s shoulder and pressed his feet against its back. Braced against his armored Bug Type, Scizor’s wings extended out just under Guzma’s chest, and it burst forward with an incredible speed, up and over the walls of the garden with Guzma riding on its back.

He was gone in seconds.

“He can do that?” Hope rubbed her eyes. “Ugh. You really sure you want to test him, Alex? Guzma kind of seems like a prick.”

I just sighed in response.

“At least I managed to inform him of my intentions.”

I turned back to Kukui and the rest, looking to where whispers were finally starting up within the crowd. Several pointed glances were sent my way as people began to split off. I knew that with my words, knowledge of this announcement would spread across the region in no time at all.

There’s probably going to be a report on the local news about this tonight.

Kukui didn’t seem upset. However, he didn’t look happy, either. As Hope and I walked down the sloped bridge, taking in the damage dealt to it from the past battle, the Professor whispered a few words to Hau and Elio, who nodded to him in response.

“Run along now, you two. Your Pokémon need to be healed,” he said to the pair of trainers.

The boys easily ran off, though Hau paused momentarily to look at Hope and I over his shoulder.

“So you went and told him,” Kukui said with a sigh.

“If everyone else already knew, it was only fair to let him prepare himself as well,” I replied.

The Professor just shook his head, taking off his cap and exposing his receding hairline. He rubbed his temples before placing his hat back on his head, and he looked to Hope and I once more.

“I don’t know if this is a good thing or bad thing. There’s always been people who object to the creation of the Pokémon League here, but knowing that you’re primarily drawing from Trial Captains will probably mollify those concerns. Guzma tends to be the biggest voice against the presence of a Gym Circuit, and he has his own share of supporters despite some of his less-than-favorable actions. Yet, if you’ve announced recruiting him...” He shook his head again. “Like I said, I don’t know.”

Hope and I didn’t respond to that. As we weren’t locals, we weren’t as in tune to the local political scene as Kukui. We were here for the exact reason I talked about—testing potential Gym Leaders and Elite Four members with an outside perspective. Hope still had her doubts, but I did believe Guzma had a chance.

After what felt like a long period of silence, Kukui spoke up once again.

“You know Guzma and I used to be apprentices together, underneath Hala,” he said.

I nodded. Kukui had mentioned that back on Melemele.

“Guzma desperately wanted to be a Trial Captain, but Hala didn’t let him, saying he had the wrong mindset. I was eventually offered the position, but I turned it down to pursue a role as a researcher. When Guzma found out...”

Kukui pressed his lips together.

“Having this chance might be what he wants, in a way. Recognition. A role to support that. A position of power. Don’t get me wrong, I believe he might be good at heart, but after some of the things he’s done...”

“Maybe this will cause a positive reaction?” Hope suggested.

“Maybe,” Kukui replied.

There was nothing more to say, and the Professor briefly thanked us for our help before turning around to head out of the gardens. There wasn’t anyone nearby anymore, with the crowd having already been dispersed, but I could see a few groups of people still lingering here and there.

“We’ll probably be recognized more often from here on out,” I mused.

Hope elbowed me in the arm, amused.

“Hey, maybe they’ll watch your battle against Cynthia,” she offered.

I don’t know why, but I shuddered at that. I kind of liked being able to walk around relatively unrecognized. Still, I didn’t have to dwell on that long, because we soon saw Lillie entering Malie Garden with her face locked into a completely emotionless expression and her limbs swinging with a robotic emotion.

Bellossom followed her, giggling. Altaria glided along in the air.

“Everything alright?” I asked as we met up with her.

Lillie shook her head and stared directly at the ground.

“Y-yes!” she shouted. “N-nothing happened!”

She refused to look me in the eyes.

Hope must have picked up on something, because she gained a knowing smile and leaned forward slightly with a mischievous grin on her face.

“Oh? Nothing? Are you sure?” Hope asked. “I could have sworn a certain Elio—”

“It was nothing!” Lillie yelled.

Hope cackled at the response.

“C’mon, we should head out,” I said to grant Lillie reprieve from Hope’s teasing. “We wanted to explore the city today, yeah?”

Lillie nodded her head, more than willing to leave and change the topic of the conversation.

Plus, I added silently, I’d rather not be stuck with the bill of fixing the damage to the bridge if we stick around.

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Author Note:

I also have a recommendation for the Pokémon Xianxia fiction, Twisted Garden, on Royal Road if you're interested.

Pokémon (and people) mentioned in this chapter (contains spoilers):
Ariados
Golisopod
Lycanroc-Dusk
Salandit
Scizor
Torracat
Yungoos
Zubat

Guzma

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