Chapter 96
"Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen." I sang as I clicked a cup that Officer Jenny had given me along the bars. "Nobody knows my sorrow!"
My completely on tune, and deep baritone voice that definitely resembled the original singer of that song, and that wasn’t at all super fucking annoying continued on…
Cause that was the only part of that song I actually remembered.
Officer Jenny sent me another look of real annoyance, but the fact I seemed to be occupying myself and not doing anything but singing and making noise meant she left me to it.
Which is of course when someone new entered the police station and I continued singing.
"Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen!"
The old man, massive in size with a jovial air to him, looked from Officer Jenny to me, and then back to Officer Jenny.
"Officer… Is there a reason the child is inside a cell?"
"She asked for it."
"I asked for it!" I called out at the same time smiling happily smacking the cup along the bars. "I’m a good girl, so I didn’t really expect to see the inside of a jail cell before, so I asked if I could wait inside." Then I opened the door cause Officer Jenny really was a stickler, and hadn’t locked the door, and walked out. Looking the big man up and down.
"I am Hala, Kahuna of Melemele Island."
"Victoria Ferrous! Dragon Master, from Kanto!" I returned smiling happily as I put the slightly battered cup back on Jenny’s desk.
Although his eyes were tightly closed, I think my exuberance had put Hala on the back foot. He once more looked to Officer Jenny, who returned him a blank stare.
"I see. I was told about the issue, a Jangmo-o, found with a foreign trainer, and the paperwork that claims it came from outside Alola."
"Yep! I found an entire pack of Kommo-o in a region north of Kanto, and a bit south of Sinnoh."
"Hmm, I don’t want to say you are lying to me, Victoria, but… This is a very unusual circumstance."
"Sure I get that… To be honest with you, I brought Jangmo-o to Alola to run into you, or any Kahuna really. When I met the Kommo-o, their elder gave me a challenge. He showed me a very unique dance. A specific set of moves… Moves for Clangorous Soulblaze." I said my eyes locked on the Kahuna’s face, as I pulled out the Z Crystal. "He gave me this when I showed that I learned the moves, and sent me off with Jangmo-o. I promised I’d come to Alola."
"Show me." The Kahuna said a moment after I finished talking and I blinked for a second before shrugging. I took a few steps back and with the Crystal in my hand, I started the Haka.
My favorite part was the Kamehameha motion because how could I ever forget that?
But I felt it. That same energy that grasping connection.
But this time without an outlet…
"Huh." I muttered looking down at the Z crystal, as it glowed for a moment before dimming.
"I see." Hala muttered looking at me, I think. He still had that squinty eye thing so I couldn’t track what he was focusing on. "Officer Jenny, I would like to see this Jangmo-o."
"Yes Kahuna."
"If that’s alright?" He surprisingly asked me.
"Oh sure." I shrugged and then not longer after Jenny pulled out my pokeballs. Then released Jangmo-o.
"Jang! Jang-jangmo!" He barked as he was released and dashed to my side standing in front of me, and readying for a challenge. His little paws tapping on the tile floor as he just seemed to dare anyone to accept.
"Oh? Quite the brash one isn’t he?"
"He’s amazing." I agreed and Hala grinned as the large man lowered himself down.
"I wish to ask, are you from Alola? Have you ever been to these islands before?"
"Jang! Mo." Jangmo-o shook his head and continued glaring until Hala nodded.
"Then the paperwork seems to be the truth. As Kahuna, I have no choice but to confirm this girl’s innocence."
"Thank the Tapu. Now I can release her." Jenny sighed and I just grinned because she really was wanting to just cut me loose.
I’d definitely annoyed her a bit too much.
"Lu! Lucario! Lu!" A familiar shout echoed out and a moment later Lucario came rushing into the Police station and jumped in front of me, ready to defend. As Papa and Mama both rushed in behind her.
"This! A police station! Vicky! You! Jenny, release my daughter this instant! How dare you!" Papa roared and Mama looked vicious with a snarl that matched Meowth.
"I’m already free!" I called out loudly to interrupt the misunderstanding parade. That stalled out my family, but there was still a moment as everyone caught their breath, Papa and Mama had obviously been hurrying as they seemed to take in the entire scene.
"What is going on here?" Papa demanded, and Mama and Lucario both nodded in the exact same way.
Jeez, just rub it in, why don’t you?
"I believe I can answer that." Hala said, his voice gentle. "I apologize for the misunderstanding. I am Hala, Kahuna of Melemele island."
"What exactly did my daughter do to get the Kahuna’s attention?" Papa asked a bit aggressively.
"Having a Pokemon that is considered impossible to find outside this region and bringing it back to Alola." The Kahuna offered, and Papa didn’t look pleased. "But I have verified that your daughter and the paperwork was the truth. Jangmo-o is her pokemon, and comes from beyond Alola… This is a shocking surprise to me, but I do apologize again for this situation. It must be quite distressing to find your daughter in a jail."
"It is." Papa practically growled but he took a breath as our eyes met and I smiled at him, showing it was okay. "But I think we can put this behind us. We’re here on vacation after all, even if we just had to run out on our lunch."
"Ah, allow me to make up for it. I would… If it’s not too much of an imposition, I would like to ask about this Jangmo-o, and how your daughter has already completed one of the Island Trials." When he said this Mama and Papa both looked confused, before he continued. "Perhaps you would join me for a meal? I assure you, you won’t be disappointed."
I looked brightly and nodded to Papa who seemed to consider it before sighing. "Since Vicky seems to want to, I think that would be acceptable."
—--
It was a bit of a surprise that Hala walked us down the road and right up to a place I recognized.
"Aina’s Kitchen." I whispered the name and perked up. This was Mallow’s house and restaurant! I followed the large man, Mama and Papa both hovering over me protectively, and Lucario following, with Jangmo-o in my arms.
They’d relax once we talked it all out.
The inside was an open room, windows all along the walls making the entire place bright and sunny.
"Welcome!" An older man behind the counter called out and Hala waved in greeting before setting down in one of the round tables.
"Come join me, you’ll find this restaurant has the best food on the whole island!" Hala called out happily, earning a laugh from the owner.
"I’ll do my best to meet your expectations Hala!"
"Thank you." Papa said a bit stiffly, and Mama didn’t say anything. She still had her angry glare eyes locked on the Kahuna.
Soon enough all of us were seated, including Lucario and Jangmo-o was in my lap looking at Hala.
I was pointedly, I noticed, sitting between both parents across from Hala.
"Might I suggest some meals? Alolan fair is not something to miss for foreigners."
Papa took a second before nodding. "Please."
"Excellent." Hala took a moment to give the order to the owner, and then he turned back to us, his face in a gentle smile. "Your daughter is impressive. I’ve never seen a foreigner complete an Island Challenge before ever stepping foot on Alola. It is… Unique."
"Vicky is special." Mama said then almost cattily. There was still a lot of tension in the air.
"So… Should I just start talking about my adventure and how I ran into Jangmo-o?" I asked, because otherwise Mama and Papa were just going to continue to be… Tense.
"I would be quite honored to hear it. This whole situation is shocking."
"Well it started when I traveled out of Kanto to find rare pokemon. I’d heard a rumor about a mountainous area where tons of rare pokemon had eventually migrated to get away from people."
I started talking, explaining the trip although never mentioning where exactly, and then about how I’d found the Kommo-o tribe. Even pointing to Lucario to tell them that’s where I’d met Lucario, and it was her daughter Riolu that had taken me to find the Kommo-o.
"Well. I talked to the old man that claimed to own the Kommo-o, he was pretty obsessed with them, even had a helmet shaped like them… He mentioned that it was an ancestor that had gone on a sea voyage… He uh… Well I kinda inferred that his ancestor was some sort of pirate. I think at some point he came to Alola and captured a bunch of Pokemon and returned home. The Kommo-o Elder gave me the Z crystal after."
Hala nodded quietly as he took in the whole story.
"There are old stories of ships from before we had anything nearly as large, about evil men that came and captured pokemon… And more." I frowned at that, but eventually Hala nodded. "But to find out that some of those pokemon still live… Still carry on the traditions…" Hala seemed…
Almost broken up about it.
"Kahuna?" I asked, and he looked up and smiled.
"I am simply praying for family long lost." He offered.
Jangmo-o had listened and watched this entire time from my lap, but at that he barked out. "Jang! Jangmo-o!" Jangmo-o sat up in my lap, claws on the table in front of me, and puffing up as he stared him down.
"Heh. Of course, I suppose it’s not so lost after all. Thank you Victoria, for this story. It… I will need to share it with the other Kahuna, perhaps now we will have answers to some old wounds."
"Ah, sure. Glad to help?"
"Indeed. I will ensure that no one else bothers you about Jangmo-o."
"And Mimikyu!" I said quickly, because no way I was going to let anyone cause problems for my buddy!
"A Mimikyu as well? You… Hmm, it always surprises me what trainers make friends with that pokemon."
"Mimikyu are great! They just want to be your friend."
"Indeed." Hala said with a little smile.
"Foods up!" The owner called out with a bright smile as he brought multiple plates of really tasty looking food.
"Ah, but let us eat!"
Thankfully that seemed to actually help, and Mama and Papa both looked calmer as they started eating.
—--
The fresh tropical air was amazing after a big meal, and I stretch up to the sky as we stepped outside.
Then I broke into a jaw cracking yawn that I barely fought back.
"Tired?" Mama asked, running a hand over my hair.
"Totally. We’ve been up forever." I said, and Hala hummed as he followed us out.
"I still wish to speak with you regarding the Kommonium z, but you are on a vacation. I will leave you for now, but… If you wish I will be hosting a ceremony tomorrow evening, if you’d like to join, to experience our culture. There will be a celebration after."
"Oh that sounds nice!" I said looking at Papa who didn’t look entirely sold on the idea, but eventually shrugged.
"I’ll consider it."
Hala just nodded, doing a man to man stare if my instincts were right for a moment before turning and we separated.
"Whew. What a day." I muttered before once more breaking into a yawn.
Ugh. Sleepy.
"Vicky, are you really okay? Seriously getting arrested!" Papa ended his gentle question with an honest growl.
"Mhmm! It was just some jerk that caused trouble when he saw Jangmo-o. Officer Jenny was really nice, and I really wasn’t waiting that long for Hala."
"Alright." Papa whispered, pulling me tight which I quickly leapt into a big hug.
"C’mon Victor, I think I’m with Vicky. I want to sleep even if the sun is still up." Mama whispered yawning as well, and all three of us headed off towards the hotel. I was really starting to flag, the energy from getting arrested, and from meeting Hala, fading as we walked. What a crazy situation.
I looked at Jangmo-o who was walking happily beside us and his eyes met my own.
Neither of us intended on separating. We still had a lot of growing to do after all.
"We’ll definitely talk to Hala, and figure out the Z move thing." I told him and he nodded firmly.
"Jang-Mo."
"Do that tomorrow, after you sleep." Papa said and I couldn’t help but laugh at his snarky tone.
—--
I slept in, which was actually super nice. My pokemon all shared the bed with me, even Riolu unfortunately.
Seriously, that brat has sharp elbows.
Dratini and Mimikyu being cuddle bugs made up for it though.
As the Alolan Moon lowered, and the Alolan Sun rose up coming in through the blinds I finally stopped napping and rose along with it. Looking over the room and my pokemon, most of them not actually sleeping.
Turns out Pokemon didn’t suffer from Jet lag.
Instead Riolu had turned on the TV and was watching whatever she or Mimikyu flipped it too.
Thankfully Mimikyu had attacked Riolu when she tried to turn the volume up high enough to wake me up. Which had woken me up anyways, but it was the thought that counts.
Yawning and stretching I settled in to finish whatever show that had Riolu entranced and watched the last bits of some weird Unovan Cartoon.
Unovan Cartoons were weird.
Getting up I took a quick shower which Dratini joined me for, and then we were all cleaned up and ready for the day.
Today! Today was going to be a fun day and I definitely wouldn’t end up in a jail cell this time!
I popped into Mama and Papa’s room to see them already eating breakfast. Lucario was sipping at what I suspected to be Papa’s Coffee cup, seemingly quite enjoying it.
"Morning!"
"There she is! Finally got tired of sleeping?" Papa teased.
"I just needed to sleep so I was on Alolan time." I argued, pouting, and walked over to join them. "I want to try surfing today, me and Dratini can do that."
"Hmm. Alright. This is a vacation, and after yesterday I want to make sure you get some time to actually have fun." Papa said, patting me on the head.
"Just be sure to come back, we have that Kahuna’s party thing. We might as well check it out." Mama added.
"Lu, Lucario?"
"Yeah I’ll take the brat." I grumbled and Lucario just tittered at my irritation.
"Riolu! Rio!" Said Brat of course ran in as if she had heard someone talking about her and rushed over before slowing down as Lucario put down the coffee cup and Riolu jumped into a hug.
Aww. When she was being a baby for Lucario she was kinda cute… Then she finished her hug and ran up to Papa for a morning hug!
I was wrong! There is nothing cute about her at all!
—--
Surfboard rentals were easy enough to find on the beach, and I was ready. Dratini was with me, and Riolu annoyingly was holding onto my leg as we paddled out from the beach.
"Seriously Riolu, I don’t know how to surf, so I don’t think I’m going to be able to do it with you here."
"Riolu! Rio!" She argued back and held my leg tighter.
"Ugh." I grumbled and ignored her. Just because she wanted to have fun too. Was this what having a little sister that followed you around all the time was like? One that was a brat and constantly caused trouble?
Yes. Yes it was.
Slowly I made it out, and like the renter guy said there were already a bunch of surfers out here.
"Alola!" I greeted and got a few amused looks between them at my greeting.
"Alola. Never seen you before." The first boy greeted. All of them were tanned and obviously Alolan, but they were some differences. One boy had bright red hair, and another Purple hair slicked back.
"Yeah, I’m just a vacationer." I said and they nodded as if that was obvious.
"Well you know the rules?"
"Not really!"
"Alright." The boys began, as they went into a quick explanation on the rules for who gets to surf. I moved to the right position and waited, Dratini poked his head out of the water beside me and chattering to me and Riolu about his current underwater adventure.
"Oh it’s almost time! You ready?" I asked Riolu who nodded. Then it was my wave, and I started paddling.
I have no idea how to surf, but I’ve done other stuff before, and well…
Something I’d learned in my second life, it wasn’t about whether you could do something, but about trying it. Fail or succeed. I was going to hit this wave!
"Alright Riolu!" I called out as I rose up unsteadily on the board, but to my delight Riolu standing up with me helped secure my back leg.
Okay now it was just like skateboarding! Or snowboarding… Just on a wave that moves around.
I held my stand as I hit the wave, and the board shifted under my feet, I gripped it well, and we started going up…
Oh no that’s too much up!
I hit the ocean, Riolu yowling her own displeasure, as the board had gone flying straight up into the air, and then Dratini was there, eyes sparkling in delight as he wrapped around me and brought me back to the surface.
Better than any life preserver.
"Bwah!" I gasped as I hit the surface and then started laughing as Riolu was there annoyed at the failure.
"Rio! Riolu Riolu!"
"That was just the first one! C’mon! Let’s go try again!" I called out and Riolu stopped getting upset and instead started swimming for the board.
Hehe.
As we paddled back we got some laughs and one of the female surfers even came and slapped me on the back.
"Nice try." She teased, and I just grinned up at her as I sat on the board Riolu behind me.
"Thanks! It’s my first time! I’ll get it this time! Or the next!" I said chipperly, and she blinked at that, and then her teasing turned into an honest grin.
"First time? Not bad. Here, when you leap up, make sure your front foot is like this." She started teaching me.
"Tini?" Dratini came up and she yelped a bit as she noticed him and jerked back a bit, but I noticed despite the surprise she didn’t fall off her board that she was showing me the move.
"Yep, back to waiting." I told him, and the girl settled back down and looked at Dratini in wonder.
"What is he?" She asked her hand already half way out to pet him but hesitating.
"Tini? Dratini!" He greeted her, and swam over so her hand could reach him, and he giggled at her exploring touches.
"Dratini, he evolves into Dragonair, and then Dragonite." I explained and the surfer girls eyes widened.
"Whoa. Dragonite!?" She looked shocked as she looked up at me, and then down. "Those are supposed to be super rare. Sometimes we’ll see one flying around some of the islands, but no one really has much knowledge about them."
"Heh! In Johto, they have a whole clan of Dragon Trainers that have tons of Dragonite. I’m the only trainer in Kanto that has one. Well, two technically. Dratini’s momma is back home."
"Yo! Kola! You’re up!"
"Right! Hey, I’ll chat with you later! Alola!" She called as she tore her eyes away and raced for the next wave.
Okay I was up next. Time to do this!
I still fell, but this time I stayed on a few seconds longer! Success!
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