Adrian woke up groggily as he tried to remember what happened before he went out.

“Hau!”

“Wiiimm!!”

He suddenly lurched forward, sending Wimpod flying of his chest!

“Ah! Wimpod!”

Adrian quickly apologized and picked the disoriented Wimpod back up.

Grubbin and Dewpider were looking up information at the nearby desk when they were shocked and raced over to Adrian.

[You’re okay now?]

Grubbin walked up and rubbed his mandibles on his leg softly with concern.

“I’m fine now. Thank you, everyone. Did we save Hau?”

Dewpider and Grubbin shook their head while Wimpod was confused.

[Hau was a Pokemon?]

“No. Pretty sure he was a human.”

“Hey! Are you up?!”

Hau suddenly burst into the room with…another Hau behind him?!

Adrian grew confused until the second Hau started to snicker and slowly disappeared.

What replaced him was a large, bipedal fox with black fur and red highlights.

“I told you, Zoroark. Don’t mess with him anymore.”

Brian came into the room as well, frowning at his Zoroark.

Zoroark meekly bowed his head in apology, but Adrian could see the smile on his face only deepen.

‘That one is trouble.’

Adrian immediately put Zoroark on a blacklist as this Pokemon didn’t seem to be fazed at all.

“How are you feeling, Adrian?”

Adrian looked over at his Dad and saw he was a bit pale with a few more bruises.

“I’m okay, but what happened to you, Dad? You look hurt.”

“Ah. Don’t worry about me. It’s just…I might be in a bit of trouble when I get back.”

Brian sighed as his whole demeanor seemed to just collapse.

Hau was puzzled by this, but Adrian seemed to catch on.

“Mom?”

Brian nodded his head and pointed at Adrian’s belt.

“When you fell, Gallade came out and your Mom was notified. I had to explain what happened and Rotom sadly gave her a view of the house. With you on the floor.”

Brian huddled into the corner for a moment as Zoroark pointed and laughed at him.

Adrian felt bad for his dad…. for a moment.

“Was it your idea to have Zoroark splash blood on my face?”

Brian looked up from the corner for a moment and sighed.

Zoroark was now cackling hard as he pointed at him.

“Fine. My plan was exposed. I regret nothing.”

“Why?”

Brian stood up and sat down next to the bed.

Hau stayed quiet as he stood on the side.

“You see, son. Being a Soldier is nothing short of a Bunnelby hole. Once you start heading down it, you can’t really turn back anymore.”

Adrian nodded lightly while Hau was confused.

Brian sighed again before reaching for a black Pokeball and returning Zoroark.

“You know people are scared of Soldiers, right? We are da- I mean really close to being Pokemon ourselves.”

Brian clenched his fist and looked at Adrian.

“That Liepard would’ve never reached you. I would’ve killed her myself if Zoroark wasn’t there. It would definitely make people scared and timid to even associate with you. They’ll be grateful, but they will never forget that you crushed the skull of a Pokemon on your own.”

Brian and Adrian didn’t lose eye contact as Brian continued.

“Can you stomach that kind of thing, son?”

“…….”

Adrian looked down for a moment before shaking his head.

“I don’t know. I can’t really see what I would do if I was cornered like that.”

Adrian raised his head and looked into his father’s eyes.

“I do know something though. I don’t want to be in a situation where I could only watch my friend die again.”

Brian stared at him for a moment before nodding his head.

“Alright. Your real training will start when we get back.”

Adrian was shocked as Brian stood up and started walking out of the room.

“Wait! Was all that training I did before for nothing?!”

Brian turned around with a sinister smile.

“Oh no! That training was real. Just 20% though. I’ll make sure you’re ready to fully start your Mantra before you start your adventure.”

Brian passed through the door as Adrian sunk down into the bed.

Wimpod, Dewpider, and Grubbin all corralled around him with concern. Hau watched his friend sink into the bed with regret.

“You okay, buddy?”

“……”

Adrian brought his hands to his face and sighed deeply.

“I’m excited, but I think I kicked myself.”

…………………..

Brian headed outside and went to look for Hala.

*Poof*

Zoroark came back out from his Pokeball with a sinister smile on his face.

[The plan failed~.]

“……”

Brian took in a deep breath and nodded his head lightly.

“I know. I thought we would keep him out of this mess.”

[Your genetics are too strong.]

Brian stopped and looked at Zoroark with a cold gaze.

Zoroark’s smile widened as he transformed into Adrian.

[Come on, Dad! I’ll be a good Soldier. I promise.]

Brian’s scowl grew stronger as a dark aura began to emanate from him.

“Don’t imitate your family.”

[…..]

Zoroark quickly turned into a small Zorua and jump up to Brian’s shoulder.

[Sorry! I didn’t mean it!]

Brian’s cold scowl turned into a smug grin as he looked at Zorua.

Zorua paused for a moment and sighed.

[Nice trick.]

“Gahahaha! You sounded nothing like my boy! Heh, amateur.”

Brian kept cackling as he found Hala talking with some of the residents.

“Clean up any corpses and save whatever parts of the pelts we can. We may come up with a small profit if we’re lucky.”

“” Yes sir!”’

Hala turned around and snorted as he saw Brian, though the snort was aimed at Zorua.

“You had me going for a while there, but I know my Hau would’ve broken down after a few seconds. Haaaa.”

Zorua nodded his head, making mental notes for next time.

“How many we got?”

“We got about 25 dead Meowths with the attack. No one was critically injured, so that was a plus. The number of Meowths haven’t really been culled much, but I’m sure one of them will evolve soon enough to order them around. They should stay in their home for a while.”

Brian nodded at the thought.

“Still, to think Rebecca would fall so low.”

“…It happens to the best of us. Be glad you stopped when you did.”

Hala sighed as he looked at his belt towards the one black Pokeball he had.

The two stood in silence for a moment before Brian voiced a question.

“Where is Nanu?”

“Gone. Never looked back after she dashed after Hau.”

Brian shook his head slowly.

It looked like he would have to see him before he left.

Brian looked at the rising moon in silence for a moment before.

“Do you think that it’s wise to let him become a soldier?”

Hala looked at the moon as well and shook his head.

“If he has the will. The talent will make it easier or harder, but the Will can bring him to your level of power. Maybe he’ll be the next Frenzy Commander.”

“….”

Brian nodded his head slowly as he watched the moon slowly creep its way into a sea of stars.

“…. Guess I’ll ask Astrid what she thinks.”

…………

Adrian woke up the next day a bit groggy as he stared at the ceiling.

He could feel something on his head breathing lightly as well as two more by his side.

‘Guess they fell asleep.’

Adrian reached his hand up and held Wimpod against his head as he slowly rose from the covers.

The movement woke up all three Pokemon as they looked over at him.

[Good morning!]

Dewpider greeted him brightly while Grubbin nodded his head in greeting.

[G-Good morning.]

Even Wimpod greeted him as he smiled at all the Pokemon.

“Good morning, you guys. I don’t know what we have planned today, but we should have some fun.”

Adrian got up excitedly and pulled the covers from over him.

He freshened up and came downstairs to find Brian, Hala, and Hau sitting at the dining table.

“Morning, sleepy head. Today is going to be a free day for you. Once we get home, we’ll see what your mother says about your training.”

Adrian nodded happily as he sat down to eat some breakfast.

“What’s on the menu today?”

“To celebrate the return of normalcy, we’ll be having some Bouffalant steaks and some Toucannon eggs.”

Brian smirked as remembered Honchkrow coming back to him with the eggs. They never saw the

Pikipeks again after that point.

Hala put down a fresh plate of food for Adrian while also putting down three bowls for the Pokemon.

“This’ll be for you guys. Eat up!”

The Pokemon all huddled around their bowls and started to eat.

“Hau. You should take Adrian around once more for fun this time. He’ll be leaving the island tonight.”

Hau smiled as he started to tell Adrian about all the places they could visit before he leaves.

Brian watched the two interact as well as the happy Pokemon that followed them.

‘It might be fate.’

Brian looked at his son for a moment before nodding his head.

‘Whether it’s fate or not, He has a talent at it. I just hope he’ll be able to handle what comes with this power.’

Brian continued to eat as he thought of ways to increase his son’s chances.

Adrian suddenly felt a chill crawl down his spine, but he couldn’t figure out why.

………..

Adrian and Hau began their fun day getting more Malasada’s and going around the different areas of the town.

They also checked on the forest nearby and saw that it was now swarming with different Pokemon again.

Pikipeks flew around busily while Rattata were finally in sight, scavenging for food.

They looked rather thin as they munched on most of the food they could find.

Adrian decided to leave a Malasada near the ground for them.

The Rattatas quickly picked it up and disappeared into the bush.

Adrian smiled as he could finally feel the real nature of Alola.

………….

The five of them sat on the beach as they watched the sunset slowly drop into the sea.

“…..”

Adrian looked over at the beautiful sight and sighed.

‘I’m nervous.’

He peeked over at the three Pokemon that sat next to him, enjoying the sea breeze.

He didn’t know if they would follow him or not.

He had to take a deep breath and decided to ask the question.

“Hey, you guys?”

Hau and the Pokemon looked over at him and wondered what was going on.

“You guys know that I’m leaving tonight, right?”

The Pokemon and Hau nodded their heads again.

“…Are you going to come with me? Or do you want to go back to the forest?”

The Pokemon realized what he meant and looked over at the forest behind them.

They stared there for a moment before turning back to Adrian.

[I’m going! I want to see more ponds!]

Dewpider jumped onto Adrian’s shoulder and blew bubbles of happiness at him.

Grubbin only nodded his head and sat down closer to his leg. His mandibles clamped onto his pants leg as he sat comfortably.

Wimpod only disappeared into his cloak and stayed as close to him as possible.

[You make me feel safe…]

Hau smiled as Adrian breathed a sigh of relief.

“Looks like you got more Pokemon to take care of now.”

“Yeah. I’m glad. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have been able to save you. Or at least attempt to help you.”

“I heard about that. I’m surprised you could even think with what was happening. I know I would’ve frozen up! Thanks for helping me, or at least attempting to help me. I was coming back from the restroom, and everything went black.”

Hau laughed at himself for a moment while Adrian kept a smile on his face.

‘He doesn’t know Dad knocked him out? Better not tell him then.’

The two passed the rest of the time happily as Adrian enjoyed the last moments of his first trip to Alola.

…………..

“…..”

“…..”

“…..”

Brian had another battle to deal with when they got back.

The rest of the family.

Astrid’s gaze could drill a hole in Brian’s side if he wasn’t so resistant.

Adrian couldn’t help him much.

He had to introduce his Pokemon to the new Alolans who helped him.

His eyes shimmered as he promptly ignored the bloodbath going on in the other room.

[Sol, Ripley, and Sugar. I made some new friends over on Alola. They’ll be staying with us from now on.]

Sol, Ripley, and Sugar stood face to face with Wimpod, Grubbin, and Dewpider.

Adrian would think there was tension in the air, but it was surprisingly calm.

Sol took an interest in Wimpod due to his shiny red colors. He was rather envious of them as his golden thorns mesmerized Wimpod.

Ripley and Grubbin just stared at each other for a moment before nodding their heads in agreement.

What was agreed upon, Adrian would never get the answer.

Sugar flew around Dewpider in excitement as Dewpider blew several bubbles around itself, making something like a course for Sugar to fly around.

Adrian soon found that he wasn’t even needed for them to get along.

*Boom*

As he turned his head to find his parents, he saw his Dad flying through the house outside.

A giant hole in the wall distracted him for a moment before he shivered violently.

His mother’s green hair flew up as a purple aura began to glow around her.

“Aly. Can you fix the wall please?”

Alakazam nodded his head lightly as Astrid slowly turned towards Adrian.

Adrian began to shiver as he could only watch as his mother grew closer and closer.

Adrian closed his eyes, expecting the same treatment, but was surprised as a warm hug enveloped him.

“I’m happy you helped your friend out in his time of need, but you really need to be careful about what you jump into. Since you want to be like us, I’ll be the one to take over your training.”

“Mom…”

Mother and son had a moment together before Brian peeked inside the house.

“Can I come back in?”

Suddenly, Astrid’s power rose back to maximum as she reached for a Pokeball.

Brian’s face paled before running off again!

Astrid launched the ball outside, revealing Medicham.

Medicham looked around for a moment before locking onto Brian and sending Astrid a telepathic question.

[Astrid? What’s wrong?]

[That idiot couldn’t keep Zoroark under control again. He almost gave Adrian trauma. We need to re-educate him on keeping his Pokemon in line.]

Medicham’s face grew serious as her eyes began to glow with a blue aura.

Astrid also brought out Gallade to help as she walked through the hole in the house.

“Adrian. Be a dear and bring the Farfetch’d meat out of the freezer for me? I’ll make a feast for you celebrating your first mission and your new family, okay?”

“Yes, Mom!”

Astrid smiled at Adrian before rushing out after Brian with Medicham and Gallade rushing behind her.

Adrian decided to quickly bring out the meat from the freezer and placed it in the sink to defrost with a bit of water.

Alakazam slowly reconnected the pieces of the wall as Wimpod and Ripley brought pieces they could find outside to Aly.

“You need any help, Aly?”

[No need. This is a simple task. I just find it fascinating to put all the pieces back together.]

Aly soon picked up all the pieces with his mind before noticing something strange in the distance.

*Boom Boom Boom*

“I’m sorry!!!!”

“Then why are you smiling?!”

“It’s a reflex!!”

*Boom Boom Boom*

Adrian could see that Medicham and Gallade were chasing after Brian as Astrid tried to punch him.

He could also see Zoroark snickering as he jumped between falling trees with another impish looking Pokemon with a purple body and glittering jewels for eyes. Adrian was surprised his Dad had a Sableye.

“You two! Help me!”

The two looked at each other before shaking their heads. They wanted no parts of this.

“Traitors!”

*Boom Boom*

Adrian kept watching until the wall was finished by Aly.

He turned to look at Aly who went back to meditating before sighing.

“Let’s…just wait for them to come back.”

Adrian decided it was best to stay out of his parents’ martial disputes.

……………….

1 year later

“Haup!”

*Bang!*

Adrian bounced back from the impact and readjusted his stance!

A pink humanoid Pokemon punched towards him as he dodged to the side!

“Ty!”

*Swish*

The Tyrogue kicked towards his head, but Adrian ducked down and swept its feet!

“Ty!”

“Haah!”

A fist descended on Tyrogue, stopping just before it made contact!

Adrian smiled as he opened his hand.

“My win.”

“Ty…”

The Tyrogue accepted his hand and lifted itself up.

Adrian took a deep breath as he looked over his karate Gi. It was gray and covered in dust and dirt.

‘About time to clean this again.’

“Good job.”

Adrian looked over to his mother sitting on a tree stump nearby.

The two had been training for a long time now, honing Adrian’s body and mind to better prepare him for battle and starting his journey as a Soldier.

The time was close at hand.

Next to Astrid were two Humanoid Pokemon.

One was brown with red boxing gloves while the other was dark brown with strong, ringed legs.

Astrid turned to the two Pokemon and smiled.

“Hitmonchan. Hitmonlee. How do you think our babies did?”

“Mom…”

Adrian had a wry smile on his face as he saw Astrid enter her “Doting mode” again.

He sighed as he dusted himself off.

He could see his mother’s eyes glow as the two Pokemon nodded their heads. Hitmonlee seemed to talk to Astrid the most as Hitmonchan kept quiet.

Next to them was another Tyrogue who was recovering from a previous match.

Adrian sat next to him and caught his breath as his Mom kept chatting with the mother of the two Tyrogues.

“Ty.”

Adrian heard a yell from Tyrogue as it pointed to a nearby cliff.

Adrian squinted his eyes to look and was surprised to find a person out in the mountains!

“Mom! Look!”

“Hmm?”

Astrid turned to where he pointed and saw the person as well.

Her eyes narrowed as what she saw was a girl around the same age as her son alone in these mountains.

Astrid stood up as she watched the direction the girl was heading to.

“She’s going into the mines. Pretty sure those ones have been abandoned for a while.”

Adrian quickly rose to his feet as he started to run up the path on the side of the cliff to get to the girl before it was too late!

“Hey! Don’t hurt yourself! You’re going into danger!”

Adrian yelled as he ran towards the girl.

Anyone this deep out in the wilderness at such a young age was likely to be suicidal. Although the wild areas were relatively safe compared to other continents, there was still a fair amount of people that die to Pokemon attacks every year.

As Adrian came closer to the girl, he noticed something strange.

She was kited out in head-to-toe hiker gear and two pickaxes rested on her backpack. She even had a Miners helmet on her head, covering her dusty gray hair. She looked to be his age with a rather apathetic face.

She looked like she was going to work.

Her blue eyes scanned Adrian for a moment before bowing her head.

“Excuse me. Is there a mine this way? I must dig my quota today.”

“Uhh….”

Adrian was caught off guard as the girl blankly stared at him.

“Umm, it’s that way. You shouldn’t go by yourself though. The Wild area may seem tame, but Pokemon can still attack people.”

“I see. This is not like the other one.”

The girl seemed to be deep in thought as she slowly nodded her head.

“I can’t stop now. I need money. I appreciate the gesture.”

The girl spat out her thoughts and continued to walk towards her goal.

Adrian felt he couldn’t stop her, so he just decided followed along.

“Well, you shouldn’t go by yourself. I’ll at least accompany you. My Mom can keep us safe. What did you mean you need to get money? Are you going to dig up minerals?”

The girl nodded her head silently as she walked on the old road leading to the mountains.

Adrian watched the surroundings for her as they made their way towards the cave.

The girl decided to allow Adrian to follow her as she lugged her gear with increased focus.

Adrian noticed her silent determination and sighed.

“My name is Adrian. What’s your name?”

“Stella.”

The girl simply said as she watched him with barely any change on her face.

Adrian felt that this girl may be a bit hard to deal with.

“Sweetie! What happened?”

Adrian and Stella both turned to see Astrid coming towards them.

Astrid looked at Adrian for a moment before studying Stella.

“…And what do you plan to do with those pickaxes?”

“Mine minerals to sell.”

Stella answered promptly as Astrid could feel a headache coming on.

She quickly took in a deep breath as she bent down to look at the girl face to face.

“I see you met my son. My name is Astrid.”

“I’m Stella.”

“Why are you trying to find minerals to sell, Stella?”

“To pay for my mother’s treatment.”

Astrid and Adrian grew confused as they waited for Stella to explain.

Only, she didn’t bother to as she turned to Adrian.

“Where’s the cave?”

“Uh, it’s over that way. I’ll show you. Come with us, Mom.”

Adrian figured her reasons must be important, so he decided to help her instead and figure out more later.

Astrid was quiet for a moment before sighing and following the two kids. She released Hatterene and told her to tell the Hitmon family she had to leave on emergency.

She kept her eyes on Stella for a moment before looking at Adrian again as her brows furrowed.

‘This feels familiar…’

She reached into her bag and checked over who she brought with her as back-up.

‘This should be enough. Hopefully, I won’t need to get involved in any fights.’

Astrid nodded her head as she followed the kids.

…**….

 

*Clank Clank*

*Clank Clank*

The sound of two pickaxes smashing into the wall echoed through the cave.

The damp cave smelled of moss and dust.

Adrian wiped the sweat from his brow as he saw the same brown rocks as before.

Nothing in this wall to take.

“Haaaa. Maybe this spot is a bust.”

*Clank Clank*

He looked over his shoulder to see Stella smashing into the wall with a determined gaze.

Adrian watched her for a moment before gathering his energy and swinging into the wall again.

‘I can’t give up if she hasn’t yet!’

There was no way he was going to give up before a girl who hadn’t been through soldier training!

The two continued to mine as Astrid watched from a nearby rock as she held Stella’s lantern.

Her gaze followed the two as a smile began to form on her face.

As Stella continued to mine at various spots of the cave with Adrian, Astrid started to realize something interesting about the silent little girl.

She quietly pulled out a Pokeball from her bag and opened it.

*Poof*

Hatterene appeared from the Pokeball and looked around.

[Where are we?]

[An abandoned mine in the Wild Area. I have a favor to ask of you.]

Hatterene turned and looked at Astrid in anticipation.

[Do you sense any hostile emotions near us?]

[I’ll check.]

Hatterene closed her eyes for a moment before opening them with an alarmed face!

{Astrid! There are multiple hostiles coming to our area. They seem to be digging through the ground towards us! Possibility of them being Durants is very likely!}

Astrid didn’t panic as she heard this. She smiled instead.

“I knew it. That girl is one of us.”

Hatterene was shocked as she turned to look at the girl mining away without rest.

[Are you sure?]

Astrid nodded her head as she turned to Hatterene.

[Adrian has only managed to find a nugget from the areas where she starts to mine. That girl, on the other hand…]

Astrid turned her head to see Stella finding a red metal and stuffing it into her old Silph bag.

‘A Star piece. Put together with everything she got before; she should have enough for a lump sum very soon.’

No matter where she stopped, she always found something in this abandoned mine everyone else missed.

Star Pieces, Rare bones, and Pale spheres seemed to always make their way towards her pickaxe.

Every spot seemed to be filled with iron ore as well, filling her bag up fast.

{Those two haven’t learned to control their power yet. The real test will be what shows up to our location. I have a feeling we already know what type she is.}

Astrid turned back to the kids and saw Stella holding a shiny piece of rock.

“Valuable?”

Adrian turned around and looked at the rock.

“Hey! I think this is a Heat Rock! I think you can sell that for a good bit of money.”

Stella just nodded her head with a look of satisfaction as she went to store it in her bag.

As she planned to move on, she realized her bag was already as full as could be.

She frowned as she silently grunted lifting it.

She still had more time. She should try to stuff just a few more in there.

“You can give it to me, Stella. I’ll hold the rocks for you and give you a bag you can use.”

Stella paused for a moment and looked at Astrid.

Astrid laughed as she saw Stella debate whether she should trust her.

This girl was so honest and easy to read.

“You don’t have to worry about me taking your things. I can probably pay for your mother’s operation on my own, but I doubt you would want that, right? Not after you worked so hard to find these minerals.”

Stella paused for a moment before nodding her head and passing the bag over to Astrid.

She was surprised when Astrid lifted the bag up one handed and tossed her a better bag.

Astrid could see a small smile on Stella’s face as she took the bag and ran over to a new spot with her pickaxe.

She then continued to dig for more minerals as Astrid watched her with a smile.

‘I think I might have found a little disciple.’

Astrid chuckled to herself as she waited for her to fill her bag.

Hatterene watched Stella mine with an intrigued expression.

[How is she finding the spots that have valuables?]

[Intuition. She just knows where they are.]

Hatterene monitored Stella’s movements as she homed in on another spot.

*Clang Clang Clang*

Once she started to swing, she mindlessly continued until she was close to the object. Once she could see it, she perfectly chipped the object from the wall with delicate yet precise swings.

She would put seasoned miners to shame.

‘This could only be done through Resonance. I’m sure of it.’

Astrid smiled with glee as she watched the girl come over with another pale sphere in her hand.

‘And with those guys coming closer towards us, I’ll be able to know for a fact soon if I’m right. Let's see which one they attack first.’

Astrid watched Hatterene’s expression as the two began to move deeper in the cave.