Pokemon Ascendance: Origins of Holon

35

"So all we gotta do to get to the library is follow this trail on the road?"

"Yes. It uh... took me a while to get used to it but eventually, I got to the point where I could make my way around this city with little problem."

"And you really think that we'll find some answers here?"

"It's worth a try. Coming here gave me a few answers on what I was looking for on my first journey."

Soon Elsie and Lillie found themselves standing in front of Malie City's library.

'From what Lillie said there's also a chance at running into one of the trial captains here.' Elsie thought. 'If that's the case then maybe I could get an idea on what their trial is going to be like.'

Despite suddenly needing to solve these mysteries more than ever, Elsie couldn't forget the fact that she was still on her Island Challenge. She couldn't put her entire journey on pause just because of a few strange things happening.

Before she was able to enter the library, however, Lucien had let himself out of his pokeball. He stood in between the door and the two trainers, looking up at Elsie. At first, the sudden action confused her but after realizing what the Growlithe wanted she immediately felt guilty.

"Oh, I'm sorry Lucien. After everything that's been going on ever since Skye left for a bit, I completely forgot that you were ready to evolve. You're probably tired of waiting, aren't you? Sorry, buddy. Let's fix that right now."

At the sight of Elsie rummaging through her bag for the Fire Stone, Lucien began to wag his tail, the speed increasing when the evolutionary stone was finally in his sights. To make sure that her pokemon had room, Elsie moved them to the side of the building.

"Alright, Lucien. Ready?"

The Growlithe barked happily in response. Seeing his excitement, Elsie giggled before tossing the Fire Stone to him. The moment Lucien caught it in his mouth, both he and the Fire Stone began to glow brightly.

Elsie watched as the first pokemon that she caught grew in size, almost to the point where she had to look up to meet his eyes. When the light died down, the little Growlithe was replaced with a big and strong-looking Arcanine.

As if on cue, Rotom appeared. "Arcanine, the Legendary Pokemon. A fire type and the evolution of Growlithe. Legends tell of its fighting alongside a general and conquering a whole country."

Elsie nodded to Rotom in thanks before returning her attention back to Lucien. "So how do you feel?" she asked.

Lucien threw his head back and howled, shooting a Flamethrower in the sky as he did.

"Looks like you're more than ready for the next trial. We'll head there the moment we search the library for a bit."

She returned her newly evolved pokemon before following Lillie into the library. Upon entering, Elsie looked around in awe.

'There are so many books here... where would I even start?'

"Is there a specific section that has... old tales or legends... or something like that?" she asked Lillie.

"Well, the book I found that helped me was on the second floor so maybe we can try that."

"Well well well, what are the odds I run into you at the same place we met?"

The two turned to see a girl standing behind them. To Elsie, the girl looked like a walking rag doll with her tattered dress and purple hair. 

'She looks like she's a fan of ghost types.'

"Nice to see you again Lillie." the girl said with a smile. "Looks like you replaced that old bag with a new friend huh?"

'Old bag?'

"Y-Yes, this is Elsie. She came here from the Holon Region to start her own journey. Elsie, this is Acerola, one of the trial captains on this island."

"N-Nice to meet you."

"So you're a trial goer? Then it looks like you'll be headed my way after you beat little Sopphy's trial. Hope you're ready."

"Yeah. But before that, can I ask you something? I know it's probably a long shot but do you know if there's anything here about two ancient pokemon known as Sagent and Resilvern? I'm uh... kinda researching the history of Holon in a way."

"Hmm... even though I've heard plenty of old tales, I've never heard of pokemon like that," Acerola replied.

"I guess instead of names do you know if there are any tales of ancient pokemon who were once guardians of a region but then left?"

"The closest thing you'll find something like that here are tales of the Tapu Guardians' wrath."

With a sigh, Elsie nodded in understanding. "I guess it makes sense that Alola wouldn't have anything about Holon. I mean... I don't think even Holon has that much information on its own tales."

"Gotta give yourselves credit for trying. Maybe you'll find some clues sometime later."

"I guess that's the only thing I can do. Hope something comes up later on down the road. Looks like I'll be headed over to my next trial a bit sooner than I expected. But... where is the next trial."

"It's on Mount Hakulani," Lillie replied. "There's a bus at the end of the next route to take you there. If you're ready, we can go now."

"Then it's settled. We'll all go together." Acerola declared. "It'll be like a small girl's trip. On the way, you can tell me this story that you're trying to find out more about Elsie."

"O-Oh sure... if you're that interested I can tell you what I know."

"Do you have something to do up at the Observatory?" Lillie asked curiously.

"Just meeting up with someone up there. But never mind that, let's get going."

Before Elsie could react, Acerola grabbed both her and Lillie's hands before happily skipping off, practically dragging them out of the library.

'So the next trial is in an Observatory up on a mountain top.' she thought. 'I wonder what kind of pokemon I'll be facing up there...'