EPISODE 185: The Power of the Sunstone!

<Pet! Petilil! Petilil!>While walking through the frosty forest of route 38, Petilil, a jolly Pokemon leaps around her trainer to beg for something.

"Petilil, is there anything wrong?" Camellia looked down on Petilil. She gave her Pokemon a smile and a nice pat on the head.

<Pet! Pet! Petilil!>Petilil tried her best to communicate with her trainer by using sign languages and body actions. Camellia still had a hard time figuring out what Petilil is begging for.

"Petilil says she wants to evolve," Lucario uttered telepathically towards Camellia's mind with the use of his aura.

"Oh really? Is that true Petilil? Do you really want to evolve?" Camellia questioned with a doubting face.

<Pet! Pet! Petilil!>Petilil nodded her head and leaped with joy. Her eyes sparkled and begged while her cheeks turned slightly red, just like a child begging for candy.

"Why do you want to evolve all of a sudden? Once you evolve, the actions couldn't be undone." Camellia warned and coaxed.

<Petilil! Pet! Pet!>Petilil nodded her head and implored louder.

"Petilil says she wants to evolve so that she could be as tall as Lucario. Right buddy?" Lucario translated to me Petilil's emotion and plead.

<Lucar!>Lucario deadpanned and nodded his head.

"Tall as Lucario? Ah... I see. Alright then, if you want to evolve then all you have to do is to eat a sunstone! Don't worry, I have one right here." Camellia smiled and scrambled her bag for the sunstone.

"Where is it!? Where is it!?" Camellia began to panic as she searched every corner of her bag. Petilil was starting to suspise Camellia of not having the stone in her bag.

"Oh right, I forgot that I sold the stone back in Enju town." Camellia sighed.

<Pet... Pet...>Petilil's eye started to become teary and moist.

"You sold the stone!? The one which Exploud gave you!?" Glade's tone rose.

"Well, um... they offered me 10,000 Prize money for the stone, so yeah. Hehe." Camellia uttered with an embarrassed and humiliated voice.

"Now you made your Petilil cry. Hey Kalem, can you ask Irys to give us details about where we can find a sunstone?" Glade suggested.

"Sure! Irys, we need your help!" I scrambled my bag for the Pokedex and pressed the power button. Irys started to reload and turn on.

[Good Day Trainers! What may I do for you?]

"Um Irys, can you tell us where we can find a sunstone?" Camellia inquired.

[Sunstones can be found deep in caves or caverns. They can also be bought in markets and department stores, if you want a free sunstone, look for a black market.]

"Black Market!? No way we're buying from that place. I suggest that we find the stone instead." Glade proposed.

"Hmm... Irys, can you give me details about the nearest cave from here?" I queried.

[Sure! The nearest cave from here is no other than Cave Alpha. This cave is said to be rich in evolutionary stones except for dawn and dusk stones which could only be found in Cave Omega.

Here are your chances of finding each stone:

Thunder Stone-12%

Leaf Stone- 14%

Water Stone- 3%

Fire Stone- 32%

Ice Stone- 11%

Moonstone- 88%

Sunstone- 2%]

"A 2% chance of finding a sunstone seems hard, but I'll do whatever I can to find one for my Petilil!" Camellia beamed with certainty while trying to comfort her crying Petilil.

The three of us continued to walk to route thirty-nine. This is the place where Cave Alpha could be found. Cave Alpha is said to be one of the most famous caves in the region for its abundant source of evolution stones. Its brother, Cave Omega, lies on the very tip of the region. It is somewhat called the 'Victory Road' of Laurenburg.

Passing through Cave Omega will lead you to Mount Alympus, the site of things to come and the exhilarating Pokemon League.

"So... this is the cave?" Glade's voice trembled while looking at the entrance. Camellia tried to shout at the cave, her voice vibrated and echoed.

"Lucario... I'm scared." Shaymin trembled in fear while hiding behind Lucario's leg.

"It's going to be fine. I detect 590 auras belonging to Pokemons and not humans. We'll be safe." Lucario boasted his power and ability to sense auras while giving Shaymin a grin.

"Well yeah? What kind of Pokemons do the 590 auras belong to?" Shaymin questioned.

Camellia took the first step towards the cave. Her footstep vibrated loudly and echoed throughout the whole cave. What's more terrifying is that the voice belonging to Whismurs vibrated throughout the cave, giving a scary and spooky eerie.

"Heatmor, come out!" Heatmor's Pokeball is tossed up to the cave's ceiling.

<Heat! Heatmor!>Heatmor thought that there was another Pokemon battle, he did his fighting stance while preparing to launch a powerful and fiery attack.

"Heatmor, relax. I'm just going to put this gem on you. It's known as the Poketrans gem, it is used as a symbol of ownership, and can be used to translate your words.

From now one, you're officially mine!" I explained thoroughly while calming Heatmor's excessive determination and passion for battling. Heatmor licked my face after seeing the gem on his neck. He enjoyed and liked the piece of jewelry.

"Kalem! Kalem! Kalem!" Heatmor beamed with gratitude while hugging my body tightly while his long tongue licked my face.

"Heatmor stop! You're tickling me. I need you to light this stick for me." I giggled while trying to remove my grip for Heatmor.

I pointed the stick on Heatmor while fire surrounded his long tongue. Heatmor spewed fire unto the stick, and a luminous light source for us was created.

"Great work Heatmor! You did a great job. Now return to your Pokeball." Heatmor gave a smile and went back to his Pokeball.

For the next hour, we searched and walked around the cave. Irys was right, Moonstones are extremely abundant in this cave. Not a single sunstone could be found... yet. Petilil was starting to lose hope as her eyes continued to sparkle and beg for the stone.

"Petilil, please don't use hope. I'll find the stone I promise." Camellia uttered with certainty while trying to comfort her Petilil.

As we walked through the cave, we saw countless wild Pokemons. One of them was a violet Pokemon with two gems as eyes. This Pokemon is called Sableye, Camellia's Pikachu was able to defeat it right away.

Mienfoo trained with Glade throughout our journey in the cave. He attacked the surrounding Pokemons such as the Zubats, Golbats, and the rarest of them all, a Crobat.

While walking through the cave, we encountered a chubby man wearing a brown thick vest, has a black beard, and an explorer cap. He held a large bag on his back, filled with lustrous and vibrant evolution stones. His weight couldn't support his legs, that's why a sturdy wooden cane helped him navigate around. Hiker Hanson is his name, a man of adventure and exploration. Camellia's eyes were hooked after seeing a sunstone inside the hiker's bag.

"Hey smarty pants, I thought there were no humans." Shaymin teased sarcastically.

"Um... I guess I was wrong. Hehe..." Lucario uttered with a humiliated and embarrassed face.

"Oh, my! What are a bunch of kids doing in here?" The Hiker questioned.

"Hi there! My name is Camellia, and I was wondering if I could buy that Sunstone." Camellia beamed with relief after seeing a glimpse of the sunstone inside the hiker's bag.

"Buy? I'm sorry, but this sunstone is not for sale." The hiker apologized and walked passed through me and my friends.

"Wait! Please, I'll pay anything for the stone." Camellia halted and begged.

"Anything you say?" The hiker turned his head backward with interest and attention.

"Yes! Look at my Petilil, she's crying because she wants to evolve. Please, how much for the stone?" Camellia questioned.

"Oh, your Petilil has a cute face. So, I'll give the stone for free!" The Hiker offered.

"Really!? Thank you so much!" Camellia beamed with exuberance and joy.

"...That's if you defeat me in a one on one Pokemon battle. Haha! Geodude, come out now!" The Hiker laughed and bargained with confidence. He sent out a Geodude, with an odd look on its face.

"I see... an Alolan Geodude, Pikachu you're up!" Camellia examined Geodude's features. It has two eyebrows, and an odd color different from the original Geodude.

"So are you from the Alola region Mr.?" Glade questioned.

"Haha! Of course I am, I went here for some little vacation. Let's get this battle started, Geodude use Roll out now!"

"Pikachu, Iron tail!"

*Geodude's Roll out was countered with Iron tail. It pushed Geodude back to the hiker.*

"Pikachu, now follow it up with Quick attack!"

"Geodude, no!" The Hiker panicked and got worried for his Geodude. Quick Attack is a move that is hard to dodge.

"Camellia's way of battling is amazing." I watched Camellia and her Pikachu battle with awe. I complimented her on my mind.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail one last time!" Camellia instructed.

<Pika! Pikachu!>Pikachu's tail turned into metal as it slams into the foe's head.

"Camellia is fully aware that electric type moves don't do well. She's smarter than you Kalem." Glade teased.

"Geodude return! I guess you truly are an amazing trainer. Tell me, how many badges do you have?" The hiker questioned.

"Me? I don't participate in gym challenges sorry. My friend Kalem is the one who competes." Camellia explained and clarified.

"Ah! I see you should compete someday. You're a trainer with good potential. Anyways, here is your sunstone for your cute Petilil!" The Hiker suggested and tossed the stone to Camellia's hand. Petilil was happy and proud to see the sunstone.

"Petilil I did it! I got the sunstone." Camellia beamed with joy.

<Pet! Petilil!>Petilil's eyes sparkled while trying to reach for the stone.

Camellia smiled and handed the stone to Petilil. She opened her mouth widely and gobbled the stone into pieces. Petilil never felt better, she started to sprout into an elegant flower called Liligant.

Lilligant dons a scarlet flower with white spotted petals upon its head; said flower has golden filaments with red anther, resembling a crown. It possesses dark green, linear leaves under the flower, and light green, linear leaves underneath the darker leaves. One of the light green leaves, on the back of its head, is about as long as its body and resembles hair. Two light green leaves loosely hang down from its head. Its head and abdomen are white and its eyes, which resemble seeds, are a light shade of scarlet. It has dark green, linear leaves for arms, and a golden sepal under its neck. It wears a large, light green, tulip shaped collection of leaves, resembling a dress. There are two long, dark green, linear leaves coming from its back to around the bottom of its "dress". It also possesses another golden, sepal-shaped extension underneath its "dress", resembling feet.

The flower is on Lilligant's head is very difficult to coax into bloom. Once it does bloom, it will wilt if Lilligant is then neglected. The flower emits a sweet-smelling aroma, and it is believed to have a relaxing effect on those exposed to the scent. It is a rare Pokémon that lives in forests. Lilligant is a female-only species with no male counterpart.

"Petilil, you evolved into Liligant!" Camellia beamed with bliss and hugged her newly evolved Pokemon.

"Gck..." Lucario was shocked with Liligant's new appearance. His cheeks turned slightly red while looking at Liligant's elegant manner.

"Lucario! I'm tall as you now." Liligant gushed to Lucario and smiled at him.

"Yeah... um, hehe." Lucario was speechless with his Liligant's look, his cheeks continued to stay slightly red.

Finally, after finding the sunstone and evolving Camellia's Petilil, we can now continue our journey to Glacevelt city. Only one route remains, before we reach the city. Only time will tell what problems we'll encounter on route forthy. As the journey continues...