Pokemon Ascendance: Origins of Holon

48

Elsie walked forward with Prism and Sapphire at her side. The feeling that she was being watched didn't go away, in fact, she was pretty sure that the feeling had gotten worse as they progressed.

'I still don't know what kind of pokemon we're going to end up facing.' she thought. 'But... we'll manage somehow just like we've always done.'

Prism's ears twitched as pebbles fell from the walls of the tunnel. She looked up and growled. At first, Elsie didn't know what her partner was seeing but then something jumped out of its hiding place. The Drakeon used Dragon Pulse to ward away the sudden attacker which was a small gray and yellow pokemon covered in scales.

Rotom then appeared, a pokedex entry ready.

"Jangmo-o, the Scaly Pokemon. A dragon type. Jangmo-o has the pride of a warrior, although it remains humble about its capabilities. In its pursuit to become stronger, it never neglects its training. Because Jangmo-o uses the scales on its head for both offense and defense, it never turns it back to its enemies. Many trainers see this behavior and take it as proof that Jangmo-o is a valiant pokemon."

'So this is a dragon-type trial.' Elsie thought. 'In that case, this shouldn't be too hard as long as I'm careful. A good part of my team can deal with dragon types and Sapphire even knows Moonblast.'

After that Jangmo-o had admitted defeat and disappeared, Elsie and her two pokemon continued walking, the feeling of being watched continuing to get more intense. It was almost to the point where it felt unbearable.

Soon the three were attacked by another pokemon. This one looked like a taller version of the Jangmo-o that Prism had just defeated.

"Hakamo-o, the Scaly Pokemon," Rotom noted. "A dragon and fighting type. Hakamo-o dances before battle to show its strength, clanging its scales together to make them ring out. When the dance reaches its climax, Hakamo-o bellows a fierce war cry to challenge its opponent."

Sapphire stepped forward as the Hakamo-o did the dance that its pokedex entry was describing before letting out its war cry and charging forward.

"Sapphire use Moonblast!" Elsie called out.

The Altaria fired her attack, causing the Hakamo-o to be knocked back. It struggled to stand back up but after seeing a warning glance from Sapphire, it bowed its head in defeat before running off.

By now the feeling of being watched was as intense as it could. Elsie was almost completely convinced that whatever was watching them was right behind them but when she looked over her shoulder, all she saw was Lillie and Hau not too far, cheering her on.

'I guess whatever is watching must be the Totem Pokemon.' Elsie thought. 'We're not too far from that totem pole.'

Elsie approached the totem pole with Prism and Sapphire. So far nothing had happened. Just the intense feeling of being watched.

'I guess I have to reach for the Z-Crystal like during Ilima's trial to lure out the totem pokemon.'

She took a breath and reached for the Crystal. Just when she was about to take it, a roar echoed throughout the area.

'Here it comes!'

The Totem Pokemon appeared, putting itself between the trial-goer and the Z-Crystal in the pole.

Rotom appeared once again.

"Kommo-o the Scaly Pokemon. A dragon and fighting type. There is a legend that says Kommo-o is covered in glittering scales in order to drive away a great darkness covering the world. The reason these pokemon seek out battle is to gain the power needed to defeat this darkness. When it detects someone approaching, Kommo-o rings the scales on its tail to announce its presence. It has no desire to battle against weak pokemon."

'I guess this is the final evolution of Jangmo-o.' Elsie thought before looking over to Sapphire.

"You're the best suited for this one Sapphire. Ready?"

Sapphire nodded before stepping forward, ready to take flight should the need arise. The Totem Kommo-o stared at the Altaria for a moment before also preparing itself for battle.

"Use Moonblast!"

As the Fairy-type attack fired toward Kommo-o it quickly ate a berry right before it was hit. It stumbled back but quickly regained its balance before calling for an ally. Not long after, a Scizor appeared.

"It must've eaten a Roseli berry to control the damage taken from the Moonblast," Elsie noted. "In that case let's use a flying move. Sapphire use Sky Attack!"

As her Altaria covered herself in a bright light, Elsie couldn't help but be reminded of when Sapphire had evolved not too long ago. That helpless little Swablu that she had found stuck in a tree had now grown up and was fully capable of taking on strong opponents just like the totem pokemon before them. That Swablu, along with the little Eevee that had hatched a long time ago was no longer the emotional support pokemon that Elsie thought she needed just to be somewhat comfortable living at home by the partners she wanted to stand with her as they faced and overcome many challenges.

Elsie couldn't help but smile at the fond memories the three of them had together.

'Thank you both... for putting up with me when I couldn't fend for myself. And thank you for going on this journey with me. I hope that we can continue having many more adventures together with all the other pokemon that we've met... and make many more fond memories.'

Both Elsie and Prism cheered on Sapphire as she dodged a bullet punch from the Scizor and shot straight toward the totem pokemon, who used Protect at the last minute. The clash was strong enough to have the Kommo-o skid back a few inches.

The moment Elsie said the protective barrier beginning to falter, she called out the attack that would end the battle.

"Use Moonblast!"

Sapphire fired the attack at point-blank range the moment Protect had disappeared. The blow caused the totem Kommo-o to fall.

'The totem pokemon is down. Now, all we gotta do is take care of that Scizor and the trial will be complete.'

Sapphire and the ally Scizor glared at each other. Scizor rushed forward, using Bullet Punch again.

"Time to go all out, let's-"

However, before she even knew it. The Scizor was defeated, running off with burns.