Breaking through layers of clouds, the once lush green mountain gradually gave way to snow-covered slopes. The surrounding air grew colder and sharper with every passing second.
As they neared the summit, Peter and Whitney finally spotted the observatory standing atop a flattened ridge.
Two hexagonal buildings were connected by a central corridor, each equipped with massive bowl-shaped signal receivers that continuously emitted invisible electromagnetic waves into the sky.
"Energy fluctuations increasing rapidly within five hundred meters, Rotom~!"
Peter jumped down from Braviary's back, and he and Whitney exchanged a glance before immediately quickening their pace.
Before they even arrived, violent explosions echoed from beyond the mountain pass.
After climbing over another hill, the scene before them finally came into view.
In the open field before the observatory, two gigantic Totem Pokémon stood facing each other with their respective groups behind them. Arcs of electricity crackled through the air, colliding again and again in bursts of violent sparks.
One side was led by a massive stag beetle-like Pokémon resembling a fighter jet, accompanied by numerous box-shaped bug Pokémon that looked like living batteries.
The opposing side was headed by a round, adorable hedgehog-like Pokémon, backed by armored Skarmory and tiny Dedenne with whiskers like radio antennae.
"Vikavolt, the Stag Beetle Pokémon! A Bug- and Electric-type Pokémon and the evolved form of Charjabug! It circles through the sky waiting for opportunities to strike, storing electricity inside its massive jaws before firing it at enemies! It also carries Charjabug with its legs to recharge itself during battle, Rotom~!"
"Togedemaru, the Roly-Poly Pokémon! An Electric- and Steel-type Pokémon! Since it doesn't generate much electricity on its own, it absorbs external electricity through the spikes on its body before releasing powerful electric shocks, Rotom~!"
"Honey, look!"
Whitney pointed toward the middle of the battlefield.
Several Elekid huddled together there, trembling in fear.
Peter immediately understood.
"Togedemaru probably wants the Elekid for their electricity. That's what started the conflict."
As he spoke, the atmosphere between the two groups grew even more tense.
"Toge!"
The Totem Togedemaru suddenly launched a Pin Missile at the ground before the opposing side. Consecutive explosions erupted instantly, pushing the confrontation to the brink.
"Kuva…"
The Totem Vikavolt refused to back down. Electricity crackled around its body as if a devastating electric attack could be unleashed at any second.
"Calm down, Vikavolt! Togedemaru too! We should talk this through first!"
A thin blond man in a blue shirt desperately tried to mediate between the two sides.
Unfortunately, the response he received was a Thunderbolt and another barrage of Pin Missiles.
Just as the flashing attacks illuminated his face, two attacks from the side arrived first.
Boom!
Psychic energy shattered the Pin Missiles instantly, while Earth Power collided head-on with Thunderbolt and canceled it out.
"This isn't the time to reason with them," Peter said as he and Whitney rushed into the battlefield. "Beat them first, talk later."
Indeedee and Miltank stepped protectively in front of them.
"You are…?" the blond man asked in surprise.
"Trainers taking on the island trials. Leave this to us. Protect the Elekid."
As Peter spoke, Indeedee had already expanded Psychic Terrain across the battlefield.
"Toge!!"
"Kuva!!"
Seeing the sudden intruders, both Totem Pokémon immediately redirected their aggression toward Indeedee and Miltank.
Peter and Whitney stood back-to-back as they issued commands simultaneously.
"Indeedee, use Psychic to slam Vikavolt and the Skarmory to the ground!"
"Miltank, use Earthquake with full power!"
Buzz—
Enhanced by Psychic Terrain, an overwhelming wave of psychic force crashed downward, instantly smashing several Skarmory out of the air.
The Totem Vikavolt, however, merely wobbled slightly and resisted most of the pressure.
"Miltaaaank!!"
Miltank curled into a ball, leaped high into the air, and slammed down heavily onto the ground.
BOOOOM—!
The powerful Gym-tier Earthquake instantly sent the Electric- and Steel-type Pokémon tumbling in every direction.
Most of them lost the ability to battle on the spot.
Even Totem Togedemaru suffered severe damage.
Its Electric/Steel typing made it four-times weak to Ground attacks.
"KUVAAA!!!"
Seeing all of its allies defeated, Vikavolt immediately flew into a rage.
An enormous amount of electrical energy gathered around it, making the air itself tingle numbly.
A highly compressed Zap Cannon burst from its jaws, illuminating the entire mountain range.
"Indeedee, use Light Screen and Calm Mind to block it!"
"Miltank, use Body Slam!"
BOOM—!
The Zap Cannon crashed into the Light Screen with explosive force.
Psychic power surged around Indeedee's body as it barely managed to hold the attack back.
At the same moment, the pink dairy Pokémon leaped high into the air and slammed Vikavolt down from behind.
"Kuva…"
Vikavolt cried out in pain and struggled desperately, but it could no longer regain flight.
Just when Peter and Whitney thought the battle was over—
everything changed.
Totem Togedemaru suddenly appeared before the Light Screen.
Its spikes stood upright as it absorbed every last bit of Vikavolt's Zap Cannon into its body.
In the next instant—
even more terrifying electricity erupted from its body.
Crackle crackle crackle—
Golden lightning illuminated Togedemaru's entire body.
The pressure from the electricity was so intense that Peter's hair literally stood on end.
Meanwhile, Indeedee had already exhausted most of its strength after blocking the previous attack.
"Babe!" Peter shouted immediately.
"I'm on it!"
The Fireium Z on Whitney's wrist burst into light.
As she crossed her arms, Miltank climbed off Vikavolt's back and mirrored her movements perfectly.
"Z-Move… Inferno Overdrive!!!"
"MILTAAAANK—!!!"
The pink cow Pokémon roared as countless crimson beams spiraled together before its body, condensing into a gigantic fireball over five meters wide.
Then—
it blasted toward Togedemaru with terrifying heat.
BOOOOOM—!!!
"TOGEEE!!!"
The overwhelming electrical energy collided violently with the massive fireball.
Togedemaru was blasted backward for dozens of meters before finally crashing to a stop.
"Indeedee, Expanding Force!"
"Ai~!"
Columns of psychic power erupted from the Psychic Terrain itself and struck the struggling Vikavolt directly.
That final hit became the last straw.
With a heavy thud, Vikavolt finally collapsed.
Both Totem Pokémon had lost the ability to battle.
[Ding! Victory against higher-level opponents achieved! Reward obtained: Universal Talent Value ×20! Indeedee has leveled up and can continue allocating talent points…]
Peter immediately added all twenty points into Indeedee's Speed stat, raising it to 145 before recalling it to its Poké Ball.
"Thank you," the blond man said as he stepped forward gratefully. "If you two hadn't arrived in time, the observatory probably would've been caught in the middle of all this."
Peter nodded while helping Whitney distribute medicine to the injured Pokémon.
"You should be Molayne, the director of Hokulani Observatory, right?"
"Hm? You know me?"
Peter smiled faintly.
"I heard about you from Professor Kukui."
After introducing himself properly, Molayne's eyes widened slightly.
"So you're the newly appointed Pokémon Professor Peter. I've heard a lot about you."
As they chatted, Peter finally learned what had happened.
Apparently, Molayne had rushed out to work this morning and accidentally left all of his Poké Balls at home.
Which meant that when the two groups started fighting—
he had literally tried to stop them with his own body.
If Peter and Whitney hadn't arrived in time…
he probably would've ended up in the hospital already.
As for Molayne—
besides becoming Alola's future Steel-type Elite Four member, he had once been part of the same generation of trainers as Professor Kukui and possessed tremendous strength.
At the same time—
he was also the older cousin of Sophocles, the chubby inventor from the future anime protagonist group.