Hello everyone! Welcome to the next Island Challenge arc! I'm so sorry this took so long, I had a full week of work that drained me. But good news is, I finally decided to take a little vacation! So hopefully I'll be able to bust out at least a couple chapters. So I hope you all enjoy the first chapter of the new arc!

As waves splashed against the boat, Ash and Pikachu looked at the slowly approaching island that housed their next challenge.

"Get ready Ula Ula Island, we're gonna win!"

"Pikachu!"

'For sure...but first...' Greninja said as he pointed down towards the bow.

Serena and Delphox were against the railing with their arms dangling like paper against the wind. Their eyes were plain white and their mouths had spit on them.

'I...can't...handle it...' Serena said in her head.

'Welcome...to hell...' Delphox said.

Ash and Greninja sweatdropped. They looked at each other and nodded. They made their way down to the bow and held their respective girlfriends.

"Don't worry Serena, we're almost there" he said.

"I...hope...so. Gotta...cheer you...on...in your...trials..." she said weakly.

"This must be...the consequence...of the thing we did...after we came back...from Aether Paradise..." Delphox said.

Greninja blushed at that.

"I-I don't know about that. I was still shocked that you wanted to do it."

"I just thought...scheduling for the song to play...over the intercom at the school...was a good prank..."

"Maybe if the song wasn't Enormous P*nis then it probably would've been" Greninja said, remembering how mad everyone was.

The boat finally reached the shore and everyone got off. Serena and Delphox wobbled onto the dock.

"No more..." Serena wined.

"This is how I'll die..." Delphox wined.

Ash and the others got off the boat.

"Well, we've made it to Malie City" Kukui said.

"Malie City huh? Is that where the first trial is?" Ash asked.

Kukui shook his head.

"Fraid not Ash. The first trial is located in Thrifty Megamart."

"Thrifty Megamart? Where's that at?"

"It's south of Tapu Village, which is east of Route 13 and by extension Blush Mountain, which you can enter south from here" Kukui explained.

Ash rubbed his head.

"I don't know if I'll be able to remember all this."

Rotom flew up to him.

"I can use my map function for directions-roto."

Serena, who had recovered, joined them.

"That's alright Rotom, we can just use my—"

She stopped when she reached into her bag. She kept digging through it but couldn't find it.

"Oh no..."

"What's wrong Serena?"

"I...I forgot my Tablet!!" She yelled as she formed comedic tears.

Ash rubbed her back. "Don't worry Serena, I'm sure we'll be fine without it."

Serena looked at Ash. "B-But Ash...I took so many notes for all the trials here...I don't want us to go in blind..."

Ash smiled. "Don't worry Serena, as long as we got each other, we'll be just fine."

Serena looked at him in awe.

"Ash..."

"How about we get a move on" Ash said. Serena just nodded. Ash turned to Rotom. "Will you help lead the way Rotom?"

Rotom saluted. "Leave it to me-roto!"

The group then headed out of the city and towards Blush Mountain. As they walked, Dartrix suddenly appeared from his ball.

"What's up Dartrix?" Ash asked.

Dartrix said nothing. Instead, he flew ahead of them.

"Wha?! Dartrix where are you going?!" Ash yelled. He started to run after his Alola starter, the others following behind.

Dartrix kept flying forward until he stopped when he saw a figure in front of him. The figure turned out to be a girl. She had dark purple hair and was wearing a dark colored dress that looked like it was stitched together in multiple pieces. A Pokemon was floating right next to her. It looked kinda similar to a Pikachu, but it's cloak was more silver in color, it also had a flower near its head.

"Well hello there, are you lost?" The girl asked.

Before Dartrix could respond, Ash called out.

"Dartrix!"

Dartrix turned to see Ash running up to him.

"Why'd you suddenly fly off like that?" He then noticed the girl in front of them. "Oh hi! Sorry I didn't see you standing there."

"No worries, I just happened to be here when this one appeared" she said, gesturing to Dartrix.

Serena and the others soon caught up to them. Serena was slightly out of breath.

"Dartrix...why'd you suddenly—" she began but stopped when she saw the girl in front of them. "Who are you?"

"My names Acerola, and this is my partner Mimikyu" she said.

"Kyu Kyu" it answered.

"Woah, what's that?" Ash said.

"Leave it to me-roto." Rotom took a couple pictures and screen soon appeared with the information.

"Mimikyu. The Disguise Pokemon. A Ghost/Fairy type. A lonely Pokémon, it conceals its terrifying appearance beneath an old rag so it can get closer to people and other Pokémon."

"Terrifying? But it looks so cute" Serena said.

Mimikyu floated over to Serena and patted its shadowy claw on her as a sign of gratitude.

"So Mimikyu can fly like that?" Ash asked.

"Unfortunately no. This Mimikyu is actually dead but lives on as a spirit. That's why she can fly. She can also faze through anything but her attacks won't do anything" Acerola explained.

Serena suddenly shuddered, but at the same time still found her cute.

"My name's Ash, and these are my partners Pikachu and Greninja."

"And my name's Serena, and this is my partner Delphox."

Acerola smiled. "So what brings you all here?"

"We're on our way to Thrifty Megamart for my Island trial" Ash answered.

Acerola was a little surprised. "Oh wow, so you really want to go there?"

Ash and Serena grew confused.

"Um, yeah? Is that bad or something?" Ash asked.

"No, if you're not afraid of what lurks inside that building."

"What lurks inside? What do you mean by that?" Ash asked.

"Thrifty Megamart is actually an abandoned building. Strange things started to happen and it was ultimately abandoned when the owner and employees couldn't take it anymore."

"What...sort of strange things?" Serena asked, a little afraid.

"Apparently people started seeing apparitions of their greatest fears and other spooky stuff. There's also a rumor that it was so bad for one employee that he took his own life" Acerola explained.

Everyone shivered from hearing that.

"But like I said, it's just a rumor" Acerola reassured them.

'Doesn't make it any better' Serena thought.

"Nowadays it's pretty rundown and no one really goes there" Acerola added.

There was a brief silence.

"I'll go" Ash said.

"Ash are you crazy?! Did you not hear what she just said?!" Serena said in disbelief.

"I'm going too" Greninja said.

"Say what?!" Delphox said.

"Count me in too" Dartrix said.

"Where ever Ash goes, I go too" Pikachu said.

Serena and Delphox groaned, ultimately agreeing to go.

Acerola guided them towards the trial site. Serena was growing more nervous. She looked at Ash, who didn't look scared at all. They eventually made it to the location. It looked completely rundown, and had a gloomy atmosphere to it.

"Well, here we are" Acerola said while doing a twirl.

"Well, let's go then" Ash said. He began to walk but was stopped by Acerola.

"You can only enter at night, that's when the trial opens."

"But...it won't be nighttime for another 10 hours" Ash said.

"Well you can use that time to strategize and prepare yourself...mentally" Acerola said.

They reluctantly did just that. Ash was going over strategies he could use, focusing more on Dartrix, who kept insisting on fighting in it.

Serena decided to practice performances, as a way to distract herself from the no doubt scary trial that they'll soon face.

As they practiced, Brionne kept getting distracted by Dartrix training. This caused her to keep messing up her performing.

As the sky started to grow darker, Serena brought out some snacks for everyone to eat. As they ate, Brionne had a frustrated look on her face.

'Why do I keep messing up every time I see him? I put these feelings away, but they keep coming back. At this rate I'll never be able to perform and make Serena proud...'

While deep in thought, she failed to notice Dartrix walking up to her.

"Um, hello? Earth to Brionne."

Brionne looked up and saw him staring at him. She yelped in surprise.

"D-D-Don't startle me like that!"

"My bad."

Brionne turned away.

"S-So what do you want?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to spar before the trial" Dartrix answered.

"Spar? With me?" She asked, turning her head back towards him. Dartrix nodded. Brionne looked away again. "W-Why me?" She asked shyly.

"I figured you'd be a good warm up, as I've got a pretty good idea what the trial's gonna be, and you're the best one to practice with" Dartrix explained.

Brionne blushed. However this soon turned into annoyance.

"N-No thanks! I n-need to keep practicing."

"Aww c'mon, please?" Dartrix begged playfully.

"No" Brionne said lightly.

Dartrix whipped his long curly feather that covered his eye. "Pretty please" he said in a flirtatious tone.

"I said no! So shut up and leave me alone!" She yelled before walking away, leaving Dartrix surprised and confused.

Once she was far enough away, she sighed. 'Why did I just do that?? He just wanted my help...no! I can't let this get to me. I'm gonna work harder to push these feelings down and perform even greater for Serena!'

Dartrix made his way back towards the group. He had a weird look on his face, like he saw something truly shocking.

"What happened to you?" Lycanroc asked.

"Nothing. Nothing at all" he said as he walked passed them.

The group looked at each other with confusion. Passimian decided to get up and talk to him. She walked over to where he was and sat next to him.

"Are you really ok? You don't seem like yourself."

"I'm fine" was all he said.

"Dartrix if there's a problem you're having we can help you with it" she said.

Dartrix whipped his head towards her.

"Problem?! I'm not the one with the problem! She's the one with the problem!"

"She?"

"All I said was if she would spar with me, then she just yells at me for no reason and storms off!"

"Brionne did that?"

"Yeah! And I don't get it! What have I ever done to her?? All she does is ignore me whenever I try to talk to her or gives me an attitude! Like, what's her deal??"

"Maybe she just has a lot of things she's dealing with and trying to sort out" Passimian guessed.

"What's there to sort out?? Does she hate me? Did I do something wrong?? What. Is. Her. Problem!!" Dartrix yelled.

Passimian was a little surprised by his yelling. She sighed. "I don't know. But yelling at me won't help. Maybe try to sort out what your problem is first" she said before walking back towards the group. Dartrix simply scoffed, however it was loud enough for Passimian to hear. Dartrix glanced at Passimian who looked sad and hurt. Guilt suddenly possessed him. He grunted in frustration as he slapped the ground with his wing.

Nighttime had finally arrived and Ash made his final preparations for the trial. As he stood in front of the building he had a determined look on his face. Acerola stood in front of the door.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Ash simply nodded. Acerola smiled and stepped to the side. "Then good luck." The door opened, causing Serena to become nervous. Ash however started to walk inside, followed by Pikachu and Greninja, both looking unafraid. Serena and Delphox moaned in fear but reluctantly followed them. Once inside. The doors behind them closed. Serena and Delphox were now getting scared.

"This place gives me the creeps" Serena said.

Ash was looking around the area. 'Rundown, only open at night, seeing scary things...'

'Ghost type trial' Greninja answered.

Ash nodded. 'Chances are all the happenings going on are just ghost Pokémon messing with people.'

'I'm surprised you aren't scared.'

'...I've been through worse.'

As they continued to look around, noises started to erupt. They looked to see some objects floating and moaning growing louder. Serena and Delphox were holding each other close with their eyes shut. Ash and Greninja also had their eyes closed, but they were a lot more calm. They used their Aura to sense where the sounds were coming from. After some concentration, a faint outline appeared to the right of the objects. Ash opened his eyes.

"Use Night Slash!"

Greninja opened his eyes and followed orders. In a flash, he slashed his sword at the area they sensed. A moment later a Ghastly and a Haunter appeared. They fell to the ground, knocked out. Greninja jumped back and landed next to Ash.

'There's one more, so be on guard.'

'Gotcha.'

Suddenly Pikachu's ears started to twitch. He turned his head to see a shadowy figure coming out. He growled as he got on all fours and let out sparks from his cheeks. Everyone turned and saw it too. Ash scowled.

"Use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu shot a Thunderbolt towards the figure, who disappeared before the attack hit. The group looked around for any sign of it. Suddenly something grabbed Serena and lifted her up, causing her to scream.

"Serena!" Ash called out.

"Let me go!" Serena yelled.

As she got higher, she suddenly heard a voice whisper in her ear.

"You will watch him die..."

Serena's eyes widened in fear. "No!!!!!" She screamed.

Suddenly a huge blast of fire hit the figure from behind. It cried out in pain, causing it to release its hold on Serena. She started to fall but before she hit the ground she was caught by Delphox. She looked up at her and saw the rage on her face.

Delphox pulled Serena into her chest as she held her stick up.

"Nobody messes with the human I love and gets away with it!!"

Delphox closed her eyes and tapped into her Aura. After a quick search she saw the figure. She shot her eyes open and aimed it in the direction it was hiding and fired a Flamethrower at it. It hit and a Gengar appeared. It was still conscious but was wobbling.

"Water Shuriken!"

Greninja produced two Water Shurikens and threw them at Gengar. After a smoke cloud disappeared it revealed Gengar knocked out cold.

Delphox lowered her stick but kept a firm hold on Serena.

Ash ran over to them. "Serena! Are you alright?!"

"I-I'm ok..."

She was clearly a little shaken. Delphox put her stick away and engulfed Serena in a comforting hug. She rubbed her head against Serena's and rocked her back and forth.

A door suddenly slid open, however nothing appeared. Ash had a bad feeling, but started to walk towards it. He looked back, glancing at Serena and Delphox again. Delphox looked at him and nodded her head. Ash nodded his and walked towards the door, Greninja following him, Pikachu staying behind to guard Serena.

The two boys entered, the door closing behind them. The two looked around for anything.

"Whoever you are, just come out and face us!"

"Quite the brave one, aren't you boy" a voice said.

Ash recognized it, and Immediately froze. His breathing became heavy as he slowly turned his head. A figure slowly made its way into view. It had black hair, tanned skin, z birthmarks, and red eyes.

"No..." was all Ash said.

The man laughed. "Perhaps I was wrong. You still look like the weak little freak that you are."

"It's a trick...y-you're not real!" Ash yelled in fear.

"Oh I'm very real" the man said calmly, which terrified Ash more. He started to walk towards Ash.

"G-Greninja use Night—!"

He looked and didn't see Greninja.

"Sorry kiddo, it's just you and me right now..."

Ash turned his head back towards the man.

"S-Stay back! You're just a ghost Pokémon playing tricks on me!"

The man just kept walking towards him. "Oh silly boy...there's no ghosts here, just a father wanting to catch up with his son."

Ash started to back up. "I said stay back dammit!"

"But I missed you so much, can't you give your dear old dad a hug?"

"Y-You're not him!" He yelled. He suddenly hit a wall. The man just kept walking towards him.

"You can't escape this Ash..."

The man was now right in front of Ash.

"No..." Ash whispered.

The man then whispered into his ear. "You can't escape me..."

"NOOOOOO!!!!!!"

Aura exploded out of Ash, his eyes plain white. Flashes erupted followed by thunder. After that ended, Ash opened his eyes again. He saw the man was gone, but in his place was a Mimikyu. It was way bigger than Acerola's Mimikyu. Aura suddenly engulfed it.

"Must be the Totem Pokemon..."

He turned to Greninja but saw him laying against the wall unconscious. Ash grunted. He took out a Poke Ball.

"Kay Lycanroc I choose you!" Lycanroc appeared and took a battle stance. Ash took out another Poke Ball. "Dartrix you too!" Dartrix appeared and landed on Ash's head. Ash decided to ignore that for now. "Lycanroc use Accelerock!"

Lycanroc glowed and charged forward. Mimikyu sidestepped him before he hit it. It responded by firing a Shadow Ball.

"Use Stone Edge as a barrier!"

Lycanroc slammed his claws into the ground. Stone pillars shot up from the ground, blocking the Shadow Ball.

"Jump up and use Fire Fang!"

Lycanroc jumped and engulfed his mouth in flames and dived towards Mimikyu. Said Totem shot it's shadowy claw out from under its rag and smacked Lycanroc away. Lycanroc managed to land on his feet, although he was starting to get tired.

'Dammit, at this rate Lycanroc is gonna get too tired, gotta think of something.' He failed to notice Dartrix was no longer on his head.

"Get in close with Accelerock!"

Lycanroc did so and got in close. Mimikyu jumped into the air. Ash suddenly smirked.

"Use Crunch!"

As Mimikyu fell back down, Lycanroc readied his jaw. A dark set of fangs appeared in front of him. It clamped down on Mimikyu when it got close enough. After a small smoke cloud, Mimikyu was still standing, now more angry. Lycanroc was breathing heavily. Mimikyu readied it's claws. Suddenly a glowing light appeared behind it and slammed into it. Feather blades then appeared and snagged its rag in place, unable to move. Ash and Lycanroc looked to see Dartrix flying above them.

"Dartrix! That was awesome buddy!" Ash said with a smile. Lycanroc called out, expressing his thanks.

The aura around Mimikyu suddenly intensified. With all its strength, it blew away all the feather blades binding it. It's eyes glowed. Lycanroc was suddenly lifted into the air, only to be slammed into the ground hard.

"Lycanroc no!"

Lycanroc was struggling to get back up, but was too weak. Dartrix watched as Mimikyu started to produce another more powerful Shadow Ball. Without a second thought, Dartrix flew as fast as he could towards Lycanroc. Mimikyu shot the Shadow Ball towards Lycanroc, who could only watch and wait for it to hit him. However, that never happened, as Dartrix flew in front of him