Pokemon Ascendance: Origins of Holon

16

Following Lana's instruction, Elsie carefully climbs on the back of a Lapras that had shown up right after the trial captain had come in. Prism looked around curiously, sitting on Lapras's head.

"So, trial goer, this is what I want you to do. See those spots over there? Where all the splashing is at?" Lana pointed to the areas where Elsie could see something splashing about, creating a bit of chaos. "I want you to investigate those spots. When you're done, the Totem Pokemon should come out which will give you a chance to battle it."

"So investigate the splashing and wait for the Totem Pokemon to appear after...not too difficult." Elsie muttered to herself before nodding. "Alright. I got it."

"Good luck Elsie!" Lillie called out as the trial goer went out on Lapras, heading to the closest spot of splashing. The moment she got close, whatever was causing the splashing jumped out, prepared to attack.

As if in response, Skye let himself out of his pokeball, flying forward to face the strange pokemon. A simple Rock Throw was enough to send the pokemon flying back and retreating.

"Wow...thanks Skye." Elsie said as her Rockruff landed right beside Prism. "But...what was that pokemon?"

"Dewpider, a bug and water type." Rotom explained, taking her question as a cue to pull out the dex entry. "Also known as the Water Bubble Pokemon. It can only breathe oxygen that has dissolved in water, so it wears a water bubble on its head when it walks around on land."

Elsie nodded in understanding. "I guess we'll have to be on the lookout for those while we're doing this trial. One splashing area down and two more to go...let's keep moving. Lapras, can you take us to the next spot, please?"

Lapras nodded and brought Elsie to the next water area. Size-wise, it looked about the same as the one closest to the entrance but the spot where there was a lot of splashing seemed a bit bigger than the first. As they approached, Skye readied himself, for anything that might jump out.

"You wanna battle this one too?" Elsie asked.

Skye turned back to her and nodded. If he was going to stay on this team, then he had to be at least one of Elsie's strongest pokemon. And the only way to get stronger was to battle as many opponents as he could.

As soon as they were close enough, another Dewpider jumped out of the water. This one was faster than the first that they had encountered. Before Skye could react, the Dewpider used Bubble Beam. Skye wasn't able to dodge in time and ended up being knocked back by the sudden attack. Luckily, Elsie was able to catch him before he fell into the water.

"S-Skye are you alright!?"

Skye shook the attack off before nodding. The Dewpider attacked again, using Bubble Beam once more. Prism stepped forward, countering it with Swift. The star-shaped projectiles got trapped from within the bubbles, the collision stopping the track of both moves. The Dewpider stood there, confused at what just happened.

"Now Prism, fend it off with Dragon Rage!" Elsie called out.

"Vee!" Prism took a breath before using Dragon Rage, the attack being enough to knock it back and cause the Dewpider to flee.

"Good work Prism. Now there's only one more spot left to check." Elsie praised. She then looked at Skye, who was looking down, avoiding everyone's gaze. She gave the Rockruff a small smile before scratching the back of his ears. "Don't be too hard on yourself. We all get caught off guard sometimes. You'll have plenty of chances to battle and win against strong pokemon."

Skye slowly nodded, feeling a bit better.

Taking Elsie's cue, Lapras then went to the next area. As they approached the next splashing spot, this one being the biggest one yet. Like before, another Dewpider appeared and attacked.

"Skye, use Rock Throw!" Elsie said. "And aim for one of its legs."

Skye nodded and aimed his attack on the wild pokemon's legs. Rock Throw landed and the third Dewpider ended up flipping, not being able to land properly.

"Now use Bite!"

Skye jumped forward and used Bite. The two attacks were enough to make the final Dewpider flee. Soon after it disappeared, it began to rain.

'I guess that's a sign that the Totem Pokemon is going to show up really soon.' Elsie thought. Seeing the discomfort her Rockruff had with the rain, she immediately returned him, wishing him a good rest.

Prism looked over Elsie's shoulders and growled, readying herself for battle. Confused, Elsie turned around to see what her pokemon was growling at and there she saw a large pokemon. One that looked like a larger version of Dewpider in a way.

"Is that...the evolved form of a Dewpider?" she asked Rotom.

"Correct. This is Araquanid, a water and bug type just like Dewpider." Rotom said. "It has a habit of storing things it values in its water bubble. If its trainer doesn't watch out, Araquanid will try to put them in its bubble."

"So making direct contact might be out of the question, we don't want anyone getting stuck in those bubbles." Elsie thought aloud, before pulling out Ico's pokeball. "Ico, come on out and use Razor Leaf!"

The Dartrix wasted no time, immediately using Razor Leaf the moment he appeared. The damage didn't seem like it was too effective as Araquanid endured the hit and then responded with Aurora Beam. Ico easily flew out of the ice-type move's path.

'I guess this one is really prepared for any grass types that might go up against it. I need to find a way to do super-effective damage while steering clear of those bubbles. Come on think...there's gotta be a way to do it.'

As Dartrix continued to avoid Aurora Beams being shot at him, Elsie studied the body of Araquanid. Soon she found a place where there shouldn't be a risk in getting trapped in its bubbles.

"Ico, use Peck on Araquanid's back!" she called out.

Ico flew on top of the Totem Pokemon and landed Peck in the middle of its back. The planned seemed to have worked as Araquanid struggled erratically, but unable to reach Ico.

"Keep it up! I think we got the upper hand now!"

After the assault of Pecks on its back, the Araquanid looked like it was struggling to stand.

"Ico, use one last Peck but this time on one of its legs. That should be enough to end this battle."

The Dartix nodded and dove down to the Totem Pokemon's leg. One was enough to make the Araquanid fall.