Pokemon Ascendance: Origins of Holon

19

Elsie watched as a group of Alolan Marowak danced around right in front of her. There was someone with them, either instructing the dancing Marowak or joining in the dance. Maybe it was a little bit of both. They were so focused on their dance that they didn't seem to notice Elsie standing there.

'Maybe I should just wait until they're done.' Elsie thought. 'I don't wanna bug them...plus the dance they're doing looks cool.'

So she sat down and continued to watch the group dance. 'So the Marowak in the Alola Region have the ability to light the bones they carry on fire...it kinda looks like an eerie color.'

Skye tilted his head curiously at the dance, just as fascinated by it as his trainer. The two of them watched in silence for a bit, only until one Marowak just happened to turn its head and see them, stopping in its tracks. This caused the others to bump into it and look around in confusion to see what was going on.

Elsie soon tensed when all eyes were suddenly on her.

"S-sorry. I uh...didn't wanna stop your practicing and decided to watch until you were done." she stammered before standing up. "My name is Elsie, a trial-goer. Y-You're Kiawe right?"

The Marowak's trainer nodded. "Yeah. I think I saw you with Lillie and Hau earlier."

"Yeah. I'm from the Holon Region and they've been helping me find my way around here. A-Anyway...I'm ready for your trial."

Kiawe nodded with a smile. "Great. Then allow me to explain how my trial works. It's a bit different than the ones you've seen up until this point."

As if on cue, Three Marowak formed in a line in front of Elsie.

"This is gonna test your observation skills." Kiawe explained. "These Marowak will show you one dance and then another. It'll be your job to spot the difference."

Elsie nodded in understanding before she and Skye focused their attention on the Marowak in front of them. "We're ready."

"Then let the dance begin!"

Kiawe snapped his fingers and the three Marowak began their dance. Skye and Elsie studied their movements, making sure that they didn't miss anything. The Marowak posed for a few seconds before moving onto the next dance.

When they were done, Elsie thought for a moment before pointing to the Marowak in the middle. "The way that Marowak is holding its bone is the difference."

At first the Marowak were caught off guard that they were quickly found out but it wasn't long until the Marowak jumped into action. Immediately Skye jumped out of Elsie's arms, more than ready to face the sudden foe.

"Skye, dodge and then use Rock Throw!"

Skye jumped over the bone swung at him before using Rock Throw right at the Marowak's back. The Bonekeeper Pokemon stumbled a bit and Skye took that opportunity to advance, using Rock Throw again. Elsie was caught off guard at that for a bit. The Marowak soon retreated as Skye growled.

'I know he's been fired up for battling but not this fired up.' she thought. 'Does this mean that he's close to evolving?'

"Excellent!" Kiawe praised. "My Marowak was so pleased by your answer that it simply had to battle you. Now, onto the second dance."

Elsie nodded but quickly glanced at Skye to make sure that he was alright. It seemed that he had returned to his usual focused self.

'Maybe it was just in the heat of the moment.' Elsie thought before focusing her attention back on the dancing Marowak.

"We're ready."

The Marowak begun their second set of dances. Like the first time, Elsie and Skye kept their full focused on the movements. But when the second pose was struck, both blinked in confusion. Nothing about the Marowak's poses were different. But squinting her eyes, Elsie spotted the different.

"The Marowak on the left has its eyes closed." she pointed out.

The Marowak jumped back in shock before quickly recovering, prepared to jump into action. But it was quickly interrupted by something Elsie wasn't prepared for.

"Alola!" a hiker suddenly jumped in front, pulling out a Pokeball and sending out a Magmar. "Use Flameburst!"

Skye took the attack head-on, but shook the pain off and began running full speed.

"Use Rock Throw!"

The attack became something stronger as Skye howled.

"That was a new move!" Rotom exclaimed. "Skye just learned Rock Tomb!"

"That's awesome Skye!" Elsie praised.

Magmar stumbled back, its movements seeming to be a bit sluggish now.

'I shouldn't use Rock Throw or Rock Tomb that much so Skye can use most of that strength can go up against the Totem Pokemon.' Elsie thought. 'That Rock Tomb did a lot of damage to Magmar so we should be fine not using a rock type move again.'

"Skye, use Bite!"

The Rockruff nodded and jumped on top of the opposing Magmar, using Bite. It wasn't long until the Magmar fell, no longer able to battle. The hiker quickly returned his exhausted pokemon and thanked Elsie for the battle.

"My hiker friend was so pleased by your correct answer that it simply had to battle you." Kiawe explained. Behind the trial captain and trainer, Elsie noticed the Marowak pouting. Seemed like it was rather upset that the hiker took the battle it wanted to participate in. "Now, onto the final dance."

Elsie looked at Skye for a moment. He was standing there, trying hard to catch his breath. She could've sworn that she heard him snarl for a split second before shaking his head, as if he was trying to snap himself out of something. "Skye, are you still alright to keep battling?"

"Rock, ruff!" Skye looked back at his trainer and nodded.

Though still a little concerned, Elsie slowly nodded back. "Alright, if you're sure...but please don't push yourself. Let me know when you're too tired to go on okay?"

She then looked back at Kiawe and nodded. "We're ready."

Taking that as a cue, the Marowak began their final dance, the hiker joining in on the posing. When the second dance was finished, everything seemed the same. Every pose, every movement...this time there was absolutely nothing that looked different.

'I don't see anything. Both dances were the same.' Elsie thought.

"Ruff!" Skye barked, looking beyond the little stage the Marowak were performing on. Behind it was another Marowak. One larger than the others seen up until this point. It only looked roughly the same size as the other three because of the distance, which made it a bit easier to hide in the background.

"The larger Marowak in the back. That's the difference."

The large Marowak seemed to have nodded in approval before stepping forward, looking more than ready to battle. Elsie took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself to finish this trial.