Dawn, like an idiot, tried to wash the dishes after coming back inside. I immediately waved her away, looking at her arms that had been rewrapped from her wrist to her shoulder in bandages. Rolling my eyes I turned to the sink and began washing the dishes with the soap and sponge next to the faucet.
"I can at least help dry," she stated petulantly and I glared at her over my shoulder.
"For someone who claims to be a trainer you don't seem to take care of yourself very well. What will happen if you hurt yourself more?" I asked angrily.
Dawn blinked and her cheeks became tinted with red, although I couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or anger. Before she could retort I turned around and scrubbed the pot we boiled the berries in.
"If you can't travel then you can't train and then you are no use to your pokemon," I pointed out flippantly as I continued scrubbing.
The sound of bare feet crossing the floor towards me made me roll my eyes, making me remember how she came outside this morning in bare feet as well.
"My cuts are healing really well because of Mrs. Jun; the only thing that really hurts is my shoulder," Dawn said leaning back against the counter and looking over at me as I continued washing the dishes. "How weak do you think I am?" she asked with a frown.
Unbidden, a derisive laugh erupted from my chest and I looked over at her with mirth.
"Do you want me to answer that?" I asked and her cheeks went red again, this time definitely from anger.
"Why are you such a jerk, huh? You are helping me and yet you insult me without a second thought. What's your deal?" she asked with obvious frustration and I shrugged.
"I just say what I think," I responded unapologetically, rinsing off the pan and placing it on the drying rack next to me.
"If you think I'm so weak and not worth your time then why did you help me with the poffins?" she asked angrily and I raised an eyebrow at her.
"It would have made me feel guilty if you hurt yourself while making something for my pokemon. I have no desire to be indebted to you," I answered bluntly.
To my surprise, all the anger in her expression faded and was replaced with a curious expression. Her blue eyes regarded me as if she had just discovered a new species of pokemon. I turned away, not liking the squishy feeling I was getting in my stomach from the look.
"What?" I asked gruffly, moving on to the mixing bowl.
Dawn didn't respond for several seconds and I looked over at her to see that she had turned to look out the window where Torterra could be seen sitting on the grass and soaking in the sun.
"You may say what you think, but I wonder if you understand why you think the way you do," she said slowly, continuing to stare outside at Torterra.
I blinked then shook my head. She really is an idiot, I thought with a hint of pity before turning my focus back on the dishes.
Dawn didn't say anything else but she stood next to me as I finished the small amount of dishes in the sink. Taking advantage of the silence I turned my thoughts to more important things and began going through all of the pokemon that were known to be found on Melemele island in my mind's eye.
"I'm back everyone!" Hau's voice rang out from the front door.
A feeling of annoyance washed over me as I placed the last cleaned dish on the drying rack and turned to look at the lackadaisical trainer. Finding out this morning that he was a Kahuna was a serious blow to my excitement for completing the island challenge. I couldn't see how anyone who was as clueless and carefree as this guy could be any kind of challenge to me.
"Welcome back, Hau," Dawn said with a smile, pushing off from where she was leaning on the counter and walking over to him.
"Where are your pokemon?" Hau asked, glancing around as if he was expecting to see a little blue body come running to greet him.
"They're playing outside," Dawn replied with an amused smile.
I blinked, looking out the window to see that her weakling Piplup was indeed climbing up Torterra's shell and then sliding down the other side. For a second I seriously felt embarrassed to be his trainer.
"Well, I found my gramps, and he said he'll have your Z-stones ready for you tomorrow afternoon. He'll bring them to the house when they're done," Hau announced with a smile before raising his hand which had two colorful patches dangling from his closed fist. "And these are your amulets to prove that you are participating in the island challenge," he said, extending his hand and dropping one of the things into Dawn's waiting hand.
Reluctantly I took the gaudy thing and stuffed it in my pocket. "I'll be heading out then," I announced to no one in particular, turning to leave.
"Wait up! I want to talk to you some more," Hau said and I scoffed.
"I've already wasted enough time this morning, Torterra and I are going out to train," I stated while brushing past him, but scowled when I felt a hand clasp my shoulder, halting me from my forward progress.
"Cool your jets, man You'll like what I've got to say, I promise!" Hau said coming to stand next to me with his signature dumb smile. I did my best not to grind my teeth from frustration and folded my arms, silently waiting.
"Well, like I said the other day, I'm a Kahuna and one of the things that a Kahuna does is take care of the starter pokemon for people setting out on the island challenge for the first time," Hau said with a grin and Dawn stepped forward, her eyes shimmering with interest.
"Really?" she asked and Hau grinned stupidly at her.
"Yah! And well, there is this one starter pokemon that several trainers have tried to take but he just won't listen and keeps running away from the trainers," Hau said, finally dropping his grin for a more reserved expression. "I've tried having it go around the island with me and it seems like it needs a more experienced trainer. So I was wondering if one of you wanted to take a look at it?" Hau asked, glancing between me and Dawn.
Using my photographic memory I was able to call up the pokedex entries that I had reviewed for the three Alolan starter pokemon. I curiously wondered if any of them would be worth making a part of my team.
"I wouldn't mind meeting it, but what kind of pokemon is it?" Dawn asked and I regarded her for a moment.
I had been legitimately shocked when she told me angrily that she has won several gym badges throughout her travels. The thought of a coordinator being able to secure even one badge seemed far-fetched and I wondered if she would actually be able to handle a pokemon that routinely abandoned its trainers.
"Well then, why don't you follow me? The little guy usually hangs around up on the Melemele trail during the mornings," Hau said with his stupid grin and Dawn excused herself to put her shoes on. "She's a looker that Dawn, huh?" Hau remarked as she disappeared down the hall and I glanced over at him blankly.
"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked flatly.
If I was being honest I had to agree; Dawn was much easier on the eyes than the majority of girls I had the displeasure of knowing. Still, being pretty didn't make her any less of a weak coordinator.
"Sheesh, man. I was just making conversation," Hau said with an exasperated sigh.
I smirked, hoping that he'd finally get the hint that I didn't have any desire to talk to him. Dawn came back shortly and after I returned Torterra to his Pokeball Hau led us across the town square and towards a trailhead.
We followed the path further up the island and against my will I found myself glancing over at Dawn to make sure that she was keeping up alright. To my surprise, she didn't seem to have any trouble keeping up with Hau and me. It also didn't seem like her cuts had reopened so I forced myself to focus on the trail, telling myself that it would be her own fault if she hurt herself again.
Her Piplup on the other hand had as much stamina as a happiny. We only made it a few minutes going up the trail before it began lagging behind us and breathing dramatically. Dawn scooped the little butterball into her good arm but Hau almost immediately took the weakling from her and put him on his shoulders, holding onto his little feet and laughing as Piplup chattered non-stop at him. His constant peeping began to grate on my nerves and I seriously considered turning back, but just when I reached my limit the trail led to a set of wooden stairs that opened up to a flat area with a wooden bridge connecting this side of the trail to another portion of the island.
As I walked up the stairs I had a strange sensation of being watched. I turned, looking behind my shoulder and up into the trees where a pair of yellow eyes were staring straight at me. I met the piercing gaze straight on, taking mental notes as I observed the silent pokemon. It was a litten. Its fur was glossy, boasting health, and as it continued sitting silently at me its intelligent eyes seemed to be weighing me and calculating how best to destroy me. A smile spread across my lips as I met its gaze, daring it to try.
"I wonder where the rascal went, he's normally sunning himself on the rock over here," Hau said, oblivious to the mental battle going on between me and the hiding litten.
"You haven't told us what kind of pokemon we're looking for," Dawn pointed out gently and if I wasn't still staring down the litten I would have smirked at Hau
"He's a litten, of course!" Hau announced with a grin, bouncing Piplup up and down and making him squawk as he tried to get his flippers to grip Hau's head without eating his ponytail.
Litten's gaze went to Piplup, breaking our contest like it never happened, and it growled softly. I like this pokemon, I thought to myself with a grin.
"Oh, Paul, you already found it."
Dawn's voice came from right next to my shoulder and it took every ounce of willpower I had not to flinch from surprise. She came to stand next to me, close enough to almost rub shoulders with me before she leaned forward and looked up into the tree Litten was hiding in.
"Hello," she called up to the pokemon softly and Litten regarded her before turning his yellow eyes back on me. "It looks like Litten wants to battle you," Dawn commented, glancing up at me with a smile.
She really is observant, I thought grudgingly. I had expected her to say how 'cute' it was and try to claim it for her own... Why was she so different from other girls I had met?
"That wouldn't surprise me at all. Litten loves to battle," Hau said loudly, coming over to stand next to Dawn as he looked up into the tree. "Why don't you come down and battle against Paul? He's got a super strong pokemon from Sinnoh," Hau called up to Litten who flicked his tail once but did not move from his spot on the branch.
I turned away from the pokemon, taking several steps towards the edge of the island without looking back. When I reached the foot of the wooden bridge I turned and smirked when I saw that Litten was sitting on the opposite side of the small clearing, regarding me with a superior expression.
We'll see how long you can stay all high and mighty, I thought with growing excitement and I enlarged Torterra's pokeball.
"Remember, you asked for it," I said, pointing the pokeball threateningly at Litten, but the black and red pokemon just got to his feet and crouched down as if preparing to attack. "Torterra, standby for battle!" I called, releasing Torterra in a flash of red light and he appeared in front of me, roaring threateningly. Torterra may be the gentlest of my pokemon, but he loved to battle as much as I did and he gave his best no matter what his opponent was.
To its credit, Litten didn't immediately run away when he saw the behemoth he would have to fight. Although I did notice with interest that the fur along its back was standing on end, much higher than I had thought possible. I wondered if it was because he was afraid or if he was trying to make himself seem like a bigger threat than he really was.
With a threatening hiss, Litten dashed forward, jumped in the air, and peppered Torterra with an ember attack. Torterra barely even blinked at the attack, proving the huge gap in their levels since he was normally weak against fire attacks. Litten dropped to the ground, for the first time looking a little worried, but I didn't call out an attack and Torterra patiently stood still so Litten once again began running towards him.
"Now, use Stone Edge!" I said as Litten jumped again, getting ready for another ember attack.
Torterra roared and stones erupted from directly underneath Litten, catching the little pokemon mid jump and tossing him end over end into the air. When he finally crashed to the ground he was already unconscious and Dawn rushed to him.
"Don't worry, Dawn. That was a powerful attack but Litten is tough, he'll be fine," Hau said with a grin, looking over at me with something akin to interest.
Dawn pulled her backpack off without responding to Hau's comment and rummaged around, bringing out one of her traveling capsules and pushing the button while holding out her left hand. A super potion appeared in a jet of red light and she gripped the base with a slight wince. Annoyance washed over me as I watched her disregard her own injury to begin applying the potion to Litten's bruises.
I opened my mouth to scold her but Torterra began walking over to her, blocking my view. Sighing I tucked my hands in my jacket pockets and walked over to Dawn and the fallen litten.
As I came to stand next to Torterra the litten blinked its eyes and looked around, coming face to face with Torterra's giant mouth. Screeching in fright it jumped into the air, once again poofing its fur up as tall as it would go, and landed on its paws growling at Torterra. A rumbling laugh gurgled through Torterra's chest and Litten's fur poofed out even more as it released its claws and scratched at the ground menacingly.
"Calm down," I ordered the jumpy pokemon sternly.
It jerked his head away from staring at Torterra so it could look at me. Catching an alolan starter pokemon hadn't crossed my mind since I had been on my journey for eight years now and I didn't relish the idea of training a weak pokemon for months before it got to be strong enough to have a spot on my team. But this litten had shown spunk and even after getting beaten with one hit, he hadn't run away from Torterra; although it was obvious he was scared spitless.
"What do you think, Litten?" Hau asked as he lifted Piplup up and over his head and placed him gently on the ground. "Both Paul and Dawn are great trainers. Do you want to travel with one of them?"
Litten looked at Hau, then at Dawn, before turning his yellow eyes back to me.
"I don't accept weaklings on my team. If you choose me, then be ready for lots of training," I told him bluntly, meeting his yellow eyes with a hard stare.
Litten shrank back slightly under my gaze and he glanced for a moment over at Dawn. Noticing the look Dawn smiled, reaching out and stroking Litten's neck and back gently.
"I would welcome you on my team, Litten, but if you want to be strong then I think you should go with Paul. Torterra won't let him push you too hard," she said with a little wink at Torterra.
I frowned, glancing at Torterra who was smiling in quiet agreement. Traitor, I thought inwardly. After a few seconds of silence, Litten jumped away from Dawn's hand, giving Torterra a wide berth before coming to sit in front of my feet, looking up at me with determination.
"Hmph, I guess that's that," I conceded, squatting down and narrowing my eyes. "If you leave me without my permission I will make sure you regret it for the rest of your life."
Litten blinked, regarding me with an uncertain expression before setting its little jaw and nodding silently.
"Great, then here is his Pokeball," Hau said, tossing it to me and I caught it easily.
Standing up I pointed the ball at Litten and returned him without a word, but I thought I saw Litten's whiskers turn up in a cat-like smile before disappearing into the pokeball.
A/N One thing that I really enjoyed while I was reading First Light (a fantastic ikarishipping fic if you haven't read it I highly suggest it) was that @gymnastgirlflips made it so pokemon could learn more than 4 moves, but were limited to using only 4 during a battle. I am going to be using that same idea in my pokemon battles, so hopefully you don't find it confusing.