Pokemon Ascendance: Origins of Holon

26

When Elsie woke up the next morning, she still felt the dull throbbing of Skye's bite from last night.

'I wonder how he's doing by the way.' she pondered. 'He hasn't even tried to come near me ever since last night.'

After preparing breakfast, Elsie let her team out only to discover the concerning realization that her Rockruff was nowhere to be found.

"Skye?" she called out. "Skye where are you?"

She didn't get a response. Lucien began sniffing around, only for the scent to lead him to the exit. Seeing that, Elsie remembered a small detail when first looking at the Pokedex entry of Rockruff.

It's said that it leaves its trainer's side to evolve and returns again when fully evolved.

"So Skye thought it was time for him to finish the rest of his evolution journey alone." Elsie thought aloud. Unease settled in upon remembering this. Part of her wanted to stop everything and search for her pokemon, but at the same time, if this was just what every Rockruff goes through when they're close to evolving then Skye should have the space that he needs.

'If only I knew how long this usually lasts. Then maybe I wouldn't be so worried.'

She already knew that Olivia was waiting for her at the Ruins of Life, most likely preparing for their Grand Trial. Lillie went ahead as well, which meant that she was also waiting for her. Elsie sighed and got ready, figuring that either way she would be making her way to Akala's ruins today. There was something that she wanted to do before taking on her last challenge on this island.

..........

"Morning Kahuna Olivia." Elsie greeted as she approached the ruins. As she expected, Olivia and Lillie were standing there waiting for her.

"Good morning to you too Elsie." Olivia greeted with a smile. "I'm assuming that you're ready for our battle."

"Almost. Before that there's something that I want to ask you." Elsie said. "It's about the Ruins of Life. Do uh... are regular trainers allowed to go in there or is it something only the Kahunas have access to?"

"What an interesting question. It's true that many trainers and even wild pokemon don't even come near the ruins but there's nothing saying only the Kahunas are allowed to enter them."

"Then... is it okay if I go in there for a few minutes? I promise that I won't take long."

"I don't see why not."

Elsie thanked the Kahuna before heading into the Ruins of Life. Confused and curious, Lillie followed her.

"Elsie, is there something wrong?" she asked.

"I-I just... I'm not sure if this is actually going to work but it'll at least make me feel a little better." Elsie responded, not looking back or slowing down her pace which concerned Lillie even more.

'Wait is her wrist bandaged? What happened while I was away last night?'

Elsie climbed the steps leading to the pedestal, sat down on her knees, and closed her eyes.

"Tapu Lele. I'm not sure if you take prayers or requests from those who aren't born in Alola but I this isn't for me." she began. "I come to you asking that you watch after my Rockruff while he's alone in his evolution journey. I'm not sure how much I should be involved when it comes to this phase that he's going through. Please make sure nothing bad happens to him while he's away."

She stayed on her knees for a few moments only to be met with silence. Elsie sighed and slowly stood up.

'That didn't relieve as much worry as I thought.'

She only turned to Lillie when she felt her hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure that Skye will be just fine," she said. "Especially now that you asked Tapu Lele to look after him."

"You really think so?"

"Of course I do."

Elsie was pretty sure that was the first time today that she herself had smiled. Even if it was small and for a second or two. Perhaps the reassurance of a friend was another thing she needed to relieve herself of some of these worries.

"Thanks, Lillie." Elsie took a breath. "I think I'm ready now. Ready to take on Olivia. And after today, I'll go searching for Skye if he doesn't come back by then."

"And I'll be there to help when you think it's time to search. But for now, you have a Grand Trial to win. I'm sure even when you two are apart, Skye would want you to do your best."

Elsie nodded, a little bit of confidence swelling in her chest. "Y-Yeah. You're right. Even if we can't see each other, we're never really apart as long as we remember our bonds. Now I'm really ready."

Elsie headed back out with Lillie. As they were leaving, she could've sworn that she heard something but when she briefly stopped to look around, there was nothing.

"Hey Lillie, did you hear something just now?"

"No, I haven't."

'I guess I'm just hearing things then.' Elsie concluded. 'I need to start getting in the right mindset.'

Just like when she had first arrived, Kahuna Olivia was standing there, waiting patiently for Elsie.

"Sorry for the wait. I'm ready for the Grand Trial now."

The Kahuna nodded taking out a Pokeball. "Very well then. Young trial-goer, you now face the Grand Trial of Kahuna Olivia. Hope you're ready for the hardest battle that you've faced so far."

With that, she sent out an Anorith.

"Anorith, the Old Shrimp Pokemon. A rock and bug type." Rotom noted as it flew out of Elsie's bag. "When restored Anorith are released into the ocean, they don't thrive, because the water composition has changed since their era."

Elsie nodded, thanking the Rotom Dex as she had gotten the habit of doing ever since she started her journey.

'No one on my team has any moves that Anorith is weak to so it looks like I'll just have to unleash the strongest attacks that we have.'

Looking down at Prism, Elsie smiled. "Wanna start this battle off?"

Prism grinned and nodded, immediately jumping forward to face her opponent.

"So you're starting off with your Eevee." Olivia mused. "Let's see what the two of you got."