novelraw Chapter 784: Trial of the Island Deity
Chapter 784: Trial of the Island Deity
The night air was cool. Tapu Koko said nothing, silently staring at the black-haired young man.
Above Alola’s four islands there existed wormhole-like Ultra Wormholes, and Ultra Beasts sometimes passed through them to invade the islands.
Guarding the islands and resolving Ultra Beast crises are the duties of the island deities.
But some Ultra Beasts were extremely dangerous, like the weaponized Iron-Fire Kaguya or the all-devouring Guzzlord… even Tapu Koko found some of them troublesome.
For that reason, cooperating with humans was a pragmatic option.
Tapu Koko’s nostrils twitched;
considering Lu Ye’s proposal, it furrowed its brow slightly.
However, this human was asking for far too much!
“The Ultra Aura of Melemele Island is the island’s sustaining natural energy. I cannot hand it over to you, outsider,” Tapu Koko said.
“So it’s a transaction,” Lu Ye said. “Rather than letting outside Ultra Beasts devour the aura, trust me and my Pokémon.”
“Why should I?” Tapu Koko challenged.Lu Ye replied calmly:
“Because I am the Envoy who overcomes, an Aura Hero, the Rainbow Hero, the Donghua Champion, a battle legend… a person versed in Pokémon tactics.”
Tapu Koko froze for a moment. Two faintly golden and indigo lights suddenly surged in its vision;
these two special abilities were the strongest proof.
“……” Tapu Koko fell silent.
Damn, this trainer’s full of hot air!
Tapu Koko was not ignorant of the human world;
it understood the significance of champions and battle legends.
No wonder it knew so much about Ultra Beasts and could casually name Guzzlord.
But siphoning island aura was a grave matter, not something decided in a few words.
The premise of cooperation was that this human truly possessed the power to resolve Ultra Beast threats.
“I will find the answer in my own way,” Tapu Koko said.
It opened its arm plates and slowly descended from the sky, hovering three meters above the ground. Its arm plates crackled with azure electricity, its gaze sharp as thunder erupted around it, weaving complex lightning to form an Electric Terrain that enveloped Lu Ye, Kahuna Hala, and itself.
The island deity was angry?!
Kahuna Hala looked bewildered and hurriedly asked, “Mr. Lu… what did you just say to the island deity?”
“Just a disagreement,” Lu Ye said helplessly. “It seems it wants to battle me first before it will help train my Pokémon.”
Kahuna Hala’s expression turned strange.
On the first day visiting Melemele Island, Lu Ye had angered the island deity… truly a battle legend!
Then again, Tapu Koko’s challenge was also a form of recognition for a trainer.
“No need to worry, Mr. Lu,” Kahuna Hala said broadly. “This is Tapu Koko’s trial;
there are records of similar occurrences in history.”
Lu Ye nodded slightly and gripped a Poké Ball.
In the anime, Tapu Koko had also once proactively challenged Ash.
If Sylveon was to draw upon the island’s aura, it would first need to pass Tapu Koko’s trial.
“Please act as referee, Kahuna Hala.”
On the electric terrain flickering with lightning, Lu Ye’s eyes were bright as he spoke.
“I understand. I would be honored to observe the island deity’s trial,” Kahuna Hala replied.
He moved to the side of the field;
behind him was the grand canyon, to his right Tapu Koko and a suspension bridge leading to War Canyon.
“Kapu!”
Tapu Koko’s arm plates glowed with lightning, island aura wrapped around its body, its fighting spirit soaring. It was naturally combative;
a trainer worthy of a fight was an opportunity it could not miss.
Lu Ye threw a Poké Ball;
it bounced back and landed with a soft slap in his palm, and the field’s red light revealed Sylveon’s silhouette.
“Do your best, Sylveon,” Lu Ye said in a focused voice.
“Bu-bii!” Sylveon’s round eyes snapped to Tapu Koko. Its pink ribbons fluttered across the electric terrain as it stared with disdain.
If we crush this guy, we’ll be one step closer to battle legend!
Tapu Koko wiped a bead of sweat discreetly.
This pressure… so intense…
Who is really testing whom here?!
No—this is my island, I must not lose in presence!
“Wri!!” Tapu Koko cried aloud.
It darted across the lightning-strewn field, its form a blur as it moved back and forth, its speed steadily increasing!
“Agility… greedy to the extreme,” Lu Ye observed, then commanded, “Sylveon, Dazzling Gleam!”
“Bu-bii!” Sylveon’s bows unfurled a streak of blinding light, the hemispherical radiance swallowing the entire arena.
The canyon lit as if daytime;
the light seared Tapu Koko, forcing it to halt and reveal its form.
“Kapu!!” Tapu Koko closed its arm plates as lightning swathed it.
Suddenly it flung its arm plates open;
with a shrill cry, thick columns of lightning detonated across the field as thunder split the clouds above the canyon!
Kahuna Hala pursed his lips.
This was the island deity’s wrath—the island’s aura seemed to tremble with the thunder’s roar!
“Endure it,” Lu Ye said calmly. “Use Misty Terrain!”
Changing the electric terrain prevented the lightning’s potential from escalating and kept paralysis and other status conditions at bay.
It would cost some offensive momentum, but it was a tactical element useful against the upcoming Geomancy.
Boom! Thunder struck Sylveon;
the electric blaze surged and engulfed it!
Kahuna Hala gasped. He watched as a hazy mist diffused from Sylveon’s body, effectively blocking paralysis.
At the same time, Sylveon’s special defense proved astonishing;
the lightning left only shallow scorch marks.
“Bu-bii!” Sylveon flicked its ribbons. The mist shrouded the field;
its gaze was clear and cutting.
In the next instant, Tapu Koko folded its arm plates into a rolling ball of moving lightning and charged with a thunderous boom!
An electric ball: the faster it moved, the stronger it hit!
“You’re not Regieleki, so why use an electric ball!?” Lu Ye barked. “Full-power Light Screen!!”
Sylveon’s bows flared with radiance;
a crystalline wall shimmered into being before it like a mirror. The electric orb struck the reflective barrier;
the wall shattered with a sharp kala, lightning spraying everywhere, illuminating the entire canyon!
“It held?” Kahuna Hala blinked, gazing up at the crescent moon above the island.
Professor Kukui had said the aura’s essence was light, and this Sylveon seemed adept at drawing on the new moon’s power!
It was the Lunar Power from Cresselia—though chiefly a move of Elite Four era, it still could strengthen Sylveon’s double screens.
On an Alolan island bathed by the moon god Lunala, Sylveon’s Lunar Power might have even greater potential.
“Now,” Lu Ye said, “Geomancy!!”
Sylveon stood within Misty Terrain, its snowy body radiating white light. Its ribbons gently brushed the ground as it closed its eyes to sense the abundant natural energy beneath the earth.
The ribbons conducted prismatic radiance;
Sylveon’s appearance grew more sanctified, its momentum climbing—more like the island’s sovereign than Tapu Koko itself.
Kala—the electric orb smashed through the light wall!
“Kapu?!” Tapu Koko stared at Sylveon, then was shocked.
It’s siphoning the island’s natural energy?
No way—shouldn’t I be the island deity?
You filthy outsider… I haven’t even agreed to cooperate with you!
Tapu Koko howled in indignation. The lightning around its arm plates faded and was replaced by a swirl of rainbow Ultra Aura.
“Kapu!!” It slammed the ground. A pink shockwave rippled from its palm, raising stones as if the earth’s fury had been loosed.
Nature’s Wrath!!
“That’s the island guardian’s signature move, Nature’s Wrath…” Kahuna Hala recognized the formidable technique. His narrowed eyes widened and he swallowed.
This trial’s difficulty… surpassed any before.
Yet Teacher Lu and Sylveon still seemed unfazed!
The pink ring of Nature’s Wrath surged toward Sylveon and shoved it, plowing through mud. A blue halo burst from the ground, locking onto Sylveon. Then prismatic beams—the pink, blue, and yellow lights symbolizing the four islands—erupted together, shaking the whole island. Columns of light shot skyward, enveloping Sylveon!
Boom!!
The radiance bathed Kahuna Hala’s stunned face.
The canyon quivered. The suspension bridge to the right creaked and groaned under the aftershock, then, unable to bear the stress, snapped and collapsed!
Misty Terrain was driven away by the halo. The sky-piercing beams subsided. Tapu Koko panted, staring at the light pillar’s center.
Suddenly cold sweat traced Tapu Koko’s brow.
At the pillar’s center was a gaping crater. Sylveon stood battered, its breathing ragged. Its white body still emanated sacred natural radiance.
Geomancy had massively boosted Sylveon’s special defense;
even Nature’s Wrath had failed to inflict a crushing blow!
Kahuna Hala swallowed.
If the island deity couldn’t subdue Sylveon…
When it faced Mr. Lu earlier, it had clearly held back — no, it had unleashed its full primordial sea!
“Nature’s Wrath can’t even one-shot a Magikarp,” Teacher Lu murmured in gamer terms, then raised an arm. “Hyper Beam!”
“Bu-bii!” Sylveon shook its ribbons, bared a tiny sharp fang, and its bows slowly gathered a white light like nuclear fission.
Tapu Koko: o((⊙﹏⊙))o
“W-wait! I agree to cooperate!”
Even if I hadn’t agreed, you can let Sylveon use Geomancy to draw island energy.
Tapu Koko felt conflicted.
Thinking this way, the Envoy had actually spared it face.
Fortunately Hyper Beam required a brief charge;
Lu Ye hurried and called it off. The big-sister deity clicked its tongue and dispersed the white light.
“Bu-bii…” Sylveon’s eyes dimmed.
Tch… missed by a second… hmph…
Tapu Koko: o(╥﹏╥)o
Sorry, I was rash!
Kahuna Hala watched the island deity go from defiant to voluntarily conceding.
His inner faith felt as if it had crumbled with a kala.
He coughed and clenched a fist.
Considering that even the Super Demon was once overwhelmed, the island deity had already done its best.
“Mr. Lu, I’ll return to Heahea City to calm the townspeople,” Hala said.
The recent battle’s scale had startled the locals;
the island’s kahuna needed to step in and stabilize things.
Lu Ye nodded. He also wanted a private word with Tapu Koko.
After Hala left, Tapu Koko proactively tried to be friendly and pointed at Lu Ye’s wrist.
“A Keystone?” Lu Ye blinked, then realized. “You mean the Z-Ring!”
Tapu Koko nodded. It said, I can modify your Z-Ring into a powerful Z-Ring, boosting the aura of your Z-Moves to some extent.
A sense of equipment enhancement…
Teacher Lu did not refuse. He recalled Haunter, and the chubby fellow handed the Z-Ring to Tapu Koko.
After a flicker of unscientific light, the Z-Ring returned to Haunter’s palm unchanged.
Lu Ye: ?
Isn’t it just the same as before?
Tapu Koko said awkwardly, I failed the enhancement just now… give me another chance.
Half a minute later.
Kala!
Tapu Koko: This time it will succeed!
Another minute.
Tapu Koko gritted its beak: “I don’t believe it, do it again!”
Lu Ye, teary-eyed, said: “Just give me back the original Z-Ring. This is becoming broken raw material…”
“Or you can practice on somebody else first!”
Finally Togepi stepped up and handed the Z-Ring to Tapu Koko.
Ding! A crisp forging sound!
This time the enhancement succeeded: Z-Ring → Powerful Z-Ring.
Tapu Koko muttered, “Seems the problem wasn’t me.”
Lu Ye: “……”
Whose fault it was had become painfully obvious…
Teacher Lu and Tapu Koko reached an agreement. Tapu Koko would assist Sylveon in drawing aura, and Teacher Lu would help deal with Ultra Beasts.
During this period, Tapu Koko would accompany Teacher Lu’s actions… anyway, Teacher Lu would not be leaving Melemele Island.
As Lu Ye suspected, achieving “battle legend” was far more than siphoning a single island’s aura.
Haunter had faced the Super Demon Hoopa head-on and thereby achieved legend.
Once Sylveon drew aura from all four islands through the Island Challenge, that should be the day it achieved legend.
According to Tapu Koko, Sylveon’s ability, Fairy Aura, could combine with island aura to form area traits like Electric Producer or Mist Producer.
Although it lacked a pure “Fairy Producer” trait, the trait of one of the guardian legends was very similar—Xerneas’s Fairy Aura.
Today had again been a day striving for “everyone illegally overpowered”…
Tapu Koko also gifted an Electric Z-Crystal.
Counting the Fightingium Z obtained from the Battle Royal festival, it had collected two Z-Crystals in one day.
Rotom Pokédex thoughtfully played an awkward dance video of the Electric Z and Fightingium Z;
Teacher Lu unlocked a new awkward dance pose.
By nearly ten o’clock the festival wound down. Townsfolk still discussed Pupitar’s domineering display.
The towering pink beam, after the island kahuna’s reassurance, had not caused widespread panic.
As for the broken suspension bridge… Hala explained it as old and worn, and invited a regional construction crew to repair it.
Unsurprisingly, Teacher Lu met the sun-browned renovation foreman in Alolan form.
To his surprise, the foreman was a tanned woman with a muscular build and a sunny smile:
“Alola~~ Boss, don’t worry. We’ll work hard to complete the job!”
Lu Ye nodded, feeling a bit moved.
The renovation company was a subsidiary of the Pokémon Company—truly an excellent investment.
After all, battles were common in the Pokémon world;
arena maintenance was one of the most lucrative businesses…
The Battle Royal festival came to an end.
Bamboo Lan consulted the town’s blind old woman, closed her notebook, smiled and thanked her, then walked home with Lu Ye.
“I found the Ultra Wormhole entrance,” Bamboo Lan said gravely.
“Really?” Lu Ye was astonished.
“Kidding,” Bamboo Lan smiled. “There are records that the Solstice Altar once showed figures of the sun god and moon god… at the very end of Poni Island’s canyon.”
Lu Ye looked at Bamboo Lan with an odd expression and said, “You don’t mean…”
“I’m a mythologist, after all.” Bamboo Lan smiled lightly. “When you’re free, come with me to investigate Poni Canyon~”
Lu Ye said calmly, “I refuse.”
Bamboo Lan rested a hand on her chin, folded her arms, and mused, “I can agree to one condition.”
“Including wearing black stockings at home?” Lu Ye arched an eyebrow.
Bamboo Lan lowered her head, sighed softly, and said wryly, “I don’t really want to agree, but I’ll consider it.”
“Deal, we’ll go to Poni Canyon tomorrow!”
“Tomorrow is Trainer School opening day.” Bamboo Lan said quietly.
“Damn… the holiday is still a month away…”
They chatted as they strolled back to the house atop Kalae Bay.
The night was cool, trees lush, and the grass rustled with the sound of Grubbin.
Beautiful Kalae Bay, moonlight spilling across Wailmer’s back, Melemele Island sleeping in quiet peace.