Uprising

Chapter 10

It was a beautiful Alolan morning on Melemele Island. The sun was shining and there was a light breeze that swept through the palm trees, making their fronds dance along to the beat of the nearby ocean. Wild Rowlet and Pikipek fluttered nearby, pecking hungrily at the plentiful piles of apples and Pinap berries that lay at the bases of fruit trees, as Alolan Rattatas skittered and scampered around the blooming bushes. It was the perfect day and everything seemed right with the world: at the very least, according to Ash Ketchum, his new friend Acerola, and his beloved Pikachu partner- as they peaceful walked along the dirt road that lead in the direction of the Pokemon School.

"Thanks again for for letting me crash at your place while Uncle Nanu is on his business trip, Ash! I'm SO excited to begin today's lesson at the Pokemon School!" the perky goth girl smiled, taking a breath of the fresh morning sea air.

"Me too! And don't thank me!" Ash laughed, "Thank the professors! It's their house after all. I'm every bit as much as a guest as you are!"

Pika Pika!

Acerola let out a giggle, "Oh yeah, I almost completely forgot." She paused and took another deep breath, "Ahhh, I just love the smell of the morning air on Melememe. Growing up in the absolute middle of nowhere on Ula-Ula nowhere near the ocean, I don't get to experience this often, so this is a real treat. At the same token though, I'm kinda grateful because if I got to experience something like this every day, I think I'd begin to take it for granted."

Ash smiled, "I know what you mean. I grew up in Kanto: Pallet Town, to be exact- which was in the middle of the countryside. There's not a lot to look at there, besides maybe some distant mountains, so every time I get to go to a new region and I get to explore a huge city, or a vast dessert, or smell the ocean air, I get some sort of thrill, y'know? I don't exactly know how to describe it to you, but it's a good feeling- refreshing, even. And like you said, if I had the privilege of experiencing something like this every day, I don't think I'd appreciate it as much as I do."

"Uh, Ash, while that's all fine and dandy, I think you meant 'desert' and not 'dessert'."

"Ah geez, Acerola! Give me a break!" the Kantonian boy blushed awkwardly and chuckled.

"I'm sure you would like to 'explore a vast dessert' right now," she laughed.

"You better believe I would! I'm starving!"

"Did you even have breakfast this morning?"

"I did!"

"Really? What you have?"

"Professor Burnett made some eggs and toast this morning and I had what she had left over in the fridge. And two sausages... And a bowl of fruit salad."

Acerola was practically howling by now, "How could you possibly still be hungry, Ash?"

"What can I say, Acerola? I just a guy who likes to eat!"

Pi-Pika-chu...

By the time Ash had made his final comment, they had already reached the front gates to the Pokemon School and walked through to the schoolyard, where the found their classmates standing in a small group, lead by Professor Kukui and Principal Oak. Class wasn't typically held outside first thing in the morning, so Ash had suspected something different was going on, but as he approached the crowd, he had noticed that his fellow Pokemon School students didn't look very happy. If anything, they were all as anxious as Wimpods.

"H-hey guys! Acerola and I have arrived! Are we having class outside today?" Ash asked innocently, trying to lighten the seemingly heavy mood.

"I hate to say it Ash, but no." Professor Kukui said with a low growl, "And by the looks of it, we're not going to be having class at all today."

Ash, Acrola, and the entirety of his class jumped back and let out a short, simultaneous gasp, prompting them to talk out of turn, asking a variety of questions as to why school had been cancelled for today.

"S-settle down, kids! Remain calm!" Principal Oak said, trying to placate the restless sea of children, "Everybody please, one at a time! If you have any questions, please hold them until Professor Burnett gets back. She knows more about what's going on than Kukui and I do!"

And just as Principal Oak thought he wouldn't be able to handle the anxious crowd any longer, as if on cue, Professor Burnett appeared in the front door of the schoolhouse and sprinted as fast as she could over to Ash and his classmates, followed by a man and a woman in white lab coats, and a woman in a long white dress, bearing a striking resemblance to Lillie.

"Principal Oak!" she shouted as she seemed to leap through the air, closer to the crowds.

"Burnett! Wicke! Faba! Lusamine! What's the situation?" Oak replied with a tremble in his voice.

"Is it as bad as we had originally thought?" Kukui pleaded.

"Oh it's as bad alright" she replied to her husband.

"If anything, it's actually worse." the woman resembling Lillie added fearfully.

"What do you mean "worse"?" Oak and Kukui shouted simultaneously.

"Follow Faba and Wicke- they'll explain everything." Burnette added, directing them into the school building.

"CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL US WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Kiawe roared over the sea of talking, prompting a temporary silence among both the children and the adults.

"Yeah!" Mallow added, "We've been out here for hours wondering what in the world has been going on in there!"

"Children, please, this is very serious official business," the green-haired man in a lab coat informed them, "We don't even completely know what's been going on so-"

"Oh Faba, hush. These children have every right to know what's going on," the purple-haired woman scolded her colleague, "As far as I'm concerned, they're granted access to see what's going on... I-if that's okay with you of course, Miss Lusamine..."

The woman in the white dress nodded: "You're right, Wicke. This matter does happen to concern them, so they might as well come with us." She cleared her throat. "Children, I'm Miss Lusamine, head of the Aether Foundation- Alola's own Pokemon conservation society- and these are my colleagues, Mister Faba, and Miss Wicke. We are here today because we had recently received word that the computer in Professor Burnett's office here at the Pokemon School had recently been hacked to obtain information from our database via remote access... and because this data was accessed, one of our resident Pokemon has been stolen..."

"...And, unfortunately..." Professor Kukui added, "You're all suspects."