Alola to a New Journey!

Akala

Everyone had arrived at Heahea City on Akala Island about a half hour ago. Sophocles had told Ash that he was a Trial Captain on Ula'Ula Island and would be waiting for him there, so he got on a different ferry then the others. Once they stepped off onto the harbor, Lana, Kiawe and Mallow left to prepare their Trials for Ash. Everyone else went to get checked into the Tide Song Hotel. 

They got three rooms on the same floor, all connected by a door. All three rooms were fit for two people, so Kukui split everyone into roommates. Kukui and Burnet, Ash and Lillie, Dawn and Brock. Sophocles wasn't on Akala with them, and Lana, Kiawe, and Mallow had families they could stay with. They all split off at the elevator, and settled into their rooms.

Ash had been in a few hotels before, but it was still a treat to him, since most places where he slept was outside, or in a Pokémon Center. The Tide Song Hotel was definitely one of the nicest hotels Ash had ever been in. He pulled out his keycard, and unlocked the door, letting Lillie in first. 

The room was really nice. Two decently sized beds placed next to each other, an end table on both sides, with a larger one in between the beds, a small armchair sat in the corner, and a desk sat in the other corner. Some small Pokémon beds were folded on the desk. A minifridge and a small coffeemaker sat on a small counter, beside the bathroom, and the bathroom had a walk-in shower, with a double sink and a toilet.

"So... uh, which bed do you want?"  Ash asked.

"Um, I'll take this one." Lillie said, setting her bag on the bed closer to the bathroom, and gently lifting the incubated egg out, and let Nebby float out, after shutting the doors.

"Alright." Ash said, plopping his bag onto the bed near the window, and letting out Litten and Rowlet.

"So, are you excited for your next Trials?" Lillie asked, hoping to start a conversation.

"Yeah, actually. I am looking forward to it." Ash responded. "Do you know which one is first?" 

"I think it's Lana's, then Kiawe's. Mallow is the last one, then it's your Grand Trial against Olivia." Lillie answered, as she gave Nebby some Star Candy.

"Okay, so I guess I get the Waterium-Z next. I'll have to practice that with Greninja afterwards."

"By the way, how's that Electrium-Z working out with Pikachu?" 

"It's awesome. We practiced it on trees, rocks, even a small cliff face, and Gigavolt Havoc pretty much annihilated all of them. Tapu Koko really does know its stuff." Ash said, patting Pikachu's tail.

"Well, Lana said your Trial was scheduled for tomorrow, so you got plenty of time to train. And just like before, I'll help you prepare." Lillie said, confidently.

"Sure, but I don't battle the Trial Captains, remember? I battle the Totems, and I have no clue who the Totems are."

"Well, the Totem is meant to correspond with the Trial Captains choice of typing." Lillie explained. "Since Lana is a Water-Type specialist, the Totem will likely be a Water-Type."

"Well, I guess that makes sense." Ash said. "So Kiawe's Totem will be a Fire-Type, and Mallow's a Grass-Type, then."

"Exactly. While we are on the topic of Totems, which Pokémon are you gonna use against Lana's Totem?"

"I can use all of them. I'll start with Pikachu and Rowlet, if they lose, then I'll use Litten."Ash said.

"What about Greninja?"

"Last resort. Greninja is my emergency Pokémon, remember?" 

"Well sure, but aren't you gonna use Greninja as a normal team member, and not a safety net at one point?" Lillie asked.

"Well, of course I am. I plan to wait until either Litten or Rowlet evolve at least once before I do though. I also don't think Rowlet wants to evolve, which is fine by me."

"So once Litten becomes an Incineroar, or at least a Torracat, you'll use Greninja as a regular?" Lillie asked.

"Thats the plan, yeah." Ash responded.

"What if Litten doesn't want to evolve?"

"Huh. I never thought about that." Ash said, now a little worried. He wouldn't mind if Litten didn't want to evolve, but the last time Ash had a team that was mostly unevolved, he didn't perform very well. Looking back on it, the Unova League was not Ash's proudest moment.

"Litten..." Ash said, turning to his small kitten. Litten perked up, and sauntered over. "Do you want to evolve?" 

Litten didn't understand the question, and turned his head in confusion.

"I mean, do you want to stay as a Litten? Or do you want to evolve into a Torracat, then an Incineroar?"

Litten mewled, understanding the question now. He stood up on his hind legs, bristled his hair out, and nodded to Ash. 

"What does that mean?" Lillie asked, curious of Litten's strange response. Ash understood it, however.

"He wants to evolve." He said.

"You can tell, just like that?" Lillie asked, dubiously.

"Yeah, I've seen how Pokémon act when they want to evolve. They usually try to replicate how their evolution appears. Litten stood on his back legs, since thats how Incineroar stands." Ash explained.

"Oh... so bristling his hair out was to make him appear bigger, then?" Lillie asked.

"Exactly." Ash clarified. "Okay Litten. Now that we know you want to evolve, we'll start putting in some extra training, then. How's that sound?" Ash asked.

Litten's face lightened up, and got excited at the idea of evolving.

"Well, anyways. We got plenty of time to kill. What do ya say, Lillie? Care to come explore Heahea City with me?" Ash asked, returning Litten and Rowlet to their PokéBalls.

"Sure, I don't see why not. I've never been to Heahea City, let alone Akala Island before." Lillie said, as she followed Ash out the door, after deciding to leave her bag in the room.

...

The bag started to softly shake on the bed, as a small, soft crack sounds out.