Pokemon Ascendance: Origins of Holon

21

'So if the next trial is in Lush Jungle, then I'm most likely going to be dealing with either grass or bug type pokemon.' Elsie thought. 'If that's the case then both Sapphire and Lucien should do just fine. Even Ico could come into play with his Pluck if things get rough.'

Despite trying to take a break from training as they rode upon Tauros, Elsie couldn't help but think about which teammates would be best suited for their next big battle. If she wasn't thinking about anything revolving around her pokemon then her mind immediately wandered back home.

Home.

'I hope the fights haven't been getting worse...'

Elsie quickly shook the thoughts away and scanned her surroundings. Prism was walking alongside Snowy, Sapphire was flying around with Hau's Raichu. The rest of her pokemon were resting in their pokeballs, especially Skye. Everything was fine and going well. Actually a little better than she expected.

'I wonder what this Professor Burnet is going to be like?'

Elsie didn't know just how much they had backtracked until she realized that they had passed the Hano Grand Resort. Before she knew it, they all stopped in front of a small building. The sign in front of it read Dimensional Research Lab.

"Well, we're here," Lillie said.

Elsie nodded and thanked the Tauros that brought them all the way here before following her friends into the lab. Prism and Sapphire both hopped onto her shoulders as they entered the elevator. Looking around once they were on the third floor, Elsie immediately noticed pictures of...at least what she could only assume were odd-looking pokemon. Each picture was labeled with what looked like a code of some sort, all codes starting with UB.

'I've never seen pokemon like these before...not even in the Alola Pokedex that I looked up.'

Elsie was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps coming towards her. Looking up she saw a woman standing there.

"Elsie, this is Professor Burnet," Lillie said.

"So you're the one that traveled all the way here to start a journey. It's nice to meet finally meet you." Burnet greets with a smile.

Elsie nodded, smiling a little as well. "It's nice to meet you too. I...didn't know that Alola had two pokemon professors. From what I've heard, most regions only have one."

"Yeah, she and Kukui make a pretty awesome team," Hau commented.

As if on cue, Professor Kukui appeared behind them. "Hey, there honey. I see you're already meeting Elsie."

'Wait, honey? Does that mean that they're married?' Elsie thought. 'I guess that makes more sense on why they're two professors in this region. They must study these odd-looking pokemon together.'

Once again she was pulled out of her thoughts when Kukui placed a hand on her shoulder. "So how have your trials been coming along?"

"We've been doing well. I only got the trial in Lush Jungle left."

"Yeah, you should've seen her during the Fire Trial!" Hau added. "She and her Rockruff found a way to take away some of the Totem Marowak's power."

"Sounds like an intense battle. Maybe you wouldn't mind taking a shot at a Battle Royale or two yeah?"

"Maybe. I think I'll just take most of today easy." Elsie said. "Skye definitely deserves as much rest as he can get."

'Plus I'm not sure if constant battles would do good for him if he's already at the phase Rockruff go through right before evolving. I don't want him getting too riled up for no reason.'

"Well, how about you see a couple of matches at least?" Hau suggested. "They're just as fun to watch as they are to take part in."

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing what they're like."

"Great it's settled! We all see the match tonight from the Masked Royal himself!"

Elsie giggled a little at her friend's excitement before turning her attention back to the pictures on the walls.

"I've been meaning to ask...what pokemon are those? I've never seen anything like them when I was researching Alola."

"These are what we have been calling Ultra Beasts." Professor Burnet explains. "Throughout Alola's history, there have been hints here and there about their existence.  What looked like cracks in the sky would appear occasionally. It wasn't until a few years ago that we really got anywhere with our research on these creatures. This lab has been working with certain members of the Aether Foundation to learn as much as we can about the Ultra Beasts."

"Yeah, those things are crazy strong and crazy scary," Hau added. "Even strong enough to go toe to toe with our Island Guardians. And who knows when they can just show up through those Ultra Wormholes."

"So these creatures aren't considered pokemon? Don't think I've heard anything like that before..."

"Just make sure that you're super careful if you ever see an Ultra Wormhole opening up around you," Lillie advised. "No one has been able to predict when one will open yet."

"I'll keep that in mind."

'Now that they're speaking about creatures from another world...I wonder where the former Holon Guardians came from?' she thought. 'Was their home similar to the world where the Ultra Beasts live or is it that place that keeps popping up in my dreams?'

"Well sorry to leave so soon but there's a business that I gotta handle," Kukui said. "Let me know how the match goes yeah?"

"Oh. Leaving so soon? Thought you'd stay a little longer." Professor Burnet commented.

"Yeah. Guess time flies. But I'm sure that you'll have fun watching tonight's match with the kids. Make sure that our trial-goer here gets the best experience for her first Battle Royale, yeah?"

"Alright then. I'll see you later."

Elsie blinked in confusion as Kukui waved goodbye and walked off.

'That little conversation between them...nothing happened. Neither of them suddenly just blew up and yelled when Kukui said he was going to leave. And Professor Burnet was completely fine with him leaving even though it wasn't what she had hoped. I know that kinda functional relationship has existed for a long time but...seeing it in person is almost mind-blowing.'

"Alright you three, let's wrap up things here so we can get the best seats for tonight's match." Professor Burnet said.

.............

Elsie tilted her head when the Masked Royal made his appearance before leaning over to Lillie.

"Hey...is it just me or-"

"Yes it's the professor but he'll never admit to it."