Pokemon Ascendance: Origins of Holon

14

"Okay...so right now we're in Hea Hea City?" Elsie asked Rotom as it showed her a map of Akala Island.

"Correct. The first trial you should face is in Brooklet Hill." Rotom explained. "The best way to go there is to go through Route 4 to reach Paniola Town and then head to the trial site using Route 5."

"Got it. Thank you Rotom."

"No problem!"

"Alright, so after exploring a bit here, let's head to Route 4." she said to Prism. "From the sounds of it, we'll have some chances to train along the way. That sound like a good plan?"

"Vee!" Prism nodded, eagerly wagging her tail. Elsie smiled and nodded.

"Great, then it's settled. We should probably be on the lookout for Malasada Shops. Hau said those are great ways to bond with a pokemon and I think having Skye try one will have him more comfortable around me and other humans that we'll come across."

They quickly explored Hea Hea City, briefly browsing the clothing store and the beach before deciding it was time to head to Route 4. Just as she had hoped, Elsie ran into a few trainers along the way and had a few battles. Skye seemed to have really enjoyed battling the moment he was brought out.

'So allowing Skye to battle often is another good way for us to be closer.' Elsie thought, making sure she remembered that for later times.

Prism ran ahead the moment Paniola Town was in sight, eagerly looking around at their new surroundings. 

"This place kinda looks like something that would be in like an old western movie or something." Elsie commented as she caught up to her pokemon. "Maybe we should rest a little bit before heading onto Route 5."

"So, you actually made it all the way here. Can't say that I'm not surprised. Figured you would flee and quit the moment you saw that Totem Raticate."

Elsie looked forward to see Evan standing there, a Torracat standing there at his side. Immediately at the sight of them, Prism growled.

Elsie stood there in silence, not sure what to say to the boy. She couldn't help but tense up the moment she heard his voice.

'Okay...just don't do anything to offend him and then this little situation should go by smoothly.' she thought, trying to keep herself from freezing up too much. 'But...how do I respond?'

"W-Well...it's true that the Raticate was pretty scary but we managed to pull through." Elsie explained. "We've gotten stronger."

"I doubt it." Evan replied. "You're still the incompetent trainer I've met in Melemele. You can't even face me without stuttering and averting your eyes somewhere else."

"Ee! Eevee!" Prism growled as she took another step forward. Both Evan and his Torracat gave an unimpressed look.

"Not to mention you can hardly control your pokemon."

"Prism is just p-protective when she feels like she needs to be." Elsie reasoned as she picked up her Eevee. "We were just about to rest up before going to Brooklet Hill."

"Give up while you're ahead. Your luck isn't going to get you that far in the Island Challenge."

"I'm not going to know how far I can go if I don't try."

Prism seemed to approve of the response that her trainer gave, turning to her and nodding while smiling.

'I guess there's more to why Prism acts this way around certain people the moment I passed the exam...' Elsie thought. 'Her being protective also serves as an example of what kind of a trainer that she wants me to become. One that isn't intimidated by stuff like this. Her actions are making a lot more sense now.'

Elsie then took a deep breath. "No matter what anyone says, I'm not backing down on the Island Challenge. I, Prism, and Sapphire didn't come all the way to a different region just to not do much. We came here to start a journey. For other regions, a journey is just something that happens to all the kids when they become of age. Most kids in Holon can't do that, making this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'm not wasting one second of it."

The two trainers continued their staredown, a small breeze blew past them. After a few moments had passed, Evan simply sighed and shrugged.

"Fine then. I guess we'll see how far you can actually make it. Just know that luck and simply wanting to make the best out of an opportunity isn't enough. At the rate you're going, I doubt that you'll be able to defeat any of the Totem Pokemon here."

He soon disappeared into the Pokemon Center. Elsie assumed that the one here was a lot closer than any other between this point and the trial site after Brooklet Hill.

"I guess...stuff like that is just something that I'm gonna have to deal with from now on." Elsie sighed. "But...at the same time, we could use that kind of belief to our advantage."

"Ee?" Prism tilted her head in confusion.

"Think about it Prism. No one said we have to look strong in order to be that. For any trainers that think we're gonna go down easily, they'll be shocked when actually battling us, and we can use their shock to turn the battle in our favor. We could end up winning quite a few battles that way."

Prism's eyes widened at that realization. That definitely could give them easy control of any battle if whoever they're facing believes that they were weak. Plus the look on their faces when their perceptions are destroyed would be quite satisfying to see. Especially if at one point in time, those expressions were shown on Evan and Demetria's faces. That would certainly be something that she would love to see. The two people underestimating and berating her dear trainer suddenly realize that she's much stronger than they think.

"So, even though I have to work on my timidness, let people think what they want them to think," Elsie said with a smile. "And we'll all focus on finding what makes us strong."