Fanfiction Pokémon: Adventures of Sun and Moon

Hey everyone Switch-On-97 here! I'm new to forums, and I haven't been on one before. 'zformtapu' on Fanfiction let me know and encouraged me to join. So I'm going to post updates to my story on Fanfiction.net as well as here in this thread.
I hope you guys like it! Let me know what you think, here or on fanfiction.net

So I present...

Pokémon: Adventures of Sun and Moon​

 

Chapter 1: Aloha Alola

A desktop behind a computer screen was seen and the mouse hovered over to click on an icon that was shaped like a multicoloured bird Pokémon that had a long beak. Once the application was opened; a window appeared with a black background. The typical loading circle was seen before an image replaced the black background; the image however was slightly tilted to the right. A hand was seen adjusting the camera to the preferred orientation.

"Hang on, now. Gimme just a sec…" the camera faced a tanned figure with a small black beard and short hair of the same colour. Clear shades covered his eyes and a white cap with a rainbow on the front was covering his head. He appeared to be wearing an open lab coat that revealed his toned chest and abs. He wore grey pants that ended below his knees with green slip-on shoes. "Hey there! Good afternoon! So you'll be coming over to Alola soon." the man said with a wave to the camera. "Listen cousin…" suddenly a picture showing the five islands of the Alola region popped up next to him. "…Alola is a region made up of several different islands. That could be the reason the region is chock full of nothin' but rare Pokémon, yeah!"

Afterwards an image appeared of what looked like a trainer riding a bull Pokémon. "There's no shortage of cool Pokémon either! Such mysterious creatures! You find 'em all over... In the grass, in the caves, in the sky and sea…" A dog Pokémon appeared in the picture and started to look into the camera. "Here in Alola we love our Pokémon, and we depend on them heaps, too. Some of us even battle with 'em, if we call ourselves Pokémon Trainers!" the dog Pokémon started to rub up against the man. "Rockruff! Can you wait until I'm done talkin' to play?" the dog jumped off the table and the man continued talking.

"All right, I gotta ask you one question so I can introduce you to everyone."

Behind the computer was a boy with short dark hair who was in a video call with the man. "Uh… yeah sure."

"What's your name, cousin and would you mind spellin' it out for me?"

"Oh, it's Sun. It's S…"he continued while spelling out his name, as instructed.

The man on the other end chuckled. "You don't need to spell that out for me; it's a simple as a Simple Beam. So, you go by Sun 10-4, good buddy! I'll let everybody know you're on your way! Sun! Yeah, that's a name that hits you like a Thunderbolt outta the sky! Woo!" he excitedly said.

A large drop of sweat appeared by Sun's side. "I thought my name was simple…"

"Can't wait to see you in person then, cousin!"

The call ended, causing the window to turn black once again. Sun gave out a big sigh. "So… I'm finally going to Alola…"

"Sun!" he heard from outside his room.

"Uh… yes?"

"Have to you finished talking to Professor Kukui?"

"Yes, I have."

"Oh, could you come down. Your lunch is ready."

"Alright." Sun got up off his chair and moved to leave his room, a brochure of the Alola region was on his desk and one of the pages showed a white coloured Mechanical Island.

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Hours later in a faraway location, the moon was high in the sky, shining through a glass ceiling. The inside of the complex looked to be a lab of sorts where Pokémon were being preserved. Within the halls of this lab, a girl was running along a walkway with a large bag hanging over her shoulder. She was light skinned with long, pale blonde hair that stretched to her lower back. She had green eyes and wore a long dress with white socks and slip on white shoes.

It appeared that she was being chased by a two people that were dressed in white overalls, they were both male. "Quickly stop her!" one of them exclaimed. They chased after her for a while, and this game of cat and mouse went on until she got a dead end. By that time, she was surrounded by four men that were dressed in the same overalls. As they got closer to her, a bright light was appearing from within her bag and this caused the men to step back slightly and cover their eyes. The girl gasped as she was also quite shocked at this. While her hair was starting to stand up on end a pillar of light surrounded her before it completely enveloped her. After the light covered her, there was a large flash that made the men completely cover their eyes. Once the flash cleared they were shocked to see that the girl had disappeared.

"What happened!?"

"Do you think I know!?"

"Better question is; what are we going to tell the President?"

The men stared up at the moon that was in clear view, almost as if it contributed to the disappearance of the girl.

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Three months later on a similar night, there was a person who was dressed in black overalls and he was running through a small graveyard before coming across a path that led to a cave entrance, he had a brown sack in his right hand. Little did he know that he was about to enter the Ruins of Life, home of Akala Island's guardian... "Hey!" he heard. The man with dirty blonde hair turned to see a girl behind him. She slightly was tanned with brown eyes and short dark hair with a red, flower-like cap covering the top of her head. She was dressed in a white shirt with faint pink and yellow flowers on them, she wore very short green shorts and red and black shoes with yellow laces. "You have nowhere to run!" she angrily exclaimed. A bird Pokémon with a long beak was on her shoulder. "Pikipek, go and get Olivia." The small bird Pokémon flew off leaving the girl to confront the man.

The man laughed. "Ha, there's a cave right behind me. There has to be an exit on the other side."

The girl growled. "You fool, those are ancient ruins, and people like you aren't allowed in there! Now give back the Pokémon!"

"What!? Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea how much Slowpoke tails sell these days, I swear you Alolans will eat anything!" he laughed.

The girl clenched her teeth and balled her fists. "And that's what I hate about you outsiders! You don't care about anything other than yourselves!"

The man was getting annoyed so he took out a great ball and he tossed it into the air and a grey, wolf Pokémon appeared and it growled at the girl. "Okay Mightyena, let's get to work!" the man said. He saw the girl's frightened expression. "What you didn't think I had my own Pokémon as back up, you're in way over your head little girl! Okay, Mightyena use Bite!" the Pokémon mercilessly charged towards the girl but he missed as the girl threw a kick to the Mightyena's jaw.

"I won't get done in that easily!" but the Mightyena quickly pounced on her, pinning her to the ground.

"What were you saying earlier?"

"C'mon Olivia! Where are you!" she thought. Suddenly a pink orb shot into the Pokémon, sending it back to rocks that were sticking out of the ground.

"Thanks Olivi… what!" instead of Olivia, a Pokémon appeared that had a large pink shell on its lower body and head, the lower shell resembled a face and had small butterfly-like wings on the back. It had a black torso with thin arms with pink bracelets and fingerless hands. It had blue eyes with pink lines going through the middle of the iris, pink curly hair stretched from its head and ended in loops.

The girl gasped when seeing this Pokémon. "Are…you?" the Pokémon stood by the girl's side and it closed its eyes, releasing a telekinetic force that lifted the man off the ground.

"H-hey! What's going on!?" he exclaimed before he was thrown to the cave wall, throwing him into unconsciousness. The Mightyena whimpered as it ran away in fear.

The girl walked over to the bag and she saw the pink Pokémon the man was trying to steal. "At least Slowpoke is okay." She lifted the Pokémon out of the bag with some difficulty as it was quite heavy for her. She turned to the Pokémon that helped her. "Tapu Lele… thank you…"

"LELEEE!" The Pokémon known as Tapu Lele spun before hovering back into the ruins from whence it came.

"MOON!" the girl heard. She turned to see a dark skinned woman with a pink sleeveless shirt with tight purple shorts; she had pink heeled sandals on her feet. She had a couple of bracelets all over her right arm, both her legs and her neck and she had stone jewelry around her neck and hanging from the left side of her shirt. She had the same gemstones as earrings. Her hair was dark and short. "I heard a blast, are you okay?"

"Yes… Tapu Lele saved me." Moon noticed a sparkling object on the ground next to her. "Huh, what is this?"

Olivia picked it up and her eyes grew. "I see, so Tapu Lele entrusted this with you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Tell you what Moon; let me hang onto this for a while. You'll get it back soon."

"Wait… it's for me?"

"Yes… I'll explain it later. Let's just get this Slowpoke back to its owner."

"What about the scumbag?" Moon jerked her thumb back to the man who was still knocked out.

"Mallow contacted the authorities, so he'll be picked up soon."

"Right…" Moon looked like she was trailing off while she was still holding Slowpoke.

"Something wrong?"

"It's these outsiders; they always seem to ruin something! I wish all of them would just leave."

"Moon, we can't just make them leave… It wouldn't be right, plus you and I both know that not all of them are like that man you saw. Many of them are nice and respect our traditions."

"I know… and WHY is Slowpoke so heavy!?" she yelled in her frustration while turning to Olivia.

The older woman giggled in response. "Oh before I forget, Professor Kukui called, he wanted me to tell you that you had to deliver something important since you're meeting him tomorrow."

"Fair enough, what am I delivering to him?"

"A Pokémon, but it's a rare one that he needed to request from outside the Alola region. It arrived yesterday, so you have to take it to him." Olivia handed Moon the Pokéball in a Premier Ball.

"Okay… I'll make sure this gets to him."

"Also have you heard, there is a boy coming in from the Kanto region to become a Pokémon Trainer."

Moon groaned after hearing this new information. "He's just another outsider; he's probably a fool, but whatever... I'll deliver Kukui's Pokémon."

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The next morning on Melemele Island, a tanned woman with long hair brown hair and brown eyes was stretching and taking in all the air around her on the low balcony of her home. She wore a white shirt with a long yellow skirt with white flowers and green grass depicted on it. She wore brown sandals with brown sunglasses over her head. A cat Pokémon with a coin on its head was standing next to her, it looked to be grooming itself.

The woman sighed. "He's still asleep?" she turned around and bent down to her Pokémon's level. "Meowth, could you please wake Sun up? The Professor will be here any minute."

"Mrow…" Meowth understood and walked into the home. The cat Pokémon squeezed through the small open space that allowed him to walk into the room, the curtains were still closed so it looked dark. After he entered the room he noticed Sun asleep on his bed with a white shirt and boxer shorts. "Mrrow!" Meowth tried to wake Sun with his meowing, but he didn't move an inch. Meowth tried again, but he couldn't get a response from the human. So he took it one step further and leaped onto Sun's stomach.

Sun started to become conscious after feeling weight on him and he rose to a familiar sight, the sight of his mother's Pokémon on top of him. "Mrrow…"

"GAH!" Sun recoiled to the back of his bed in shock. "I always tell you, don't wake me like that, Meowth."

"Mrrrrow." Meowth replied while scratching his ears.

"Alright I'm up." Meowth jumped off the bed and landed on the floor. Sun stretched before walking to the curtain, opening them allowed the beautiful Alolan sun to illuminate his room. He shook his head and got dressed in his regular clothing. When he looked himself in the mirror, he could see his light skin was covered with a blue and white striped shirt, gray pants with red ends that stretched down to his ankles. His feet were covered by blue shoes with no laces. His gray eyes shone with excitement after he was fully dressed.

"Today's finally the day." Sun said to himself. He left his room to see the main room of his house that combined the kitchen and the living room. Sun heard the door opening and walking into the house was none other than Professor Kukui, walking in without knocking… weirdly enough.

"Hey there, Sun! The name's Kukui. Good to finally meet you in person, cousin! You gotta be tired after that long trip all the way out here to Alola! You feelin' any jet lag?"

Sun yawned in response. "Y-yeah… sort of…"

"We sure are a long way from Kanto out here in Alola. It's still daytime out here, yeah!"

Sun's mom walked into the main room with her Meowth following her. "Oh, Professor Kukui, you're here! At least you met my son."

"Hey there, miss! I just let myself in…" Kukui said.

"How is Mom, not weirded out by him just entering our home without permission?" Sun thought while a sweatdrop fell from the side of his head.

"Oh, and call me Kukui, would you? Welcome to Alola!"

"Well thank you for the warm welcome, Kukui." Sun's mom thanked.

"Ha! I was supposed to be visiting there to research Kanto Pokémon moves and all. I thought I knew a thing or two about battling, but those Kanto Gym Leaders proved me wrong! Anyway Sun, Let's get a move on to the next town over, cousin! Time for you to meet the Island Kahuna and get yourself a Pokémon, yeah!"

"Uh… Kahuna?" Sun questioned.

"Sure, sure. The kahunas are crazy-strong Pokémon Trainers here in Alola, cousin! They're unbeatable for folks like me and you!"

"Wow, sounds like someone I want to meet."

"The kahuna who lives in Iki Town is always happy to give any kid who wants to have an adventure their first Pokémon, yeah!"

"Woah, no kidding?"

"You bet, now where's your hat? I bet you've got a stylin' hat that'll match mine, yeah?"

"Yeah, that's right. I bought you a new hat." Sun's mom reminded.

"Oh right, I'll be right back." Sun dashed back into his room. He looked inside a box of items that haven't been opened yet. Within that box he found his black cap with blue curved lines at the end of it. He walked back into the main room. "I found it!"

"Woo, that's a stylin' hat cousin!" Kukui excitedly said.

"Now you look like a real Pokémon trainer." Sun's mom commented.

"Now let's get going."

Both Sun and Kukui turned to leave. "Later Mom." Sun said.

"Goodbye Sun, take care of yourself." She said while waving to her son and the professor. She lowered herself to her Pokémon. "So what should we do Meowth?"

…

Sun and Kukui stood outside the house. "Your mom there… She's sure looking forward to your first Pokémon, yeah? So let's get going to Iki Town! Time to get a real nice Pokémon from the island kahuna, oh yeah!"

Sun nodded as a response, the two started to walk through Route 1. As they did, Sun noticed all the new Pokémon around him. He saw a dark rat like Pokémon sprinting into a patch of tall grass and a brown and yellow mongoose Pokémon was eating a pile of berries it gathered. He heard high pitched chirping and looked up to see a flock of Pikipek flying in the shape of a V.

Kukui took a deep breath. "Now this is more like it, yeah! Welcome to paradise, cousin. This is the Alola region! Folks here in Alola get along by living together with Pokémon and working together too."

"That's great! It was also like that in Kanto too."

"Ha, of course! After all… you can go anywhere, yeah as long as you got Pokémon helping you out here. That's why we gotta get you to the kahuna! First, we're off to Iki Town! Come on, it's not that far if we cut up here." They continued to walk through Route 1 and were getting closer to Iki Town. "So, Sun! You're loving Alola already, yeah?" Kukui asked.

"You bet. I've never seen a place so… well tropical…" Sun replied.

"That's what I like to hear! The more you love Alola, the happier I'll be!" they both saw child rubbing his Pokémon which was a dark rat Pokémon. "See that? If you had a Pokémon with you, you could battle with that Alolan Trainer right there. You both could battle with the Pokémon you love! Having a Pokémon give you a whole new way to communicate with other people, see? Now let's get moving!" Kukui pointed to the archway that indicated the entrance to Iki Town.

…

Both Sun and Kukui got to Iki town to find the kahuna, Sun noticed the houses were tropical looking and there were wild Pokémon walking about.

"Follow me, Sun." Kukui said. They got to the center of the town and a wooden ring area was built. Kukui looked around but it seemed that he didn't see the kahuna anywhere. "Weird, I can't see the kahuna anywhere. I'll check his house to see if he's home, you check the Mahalo Trail."

"The Mahalo Trail?"

"Yeah, cousin." He pointed the trail out. "It's over there, just follow that path. You'll likely find him there."

Sun nodded. "Alright."

"See ya cousin, yeah!"

Sun walked to the Mahalo Trail but not before seeing a blonde girl in a white dress and a large hat looking at the trail. The large bag hanging from her shoulder started shaking. "Really? You want to go up to the ruins? I don't know what you hope to find there…" she walked onto the trail and Sun watched her walk off.

"That was weird, why was that girl talking to herself? In any case, I have to find the kahuna." Sun thought. He ran onto the trail as well.

…

Sun got to the beginning of the trail and saw that it was narrow and it winded upwards through mountainous terrain. There were statues that were on the trail as he walked through it. Sun couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt a presence was watching him. "I'm getting a weird feeling about this place, I don't get it. Why would the kahuna visit a place like this?"

Sun got to the end of the trail and he saw a bridge that was made of planks, it looked rickety though.

The girl he saw from before was standing before the bridge, her bag started shaking. "No! You can't come out! We'll get in trouble if anyone sees you!"

"Peww…" Something inside the bag was trying to get out, and it succeeded as it forced its way out. That something was a Pokémon, it was a purple and blue gaseous Pokémon with two wisp-like extensions that served as its arms. An ellipse ran down its body, the front and back of its body were black. It had yellow eyes with blue blushes as cheeks. The Pokémon was hovering across the bridge to get to the other side. The girl looked scared to cross it.

Her fears grew when she saw three bird Pokémon hovering closer to the gaseous Pokémon. Probably mistaking it for prey, they circled it before they started growling at the Pokémon. The girl tried to get on the bridge but she couldn't do it, she was too scared.

Sun ran to the girl standing before the bridge. She heard his footsteps, turned around, and was startled by his presence. "What's wrong?" Sun asked.

"H-help?" the girl stuttered.

"What's going on?"

"S-save Nebby!" she exclaimed.

"Nebby?" Sun noticed the gas Pokémon floating on the bridge with the Spearow stalking it.

"Those Spearow are attacking it! But… but I'm too afraid to go out there… My legs feel like they might give out…" she said in an almost begging manner.

Sun knew that it was only a matter of time before the Spearow would strike. So he had to act fast, even though he had no Pokémon to help him. "Okay… I'll do it!"

"Really? Oh thank you! Please hurry!"

Sun started to walk onto the bridge and it shook every time he tried to move faster on it, so he walked at a slow, rushed pace. He noticed a couple of gaps in the bridge and he leaped over them, but as he did, he saw a couple pieces of the bridge's driftwood fall into the chasm below. "Just don't look down… just don't look down… just don't look down." Sun repeated this in his mind. He was scared too but no one else was here and it's not like he could call for help. Nebby needed to be saved right then and there and Sun knew this. When he got closer, he could see Nebby covering its eyes with its whip arms while shivering. Sun was right by the Pokémon. Knowing the Spearow could strike at any minute, he knelt down and covered Nebby with his body, as an effort to shield the Pokémon.

The Fearow's started to fly up as and they swooped down to peck both Sun and Nebby. Nebby could feel them getting closer and it was covered in a bright white glow before the energy it gathered created a small explosion, resulting in the destruction of the bridge.

The girl gasped as she saw both Sun and Nebby falling to their deaths. While Sun was screaming, he held onto Nebby as tight as he could. He looked up to the sky and saw a dot that looked like it was growing. "Huh? What's that!?"

"KOOOKOOOO!" the dot grew, it revealed itself to be a yellow flying figure that fell and it opened itself as it flew through the Spearow, while releasing an electrical pulse that shot them out of the sky. When Sun saw it getting closer, he closed his eyes waiting for the inevitable to happen… Until it didn't happen… He noticed that his momentum stopped and the yellow figure was lifting Sun and Nebby back to safety.

When Sun and Nebby were brought back to safety, they were placed by the girl who was on her knees. They all got a good look at the Pokémon. It had a black body with two large yellow shells on it arms. It had a large, orange plume with bristles along the back. Instead of legs, it had four orange pointed projections which resembled bird feathers. Its eyes were blue with orange lines going through them.

After the Pokémon saved them, it flew high up into the air at tremendous speeds. "Wow…" the girl said in shock.

"I know…" Sun replied in the same state of shock. "Oh right… here's your Pokémon." He let Nebby float away from his arms.

"Oh…Oh, thank goodness!" Nebby hovered back to its owner. "You tried to use your power again… didn't you? Oh Nebby… You know what happened last time you used it. You couldn't move for ages after that. I don't want to see you like that again!" she exclaimed. A small tear fell before she composed herself. "No… I shouldn't say that. I'm sorry, Nebby. I know you were trying to save me that time. And I couldn't even help you in return…" she noticed a shining object on the ground, in between herself and Sun. "What… what is that? A sparkling… stone? It feels almost warm somehow…" both she and Sun got up and she bowed to him. "Please, forgive me… I am so grateful to you for helping us out of that dangerous spot. I think this stone should belong to you."

"Wait… really?"

"Yes, you don't even have any Pokémon on you, do you?" Sun shook his head.

"No I don't."

"And yet you still risked your life to save Nebby. I couldn't do anything. You deserve this, take it."

"Oh um… thanks…" Sun took the sparkling stone from the girl. "To be honest, I think I would have saved Nebby, even if you didn't ask me to."

"I see, you're very nice…" her cheeks were slightly heating up before she asked Sun another favor. "Oh also… Please… Don't tell anybody about this… About seeing Nebby… It's…it's a secret, ok?"

Sun smiled. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it." She looked to her Pokémon. "Come on. Into the bag Nebby."

"Pew…" Nebby floated into the bag and the girl closed it.

"Um…"

"What is it?" Sun asked.

"I hate to keep asking you to do things for me, but I'm afraid we might get attacked by wild Pokémon or… or something. I know it's too much to ask it, but… Do you think you could see us back into town?"

"Oh sure… might as well go back together."

"Thank you."

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They both walked back into Iki Town, they saw Professor Kukui by the wooden stage right in the center of town.

"Oh hey Sun, you're back. I see you've met Lillie, yeah!"

Lillie gasped as she had completely forgotten to introduce herself. "Oh… um… yes! You can call me Lillie."

"Nice to finally get your name, my name is Sun."

"Sun… okay, I'll make sure to remember that! So… you're also one of the professor's acquaintances?"

"Um… I guess you could say that." Sun replied scratching his head. "So how do you know the professor?"

Kukui decided to answer for Lillie. "I can answer that, Lillie is my lab assistant. So you two met already I see."

"Y-yes, he helped me on the Mahalo Trail. He was really brave."

Sun became bashful. "Oh it was nothing really."

Lillie gasped at his response. "Nothing!? It was far from nothing. If it wasn't for you… Nebby would have been…"

Suddenly a gruff voice interrupts her. "Have I missed something?" a tanned, plump old man with white hair tied in a ponytail approached them. He wore a yellow floral jacket with a blue shirt underneath; it looked like a white sweater was tied around his stomach. Below that were white pants and blue and white sandals. He had silver watch-like bracelet around his left wrist.

"Hey, Hala!" Kukui greeted. "You've been away for a while today."

"Of course I have. I am kahuna of this island, after all. Whenever there is a problem on the island, it is my duty to resolve it." Hala replied.

"Woah… so he's the kahuna… I didn't expect him to be so… laid back looking." Sun thought.

"Sorry, Lillie. What were you saying before?" Hala asked. "For some reason I thought I saw Tapu Koko flying about…"

"Oh, um… Yes Kahuna Hala…" Lillie said. "Nebby was being attacked by Spearow on the Plank Bridge when this boy… um I mean Sun helped it get away… But the bridge collapsed, and I thought both of them might fall to the ravine… And that was when the island's guardian deity swooped in to save them!"

"Wait… that Pokémon is a guardian!?" Sun asked.

"Of course." Kukui said. "Every Island in the Alola region has an island guardian that watches over it." Kukui explained.

Hala chuckled. "Ho! Although it is said to protect us, our Tapu Koko is a rather fickle creature. Yet our guardian was moved to save you." He turned to the professor. "Kukui, my boy, I think we have cause to celebrate! It seems I should entrust this brave and kind young boy with a Pokémon of his own. We'll make a fine Trainer out of him!"

"So you're really going to give me a Pokémon? Just like that?" Sun asked.

"I think after hearing what Lillie said, I feel you are more than deserving of one. I'm glad to meet you, child. I am Hala, the kahuna of Melemele Island. Welcome to Alola! Young Kukui had told me of your coming. I'm glad we got the chance to meet today."

"We're just waiting on two people right now." Kukui said.

"Two people?" Sun and Lillie questioned in unison.

"Kukui!" they all heard. Everyone turned to see a tanned girl with a melon handbag over her shoulder arriving to them. She also had a silver bracelet on her left arm, just like Hala.

"Moon! You're just in time, yeah!" Kukui said.

Moon walked over to the others and gave examining looks to both Sun and Lillie. "So you're the boy from Kanto that everyone is talking about…"

"Uh… yeah… that's true…" Sun nervously said, he could sense that she wasn't too fond of him.

"You don't look like much…" Moon said folding her arms.

Lillie intervened. "H-hey! I'll have you know that he risked his life to save my Pokémon, even though he didn't have his own."

"Uh… who are you again?" Moon asked in a condescending manner. Lillie puffed her cheeks in response, showing her displeasure at Moon's words.

"Hey everyone!" everyone looked to see a tanned boy running towards them. "Hehe, sorry I'm late." He said while scratching his head. He wore a black shirt with orange shorts that had floral patterns on them. His shoes were orange and he had grey eyes with greenish-brown hair tied into a ponytail. When he arrived he let out an excited gasp. "Moon! You came too!?" he exclaimed.

"W-what? Don't act so surprised! It's not like I don't drop by from time to time." Moon exclaimed.

He turned to Sun. "And you must be the boy from Kanto everyone is talking about! Welcome to Alola!" he excitedly said while jumping on the spot.

"Well he's definitely eager…" Sun thought.

Hala soon placed his hand on the boy. "Settle down, Hau. Now that the three of you are here, we can start." He took out three Pokéballs. "The three of you are about to begin your own journey, and it will start with these Pokémon." He threw the three Pokéballs into the air before all three of them opened and shot out three different Pokémon.

One of them was a grass owl, the other a black and red cat, and finally a blue sea lion.

"First is the Grass-type Pokémon, Rowlet!" Rowlet spun around before looking at the three. "Next is the Fire-type Pokémon, Litten!" Litten jumped up before he started to lick its paw. "And last is the Water-type Pokémon, Popplio!" Popplio balanced on its front flippers in excitement.

"So… Sun, Moon, Hau. Which Pokémon will you choose as your partner?"

"So, uh… who gets to pick first?" Sun asked.

"You know what; I think Sun should go first!" Hau exclaimed. "Since he's new to Alola and all…"

Moon sighed. "Fine, I suppose the outsider can go first."

Sun decided to oblige even though he felt the slight sting of Moon's 'outsider' comment. "Well since you three put it that way. I choose… Litten." The fire cat acknowledged that it was picked and it wagged its tail.

"Then I'll pick Rowlet!" Hau excitedly said.

"Looks like that leaves me with Popplio." Moon said, though she had a smile on her face hinting that she was happy with the choice she was left with.

"Very well, however there is still one more thing we must do…" Hala declared.

…

Sun, Moon and Hau were on the three corners of the stage while the partner Pokémon that they picked were all in the centre.

"So what's going on?" Sun asked.

"Only when you have both chosen each other can you truly call each other partners. So let us see if these little Pokémon also choose you!"

The three Pokémon were looking at their human companions. Hau looked to Rowlet and made a toothy smile. "Kooo." Rowlet flew over to Hau before he rested on his arm.

"Yay! Rowlet chose me!" He exclaimed.

Litten meanwhile was staring at Sun, waiting for him to do something. Then Sun got to one knee and outstretched his hands to his sides, inviting the Pokémon to come towards him. Litten walked to Sun and sat down in front of him. Its red eyes showed a happy expression within its yellow sclera. "Nyaaa." Sun lifted the Pokémon and it was still smiling.

Popplio was hopping towards Moon, but it stopped when it saw a sad expression in her eyes. "O-oh, you're already coming towards me?" Popplio tilted its head to the side in slight confusion but quickly hopped to Moon and started stroking her leg. Moon picked it up and held Popplio in her arms.

"Ho! So these little Pokémon have accepted you as well." Hala said.

"Looks like it." Sun agreed with Litten standing beside him.

"Having accepted one another, you'll surely be friends for life!"

"Did you hear that Rowlet? Friends for life!" Hau excitedly said.

Lillie walked over to both Sun and Litten. "Nice to meet you, Litten." She happily said.

"Peww…" Lillie noticed that Nebby had gotten out of her bag and was floating next to Litten. Litten started to curiously sniff Nebby.

"Oh! When did you get out again? I know that Kahuna Hala and the professor will keep you safe from any harm, but you should still stay in the bag and out of sight. It's safer that way." Nebby floated back into the bag.

"So that's your Pokémon?" Moon asked.

Lillie nodded. "Um… well you could say that it is."

"Why keep it in the bag like that, wouldn't it be better to have it out in the open, closer to you?"

"Um…I-It's well complicated… I can't explain… but I think all of you chose wonderful Pokémon. Please take very good care of them."

Hau chuckled. "Ha, of course we will." He looked to Sun. "Hey! You and me! Let's have a Pokémon battle!"

Hala started to laugh. "Dahahaha! Where's the fire, boy?"

"No, it's okay." Sun said. "To be honest, I've wanted to have my first Pokémon battle for a while now."

"Awesome!" Hau exclaimed. "I couldn't wait to for you to find your way to Iki Town, so I've been looking all over for you!"

"Really, gee… I'm not that special…" Sun bashfully said.

"I'll say…" Moon uttered.

"I appreciate you being willing to take on my grandson here. I expect a no-holds-barred battle from the both of you!" Hala said.

Lillie though wasn't looking too eager. "Um… I don't really like to see Pokémon battles where Pokémon can get hurt… but I'll watch for you."

"Wait!" Sun realized something. "How can we battle if we don't know the moves of our Pokémon?"

"Clever boy, but I thought ahead." Hala handed Sun and Hau pieces of paper that had the moves of their Pokémon written down on it.

"Good luck to you two, yeah!" Kukui said.

…

Sun and Hala were standing a distance from each other with their partner Pokémon in front of them. Hala stood in between them. "Are you two ready?" They both nodded. "Very well, then! Let the Pokémon battle, begin!"

"This is our first battle ever!" Hau excitedly said. "Let's do our best Rowlet! Use Tackle!" Rowlet hovered before he flew towards Litten.

"I'm supposed to do something right…" Sun thought.

"Uh, Litten move!" he exclaimed sounding unsure. Litten tried moving to the side but he moved to soon allowing Rowlet to head-butt him. Litten slid back but on his paws and tried to stand tall.

"I've been looking forward to this since I heard you were coming, I even watched some of my Tutu's battles. So I know what I'm doing! Rowlet use Growl!" Rowlet let out a loud yell with his voice and when Litten heard this, his ears slightly drooped as his attack was lowered.

"I have to do something, or I'm going to lose!"

"Litten, use Scratch!" small claws stretched out of Litten's paws before he pounced to Rowlet to attack.

"Rowlet dodge Litten's attack!" after Hau said this command Rowlet hovered in the air, avoiding Litten's attack. Litten slid on the ground and glared at the grass owl. "Okay Rowlet, use Leafage!" While Rowlet hovered in the air, he flapped his wings several times which made four bright green leaves shoot to Litten. The leaves made contact and they hit, but Litten easily shook it off.

"I don't get it?" Lillie said. "Litten looks fine after that attack."

"Of course he's fine." Moon said while she held Popplio in her arms. "That's because Litten is a Fire-type, which means Grass-type moves won't hurt as much."

Hau continued to go on the attack. "Okay Rowlet, use Tackle!" Rowlet flew towards Litten again.

"Okay, I think I have it this time! Litten jump back!" Sun commanded. Using his feline agility, Litten jumped back, causing Rowlet to hit the ground. "Okay, let's try this, use Ember!" Litten arched his back, making three pointed tufts of fur with red tips stretch from his back. A split second later, he shot out a small blast of fire from his mouth.

"Quick Rowlet, dodge!" Hau hurriedly exclaimed. Sensing the urgency in Hau's voice, Rowlet flew over the attack and remained in the air. "Phew… that was a close one."

"Litten, jump then use Scratch!" Litten leaped up high and he raked his right claws past Rowlet's face, forcing the grass owl to crash into the ground.

"Rowlet! Are you okay?" Hau asked. Rowlet got back up after a short while. "We can still win, use Tackle!" Rowlet shot towards Litten.

"Litten, counter with Ember!" Litten shot a small burst of flames from his mouth which were heading to the speeding Rowlet.

"Rowlet, fly up!" Rowlet flew upwards to avoid the attack.

"I'm getting the hang of this now!" Sun excitedly exclaimed. "Litten use Ember!" Litten shot another small flame that sped to Rowlet.

"Rowlet, dodge it!" Rowlet flew from the fiery projectile. Hau saw that Sun was starting the get into the battle, this got him slightly worried, but he kept up his usual smile.

"Even if Sun is getting used to the battle, I can still beat him."

"Rowlet, use Tackle quickly!" Rowlet swooped down towards Litten to bash heads with the fire cat.

Sun looked to have come up with an idea. "Litten, jump off of Rowlet…" Litten looked back to Sun but he understood what he wanted so he ran to the charging Rowlet and he timed his jump perfectly. He landed on Rowlet's back and shot up into the air, forcing everyone to look the direction of the sun. "Now finish this with Ember!" He shot another small burst of fire that was speeding towards Rowlet, but this time Rowlet took the full force of the attack.

"Oh no, Rowlet!" Hau exclaimed. Rowlet was on his stomach with his eyes closed. "Whaaat, you beat me!?" Hau exclaimed in surprise. He then scratched his head while he smiled. "Well I guess you can't win them all." Hau returned Rowlet to his Pokéball.

"Sun, Hau. That was an excellent battle." Kukui complimented.

"You bet! Hoo-ee!" Hau said while he jumped on the spot. "That battle gave me the chicken skin! Sun, right? Your Litten was awesome!"

"Thanks, Hau. But you and Rowlet weren't too bad either."

"So you got lucky…" Moon began while her arms were folded, Popplio was hopping beside her. "It's only because you had a type advantage."

"Aw don't be like that Moon; I think Sun and Litten are awesome together!" Hau defended

"Yeah… well we'll see tomorrow, cause I'm taking you on tomorrow in the Festival."

"Aww." Hau sulked. "I wanted to fight Sun tomorrow in the festival."

"There's a festival tomorrow?" Sun asked.

"That's right." Hala said. "We hold a festival to express our thanks to these great Pokémon guardian deities for always remaining by our sides." He noticed a shining object that was Sun had in his pocket. "Hm? Sun… Would you be so kind as to give me a look at that sparkling stone you have there?"

"Oh… this?" Sun handed it to Hala.

Moon quickly noticed that it looked identical to the one she received when she encountered Tapu Lele. "Wait… that looks like the one I found last night…" she looked at the silver brace on her left wrist. "No way… is this boy really…?"

"You were rescued by Tapu Koko at the bridge. Isn't that what I heard, Sun?" Hala asked

Sun nodded in response. "Uh huh."

"So it even deigned to give you a stone… Perhaps you are here in Alola, Sun, because this is where you are meant to be. Allow me to borrow this stone for now. Fret not! I'll return it to you tomorrow evening."

"Oh sure, no problem."

"It would seem that you have the markings of a fine Trainer. You must do us the honor of joining in our festival tomorrow!"

"Oh, of course…" Sun replied.

Kukui smiled. "Well I suppose you should get going Sun, you should show Litten off to your mother."

"Oh alright."

Moon began walking from the group. "Don't make it too easy for me tomorrow, alright."

"Hau, did I do something wrong?" Sun asked.

Hau shook his head and held his hands up. "Oh no, it's nothing really. Moon's always been like that." Hau replied. "You just have to get to know her." Hau turned around to leave but he quickly turned back to Sun. "Good luck for tomorrow Sun, Moon's not going to go easy on you just 'cause you're new. So you and Litten better train hard."

"Don't worry we will."

Hau left them. "We should be leaving too." Hala said and Kukui followed the kahuna to his house, leaving just Sun and Lillie.

"So what are you going to do?"

"Oh, well I should probably stick with the professor. Plus I should keep an eye on…"

"Pew?"

"Nya!"

Nebby had escaped the bag once again, it seemed it wanted to examine Litten some more. "Oh, you! Would you not try to escape the very moment you were told not to wander off!"

"Maybe Nebby and Litten could become friends." Sun said while smiling.

"Maybe…" Lillie looked like she was in deep thought.

"Lillie, is there something on your mind?"

"Tapu Koko…"

"Huh?"

"The guardian deity, Tapu Koko, it's amazing isn't it? I hope I can meet it again someday and thank it for saving Nebby."

"Yeah, me too."

"Oh yes, it saved you as well didn't it, and left you with that sparkling stone… even though you're a stranger to this place. Are you going to head back now?"

"Well yeah, I might as well. My mom and I still have some moving things to sort out."

"Then I suppose this is good-bye… for now."

"Yeah, well I'll see ya later Lillie." Sun turned and left Iki Town with Litten walking next to him.

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Sun was walking through Route 1 with Litten to his home. "I'm telling you Litten, my mom's very nice and she has her own Pokémon. A Meowth, he's also a cat Pokémon. I'm sure the two of you will get along great."

"Nyaaa." Litten excitedly meowed.

When their house was in sight, they saw a bright yellow Pokémon that was floating, it had a long tail and its eyes were closed. "Woah is that a wild Pokémon?" Sun said stepping back.

"No…" they both heard. Sun and Litten looked to their right and saw a girl sitting on a rock. "Abra is my Pokémon."

"Oh? It floats off the ground. That looks awesome." Sun got closer but Abra got startled and it teleported away. It reappeared next to the girl.

"Abra gets startled very easily." She said. Sun took note of her appearance. She was dressed in a black dress with black stockings with black boots covering her feet. She had a bracelet on her right arm that was a black fabric. Her pure white hair was straight and long, while her skin was pale. Her eyes were both different colours. Her left eye was red, and her right eye was green. She had a purple backpack that hung from her shoulders. "So, name?" she asked with a slightly firm tone.

"It's uh… Sun."

"Sun… So your name is Sun, correct?"

"Yes… uh if you don't mind me asking… who are you?"

"Who am I? My name is Eclipse…"

"Eclipse? That's a unique name… at least I think." Sun said. He noticed that the conversation was quickly becoming awkward. "So, do you live around here?" Eclipse didn't answer his question but instead remained silent. "Hey, is everything alright?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You just seem so distant and well I don't want to say it but…"

"Weird?"

"I-I w-wasn't going to say that!" Sun said defensively.

"It is okay, you're not the first. And you're certainly not the last to call me that."

"Look Eclipse, I don't think you're weird!"

She shook her head. "It's fine. I don't even know what that means." Eclipse looked down to Litten. "Your Litten, He likes you, doesn't he?"

"Well I just met Litten today, but I would hope he does."

"Interesting, you only met this Pokémon today and you're both forming a close bond." Eclipse started walking down Route 1 with her Abra. "Sun… I hope to meet you again soon." Sun watched her disappear down the path.

Sun had one thing on his mind after this encounter ended. "Who was that girl?"

 

Chapter 2: Sun vs. Moon

After night had fallen, Moon was all by herself at Kala'e Bay. Popplio was swimming around while Moon lay on her back while staring at the celestial object that she shared her name with. "That boy… Sun was it?" she thought back to when she saw Sun beating Hau. "That girl with the hat said he risked his life to save her Pokémon… Whatever that means… She could have been over exaggerating." She looked to the bracelet on her left wrist. "Still, why did Tapu Lele entrust me with this?" Moon stood up and she approached Popplio who was lying on her back in the water. "Popplio, do you want to train for a moment." Popplio leaped out of the water and stood on her rear flippers as she landed on the sand. "Sun, tomorrow we'll see what you're really made of."

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At the same time, Sun was lying on his bed while Litten was lying on the foot of Sun's bed. Sun was looking up to the ceiling thinking about the events of the day. He had so much fun, and met so many nice people. There was Kukui who got Sun acquainted with Alola, Hala who was the Kahuna, Hau who he had his first battle with, and then there was Lillie the first person he met in Alola aside from Kukui. Though he was curious about Nebby, why couldn't she just put it in a Pokéball? It certainly beats carrying that big bag around. Maybe he'll ask her when they meet.

And finally there was Moon, she didn't like him for some reason, perhaps his first impression wasn't good enough for her. Regardless, he would be facing her in battle the next day so he had that to look forward to.

There was also that mysterious girl he met; she was definitely… different to say the least. All he knew was there was something more to Eclipse than meets the eye, the same could even be said for Moon.

"What a day…" he said to himself. He heard a couple of knocks on his door. "Oh, come in." Sun's mom walked into the room.

"Sun, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm alright mom."

"Alola is great isn't it?"

"Yeah it certainly is. I think I'm going to like being a Pokémon trainer."

Her mom smiled. "You definitely remind me of your father… he enjoyed Pokémon battling."

Sun gave a curious look to his mother, she never liked talking about his father… so why now? "Uh, you're talking about dad?"

She sighed. "Maybe I'll tell you all about it one day, but seeing your smiling face when you got back earlier, it reminded me of him." she looked at Litten who was sound asleep. "Your Pokémon is so cute, and Meowth likes him too." She stood up to leave the room. "Listen, don't worry about what I said okay. Just focus on having fun okay."

"Yeah, okay Mom." She smiled and closed the door to his room. He lay down on his bed staring at the ceiling before finally succumbing to sleep.

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At the same time, Sun was lying on his bed while Litten was lying on the foot of Sun's bed. Sun was looking up to the ceiling thinking about the events of the day. He had so much fun, and met so many nice people. There was Kukui who got Sun acquainted with Alola, Hala who was the Kahuna, Hau who he had his first battle with, and then there was Lillie the first person he met in Alola aside from Kukui. Though he was curious about Nebby, why couldn't she just put it in a Pokéball? It certainly beats carrying that big bag around. Maybe he'll ask her when they meet.

And finally there was Moon, she didn't like him for some reason, perhaps his first impression wasn't good enough for her. Regardless, he would be facing her in battle the next day so he had that to look forward to.

There was also that mysterious girl he met; she was definitely… different to say the least. All he knew was there was something more to Eclipse than meets the eye, the same could even be said for Moon.

"What a day…" he said to himself. He heard a couple of knocks on his door. "Oh, come in." Sun's mom walked into the room.

"Sun, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm alright mom."

"Alola is great isn't it?"

"Yeah it certainly is. I think I'm going to like being a Pokémon trainer."

Her mom smiled. "You definitely remind me of your father… he enjoyed Pokémon battling."

Sun gave a curious look to his mother, she never liked talking about his father… so why now? "Uh, you're talking about dad?"

She sighed. "Maybe I'll tell you all about it one day, but seeing your smiling face when you got back earlier, it reminded me of him." she looked at Litten who was sound asleep. "Your Pokémon is so cute, and Meowth likes him too." She stood up to leave the room. "Listen, don't worry about what I said okay. Just focus on having fun okay."

"Yeah, okay Mom." She smiled and closed the door to his room. He lay down on his bed staring at the ceiling before finally succumbing to sleep.

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Sun had woken up and was already fully dressed as morning had already passed. He could see his mother outside on the balcony enjoying the sunshine. "Mom, I'm heading out." He announced while he placed his back pack over his shoulders.

"Alright, Sun." she walked in. "Well don't you look ready to take on the world?" she gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Enjoy yourself out there." Sun said as he started to leave the house with Litten.

"I will!" After walking outside, he could feel the warmth of the sun hitting him. "I can see why mom likes the sun so much… That might explain why she named me 'Sun' in the first place." His thoughts soon ended when he saw Kukui walking to him.

"Hey there Sun!" he greeted.

"Hi professor."

"Please, just call me Kukui. So I can see you're up, going to do some training I'll bet, yeah!"

"Well, I thought that I would just drop in and see Hau or Lillie, but training seems good too."

"In that case, then I gotta show you something. Come with me to Route 1!" Kukui started to jog to the East.

"Aren't we already on Route 1?" Sun asked while looking down at Litten. Both of them had a single bead of sweat running down their faces.

"Nya?" Litten tilted his head slightly, also confused by Kukui's words.

Regardless they followed the professor to where they saw a large patches of tall grass. "Hurry it up, cousin!" Kukui exclaimed. "Pretend you're a Pokémon and use your Agility!"

"I don't know if I'm ever going to get used to that… I wonder how Lillie manages to live with this?" he met up with professor Kukui after he and Litten jogged to them.

"So, you must know that in order to become a Pokémon trainer, you must train all kinds of different Pokémon, yeah."

"Uh huh." Sun responded.

"Now that you've got Litten there, you can not only fight wild Pokémon, yeah… you can also try to catch 'em."

"Oh I get it; you're going to teach me how to catch a Pokémon."

"Right you are cousin, so watch carefully 'cause I'm going to show you how to catch a wild Pokémon, all right." Sun stayed behind Kukui and watched as scanned the area for a Pokémon to catch. Kukui saw a brown four-legged Pokémon with a thick yellow stripe down its back and underside. "You see that, cousin?"

"Yeah, that's a wild Pokémon, isn't it?"

"Yes, that Pokémon is a Yungoose." Kukui nodded and lifted a Pokéball. "Alright, let's go!" he tossed out a regular Pokéball and coming out of it was a brown puppy Pokémon with brown fur and rock shards on his ears and around his neck with a long white tail and a white furred neck, he had blue eyes and a snout that was darker than the rest of his body. "Ready Rockruff?"

"Arf barf!" Rockruff barked.

"Watch carefully Sun, you gotta weaken a Pokémon up before you try lobbing a Pokéball at it! Litten, make sure you watch Rockruff okay." Litten kept his red feline eyes on Rockruff. "Rockruff! Use Tackle!" Kukui exclaimed while punching forward with his left fist, revealing a silver ring on his ring finger. Rockruff sprinted to the Yungoose and bashed his head into the wild Pokémon.

Yungoose rolled back and growled at Kukui's Rockruff. It bashed its head into Rockruff which didn't do much damage to Rockruff. Kukui knew it was time and he pulled out a Pokéball. "Here we go!" he chucked the Pokéball which bounced off Yungoos's head and it opened in the air and a bright blue beam engulfed the wild Pokémon and dragged it into the open Pokéball before it closed and it hit the ground and shook several times before the ball's locking mechanism activated, successfully catching the Yungoose. "Oh yeah!" he cheered. "You catch all of that, Sun?"

Sun smiled in response. "Yeah, I think I'll be able to catch a Pokémon on my own."

Kukui chuckled. "Ha, that's what I like to hear. Once you see a Pokémon you like, give it a try and catch it, and they'll join your team and be a big help to you, yeah!" Kukui handed Sun five Pokéballs. "Here are some Pokéballs to get you started." After Kukui handed them to him, Sun placed them in his backpack. "If your Pokémon get tired out, I'm sure your mom wouldn't mind letting them rest for a while."

"Okay, thanks for everything professor Kukui."

"No problem, cousin. Why don't you have a little adventure on your way to Iki Town, yeah? Maybe take a look around."

"Sounds great."

"Alright, take care of Sun, Litten."

Litten nodded with a smile. Kukui left the two alone. "So Litten, lets catch a Pokémon." Litten nodded and the both of them ran deeper into Route 1

…

Both Sun and Litten were running through the route and they both came across a Pikipek pecking on a berry at the top of a palm tree. "Litten, look up there!" the fire cat looked up to the tree and saw the Woodpecker Pokémon trying to eat the berry. "Okay Litten, use Ember!"

"Nya!" Litten fired a small ball of flame that headed to the Pikipek, but the bird saw the flame and jumped off the tree. It glared at Litten, and it let out a loud scream.

"Was that Growl?" Sun asked, though Litten shook his head. The two were suddenly overwhelmed as they saw a flock of seven Pikipek flying to them while angrily screeching. Presumably to protect one of their own. "Oh boy…" all of their beaks were glowing and they swooped down to both Sun and Litten… "RUN!" Sun picked up Litten and he ran from the charging Pikipek. When he got far enough, the Pikipek stopped chasing him from their territory.

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Sun was panting while he hid behind a palm tree. "Oh man, what Pokémon were they?" he asked while they were panting. He put Litten down and sat down behind the palm tree.

"Are you struggling?" he heard. Sun suddenly saw Eclipse in front of him, creating a shadow that covered him.

"Gah! Oh, it's you Eclipse." Sun said recovering from his second scare of the day. He just watched her stare at him with her red and green irises. "So uh, what are you doing here?" Sun managed to get to his feet.

"Right, I have been watching you." She looked away for a second.

"Oh really… well what do you think?"

"What you did was very foolish." She noted with a blunt expression. "Trying to capture a Pikipek while it was at a very high height yielded an almost impossible opportunity to try to attack it let alone capture it."

Sun sweatdropped and he blushed in embarrassment. "Yeah, I should have thought about that."

"So Sun, why are you here?"

"Uh, I'm trying to catch a Pokémon?" Sun replied with an obvious sounding answer.

"No, I mean, why are you here at this very moment? Why do you have your Pokémon with you?"

Sun couldn't really see what Eclipse was trying to ask him, so he had to make a guess. "Do you mean why I am here in Alola?" Eclipse nodded. "Well I'm going to be a Pokémon Trainer, in fact I moved here from Kanto."

"Oh, well that was what I suspected, that would explain why you're trying to catch a Pokémon. It is also interesting that you are from the Kanto region. Tell me something, have you heard or a Pokémon called Cosmog?"

"Cosmog? What Pokémon is that, I haven't heard of it before." Sun scratched his head before giving his answer. "Sorry, I haven't heard of or seen one before."

"I understand…"

"Though I have seen Tapu Koko!" Sun said with renewed excitement.

"Tapu Koko?"

"Yeah, he's the island guardian of Melemele Island."

"I have heard talk about a Pokémon called Tapu Koko, but I never have really seen one."

"Oh it's awesome! You see I was trying to rescue a friend's Pokémon but I fell off a bridge that the Pokémon was on and Tapu Koko swooped in and saved us."

"Really now? Interesting."

"Yeah, it was really scary though." Sun said rubbing his left arm.

"You seem like the type of person who takes action when the situation calls for it. You rush in first and you think it through second, am I right?"

Sun awkwardly scratched his head. "Yep, well I guess you figured me out there..." It was then Sun's turn to get to know Eclipse better. "So Eclipse, what about you?"

"What about me?"

"…Like, what's your goal, what are you doing here right now?"

The girl suddenly looked down. "I…I don't know…"

"What do you mean you don't know?" Sun asked.

"I seriously mean it. I don't know… I have been roaming this island for months."

"Eclipse, did something happen to you?"

"If something did, then I can't remember. And every time I try." Her eyes quickly shut and she stepped back while her legs were slightly wobbling. He head was throbbing with pain "…That's what happens…"

"Well I wouldn't worry; I mean you're travelling with your Pokémon right? So you should be able to figure something out. Are you a Pokémon trainer?"

"I don't think so, is it fun though?"

"Of course it is!" Sun happily exclaimed. "You get to battle other trainers and catch new Pokémon that can become your friends; also you get to travel a lot. I'm only starting, but I'm sure it's going to be a lot of fun!"

"So, you haven't even started outright, yet you're so excited?" she placed her hand below her chin. "Maybe I'll take you up on that."

"Perfect, you're going to love it. Trust me."

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"Well I'm still going to try and catch a Pokémon, though."

"Then perhaps I can be of assistance."

"Really?"

"Sure, maybe when you encounter a Pokémon, I'll help you catch it." She took out a Pokéball from her backpack and Abra shot out of it. When he saw Sun and Litten again, he hid behind Eclipse. "Do not fear little one, they are our allies. They do not wish to hurt you." Abra hovered to his feet and slowly walked to Litten. The fire cat began to sniff the yellow Pokémon and Abra fearfully hovered away again with sweat flying off the Pokémon.

"He's really shy isn't he?" Sun said with a chuckle

They both continued to walk past Route 1 and they saw that the route had a few holes that were dug into the ground. Sun walked up to them and began to examine one of the holes. "Hmm, what could have done this?"

"I'm pretty sure that a Pokémon did this." Eclipse said. "And judging by the holes, I'd say the Pokémon that did it could a Grubbin."

"A Grubbin? What's that?"

"It's a Bug-type Pokémon, it normally lives underground but it comes up when it needs to eat." Eclipse explained. "All we have to do is follow the holes, and then hopefully, we'll find Grubbin."

"That sounds easy enough." He looked to Litten and he quickly had an idea. "I know, maybe Litten can search the holes."

"Nya?"

"Bad idea, there must a network of tunnels under the ground, and these holes probably lead to them. Last thing we need is Litten getting lost in one of them ." Suddenly a part of the ground was shaking and a small figure popped its head out of the ground. It had large yellow mandibles with red tips. Litten noticed it climbing out of the hole. He got the pairs attention to the bug Pokémon that was climbing out of the hole.

"Huh, what is it, Litten?" Sun asked. His attention was directed to the bug Pokémon that was revealed to have a white insectoid body with six legs. It had large black eyes with white pupils. "Hey, is that the Grubbin you were talking about?"

Eclipse nodded. "Yes that is the Grubbin."

"Awesome, let's go for it Litten!" Sun directed his arm to the Grubbin. "Now use Scratch!" Litten stretched his claws out from his paws and he sprinted to the Grubbin. The smaller bug type quickly burrowed itself underground, avoiding Litten's claws.

"It's using Dig." Eclipse said. "…A ground type move, so you need to be careful."

"Okay, I got it." The ground below Litten was starting to crumble and Grubbin shot straight out, hurting Sun's Pokémon. Litten fell to his side and slowly got up. "Man, how did Kukui make it look so easy?" Grubbin then fired a stream of mud from its vertical mouth and it got into Litten's eyes.

"That was Mud Slap, when it hits, it lowers the accuracy of the Pokémon's moves." Eclipse said.

Litten shook off the mud and he growled at the Grubbin with his spine tufts pointing up into the air. "Litten use Ember!" Litten shot a small burst of fire from his maw, but it missed as Grubbin slithered into a hole. "Why you little-"

"Calm yourself, Sun." Eclipse said. "Grubbin isn't going to retreat." A true to her word, Grubbin tried to use Dig on Litten again.

"Not going to work this time, Litten jump away from the attack!" Litten leaped high into the air as the larva looking Pokémon shot up into the air. "Now use Scratch!" Litten swiped his claws across the face of the Grubbin briefly after they both landed on the ground. Litten's eye started glowing red and he was glaring at the Grubbin. The Bug-type noticed and he slightly slithered back. "Eclipse, what just happened?"

"Litten just used Leer. It lowers the defense of the opposing Pokémon." Just after Eclipse told him, the Grubbin was charging to Litten with his mandibles, shining white. He used them to bite Litten on the face and the feline leaped away in pain and waited for Sun to give a command.

"Okay Litten, quickly use Scratch!" Litten hopped to Grubbin and raked the Pokémon, which made it slide back after the hit. "Just like Kukui showed me." He took out a Pokéball and he pressed the middle button which made it grow to fit in his hand. "Let's hope this works!" He threw the Pokéball and it bounced off Grubbin's head, a bright blue beam dragged Grubbin into the compact Pokéball. It landed on the ground and it shook several times before it finally locked, confirming that Sun had caught his first Pokémon. "My first caught Pokémon!" He said as he lifted the Pokéball from the ground. Litten cheered next to Sun.

"My congratulations go out to you." Eclipse said with a neutral expression.

"You don't look too happy though."

"Don't be offended, this is how I always look." Sun sweatdropped and he dropped the subject.

"Well, I'm going to head home and get Grubbin and Litten patched up."

"Alright…"

"Hey Eclipse, listen. There is a festival that is happening in Iki Town. If you're not doing anything, why don't you stop by?"

"A festival sounds nice… sure I shall arrive there. When does it start?"

"It starts at sundown. So you can come if you like."

"I shall make time to come."

"That's great." Sun started to run back to his home. "Catch ya later Eclipse!"

"Catch me later…?" Eclipse repeated with a raised eyebrow. "But... I am not a Pokémon…"

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The sky was a bright haze of orange as both the sun and moon were in equilibrium as they were in the sky. Sun stood outside his house and took a look at it before he looked towards Route 1 that led to Iki Town. "Okay Sun, its time." He started to walk through Route 1 to make his way to Iki Town, he remembered the way from when Professor Kukui showed him the way.

When he got close to Iki Town, he could hear the beating of drums in the background. Once he entered the town he saw Kukui, Hau, Hala, Lillie and Moon waiting.

"Well he actually showed up…" Moon said with her arms folded.

"Oh yeah, right on time!" Kukui said.

Hau was the first to greet him. "Ho! Howzit, Sun! Man, I thought you'd never make it! Moon and Popplio have been waiting for ages."

"Well I'm here now."

"Before we proceed, you need to know this Sun." Hala said. "The Alola region is made up of our four islands. And each island has its own guardian Pokémon. Our festival today is held to express out thanks to these great Pokémon guardian deities for always remaining by our sides. Well, we may call it a festival, but it's just thing a little thing you see here." He said gesturing to the residents of Iki Town that were mingling around the small area while wooden torches were scattered around. "There may not be many of us, but at least every last one of us here goes all out."

Kukui put his arm around Sun. "A full-powered festival for Pokémon battling! We battle in the name of Tapu Koko, pitting our best moves against one another in friendly competition to please our guardian. Woo!"

Lillie though didn't show her pleasure in seeing Pokémon battle for a festival. "But to what exactly?" she asked. "So you two will be taking part in battle? I don't like seeing Pokémon fight one another, since they so often end up getting hurt… But it seems like an important event, so I'll be sure to watch you both."

"So outsider, please tell me you are going to be a challenge." Moon said. "I don't want this to be too easy for me."

Sun gave a confident look to her. "Oh believe me, I'm ready for this." He said with a smirk.

"Aw man." Hau said. "Not only do I not get to battle, but I don't know who to root for."

"Come on Hau, you've known this guy for what… fifteen minutes and all of a sudden he's your pal?" Moon asked.

Hau kept his cheerful attitude and he placed his arms behind his head. "Aw don't be like that Moon." He said with a chuckle.

Moon sharply looked away. "Whatever…" she looked to Sun. "I've met Tapu Lele, and you apparently met Tapu Koko. This battle is perfect for this festival, so you better bring your a-game, outsider!"

"I'll give it my best shot Moon."

Hala stepped in between them. "If you two are ready, then let's begin." The two followed Hala to the stage in the middle of Iki Town.

…

Sun and Moon were on the steps of either side of the stage and Hala stood on it, making his presence known to everyone watching. "For all life on our islands… and for those who undertake the island challenge with joy in their hearts… we pray for your protection… for them and all of Melemele. May this Pokémon battle be an offering to our islands guardian deity – Tapu Koko!"

Many people that surrounded the stage started clapping at Hala words. Eclipse had just arrived and saw what was about to happen. "Sun is going to battle in the festival? He never told me this."

"In front of all of you, stand two trainers that have the potential to be magnificent Pokémon trainers." Hala said. "Before you, stands Moon – the one who has met with Tapu Lele." Moon walked onto the stage with a serious expression on her face. "And Before you, stands Sun – the one who has met with Tapu Koko." Sun walked onto the stage and there were murmurs in the crowd as they were shocked because the two children in front of them had already had encounters with two of Alola's island guardians.

Sun's mom though was vocal in cheering her son on. "Good luck Sun and Litten!" she said with her Meowth to the side as she waved.

"Is that your mom?" Moon asked.

Sun nodded. "Uh huh, she tends to go a little over the top sometimes though." Sun admitted while smiling. Moon lips shaped themselves into a quivering frown and Sun noticed. "Moon, is something wrong?"

The girl regained her composure. "W-what? I'm fine!" she exclaimed. "You should focus on yourself, outsider. We're about to battle and I'm not going to hold back!"

Hala looked at them and they both nodded indicating that they were ready. "Sun! Moon! Bring forth the power of your Pokémon!"

Moon was the first to throw out her Pokémon and shooting out in a blue flash was her Pikipek. It hovered for a moment before it fell to its feet.

"So she has a Pikipek, in that case… I'll start with…" Sun took out his Pokéball. "Right, let do this, Litten!" he tossed out Litten from his Pokéball and Litten shot out of the Pokéball in a bright blue flash and looked at Pikipek.

Moon started the battle off. "You're starting with Litten right off the bat. Okay, Pikipek use Peck!" Pikipek flew straight towards Litten and used his peck to poke the fire cat in a fast move and when Litten was pecked on the forehead, he staggered slightly.

"Okay, now the battle really begins! Litten use Scratch!" Litten's claws stretched out and before he could land an attack on Pikipek, the small bird avoided the attack by hovering in the air above Litten. "Follow it up with Ember!" Litten shot a small fireball which hit Pikipek, forcing him to fall back to the ground on his feet. "Keep it up Litten, use Leer." Litten's eyes were glowing red and Pikipek was covered in a blue aura that quickly faded. "Alright Litten, use Scratch!"

"Okay… so maybe the outsider isn't as bad as I thought. He's certainly going for it!" Moon thought. "Pikipek use Echoed Voice!" Pikipek hovered and he made a loud chirp that sent soundwaves crashing into Litten as he was about to scratch the Woodpecker Pokémon. "Follow it up with Growl!" Pikipek chirped again only this time when Litten heard it, his ears drooped as his attack power fell. A slight blue aura covered him.

"Litten, use Ember!" Litten arched his back before shooting a small fireball to Pikipek's direction.

"Dodge it." Moon commanded. The Woodpecker Pokémon flew around the attack. "Now Rock Smash!" Moon said while punching forward Pikipek's beak was covered in a white-orange aura before driving it onto Litten's head with the same force that would shatter a rock into pieces.

"Litten!" the Fire cat slowly got up after being knocked down by the attack. He was growling at the Woodpecker Pokémon. "Can you still fight?" Litten nodded defiantly.

Lillie was watching the battle closely. "That attack look like it hurt, but Litten still wants to fight? Why?"

"Pikipek! Use Peck!" the bird shot forward to peck Litten.

"Litten, quick avoid it!" Litten jumped to the side and rolled away and he glared to Pikipek. "Now use Ember!" Litten shot a small flame which exploded on Pikipek's face and he was blinded for a short second. "We got him now, use Scratch!" Litten leaped forward with his claws outstretched from his paws.

"Pikipek, look out!" Moon exclaimed. He was swiped with Litten's claw and slid back. "Pikipek, you have to get up."

"Wrap this up Litten, use Ember again!" Litten complied and shot one more small blast of fire that exploded on Pikipek's face, causing the small Woodpecker Pokémon to fall forward with his wings collapsing in front of him.

Hala nodded and pointed his arm to Sun. "Pikipek is unable to battle, so Litten is the winner."

Sun jumped on the spot. "Nice job Litten!" he started stroking the fur of the fire cat and he started purring.

Moon returned Pikipek to its Pokéball. "Don't start getting cocky, outsider…" She pulled out her second Pokéball. "You luck has run out!" she threw out her Pokéball and coming out was her Popplio. She landed on her flippers and stood on her hind flippers while she proudly placed her front flippers on her midsection. "Let's fight back Popplio!" She fell back onto her four flippers and had a confident look.

"Popplio is a water type; Litten isn't going to do well against her." Sun held out Litten's Pokéball. "Litten, return!" a blue and white beam brought Litten back into its Pokéball. "Alright, Moon. Prepare to see my new Pokémon! Come out, Grubbin!" The larva Pokémon landed on the stage and had a neutral expression.

"So that's what you caught?" Moon inquired. "Whatever, outsider… let's see if you have what it takes. Popplio, let's start with Water Gun!" Popplio shot a blast of water from his mouth.

"Okay Grubbin, dodge!" however, the attack was too fast. Grubbin was hit with the blast of water, and he slid back. "Grubbin, are you okay?" Grubbin shook off the water and looked at Popplio. "Alright, we'll get them this time, use Bug Bite!" Grubbin jumped forward and tried to bite Popplio with his mouth.

Moon had a smirk on her face. "Popplio, you know what to do!" Popplio stood on her hind flippers and backflipped in the air while avoiding Grubbin's attack.

"What, how did you do that?!" Sun exclaimed.

"My Popplio is quite an acrobatic Pokémon, and she loves to show off." Popplio landed on her rear flippers and raised her main flippers in the air.

"Whoa!" Hau excitedly yelled. "Popplio is so awesome! How is Sun going to get out of this!?"

Lillie was standing next to the very excitable Hau. "But Sun still has two Pokémon, doesn't he have the advantage?"

"Maybe, but if there is one thing I've learned is that you never underestimate Moon. She's not going to make it easy for Sun."

Sun had to think of something. "Well I guess I have to try this. Grubbin use Dig!" Grubbin leaped up into the air, spun like a drill, and dug through the wooden stage and into the ground.

"So that's your plan huh? Nice try outsider!" Moon listened out for the sound Grubbin would make when emerging. She heard she shifting of the soil beneath the stage. "Popplio, jump onto a balloon!" Popplio immediately understood and snorted a water balloon from her nose and made it her size. Once this was achieved, she jumped onto it and Grubbin shot through the ground that Popplio stood on and also through the water balloon but Popplio leaped high into the air before Grubbin could do any damage. "Now use Water Gun!" After Popplio spun in the air, she shot a blast of water from her mouth which hit Grubbin and slammed him to the ground after he launched himself into the air with Dig.

Popplio landed on her hind flippers and saw Grubbin struggle to get back up. "Popplio, now use Disarming Voice!" Popplio let out a loud cry and soundwaves in the shape of pink hearts shot right through Grubbin and this damaged the small bug Pokémon.

"This isn't over, Grubbin use Mud Slap!" Grubbin shot a small stream of mud to Popplio.

"Counter with Water Gun!" Popplio shot a stream of water from her mouth. Both liquid attacks collided but Popplio's Water Gun was more powerful and was beating out Grubbin's Mud-Slap. The water crashed into Grubbin, forcing him to the edge of the stage.

"I'm not giving up, Moon. Grubbin use Vicegrip!" he rushed over to the sea lion Pokémon. He pinched her left flipper with his mandibles, causing her pain. "Now throw her!" Popplio was thrown to opposite end of the stage. "Okay, now use Bug Bite!"

Grubbin ran to Popplio to initiate the attack. "Popplio, dodge it!" Popplio jumped and acrobatically twirled in the air as she flew over Grubbin and landed behind him. "Let's finish this with Water Gun!" Popplio shot a blast of water into the back of Grubbin, making him collapse to his side.

Hala saw the unmoving figure of Grubbin before calling the battle. "Grubbin is unable to battle, Popplio is the winner." Sun returned Grubbin to his Pokéball.

"It's all square outsider. It's your Litten against my Popplio."

"I guess it was always going to come to this." Sun said pulling out Litten's Pokéball yet again.

"Let's get this over with already. I don't want to drag this on longer than it has to be."

Sun threw out Litten, the fire cat looked ready to battle. "I'll start! Litten use Leer!" Litten's eyes had a red aura surrounding them which caused Popplio to slightly back away in fear while a blue aura temporarily surrounded her. "We got her now, Litten use Scratch!" Litten leaped to Popplio.

"Popplio dodge, quickly!" Popplio jumped back quickly. "Now hit back with Water Gun!" Popplio leaped into the air and gave Litten a confident look before shooting down a stream of water from her mouth.

"Litten, leap away from the water blasts." Litten jumped away from the blasts of water as Popplio continued to shoot water, so long as she was in the air. "This is bad; a Water Gun from Popplio is going to hurt. I just have to weaken her somehow…"

Popplio landed on the wooden stage. "We got him now partner, use Disarming Voice!" Popplio stood up and screamed; making pink heart shaped soundwaves engulf Litten. The fire type was wobbly for a few seconds. "Let's make this quick, use Water Gun!" Popplio shot out a blast of water. Litten's dizzy spell ended and he saw the attack coming.

"Litten! You need to dodge it!" Litten saw the hole that Grubbin made from the earlier battle and he used it to avoid the stream of water.

"Pesky pussy cat!" Moon said with a slight growl.

"Okay Litten, jump out then use Scratch!" Litten shot out of the hole and claws extended from his paws. He slashed right past Popplio, making the water type sea lion scream out in a soft voice. "One more time, use Scratch!" Litten's claws outstretched again and he prepared to unleash them on the slower Popplio.

"Popplio, counter with Pound!" Popplio hopped towards the charging Litten and she threw her flipper forwards in a punching motion while Litten reeled his right front paw back before swiping. Both attacks landed and this caused both Pokémon to slide back towards their partners.

While watching the battle, Lillie's face showed worry and Hau noticed. "Hey, what's up?" he asked with his usual happy demeanor.

"I am worried about Litten… he has fought two battles already, and I can see he's getting tired." She watched a Litten was panting.

"You worry too much." Hau said. "You see when I lost to Sun yesterday; I was a bit bummed about it. But me and Rowlet can get stronger right, and Rowlet agrees. We're not forcing our Pokémon to battle; they battle because they want to."

"I-I Just don't know…"

"Pew…"Lillie had noticed that her bag had opened by itself and saw the gaseous Pokémon floating away.

"Nebby, not again! I take my eyes off you for one second…" before Nebby can float away a girl with an Abra stood in front of its path.

Eclipse looked down to Nebby with her red and green orbs. "Is this your Pokémon?" she asked in a dull tone.

"O-oh yes, I hope Nebby didn't give you any trouble…" Lillie said walking to Eclipse.

"No, not at all... Though I am curious as to where you obtained such an unusual Pokémon."

Lillie started to become nervous. "Um… I-I don't think I want to tell you."

Eclipse nodded. "I see."

"Yo welcome!" Hau greeted. "I haven't seen you around here before. My name is Hau and she is… hey I don't think I caught your name." Hau said turning to Lillie.

"O-oh, really…? Sorry. M-my name is Lillie."

"Charmed…" Eclipse said. "My name is Eclipse and he is my friend Abra."

"Wazzup Abra!" Hau greeted while raising his voice. This action scared the yellow psychic type forcing it to teleport behind the legs of Eclipse.

"You scared him…" Eclipse said.

"So what brings you here?" Hau asked.

"I can here to watch Sun." she answered.

Lillie slightly gasped. "You know Sun!?"

"Yes, we've met twice in person. I think he is an interesting person." She watched the battle and saw Litten and Popplio brawling in the centre of the stage. "However, I fear that this battle will not end well for him."

They looked back to the stage, Litten was panting while Popplio looked only slightly fatigued. "Ready to give up?" Moon taunted.

"Are you kidding me, I'd never give up on a battle, no matter what… besides… Aren't you having fun Moon?" Moon's eyes grew slightly as she was surprised by what Sun said to her. "He's having fun… even when he's losing… How can a Pokémon trainer be happy when losing…? He's just like Hau, only there is something different about him." Moon shook her head after her thoughts concluded. "No, there is nothing special about him! He's just an outsider, and I won't lose to him!" "Popplio use Disarming Voice!" a loud scream with heart shaped soundwaves sped to Sun's Litten.

"Litten get close and dodge!" Litten ran towards the heart soundwaves but quickly sidestepped from the special attack. He was inches from Popplio. "Now use Scratch!" Litten swiped past Popplio which caused her so fall to her back. "Okay Litten, use Ember!" Litten arched his back before firing a small burst of fire to Popplio.

"Popplio, douse the attack with Water Gun!" Popplio blasted a long stream of water that engulfed the flames. The attack sped to Litten and it hit, causing the feline to slide back to Sun looking very weak. He struggled to get to his feet.

Hala looked to the sun and it was almost below the horizon, and as soon as it did. A smirk was seen on Moon's face. "Okay, outsider. Let's end this! Popplio use Pound!" Popplio shot towards Litten.

"Litten use Scratch!" Litten sprinted to the hopping Popplio.

"Got you…" she muttered. "Popplio leap upwards!" she leaped up high into the air and blocked the vision of the moon that was already in the sky as the sun was setting. "Now, Water Gun!" Popplio charged the biggest water gun she could. A moderately powerful blast of water engulfed Litten which caused him to fall to the floor. His eyes were closed as the fire cat accepted defeat.

Hala looked to both Sun and Moon before nodding. "The battle has concluded, and Moon is the winner!" he exclaimed. The gathering crowd began cheering and clapping for the valiant effort of both trainers. "It was a good battle. With this even Tapu Koko…"

"KOKOOOO!" Hala was interrupted by the loud booming of a voice that echoed around the area, a voice that Lillie and Sun instantly recognized.

"W-was that…?" Lillie stuttered.

"Ho! You heard it yourself, Tapu Koko's song of approval!" Hala said.

Kukui, Lillie and Hau walked onto the stage.

Sun chuckled and lifted the fainted Litten. "Wow, I feel honored."

"Don't get too excited outsider. You still lost." Moon teased while she held her victorious Pokémon in her arms.

"Oh yeah, that battle was so awesome!" Hau cheered.

"I agree, the way to two called out your Pokémon's moves! I feel like I've been hit with a Wake Up Slap!"

Sun sweatdropped at Kukui's comment. "Uh… yeah…"

"Oh its fine, you'll get used to it." Lillie said.

Hala walked to Sun. "Before I forget. I think it's time you took this, Sun." Hala gave Sun a white, watch-like bracelet with a space for a rhombus shaped object.

"W-what is this?" Sun asked as he took it.

"Your Z-Ring, a mysterious armband that can draw out the power that lies deep within Pokémon… It can bring forth their Z-Power." Hala explained. "We kahunas can make them by refining stones like the Sparkling Stone that you received from Tapu Koko. Although until you collect more Z-Crystals during your island challenge, you will not be able to draw out the Z-Power of your Pokémon."

Sun gazed to the Z-Ring he received. "Whoa, that sounds cool, but… Did Tapu Koko really want me to have this?"

Hala nodded firmly. "Yes, the guardian did give you that Sparkling Stone. It seems Tapu Koko has taken quite a liking to you… or perhaps it has a mission for you…" Hala looked to the star filled sky.

Kukui took over. "In other words, it's time for you to get out there and start your island challenge! If you visit every island, maybe you'll find out what your mission is."

Moon looked dumbfounded. "Hold on, are you seriously suggesting that the outsider take part in the Island Challenge!?"

"Whether he is from Alola or not, Tapu Koko gifted him with the Sparkling Stone." Hala said.

The girl folded her arms. "How do we know it's not dumb luck…? It doesn't make sense…"

"You had an experience with Tapu Lele if I'm not mistaken." Hala reminded. "Tapu Lele saw something in you just like how Tapu Koko saw something in Sun. You two were chosen for a reason and the only way to find out why if for both of you to take the Island Challenge."

Moon looked to her Z-Ring. "I-I understand…" she looked to Sun. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it. You're still an outsider to me!"

"Moon…" Hau said with concern.

As Moon glared at Sun, the situation was increasingly becoming awkward, so Sun thought he could cut the tension. "Uh, what is the Island Challenge?"

"I shall explain." Kukui held up four fingers with his hand. "Four Islands! You'll travel to each of the four islands here in the Alola region. The Island challenge is about aiming to be the strongest Trainer – The island challenge champion. Woo!" he excitedly said. "I'll explain about the island challenge later!"

"That battle was so great!" Hau said. "I can't wait to finally go on an adventure!"

Moon huffed and Popplio looked up to her as the Pokémon was still being held.

"I suppose it's time you kids got home." Kukui said.

Hau was walking away with Hala. "Later Sun, I hope to battle you again soon!" he exclaimed while waving.

Kukui left as well, leaving Sun, Moon and Lillie. Sun returned Litten to his Pokéball and he extended his hand towards Moon. "Maybe we didn't get off on the right foot, but I'm hoping we can become friends."

Moon slapped his hand away. "Leave me alone…" she said with a venomous tone. She walked off by herself.

Sun gave a sigh which concerned Lillie. "S-Sun, are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just… Moon clearly hates me, and I don't know why… I don't want to become enemies with her you know."

"I understand, but don't worry about it too much. Tomorrow is another day; maybe she'll feel better then."

"I hope you're right Lillie." Sun turned and saw something. "Hey… is that Nebby?"

Lillie panicked. "Oh not again! Why won't you listen to me!" she exclaimed running to the Pokémon.

Sun chuckled to himself and he noticed that Eclipse was watching him from a palm tree. He walked over to her. "So did you see my battle?"

"Yes I did, and even though you lost. I could see that your Pokémon tried hard for you, to give you the victory."

"Well yeah…"

"They speak of this 'Island Challenge' perhaps it is a way of bringing people closer to their Pokémon…? Or is it Alola's way of determining their strongest Pokémon trainers?"

"Well Kukui will explain it to me tomorrow. Hey, maybe I can tell you all about it."

"I would like that Sun." Eclipse said, still with a neutral expression. "And I think that Z-Ring would look nice on you."

Sun noticed that he was still hanging onto it. So he placed the arm bracelet on his wrist and he smiled when he looked at it. After admiring his new accessory, he noticed that Eclipse disappeared. "Huh? Eclipse, where did she…?"

"I'm back!" he saw Lillie running back to Sun while Nebby was by her side. "Oh… you look like there is something on your mind."

"Did you see a girl dressed in black around here?"

"Uh… no…not that I can remember, though there was one watching the battle… and she seemed to know you."

"Oh, so that was Eclipse."

"Is she a friend of yours?"

"Uh… I think? I can't really say for sure, but she's taken an interest in me or something. Just like Tapu Koko." He took another look at his Z-Ring. "What if Hala said was true? That I am here in Alola because I was meant to be."

"W-well y-you are a great person Sun…" Lillie stuttered as she started blushing.

"Oh, thanks Lillie… Well I think I'm going to head home now. Maybe we'll see each other again, tomorrow."

"Well actually… you see I would rather Nebby not fight and the professor left me here so, you mind if we can both walk back together, just in case something happens?"

"No problem." Sun answered. "So ready to go?"

Lillie nodded before the pair of them walked through Route 1.

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Moon was lying on her back, staring at the moon that shone brightly among the stars. Popplio was asleep next to her. Even though she beat Sun in battle, she just couldn't get past the thought that Sun could decide to take on the Island Challenge. "I can't believe this… Why would Tapu Koko trust him? He doesn't even live here, so why…? I won't accept this! That an outsider will be allowed to take part in the Island Challenge…" she sat up and clenched her right fist.

She noticed Popplio giving a curious and almost concerned look to her. She gave a sigh. "I'm okay Popplio, I was just mad… I'm sorry if I worried you." Popplio jumped onto her thighs and Moon began to stroke her. "If Sun is going to do the Island Challenge, then I must make sure I don't lose to him!" Moon gazed to her Z-Ring. "I swear, Tapu Lele. I won't let that outsider beat me!"

 

Chapter 3: Schoolyard Brawl

The day after Sun had his battle with Moon, he walked out of the door of his home and took a whiff of the fresh air, and he could hear the chirping of Pikipek and the slight grunts of Yungoose in the tall grass close by. After leaving he had a surprise visitor.

"Hi Lillie…" It took a moment for Sun to realize that Lillie was standing in front of his house even though he had just greeted her. "Wait… Lillie? What are you doing here?"

"W-well I just wanted to thank you for walking Nebby and me back here. We were able to make it back to the lab just fine."

"Ah, it was no problem…" Sun modestly said. Suddenly Litten appeared from behind Sun's legs. "Oh morning Litten, I see you enjoyed playing with Meowth… You remember Lillie, right?" Litten walked up to her and started to rub his body on her boot. Sun chuckled to himself. "It means he likes you."

"Pew…" Nebby was right in front of Litten and was happily waving its gaseous 'arms' in the air.

"Nebby! Not again!" Lillie exclaimed though Nebby didn't attempt to escape. Rather it wanted to stay close to Litten. Lillie giggled when she saw this. "It looks like Nebby has taken a liking to Litten."

"Yeah, they look like best friends already!" Sun laughed.

The door to Sun's home opened wider and his mother came out. "Oh Sun there you are, I was wondering if you were talking to Kukui again." She turned to Lillie. "Oh Alola!" she greeted. "You must be one of Sun's friends."

"Um… y-yes… I'll Lillie, Professor Kukui's assistant."

"I see, nice to meet you." She turned to Sun. "Nice to see that you found a cute girl already, Sun." After Sun's mom said this, both of them of them blushed, though Lillie was heating up more than Sun. "Anyway, you two have fun out there." His mom walked back into the house.

Sun gave a deep sigh. "Yeah, she likes to embarrass me from time to time."

Lillie nodded as her blush faded. "You… have a very nice mother, don't you?"

"Yeah, she's great I have to admit." He saw Lillie looking down to the ground with a sad expression. "Hey Lillie, are you alright?"

Lillie looked up and rapidly shook her head to focus on the current situation. "Y-yes, I am fine. You don't have to worry about me. Oh before I forget… uh…" she nervously trailed off as she tried to recall something else she needed to tell Sun. "Oh yes. The Professor said… 'Hey there, Lillie! Bring me that great new Trainer. Woo!'" she said repeating Professor Kukui's words to him.

Sun chuckled to himself. "Yeah, that sounds like something he would say."

"So I'm here to show you the way to the Pokémon Research Lab."

"Lead the way." Sun happily said.

Lillie led Sun through a part of Route 1 that traveled south from Sun's house. When Lillie came across the tall grass, she stopped and slightly backed away. Sun noticed this and stopped beside her. "Something wrong Lillie?"

"W-well it's just. You can only get to the professor's lab by treading through the tall grass here. He says he can research his moves better when he's surrounded by Pokémon. Since I'm not a trainer though, I have to quickly cut through or find another path altogether. I'm worried that Pokémon will attack."

Sun flashed a confident smirk. "Well don't worry Lillie, Litten and I will keep you safe."

"Nya!" Litten meowed as he jumped up.

"Sun… Litten… thank you…" they both started walking through the grass and Lillie stayed close to Sun… a little too close as she bumped into the back of him. "U-uh… s-sorry!" she stuttered with a flushed face.

"Don't worry about it… just stay close to me."

A few moments later they were in front of the Pokémon research lab. "O-oh… one more thing… I-It's about Nebby… oh. I mean… Cosmog."

"Cosmog? So Nebby's real name is Cosmog?"

"Uh huh."

After hearing the name Cosmog, a memory quickly replayed itself in Sun's mind. "...have you heard of a Pokémon named Cosmog?" He realized that Eclipse was talking about Nebby, but Lillie didn't know Eclipse before last night, so how could she know about Nebby?

"Sun, are you okay? Y-you, look deep in through." Lillie questioned.

He noticed that Lillie had gone to lengths to keep Nebby concealed in her bag, he didn't know why though. Perhaps there was a reason why Nebby wasn't in a Pokéball. And why she always tried to keep it in the bag.

"I'm alright Lillie… just thinking about some stuff… So mind telling me more about Cosmog?"

"O-oh certainly… Cosmog seems to be a very rare Pokémon. It came from far, far away. It seems to have a very strange power... It used that power to save me once when I was in danger."

"Wow, Nebby's power sounds impressive."

"That's right. But some...other people want Cosmog for themselves, to use that power. That's why only the professor and Kahuna Hala and other people I can trust know about it... Can you keep a secret?"

"Yes, of course, I can!"

"Can you not tell anyone else about Nebby or what happened on that bridge? Please...?" Lillie asked in an almost pleading voice. Just the way Lillie was acting, she really wanted to keep Nebby safe. And the fact that she was telling him proves that she trusted him with this and he didn't plan on betraying her trust.

"Of course Lillie, I promise I won't tell anyone. You have my word."

Lillie breathed a sigh of relief. "I had a feeling I could trust you." She happily said. As they stood in front of the Pokémon research lab which looked like a run-down house that had looked in a state of disrepair. They heard sounds of a scuffle from inside.

"Oh yeah, Rockfuff! Let's go! Give it everything you've got!" the voice sounded like Kukui's.

"Arf!" Rockruff barked from inside the house.

"My body is ready! Woo!" Kukui excitedly exclaimed. Sounds of fighting could be heard from inside.

Large, single beads of sweat fell down both Sun and Lillie's heads. "What's going on in there?" Sun asked. "Is Kukui alright?"

Lillie gave a short sigh. "Ahh… There they go again…The Pokémon Research Lab has its own unique charm, as I think you might agree." Lillie became more nervous as she started to talk about the professor "I've actually been, um, imposing on the professor here for the past three months. I'm not much of an assistant, but it's the least I can do to pay him back for letting me stay."

"Three months? Why though, did something happen…?" Sun asked.

For some reason, she wanted to tell Sun, about Cosmog, about how she ended up living with Kukui for three months, even about her own mother. But… she couldn't, not until she was sure that he was completely trustworthy. She could trust him with Cosmog's secret but she decided to hold off on telling Sun everything. "I-I um… I'm sorry. I'm not sure if I want to talk about it… sorry…" she nervously said.

Sun nodded in understanding. "It's alright… I understand." He said as he heard a grunt from Kukui and a cheer from inside the room as well.

Lillie nodded and looked to the building in deep thought. "Still… Maybe I'd be more help if I were a real Pokémon Trainer, too... The professor... He never stops researching moves. Not even...inside the lab itself." She explained. Another crash was heard from within the lab. "Oh… Looks like we'll need to patch the roof again…" Lillie let out another sigh; she felt more like a caretaker than an assistant considering Kukui's antics. "And I had just washed his lab coat and finally gotten it clean, too. Now it'll be in shreds... and I'm no good at mending clothes... so he'll just have to buy another new one..."

"Let me get in on this!" they both heard, the feminine voice surprised the pair of them.

"That…" Sun started.

"…Sounds…" Lillie continued.

"…Like…"

"MOON!?" they both finished.

"We should probably get in there…" Sun said.

"Yes, it would be better before they cause any more damage," Lillie said. Sun nodded and followed her as she opened the door.

Both Sun and Lillie entered the lab and they both saw a shocking scene in front of them. Kukui was on the ground, on his back while Moon stood tall with her arms blocking her face, Popplio was a few meters in front of Moon and Rockruff was standing on Kukui's stomach. Moon and Kukui's clothes were slightly torn and all four of them were panting.

"Uh…" Sun began.

Moon glared at him. "Oh not you again!"

They could also see that the inside of the lab looked more like a small island house that an actual laboratory. Kukui got up and nervously scratched his head while he laughed. "Could you give us a few moments, yeah?"

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Almost half an hour later; Sun, Lillie, Moon and Kukui were in the cleaned up Pokémon lab. Moon had returned Popplio to her Pokéball before Sun and Lillie re-entered the lab. "Hey there Sun!" Kukui greeted. "Thanks for getting him for me, Lillie!"

"Of course. However, I can be a help... I am supposed to be your assistant, right?"

Moon gave Lillie a curious look. "So you really are the professor's assistant? Though the professor doesn't really need an assistant as much as he needs someone to clean up after him, and you look like you fit that bill." Moon said with a smirk while folding her arms.

"Come on Moon, don't be like that," Sun said.

"Look at this guy, talking to me as if we're friends…" She turned away from him after she spoke to him.

"So uh… is it really necessary to let Rockruff attack you?" Sun asked.

Kukui gave a single laugh. "Of course! Rockruff's moves were just so stylin', and I was making good progress with my research."

"So what about you Moon?" Sun asked.

Moon in response shrugged her shoulders. "I have my reasons."

"So what do you think of the place? Not bad, right?" Kukui said.

"It seems pretty homey," Sun commented.

"But that's not why I called you here, eh? Here! It finally arrived!" Kukui said with a rising excitement in his voice. Moon casually tossed a Premier Ball to Kukui and he caught it.

"It…?" Sun and Lillie asked in unison. Kukui threw the Pokéball before a Pokémon materialized in a yellow flash. An orange body of plasma with a whitish blue aura surrounded it. There were lightning shaped appendages that looked and acted like 'arms' It had blue eyes with a dividing line across it.

"Whoa what Pokémon is that?" Sun asked.

"What's wrong Meowth got your tongue, Lillie? Don't make me do all the talking!"

"Oh, I can tell you." Lillie said before she started to explain. "That is Rotom. It is a peculiar Pokémon, with a body made up of something like electricity. It can take up residence in machines. And this will help how exactly?"

"I wanted to give you something." He handed Sun a large red tablet-like device.

"What is it?" Sun asked.

"It's a Pokédex." Kukui answered. "It captures data on every Pokémon you encounter!"

"Hmm, sounds neat, but it feels a bit heavy and unwieldy," Sun admitted.

"Weak!" Moon jabbed as she still had her arms folded with a serious expression on her face.

"Plus… how do you even turn it on?"

"Don't get too excited, it's not complete yet," Kukui said. "We still have to have this little guy work its magic." He said.

"You mean Rotom?" Lillie asked.

"That's right. This is no ordinary Pokédex. Alright, Rotom do your thing, buddy!"

"Bzzt!" Rotom gave a salute with its lightning bolt shaped arm before it quickly flew towards the Pokédex and he phased through it and remained inside the device. Blue electric sparks surrounded the Pokédex.

"W-what was that!?" Sun asked. Suddenly the Pokédex started to float and thick arms grew on the device and a pair of blue eyes that were similar to Rotom's grew on the device, and a long point grew from the top as well. The screen powered on and a small smile was seen on the top of the screen.

"Brrt, Kzzt!"

"What's going on?!"

"Don't you use your ears?" Moon jabbed. "She just told you that Rotom is a Pokémon that can live in machines. Essentially, Rotom just possessed your Pokédex."

"So Rotom is inside the Pokédex?" The face inside the Pokédex gave an excited nod and it flew out of Sun's hands and started levitating.

"It's the next generation of Pokédexes, but it's only complete once Rotom has gone into this body specially developed for it! A whole new way for people and Pokémon to communicate, Woo! And there are only a few of these beauties out in the world so far!"

"Whoa, I guess I should be lucky?" Sun said.

"Hold on, Sun. We're not quite done. Just more thing… Rotom if you could come over here for a second." The Rotom Dex hovered to Kukui and the professor took out a screwdriver and he opened the back of the Pokédex body and he inserted a green chip inside it before re-screwing the back cover. "Sorry 'bout that, Rotom. Guess I surprised you?"

"Ya sure did!" everyone in the room was shocked as the childish voice came from the floating device. "Geez zzzt a little warning next would be niczzze!"

"I-It talks!?" both Lillie and Sun exclaimed.

"Great, a talking Pokémon… well, colour me surprised." Moon said in a calmer tone.

"Yep, I talk alright zzzt!" Rotom said as he hovered around the room. "So this izzz the kid they told me about." He said hovering close to the boy. "I like what I zzzee, brzzt!" he looked to Lillie. "And who izzt the pretty lady?" Lillie slightly jumped in shock.

"See, Sun? Now Rotom can talk right to you! From what I can tell, yeah, it looks like Rotom has taken a liking to you!"

"Oh really? Well nice to meet you Rotom!" Sun greeted.

"Nice to meet you too Sun zzt-zzt!" he chirped as he flipped in the air. "I am the Rotom Pokédex, Pokémon encyclopedia of the future, bzzt... though I'm not waterproof yet so keep me dry please."

Moon made her way to the door. "Well I'm done here, I delivered the Rotom, so I guess I'll see myself out." She looked to Kukui as she was about to leave. "Thanks for letting Popplio and I train as part of your research." Before she could reach the door, it swung open and the very excitable Hau was behind it! "Hau!?"

"A-lo-la!" he greeted in a sing-song voice.

"What are you doing here?"

"The salty breeze sang to me and brought me here to you!" he happily said.

Rotom flew in close to Moon. "I think he likezzz you!" he said in a slight mocking tone with a sly smile on his face.

"Do you want me to turn you to scrap metal?" She asked with a growl in her voice.

Rotom floated away while slightly shaking. "I-I'll be over here…bzzt!" he got close to Sun's ear. "She'zzz pretty scary…"

"She's not that bad," Sun said with a chuckle.

"So that's the Rotom Dex, eh? It's kinda cute…" Hau said.

"Aww… if I stop, you're gonna make me blush kzzt!" Rotom said.

"You bet Hau, Sun hasn't been here in Alola too long yet. So I decided to give him this special Rotom Dex to help him navigate around."

After Hau walked in he noticed the loft in the room and he walked over to it and he was about to climb the ladder. "Is that a loft? That's awesome!"

Lillie quickly slid in front of the ladder, blocking his path. "No, it's not!" she exclaimed. "It's private! The professor had been kind enough to let me use it…"

"What are you keeping up there?" Moon inquired. "Some secret diary you don't want anyone to read?" her cheeks flushed red when she mentioned a diary. "Wait, you're actually hiding a diary."

The professor started to speak. "If you see a person or a Pokémon who needs help, you just help them… Right, Sun? Hau?" he said looking to the two boys.

"Yeah of course," Sun answered. He looked to Lillie and he remembered her scared face when she asked him to save Nebby. "I don't think I could ever abandon anyone who needed my help."

"See, you get it. And that's why I'm letting Lillie stay up in the loft." He looked to Rotom who floated near Sun. "So, Sun. I'm leaving this Rotom Dex in your hands! Rotom, you look after Sun, yeah?"

"Of course kzzt brzzt. I'll keep him safe!" Rotom noticed Litten standing next to Sun. "Zzzt! Oh Hello, little guy! You must be Sun's Pokémon, if you don't mind holding zzztill."

"Nya?" Litten tilted his head. The camera behind Roton quickly took a snapshot of Litten and he floated in front of Sun as a picture of a generic Litten appeared on the display.

"Letzzz see. 'Litten the Fire Cat Pokémon. It doesn't allow its emotions to be easily seen. Earning its trust takes time. It prefers solitude.'" Rotom ended the quote and his display returned to normal. "Well it lookzzz like you trust Sun to be sticking so close to him, kzzt!" Litten understood what Rotom was telling him and he smiled and meowed in response.

"So let's get down to business!" Kukui excitedly said. "All right, there are some important things you need to know about the island challenge. The island challenge is your chance to become the strongest Trainer around—the island challenge champion. Woo! It's a great adventure for you and your Pokémon to go on together!" Kukui walked closer to Sun. "Sun! I want you and Litten to get out there and give it a shot! You were able to fully use your Pokémon's moves in your very first battle. I think you must have a talent for drawing out Pokémon's strengths, yeah."

A glimmer of excitement was seen in his eyes but he remembered how Moon reacted when it was mentioned that they wanted Sun to take the Island Challenge. 'The Island Challenge sounds awesome but…' he looked to Moon who was shooting a glare at him. 'I'm not originally from Alola so… maybe …'

"Um… I…I-I'm… I'm not too sure…" Sun said though he was looking down. Lillie and Hau were surprised at his uncertainty.

Kukui though wanted to see Sun show off his skills in the Island Challenge, so he pressed on. "Come on! You've gotta do it! You did just come to Alola, yeah, so I guess it's hard for you to relate to our customs, huh? But as someone who's dedicated my life to studying Pokémon moves, I really want to see you out there meeting all kinds of Pokémon on your island challenge. C'mon and give it a shot, cousin!"

Kukui was right, Sun and his mother did move all the way to Alola. He wasn't a tourist; this was going to be his home. Why not get better acquainted with all the people and Pokémon of Alola? The island challenge seemed like the best way to do that. "You know what? I'll do it!" Sun exclaimed. "I'll give it my best shot!"

Lillie smiled after he made his choice and Hau started cheering. "Aw yeah! Sun's going to be taking the Island Challenge!"

"Tch!" Moon simply looked away and shut her eyes so she wouldn't look at Sun.

"Now before I forget…" he held out a special amulet and he attached it to Sun's backpack. "Here! Everybody on the island challenge gets one of these island challenge amulets."

"Looks great on ya." Hau commented. "Just like mine!" Hau showed that his Island Challenge amulet was attached to his bag as well. "It matched with mine and Moon's." Sun looked to Moon's amulet that was tied to her melon-themed handbag.

"Well, you three should get going…" Kukui said.

"Where should we go first of all?" Sun asked.

"To the Trainers' School! You've gotta learn the basics of being a Pokémon Trainer through Pokémon battling. It's a long road to becoming the island challenge champion, and the Trainers' School is the first step! What about you, Hau?"

"I'm good. I just wanna play with my Pokémon! I mean, uh, train with them. Right!" Hau nervously laughed and he scratched his head.

"And what about you, Moon?"

Moon gave Kukui as blank look. "You're kidding me right? I already know how to battle! And I certainly don't want some teacher telling me what to do!" Though Moon quickly changed her mind… "Then again, Popplio and I could use the practice…"

"Alright, so you two should head out soon. Lillie! You take care of Sun, yeah? Until he gets used to Rotom, help him find his way around."

Lillie nodded. "O-of course, you can count on me!"

"I'd like to talk with Moon for a bit," Kukui said. "So you three can head out."

"Alright…" Hau said. "See ya later Moon!" he cheerily waved.

After Sun, Lillie and Hau left. Kukui took a deep breath. "So, you're taking the Island Challenge too, are you excited?"

"I'm only doing this because Tapu Lele gave me a sign. I'm not here to have fun, Kukui."

"I understand, but you should really take it all in you know. You won't be young forever."

"You don't need to worry about me… but you and the others should stop giving that boy special treatment."

"You mean Sun?"

"He's just a boy from Kanto… I don't see the big deal."

"We're only doing this because he's new to Alola, I gave him the Rotom Pokédex because I thought it would be a great way for him better learn through his island challenge." Moon folded her arms. "I understand how you feel about those from outside of Alola, but Sun is different. He's not a tourist, he moved here and it going to be living here. Alola is his new home."

"This is supposed to change my mind how?"

"All I'm saying is, try going easier on him, he hesitated to take the island challenge because he didn't want to make you mad. He didn't want to overstep himself. Can't you see he's trying to be nice to you?"

"He's just an outsider… I know his kind." Moon said. "I understand what you're saying, but… I just don't think I can accept it."

Kukui smiled. "You'll see Moon, Sun is as great as they come, yeah! Give it time; I saw his eyes when he battled you and Hau. He reminds me a lot of myself back when I took on the Indigo League back in Kanto. Both you and Sun, you're going to do great things haha."

Moon gave a sigh. "Well, we'll see… though it's going to take a lot for him to win my trust… but, I'm going to become the Island Challenge Champion, and no one is going to get in my way, especially not some outsider."

"Even if that 'outsider' impressed Tapu Koko?"

"…" Moon wasn't sure how to respond to that. Even she knew that there must be something good about him if Tapu Koko gave him a Shining Stone. "I'm heading out, later Kukui." Moon left the lab and she walked through Route 1 to catch up with Sun and Lillie.

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Sun and Lillie were standing on the Route 1 dirt path. "So ready to go Lillie?"

"Yes, I'm ready." She replied with a nod.

"Alright lead the way."

Lillie led them down the Route and she turned to Sun. "You know, there are four main islands that make up Alola, and a kahuna for each one of them. If you wish to be recognized by the kahunas as worthy, it's said you must clear seven trials."

Sun chuckled. "Sounds exciting, well if I'm going to be doing this island challenge, then I'm going to give it my all!"

"I hear the island challenge is how the people of Alola connect with the world around them. I'm so glad you're going to be a part of that."

Soon they both heard a pair of footsteps behind them. Sun and Lillie turned to see Moon running towards them.

"I see you two decided to run off on your own." She said.

"Moon, you want to come with us?" Sun asked with an excited expression.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Outsider. I also want to test my skills at the Trainer's School. So don't think for a second that we're friends okay." She pointed to Lillie as well. "Same goes for you. You may be from here, but with that weird Pokémon you keep in your bag, I can't help but think there is something you're not telling us."

Lillie was slightly shaking as she tried to explain herself. "W-well that's b-because… I…"

Sun stepped in front of Lillie. "Hey, lay off her." He said in a slightly stern tone. "I'm not sure why you hate me and all, but I'm willing to let it slide. So if you need to take jabs at someone, then do it to me, but leave Lillie alone! She's obviously been through a lot before either of us met her, and she'll tell us when she's good and ready."

"Sun…" Lillie trailed off; she wasn't expecting Sun to speak up for her like that. Same could be said for Moon.

Moon turned away, surprised at Sun's actions. "Very well… You and Princess here can do what you want, but if you slip up, or do something despicable… then you'll hear from me. I'm watching you Sun!" she said as she pointed to him.

No one from the three dared to speak as the tension was already high enough. Though someone didn't see this as a voice just casually entered itself into the conversation, the source was the same mysterious girl dressed in black. The words came out of her mouth in a sort of dull tone.

"Greetings…" Sun, Moon, and Lillie started shivering when Eclipse's voice was heard. They all turned to face her. "Alola everyone…" she said as she waved her arms in front of her face. "I heard that this is how people greet each other in Alola…" The three gave Eclipse questionable looks. "Or am I wrong?"

Moon glared at her after her initial surprise. "Alright, who are you?"

"My name is Eclipse…" she answered. She looked to Sun. "Where are you going, Sun?"

"I'm heading to the Trainer's School. I'm taking the Island Challenge."

"The Island Challenge? I think I may have heard of something like that."

"It's really awesome; I get to travel to the different islands of Alola."

"Sounds interesting…"

"Hey you know what? You should try it out Eclipse."

"I'm sorry what!?" Moon exclaimed. "I may have tolerated one outsider, but having two is another story!"

"So I shouldn't take the challenge?"

Moon sighed. "Do what you want, a green outsider like you probably wouldn't make it past the first trial."

"Your doubting of my abilities is very telling; you choose to put me down because you have insecurities of your own..."

Moon stepped back and glared at the girl while her cheeks were a shade of red. "Why you…!"

"…Is what I think…" she finished. "I apologize… was it something I said?" Eclipse innocently asked.

"Listen, you…!"

"Pew…"

The four turned their attention to the small gaseous Pokémon that was hovering close to Eclipse.

"N-Nebby! Not Again!" Lillie exclaimed.

Sun was starting to panic internally as Nebby looked up to Eclipse with its usual smile on its face. "Cosmog…?" she asked. Nebby continued to hover close to her and it noticed the cowering Abra behind her. When Nebby hovered closer to the Abra, it quickly teleported away… She gently picked up Cosmog and she walked to Lillie. "Does this Pokémon belong to you?"

"Y-yes…" Lillie said. "I'm sorry Nebby likes to get out sometimes."

Eclipse took a deep breath before looking at the smiling ball of gas. "Take very good care of it." She placed Nebby back in Lillie's hands. Eclipse turned around and had her eyes closed. "Pokémon, creatures of incredible power, yet they are nurtured and protected by humans. I wonder why that is?"

"Uh… Eclipse…?" Sun worriedly asked.

"Do not worry Sun; I was lost in deep thought for a moment… I shall look into this island challenge… perhaps it will bring Abra and me closer…" she without saying any more words, walked off with Abra behind her.

"Outsider, where do you know her from?" Moon asked.

"I met her on my first day here. We're friends I think…?"

"Just because she knows your name, doesn't make her your friend. But I'm keeping my eye on her, she seems suspicious…"

"S-so shall we get moving? The professor did tell me that I should help you get to the trainer's school." Lillie asked after putting Nebby back in the bag.

"Alright, lead the way, Lillie!" Sun excitedly said.

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Sun, Moon, and Lillie had passed Route 1 and were on the Hau'oli Outskirts. There was a slight wind that blew through the air. Moon took the opportunity to walk forward and extend her arms and take a deep breath. The crisp, salty air filled up her lungs before the let out a long exhale. "Nothing like catching a whiff of the ocean wind to get you going…"

"You alright?" Sun asked.

"Don't you have a Trainer's School to get to? Why concern yourself with what I'm doing?"

"Hold on a moment," Lillie said calling out to the two. "Before we go any further, let me show you the Pokémon Center first." She gestured to the large two floored circular shaped building. The trio walked inside and they were greeted with the interior of the building. In the middle of the building was a woman dressed in pink behind a red counter with a large blue monitor behind her. To the right was a blue counter with two men and on the left was small café with an elderly man at the counter. "If you talk to the woman at the counter, she can restore your Pokémon to perfect health."

"For free?" Sun asked.

"Of course, it's amazing, isn't it? I can't stand seeing Pokémon in pain…" she said clutching her hands together close to her chest. "Oh and at the Poke Mart, you can buy all kinds of items that should help you during your trails. And finally, over there is the café area. I like to relax with a frosty glass of Moomoo Milk. I read something in a travel guild about Alola once… Apparently, each Pokémon Center in Alola offers a different selection of drinks. I wonder how they pick what to serve?"

"I can confirm that…" Moon said. "Seeing the Pokémon centers on this island and Akala Island, they do offer different drinks. I personally like the Komala Coffee."

"You have coffee at your age?" Lillie asked with a slightly shocked expression.

"Tch! What are you, my Mom?"

"No… I just thought… never mind. But I've met Sun's mother, what about your parents, Moon?"

"They're busy…" Moon said with a slight growl. "I won't be seeing them for a while, so let's drop this topic alright."

Sun noticed Moon's fists were clenched so he thought that something was troubling her. "Moon… Are you really okay?"

"Why do you even care?" she started to leave. "I'll see you two at the Trainer's School, don't keep me waiting."

"Sun, do you think Moon is hiding something from us?" Lillie asked.

"Maybe, but I don't want to pry, not until she's ready to tell me. Plus she hates me so I'm sure even if I tried to help her. She'd just push me away."

"We probably should head to the Trainer's School, if Moon waits any longer; I doubt we will hear the end of it."

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Sun and Lillie were heading the Trainers' School which was still close by. After a short walk they got to the school entrance. "Here we are." Lillie said. "You see, the Trainer's School is… It's a…a… What in the world!?" Lillie's attention was grabbed by a brown bull Pokémon with three tails charging to them.

"L-Lillie? What's going on!?" Sun fearfully exclaimed.

She wasn't able to give an answer as they were both like Deerling in the headlights. The Pokémon was getting closer.

"Popplio use Water Gun!" Popplio was seen hopping past Sun and Lillie and she shot a powerful blast of water that stopped the brown Pokémon in its tracks. Moon ran in front of Sun and Lillie. "What's a Tauros doing here?!" Moon asked.

"Tauros?" Sun repeated. His bag started to move and Rotom quickly shot out.

"Geezzzz, it was getting hot in there!" Rotom said with a slightly annoyed face. "Now what's thizzz I hear about a Taurozz bzzt?"

"O-over there." Lillie said pointing at the bull Pokémon.

"Well letzz see!" Rotom took a picture with its back camera and a picture of Tauros appeared on screen with a few numbers showing stats and other useful information. "'Tauros, the Wild Bull Pokémon. Historically, people in areas all over the world have ridden Tauros, but the practice is said to have started in Alola.'"

"W-wait people ride this Pokémon?" Lillie asked with slight shock.

"Well yeah…" Moon said. "Tauros have been Ride Pokémon for Alola for years I think, not that you two would understand."

"Well seeing that the Tauros isn't moving. We won't be going anywhere soon. But we were only planning to go as far as the Trainer's School anyway. We'll just leave that for someone else to deal with."

They got to the gates and they saw Professor Kukui waiting along with a teacher from the school. "Whoa, professor!?" Sun exclaimed.

"Hey there, Sun, Lillie, Moon! I must've passed you two somehow, yeah?" He said.

"Either that or you must have used Teleport." Moon said with a slight smirk.

"Haha, good one Moon, why didn't I use that one? Anyway, welcome to the Trainers' School, the place to learn how to be a Pokémon Trainer!"

The teacher stepped next to Kukui. "Welcome, I understand the three of you are on your island challenge."

Lillie slightly jumped. "Oh, n-not me, It's just Sun and Moon."

"I see. My name is Emily, it is nice to meet two new trial goers."

"Yeah, put em through the wringer, Teach!" Kukui exclaimed.

"Alright so what, you expect us to sit in a boring classroom and study… No offence but that's not my thing." Moon said.

"O-oh well actually…" Emily began but she was quickly interrupted by Kukui who stretched his hand forward.

"Four Trainers!" he exclaimed. "You've got to beat four Pokémon Trainers here at the School. The experience will surely help you and your Pokémon grow stronger, yeah."

"Oh yeah kzzt!" Rotom exclaimed. "A chance to meet new Pokémon!" he said dancing in the air.

"So we're going to battle, huh. Sounds good!" Moon said with a smirk.

"Yeah." Sun agreed. "It would be great to get some practice in."

Kukui placed his palm on Emily's shoulder causing her to jump slightly. "She may not look all that tough, but Teach trains her kids right! One of her students is even a captain!"

Moon cringed when Kukui mentioned the Captain who came from the school. "Ugh… I remember him…"

"There are four trainers from my class that are waiting for a good fight." Emily said.

"Then we'll certainly do it!" Sun defiantly said.

"That's what I like to hear!" Kukui exclaimed.

"Okay, I'll be watching the two of you. Let's see if you can defeat the trainers."

Sun grabbed Moon's arm. "C'mon Moon!" He dragged her into the school yard against her will.

"Hey! Let me go!"

…

They arrived in the school yard and they saw a tanned boy wearing a white shirt and blue shorts. "Are you the two trial goers?" the youngster asked.

"Yeah, who are you?" Sun asked.

"I'm Joey, I wear shorts! And I've trained my Pokémon for this moment!"

"I don't have time for this… Sun, hurry up and beat this kid."

Sun looked down to Litten. "Alright Litten, ready to do this!" Litten nodded firmly.

Joey took out a Pokéball. "Alright, Go Metapod!" coming out a the red and white Pokéball was a Pokémon that looked like a green cocoon with eyes.

"Alright, letzz check out this Pokémon!" Rotom said floating in front of Sun, aiming his back camera at Metapod. "'Metapod, the Cocoon Pokémon. Its shell is hard, but it's still just a bug shell. It's been known to break, so intense battles with it should be avoided.'"

"Okay, Litten. Let's start use Ember!" Litten shot a small shot of fire had crashed into Metapod and it staggered back after the hit.

"Metapod, use Tackle!" Metapod shot forward, but Litten instinctively jumped up.

"Great job Litten!" Sun praised.

"Litten dodged without Sun telling him to? He's learning fast…" Moon thought.

"Litten use Ember again!" Litten shot an ember and when it hit a second time, Metapod fell to the side.

"Aww man… How are you so strong?" Joey asked.

Litten walked back to Sun. "Alright, where is the next trainer?" Sun asked.

Moon pointed to a gate in the school yard where a little girl with a blue dress with a white hat stood. "There's a little girl over there." Moon looked down to Popplio. "I'm going to take this." When the both got the girl, Moon gave a stern look to her. "Hey kid!" Moon exclaimed. "You, me lets battle!" the Preschooler started to shake.

"Um… okay…"

Sun looked to Moon. "Moon have you tried being nice?"

"No, and I don't plan on doing it." She looked at the little girl. "Alright kid, lets battle already."

"O-okay…" she threw out a Pokéball and shooting out was a round brown Pokémon that resembled a club. Is also resembled a bonsai tree with two legs and toeless feet. He had no arms or appendages of the sort. "Let's battle Bonsly!"

Popplio hopped to Moon's side. "Alright, Popplio, let's make this quick."

Rotom though quickly hovered in between the two trainers. "Hang on… bzzt!" he took a picture of Bonsly. "'Bonsly the Bonsai Pokémon. It does not deal well with water, so it lives in dry locales. Since its surroundings tend to lack greenery, it stands out noticeably.'"

Popplio was looking up at Rotom, trying to get its attention. "Huh, what izz it?"

"She's asking to be scanned. I've noticed that Popplio loves attention." Moon said. Popplio clapped her front flippers together.

Rotom turned his rear camera to the Sea Lion Pokémon. Popplio posed and Rotom took a snapshot. "'Popplio the Sea Lion Pokémon. This Pokémon snorts body fluids from its nose, blowing balloons to smash into its foes. It's famous for being a hard worker.'" Popplio happily barked.

Moon gave an annoyed glance to Popplio. "If you're done, can we get to the battle?" Popplio hopped back in front of Moon. "Start with Disarming Voice!"Popplio shot a soundwave of pink hearts that engulfed Bonsly and he rolled back.

"Bonsly are you okay…?" Bonsly slowly got to his feet. "Now use Tackle!" Bonsly ran over to Popplo and tried to bash the tip of his green club head towards Popplio but the Sea Lion expertly leaped to the side. "Perfect, let's finish this with Water Gun!" Popplio balanced on her rear flippers and shot a blast of water from her mouth. Bonsly was struck by the attack and he rolled back to the little girl doused in water. Bonsly didn't get back up.

"Oh no! Poor Bonsly." The girl cried.

Popplio jumped on Moon's shoulder. "Next!" she said making sure her voice was heard.

…

After the pair defeated two more trainers, they walked back to the school courtyard. Suddenly the school bell rang and a voice could be heard from the school PA system. "Will trainers Sun and Moon, please report to the Principal's office."

"Well, that's just great!" Moon groaned.

Lillie ran over to them and her face radiated with worry. "That was just the School bell. What terrible thing did you two do to get called into the office so soon?"

"Calm down, we didn't do anything," Moon assured.

"That's what you say…" Lillie said not believing Moon's words.

"Well…" Sun started.

"So you did do something!?"

"Okay, I made a girl cry after I beat her. Are you happy!?" Moon exclaimed. "Well, I'm going to see what this is about. Are you coming, Outsider?"

Sun nodded. "Oh uh yeah…"

"Don't answer to 'Outsider'!" Lillie said.

"Well if I want to get on her good side, then I'll have to at least deal with the jabs." He said. "You can wait out here Lillie, I'm sure it won't take long."

Sun followed Moon into the school building and they ran walked through the halls and came across some stairs. They ascended the stairs until they got to the top floor and they saw a door that read 'principal'.

"So who's going to open it?" Sun asked as they were both staring at it.

"Wuss…" Moon turned the knob of the door, they both saw Emily the school teacher and standing by a desk was a woman who was wearing a blue collared shirt with long sleeves. She wore a grey jacket with blue accents. She had grayish brown pants with brown heels. She was dark skinned and had short dark blue hair.

"Greeting trainers, my name is Principal Asuka. I have been watching the two of you in our school, Professor Kukui has told me about the two of you. It seems you two have the right tools to become amazing trainers." Asuka said.

"Does that mean we can leave?" Moon asked bluntly.

"Not quite. You see, you two are good on your own but I want to assess how good you two are at teamwork." She said. Asuka then pressed a button on the underside of her table and the whole room started to shake and the floors started to shift to reveal a battlefield underneath it. Her desk and appliances were moved or flipped under, leaving the four with a wide space to battle. "So think of this as your final exam, you shall battle Emily and me!"

"Alright, sounds fun!" Sun exclaimed.

"That's the spirit!" Emily said.

Moon took out her Pokéball with a sigh. "Alright, let's get this over with. Outsider, let's keep it simple!"

"R-right!" Sun said with slight hesitance.

Emily threw out a Pokéball and coming out of it was a cat Pokémon that stood on two legs, it was a Meowth, but it was different from the one that Sun's mom owned. This one was bluish gray in colour and had more curvy whiskers and its eyes had a more regal look. Its tail curled as well and there was a gold coin on its forehead.

"Wait! Is that a Meowth?" Sun asked.

"How did you guess?" Emily asked.

"My mom has one, but it looks different." Suddenly his bag shook and Rotom popped out.

"Bzzt! Do you have any idea how hot it getzz in there?" Rotom said with an annoyed expression. "Anyway, whatzz this about a Meowth?"

Moon silently pointed to the gray Meowth that stood on the other side of the room. Rotom then took a picture and an image of that very Meowth appeared on the screen. "'Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon. This Pokémon was not originally found in Alola. Human actions caused a surge in their numbers, and they went feral. They're prideful and crafty.'"

"You have a Rotom Pokédex, Interesting…" Asuka commented. "Okay, now it's time you saw my Pokémon." Asuka threw out a Great Ball and coming out of it was a four-legged canine Pokémon with brown fur all over its body with a thick layer of dark blue fur over its back, There was a small light dark blue tail, and its face had a mustache with a three-pointed crest.

Rotom excitedly took a picture of Herdier and a picture showed up on its display. "Here we go… 'Herdier the Loyal Dog Pokémon, This Pokémon obeys its master's orders faithfully. However, it refuses to listen to anything said by a person it doesn't respect.'"

"That soundzz like a tough Pokémon to raise bzzt!" Rotom said floating around.

"Not really," Asuka said. "I raised him since he was Lillipup. Now, what Pokémon will you use?"

Sun pulled out a Pokéball. "That's obvious. Go, Litten!" Litten shot out with a slight blue flash and landed in front of Sun.

Moon cracked her fingers and took out a Pokéball. "Alright, you're up Popplio!" Popplio landed on her flippers and briefly stood, proudly placing her front flippers on her midsection.

"You both have starter Pokémon, huh? So now that we have our Pokémon out. I'll give the two of you some time to think about your plan of attack."

Moon laughed. "Ha, like we need a plan. I'll take on the Herdier, fresh meat, you go for the Meowth."

"Oh… well alright…" Sun said half-heartedly agreeing with her.

"Alright, let's get this over with. Popplio, use Water Gun!" Popplio shot up into the air, twirled and shot a jet of water to Herdier's face and he shook the water off.

"Is that it?" Asuka asked. "Herdier barely felt that, alright now use Payback!" Herdier's paw was covered in a dark energy and he quickly smacked Popplio with it and she bounced back, taking a lot of damage. "

Sun meanwhile pointed to Meowth. "Quick Litten, use Scratch!" Litten was running towards Meowth who had a very confident look on his feline face.

"Meowth, use Fake out!" the gray feline made a quick beeline for Litten and clapped his paws in front of Litten before the fire cat could even lift a paw. The clap made Litten flinch and he flew back as a shockwave from the clap damaged him. "Fake Out is a move that many kinds of Pokémon can learn, you shouldn't just charge into attacks like that. Meowth, use Taunt!" Meowth then gave mocking looks to both Litten and Popplio and both were angry, especially Popplio so much so that she shot a Water Gun to Meowth that he dodged.

Sun looked at the Herdier. "Okay, Herdier looks tough. Litten use Leer!" though Litten angrily shook his head and glared at both opposing Pokémon. "I don't understand, what just happened?"

"It's called Taunt, genius!" Moon angrily said to Sun. "Because of that Meowth, Popplio and Litten will only be able to use attacks."

"Then that's just what we'll do! Litten use Ember!" Litten arched his feline back before shooting a ball of embers towards Herdier who took the hit and shook all the excess embers off his fur.

"Hey, I said I was going to take on the Herdier!" Moon exclaimed.

"But shouldn't we be working as a team?" Sun asked.

"What you need to be doing is listening to me, got it!" Moon sharply said. While they were distracted Litten was hit with a Fury Swipes from the Meowth while Popplio took a Bite from Herdier. "Oh great, thanks for distracting me! Popplio use Water Gun!" Popplio shot a blast of water from her mouth, after she twirled.

Herdier was wise to it and he swerved to the side to avoid it. "Great job Herdier, now use Take Down!" Herdier was sprinting to Popplio while a bright white energy was covering him.

"Popplio, do your thing and dodge!" Moon said. Popplio leaped into the air and horizontally twirled before landing on her four paws. "Now hit back with Water Gun!" Popplio balanced on her front flippers and spun before shooting a blast of water from her mouth that hit Herdier.

At the same time, Meowth was dodging Embers from Litten. Sun was wondering how he could hit Meowth. "You're open!" Emily sang. "Meowth use Faint Attack!" Meowth disappeared for a second before appearing in front of Litten and unleashing a powerful scratch on the fire type Pokémon.

Litten was on his stomach. "Litten… are you okay?" Litten not wanting to disappoint Sun, stood up and shook gave a firm nod. "Quick use Ember!" Litten fired a ball of embers towards Meowth, but it missed yet again. "Okay then use Scratch!" Litten's claws extended from his paws and he ran over to slash Meowth but the Dark type mockingly slithered away from Litten's scratch. "This isn't going to work." Sun thought. "Meowth is just too fast!"

He saw that Moon hitting Herdier with attacks, but they weren't doing damage. "Moon, we need to switch. Litten can't touch Meowth!"

"Then make it happen. I can't hold your hand through everything!" she exclaimed. "Popplio! Use…"

"Moon, listen! Your attacks aren't going to damage Herdier!"

"Oh what… and Litten's can? Popplio beat him remember?"

"Well if things keep going like this, we're going to lose!" Sun exclaimed.

Asuka looked at the two. "Perhaps you two should practice teamwork more often. Herdier, use Take Down!" Herdier barked before rushing to Popplio.

"Litten defend Popplio!" Sun exclaimed. Litten ran into Herdier's path and took the Take Down and slid back, leaving Popplio unscathed.

Moon glared at him. "What did I just…!?"

"Just do something!"

Moon looked at the two opposing Pokémon. "Popplio, Disarming Voice!" Popplio leaped up and twirled before she let out a high pitched scream which released a soundwave of pink hearts that actually traveled through both Herdier and Meowth, but it did lots of damage to Meowth.

This temporarily dazed Meowth and Sun saw his chance. "Right, Litten use Ember!" Litten shot a burst of small embers which hit the dazed Meowth and forced him to the ground.

"I didn't know Disarming Voice could hit more than one Pokémon." Moon said with a surprised tone.

"Perhaps you should research your Pokémon moves more. I have a class specifically on Fairy type moves if you're interested." Asuka offered.

"Don't patronize me!" Moon growled. "Popplio use Water Gun!" a jet of water was seen speeding to Herdier, it hit but he shook off the water after it hit him.

Sun noticed the taunt was wearing off and he looked to Litten. "Right Litten, use Leer!" Litten shot a glare at both Herdier and Meowth and lowered their defenses. "Litten use Scratch on Herdier!" Litten's claws extended and he jumped and raked Herdier in the face and he staggered back.

"You just won't listen will you?!" Moon angrily said

"Meowth, use Faint Attack!" Mewoth sprinted towards Popplio and temporarily disappeared before appearing in front of her.

"Popplio!" Moon cried, but Popplio was able to dodge it by flipping in the air. "Now make a water balloon and jump onto it!" Popplio snorted a water balloon from her nose and she jumped on top of it.

"Meowth pop that balloon with Fury Swipes!" Meowth had long claws extend from his paws. He leaped up to pop Popplio's water balloon.

"Now Litten stop him with Scratch!" Litten quickly leaped in front of the balloon and raked Meowth in the face. He slid back and Popplio acrobatically leaped off the balloon.

"Popplio, use Disarming Voice!" Popplio leaped high into the air and let out a high pitched scream that caught both Meowth and Herdier in the pink heart shaped shockwaves. Meowth was staggering to his feet after taking the attack. "Finish this with Pound!" Popplio leaped off the balloon and performed a corkscrew in the air and descended down to the dazed Meowth and punched him with her flipper and this made him fall to his back with no energy left to fight.

Emily returned Meowth to his Pokéball and smiled at the two. "Excellent use of teamwork you two." She said.

Asuka smirked while she folded her arms.

"Yes, we did it!" Sun cheered.

"Don't celebrate just yet; we still have that Herdier to take care of," Moon said.

"That's right, and just because it's just me and Herdier left, doesn't mean that you will have an advantage. Herdier, use Retaliate!" Herdier growled and shot forward towards Popplio who landed on the floor from her bubble. He crashed into her and a bright brown shockwave was seen from the impact.

Popplio crashed hard into the wall and rolled to her stomach. "Popplio!" Moon said with a panicked cry, she ran over to her.

"What attack was that?" Sun asked.

"That's called Retaliate. The attack does a lot of damage but it does double that when used after an ally Pokémon has fainted."

Popplio was struggling to get back and Moon shook her head. "No… I won't let you continue, you need your rest." Popplio looked at Moon with begging eyes, she didn't want to disappoint her, but Moon didn't want Popplio to take another hard hit like that, battling was one thing, but she didn't want Popplio getting injured for her sake. Popplio then quickly got back up though she was still limping slightly, she gave Moon a confident smile. "Are you sure you still want to do this?"

"Arf!" Popplio positively barked.

"Herdier, use Take Down!" Herdier was engulfed in a bright yellow glow and he shot forward to Popplio again.

"Popplio, use Baby-Doll Eyes!" Popplio eyes blinked and they then had a shiny gleam to them and Herdier saw them and immediately his attack power dropped as he ran to Popplio. "Now jumped onto a balloon!" Popplio leaped high and backflipped, while she arched her back, she made a water balloon for her to land on, her flippers landed on the balloon and she happily barked while clapping her front flippers.

"Litten, use Scratch!" Litten extended his claws and tried to rake Herdier.

"Herdier grab him with Bite!" Herdier opened his mouth and bit down on the paw Litten was going to use to bite him. "Now throw him to Popplio!" Litten was thrown towards Popplio and her bubble.

"Popplio, springboard off Litten!" Popplio leaped off of her Bubble and her bottom flippers landed on Litten and she jumped off of him. Litten landed to his feet. "Popplio, use Pound!" Popplio punched Herdier's face with her left paw. Right after taking the attack Litten's back was arched.

"Use Ember!" Sun exclaimed, Litten then discharged the ball of embers into Herdier's face. Popplio flipped back towards Litten and she held out her right flipper and Litten clapped his paw with her flipper emulating a high-five.

"Herdier, use Payback!" Asuka exclaimed. He sprinted towards the two Pokémon with his paw covered in a dark energy.

Sun and Moon nodded to each other.

"Ember!"

"Water Gun!"

Both Pokémon quickly unleashed their attacks before Herdier could strike them and the water jet and fireball crashed into Herdier's face and he fell to his stomach, unable to fight anymore. Asuka folded her arms and smiled. "Very nice." She said returning her Herdier to the Pokéball. "I'll be sure to tell Professor Kukui about the progress you two are making."

"No need! He's already here!" Kukui walked into the room with a grin on his face. "I saw the whole thing, and I must say that was a fantastic battle! Seeing you two battle gave me the Icy Wind chills."

"There he goes again…" Both Sun and Moon said.

"But you two have proven to be strong trainers indeed. I'd say you're both ready to take on Ilima's trial." She said.

"I'll say, know your Pokémon and know their moves. Those are the basics of being a Trainer! And you two have that down very well. You two will go very far indeed. Now I believe Lillie is waiting for you."

…

Sun and Moon walked out of the building and saw Lillie waiting for them by the entrance. "Well how did it go?" she asked.

"We did it!" Sun said with a confident wink. "They were no match for us!" Popplio who was on Moon's head agreed with happy bark.

"That's great! I knew you two could do it!" Lillie said. "Um…"

"What is it, something on your mind?" Sun asked.

"Well, since we've come this far together, why don't I show you some more of the city?" Lillie asked. "There is lots to see after all."

"Sounds great, Lillie!" The three left the Trainer's School and walked back onto the main road to see Hala, Hau and the Tauros standing in the road.

"Hiya guys!" Hau cheerfully greeted.

"B-be careful!" Lillie exclaimed. "That Tauros attacked us earlier!"

"Ho!" Hala laughed. "I heard that this Tauros was causing trouble, so I rushed over. I'm going to get this old timer back home." He looked to Sun. "But first, why don't you give him a little pat, my boy?"

Sun walked slowly walked to Tauros and patted the Bull Pokémon and the Tauros closed his eyes indicating that he liked when Sun was patting him.

"He really likes it." Sun happily said.

Hala started laughing. "You see that? This rascal already loves you. Pokémon become happier when we show them some care. Well, I'm off them." He started walking into the city with Tauros. Hau walked up to the trio.

"The Kahunas sure are something, eh? Able to calm a raging Pokémon without even needing to battle… Now that's something! I mean, I like Tauros plenty and all… but it is pretty scary! I don't want to ride on it!"

"Greetings everyone…" they heard. Sun, Moon and Lillie turned around and Eclipse was standing behind them with her usual neutral face. Abra was sitting on her shoulder.

Moon glared at Eclipse. "Don't startle people like that!" she exclaimed.

"My apologies, so what are you all doing?"

"We were about to head out into Hau'oli City. You wanna come with?" Hau asked.

"I would like to, though I don't want to impose."

"Don't worry, I'll be happy to show you around too, Eclipse," Lillie said with a sweet smile.

"Thank you…"

"Just what we need more people…" Moon groaned.

"But before we do… I would like to experience what a battle is like…"

Hau then walked forward. "Ha, then you're on. I've been practicing since I lost to Sun. You better be prepared Eclipse."

Moon yawned. "Hau, no need to get so excited, she's probably not even good."

Floating from behind Eclipse was a dark bluish-green Pokémon that had no arms and legs. Instead, its lower half had several small appendages that resemble a ruffled dress. There were round gems around its neck that looked like a necklace. There was also long, flowing 'hair' with lilac tips. It had large red eyes with yellow sclerae.

"W-what is that!?" Hau asked while shivering.

"She is my new Pokémon. She was floating around last night, and I befriended her. She is called Misdreavus I believe." Misdreavus gave a confident giggle with a grin on her face as she floated in front of Eclipse.

Hau held a Pokéball and tossed it up before catching it. "Okay Eclipse, get ready. Come out Rowlet!" Rowlet flew out and landed on the ground while turning its head 180 degrees to face Hau.

"Do your best Misdreavus…" Eclipse said.

Their battle was about to begin, and Sun and Lillie were curious about how she would do, while Moon was sure it was a foregone conclusion that Eclipse would lose, either way, their questions would be answered soon.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sun and Lillie were heading the Trainers' School which was still close by. After a short walk they got to the school entrance. "Here we are." Lillie said. "You see, the Trainer's School is… It's a…a… What in the world!?" Lillie's attention was grabbed by a brown bull Pokémon with three tails charging to them.

"L-Lillie? What's going on!?" Sun fearfully exclaimed.

She wasn't able to give an answer as they were both like Deerling in the headlights. The Pokémon was getting closer.

"Popplio use Water Gun!" Popplio was seen hopping past Sun and Lillie and she shot a powerful blast of water that stopped the brown Pokémon in its tracks. Moon ran in front of Sun and Lillie. "What's a Tauros doing here?!" Moon asked.

"Tauros?" Sun repeated. His bag started to move and Rotom quickly shot out.

"Geezzzz, it was getting hot in there!" Rotom said with a slightly annoyed face. "Now what's thizzz I hear about a Taurozz bzzt?"

"O-over there." Lillie said pointing at the bull Pokémon.

"Well letzz see!" Rotom took a picture with its back camera and a picture of Tauros appeared on screen with a few numbers showing stats and other useful information. "'Tauros, the Wild Bull Pokémon. Historically, people in areas all over the world have ridden Tauros, but the practice is said to have started in Alola.'"

"W-wait people ride this Pokémon?" Lillie asked with slight shock.

"Well yeah…" Moon said. "Tauros have been Ride Pokémon for Alola for years I think, not that you two would understand."

"Well seeing that the Tauros isn't moving. We won't be going anywhere soon. But we were only planning to go as far as the Trainer's School anyway. We'll just leave that for someone else to deal with."

They got to the gates and they saw Professor Kukui waiting along with a teacher from the school. "Whoa, professor!?" Sun exclaimed.

"Hey there, Sun, Lillie, Moon! I must've passed you two somehow, yeah?" He said.

"Either that or you must have used Teleport." Moon said with a slight smirk.

"Haha, good one Moon, why didn't I use that one? Anyway, welcome to the Trainers' School, the place to learn how to be a Pokémon Trainer!"

The teacher stepped next to Kukui. "Welcome, I understand the three of you are on your island challenge."

Lillie slightly jumped. "Oh, n-not me, It's just Sun and Moon."

"I see. My name is Emily, it is nice to meet two new trial goers."

"Yeah, put em through the wringer, Teach!" Kukui exclaimed.

"Alright so what, you expect us to sit in a boring classroom and study… No offence but that's not my thing." Moon said.

"O-oh well actually…" Emily began but she was quickly interrupted by Kukui who stretched his hand forward.

"Four Trainers!" he exclaimed. "You've got to beat four Pokémon Trainers here at the School. The experience will surely help you and your Pokémon grow stronger, yeah."

"Oh yeah kzzt!" Rotom exclaimed. "A chance to meet new Pokémon!" he said dancing in the air.

"So we're going to battle, huh. Sounds good!" Moon said with a smirk.

"Yeah." Sun agreed. "It would be great to get some practice in."

Kukui placed his palm on Emily's shoulder causing her to jump slightly. "She may not look all that tough, but Teach trains her kids right! One of her students is even a captain!"

Moon cringed when Kukui mentioned the Captain who came from the school. "Ugh… I remember him…"

"There are four trainers from my class that are waiting for a good fight." Emily said.

"Then we'll certainly do it!" Sun defiantly said.

"That's what I like to hear!" Kukui exclaimed.

"Okay, I'll be watching the two of you. Let's see if you can defeat the trainers."

Sun grabbed Moon's arm. "C'mon Moon!" He dragged her into the school yard against her will.

"Hey! Let me go!"

…

They arrived in the school yard and they saw a tanned boy wearing a white shirt and blue shorts. "Are you the two trial goers?" the youngster asked.

"Yeah, who are you?" Sun asked.

"I'm Joey, I wear shorts! And I've trained my Pokémon for this moment!"

"I don't have time for this… Sun, hurry up and beat this kid."

Sun looked down to Litten. "Alright Litten, ready to do this!" Litten nodded firmly.

Joey took out a Pokéball. "Alright, Go Metapod!" coming out a the red and white Pokéball was a Pokémon that looked like a green cocoon with eyes.

"Alright, letzz check out this Pokémon!" Rotom said floating in front of Sun, aiming his back camera at Metapod. "'Metapod, the Cocoon Pokémon. Its shell is hard, but it's still just a bug shell. It's been known to break, so intense battles with it should be avoided.'"

"Okay, Litten. Let's start use Ember!" Litten shot a small shot of fire had crashed into Metapod and it staggered back after the hit.

"Metapod, use Tackle!" Metapod shot forward, but Litten instinctively jumped up.

"Great job Litten!" Sun praised.

"Litten dodged without Sun telling him to? He's learning fast…" Moon thought.

"Litten use Ember again!" Litten shot an ember and when it hit a second time, Metapod fell to the side.

"Aww man… How are you so strong?" Joey asked.

Litten walked back to Sun. "Alright, where is the next trainer?" Sun asked.

Moon pointed to a gate in the school yard where a little girl with a blue dress with a white hat stood. "There's a little girl over there." Moon looked down to Popplio. "I'm going to take this." When the both got the girl, Moon gave a stern look to her. "Hey kid!" Moon exclaimed. "You, me lets battle!" the Preschooler started to shake.

"Um… okay…"

Sun looked to Moon. "Moon have you tried being nice?"

"No, and I don't plan on doing it." She looked at the little girl. "Alright kid, lets battle already."

"O-okay…" she threw out a Pokéball and shooting out was a round brown Pokémon that resembled a club. Is also resembled a bonsai tree with two legs and toeless feet. He had no arms or appendages of the sort. "Let's battle Bonsly!"

Popplio hopped to Moon's side. "Alright, Popplio, let's make this quick."

Rotom though quickly hovered in between the two trainers. "Hang on… bzzt!" he took a picture of Bonsly. "'Bonsly the Bonsai Pokémon. It does not deal well with water, so it lives in dry locales. Since its surroundings tend to lack greenery, it stands out noticeably.'"

Popplio was looking up at Rotom, trying to get its attention. "Huh, what izz it?"

"She's asking to be scanned. I've noticed that Popplio loves attention." Moon said. Popplio clapped her front flippers together.

Rotom turned his rear camera to the Sea Lion Pokémon. Popplio posed and Rotom took a snapshot. "'Popplio the Sea Lion Pokémon. This Pokémon snorts body fluids from its nose, blowing balloons to smash into its foes. It's famous for being a hard worker.'" Popplio happily barked.

Moon gave an annoyed glance to Popplio. "If you're done, can we get to the battle?" Popplio hopped back in front of Moon. "Start with Disarming Voice!"Popplio shot a soundwave of pink hearts that engulfed Bonsly and he rolled back.

"Bonsly are you okay…?" Bonsly slowly got to his feet. "Now use Tackle!" Bonsly ran over to Popplo and tried to bash the tip of his green club head towards Popplio but the Sea Lion expertly leaped to the side. "Perfect, let's finish this with Water Gun!" Popplio balanced on her rear flippers and shot a blast of water from her mouth. Bonsly was struck by the attack and he rolled back to the little girl doused in water. Bonsly didn't get back up.

"Oh no! Poor Bonsly." The girl cried.

Popplio jumped on Moon's shoulder. "Next!" she said making sure her voice was heard.

…

After the pair defeated two more trainers, they walked back to the school courtyard. Suddenly the school bell rang and a voice could be heard from the school PA system. "Will trainers Sun and Moon, please report to the Principal's office."

"Well, that's just great!" Moon groaned.

Lillie ran over to them and her face radiated with worry. "That was just the School bell. What terrible thing did you two do to get called into the office so soon?"

"Calm down, we didn't do anything," Moon assured.

"That's what you say…" Lillie said not believing Moon's words.

"Well…" Sun started.

"So you did do something!?"

"Okay, I made a girl cry after I beat her. Are you happy!?" Moon exclaimed. "Well, I'm going to see what this is about. Are you coming, Outsider?"

Sun nodded. "Oh uh yeah…"

"Don't answer to 'Outsider'!" Lillie said.

"Well if I want to get on her good side, then I'll have to at least deal with the jabs." He said. "You can wait out here Lillie, I'm sure it won't take long."

Sun followed Moon into the school building and they ran walked through the halls and came across some stairs. They ascended the stairs until they got to the top floor and they saw a door that read 'principal'.

"So who's going to open it?" Sun asked as they were both staring at it.

"Wuss…" Moon turned the knob of the door, they both saw Emily the school teacher and standing by a desk was a woman who was wearing a blue collared shirt with long sleeves. She wore a grey jacket with blue accents. She had grayish brown pants with brown heels. She was dark skinned and had short dark blue hair.

"Greeting trainers, my name is Principal Asuka. I have been watching the two of you in our school, Professor Kukui has told me about the two of you. It seems you two have the right tools to become amazing trainers." Asuka said.

"Does that mean we can leave?" Moon asked bluntly.

"Not quite. You see, you two are good on your own but I want to assess how good you two are at teamwork." She said. Asuka then pressed a button on the underside of her table and the whole room started to shake and the floors started to shift to reveal a battlefield underneath it. Her desk and appliances were moved or flipped under, leaving the four with a wide space to battle. "So think of this as your final exam, you shall battle Emily and me!"

"Alright, sounds fun!" Sun exclaimed.

"That's the spirit!" Emily said.

Moon took out her Pokéball with a sigh. "Alright, let's get this over with. Outsider, let's keep it simple!"

"R-right!" Sun said with slight hesitance.

Emily threw out a Pokéball and coming out of it was a cat Pokémon that stood on two legs, it was a Meowth, but it was different from the one that Sun's mom owned. This one was bluish gray in colour and had more curvy whiskers and its eyes had a more regal look. Its tail curled as well and there was a gold coin on its forehead.

"Wait! Is that a Meowth?" Sun asked.

"How did you guess?" Emily asked.

"My mom has one, but it looks different." Suddenly his bag shook and Rotom popped out.

"Bzzt! Do you have any idea how hot it getzz in there?" Rotom said with an annoyed expression. "Anyway, whatzz this about a Meowth?"

Moon silently pointed to the gray Meowth that stood on the other side of the room. Rotom then took a picture and an image of that very Meowth appeared on the screen. "'Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon. This Pokémon was not originally found in Alola. Human actions caused a surge in their numbers, and they went feral. They're prideful and crafty.'"

"You have a Rotom Pokédex, Interesting…" Asuka commented. "Okay, now it's time you saw my Pokémon." Asuka threw out a Great Ball and coming out of it was a four-legged canine Pokémon with brown fur all over its body with a thick layer of dark blue fur over its back, There was a small light dark blue tail, and its face had a mustache with a three-pointed crest.

Rotom excitedly took a picture of Herdier and a picture showed up on its display. "Here we go… 'Herdier the Loyal Dog Pokémon, This Pokémon obeys its master's orders faithfully. However, it refuses to listen to anything said by a person it doesn't respect.'"

"That soundzz like a tough Pokémon to raise bzzt!" Rotom said floating around.

"Not really," Asuka said. "I raised him since he was Lillipup. Now, what Pokémon will you use?"

Sun pulled out a Pokéball. "That's obvious. Go, Litten!" Litten shot out with a slight blue flash and landed in front of Sun.

Moon cracked her fingers and took out a Pokéball. "Alright, you're up Popplio!" Popplio landed on her flippers and briefly stood, proudly placing her front flippers on her midsection.

"You both have starter Pokémon, huh? So now that we have our Pokémon out. I'll give the two of you some time to think about your plan of attack."

Moon laughed. "Ha, like we need a plan. I'll take on the Herdier, fresh meat, you go for the Meowth."

"Oh… well alright…" Sun said half-heartedly agreeing with her.

"Alright, let's get this over with. Popplio, use Water Gun!" Popplio shot up into the air, twirled and shot a jet of water to Herdier's face and he shook the water off.

"Is that it?" Asuka asked. "Herdier barely felt that, alright now use Payback!" Herdier's paw was covered in a dark energy and he quickly smacked Popplio with it and she bounced back, taking a lot of damage. "

Sun meanwhile pointed to Meowth. "Quick Litten, use Scratch!" Litten was running towards Meowth who had a very confident look on his feline face.

"Meowth, use Fake out!" the gray feline made a quick beeline for Litten and clapped his paws in front of Litten before the fire cat could even lift a paw. The clap made Litten flinch and he flew back as a shockwave from the clap damaged him. "Fake Out is a move that many kinds of Pokémon can learn, you shouldn't just charge into attacks like that. Meowth, use Taunt!" Meowth then gave mocking looks to both Litten and Popplio and both were angry, especially Popplio so much so that she shot a Water Gun to Meowth that he dodged.

Sun looked at the Herdier. "Okay, Herdier looks tough. Litten use Leer!" though Litten angrily shook his head and glared at both opposing Pokémon. "I don't understand, what just happened?"

"It's called Taunt, genius!" Moon angrily said to Sun. "Because of that Meowth, Popplio and Litten will only be able to use attacks."

"Then that's just what we'll do! Litten use Ember!" Litten arched his feline back before shooting a ball of embers towards Herdier who took the hit and shook all the excess embers off his fur.

"Hey, I said I was going to take on the Herdier!" Moon exclaimed.

"But shouldn't we be working as a team?" Sun asked.

"What you need to be doing is listening to me, got it!" Moon sharply said. While they were distracted Litten was hit with a Fury Swipes from the Meowth while Popplio took a Bite from Herdier. "Oh great, thanks for distracting me! Popplio use Water Gun!" Popplio shot a blast of water from her mouth, after she twirled.

Herdier was wise to it and he swerved to the side to avoid it. "Great job Herdier, now use Take Down!" Herdier was sprinting to Popplio while a bright white energy was covering him.

"Popplio, do your thing and dodge!" Moon said. Popplio leaped into the air and horizontally twirled before landing on her four paws. "Now hit back with Water Gun!" Popplio balanced on her front flippers and spun before shooting a blast of water from her mouth that hit Herdier.

At the same time, Meowth was dodging Embers from Litten. Sun was wondering how he could hit Meowth. "You're open!" Emily sang. "Meowth use Faint Attack!" Meowth disappeared for a second before appearing in front of Litten and unleashing a powerful scratch on the fire type Pokémon.

Litten was on his stomach. "Litten… are you okay?" Litten not wanting to disappoint Sun, stood up and shook gave a firm nod. "Quick use Ember!" Litten fired a ball of embers towards Meowth, but it missed yet again. "Okay then use Scratch!" Litten's claws extended from his paws and he ran over to slash Meowth but the Dark type mockingly slithered away from Litten's scratch. "This isn't going to work." Sun thought. "Meowth is just too fast!"

He saw that Moon hitting Herdier with attacks, but they weren't doing damage. "Moon, we need to switch. Litten can't touch Meowth!"

"Then make it happen. I can't hold your hand through everything!" she exclaimed. "Popplio! Use…"

"Moon, listen! Your attacks aren't going to damage Herdier!"

"Oh what… and Litten's can? Popplio beat him remember?"

"Well if things keep going like this, we're going to lose!" Sun exclaimed.

Asuka looked at the two. "Perhaps you two should practice teamwork more often. Herdier, use Take Down!" Herdier barked before rushing to Popplio.

"Litten defend Popplio!" Sun exclaimed. Litten ran into Herdier's path and took the Take Down and slid back, leaving Popplio unscathed.

Moon glared at him. "What did I just…!?"

"Just do something!"

Moon looked at the two opposing Pokémon. "Popplio, Disarming Voice!" Popplio leaped up and twirled before she let out a high pitched scream which released a soundwave of pink hearts that actually traveled through both Herdier and Meowth, but it did lots of damage to Meowth.

This temporarily dazed Meowth and Sun saw his chance. "Right, Litten use Ember!" Litten shot a burst of small embers which hit the dazed Meowth and forced him to the ground.

"I didn't know Disarming Voice could hit more than one Pokémon." Moon said with a surprised tone.

"Perhaps you should research your Pokémon moves more. I have a class specifically on Fairy type moves if you're interested." Asuka offered.

"Don't patronize me!" Moon growled. "Popplio use Water Gun!" a jet of water was seen speeding to Herdier, it hit but he shook off the water after it hit him.

Sun noticed the taunt was wearing off and he looked to Litten. "Right Litten, use Leer!" Litten shot a glare at both Herdier and Meowth and lowered their defenses. "Litten use Scratch on Herdier!" Litten's claws extended and he jumped and raked Herdier in the face and he staggered back.

"You just won't listen will you?!" Moon angrily said

"Meowth, use Faint Attack!" Mewoth sprinted towards Popplio and temporarily disappeared before appearing in front of her.

"Popplio!" Moon cried, but Popplio was able to dodge it by flipping in the air. "Now make a water balloon and jump onto it!" Popplio snorted a water balloon from her nose and she jumped on top of it.

"Meowth pop that balloon with Fury Swipes!" Meowth had long claws extend from his paws. He leaped up to pop Popplio's water balloon.

"Now Litten stop him with Scratch!" Litten quickly leaped in front of the balloon and raked Meowth in the face. He slid back and Popplio acrobatically leaped off the balloon.

"Popplio, use Disarming Voice!" Popplio leaped high into the air and let out a high pitched scream that caught both Meowth and Herdier in the pink heart shaped shockwaves. Meowth was staggering to his feet after taking the attack. "Finish this with Pound!" Popplio leaped off the balloon and performed a corkscrew in the air and descended down to the dazed Meowth and punched him with her flipper and this made him fall to his back with no energy left to fight.

Emily returned Meowth to his Pokéball and smiled at the two. "Excellent use of teamwork you two." She said.

Asuka smirked while she folded her arms.

"Yes, we did it!" Sun cheered.

"Don't celebrate just yet; we still have that Herdier to take care of," Moon said.

"That's right, and just because it's just me and Herdier left, doesn't mean that you will have an advantage. Herdier, use Retaliate!" Herdier growled and shot forward towards Popplio who landed on the floor from her bubble. He crashed into her and a bright brown shockwave was seen from the impact.

Popplio crashed hard into the wall and rolled to her stomach. "Popplio!" Moon said with a panicked cry, she ran over to her.

"What attack was that?" Sun asked.

"That's called Retaliate. The attack does a lot of damage but it does double that when used after an ally Pokémon has fainted."

Popplio was struggling to get back and Moon shook her head. "No… I won't let you continue, you need your rest." Popplio looked at Moon with begging eyes, she didn't want to disappoint her, but Moon didn't want Popplio to take another hard hit like that, battling was one thing, but she didn't want Popplio getting injured for her sake. Popplio then quickly got back up though she was still limping slightly, she gave Moon a confident smile. "Are you sure you still want to do this?"

"Arf!" Popplio positively barked.

"Herdier, use Take Down!" Herdier was engulfed in a bright yellow glow and he shot forward to Popplio again.

"Popplio, use Baby-Doll Eyes!" Popplio eyes blinked and they then had a shiny gleam to them and Herdier saw them and immediately his attack power dropped as he ran to Popplio. "Now jumped onto a balloon!" Popplio leaped high and backflipped, while she arched her back, she made a water balloon for her to land on, her flippers landed on the balloon and she happily barked while clapping her front flippers.

"Litten, use Scratch!" Litten extended his claws and tried to rake Herdier.

"Herdier grab him with Bite!" Herdier opened his mouth and bit down on the paw Litten was going to use to bite him. "Now throw him to Popplio!" Litten was thrown towards Popplio and her bubble.

"Popplio, springboard off Litten!" Popplio leaped off of her Bubble and her bottom flippers landed on Litten and she jumped off of him. Litten landed to his feet. "Popplio, use Pound!" Popplio punched Herdier's face with her left paw. Right after taking the attack Litten's back was arched.

"Use Ember!" Sun exclaimed, Litten then discharged the ball of embers into Herdier's face. Popplio flipped back towards Litten and she held out her right flipper and Litten clapped his paw with her flipper emulating a high-five.

"Herdier, use Payback!" Asuka exclaimed. He sprinted towards the two Pokémon with his paw covered in a dark energy.

Sun and Moon nodded to each other.

"Ember!"

"Water Gun!"

Both Pokémon quickly unleashed their attacks before Herdier could strike them and the water jet and fireball crashed into Herdier's face and he fell to his stomach, unable to fight anymore. Asuka folded her arms and smiled. "Very nice." She said returning her Herdier to the Pokéball. "I'll be sure to tell Professor Kukui about the progress you two are making."

"No need! He's already here!" Kukui walked into the room with a grin on his face. "I saw the whole thing, and I must say that was a fantastic battle! Seeing you two battle gave me the Icy Wind chills."

"There he goes again…" Both Sun and Moon said.

"But you two have proven to be strong trainers indeed. I'd say you're both ready to take on Ilima's trial." She said.

"I'll say, know your Pokémon and know their moves. Those are the basics of being a Trainer! And you two have that down very well. You two will go very far indeed. Now I believe Lillie is waiting for you."

…

Sun and Moon walked out of the building and saw Lillie waiting for them by the entrance. "Well how did it go?" she asked.

"We did it!" Sun said with a confident wink. "They were no match for us!" Popplio who was on Moon's head agreed with happy bark.

"That's great! I knew you two could do it!" Lillie said. "Um…"

"What is it, something on your mind?" Sun asked.

"Well, since we've come this far together, why don't I show you some more of the city?" Lillie asked. "There is lots to see after all."

"Sounds great, Lillie!" The three left the Trainer's School and walked back onto the main road to see Hala, Hau and the Tauros standing in the road.

"Hiya guys!" Hau cheerfully greeted.

"B-be careful!" Lillie exclaimed. "That Tauros attacked us earlier!"

"Ho!" Hala laughed. "I heard that this Tauros was causing trouble, so I rushed over. I'm going to get this old timer back home." He looked to Sun. "But first, why don't you give him a little pat, my boy?"

Sun walked slowly walked to Tauros and patted the Bull Pokémon and the Tauros closed his eyes indicating that he liked when Sun was patting him.

"He really likes it." Sun happily said.

Hala started laughing. "You see that? This rascal already loves you. Pokémon become happier when we show them some care. Well, I'm off them." He started walking into the city with Tauros. Hau walked up to the trio.

"The Kahunas sure are something, eh? Able to calm a raging Pokémon without even needing to battle… Now that's something! I mean, I like Tauros plenty and all… but it is pretty scary! I don't want to ride on it!"

"Greetings everyone…" they heard. Sun, Moon and Lillie turned around and Eclipse was standing behind them with her usual neutral face. Abra was sitting on her shoulder.

Moon glared at Eclipse. "Don't startle people like that!" she exclaimed.

"My apologies, so what are you all doing?"

"We were about to head out into Hau'oli City. You wanna come with?" Hau asked.

"I would like to, though I don't want to impose."

"Don't worry, I'll be happy to show you around too, Eclipse," Lillie said with a sweet smile.

"Thank you…"

"Just what we need more people…" Moon groaned.

"But before we do… I would like to experience what a battle is like…"

Hau then walked forward. "Ha, then you're on. I've been practicing since I lost to Sun. You better be prepared Eclipse."

Moon yawned. "Hau, no need to get so excited, she's probably not even good."

Floating from behind Eclipse was a dark bluish-green Pokémon that had no arms and legs. Instead, its lower half had several small appendages that resemble a ruffled dress. There were round gems around its neck that looked like a necklace. There was also long, flowing 'hair' with lilac tips. It had large red eyes with yellow sclerae.

"W-what is that!?" Hau asked while shivering.

"She is my new Pokémon. She was floating around last night, and I befriended her. She is called Misdreavus I believe." Misdreavus gave a confident giggle with a grin on her face as she floated in front of Eclipse.

Hau held a Pokéball and tossed it up before catching it. "Okay Eclipse, get ready. Come out Rowlet!" Rowlet flew out and landed on the ground while turning its head 180 degrees to face Hau.

"Do your best Misdreavus…" Eclipse said.

Their battle was about to begin, and Sun and Lillie were curious about how she would do, while Moon was sure it was a foregone conclusion that Eclipse would lose, either way, their questions would be answered soon.

 

Chapter 4: Welcome to Hau'oli City

Hau was stretching his arms and Rowlet tilted his head as he temporarily gazed at his trainer. "Okay Rowlet, we gotta prove that we're just as strong as Sun and Moon." He excitedly said.

Lillie slightly looked worried though. "I'm not sure who to root for, just make sure the Pokémon don't get hurt okay."

Eclipse's facial expression remained neutral as she was about to battle. "So shall we begin?" Eclipse asked.

"Yeah! Rowlet use Tackle!" Rowlet fluttered above the ground and looked to charge towards Misdreavus but he shot right through the ghost type. The Pokémon chuckled as Rowlet crashed into the ground.

"W-was that supposed to happen?" Eclipse asked.

"Hau, Normal type moves wont work against Ghost types." Lillie mentioned.

Hau scratched the back of his head. "Haha, yeah… I just got a little bit excited is all."

"I guess I should go now." Eclipse slowly pointed her hand to Rowlet. "Misdreavus, use Psywave." The mischievous ghost type fired two pink waves of energy to Rowlet.

"Rowlet fly up and dodge!" The grass owl instantly got the message and shot straight up avoiding Misdreavus' attack. "Let's get serious now. Rowlet use Leafage!" Rowlet hovered up and flapped his wings, he then shot four sharp leaves towards Misdreavus. The ghost type was hit and she slightly staggered and shook her head. "We got her now rush to her with Peck!" Rowlet flew forward to Misdreavus.

She was hit and she slid on the ground after being pecked by Rowlet's beak.

"Keep Going Rowlet!Use Leafage!" Rowlet stayed in the air and flapped his wings, shooting four green glowing leaves to Misdreavus again.

Eclipse had a plan and she slowly outstretched her arm. "Misdreavus, dodge the leaves, and then get closer." Misdreavus hovered in the air and she managed to swerve around the glowing leaves before shooting forward towards Rowlet. "Now, use Astonish." Misdreavus' eyes were starting to glow red and she headbutted Rowlet and her 'hair' was floating upwards as if it was on fire, and as she hit Rowlet she let out a scary, ear piercing scream.

"AAH!" Misdreavus screamed as her eyes shrank, giving her a much more insane appearance. Rowlet after being hit, fell from the sky and bounced on the ground. He was terrified of the ghost type that hovered above him. Rowlet had beads of sweat all over his body and his eyes had shrunk to the size of berry seeds. Misdreavus chuckled as she hovered in the air.

"Oh no, poor Rowlet." Lillie worriedly said.

"Use Psyswave." Misdreavus shot a two waves of pink energy that crashed into the Rowlet and he rolled back onto his stomach.

"Oh no!" Hau cried. Misdreavus evilly chuckled as she hovered lower to the ground. "C'mon Rowlet, you gotta get back up!"

"Use Astonish." Eclipse monotonously said. A black aura surrounded Misdreavus and her eyes shone red again.

"Rowlet use Growl!" Rowlet slowly got up and he saw Misdreavus flying towards him.

"KOO!" Rowlet roared as his cry sent a shockwave that weakened the power of Astonish. Misdreavus clashed into Rowlet and the owl rolled back again.

"Hmm, Growl? What purpose did that serve?" Eclipse asked.

"I used it to weaken the power of Astonish, that's why!" Hau answered.

"I can see the reasoning behind the tactic, perhaps I shall incorporate that into my battling style in a future battle."

"W-what? I kind of lost you there, but I'm coming again! Rowlet use Leafage!"

"Quickly Misdreavus, use Psywave." Misdreavus again, used her Psywave attack which Rowlet was able to comically avoid.

Still following Hau's command, he started to flap his wings and a shining green aura was surrounding him. He shot four green glowing leaves that flew to Misdreavus at a faster speed. The hit the screech Pokémon with a greater force than the attack would normally inflict.

Sun, Lillie and Moon were slightly confused as to what was happening to Rowlet, the green aura was still surrounding the grass owl. "Hau, what's up with Rowlet?" Sun asked.

"Wish I knew, but it looks so cool!" Hau exclaimed. "Do it again Rowlet! Use Leafage!" Rowlet shot four glowing leaves to Misdreavus again.

"Misdreavus, fight back with Psywave." Misdreavus twirled in the air twice before releasing her attack to Rowlet's attack.

The Psywave and Leafage collided and created a white smoke cloud but through the smoke cloud two sharp leaves shot through, crashing into Misdreavus, she rolled on the floor after the impact.

Misdreavus lay on the ground with swirls replacing her eyes. "Yes I did it!" Hau cheered and he started to jump around and do a weird dance, a dance which made both Moon and Lillie slightly cringe.

Eclipse picked up Misdreavus with both her hands. "Perhaps you shall have better luck next time, sleep well." She returned Misdreavus to her Pokéball. She watched Hau's celebration. "I think that I am missing something? I do not understand your elation to the current events."

"Oh I'm just happy, 'cause it's my first win as a Trainer… You see I lost to Sun when he first got here, so Rowlet and I have been training since then! And we just got stronger and stronger!"

"I see, that is ample reason to celebrate…"

"Just don't dance like that when you beat someone." Moon said.

"What's wrong with my dancing?" Hau said, giving a slight glare at Moon.

"That was an excellent display you two." They all saw a person, around their ages walking to them. He had a similar skin colour to both Moon and Hau. He had blue eyes along with short pink hair and had a Trail Captain pendant that acted as a hair band. He was wearing a white shirt with a brown sleeveless sweater with brown diamond patterned design. He wore short white pants with white shoes along with blue socks.

"Oh great! It's you…" Moon groaned. "Mr. Perfect himself."

"Ignore her…" Sun said. "So, what's your name?"

"I am Captain Ilima."

"So you're a Trail Captain?" Sun asked.

"Precisely, I observed both your and Moon's battle yesterday. The two of you looked so very delightful that I had no choice but to summon the two of you to the school. So are all of you doing the Island Challenge?"

"Well, all of us except Miss Snowflake and Dark and Brooding over there." Moon answered, referring to both Lillie and Eclipse respectively.

"Hey!" Lillie cried, taking offence to Moon's insult, while it just seemed to just fly over Eclipse's head.

"Excuse me." Eclipse said. "But I am also a part of the Island Challenge too." She dug into her purple backpack and took out her Island Challenge amulet.

"I see! Then welcome. I sure was lucky to see four trail goers battle each other. I look forward to seeing the brilliance of your moves in my trial."

"So you guys make your own trials?" Sun asked.

"Indeed!" Ilima replied. "We captains are the ones who conduct the trials you will face on your way to challenging the island kahuna. My trial is held in the Verdant Cavern. The trial of Captail Ilima."

"Ooh… 'The trial of Captain Ilima.'" Moon mockingly mimicked. "Sound incredibly impressive, I hope I can at least narrowly pass the trial of the great Captain Ilima." Moon said with an obvious tone of sarcasm.

"I sense that your praise was ingenuous." Eclipse said.

"Moon! That wasn't very nice!" Lillie exclaimed. She turned to Ilima. "I apologize for her attitude, Captain Ilima."

"It is fine; I'm used to Moon's… intensity. Even so I hope all of you will attempt my trial. And I sincerely look forward to your challenge." Ilima walked down the road towards Hau'oli City.

"Wait!" Lillie exclaimed. "Do you know what happened to Rowlet in that battle?"

"Oh, you mean Overgrow." He answered. "You see Pokémon have different abilities and Rowlet's one is Overgrow, what happens is when Rowlet's energy is low, his Grass-type moves become much stronger."

"Oh so that explains it." Lillie said.

"That sounds pretty neat." Sun added.

Moon continued to glare at Ilima but she had no words for him. "Now unless you need me for anything else, I shall take my leave. I sure hope I will see you when you attempt my trial."

"I don't." Moon jabbed. Ilima sighed before he left and walked to the city.

"Is there anyone that Moon doesn't hate?" Sun asked looking at Hau.

"She's not all bad, once you get to know her. She can be really nice." Hau replied.

"Hey! If you got something to say to me, then say it to my face!" Moon exclaimed.

Sun and Hau both were sweating nervously. "I never said that it would happen now. So where are we going?"

"I was thinking I should show Sun and Eclipse around Hau'oli City a bit." Lillie said.

"Nice idea! You're always on top of things, Lillie!" Hau complimented. "Sun just got her to Alola, huh? Then let me tag along, too! I wanna go get something good to eat!"

They heard a growl that sounded like it belonged to a Pokémon, and a ferocious one at. They all shakily turned in the direction of Eclipse and only saw Abra standing close to her. She placed her hands over her stomach. "I'm hungry…" Eclipse bluntly said with her usual blank expression, but she couldn't hide her embarrassment because there were pink ovals on her cheeks.

Hau ran over to the starving Eclipse and grabbed her hands. "You're hungry? I know the best place to get some good eats! Come on!" he dragged Eclipse to the Beachfront while Eclipse's Abra disappeared because Hau got too close.

"Oh, Hau… I guess we should go catch up with them before they get too far, Sun. Hau'oli City is the biggest city in all Alola after all." Lillie said.

"Yeah, probably…" he looked to Moon. "You coming, Moon?"

"Whatever, it's not like I have anything better to do…"

The trio walked through the road and got to the Beachfront. As the three got there, they saw Hau and Eclipse on the beach.

"Beach time! Yeaaahhh!" Hau yelled as he ran along the beach without his sandals. They all saw Eclipse digging in the sand with a red shovel.

"Well at least those two are having fun." Sun said.

Though Moon thought otherwise, she closely eyed the shovel that Eclipse was using. Eclipse then shoveled a heap of sand and added it to an already large sand clump. "You're kidding me!" she sprinted down to the beach and she stepped in front of the girl after she added a shovel worth of sand to the clump. "Hey!" Moon exclaimed but Eclipse walked around her and dug again.

Sun and Lillie joined her. "Is something wrong?" Sun asked.

"Yeah, she's possessed!" Moon said as Eclipse's eyes were just white circles as her usual red and green irises had disappeared.

"P-possessed…?" Lillie stammered. "B-but by what?"

Moon pointed to the large clump of sand that Eclipse continued to add sand to. "That!"

Sun was confused; he couldn't ponder as to how a large lump of sand could possess someone. "But that's just a sand heap."

Hau ran to them. "Hey guys, you here to enjoy the beach?"

"Not really, but it looks as though Eclipse is having a good time." Moon said.

Hau gasped when he saw the shovel that Eclipse was holding. "Oh no! Don't worry Eclipse, I'll save you!" he took out his Pokéball. "Go Rowlet!"

"Koo!" Rowlet chirped as he flew out of his Pokéball.

"Rowlet use Leafage and get that shovel away from Eclipse!" Rowlet hovered and shot a single bladed leaf at Eclipse's hand which knocked the shovel away from it. When the shovel fell on the ground, Eclipse's eyes returned to their normal dual colours.

Eclipse turned to Sun, Lillie, Moon and Hau. "Oh Alola everyone… Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Are you okay?" Hau asked.

"I am fine… though I have this strange urge to dig sand and add it to that exact sand heap." She said pointing to said sand heap.

The sand heap grew into a large mound of whitish sand with gray dots. There was a large tunnel in the center that acted as a mouth. There were small pebbles for eyes; there were smaller mounds of sand on its sides that were reminiscent of stubby arms.

"What Pokémon is that!?" Sun asked slightly stepping back. His bag shuffled and the Rotom Pokédex shot out and showed is signature grin as it hovered in front of everyone.

"Kzzt Z-zomeone zzaid the magic wordz!" he said. "Oh you must mean that Pokémon!" he turned its back to the large sand Pokémon and it appeared on screen.

'Sandygast the Sand Heap Pokémon. It takes control of anyone who puts a hand in its mouth. And so it adds to the accumulation of its sand-mound body.'

"Bzzt zzounds scary!" Rotom said floating away towards Sun to get away from the living sand heap.

"Now I remember, I did curiously put my hand through the large mouth. I wasn't aware that it was dangerous." Eclipse said.

"But you're okay right?" Hau asked.

"I believe so."

Hau glared to the Sandygast. "Hey, you did weird things to Eclipse! That wasn't nice!" he exclaimed. "Okay Rowlet, use Leafage!" before Rowlet could fire leaves from his wings the Sandygast made cyclones of sand try to engulf Rowlet.

"Oh no, that's Sand Tomb!" Moon exclaimed.

"Rowlet, dodge all of them!" but Rowlet didn't need to as he just hovered above them.

"Oh I see, because Rowlet is also a Flying type, ground type moves won't work against him." Lillie said.

"Oh right. Haha, I knew that!" Hau lied and this made a large drop of sweat fall on the side of Moon's face. "Rowlet, use Leafage!" Rowlet flapped his wings before shooting four green glowing leaves to Sandygast. As soon as they hit, it then sunk into the ground and retreated while taking its small shovel with it.

"Well that drove it off." Moon said.

Eclipse was seen to be dusting herself off.

"…And don't come back!" Hau exclaimed.

"Hmm… what is this floating device?" Eclipse asked as she stood in front of the Rotom Pokédex.

"Bzzt! I am the one and only Rotom Pokédex, lady. I am a Pokémon that haz taken refuge inside thizz Pokédex you zzee" He said proudly putting its 'hands' on his 'hips'.

"So are you the only Pokémon capable of speaking to humans an easily understandable way?"

"You bet! Brzzt!" Eclipse left Rotom to walk to Hau.

"Excuse me, Hau. But thank you for freeing me from the Sandygast." Eclipse thanked.

Hau's cheeks turned a shade of crimson and nervously scratched his cheek. "Ah it was nothing… Hey you still hungry, you should come with me. I know the perfect food to fix that."

As he and Eclipse walked to leave the Beachfront. Moon leaned close to Hau. "I saw that. The rosy cheeks, how you were quick to jump to her rescue. You like her don't you?"

Hau became flustered and he quickly grabbed Eclipse by her wrist. "L-lets go Eclipse!"

"Sure…" she replied as they both headed to the shopping district. "Hau, are ill? Your face is redder than usual…"

Moon was chuckling to herself. "Oh this is too much."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Sun asked.

"Yes, Hau seemed a little more nervous than usual." Lillie noted.

"Maybe when you're older…" Moon answered.

"But aren't we the same age?" Sun questioned.

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After their short walk from the Beachfront; Sun, Lillie and Moon arrived at the Shopping District. They saw that Hau and Eclipse didn't get very far. "He-e-ey! Guys! I thought I recognized the sound of those feet! So what do you think? Hau'oli is something, eh? Alola's gotta be the best place ever to live!"

"You bet!" Sun said. "This place looks awesome."

"Oh yeah! Hey, Sun come in here with me. I've got a good idea of something you could do!" Hau took Sun into the Tourist Bureau, leaving the three girls outside to wait for them.

"So are we just going to wait for them?" Moon asked.

"Well I did agree to show Sun around Hau'oli City, it would be rude to just leave now."

"Right… but that does nothing to alleviate my boredom."

"You could battle against me…" Eclipse offered.

"I'll pass." Suddenly Moon felt a gentle rub against her left leg and she looked down to see a light brown canine Pokémon that looked more like a puppy. It had cream fur on the front of its face and a small patch of dark blue fur on its back. It had large black eyes, three toed paws and a short tail. When Moon saw this she immediately jumped back, and away from the puppy Pokémon. "W-what's a Lillipup d-doing here?"

"Yip-Yip!" the puppy barked and it moved closer to Moon.

"Shoo-shoo, go back to your trainer ya mutt." Moon said waving her hand in a shooing gesture. In response the Pokémon walked closer to Moon and rubbed against her leg again.

"Aww, I think it likes you Moon." Lillie said.

"Well I'm not too comfortable with this. I-I can't be near a Lillipup!"

"Are you afraid of it?"

Moon scoffed at Eclipse's accusation. "N-no of course not! I-I've just had a bad experience with a Lillipup."

"But it's such a cute Pokémon." Lillie cooed as she lifted the Lillipup to her face.

"Yip!" the puppy barked. But it soon jumped from her hands and it ran back to Moon and it looked up at her. It then cutely tilted its head as it wagged its tail.

"Hey, go find your trainer! Shoo." The Lillipup continued to brush up against her leg. She conceded and lifted up the Pokémon. As soon as Lillipup was to her face level, he cutely started to lick her face.

"Perhaps that Lillipup likes you for some reason." Eclipse said.

Moon sighed. "Fine, but we gotta find this little guy's trainer."

"How do you know it's not a wild Pokémon?" Lillie asked.

"Because Lillipup can't be caught on Melemele Island, they can only be found on Akala Island." Moon said. She looked to the Lillipup and her vision flashed to a Lillipup with a dark brown circled colour patch around its left eye and it was happily barking. Moon's usual sassy expression turned to one of sadness and her lips quivered, she quickly handed the Lillipup to Lillie. "Sorry, just hold onto it, I can't I just can't right now…"

Lillie gave a concerned look to Moon and she saw her cover her face with her palm and turned away. She swore she could hear very light sobbing coming from her.

…

Meanwhile inside the Tourist Bureau Sun and Hau walked to the counter. "Hey, miss. Is it true that you can get some kinda special gift if you have a Rotom Dex?"

"Why yes." the woman replied.

"Awesome!"

"So what do I get?" Sun asked as Rotom hovered next to him

The woman had a screwdriver in her left hand. "If I can take a look at your Rotom Dex for a second."

"W-wait, I just realizzzed this isn't covered by my warranty!" Rotom exclaimed as Sun quickly grabbed him and handed the Rotom to the lady.

"If you can wait just a second." She quickly screwed the back end cap off Rotom and she quickly soldered a brand new chip into Rotom's board, much to the discomfort of the Pokémon. Once that was complete, she screwed his back cover on and there was a loading bar on Rotom's display. "There, I've added a brand new function to the Rotom Dex. You can now take pictures with it, and they will be saved in his memory."

"But couldn't he already do that?" Sun asked.

"Yes, but he would have nowhere to save them, and I made it easier for Rotom to take the pictures."

Once the loading bar filled Rotom was back online and he angrily turned back to the woman. "Hey that hurt! What'zz your problem lady!?"

"Easy there Rotom, she was just trying to help." Sun said, trying to calm the Pokémon.

"Bzzt! Well next time, give me a warning! Ooh I can take pictures now? Niczze!" Rotom quickly tested it by quickly shooting a picture of Hau. The picture was seen on the display and it was on Hau with his eyes closed. "Yep, that'zz a keeper!"

"Ahahaha! What was that for, Rotom? Go and put that little trickster back in your bag, Sun."

"Wha… no! I w-want to be free!" Rotom exclaimed.

"Let's meet with the others."

"Yeah, my stomach is starting to grumble!"

…

Sun, Hau and Rotom returned and Hau got an excited look on his face when he saw Lillie holding Lillipup. "Aww, you caught your own Pokémon!"

"O-oh no… he isn't mine. Actually we don't know who he belongs to, but he's taken a liking to Moon."

"Really?" Hau said. "That's great, it's so cute too!" Hau swooned and the Lillipup happily yipped in response.

"So you caught this Pokémon, huh Moon." Sun said but he noticed that she was covering her face, and she looked under-the-weather. "Hey Moon, you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be!?" she yelled. She calmed down and saw the Lillipup sadly droop its ears. "S-sorry… I'm not feeling well. I-I think I'm fine to carry him now."

Lillipup started to pant happily and Lillie gave him back to her. "Here you go."

"H-hey there little guy!"

"Yip! Yip!" he licked her face again.

Rotom hovered in front of Lillipup. "Hello little guy! You mind is I zz-scan you?" he asked. Lillipup yipped with a smile on his face. Rotom turned around and scanned the Pokémon.

'Lillipup the Puppy Pokémon. The long fur surrounding its face functions as radar, enabling it to probe the condition of its battle opponents.'

Moon sighed. "So where to next?"

"W-well I was thinking of stopping by the apparel shop to do some shopping of my own." Lillie said.

"Oh well I can come with you." Sun offered.

"O-oh, really? Thank you."

"You guys can do that, I know the perfect place to eat. C'mon Eclipse!"

"Yes sure." Hau once again drag Eclipse through Hau'oli City.

"Man he's got so much energy." Sun commented. He looked to Moon who was staring to the floor while she held Lillipup. "Moon you want to come with?"

"I'll be fine, Outsider. You two go and do your thing."

"W-well okay, but if you need us, you know where to find us."

"Bzzt wait, we're going zzhopping! That'zzz boring!" Rotom said, following Lillie and Sun.

Sun and Lillie left Moon alone with Lillipup. "Looks like it's just me and you." Lillipup barked and happily wagged his tail while Moon put him down. "Let's find your trainer."

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After a short walk, Moon ended up at the Pokémon centre in the Shopping District, she walked right up to the counter. "Excuse me, Nurse Joy. I need some help."

"Oh sure, how can I help?" Nurse Joy sweetly asked.

She lifted Lillipup up to the counter. "This Pokémon won't stop following me, and I suspect he has a trainer. So I need to find him or her."

Joy looked to be thinking. "Well I do remember a trainer who came in a week ago about a missing Lillipup."

"A week? And they never came back!?"

"Sorry, but that is all I know. Though he did tell me to contact him if something came up, let me try and get a hold of him."

Moon moved to the café area and sat down. "Alright, what 'cha got to drink?"

The old man behind the counter slightly chuckled. "Well Miss, we've got Lemonade, Moomoo Milk, and Roserade Tea."

"Aw, that's it?" Moon blew a strand of her dark hair away from her face. "I guess I'll have some Moomoo Milk."

The tanned old man made Moon a hot cup of Moomoo Milk and presented it to her. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Moon was about to drink from it but she heard a whine and saw that Lillipup jumped onto the counter and he was looking at the cup Moon was holding. His eyes were pleading to her, or he was just using Baby-Doll Eyes as Kukui would put it. Either way when Moon saw this, she found it very difficult to resist the request of the Puppy Pokémon.

Moon then flashed back to when she gave a large bowl of water to a Lillipup with a brown coloured oval over its left eye The Lillipup happily drank it and she rubbed his head while he drank. The flashback quickly ended and Moon was almost brought to tears as they stood over her bottom eyelids.

"J-just take it!" she said quickly wiping the tears before anyone could see them. Lillipup complied and started licking from the cup, enjoying the hot Moomoo Milk.

"That Lillipup is lucky to have found someone like you." The old man said.

"Wait, you know Lillipup?"

The old man rubbed Lillipup and the puppy allowed him. "Yes, he's been waiting for his trainer for about a week, he's been roaming around Hau'oli City ever since his trainer lost him."

"How sad…"

"Yes, but I think Lillipup has a good feeling about you. This is the first time he's followed anyone other than his trainer for this long."

"B-but I haven't even seen this Pokémon before. And yet he's drawn to me like a magnet. Plus, I-I just can't keep him. I don't want to explain why but I just can't! So I'm going to get him back to his trainer."

The old man nodded. "Well in any case would you like another cup of Moomoo Milk for your new friend? It's on the house."

"No thanks, I really have to find that trainer."

As Moon was preparing to leave, she saw Sun, Lillie and Rotom walking though into the Pokémon Centre. Sun was carrying a bag in his hand.

"I still can't believe we were the 99, 999th and 100, 000th customers, that was pretty crazy." Sun said.

"At least we both got a discount, though I still don't know why you didn't buy anything Sun?"

"I don't know… I just think the clothes I've got are fine."

"Even though they are stripezz?" Rotom mockingly asked and Sun glared at his mechanical companion.

"Tell me Sun, do you pick out all your own clothes?"

"Well my mom does it mostly. I was never a fan of clothes shopping."

"Oh, then your mother must have a great sense of style. I love the way that you dress."

"T-thanks Lillie." Sun said. "Though, I'm not sure if you're complimenting me or my mom." He said while smiling.

"N-no Sun! It's not like that!" she stuttered with small blushes on her pale cheeks.

"Relax I was just kidding."

"Well I…I only said that because I've always worn the clothes that my mother wanted me to wear: I don't really know what kind of thing would suit me…"

"W-well I think what you're wearing suits you." Sun said with a slight blush.

Lillie let out a single laugh. "Ha, are you complimenting me or my mother?"

Sun chuckled and winked at her. "There, now you're catching on!"

"Hey…" Moon walked to them with the happily panting Lillipup in tow. "So you two finished?"

"Yep, anything on the Lillipup's trainer?" Sun asked.

"Nope, so it looks like I'm stuck babysitting this little guy."

The doors opened and Hau ran in. "Hey guys! Eclipse and I are about to have some good eats, so we wanted you guys to come with."

"Oh yeah I forgot to mention, there is only one food Hau will ever get excited about." Moon said.

"Don't spoil it for them!"

"Wait a minute, where's your clueless girlfriend?" Moon asked.

Hau blushed and glared at Moon. "She's not my girlfriend! And Eclipse is waiting outside."

"By herself? Were you not there for the Sandygast incident?"

"She'll be fine…" Hau assured.

"In any case lets go, I mean we shouldn't keep her waiting." Sun said.

Before they left Moon ran to the counter of the Pokémon Centre. "Hey if that Trainer happens to come here, tell him I'm at the Malasada shop okay."

"Alright, I'll pass the message on to him."

"Okay, now that, that is sorted, let's move." Moon said.

"Wait, so Hau… you really like Eclipse? That's so sweet." Lillie said.

"I DON'T LIKE HER!" Hau said while his whole face turned red.

"Your Tamato Berry face says otherwise." Moon said with a wide smirk.

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"Well here we are!" Hau announced to Sun, Lillie and Moon. "If you're looking for good eats, you've found 'em!" he exclaimed.

"Alola everyone…" Eclipse greeted while waving her arms in front of her face.

"You don't have to say that every time we meet, just once a day is fine." Sun said.

"Everyone, this is the Malasada Shop." Hau said introducing a single story building that had the head of a Slurpuff as its symbol. Eclipse was closely monitoring that sign and stuck her tongue out in the same manner as the Slurpuff and she somehow changed the shape of her eyes to match the Slurpuff.

Hau found this amusing while Sun and Lillie looked slightly worried for the girl.

After entering the shop they saw two counters. Hau made a beeline for the one on the right. Table for five please!"

"So what are Malasadas anyway?" Sun asked.

"A famous Alolan confectionery treat, it's basically fried dough filled with whatever you want, topped with powdered sugar." After Moon described malasadas Eclipse's stomach growled again and it scared all the patrons in the shop/restaurant as her growling stomach rivaled the roar of a Salamence.

"My apologies… I am hungry."

…

They sat at a table and they each had a malasada pastry in front of them. All of them had Sweet Malasada in front of them and Eclipse had a Sweet Malasada in front of her as well but it was a Big Malasada, the kind that they would give to large Pokémon. Litten and Rowlet were outside their Pokéballs.

"Who paid for that?" Moon asked.

"I did!" Hau exclaimed.

"Are you sure you can finish that?" Lillie asked.

Eclipse looked down at it. "Yes." She said giving a simple nod. She bit into it and she was chewing it and the rest of the group were watching her with anticipation. Her eyelids slightly widened before she swallowed her piece. "It is delicious…" she said with a slightly raised voice, though her face still showed little emotion. "This is the best piece of food I have ever tasted in my entire life!"

"Really, but you don't look that happy." Sun mentioned.

"What are you talking about? This is my happy face." Sun, Moon, Hau and Lillie's eyes were nothing but black dots.

"You know what…" Moon started. "I'm not surprised."

Litten jumped on the table and started to nibble on half of Sun's malasada. While Hau was sharing some with Rowlet. "Not only is Malasada sooo good. They also make your Pokémon like you. And affectionate Pokémon are much batter in battle. That's what Tutu told me."

Lillipup jumped on the table and he yipped to Moon and she tore off a piece of her Malasada and she tossed it to Lillipup who flipped in the air and swallowed the piece. He barked afterwards.

"Cool Trick!" Hau exclaimed.

"I guess…" Moon said. "But I didn't train him. Popplio would be proud or maybe jealous…"

Suddenly Eclipse's Misdreavus suddenly rose through the table with half her body only exposing her head. She scared everyone at the table save for Eclipse. The Pokémon chuckled to herself before she starting nibbling at Eclipse's Malasada.

"My apologies… Misdreavus likes to sneak out of her Pokéball on occasion." Eclipse said.

"Well aren't you a little prankster." Hau sang as he smiled at the snickering Ghost-type.

The door of the shop/restaurant opened, walking in was a person that looked like a trainer. He was dressed in a red, top buttoned shirt that was horizontally lined with two different shades of red. He wore grey coloured jeans while his feet were covered by blue sneakers. He was fair skinned and had reddish-brown eyes, he wore a black baseball-like cap that he wore backwards, through that cap his messy brown hair could be seen. He was walking towards the quintet.

Lillipup huddled closer to Moon as the mysterious presence approached them. "It's okay little guy." She whispered in a calming voice.

As soon as he stopped by their table, Lillie spoke up. "Um, can we help you?"

"Yea'." The boy replied in a bratty-like voice. "I'm looking for a Pokémon. My Lillipup, and I was told that I should come here to find it."

"O-oh." Lillie gasped. "So this Lillipup is yours?"

"Yes and I would very much like it back. It ran away a week ago and I've been looking all over for it." Moon had her right hand clenched under the desk. It really sounded as if he never cared for Lillipup, well not as much as he should have. As the boy was talking, Lillipup was edging even closer to Moon.

"He…" Moon said standing up. Lillipup stood on the chair that Moon previously sat on.

"What?" the boy confusedly asked.

"Lillipup is a 'he' not an 'it'!" she seethed, trying her best to hold in her anger at the boy. "You would know this if you really got to know him."

"What does it matter, I caught him, so he belongs to me. So when are you going to return him to me?"

Moon threw a sharp glare at the trainer and there was something very familiar about him, the smug attitude, the little concern for his Pokémon. Yes, he was one of those people, but she needed to confirm it. "You're not from Alola are you?"

"What does that matter?" the boy asked shrugging his shoulders. "Look, are you going to give me my Pokémon already?"

"I thought so, you're an Outsider!" she seethed.

There was that word, the word that Moon amply gave to Sun when they first met, though this time it held more venom in its use. Sum could see the growing tension and he tried to quell it. "Hey Moon, maybe you should calm-"

"Stay out of this Sun!" she exclaimed sending a glare to him, she gave him a look that made him stay back, and even though he did he notice that she used his real name this time. "You only want Lillypup back so you can make him battle for you without caring for his feelings!"

"Why do you care so much? He isn't even yours."

"Lillipup was missing for a week, you didn't even come back to look for him. If I were Lillipup's partner, then I would have been looking for him every day 'cause I'd be worried about him. But you don't even care!"

"Why do you have to make a scene, he's just a Pokémon. I don't see why you should be getting worked up over it." He said, still not getting the point that Moon was trying to make.

"You don't love Lillipup at all. You'll only keep him around if he's a good Pokémon in battle."

"Hey if he's not good enough for my team when I attempt the Johto League, then I'll just find another normal type." Moon gasped at this trainer, this was the type of people she hated. Selfish trainers that only care about themselves, and Pokémon to them were nothing but tools that were expendable. He took out his Pokéball and Lillipup whimpered as soon as he did. "Alright, let's go already." But before he could use it, Moon knocked it out of his hand and it bounced off the tiled floor. "Hey! What did you do that for!?" Moon's eyes were shut and her right fist was clenched. "I don't know what your problem is, but I'm taking back my Pokémon." He tried getting close to Lillipup but Moon firmly grabbed onto his left arm and she pulled him back.

He could see Moon's eyes were filled with rage and sheer anger. "NO YOU'RE NOT!" Needing an outlet for all this rage that this trainer created, she decided to let it out on this trainer's face by driving her fist into his nose.

He screamed and sprawled to the floor and he covered his nose. "OWW! ARE YOU CRAZY!? I THINK I'M BLEEDING!"

Moon then loosened her fist and she looked at the trainer, and to her group which all had shocked looks on their faces, except for Eclipse. Lillie had her hands over her mouth and Sun's jaw was slightly open but he calmed down as she noticed that Moon was starting to tremble. "Moon…"

Tears ejected from her eyes as she took off from the Malasada shop. Immediately when Moon started running, Lillipup barked and followed her out trying to keep up with the girl.

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On the Marina of Hau'oli City, Moon sat down on the edge, swinging her legs over the edge and looking at her reflection in the water. She had a very glum expression and she lifted her legs to her chest and started to hug them.

"A penny for your thoughts?" She heard, she turned her head back to see Ilima looking at her.

"What do you want?" she angrily said.

"Something is wrong isn't it? Sitting here by yourself while looking at the water, isn't parallel to the Moon I know."

"What do you want Ilima?"

"Well I was just taking a walk. Hoping I would run into one of you…" he looked to Moon slightly trembling figure. "…Though that can wait. I know that you aren't very fond of me, but regardless, we've known each other for a while, and I want to help you."

"Why would you help me? Shouldn't you be off being the Teacher's pet at the Trainer's school?" Moon said trying to mask her sob-like voice.

"Because I see you as my friend, whether or not you share the same sentiment, I still want to help you."

"I punched a guy…" she bluntly said.

Ilima sighed and he sat next to her. "Moon, you know that resorting to violence is never the answer…"

"Aaaand here we go!" Moon angrily exclaimed. "Just admit it; you're enjoying this aren't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"That you're constantly above me! You call yourself 'Captain Ilima' as if it's really that important! But even then that's not the problem, you always think you're above me, like you're better than me or something! Ilima is right and I'm always wrong, that's always how it's been!"

"Well I am sorry you think that way, but honestly Moon. I don't think of you as lower than me, I just think of you as… well just Moon and there is nothing wrong with that. Now why don't you tell me what is bothering you."

"Some trainer was treating his Pokémon like garbage, so I taught the Outsider a lesson."

"Moon… please tell me you didn't punch Sun."

"What!? No, I tolerate him, but even he isn't deserving of a punch to the face. That guy however… he didn't care about his Pokémon at all. Just that it battled for him! I hate people like that. So I punched him in the face, and… I guess I didn't want the others to think of me as some brute… so I ran here."

"Moon, you need to control yourself, you could have seriously hurt someone." Ilima scolded.

"Whatever, he had it coming… I just hope Lillipup will be alright…"

They suddenly heard barking and rushing over to them was Lillipup. "Lillipup?" Moon stood up and the puppy leaped onto her and started to lick her face. "Alright, I get it… you were worried… I'm fine…" she said giggling.

Ilima smiled. "It seems Lillipup likes you a lot."

"We like it too!" they both heard. Standing behind them were young men that were dressed in punk attire that consisted of a black tank top with a white cross going across the shirt, they both wore dark cargo pants with black socks and white sneakers. They had white beanies with black dots that resembled eyes, a dark bandanna covered the bottom half of their face. They both had blue died hair with blue eyes, they also had dark armbands over their wrists. Finally they wore a long chain necklace that had a symbol that looked like an 'S' but also a skull if it was rotated.

"Yeah… so why don't you give it to us little girl!" the second punk person said. Strangely enough they were moving their hands forward in a rough, yet humorous way every time they talked.

"Ugh… not you guys again." Moon said with clear disgust. "Jeez I swear you Team Skull losers are everywhere."

Both men's eyes shrank in surprise and they took a funny stance as they both looked at Moon with their arms hung down. "L-losers? W-we're not losers! We're Team Skull, known for stealing Pokémon and being just plain bad!"

"Yeah, so not losers!" the second grunt replied.

"I could lose brain cells listening to you idiots." Moon jabbed.

"Hey man, I think we should teach this girl a lesson!" one of the grunts said to his associate.

"Of course, no one makes fun of Team Skull and gets away with it!" they both took a solid stance with their arms and legs spread apart and their arms forming an unfinished circle.

"Hold on." Ilima said. "I won't let you harm her or that Pokémon." The boy had a confident look on his face. "You are about to face Captain Ilima, are you ready?"

"Is this fool serious?"

"Yo, you don't wanna mess with us cause."

Both grunts glared at both Moon and Ilima. "We're Team Skull and we got a bone to pick with you!" they both tossed out their Nest Balls and coming out was a blue Pokémon that resembled a bat with no eyes, short ears and it had two short tails from its backside, there were no legs to be seen.

The other Pokémon that was seen was a yellow and brown Pokémon that stood on two legs and it looked to have an elephant trunk for a nose.

Lillipup growled and jumped off Moon and landed in front of her. "W-wait Lillipup, you want to fight them?"

"Yip!" he barked.

"Well b-but…"

"He's fighting for you." Ilima said. "Lillipup must see something special in you Moon, so are you going to pass up this chance to have Lillipup battle with you?"

"As if!"

"Good answer." Ilima took out his Pokéball and coming out was a grey Pokémon that stood on two legs and it had brown rings around his eyes, ankles and wrists. It looked like it had an artist-like hat that was on top of his head. His brown ears stuck out and so did his tongue. Finally he had a long tail that looked to have a green paintbrush-like tip and the Pokémon held it like a paint brush. "Let's make this quick."

"Shoot!" Moon exclaimed. "I don't know any of Lillipup's moves." So in order to assist Moon, Lillipup made a red aura surround him. "L-Lillipup what are you doing?"

"That is Work Up. Lillipup must be trying to showcase his moves to you." Ilima said.

"Let's take them down, we have some Pokémon to steal! Zubat use Bite!"

"Drowzee use Pound!"

Ilima looked to Moon. "Lets us get rid of these Pokémon thieves. Smeargle, use Quick Attack!" Smeargle shot off while leaving a white light streak behind him, he crashed into the Drowzee before it could attack.

"Lillipup, mind showing me what else you can do?" she asked in a calmer tone than usual. Lillipup happily nodded. He charged into the Zubat, head first before it could bite him, sending it sliding across the wooden floor of the marina. "So that was Tackle!"

"Zubat, use Wing Attack!" Zubat flew to Lillipup his wing was shining bright blue. Lillipup watched him come closer and he grabbed the wing with his fangs, the Zubat screamed before he was tossed into the air.

Ilima looked up into to the Zubat and had an idea. "Smeargle use Ember!" Smeargle's tail tip turned red and he shot a small ember that crashed into the floating Zubat and it then fell to the ground covered in soot.

"C'mon Zubat, get up!" the Grunt exclaimed.

Lillipup looked to Moon and happily barked. "That was Bite just now, wasn't it?" she looked to the second Team Skull Grunt and shot him a confident smirk. "Lillipup use Bite!" Lillipup growled and shot towards the Drowzee. He bit down on the Drowzee's arm and the Pokémon cried out in pain.

Ilima pointed towards Drowzee. "Smeargle, use Water Gun!" Smeargle's tail tip turned blue and he shot a blast of water from it and it crashed into the Pokémon as Lillipup jumped off.

"What's with you brats!? Drowzee use Confusion!" Drowzee's eyes shone pink and he telekinetically lifted Lillipup while hurting him as well.

"Lillipup! Put him down!"

"Haha, yeah take this you brat!"

Ilima looked confident as he gazed to the grunt. "I really don't like you. Only thieves steal people's Pokémon. I won't stand for it. Smeargle, use Leafage!" Smeargle's tail turned forest green and he shot three green glowing sharp leaves to Drowzee, breaking its concentration.

Lillipup landed on his paws and barked happily to Moon. "I hear you, Lillipup finish him with Tackle!"

Lillipup charged to Drowzee's stomach and sent him crashing into the Ferry Terminal.

The grunts returned their Pokémon and they had shocked expressions as their eyes were blue dots. "Y-yo these kids are s-serious!"

"N-no kiddin, lets split man!" both Grunts cowardly ran away.

Moon chuckled. "Heh, these people never learn."

Ilima smiled and faced Moon. "I must admit, I've been wondering about both you and Sun since I saw you at the Trainers' School… You both seemed to defeat our teacher and principal so effortlessly!"

"Heh, if you saw our battle, you wouldn't say that, The Outsider took the lead after I was messing up." Moon blushed right after she said this. "Don't you ever tell him I said that!"

Ilima smiled. "Your secret is safe with me. As for my Trial I hope that you do attempt it, you do know where to find the Verdant Cavern, right?"

Moon nodded. "I'm going to head there soon; I'm hoping I don't run into the others after what happened earlier."

"Moon!" she heard, realizing it was Sun's voice.

"Oh great." She groaned while rolling her eyes.

"So this is where you ran off to." Lillie said as Sun, Hau and Eclipse arrived with her.

"We tried following Lillipup, but he ran off so quickly." Hau said.

"Why did you run off like that?" Sun asked.

Moon bashfully looked back. "Y-you're kidding me right, I just punched that trainer."

"So?" Sun and Hau questioned.

"I-I mean it didn't look pleasant at all… but it's not like you didn't have your reasons…" Lillie said. "B-but I still don't condone violence!"

Eclipse still had a blank face and she spoke. "I still think that he… what it is called…? 'had it coming.'"

"T-thanks… I guess. No need to get sentimental on me!" she said while turning around as blushes grew on her cheeks.

Ilima then talked to them. "Well now since you're all here, I do hope that you attempt my trial-the trial of Ilima! You can get there from Route 2…" He starts to walk away. "I bid you all Alola!"

"Alola!" Eclipse and Hau greeted.

Eclipse then walked to Moon. "Also I have one more thing…" she took out a Pokéball. "This is Lillipup's Pokéball."

Sun, Hau and Lillie comically gasped.

"Y-you stole that trainer's Pokéball!?" Lillie exclaimed.

"Yes… it felt right at the time… why are you all looking at me like that?"

Sun gave a long sigh as Moon took the Pokéball. "Well I am glad you're alright."

"I told you not to get sentimental on me, Outsider! But… thanks…" she thanked with red cheeks as she rubbed her arms.

She looked at Lillipup's Pokéball, seeing her own reflection in it. "So what are you going to do with it?" Lillie asked. Moon noticed Lillipup looking at her expectantly while sitting and wagging his tail.

"I know exactly what to do with it." Moon casually dropped it to the wooden ground and she drove her right foot into it and it broke into pieces. Lillipup gave a surprised yelp while Sun, Lillie and Hau gasped.

"B-but I thought you were going to keep him." Hau said.

"No Hau, Lillipup was caught by a jerky trainer and I wanted to free him from that." She bent down to Lillipup's level. "You hear that, you're free." She said in a soft tone. "You can do whatever you want, go wherever you want. You don't need me anymore." Lillipup quickly jumped into Moon's arms. "B-but I don't understand…"

"Don't you see?" Sun said. "Lillipup wants to be with you."

"R-really are you sure?" She looked down to Lillipup and she was licked in the face.

Sun walked close to her. "Hey, since Lillipup wants to be your partner, I thought that you might want this." Sun took out a Luxury Ball from his bag.

Moon gasped. "A Luxury Ball… but where did you get it?"

"Well since I was the 100,000th customer of the Apparel Shop, they gave me the Luxury Ball. But I think you could put it to better use."

Moon slowly took the Luxury Ball. "T-thankyousunthismeansalot." She mumbled under her breath.

"Wait did you say something?"

"I do." Eclipse said. "I speak mumble…" they looked to her, giving Eclipse a curious look. "I was joking…"

"But you're… never mind." Sun said.

"She wanted to tell you…" Moon quickly covered her mouth. "Mhmph…"

Moon nervously laughed. "Ahaha, it was nothing!" she coughed and held the Luxury Ball. "You guys mind I have some private time with Lillipup?"

"Of course." Sun replied. The four left Moon alone with the panting Lillipup

Moon sighed as she looked at the eager Lillipup. "Lillipup… listen… I-I don't know how to say this but… I can't do it! The last time I had a Lillipup by my side, it ended badly. It's nothing against you but… I just hope you can understand." Lillipup's ears fell and it looked as if he understood her, never-the-less he brushed up against her. It seemed as if Lillipup really wanted to be with her for some reason, Moon didn't want to deny his request. "Look… are you sure this is what you want?" Lillipup barked in response. "Okay… but I'm doing this for you." Moon gently pressed the button of the Luxury Ball on Lillipup's head and he was covered by a blue light and he was sucked into the open Pokéball before it closed. The ball shook quickly in her hand and the lid locked into place. Moon smiled as she looked at the Luxury Ball. "Welcome to the team."

"Achoo!" she heard a sneeze coming from behind the Ferry Terminal and she smirked after she heard Eclipse mouthing a soft: "Sorry."

"Alright you can come out!" her companions walked out from behind the Ferry Terminal and they looked to her.

Lillie started to stutter. "I s-swear we didn't hear what you said, we just wanted to see what you were going to-"

"Chill princess." Moon said. "I ain't mad. Besides… I guess I'm sort of glad you guys are here right now."

"Yeah! We're all happy!" Hau exclaimed.

Suddenly Rotom shot out of Sun's bag. "I think this callz for a celebratory picture bzzzt!"

"A picture?" Eclipse asked.

"That'zz right."

Sun smiled. "Yeah… that's a great idea."

"That sounds delightful." Lillie said.

"Oh yeah!" Hau exclaimed.

They all looked to Eclipse for her decision. "Eh…" she replied shrugging her shoulders.

"I am taking bzzt that azz a yezzz!" Rotom said.

"So, how 'bout it Moon?" Sun asked.

"F-fine let's do it."

"Pew…" they heard. Nebby was hovering above the Marina and it was happily waving it's gas arms.

"Nebby! You always do this." Lillie cried. "What if someone sees you."

"I think Nebby wantzz to be in it too!" Rotom said.

"Hey that's an awesome idea. Let's have all our Pokémon be part of it!" Hau said.

Moon smiled. "Sure why not!"

Soon all four trainers released their Pokémon from their Pokéballs.

They stood on the Marina with their backs facing the water. Rotom was hovering a distance away so that he could fit everyone in the frame.

From the left of the picture was Hau and he smiled while had his eyes closed, he also made a peace sign with his right hand, Rowlet was resting on his left shoulder.

Next to him was Moon and she had a confident stance, a slight smirk was expressed along her face. Popplio was hanging from her head with flippers and her head was above Moon's head. Pikipek was hovering over Moon's head, while Lillipup was held in Moon's arms.

In the centre was Sun and he had a genuine smile on his face, Litten was on his shoulder and he had Sun's cap over his head backwards. The fire cat was smiling and the top part of his eyes were slightly covered by the cap. Grubbin was on Sun's shoulder.

Next to him was Lillie and she smiled as well and she was slightly blushing from the occasion. She held her bag in front of her and Nebby was hovering next to her face.

And finally on the far right was Eclipse, she had her regular, neutral expression and she had her hands up and slightly away from her face, as if she was doing the Alola greeting. Abra was hiding behind her as he hung onto her shoulder, so his head could still be seen, and Misdreavus was hovering above her with her mischievous smirk.

Rotom finally fit them in the frame. "Perfect! Everyone zzz-say 'Alola'!"

"ALOLA!" the five exclaimed before Rotom took the picture. After all of them saw it, they couldn't argue… It was the perfect picture.

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Later, Moon was sitting by the Marina as a half moon was in the sky. She had Lillipup in her arms as her legs were hanging off the edge of the Marina.

"Hey Lillipup, about me punching your old trainer… well I want you to know that I'm not like that, I don't want you to think of me as this violent person. He just made me so mad and I couldn't control myself, so I'm sorry." Lillipup looked at her and he yawned and cuddled closer to her. "To be honest, I was nervous about taking care of you, but now I know that it was meant to be." She started to slowly stroke him.

"Hey Moon." She flinched and looked at Sun, her cheeks slightly heated.

"H-how much of that did you hear?"

"Depends, is there a right answer?" Sun asked as he sat next to her.

"Hey, let me ask you something. Do you think I'm violent?"

"Is this about what happened earlier? Look, don't worry about it, we don't think of you any differently." Sun assured.

"Hey, d-don't think I care about what you guys think. I just want to know…" she stuttered.

"Okay, but can I ask you something too?"

"Sure I guess."

"Do you hate me? I mean you do give me a hard time and well… If there is anything I can do to make it up to you then-"

"I don't hate you." She interrupted. "I mean sure you're not from here and I do find you annoying… but don't hate you. You're… tolerable… for now anyways. But as far as Outsiders go, you're the least irritable one I know."

"Well, that must be the nicest thing you've said to me." Sun said.

Moon blushed and looked away, her heart rate was starting to increase but she was hoping that it was just from having Lillipup close to her, even if that excuse wasn't strong. She sure was sticking to it. "Sun… you can swim, right?"

"Yeah I can but why do you- WOAH!" Sun couldn't finish his sentence because he was pushed straight into the water. His arms were flailing as he got back to the surface. "Hey! What was that for!?"

"I just felt like it. But it's pretty funny…" she said chuckling to herself. Lillipup woke up and he walked onto the wooden floor.

Sun gave Moon an annoyed look. "Well can you at least help me out?"

After Lillipup was off her, Moon stretched her arm out and she grabbed Sun's hand before: "WOAH!" Moon was pulled into the water as well and Lillipup was giving out worried barks before she rose to the surface and spit out water like a stone fish at a water fountain.

"Not so nice is it?" Sun asked with a sly grin. Moon splashed him.

"You don't know who you're messing with, Outsider." After she said this, Sun splashed her back. "Oh you're asking for it!"

They both started laughing and playfully splashing each other; it seemed as if they were both having fun. However their fun was short-lived after they heard a camera go off and a flash temporarily shone on them.

"Thizz is going to be a keeper!" Rotom exclaimed as he hovered above the Marina. "Kzzt Especially when you two start dating brzzt."

"Dating…" they both said in unison before they looked to each other. Both of them blushed immediately and they turned away from each other.

"Thatzz right… wait till I show Lillie and Hau…" Rotom quickly started to hover away.

"ROTOM!" Both Moon and Sun exclaimed. They climbed out of the dock and in their dripping wet clothes begin to chase Rotom through Hau'oli City, while Lillipup followed after them, barking all the while.

 

Chapter 5: Ilima's Trial: A Newfound Solidarity

The sun was slowly moving over the horizon, and Moon was seen stretching on the street outside the Pokémon Centre. She was notorious for being an early riser. She had Popplio hopping along her right side while Lillipup was on the left. Pikipek was hovering right above her. "Alright, what do you say we do some early training!" her Pokémon cheered alongside her.

As she was about to leave Hau'oli City, she saw Lillie standing on the edge of a white fence staring at the wide ocean. "What a beautiful view… I wish I could share it with you…" she whispered to herself while a smile was on her face. Her eyes were closed as she felt the light winds pushing against her.

"You got a boyfriend out there somewhere?" Lillie yelped and turned around to see Moon walking to her.

"O-oh… Hello Moon." Lillie shakily greeted. "I-I was just watching the sunrise."

"Yeah, I can see that." Moon started to watch the sunrise with Lillie. "Though it is definitely a nice view, but who is this 'someone' you want to share it with…?"

"O-oh… you're mistaken… I was talking about Nebby… I wish I could watch it with Nebby, but I'm afraid that she will run off and someone will discover her."

"Nebby…? Oh right the purple cloud Pokémon you have. But why keep her hidden…?"

"W-well I-I've only told Sun about this… but Nebby… or Cosmog rather, has a power that some bad people want to exploit, so I have to keep her hidden."

"If you're talking about Team Skull, then you shouldn't worry. They are just a bunch of wanna-be Pokémon thieves that couldn't steal a Metapod if they tried."

"Team Skull?" Lillie asked.

"Oh… well they are basically idiots who try to steal people's Pokémon. But we shouldn't really worry about them, they have the same amount of brain cells as a brick wall if you know what I mean."

Moon's description of Team Skull forced a giggle from Lillie, but she wasn't referring to those bad people. "They sound bad, but I wasn't talking about them."

"Well whoever they are. They are going to have to deal with me!" Moon said in a heroic fashion. "No one will steal anyone's Pokémon on my watch."

"Whoa… thank you Moon. I didn't expect that from you…"

Moon gave a slight sigh. "Look, I may be… y'know mean and stuff… but not when Pokémon are concerned. I mean you seem nice, if not a little timid, so I can gather that you mean no ill-will to Nebby. So that means I can… sort of trust you, same can be said for Sun."

"Uh Moon, if you don't mind me asking… why do you harbour hatred for those outside of Alola?"

"Easy, they don't care for our way of living, not to mention they treat Pokémon as their battling slaves…"

"B-but that can't be it can it? There has to be something else…"

Moon looked down and her fists were clenched before she could open her mouth, Pikipek landed comfortingly on her shoulder. "Sorry Lillie, but… I'm not ready to tell that story... at least not yet."

"O-oh, I see. I understand."

They both watched the sun slowly rising into the sky. Moon let out a brief sigh. "Well, so much for our early morning training, well I should probably wake up the others…"

"W-wait Moon… it was really nice talking to you. You know, one on one and when you're not being so intense."

"It's because of what Sun said…"

"Excuse me?"

"He was so quick to jump to your rescue when I was questioning you."

"Oh... well it's not that... its just t-that you can be a l-little intimidating..." she stuttered. "But Sun seems to have little problems with you."

"He's a nice guy I guess… And he's not at all bad when it comes to battling… even though I beat him…" Moon's voice was lowering to a mutter. "…He's too perfect…"

"What did you say?" Lillie asked.

"N-nothing… I didn't say anything!"

"You should give yourself more credit you know… I mean, you always seem confident and sure of yourself, and you're very nice to all Pokémon."

Moon flashed Lillie a small smile. "Thanks Lil… It was nice talking to you too… and y'know I'm sorry for how I treated you yesterday."

"I appreciate it, but I'm not the only one you have to apologize to."

"Yeah… don't remind me."

Lillie and Moon proceeded to watch the end of the sunrise together in silence until the time came for them to gather their friends.

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Sun was stretching in the Pokémon Centre, he was excited because he was about to start the first trial of his Island Challenge. "That's weird… I would have thought Moon would have been up by now."

"Howzit, Sun?" Hau happily exclaimed. "You and your Pokémon doing all right?"

"Yep, you bet. I'm just excited. I'm going to be doing my first trial today."

"Sweet! You know that Verdant Cavern place, right?" Sun responded with a nod. "I guess it's kinda like, sacred to Tapu Koko."

"Really?"

"Yep, you aren't even allowed to go into it unless you're on your island challenge. Well good luck!"

"Wait… you're not coming with?"

"Well no, I want to be properly pumped before going to the trial, and what better way to pump myself, than to get a treat at the café!"

"Oh… well I guess this means we'll be separated for a while."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we won't see each other again." He then smirked at Sun. "Watch me Sun. I'm going to get a lot stronger, so let's have a battle, the next time we meet. I'll be stronger, for sure!"

"Yeah, but so will I, and I can't wait till we can battle again."

They both shook hands. "Hehe, yeah! Me too!"

"So what about Eclipse, is she going with you?"

Hau nervously scratched the back of his head. "I-I haven't asked her yet. I was hoping we could do the trial together, since she's also on her Island Challenge."

"Oh well I see… well good luck with that. I'm heading out."

"Yeah, Alola Sun!" Hau happily exclaimed with a jubilant wave as Sun left the Pokémon Centre. "Now I should find Eclipse, but where could she be?"

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As soon as Sun left the Pokémon Centre, he saw Lillie standing outside, almost as if she was waiting for him. "Hey Lillie…"

"Hello Sun, I'm glad to see a familiar face. I always get lost so quickly… I can't figure out the roads here… I can't even figure out what clothes suit me…"

"Don't be so hard on yourself Lillie." Sun said in a comforting tone while resting his hand on her shoulder.

Lillie could feel her heartbeat speeding up and her cheeks were turning rosy and she quickly turned away from Sun so he couldn't see her flushed expression. "N-no. I'm fine, really." She assured, she shook off the blush and faced Sun again. "But you… You're moving on to your first trial? You're going to Verdant Cavern, right?"

"Yeah, that's the plan."

"You know, I read something in an old book once. It said that the island challenges were once a journey made to prove yourself and gain the strength to battle against the guardian deities of Alola. Like Tapu Koko... The people in Iki Town said that Tapu Koko loves Pokémon battles, didn't they?"

"I think I remember."

"If we could meet Tapu Koko once more, do you think we would find the answer to why he saved you and Nebby that day, Sun?"

"We could only hope so."

They both walked to the edge of Hau'oli City that led to Route 2. "Well Sun… Good luck on your trial. I will hope that it goes well for you."

"Yeah so do I," Sun started to walk to Route 2. "W-wait… is that Tauros again!?"

Sun and Lillie both saw Kahuna Hala calming down the same Tauros from the day before. "Oh Sun, I've got this onery creature calmed again, for now."

"F-for now?" Lillie stuttered while slightly shaking.

"Want to try giving him a little pat again? That's the only way he'll get used to you."

"Sure, why not." Sun replied. He started patting and gently rubbing the Tauros's head.

"Be careful Sun." Lillie warned, though this wasn't necessary because the Tauros looked like he wanted Sun to continue rubbing him as soon as his hand touched his head.

"Haha, he likes it. Maybe old Tauros here can feel your love for Pokémon. He sure seems happy to know you. And yet… it still seems to me like Tauros wants to stretch his legs on his own island challenge! Ha!" suddenly the Tauros lightly pushed Hala with his head and ran through Hau'oli City. "What! You want to play tag, now? The Melemele kahuna never loses, friend!" Hala happily chased Tauros through the city as if he was a little kid again.

"He is definitely Hau's grandfather." Sun commented with a chuckle, before briefly turning to Lillie. "Well, I'm off."

Lillie though still had one more thing on her mind she needed to ask him. "W-wait Sun!" he turned around to face her.

"What is it?"

"W-we will see each other again, right?" she stuttered.

"Yeah, of course." He confidently said. "And the next time you do, I would have cleared Ilima's trial, count on it!"

"Of course you would have, I don't know why I was worried, and you'll do well for sure. I just know it."

"Thanks. So Alola Lillie! Until we meet again." He said waving to her as he started to leave

"A-alola Sun!" she yelled as she watched Sun walk through Route 2.

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Hau meanwhile was trying to find Eclipse, he wasn't having much luck. He checked the Pokémon Centre, the Tourist Bureau, Apparel Shop, even the Hau'oli City Hall, but nothing so far. He just hoped that she didn't leave without letting anyone know.

Running out of options, he decided to check the Marina and he took a deep sigh of relief when he saw Eclipse waving to a ship that was leaving the Marina.

"He-e-ey Eclipse!" he greeted in a sing-song voice.

Eclipse turned to him. "Alola Hau…" she greeted in her usual dull tone.

"What are you doing all the way over here?"

"A girl needed help getting to the boat, she said she was nervous and needed someone by her side. So I volunteered and saw her off."

"That was really nice of you. So are you still going to do your trial?"

"Oh yes, I actually forgot. Perhaps I shall attempt it later today, or tomorrow."

"That's great… about that I was wondering, since you're new to Alola and all… I mean you don't have a map or a Rotom Dex… Well Maybe… I was wondering…"

"What is it that you want to say Hau?" Eclipse asked.

"Well, maybe we could do the trial together?" he asked, hoping that Eclipse wouldn't shoot down his request.

"Yes, I would like that."

Hau quickly smiled. "You really mean it!?"

"I did say yes didn't I?"

"Woohoo!" Hau exclaimed as he jumped for joy on the dock. "I'm so happy Eclipse!"

"So am I… I apologize that I am unable to express it."

"It's alright, as long as you… Tutu?" Hau suddenly said as he saw Hala walking to the Marina. "Tutu? What's going on?"

"Haha, nothing Hau. I am just playing an intense game of tag with Tauros." He replied. "I'm not a fast as I used to be, but a Kahuna never loses!"

"Alola… Mr. Kahuna." Eclipse greeted.

Hala chuckled. "I told you, call me Hala."

"Wait, Tutu, Eclipse? You know each other?" Hau asked with a surprised expression.

"Haha, yes, the professor and I helped Eclipse get started on her Island Challenge. I would like to chat but I have a Tauros to find. Alola, young ones." Hala ran from the Marina to continue his quest to find Tauros."

Hau slightly giggled at his Grandfather's actions. "Oh, Tutu…"

"'Tutu'? I thought his name was 'Hala'?"

"Oh it is I just call him Tutu, because he's my Grandfather?"

"Grandfather, that is nice to hear."

"So you wanna get out of her and get some Pinap Juice!"

"Is it good?"

"It's the best! I love it!" he excitedly exclaimed.

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"Hey Outsider!"

Sun hadn't got very far before hearing a very familiar, sometimes fright inducing voice.

"Moon, are you heading for the Verdant Cavern too?" Sun asked as he let her catch up to him.

"Yeah, besides it's your first trial, you're gonna need my help in there."

"Well thanks, but I'm sure I can handle it, though you're welcome to come with."

"Yeah right… but let's get one thing straight… I'm not going with you on this trial. I'm allowing you to come on this trial with me." Moon said while poking his chest. "I'm not going to let you outshine me again."

"W-wait… what?" though Moon was already walking down the route.

"Hey, learn to keep up, we're burning day light!" Moon exclaimed.

Sun shrugged his shoulders and he continued to follow Moon but not before Rotom crawled out of his bag. "Yo bzzt Sun, what do you think'zz her problem."

"I wish I knew… but she won't stop treating me like I'm her annoying baby brother."

"Zhe's just jealouzz because you're better than her. Bzzrrt!"

"But that's not… that doesn't matter. All that matters is completing the trial, and I'm okay with doing it with Moon."

Rotom sighed. "Whatevzz I'm juzzt the adorable robot zzidekick!" he happily said.

"I'm not happy about it either, but if I just don't want to make her mad…" Sun looked back to the shrinking Hau'oli City before he followed and caught up with Moon.

As they continued walking through the route, Rotom got Sun's attention. "Hey, hey Sun! There izz bzzt thiz path that we haven't checked out yet!" he showed the path on his display and an arrow pointed to the area.

Moon looked slightly uneasy and quickly protested the idea. "A-actually, let's just keep going. Verdant Cavern isn't too far away."

"It's not too far in our way Moon."

"Actually, it's not a good idea." She argued.

"No matter what you say, I'm going. Besides, you don't have to come with me you know!"

"GUUUHHH!" they both heard. They turned to see a large two legged Pokémon that was grey in colour and it had four muscular arms, it had what looked like a wrestler's belt around its waist and it wore black underwear as well. It had three crests on its head as it had two toed feet. It looked in distress as it was heading to the area Rotom pointed out.

"A Machamp." Both Sun and Moon mouthed.

"Wait, since when do you know what a Machamp is?" Moon asked.

"We have Machamp in Kanto too, but why was it freaking out like that?"

"No idea… but we should do something."

"'Machamp the Superpower Pokémon. It unleashes megaton-level punches that send opponents flying clear over the horizon.'" Rotom said as he had already scanned Machamp. "Zz-send opponents flying… y-you know what… I-I think I'll just wait in the motel close by…" Rotom said, trying to sneak away.

"Oh no you don't!" Sun said grabbing Rotom's arm. "You may be the only one who can figure out what's wrong with Machamp."

"Well… you actually make a good point, Outsider." Moon commented.

"So you'll help me?" Sun asked.

"If there is a Pokémon in distress, I'll never ignore it! So as annoying as helping you will be, I'll still do it."

"Thanks, alright. Let's go!"

As the two followed the Machamp, Ilima was watching them from a far distance as he stood next a tree with his arms folded; he smiled as he watched the pair leave.

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Meanwhile in Hau'oli City, Hau and Eclipse just left the Malasada Shop. Hau was stretching after leaving the shop. "That really hit the spot, huh Eclipse…"

Question marks were popping over Eclipse's head. "I am sorry but I am unaware of the phrase 'hit the spot.'"

Hau giggled at this. "You're really funny Eclipse, you and your fancy talk."

"I fail to see the humor in my question." She said, lowering her eyebrows indicating that she was rather annoyed.

"Sorry… so tell me, why don't you smile?"

"An odd question, but not surprising you would ask me that. You see, I don't know…"

"Wait, what do you mean you don't know?"

"For some reason, I cannot express my emotions… sometimes I wonder if I can feel emotions at all."

"You sure you haven't tried?"

"Yes… but I believe that isn't the only thing wrong with me. My memories are also very bleak, as far as I know. I don't have a family, or a past. Whenever I try to recall those memories, I get headaches…"

Hau was genuinely shocked by this. "Oh Eclipse… I-I didn't know…"

"Do not feel bad, you had no way of knowing."

"That it!"

"What is, Hau?"

"I promise Eclipse. Before this day is over, I will make you smile!" he cheered.

"That is very nice of you, however. I don't think-"

"No, it will work. Trust me! Everyone smiles, and I can't wait to see what yours looks like!"

"But why?"

"Well… I just think you'll have a pretty smile…" Hau said while blushing, he quickly shook it off. "Also it sounds like you've had it pretty rough, I want to help you Eclipse, and getting you to smile is the least I can do."

"T-thank you Hau." Eclipse thanked as her voice became slightly raspy, and it was only for a second. A tear hung from her right, green eye.

Hau gasped, he could see some emotions building up in her, despite her contrary facial expression. "Eclipse… are you feeling something?"

"Just a very warm feeling in my chest… Is that good?"

"Yeah, of course it is! Trust me, I'll get you to smile in no time." Before the two can continue, Hau sees a figure dressed in white, walking on the other side of the road. "Hey Lillie!" he got her attention and she turned to face him. "Alola!" he greeted.

"Hello Hau, Eclipse." Lillie greeted as she crossed the street to meet them. "I thought you both were on your way to your trial."

"We will, but first. I have to get Eclipse to smile!" he announced.

Lillie faced Eclipse and she had her usual neutral expression. "Alola, Lillie." She greeted while waving her hands in front of her face. A drop of sweat fell behind Lillie.

"I'm not so sure it will be easy." She said with an awkward laugh.

"But I won't give up! And I know the perfect place to go!"

"Really?" Lillie asked.

"To the Mall!" Hau exclaimed.

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Meanwhile both Sun and Moon had followed the Machamp and they found themselves at the Hau'oli Cemetery. They both saw rows of gravestones, for both people and Pokémon that had come to the end of their lives. The Machamp was slowly walking through and Moon's walking had become slightly wobbly.

"H-hey Moon… are you alright?"

"Y-yeah… sure! Why wouldn't I be? Let's just see if we can figure out what's wrong with Machamp."

Suddenly Machamp turned to the both of them and he let out a huge roar. "Uh what's happening…?" Sun asked.

Rotom quickly caught up with them. "I think kzzt Machamp wants to fight…"

"W-wait… fight…?" Sun said. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Moon had a Pokéball in in her hand. "If this is the only way we can calm him down, then I'm up for it! Just…" she looked at the tombstones. "Just be sure to take it easy…"

"Y-yeah. I got ya." Sun pulled out his Pokéball. "Alright, Go Litten!"

"Go Pikipek!"

After Sun and Moon threw out their Pokémon, they both looked to the towering Machamp. "Let's make this quick, Pikipek! Get close and use Peck!" The Machamp tried to Karate Chop the small bird but his missed and was pecked on his upper left arm.

"We have an opening! Litten use Ember!" Litten shot small flame burst that hit Machamp in the face. The Machamp got mad, he then ran forward to Litten and he swept his large leg, sweeping the fire cat and he rolled on the ground. "Litten! Are you alright?" Litten slowly got to his feet and slightly growled at the large Pokémon.

"We'll keep distracting it!" Moon said. "Pikipek used Echoed Voice!" Pikipek chirped loudly and made sound waves that crashed into the Machamp. The Superpower Pokémon suddenly grabbed Pikipek by his tail feather and tossed him to Litten and they both rolled back. The Machamp then gave out a frustrated roar.

"I don't get it, why is Machamp so mad?" Sun said.

"That's quite enough Machamp!" a tanned old woman said with a firm tone.

"Is Machamp your Pokémon?" Moon asked.

"Not really, so see he was my husband's partner Pokémon."

"GUUUH!" Machamp roared.

"Wait… you, he was your husband's Pokémon…" Moon started, she saw that everything was starting to make sense, why Machamp was so angry and why he went to the Hau'oli Cemetery. This was confirmed when she walked up to a tombstone, and Machamp followed her. "So your husband… Machamp's partner."

"He was involved in an accident… When he didn't come home from work one day, Machamp got really worried, then we heard what happened. So we come to mourn every day." Machamp cried out again. "He must have figured that the two of you are strong trainers, so he wanted battle, you can imagine that he hasn't battled since…"

Moon stood next to Machamp. "I know… I know what it's like to lose someone close to you… But… you must never forget that as long as you remember them, they are still alive in your heart…" she then held his lower left hand. "I lost a special friend some time ago, and it still hurts… but it does get easier, trust me." Moon said and she sniffled a little. She stood next the woman and the Machamp as they started to mourn in silence.

…

They were outside of the Hau'oli Cemetery after a few minutes of mourning. "Thank you for spending time with us." The old woman thanked. "It means a lot to both me and Machamp."

Moon nodded and Sun respectfully bowed. "I'm really sorry for your loss." Sun said.

"I know that he is in a better place. I wish the two of you the best of luck in your travels." She walked back to Hau'oli City with Machamp following her.

Sun looked to Moon. "Look, I won't ask what happened; you don't have to share if you don't want to, but I'll listen if there is anything you want to talk about."

Moon nodded. "T-thanks…" she took out the Luxury ball that her Lillipup was in before blankly staring at it. She quickly shook her head. "C-can we keep moving… I'd like to get all this sad stuff out of my system."

"Lead the way."

A smile appeared on Moon's face and she led Sun through Route 2.

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"Welcome to the Hau'oli City Mall!" Hau exclaimed. He, Lillie and Eclipse were standing at the entrance to the Hau'oli City Mall. It was a large building that sat east of the Pokémon Centre. "So Eclipse, what do you think?"

"Am I supposed to comment on the interior detail of the building…? I guess I can say it is… clean?"

"Perhaps you'd like to do some clothes shopping…" Lillie suggested. "There is a nice store called Gracidea. Maybe you'll find something you'd like there." The three walked into the store and they were looking at the different clothes. "So Eclipse, is there anything you like?"

"I am not sure. What is a good clothing item to purchase?"

"Whatever you like." Lillie said.

Eclipse suddenly picked a skimpy one piece swim suit and placed it in front of her. "How about this…?"

Hau's face turned red and Lillie could swear Hau was going to have a nosebleed. "A-absolutely not!" she exclaimed. "D-do you even swim…?"

"Hmm, I was unaware that swimming was a requirement to purchase this. Perhaps a different clothing item will suffice."

"Y-yes that would be a good idea."

Eclipse noticed Hau staring at her with his red face. "Hau, is there something odd about me that you are staring at?"

Hau snapped out of it and shook his head… "Oh… n-no… I was just, SORRY! I thought of something I shouldn't have!"

Eclipse suddenly saw a bright yellow backpack that was shaped like the face of an electric rodent with red cheek pouches. "I want that…" she said.

"Oh really?" Hau said. "Then I'll get it!" he ran and picked up the bag. "Don't worry… I'll buy it for you."

"But I have enough funds to purchase it for myself." Eclipse said taking out a small coin purse that had her money inside.

"No, I insist. I want to buy it for you." He said while flashing his cheerful grin.

"Aww, how sweet." Lillie cooed.

"I appreciate the gesture. Thank you." Eclipse said.

Hau walked up to the counter. "Heey there! I'd like to buy this…" Lillie and Eclipse watched Hau pay for the bag.

"Lillie, why is Hau being overly friendly to me?"

"O-oh… well he just really likes you."

"Really? Well I really like him too… Does that mean we're friends?"

"I'm sure you two were already friends."

"Wait! How much!?" Hau exclaimed. He looked back to Lillie and Eclipse and Eclipse shook her coin purse with her usual expression, the jangling coins reminded Hau that she had some money to pay for it.

…

They left Gracidea, Eclipse had her Pikachu themed backpack. "So, you like it?" Hau asked.

"Yes, it is very cute." She said, with her usual dull facial expression, while poking the red cheek pouches. She placed it on her back.

"How do you feel? Is there a smile coming on?"

"…No… though I do feel a sense of happiness I think? Though I really do like the backpack, it suits me don't you think?"

Both Hau and Lillie sweatdropped.

"Oddly enough… I agree." Lillie said with nervous laugh. "So what should we do now?"

Before they could figure out where to go next, they heard a loud draconian roar which managed to scare a lot of the mall goers. Hau and Lillie both looked to Eclipse and she was covering her stomach and pink ovals were on her cheeks. Her facial expression didn't change however.

"You're hungry?" Lillie asked. "But didn't you have Malasada's not too long ago?"

"Yes I did." She simply answered.

"Well some good food should put a smile on your face. Especially an All-you-can-eat buffet!"

"All you can eat?" Eclipse's face looked to light up as her eye lids grew wide. She licked her lips, but her face still remained monotonous… "Can we go now?" she said.

"You bet!" Hau exclaimed while chuckling.

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On their way to Verdant Cavern, both Sun and Moon were hastily making their way to Route 2. "Heey! What'zzz the rush! The trial isn't going anywhere!" Rotom exclaimed trying to hover close to the two jogging trainers.

"Yeah sure, but I want to complete it before it gets dark. Then I can rub it in Ilima's face!" Moon exclaimed with renewed vigor since leaving the Hau'oli Cemetery. Sun was glad that she was in brighter spirits.

But they quickly saw that a red penguin-like Pokémon with black markings around the eyes and white fur covering its face and chest. It looked like it was carrying a sack. Both trainers stopped when they saw it. "What the?!" Sun exclaimed.

"It's a Delibird." Moon said. She bent her knees till she was just above the level of the Delibird. "What's wrong, little guy?" The Delibird started to chirp in a panicked tone and it was pointing to a separate path to their right. "What is it?" the Delibird pointed to the path that broke off to the Berry Fields.

Rotom Dex hovered forward before turning to face Sun and Moon. "He wants us to follow him." Rotom said.

"Well it looks worried." Sun said.

"You don't have to tell me twice."

After a short hop to the Berry Fields, they saw the same two Team Skull grunts that were in Hau'oli City the day earlier.

"Oh not you numb-skulls again!" Moon exclaimed.

"Hey look it's that kid from yesterday! And she has a new friend!" one of the grunts said while comically moving his arms.

"Whatever, beat it! We were in the middle of harassing this guy to get us some free berries!" the second grunt said.

The old man who was in charge of the Berry Fields got Sun and Moon's attention. "Oh hello there children, would you mind taking care of these people, they have been trying to take my berries that I have grown with care."

"Shush you old man!"

Sun stepped forward with his right fist clenched. "Why don't you back off!?" Sun angrily exclaimed.

"Oh look what we have here? Are ya gonna make us kid!"

Sun tightened a Pokéball he had in his hand. "You better believe I will!"

"Alright, we'll take you on! You're both going to pay for messing with Team Skull!" they both performed their poses.

Sun slightly growled but Moon put her hand on his left shoulder. "Focus, Outsider. We'll beat them together." Moon took out one of her Pokéballs.

Both Grunts threw out Nest Balls that contained Drowzee.

"Alright kids, let's see if you can keep up?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember kicking your butts last time." Moon reminded. "Okay, you're up Popplio!" She tossed Popplio's Pokéball into the air and shooting out of a bright blue flash was the blue sea lion and she landed on her rear flippers and placed her front flippers proudly on her hips.

"You too, Grubbin!" Sun threw out his Grubbin and he landed on the ground on his tiny, stubby feet. "Okay Grubbin, start with Mud-Slap!" Sun exclaimed. Grubbin shot a stream of Mud that managed to get into one of the Drowzee's eyes and it was constantly rubbing them.

"Yo, what's with that kid!?" the angered Grunt exclaimed.

"Hey, forget it! Let me handle this, Drowzee use Pound!" the un-blinded Drowzee shot forward towards Grubbin.

"Now it's our turn!" Moon exclaimed. "Popplio use Water Gun!" Popplio smirked before firing a shot of water that hit the charging Drowzee. "We got him; now keep it up with Pound!" Popplio hopped off her flippers and she slapped Drowzee with her flippers, when she slid in front of him, she leaped back and slapped him again, she did this one last time and the Drowzee was dazed as he could only see Pikipek flying around his head. Popplio bowed in front of Moon, and the trainer chuckled to herself.

The other Drowzee managed to clear his eyes. "Finally, now use Headbutt!" the Drowzee shot forward while leaving dust in his wake.

Sun glared at the grunt before he gave Grubbin another command. "Grubbin use Dig!" Grubbin jumped up before he spun in the air and drilled into the ground, leaving a hole.

"What? You're runnin' away? Drowzee dig up that bug!" Drowzee walked to the hole and started to try and dig out Grubbin.

"Too Easy!" Sun thought. "Grubbin! Now!" Grubbin speared Drowzee with his mandibles as he shot out of the hole. After this, they were both up in the air, Grubbin was flipping several times. "Now use Bug Bite!" After they fell to the ground, Grubbin shot forward and spread his mandibles apart before biting down on Drowzee, doing huge damage.

Suddenly the other Drowzee slid back towards Drowzee.

"I'll finish this, Outsider! Popplio, use Disarming Voice!" Popplio cried loudly and pink, heart shaped soundwaves shot through the two Drowzee. They both fell to their stomachs and the Team Skull grunts had shocked faces.

"W-what… again!? What is with you kids!?" they both said with shocked, comical expressions.

Sun stepped in front of Moon and closer to the Grunts. "Let me tell you two, something. If there is one thing I can't stand… it is bullies, people like you!" he angrily exclaimed. "So if I see you guys doing this to anyone else, there will be trouble!"

The grunts slightly shivered before they ran. "This isn't over brat!" they said running away.

Moon ran to the old man. "Hey are you okay?"

The man chuckled. "Haha, yes. Those guys didn't do much." He saw Delibird running to him. "I see, so Delibird told you about what was happening, thank you my friend." Suddenly Delibird dug into his sack and he pulled out two Oran Berries. "Oh, he wants you two have those." The old man said. "Go on, take them. Don't be shy." Both trainers took the berries. "Are you two on your island challenge?"

"Well yeah…" Sun said.

"I noticed your amulets, anyway. You're probably on your way to your first trial; I wish the two of you luck."

They left the Berry Fields and continued through Route 2. "Hey, you alright? You looked kinda tense back there." Moon asked.

Sun sighed. "Yeah… I'm fine, it's just… I don't like bullies very much." He looked to be thinking about something before he turned to Moon. "Who were those guys anyway?"

"Team Skull, a bunch of wannabe Pokémon thieves… I wouldn't worry about them. Look how easily we beat them."

"Yeah… but doesn't mean that they aren't terrorizing anyone else…"

"Then I guess we'll just have to send them packing. One grunt at a time!" she said with a smirk.

"T-thanks Moon."

"Yeah whatever, now Verdant Cavern is pretty close. Let's get going before something else distracts us."

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Hau, Lillie and Eclipse arrived at the Battle Buffet and they stood at the doors and Eclipse's nose was sniffing the air like the nose of a Stoutland. "So here we are, the Battle Buffet!" Hau introduced. The trio looked at a large building. However, Eclipse's stomach grumbled loudly.

"M-my apologies…" Eclipse said while covering her stomach.

"We probably shouldn't waste any time." Lillie said, they entered the restaurant and they stopped by the front desk, where they met a well-dressed woman.

"Welcome to the Battle Buffet! Are you three eating as a party?"

"Um… y-yes we are." Lillie said.

"Okay, since you are eating for three. Then it will cost you 1200 for each of you…"

"T-that's a lot!" Hau exclaimed. "And Tutu didn't give me my allowance yet."

Eclipse put a sack of coins on the desk that equated to about the amount that they were each supposed to pay. "Wait… Eclipse… you had that much money with you?" Lillie exclaimed. "Where did you get it?"

"I… can't remember…"

"Y-you didn't rob someone did you?" Lillie shakily asked.

"Not from anyone I remember… my memory isn't good. Anyway, since you two have been so nice to me, I figure it is the least I can do."

"Thanks Eclipse, that's really nice of you." Hau thanked.

The lady was done counting the coins and she turned to the three. "So are all three of you battling?"

"Battling?" Lillie questioned.

"That is right, you can choose anything from the buffet but the food is limited, and if another person wants it, you'll have to battle for it. Each person has to choose as many dishes as they please but they must do it in ten Pokémon moves. Since you three are a party, you will have to do it in 30 moves.

Lillie took a deep breath. "Well, as long as Pokémon aren't getting hurt… then-"

"Awesome, then me and Eclipse will do the battling!" Hau exclaimed.

"Then in that case, I hope that the three of you enjoy yourselves…"

They made their way to the buffet table and Eclipse's vision was locked onto one of the offerings. "That…" Eclipse said. The three of them saw a large pizza that was filled with cheese.

"Oh that is a Miltank cheese pizza!" Hau said

"I want that…"

"Oh… well it looks like that other trainer got to it first." Lillie noted.

"My pizza…" Eclipse said before walking up to the trainer. "Alola, it seems you are trying to take a slice the pizza."

The boy who was dressed in a green shirt with green pants then spoke. "Don't worry, there is plenty for everyone."

"Yes but I am sharing with my friends, so I need all of it." Eclipse opened her Pokéball and Misdreavus shot out.

"If that is how you want to play it." The boy threw out his Pokéball and a blue dragon-like Pokémon shot out. He had small stubby arms with two toed feet. He had three grey ridges on his head. "Right, Bagon use Headbutt!" Bagon shot forward and he tried to headbutt Misdreavus but he passed through her. Misdreavus snickered.

"I do not wish to waste any time, I wish to acquire that pizza! Misdreavus use Astonish!" Misdreavus's eyes shone red and her hair flared up as a black aura surrounded her. Her head clashed into Bagon. "Now use Psywave!" Misdreavus then unleashed two waves of psychic energy that hit and he fell back onto his back.

"Oh no, Bagon get up and use Dragonbreath!" Bagon arched his back and shot a pink and purple stream of fire which engulfed Misdreavus.

Misdreavus hovered out of the smoke that engulfed her and she was glaring at the Bagon. "Misdreavus use Psywave again." Misdreavus shot two waves of psychic energy and they crashed into Bagon and they did move damage than last time. Bagon collapsed to his back. The boy returned Bagon to his Pokéball.

"Oh man! I guess I'll have to find something else." The boy walked off, leaving Eclipse alone with the pizza.

She looked to Hau and Lillie. "Hau, Lillie. I require your assistance. Hau you shall battle alongside me. Lillie, you will carry all of our winnings."

"Y-you mean food, right?" Lillie asked with a sweatdrop that fell from her face.

Hau got excited. "You got it Eclipse!" He pointed to where they saw an old woman in a green floral dress eying a Vanillite parfait. "Hey, what about that?" Hau asked pointing to the food item.

"It looks delicious… I shall not fail in acquiring that… whatever it is…"

Hau let out his signature smile after he let Rowlet out from his Pokéball. "Hehe, let's go!"

Behind the pair of them, Lillie was holding the box that the pizza came in. "Oh I fear what those two will make me end up carrying."

~27 Pokémon Moves Later~

Hau and Eclipse were directed to their table as they had finished collecting their food and they were waiting for their food to arrive. Lillie tiredly dropped into her seat.

"Hey, where did out food go?" Hau asked.

"One of… the waiters are… bringing them… to us…" she said in tired pants.

Suddenly one of the waiters of the restaurant arrived. "Sorry for the wait, but you did collect quite a lot, so here you go." The waiter handed them a large plate that had the cheese pizza, there was also a whole Take Down Steak, A cup of Hoenn Ramen for each of them and two Vanillite parfaits, one bowl of Tamato Pasta and a plate of Rindo salad.

"Oh wow! All of this looks delicious." Hau exclaimed. "So let's dig in!"

Lillie watched both Hau and Eclipse chow down on their collected food. She looked down at her Rindo salad. "Those two sure do have big appetites." She thought. "I wonder if Sun is doing ok."

"Hey Lils." Hau said. "Something on your mind?"

"N-no it's nothing."

"Cause you barely touched your food."

"Oh… I-I just hadn't noticed." Lillie began eating her salad before Hau could ask her any more questions.

"Hau." He turned to Eclipse who had large drops of Tamato Pasta sauce on her lower cheek. "Thank you for this. I never would have done all this by myself…"

"Don't sweat it. So how are you feeling?"

"I am feeling a huge sense of elation, though that could be from the food."

"That is okay, as long as you are happy." Lillie said. "So how did you end up here?"

"I'm not sure, I just remember waking up on a beach… and the rest is a blur… I apologize, my memories are all over the place…" Eclipse suddenly looked down. "I am suddenly not feeling good… my memories keep letting me down."

"You're feeling sad?" Hau asked.

"Perhaps… I don't know… I wish I could tell you more."

"They well come soon, but you shouldn't worry about what happened. That's in the past, so you should look to the future. You should focus on the now!"

"'Focus on the now'… Now I am feeling a sinking feeling in my heart… but a soothing feeling as well, and rising moisture in my right eye." A tear fell down her right green eye

"You don't have to describe your emotions, as long as you know they are there…" Hau said. "Here, eat this. It will make you feel better." Hau handed her his last slice.

Eclipse took his slice and she took a bite. "Phank vou…" she said while her mouth was filled with pizza. She took a look at Hau's ever-present smile as he continued eating. "Hau... I wonder... what makes you smile...? I wish to learn that so that maybe one day. I can share my smile with you and the others."

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Outside the entrance to the Verdant Cavern, Ilima stood waiting for Sun and Moon who had just arrived. "Greeting. Captain Ilima here. Let me formally welcome you to Verdant Cavern."

"Yeah, yeah… we know who you are." Moon said. "Why don't you just tell us what the trail is." she rushed.

"Very well… What you should attempt to do is… Defeat three of the Yungoos and Rattata that lurk in their dens."

"That's it?" Sun asked.

"After you defeat the Pokémon, head deep into the cave… and collect the Z-Crystal on the pedestal. You'll need to be completely in sync with your Pokémon to succeed."

"Z-Crystal?" Sun asked.

"Ah no one has told you yet, just collect the crystals on the pedestal. You will learn more very soon after."

"Right… so is that all?" Moon asked.

"Oh one more thing I forgot to mention. Many strong Pokémon make their home in this cave, but one stronger and more fearsome than all the rest, known as a Totem Pokémon, also resides here! It will be the greatest obstacle you face as you attempt to clear my trial! Also, until you clear the trial, you will not be able to catch any Pokémon in there. This is the first of your seven trials you will face during your island challenge." Ilima smirked while he eyed the two trainers. "And so it begins now! The trial of Captain Ilima!"

Sun nodded. "You ready Moon?"

"Just don't slow me down, Outsider." She said giving Sun a smirk.

They both enter the Verdant Cavern, ready to begin their first trial.

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The interior of the cavern was filled with a huge variety of plants. There was sunlight shafting in from holes in the ceiling of the cave. "Whoa, this place is beautiful." Sun commented.

"Kanto's got nothing on this huh, Outsider?" she said.

"Well I know this place is similar to the Veridian Forest in a way…" Sun saw a Pokémon trying to dig a hole in the ground. "Whoa look at that!" The Pokémon that Sun spotted was a brown mongoose looking Pokémon with a thick yellow stripe going down the middle of its back.

Rotom shot out of Sun's bag. "Hello… new Pokémon! Kzzt!" Rotom took a snapshot of the Pokémon and displayed its picture to both Sun and Moon.

'Yungoos, the Loitering Pokémon. With its sharp fangs, it will bite anything. It did not originally live in Alola but was imported from another region to deal with over population of Ratatta.'

"Wait a second. Didn't Ilima say that there were also Rattata in there?" to answer Moon's question a black mouse Pokémon with a dark underbelly appeared. "Yep, that would be Rattata."

"Hey that Rattata looks different from the ones in Kanto." Sun noticed.

Rotom scanned the Rattata.

'Rattata the Mouse Pokémon. When the sun goes down, it becomes active. It runs around town on a chase for good food for the boss of its nest—Raticate.'

"It lookzzz like they will be working together to fight against uzz!" Rotom said.

"You think Ilima designed the trial with the two of us in mind?" Sun asked.

"Oh that would be so like him to do that, but that doesn't mean I'm going to lose!" Moon took out a Pokéball. "Okay, let's go Popplio!" Moon tossed Popplio from her Pokéball and she elegantly landed on her rear flippers.

"You too Litten!" Sun exclaimed. Litten landed on the ground and he gave a loud meow when he came out of his Pokéball.

"I'll take on the Rattata, the Yungoose is all yours!" Moon said.

"Got it!" Sun exclaimed.

"Alright Popplio, lets get to work, this is our first trial, so lets crush this!"

"Arf!" Popplio barked.

"You too Litten, this is where our island challenge officially begins."

"Nyaa!" Litten cried.

"Popplio, start with Water Gun!"

"Litten use Ember!"

Both Litten and Popplio fired their elemental attacks to the Yungoos and Rattata, but before they could hit. Yungoos started to dig rapidly into the sand, and the small sand storm blocked the attacks. Before Sun and Moon could figure out what had hit them the Rattata shot through the sand and he attacked both Litten and Popplio with a Quick Attack.

"They are working together Moon, and so should we." Sun stated. "If this trial really was designed for the two of us, then we should attempt it together.

"Fine, but just this one trial, Outsider. After that, you're on your own!"

"I can live with that, so what can you tell me about these two Pokémon?"

"Besides watching out for their teeth?"

The Rattata jumped towards Litten with a Quick Attack. "Litten dodge by jumping on Rattata!" Litten jumped onto the head of Rattata before he was in the air. "Now use scratch on Yungoos!" Litten fell and his claws stretched out from his front paws. Litten made his mark and slid behind the Pokémon after scratching it.

"Oh yeah! Bzz Nice one Sun!" Rotom cheered.

"Great, the Outsider is trying to outshine me!" Moon thought. "Popplio, twirl in the air and use Water Gun!" Popplio jumped up into the air and she spun before firing water from her mouth, water was jutting from her like a sprinkler, going all over the cave in an attempt to hit both the Yungoos and Rattata in one go.

Rattata was dodging them with Quick Attack while Yungoos dug underground. "There, Litten!" Sun said pointing at the Rattata. "While he's distracted, use Ember!" Litten was about to blast a small blast of fire to the panicking Rattata but a jet of water hit the fire cat and Litten was screaming as Popplio's misdirected attack had hit Litten.

Litten looked at Popplio and growled at her as he flared up his fur to evaporate all the water from his fur. While Litten was distracted a pair of fangs shot out from the ground and latched onto Litten's tail. Yungoos dug out of the ground and held Litten's tail with Hyper Fang, his glowing fangs let go as he threw Litten back to Sun.

Popplio landed back on her flippers and she bowed expecting praise, but after she opened her eyes she saw that the Rattata and Yungoos were still in good shape. Before she could figure anything out, three claws were raked across her face and she saw Litten growling at her.

"Grrr! Mrow!" Litten seethed.

"Arf, barf…" Popplio cried while covering the part of the face that scratched her.

"Hey, Outsider! Control your Fire cat!" Moon angrily exclaimed.

"What, we're supposed to be working together and you go pulling off attacks like that. That attack hurt Litten more than the Yungoos and Rattata!"

"He got in the way!" Moon argued.

"I thought we were going to do this together, but you're messing this up!"

"I'm sorry… I'm messing this up!?" she angrily yelled. "If it wasn't for you, I would probably have finished this trial by now!"

"Yeah sure you would have!" Sun sarcastically jabbed.

Moon's anger was rising. "UGH! You annoy me so much, you know that?!"

"You're not that pleasant either, I thought we were finally becoming friends, but it looks like I was wrong!"

"Us become friends? As if I'd want to be friends with an outsider like you! You should just go back to Kanto!" Moon angrily shouted.

"Too bad, cause I'm staying right here, whether you like it or not!"

Both Sun and Moon glared at each other and they were both fuming. Moon though was the first to let her emotions fully come out. "I Hate you!" she said with clear venom in her voice.

Sun stepped back in clear shock to what she had said. He didn't think that Moon harboured that much hatred for him. "As least I now know how you truly feel." Sun said in a lowered, angry tone. "Litten! Use Scratch on Yungoos!" Litten dispatched his claws and raked Yungoos and the Pokémon was defeated as it had swirls in its eyes.

"Popplio! Disarming Voice!" Popplio shot heart shaped soundwaves that hit the Rattata and it fainted as well.

"Alright… here's the deal…" Sun started. "We do this trial separately and when we're done, we don't see each other again." He darkly said.

Moon gave a mocking chuckle. "That was the idea, Outsider! Just don't get in my way again!"

"As long as you stay out of mine!"

They both turned away from each other and they angrily folded their arms. Popplio worriedly looked to Litten and she let out a soft bark that sounded like an apology. Litten turned back and shared the same expression as Popplio.

…

After they beat the first pair of Yungoos and Rattata, Sun and Moon proceeded though the Verdant Cavern, still not talking to each other. They would only shoot glares if they faced each other.

Even Rotom dared not to say anything as things were as tense as they could get between the two.

They were expecting to come across the second pair of Yungoos and Rattata but there was no sign of them as they were crossing the wooden bridge. As they were walking across, Sun slipped on some moss and he lost his footing and he fell off the bridge... Litten screamed in horror and Popplio covered her eyes... he would have fallen deep into the chasm if Moon didn't grab his arm at the last second.

Litten was crying out in fear and Moon was trying her hardest to pull him up. "Don't worry… I've got ya!" she said. "I'm going to pull you back up." Sun gave a fearful nod as Moon was using her great strength to pull Sun back up to the bridge. Once he was back up, they both slowly and carefully got to the end of the wooden bridge and they were both panting.

"Hey… not that I care or anything… but you okay?" Moon asked Sun

Sun could only give a nod as it was the second time in the same week he had fallen to his death. He was slightly shaken up and he got up to his feet. Right after he stood the second Rattata and Yungoos pair appeared in front of them.

Litten and Popplio were out of their Pokéballs and glared at the pair. "Right… let's do this Popplio. Start with Pound!" Popplio sped to the Yungoos who managed to avoid being hit, before long the Rattata charged forward with Quick Attack and she was headbutted by the Rattata.

Sun looked to Litten. "Quickly Litten, now's our chance, use Ember!" the back hair on Litten shot up before he shot a burst of fire that was speeding to Yungoos. The Stakeout Pokémon stomped on the ground with both his front paws and a small wave of sand shot forward, blocking the fire burst. Before Sun could notice anything, he saw Rattata speeding past Litten while brushing his tail past his face. Rattata sped away and Litten tried to find the dark mouse Pokémon.

"Sun watch out! It's a trap!" Moon warned. Sun looked forward to see Yungoos charging forward and his head clashed with Litten's as the Tackle connected, sending Litten crashing into the cave wall.

"Litten!" Sun exclaimed running to his Pokémon.

Moon saw this and she clenched her fists and glared at the two Pokémon in front of her. "Sun, let Litten rest for a bit. Popplio and I will handle this." She pointed forward as both Rattata and Yungoos shot forward using Tackle. "Popplio! Baby-Doll Eyes!" Popplio cutely blinked and a shiny gleam covered her eyes. Rattata's jumped towards her and was about to hit her. "Now take him on!" Popplio stretched out one of her flippers and easily stopped Rattata's charge. "Now Pound, then into Water Gun!"

Popplio punched Rattata away with her flippers before jumping off the ground and shooting a stream of water hit Yungoos, stopping it from charging. Popplio landed behind Yungoos and Moon saw Rattata charging towards Popplio again. "Popplio, make a bubble in front of you!" Popplio blew a water bubble that was her size in front of her from her nose. Rattata charged into the water balloon and it popped. The Rattata was blinded as water had gotten in his eyes. "Finish him with Disarming Voice!" Popplio screamed, shooting a wave of pink, heart shaped soundwaves that hit the Rattata. He rolled onto his back with swirls replacing his eyes.

The Yungoos shot out of the ground, close to Popplio and his fangs were glowing. "Oh no Popplio!" but suddenly a small fire ball slammed into the Yungoos.

"Nya!" Litten meowed as he was charging forward.

"Litten use Leer!" as Litten charged forward his eyes shone a bright yellow glow as he glared at Yungoos. The Yungoos hesitated to bite Popplio after seeing the charging Litten. "Litten pay him back with Scratch!" Litten's claws extended from his little paws and he growled as he swiped the Yungoos. The Pokémon flew back after being hit and lay still on the ground.

Popplio shyly hopped to Litten. "Arr?" it sounded as if she was apologizing again for the earlier incident. Litten rubbed his face against her as a sign of forgiveness.

"W-we should probably keep moving huh?" Moon stuttered.

"O-oh right… well l-lead the way…" Sun replied in a very similar nervous tone. "And... thanks for before..." he thanks for Moon saving his life.

"D-don't mention it..."

…

The pair walked in an awkward silence as they had no idea what to say to each other after their last battle with Yungoos and Rattata, the only noise was coming from Popplio and Litten as they looked to be conversing with each other. Sun and Moon were very deep within their own thoughts

"What should I say to her?"

"What should I say to him?"

Before taking another step, they heard laughter. "Yo twerps! Trouble in Paradise?"

They looked further up the path to see the same Team Skull grunts they encountered earlier. "You guys again!?" Sun exclaimed.

"I told ya, that this wasn't over." The Team Skull grunt said.

"We heard you's were doing a trial here. But you can't keep going without these!" One of the Grunts held a Yungoos and a Rattata by their tails.

"Hey let them go!" Moon exclaimed.

"Why don't you's make us! You brats aren't going to beat us this time!" One of the grunts threw out a Zubat from his Nest Ball. "Zubat use Wing Attack!" Zubat's wings were engulfed in bright blue energy, though the target wasn't Litten or Popplio. Zubat was speeding to Moon. She didn't expect this but she never felt the impact because Sun stood in front of her and he took the brunt of the attack.

"S-Sun…?" Moon mouthed.

"Hey, you two have gone too far this time!" Sun exclaimed. He looked down at Litten. "Litten use Ember!" Litten leaped forward and his mouth was filled with flames, but suddenly a red aura surrounded him and streaks of fire leaked from the sides of his mouth. He bit down on the wing of Zubat and threw it to the Team Skull Grunt who fell to his knees after his Pokémon had hit him in the gut.

"Whoa, what was that?" Sun asked.

"That was Fire Fang." Moon answered. "So Litten finally learned a new move huh?"

Sun smirked at the Team Skull grunts. "Well since they like to attack people with their Pokémon…" the grunts suddenly got scared. "Litten attack them with Fire Fang!"

"Nyaaa!" Litten roared as his fur flared up and a red aura surrounded him. His mouth was filled with fire.

"AHH!" the grunts screamed. "Okay you brats win!"

"Let's get out of here!"

One of the grunts dropped the Yungoos and Rattata and both grunts quickly fled the scene.

"Hey Sun, you and Litten weren't really we're going to attack them… were you?"

Sun chuckled. "Of course we weren't, but they didn't have to know that." Sun said winking at her.

Moon laughed to herself but she then blushed before looking away from him. Sun looked away with flushed cheeks as well.

"Yeah… we should probably get this trial over with…" Sun said scratching his head. Moon only nodded in response.

The Rattata and Yungoos scurried away, allowing for both trainers to progress.

…

They were heading for the opening at the back of the Verdant Cavern. They both stopped at the archway before they looked at each other. They both talked at the same time as they attempted to do something about the situation with both of them.

"Moon I…"

"Sun I…"

They became flustered afterwards. "You go first." They both said.

"T-this is ridiculous…" Moon said. "Y-you go first."

"Okay well all that stuff I said… About us not seeing each other again… I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry for what I said back there. I-I would like us to keep hanging out… but if you don't want to, then that is totally fine with me."

"You're sorry!?" Moon said. "Sun, if anything I should be the one who is sorry. I'm the one who started all this… Then I said things I shouldn't have said... The thing is…" Moon went silent as her cheeks were heating up.

"What is it Moon?"

"I WAS JEALOUS OF YOU!" she screamed before she quickly covered her mouth.

Sun was taken aback, he certainly didn't expect Moon to be envious of him just like Rotom eluded to. "I-Is this true?"

"Y-yes it is… it just seems like you are more put together than I am. You look to have an easier time making friends and to top it off. You're probably a better trainer than I am. Just like how the sun outshines the moon, you outshine me Sun." Moon said.

"Wait… so you were jealous of me?" Sun asked. Moon nodded in reply. "So you didn't mean what you said… even you hating me?"

"I never hated you… I just didn't want you to see me like this… so I pushed you away… I'm sorry that I hurt you with what I said. I regret ever saying that stuff..."

Sun gently put his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay Moon, but you don't give yourself enough credit. You're a very tough battler, I lost to you in our first battle, remember? Plus you are a lot better at understanding the feelings of Pokémon than I am; they are simply drawn to you." Suddenly Moon felt Litten rubbing up against her right leg. "Hehe, thanks for proving my point Litten. Listen Moon, I'm far from perfect. The truth is that no one is, and that doesn't make you any better than I am."

Moon quickly wiped a tear from her eye before looking to Sun. "T-thank you… what you said means a lot." Her usual confident face returned. "Okay enough of this touchy-feely stuff. We came here with a job to do."

"Yeah, that's right. There is still the Totem Pokémon to deal with. How strong do you think it is?"

"No clue, but there is no way it can beat the two of us!" Moon said with a smirk.

"Hehe, yeah you're right."

"Yay!" Rotom exclaimed. "You two are friendzz again! Bzzt!"

Before they could walk forward Moon stopped Sun. "Hey, Outsider… You don't plan on telling anyone about what happened back there, cause if you do… Then I plan to have a more violent conversation with you later."

"Don't worry about it, I won't tell anyone…"

"You better not; I have a reputation to uphold."

"You mean your reputation of being moody and intense. Gotcha!" Sun said with a smirk which earned him a light punch from Moon.

"Shut up, Outsider!" she playfully said.

They approached the pedestal and they saw two grayish white crystals in the pedestal with symbols that looked like two circles on them.

"Well there they are." Sun said.

"What should we just take them?" Moon asked.

"After you, ladies first."

"You sure you aren't talking about yourself there?" Moon joked and Sun glared at her.

"Har har…" Sun was about to take one of the crystals from the pedestal but before he could, there was a loud roar and they looked above them to see two ledges. Standing on one of them was a very large rat like Pokémon with puffy cheeks and red eyes with dark fur with a long, rat-like tail. The second Pokémon was a brown Pokémon that had a thick yellow stripe on its underbelly and its back going to its head. It's eyes were closed and it stood on its hind legs while it had its arms behind its back.

They both jumped down to the ground and they glared at Sun, Moon, Litten, Popplio and Rotom. "Uh… Rotom, what Pokémon are they?" Sun asked in a panicked voice.

"Hold on, bzzt. I'll be back with you on that!" he quickly took a picture of both Pokémon and they both showed up on his screen next to each other.

'Gumshoos the Stakeout Pokémon and the evolved form of Yungoos, when it finds a trace of its prey, it patiently stakes out the location...but it's always snoozing by nightfall.'

'Raticate the Mouse Pokémon and the evolved form of Rattata, It forms a group of Rattata, which it assumes command of. Each group has its own territory, and disputes over food happen often.'

The two very large Pokémon suddenly had orange auras flare around them. The auras created a huge wind that threatened to blow both Sun and Moon back into the cavern.

"What just happened!?" Sun asked.

"I've heard of this…" Moon said. "In order to complete any trial, there is usually a Totem Pokémon that needs to be defeated. Totem Pokémon are unlike regular Pokémon, they are a lot more powerful. That explains the auras they create."

Rotom was examining the Pokémon. "I Juzzt realized that the aura increased their defense!" Rotom exclaimed.

"Not good…" Sun said.

"Hey! No turning back now. We've got to move forward and beat those Totem Pokémon." Moon quickly gave the Oran Berry she had to Popplio.

Sun nodded. "Yeah, you're right." He took out his Oran Berry and gave it to Litten. "Litten, this is the last battle, you ready?" Litten firmly nodded.

"Alright Popplio, it's time!"

Sun and Moon nodded to each other before giving commands to their Pokémon. "Litten use Scratch!"

"Popplio! Use Pound!" Popplio shot forward alongside Litten.

Litten was raking away at the Gumshoos while Popplio shot up and Pounded the Raticate on the head, and ended up behind him.

"Okay, let's keep the pressure up!" Moon exclaimed.

But the Raticate turned around the face Popplio and his gave a very intense glare at the sea lion which scared her.

Gumshoos did the same to Litten and the Fire Cat was stepping back while glaring at Gumshoos. Then he bit down on Litten and he lifted him up before throwing him back to Sun. "Oh no Litten!"

"Popplio, watch out for Raticate!" before Popplio could jump upwards, her tail flippers were grabbed by the Raticate and she was thrown back to Moon. She ran to her partner. "Popplio, are you okay?" Popplio nodded as she weakly got back up.

"Litten can you still go on?" Sun asked. Litten gave a very firm nod. "Man Ilima wasn't kidding, these guys are the biggest challenge we would face."

"But they are not unbeatable." Moon said.

The Gumshoos and Raticate roared and running beside them were additional Pokémon in the form of their pre-evolutions.

"They can call more Pokémon!?" Moon exclaimed.

"Well we just have to throw them off balance!" Sun said. "As long as we do that, then we have a chance."

"Hey, that move they did back there… what was it?" Sun asked.

"That was Scary Face, it decreased the speed of our Pokémon, and so it's going to be harder to get close without them seeing it coming. So you got a plan or something?"

"Well before we do anything, we need deal with Yungoos and Rattata first." Sun said. "Litten use Leer!" Litten's eyes shone bright yellow for a second and the Gumshoos and Raticate along with their pre-evolutions stepped back after Litten's glare. "This should help, Moon you're up!"

"As if I need an invitation, Popplio use Disarming Voice!" Popplio screamed and unleashed large pink, heart shaped sound waves that crashed into the four Pokémon, but they did more damage to Rattata and Raticate.

"There's an opening, Litten use Ember!" Litten shot a blast of fire that was directed at the Gumshoos, but the Yungoos stepped in front of the attack and took the Ember while he was covered in a red aura. "What was that?" Sun asked.

"Hey, heads up!" Rattata was charging to Litten while a white streak was following him. "Popplio use Baby-Doll Eyes!" Popplio blinked cutely at Rattata and his attack fell as he struck Litten and the attack didn't do much damage.

"Litten run over to Raticate and use Fire Fang!" Litten who was free ran to Raticate and a red aura covered him and lines of fire leaked from his mouth. He was about to bite into Raticate but the Yungoos quickly stepped in front of him and took the Fire Fang. After Litten attacked he jumped back. "Something isn't right… why is the Yungoos taking damage on purpose?"

Moon quickly realized what Yungoos was trying to do. "Sun! That Yungoos is using Bide!" The Yungoos suddenly became covered in a reddish white raging aura and he shot forward to Litten. "He's absorbing all the damage and he's going to throw it back with twice the power!" Sun gasped as he saw the Yungoos getting closer. "I've got to put a stop to this. Popplio, use Baby-Doll Eyes!" but before Popplio could blink at Yungoos, Gumshoos had gotten close and his fangs were shining bright and he bit down on Popplio using Super Fang. Once Gumshoos had Popplio, he threw her to Raticate and the Raticate used Tackle and bashed into Popplio, knocking the wind out of her.

She hit the floor in a heap and looked motionless as minor bruises covered her body. "POPPLIO!" Moon exclaimed as she ran to her partner.

Sun saw Yungoos was getting closer to Litten. "Fine, if we can't dodge, then we'll just go for it! Litten use Fire Fang!" Litten shot forward with a red aura surrounding him, as they got closer, the flames spewed from the sides of Litten's maw and he opened his mouth as Yungoos was inches away.

Both Pokémon clashed into each other, and an explosion of black smoke filled the battlefield. Litten soared through the air and bounced in front of Sun. "LITTEN!" he rushed to his Pokémon and he held him in his arms. Yungoos was knocked out from taking the Fire Fang.

The Totem Pokémon just stood observing them and Raticate was making sure that Rattata stayed put for the time being.

Sun saw Moon silently hugged her Popplio, so he did the same and lifted Litten and pulled him into an embrace.

After a few moments, both Litten and Popplio were engulfed in a bright lights of their elemental types. Litten jumped out of Sun's arms and stood tall on the battlefield despite his injuries. A reddish orange aura was surrounding him. Popplio struggled out of Moon's grip and hopped next to Litten while a bright blue aura was covering her.

Both Pokémon bumped paws before turning back to their partners. Popplio with a happy expression and Litten with a confident expression.

"Litten…?"

"Popplio…?"

Moon looked to Sun. "They want us to continue… Sun… look at them." They took a second look at their Pokémon. "They are urging us to fight until the end, even though they were hurt."

Sun smiled. "Well then, what kind of partners would we be if we denied them that?"

"Alright Totem Pokémon! We're coming for you!" Moon exclaimed both Totems smiled and the Rattata used Quick Attack and charged to the pair.

"Sun, go for the Totems, I'll help you once we take care of Rattata."

"You sure Moon?"

"Trust me on this." Sun nodded. "Litten jump off of Rattata!" Litten shot forward and he jumped on and off of the head of Rattata and managed to move out of range of his Quick Attack.

"Alright Popplio, jump onto a water bubble!" Popplio quickly snorted a water bubble and stood on it as it hovered upwards. Rattata ran right underneath the bubble, missing Popplio. "Now finish him with Water Gun!" Popplio charged a small nebula of water in front of her before it shot forward in the form of Water Gun. This hit the Rattata, knocking it out.

Litten meanwhile ran towards the Totem Gumshoos and he narrowly ducked under the jaws of the towering Normal type. "Quick Litten, use Ember!" Litten shot a small burst of fire that hit the underside of the Totem and it did much more damage than it usually would. To add to that the Totem was covered in small flames for a second before small flames were shooting off him.

"Nice one, you burned him!" Moon exclaimed. "Alright Popplio! Use Pound!" Popplio hopped towards Gumshoos but Raticate was sprinting to her with Tackle.

"Litten stop Raticate! Use Ember!" Litten lowered himself to the ground before firing a blast of fire to attempt to stop the Raticate. He was hit in the face and he ceased his attack. Meanwhile Popplio managed to land a punch onto the head of Gumshoos.

"Popplio, I need you to make as many standing water bubbles as possible!" Moon said. After hearing her words, Popplio jumped off Gumshoos and she made a bubble and landed on it as it hovered in mid-air. "Sun I need you to distract them, Popplio needs more time to do her thing." Moon said as Popplio continued to make medium sized water balloons.

Sun nodded, and he saw the Raticate trying to bite down on Litten. "Litten jump on top of Raticate, then use Ember!" Litten dodged the bite of the mouse Pokémon and leaped onto the head of Raticate and shot a powerful Ember at Gumshoos, angering the totem Pokémon.

Gumshoos's fangs shone bright white and he charged to Litten and Raticate. "Now Litten, jump off!" Litten jumped off and Gumshoos's Super Fang met the head of Raticate instead.

Litten landed on Gumshoos's head. "Moon, how much longer?"

"Arrr!" Popplio cheered as the battlefield was filled with her water balloons hovering in the air.

"Great Job Popplio!" Moon happily said. "Sun get Litten onto one of the water balloons, they are solid enough to carry him.

"Alright, here goes nothing! Litten jump onto a water balloon!" Litten jumped but the water balloon he was aiming for was too far. "Oh no!" Sun exclaimed. But before Litten could hit the ground he landed on a soft rubbery surface. He saw that Popplio made a water balloon at the last second and she clapped her paws as she looked at Litten.

"Sun let's finish this together!" Sun nodded. "Popplio and Litten can hop along the water bubbles. That way they have less ways to counter us. They won't know which way the attack will be coming from."

"That's smart, Moon."

"Eh? What can I say?" she said smugly shrugging her shoulders. "I'll cool off the Gumshoos, Raticate is all yours."

"You hear that Litten?"

"Mrow!" Litten said with a nod.

"Start hopping!" both Sun and Moon said, while throwing a punch forward. Popplio and Litten were hopping from bubble to bubble and for a moment it looked as if Litten was speeding towards Gumshoos and Popplio to Raticate. They both landed on a huge bubble and they quickly switched sides and the Totem Pokémon were slightly confused by the switch.

Then both Litten and Popplio jumped off the last water bubble and they shot high into the sky.

"Popplio, Water Gun!"

"Litten, Fire Fang!"

The auras around Litten and Popplio intensified. A water nebula formed in front of Popplio's mouth. Flames were shooting from the sides of Litten's mouth and soon those intense flames covered him.

A torrential burst of water shot from Popplio's mouth and it was heading towards the Gumshoos. Litten was shooting towards Raticate while intense flames covering his body.

Litten bit down on Raticate and flames surrounded his body and Popplio's enhanced Water Gun hit Gumshoos.

Right before Litten and Popplio landed on the ground, all of Popplio's bubbles popped. Afterwards, they were both panting and both Sun and Moon kept their eyes locked on the standing Totem Pokémon. The orange auras that flared around them faded and they both fell to their stomachs, shaking the ground after they did.

Litten and Popplio dropped to the floor as the battle had completely tired them out.

"YES!" both Sun and Moon cheered. They hi-fived each other before they both instinctively embraced each other. Soon after realizing this, they quickly let go of each other and flushed expressions were plastered on their faces.

Moments later they approached the pedestal and they took the Z-Crystals from the pedestals. "So this is what we came here for?" Sun said.

Moon placed the Z-Crystal in her Z-Ring bracelet. She showed it to Sun. "Looks good doesn't it?"

Sun did the same and he looked at his Z-Ring that held the crystal. "Yeah, it does."

A brief moment later, they heard clapping. The source of the clapping came from Ilima who met them. "What incredible Trainers you are!" he said in a loud tone. "For the two of you to be able to defeat the Totem Pokémon that I had trained up to such a powerful state... I don't know what I can say!"

"How about you say that we were awesome!" Moon said as Popplio jumped onto her shoulder.

"Working in harmony with each other and your Pokémon, you have cleared the trial of Ilima!"

Sun was scratching his head. "I wouldn't say it was all harmony…" he glanced at Moon. "...but I'm glad it all worked out in the end."

"Well never-the-less. Sun, Moon the Normalium-Z is now yours."

"Normalium-Z?" they both questioned.

"Yes, if you put that Normalium-Z in your Z-Ring. It will strengthen the power of your Pokémon's Normal type moves." Ilima then demonstrated the pose to take. "Strike an elegant pose like this and you will be able to use the Z-Move."

Both Sun and Moon were practicing the pose and while Moon got it spot on, Sun was slightly struggling to get the pose right. "Do not worry Sun; it will naturally come to you. About the Totem Pokémon In every locale where a captain holds his or her trials, you will encounter a particularly strong Pokémon, like Gumshoos and Raticate just now. And in their battles, they may summon allies to shore up their offence. It's not a tactic often seen in other regions. Perhaps Pokémon in Alola are simply more inclined to help one another?"

"Well you're right… I haven't seen Pokémon call allies like that in Kanto." Sun mentioned.

"Let us head to the Pokémon centre, your Pokémon look like they deserve the rest."

They both nodded. Before they left to go back into the cave, Moon stopped Sun by grabbing his arm. "Hey uh… it was great doing this trial with you. Maybe we can keep hanging out, if that's alright with you that is."

Sun chuckled to himself. "Of course, I think we have a great partnership going between us."

"Yezz my zz-ship isn't dead!" Rotom cheered.

"What was that?" Sun and Moon asked glaring at Rotom.

"N-nothing… kzzt…must be a glitch in my s-systemzz!" he fearfully hovered into the cave to avoid the glares of the trainers. Both Sun and Moon laughed to themselves before walking back into the Verdant Cavern together, embracing their new found solidarity.

 

Chapter 6: Z-Move to the Beat

The day after Sun and Moon had completed their trial, they were both resting by the Motel on Route 2. Moon was up early to practice her Z-Moves.

"Popplio, let's do it again," Moon exclaimed. Both she and Popplio started moving in-sync with each other; they were both practicing their stretches. After their quick warm-up, Moon got down to Popplio's level. "Okay, what do you say, you think you're ready to try that Z-Move?"

"Arf!" Popplio barked with an excited expression.

"Here we go!" Moon crossed her wrists and the white Normalium-Z on her Z-Ring started to shine brightly. She quickly uncrossed them and swung them around her in a circle before stretching them forward, re-crossing them. Soon a flaring white aura surrounded her and Popplio. She then stretched both her arms to her right foot before swinging her left arm in the opposite direction. Both her arms formed fists and her right hand went to her forehead and the left went to the crown of her head.

The white auras around both her and Popplio intensified and the Z-sigil appeared in front of Popplio. And she placed her front flippers firmly on the ground. "Now, Breakneck Blitz!" Moon chanted while punching her fist forward. The blazing white aura intensified and Popplio shot forward, leaving a huge shock wave in her wake that nearly threw Moon off her feet.

Popplio's target was the rock that Moon hauled over earlier. Popplio crashed into the rock head first, shattering it to nothing but tiny pebbles. Hearing the explosion, Sun shot the door of his room open with Litten standing by his side. "W-what's going on!?"

When the dust cleared, Popplio stood by what was left of the huge rock and she was happily clapping her flippers while barking.

"Aw yeah, Popplio! That was AWESOME!" she exclaimed while hugging the blue sea lion. Popplio continued to bark happily as Moon embraced her.

Sun and Litten had shared faces of confusion. "Uh… Moon…?"

"Oh, mornin' outsider! Ya sleep well?" Moon asked.

"W-what's going on?"

"Popplio and I were practicing our Z-Move. And it's safe to say that Popplio and I have got it down, ain't that right?"

"Arr." she cheered

"You should probably get changed, we'll be leaving soon."

Sun noticed he was still wearing his white shirt and boxer shorts and he blushed before chuckling to himself, "Hey, by the way, where is Rotom?"

"Right here, bzzt!" he was sitting by one of the palm trees. "I came out here to watch Moon perform her zzzZ-Moves and it was Awesome!" Popplio then puffed her cheeks showing she was annoyed that Rotom forgot about her. "You looked amazzzing too Popplio!"

"Alright, well I'm going to get ready," Sun said.

"Just don't take too long."

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About an hour later, Hau and Eclipse were standing in front of the Verdant Cavern. Hau looked as determined as ever to get started with his trial. Ilima was standing in front of them. "Morning you two, I see you two want to take the Trail of Ilima, huh?"

"Of course!" Hau answered.

"Sure… I guess…" Eclipse dully replied.

"Alright then, there are three groups of Rattata and Yungoos you must defeat, after that, you must head to the back of the cave and pick up the two Z-Crystals waiting for you."

"You got all that Eclipse?" Hau asked.

She replied simply by giving a thumbs up. "I wish the two of you, good luck," Ilima said.

"Thanks!" Hau exclaimed. He took Eclipse's arm. "Let's do this Eclipse, oh yeah!"

"Don't pull so hard…"

They were both walking through the cave, keeping an eye out for any Yungoos or Rattata. "So do you know where Lillie is? I didn't see her this morning."

"Lillie told me, that she wanted to go for a walk around Melemele, she said wanted to let Cosmog out for a little bit in secret."

"How do you think Sun and Moon did on this trial?"

"Probably well, I can see those two working well together, with their chemistry and personality, they even out each other's weaknesses."

"That sounds great! What about the two of us?"

Suddenly three white dots appeared over Eclipse, indicating that she was thinking hard about Hau's question. "I would say that maybe we are... Complete opposites, but that isn't really a bad thing." Eclipse's left ear suddenly twitched. "Ambush!" she quickly threw out Misdreavus and the ghost type giggled as she twirled after leaving her Pokéball. "Over there, a Pokémon is about to dig out of the ground. Use Astonish!" Eclipse pointed to the spot and as the Yungoos shot out, Misdreavus collided with it, sending it back. A Rattata ran onto the scene but had a white question mark over his head when he didn't see Yungoos.

"It's our turn, come out Rowlet!" Hau threw out Rowlet and he tiredly landed on the ground. "Rowlet, attack that Rattata with Peck!" Rowlet looked shocked as he became fully awake. He shot forward while his beak was engulfed in a bluish white glow. He pecked Rattata with his beak and he slid back. Hau then looked to Eclipse. "That was amazing! How did you know that Yungoos was going to jump out of the ground like that?"

"I think it has something to do with my enhanced senses… I could hear the Yungoos digging through the ground, even though most probably could not."

"Whoa! So you could hear things from far away… like could you hear the boats of the Marina from here?"

"My senses are not that heightened, but they are useful… like when I am trying to seek out delicious food… by sniffing the air."

"You really like food don't you?" Hau asked rhetorically while he had a sweatdrop on the back of his head.

"We really need to keep going, they are coming back."

"OK! Rowlet use Leafage!" Rowlet shot four sharp green glowing leaves towards Rattata.

Misdreavus hovered back to Eclipse. "Weaken their attack with Growl." Misdreavus let out a scream which lowered the attack of Yungoos and Rattata. "Your turn Hau."

"You got it Eclipse!" Hau confidently said.

Hau and Eclipse proceeded to work together as they started their first trial.

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Meanwhile, Sun and Moon were about to head to into Route 3 with their partner Pokémon at their sides. "Aw man! I can't wait to get to attempt the Grand Trial! Hala better watch out, haha!" Moon excitedly exclaimed.

"Oh… y-yeah sure…" Sun said with a nervous laugh.

"What's up?"

"U-uh… it's nothing. I'm just a bit tired from yesterday." He lied.

"Weak…" Moon jabbed. "Oh, man after performing that Z-Move! I am so pumped to find the rest of the Z-Crystals!"

They both saw Kukui and Ilima standing in front of the Verdant Cavern. "Oh look it's the professor."

Both trainers met up with them. "Hey there, you two, I thought I recognized those voices. I heard about yesterday's trial from Ilima, great work, yeah!"

"Oh please, those Totem Pokémon didn't stand a chance against us… haha." Moon confidently said.

"Well, I suppose I should teach you two about how to use Z-Power with those crystals you got in the trial."

Moon quickly smirked. "You don't have to Professor… I already got it!"

"Very impressive, you actually learned to use the Normalium-Z already."

"Of course… I can show you guys…"

Rotom cheered beside her. "Yeeeah! I s-saw it with my own eyezzz!" Rotom excitedly said. "It wazz amazzzing!"

"Really? Well, let's see it, Moon." Kukui said.

"It will be interesting to see," Ilima said.

"Do it! Do it! Do it!" Rotom cheered.

"Alright, you ready to give it another go Popplio?" Popplio barked gleefully as she looked up at Moon. "Let's go…" she saw a boulder that was a small distance away. "There, that's your target!"

"Arf!" Popplio excitedly barked.

"Here we go!" Moon crossed her arms and she performed the moves for the Normal type Z move perfectly. "I've been practicing the moves since last night. I've got them down perfectly!" she said as she finished performing the moves. "Go Popplio, Breakneck Blitz!" Both Popplio and Moon were engulfed in a bright white aura. Popplio raced forward, leaving behind a small crater where she once stood. She crashed her head into the rock which shattered to dust. Once it cleared, Popplio stood on her rear flippers and she gave a bow.

Both Ilima and Kukui clapped. "Wow, that was great!" he complimented. "Seeing a move of that Magnitude makes me want to see an Encore, yeah!"

"You are a very fast learner Moon, I'm proud…" Ilima said.

"Oh… man…! That wazzz AWESOME!" Rotom said hovering close to Moon. "It'z kzzt like you and Popplio were made for this!"

Kukui then looked at Sun. "Well how about it Sun, you ready to give it a try?" Sun slightly blushed and he shook his head.

"I-I haven't exactly got the moves down yet…" he then let out an awkward laugh.

"You don't worry about a thing, I'm sure you'll pick it up. So you two should know that Z-Moves heap all of a trainer's feeling onto a Pokémon, yeah, which totally wears you out! Z-Power once per battle is all a team can handle, yeah."

"Awesome, I can't wait to use it in a real battle! That will be so sweet!" Moon excitedly said.

"Oh no!" Kukui exclaimed. "It's like I was hit with Amnesia! I forgot that earlier this morning, I lost Lillie somewhere on Route 3!"

"Lillie?! Is she okay?" Sun worriedly asked.

"She should be fine, but I worry about her. So I wanted to ask you two if you could spare some time to help me look for her."

"Well, of course, we'll help, right Moon," Sun said.

"Yeah, we'll keep our eyes peeled for the princess. " Moon replied.

"Your friends Hau and Eclipse are in the Verdant Cavern doing their trial. If they find her, I'm sure they will bring her back."

"Thanks, cousins. Let's split up and find her, yeah!"

Sun and Moon then took to the rocky path of Route 3 while Kukui tracked back to Route 2. Ilima stayed by the Verdant Cavern, waiting for both Hau and Eclipse to finish their trial.
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Meanwhile, inside the Verdant Cavern, Hau and Eclipse had just beaten the last trio of Ratatta and Yungoose. "Alright, last hurdle Eclipse!" Eclipse silently nodded, he gave her an Oran Berry. "Feed it to Misdreavus, she'll have tons of energy after eating it."

She took the berry and Eclipse then outstretched her right hand and offered it to Misdreavus. The ghost type took a nibble out of the berry before she took two more bites, eating it whole. She back flipped in the air and giggled at Eclipse.

"See she likes it!" Hau said. "Now are we ready to finish this trial!"

"Hau…" Eclipse quickly grabbed onto his arm. "I-I…I've wanted to ask you something since yesterday."

"Oh, sure what's up?"

"Well, it's what we talked about yesterday… you said you would find a way to make me smile… and you didn't..."

Hau felt nervous and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, well you're a tougher nut to crack than I first thought."

"Perhaps you were going at it the wrong way. I've been thinking about this very much… I have to ask, Hau. What is it that makes you smile?"

Hau chuckled. "It's not like one thing is enough to make me smile you know. Like eating Malasadas makes me smile 'cause they are delicious… I'm not sure how to answer this…"

"Do not worry, it was just something that was concerning me is all."

"Hey, Eclipse… I know that I said I would make you smile yesterday, but I guess I should have figured out that it should come naturally. So I'm sorry I tried to force it out of you yesterday."

"Don't be sorry. You tried to make me happy and I appreciate it. You even came with me on my first trial. …I wonder, is this what friendship is like?"

"Yeah, you bet! Friends do anything they can to help each other out."

"Are you saying that you are my friend?"

"Of course, I'd do anything for you Eclipse."

Eclipse's face became flushed and she felt compelled to look away from Hau. "Don't say such things so casually…"

"But it's true." Hau put his hand on his chest to emphasize his point. "I mean you're new to many things, so I want help you through them as much as I can."

Eclipse was blushing and she quickly dug into her Pikachu themed backpack. "I wanted to give you a gift for being so nice to me, but for some reason, I want to give it to you now." She had a Pokéball in her hand. "This is for you."

"For me, you gave me a Pokéball?"

"It is what is inside the Pokéball."

Hau opened it and shooting out in a bright blue flash was a bright yellow rodent Pokémon with pale yellow fur, sharp ears with black ear tips, a black collar, and a black angular tail. She had pink cheek pouches on her face and a tiny black dot for a nose. "Aww, what a cute little Pichu." Hau cooed as he picked up the little Pokémon.

"Chuuuu!" Pichu squeaked as she nuzzled her cheek with Hau's.

"Wait, are you giving her to me?"

"Yes, you see long before I met any of you. I was roaming around Melemele Island and I found a peculiar egg. So I took it to the Pokémon centre… then it hatched yesterday. Nurse Joy wanted me to have the Pokémon, but then for some reason… I thought Pichu would be better in your hands."

"R-really?"

"You treated me so well yesterday, so I thought that Pichu should be raised by you." Eclipse was suddenly smothered by Hau as he hugged her without warning.

"Thank youuuu so much Eclipse! This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me!" Pichu also joined in the hug as she was still on Hau's shoulder.

"Hau… c-could you please let go of me…" he then backed off and awkwardly scratched his head.

"S-sorry about that, I just got so excited… plus well I wanted to show you how grateful I am."

Eclipse shuffled her left leg slightly. "I understand, but you should know... I am not very comfortable with physical contact… so warn me next time you plan on doing that."

"Oh, s-sorry."

"You did not know, do not feel bad." Eclipse then pointed to the back of the Verdant Cavern. "We should get to the back of the cavern, but I must warn you. We will be ambushed by two very powerful Pokémon."

"Oh yes, the Totem Pokémon. Well, I say bring it on! Rowlet and I are ready, and Pichu can sit back and watch."

"Chuuu!" Pichu cheerfully exclaimed.

"Right let's do it!" Hau was about to grab Eclipse's arm but he remembered what she told him about her and physical contact. "Oh r-right…"

"I am okay with that kind of contact. To be honest, I have gotten quite used to you dragging me around by now." She said as if she was able to read his mind.

"Whoa, it's like you read my mind!"

"Your body language was slightly obvious. Now we should continue with our trial."

"You got it, here I come Totem Pokémon!" Hau sprinted into the back of the Verdant Cavern with Eclipse staying behind.

"He is just full of energy isn't he?" Eclipse thought to herself. She followed Hau to the back of the cave as well.

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"So brzzt what was it like uzzsing a Z-Move!?" Sun and Moon were walking on the rocky terrain of Route 3 and there were numerous bird Pokémon flying overhead and they were also perched on the top of high rocky terrain.

Rotom was zipping around Moon, trying to figure out how she was able to perform her Z-Move in a short amount of time.

"I guess I just always had it in me." She replied with a shrug. "But the key is to be flexible, yet precise with your movements." She said. "Plus the move will be more powerful if you have a good relationship with that Pokémon."

"Amazzzing!" Rotom exclaimed. "Hey, Sun, why don't you try bzrrt?"

Sun looked slightly nervous. "Uh… maybe later… I mean we have to keep an eye out for Lillie."

"Lillie couldn't possibly get into huge trouble, so we can kill some time," Moon said. "Alright let's see what you got!" Litten brushed up against Sun's leg and meowed at him, urging him to at least try.

"Okay, I'm going to do it!" Sun crossed his hands in front of him and the Normalium-Z on his Z-ring shone and he uncrossed his arms and he quickly shot them forward, and a white blazing aura covered both him and Litten. Both his hands touched his left foot and he stretched them and he quickly pounded his chest twice with the sides of his fists. "Okay Litten, Breakneck Blitz!" after Sun yelled this, Litten was ready to charge but the white aura quickly flickered out and all the energy that Sun and Litten had built was gone instantly. "Wait… what happened!?" Sun exclaimed. Litten tilted his head and a green question mark rose off his head.

Moon walked up to him. "I see the problem; first off your moves were all wrong. Secondly, you are very stiff with your movements." She said counting the mistakes with her fingers. "If you can't get the moves right, then you and your Pokémon can't communicate your feelings to each other and the Z-Move will fail."

"But I've only seen it once. How can I get it right the first time?"

"Fine, then watch what I do, and then follow my movements." Moon started to perform the movements for the Z-Move and Sun tried to follow as best as he could but he still wasn't as flexible and fluid as Moon. Sun was in the final pose. "Okay, stay like that!" she walked behind him and she made him spread his legs slightly apart. "Hmm… almost, but your left fist has to be on your forehead and your other fist on your stomach." She moved his arms as she said this, and unbeknownst to her, Sun's cheeks were a deep red as Moon was moving his arms. "You got it?"

"U-um… I think so…"

"Good! Remember, Z-Moves can only be used once in a battle." Moon walked in front of him. "…but, you haven't actually used a Z-Move so you and Litten should still be good to go." Moon pulled out her Pokéball before tossing it up, and shooting out in a blue flash was Pikipek. "Okay, I'm going to do it with you." Her gaze turned to Pikipek. "I've got a Z-Crystal, Pikipek. You want to practice with me?"

Pikipek happily chirped in response. A moment later, Sun and Litten were standing beside Moon and Pikipek. "Ready Sun?"

"Yeah, I've got it this time!"

Both Sun and Moon prepared to do their Z-Moves and their movements were similar in that Moon's were more precise and fluid while Sun's were stiff and rigid. Both Litten and Pikipek were surrounded in blazing white auras and when their trainers both finished, only the Z sigil flashed in front of Pikipek.

"Breakneck Blitz!" the both yelled, but it was only Pikipek that rushed forward with the aura powering him. She flew right through a boulder which shattered into lots of pieces.

"Haha, awesome!" Moon cheered, she looked next to her and he had a sweatdrop fall from the side of her face when she noticed that Litten was in the same spot.

"I don't get it! Why can't I get it right!?" Sun cried.

Moon attempted to comfort him. "Hey, hey, look Sun. You'll get it right, you've got the moves down, you just have to stop being so tense. Just calm down and just go with the flow."

"But… how does that make sense?!"

"I don't know how else to explain this, Sun. But just don't worry about it so much. I know you'll get it right. It will come to you."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Duh, cause you're you. You'll get it right, and if you don't then I'll teach you until you do."

Sun forced a small smile; even though he was still bummed he couldn't figure out the Z-Move. He did get to see Moon's nice and caring side. "Thanks, Moon."

"D-don't get the wrong idea, I'm just helping you cause I can see that you need it."

"HEEEY GUYS!" they heard.

Both Sun and Moon turned to see Hau and Eclipse sprinting to them… rather Hau was doing all the sprinting while he held Eclipse's arm in tow.

"Hau… and weird girl." Moon greeted

"Guess what!? We completed the trial! And Eclipse was awesome, it's like she predicted what the Totem Pokémon were going to do before they did it!"

"Hau is over exaggerating. Based on observing Rattata and Yungoos behavior I simply took that into account when thinking about a strategy to defeat the Totem Pokémon."

"See, Eclipse is a genius!" Hau said. "A real Brainiac!"

"Nerd…" Moon playfully mocked but Sun quickly jabbed her arm. "Ow… what?"

Hau gave a determined look at Sun. "And guess what? Tutu stopped by the Verdant Cavern and he gave me and Eclipse these!" he flashed his shiny Z-Ring while Eclipse casually held hers up.

"They are shiny..." Eclipse mouthed.

"Sweet, you got a Z-Ring too?" Moon said.

"You bet, and I can't wait to show you guys Rowlet and mine's Z-Move." He then looked at Sun. "Hey, I just thought of something great. Let's battle Sun, you and me. Then we can show off our Z-Moves!"

Sun's pupils shrank slightly and he quickly thought of a way to decline the battle. "A-actually Hau, Litten and I aren't feeling up to it right now." An exclamation mark appeared over Litten and he jumped up and meowed at Sun.

"Hmm… it looks to me like Litten wants to battle despite your claim." Eclipse said.

Sun gave a sigh. "Okay, Hau lets give it our best shot!"

"Yeah, I'm going to start with my new partner!" Hau exclaimed. "Come out girl!" he threw out a Pokéball and landing on her feet was the Pichu that Eclipse had gifted Hau with.

Rotom got excited. "Whoa! Not only do I get to zzsee Z-Moves but I get to see New Pokémon too." He zoomed closer to Pichu, spooking the little electric type. "Pleeazze can I scan you!" though he already took a picture and started scanning before Pichu could even give her consent

"Pichu the Tiny Mouse Pokémon, It is not yet skilled at controlling electricity. If you take your eyes off it, it may shock itself."

Right after Rotom said this, Pichu cutely sneezed and she fell back after an electric shock sent a jolt through her body.

"Oh no, Pichu are you alright?" Hau worriedly asked. Pichu rapidly nodded her head. "Okay, Sun whenever you're ready!"

Sun opened Grubbin's Pokéball and the bug type appeared. "Okay, Litten hang back for now." Litten lowered his head but he complied and stepped behind him. "Hau, you can start!"

"Hehe got it. Pichu, use Thunder Shock!" Pichu's tail shot up before it was covered in a bright yellow glow. Pichu's cute pink cheeks shot a small jolt of electricity to Grubbin.

"Quick Grubbin, go under with Dig!" Grubbin dug underground and avoided the electric jolt.

Eclipse gasped and her pupils slightly shrunk and she looked at Hau. "Hau, be careful! Dig is a Ground-type move and it will certainly defeat Pichu in one hit!" she warned while slightly raising her voice. Moon was surprised that Eclipse could raise her voice at all.

Hau saw the ground moving around underneath Pichu. "Thanks, Eclipse, alright Pichu…" he watched the ground carefully and he immediately knew where Grubbin would emerge. "There, jump to the left!" Pichu clumsily jumped out of the way from the snapping mandibles of the Grubbin.

"He missed?!" Sun asked.

"Quick Pichu use Charm!" Pichu started staring at Grubbin and Pichu's eyes started to shine as if she was about to cry. Grubbin's attack sharply fell thanks to this.

"Grubbin use Bug Bite!" Grubbin jumped towards Pichu and his fangs were opening as his mandibles spread out. He bit on Pichu's arm and she screamed in panic but noticed that the attack didn't hurt as much as she thought.

"Quick Pichu! Use Thunder Shock!" Pichu shocked Grubbin, the Bug-type was struck and he fell off Pichu's arm.

"Grubbin, use Vicegrip, then back away!" Grubbin bopped the head of Pichu and he then slithered away. "Now use Dig!" Grubbin dug into the ground for the second time.

"Pichu, listen out for him. Just like Eclipse would. Then jump up when he gets close."

"Pi! Pichu-Pi!" she exclaimed. She closed her eyes and heard Grubbin getting closer and her eyes shot open and she leaped up right before Grubbin's attack could strike her.

Sun gasped while Hau's eyes sparkled. "Awesome, use Thunder Shock!" Pichu's cheeks shone and she shot another jolt that struck Grubbin and he fell from the air as smoke surrounded his unconscious body.

"Whoa… fried Grubbin anyone?" Moon jabbed before chuckling to herself.

"I do not get it," Eclipse muttered.

Pichu ran back to Hau while Sun returned Grubbin to his Pokéball. "Oh yeeeah! You were awesome Pichu!" Pichu looked up to Hau and she asked to be picked up. Hau complied and Pichu started nuzzling him and he faced a slight shock. "Ow, hey that tickles!"

Sun looked down at Litten, the fire cat tilted his head because he had a feeling that something was wrong. "It looks like you're up Litten."

"Hey Sun, I think Pichu's had enough, so I'm going to switch. That cool?"

"Go for it."

While Pichu was lying on Hau's head, he threw out Rowlet who was asleep as soon as he exited the Pokéball. "Okay, let's give it everything we got Rowlet, we've already beaten Grubbin!" Rowlet's moving snot bubble popped and he woke up with a shock. He saw the stoic looking fire-cat a fair distance away

"Litten, let's make this quick! Use Fire Fang!" his fur flared up as a red aura surrounded him. Fire filled his maw as he sprinted to Rowlet and the flames were leaking out as he was running towards the grass owl.

"Rowlet use Growl, and then fly up!" Rowlet let out a loud coo that weakened the flames that were inside Litten's mouth. "Now keep him back with Leafage!" Rowlet spread his wings and shot four glowing green leaf arrows that hit Litten in the forehead. It wasn't enough to do any decent damage but it did shut down the Fire Fang that Litten was charging.

"Litten, what's up?" Sun asked, Litten only meowed in slight annoyance. "Okay, then just use Scratch!" Litten's claws stretched out before he charged towards Rowlet.

"Alright, Rowlet! Get in there and use Tackle while dodging scratch!" Rowlet flew forward and extended his wings. As the two Pokémon got close, Rowlet swerved from Litten's scratch and shot up into the air, performed a loop-de-loop and he then clashed into Litten. After this he hovered back in the air.

Sun glared at Rowlet. "Okay Litten, use Ember!" he arched his back upwards and shot a small burst of fire towards Rowlet and it made contact as it was too fast to dodge. Rowlet landed on his talons and he was vulnerable since he was still rubbing soot from his eyes. "Yes! Litten get close, then use Fire Fang!" Litten quickly shot forward and Hau started to panic.

"Oh no, what now!?" He saw Eclipse's neutral face and he shook his head. "Calm down, Hau! You can do this!" He refocused on the battle. "Rowlet fly towards Litten then use Growl!" Rowlet used Growl and Litten's flames weakened again. "Awesome, now use Peck!" his beak was engulfed in a bluish white glow he aimed his beak forward while Litten opened his flame filled maw.

Both of the attacks made contact and Litten and Rowlet flew past each other.

"Rowlet use Peck!" Hau said knowing Rowlet was still fine to battle despite taking the earlier damage.

"Rowlet can still go on after that attack? Okay, Litten springboard off Rowlet!" Litten used his cat reflexes to jump on and off the charging Rowlet, instantly dodging his attack.

"Whoa, I thought I got you there Sun." suddenly Hau came up with an idea. "Rowlet, how about it. Let's show off the Z-Move we learned from finishing our trial earlier!"

Rotom was getting excited and he was hovering in front of both Moon and Eclipse. "Yesss! Finally! Do any of you have some popcorn!?"

The Normalium-Z on Hau's wrist shone and started to perform the dance to perform the Z-Move. Sun panicked and looked at Litten. "U-uh… Us too!" Sun crossed his arms and his Z-crystal shone.

Both Hau and Sun were performing the same dance and both they and their Pokémon were covered in blazing white auras. When Hau was performing the move, he was doing it with his ever present smile and his moves were fluid like water. Sun, on the other hand, had a more serious look and his moves were less fluid and showed hesitation and frustration.

"Breakneck Blitz!" they both yelled. A Z-sigil suddenly exploded in front of Rowlet before the white aura on the grass owl grew. He took off towards Litten before he hovered close above the ground and he was ripping the ground apart as he moved. The blazing aura that surrounded both Litten and Sun had faded and once again Litten was confused.

Rowlet was heading towards Litten at a dangerous speed. Sun didn't have enough time to give a command as Rowlet collided hard with Litten and he had taken tremendous damage as he shot back towards a tree that stopped his momentum.

"Litten!" Sun said in a panic. He sprinted to his Pokémon before gently picking him up. "Are you okay?" Litten's eyes slowly opened and he started to purr when he noticed that he was in Sun's arms. "I'm sorry… it's my fault…"

"YEEESSS!" Hau cheered. "We won! And I showed the best side of my Pokémon. Haha, with this I'll be sure to beat my Gramps!" he cheerfully exclaimed. He looked to Eclipse. "And it's thanks to the advice you gave me!"

"All I did was tell you about Rowlet's strengths and you used them to your advantage. I am happy that you are happy." She said.

"You don't look happy, but I'll take it!" Hau walked to her. "I'd hug you but…"

"How about we allow for more time before we do that?" Eclipse said.

"You got it!" he said, giving a thumbs up to the girl.

"That wazzz awesome!" Rotom squealed with jubilation. "That Breakneck Blitz was sooo powerful!"

"I know right, Rowlet was so awesome." Rowlet flew to Hau and perched himself on his shoulder, he then nuzzled Hau's right cheek.

Sun was looking down and his eyes were covered by his bangs and his cap as he held Litten. His Pokémon waved a paw in front of him to get his attention.

"Huh… oh sorry Litten, I kinda spaced out there." Sun faced Moon, Eclipse, and a celebrating Hau. "Hey guys I'm going to move forward on my own, I have some things to think about." The truth was he was really stressing about the Z-Move situation. He could understand why Moon could pick up on it so quickly, but Hau was just as much as a starting trainer as he was and yet he also looked to have gotten it right on his first try. "Why can't I do it… maybe I'm not as close to Litten as I thought…" he continued to walk across the Route and he held Litten in his arms.

"Man, what a sore loser." Moon lightly mocked.

"He didn't look fine to me; he looked very deep in thought." Eclipse noted.

"I do hope he is okay," Hau said.

Moon sighed. "I think I know why. He couldn't perform the Z-Move so he's probably down about that."

"W-well we should help him!" Hau was about to chase after him but Moon grabbed his arm.

"No, this should be something that he figures out on his own," Moon said donning a serious face.

"But, we should cheer him up, this is the saddest I've ever seen him."

"Sure we can teach him how to use a Z-Move, but he ultimately needs to figure it out on his own. It's like the professor said, it will come to him, it's only a question of when."

Eclipse nodded while her arms were folded and eyes were closed. "Okay, but I hope you're right."

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Sun continued to move through Route 3 and he was heading down hill and he saw Lillie looking inside her bag. Litten noticed her and he ran down towards her. "H-hey, wait up Litten!"

Lillie turned around and her long hair and braids swung as she saw Litten and Sun coming towards her. "L-Litten?" he started to rub up against her leg and Sun caught up with him. "Ah… Sun! I'm glad to see you."

"Alola Lillie…" Sun greeted with a slightly nervous voice.

"How did your trial go?"

"Well Moon and I were shaky at first, but we got through."

"I am glad… I knew you could do it!" she gleefully said.

"Yeah…"

Lillie noticed Sun's downbeat mood. "Sun, I-is something wrong?"

"H-huh… oh no, I'm fine don't worry about it." Sun lied. Lillie had a feeling that Sun wasn't being honest with her, but she didn't know how to get the truth out of him. Sun acting wasn't like the growing inspirational figure that she made him out to be in the short time she had known him.

"Pew!" Nebby was hovering in front of Litten and she had a smile on her face. Litten sniffed her and he smiled.

"Looks like Nebby is happy to see Litten again." Nebby spun and she quickly sped down a splitting Route that led into a meadow and Litten called out but she continued exploring. "Nebby! Nebby, come back!"

"Oh no, she ran off again! And right after it got into so much trouble on the bridge, too… What if a wild Pokémon attacks her? She doesn't have any moves she can use to battle!" Sun instinctively grabbed Lillie's wrist and he sprinted towards the meadow, she was holding onto her hat so it wouldn't be blown away. "S-Sun… what are you doing?!"

"We're going to get her back!" after their brief run, they stopped in a meadow that was filled with many yellow flowers. "Whoa what is this place?"

"This is the Melemele Meadow, it is said that there is a special Pokémon here… but that isn't important right now. We need to find Nebby quickly!"

Sun nodded. "Y-yeah…" he looked to Litten. "Litten, could you sniff her out?"

"Nya?" Litten tilted his head and a question mark hovered over his head.

"I don't think Litten can do that. If we had Lilipup here then he could probably sniff her out."

Before they could figure out what to do, they saw a small bright yellow bird Pokémon with a yellow 'V' across her chest, her feathers formed a skirt just above her legs. She had darker yellow pom-pom like feathers on the ends of her wings. She had pink legs with a white underside and there were yellow puffs on her legs as well.

The Pokémon chirped as she was sucking the nectar out of a bright yellow flower. "That Pokémon is Oricorio, it changes its appearance by feeding on the nectar from different types of flowers. It's not actually evolving but undergoing a so-called 'form change' Isn't that interesting? Well, I thought it was, anyway…"

"It is, but hey… maybe Oricorio might know where Nebby is." Sun said.

"Oh, that's a good idea." Litten started meowing to the Oricorio, the bird flew over to them. Litten started communicating to the bird and he fluffed his fur to try and describe Nebby.

An exclamation mark formed over the yellow bird. She hovered up and flew off and allowed for Sun and Lillie to follow. "Thanks, Litten," Sun said and they quickly followed after her.

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The Oricorio led them to a slight barren part of the meadow that had no grass and no flowers but a rocky terrain that was close-by. She pointed ahead. "I-Is Nebby there?" Lillie asked. The Oricorio chirped.

"Pew!" they all Nebby's voice

"Nebby!" she looked to Sun. "P-please Sun, we have to help Nebby…" they both ran ahead.

What they saw close-by was a flock of Spearow surrounding Nebby on the ground and they were pecking her. "Hey!" Sun exclaimed. "Leave Nebby alone, Litten use Ember!" Litten shot a ball of fire to disperse the Spearow but they didn't back down and one of them shot forward but Oricorio stepped in front of Litten and she twirled and sparks surrounded her body and she spun and an arc of electrical energy shocked one of them. "Whoa, thanks, Oricorio!" she started dancing to the same style as a cheerleader. The other two Spearow shot forward again attempting to attack. "Litten use Scratch!" Litten swiped past one of the other Spearow. There was still one that was left and it was speeding towards Lillie and she turned and saw it attacking her. Lillie screamed and she turned away but she didn't feel the attack hitting her.

She looked to see Sun standing in front of her with her arms spread out, and she gasped after seeing this. As the Spearow flew back, an electric arc hit the Spearow and it fell down to the ground. "Hey, you okay Lillie…?"

"Y-yes… thanks..."

Sun saw Nebby closing her eyes and she was shivering. "H-hey… it's okay. We're here…" Sun lifted her and took her back to Lillie. They soon heard a very loud screech and they saw a much larger bird Pokémon flying towards them, it hovered off the ground when they were in its sight. The Pokémon was brown with bright pink talons with four tail feathers and cream wing tips with a red crest on top of its head. It had the slight appearance of a vulture.

"A… a-a Fearow…!" Lillie squealed.

Oricorio was flying towards the Fearow, but his beak shone white and he smacked Oricorio away. "Oricorio!" Sun glared at the Fearow. "It's up to us Litten!" Litten meowed and turned to Fearow. "Litten start with Scratch!" Litten ran towards Fearow but before he could get close. It spun horizontally in the air like a drill with a glowing beak and he clashed with Litten and he slid back to the ground taking a lot of damage. "Litten!" He stood in a defensive stance and there were numerous gray bruises on his body.

"T-that looked like Drill Peck!" The Fearow looked to be preparing to use the same move again.

Sun saw that Oricorio was on the ground and Litten was struggling to stay on his feet. "S-Sun… do something…" Lillie urged.

"Pew…" Nebby cried while she was being held by Lillie.

Sun looked to his Z-Ring and the Normalium-Z, his reflection was seen on the crystal. "Lillie… Nebby… Litten…" he saw Litten getting to her feet. "I can't let them down!" he then crossed his arms and the Z-crystal shone brightly.

"S-Sun… what are you doing…?" Lillie asked.

He didn't give an answer as he shot his re-crossed arms forward and a blazing white aura surrounded him and Litten. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and while they were closed he heard a very faint meow that represented Litten's thoughts. Right after he heard that a glint was seen in his mind and he then quickly opened his eyes. Slowly, he performed the moves for the Z-Move and his body looked like it was possessed because his movements were very fluid and sharp. As he performed the move, Litten also felt Sun's determination and his fur slightly flared up.

Sun placed his fisted hands on his forehead and stomach and the bright yellow z-sigil flashed in front of Litten and the aura intensified around him.

"This time for sure! Go, Litten! BREAKNECK BLITZ!" Litten growled and he shot forward while leaving a very powerful gust of wind as he ran to Fearow. His paws were making small explosions as he moved closer and closer. The aura continued getting stronger and stronger and he left the ground and Litten crashed into the stomach of the Fearow with his head. The Beak Pokémon was shot back like a bullet and he crashed into the edge of the meadow and made a shape of itself into the rock before it fell to the ground. The aura dispersed from both Sun and Litten and Nebby was cheering and standing alongside her was Oricorio and she was dancing too.

Sun chuckled to himself. "Well, I'll be darned… I did it." He collapsed to the ground and his cap fell off and Litten collapsed as well.

"Oh no! Sun, Litten!" Lillie said with a panicked tone.

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Bird chirps could be heard around and Sun's vision was nothing but darkness. His vision started to lighten up and it was very blurry but he could see a white figure looking down at him and he could see two green jewels on the white figure.

"Sun, you're finally awake!"

Sun's vision focused and he saw Lillie looking down at him with an angelic smile. "Lillie… what happened?"

"You and Litten passed out. But don't worry I healed Litten and he is alright." He sat up and saw Litten playing with Oricorio and Nebby. "You and Litten saved us… what was that by the way, and when did Litten learn such a move?"

"O-oh? That was a Z-Move." He looked at his Normalium-Z. "It is a special move that a Pokémon can use only once in a battle, and it was no joke that's for sure. I got the Z-Crystal from my trial."

"Wow, you're only getting stronger and stronger Sun," Lillie said.

"Well… not really… I couldn't get it right at first. Moon and Hau got it before me but…" he looked at his palm. "I guess when it really mattered… it just came to me."

"You shouldn't worry about that. Tapu Koko did give you that Shining Stone, so I know that you are someone who can be counted on."

"You praise me too much Lillie," Sun said with a chuckle.

"Never-the-less, y-you never fail to impress me…" she said with a blush.

"O-oh… t-thanks Lillie…" he looked away with a blush as well. "I'm just trying my best."

They both got up. "Are you alright? Y-you're not dizzy or anything?" Lillie worriedly asked.

"I'm good, but thanks for patching me and Litten up."

"I-I'm only trying to be useful…" she said while turning away.

"Well we should find the others; they are probably worried about us."

"You're right!" Lillie gasped. "The professor would probably be worried after the way we disappeared on him…"

"Let's go," she walked to Nebby. "Can you get back into the bag, please, Nebby. I know there aren't many people around to see you here, but that's hardly an excuse!"

Nebby got back into the bag and Litten cheerily jumped onto Sun's shoulder. "Well, you're looking healthy." Litten meowed and nuzzled him. Sun looked down to Oricorio. "Thanks for your help, Oricorio."

Oricorio happily chirped she watched them leave, and she decided to follow them.

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After leaving the meadow, they saw Moon, Hau, Eclipse, and Kukui waiting for them.

"Hey Outsider, are you done moping yet?" Moon asked.

"Alola." Eclipse greeted.

"Hey there, Sun! Knew I could count on you, yeah! Thanks for tracking Lillie down for me! I also heard, Eclipse and Hau finished their trials too. I bet you used some stylin' moves, yeah?"

"Stylin' moves?" Sun and Lillie repeated with tilted heads.

"Hala's probably rubbing his hands together in glee right now, oh yeah!" Kukui excitedly said.

"Hala, what do you mean?" Lillie asked.

"It's part of the trial Lil, once you clear all the trials on an island. You get to face the Kahuna in the grand trial, oh yeah!" Moon explained with an excited tone.

"I think you're starting to become like the Professor," Sun said.

"Taking on the island Kahuna in battle is called the grand trial! For someone like me who's researching Pokémon moves, nothing could be better than the chance to see some more fierce Pokémon battles! Woo!"

"So, back to Iki Town?" Eclipse asked.

"You bet! All of you Catch that Tailwind and blast through Route 3!"

They all heard a chirp and they saw that the Oricorio had followed them. "Whoa, Oricorio followed us?" Sun said before she started dancing.

"I think she wants to be caught by you, Sun," Lillie said.

"Dibs." A Pokéball bounced off Oricorio's head and she was dragged into the Pokéball before it moved shook roughly indicating a critical capture. The Pokéball locked and Eclipse picked up the Pokéball and everyone, even the professor had their jaws falling to the ground while they were white with white circles for eyes. "I did call dibs…" she noticed their perplexed looks. "Why are you all looking at me like that…?"

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The day was coming to an end as the sun was hanging on the horizon. Sun, Lillie, and Moon were standing in front of Sun's house. "You better bring your A-game tomorrow Sun. Hala isn't going to go easy on you."

"Yeah, I wouldn't think he would."

"So did you finally get over your Z-Move?"

Sun smiled. "Yeah… it…" he glanced at Lillie. "It just came to me."

"Yeah, I knew you could do it... eventually." she started to leave the two. "Well you better get ready; I don't want to get too far ahead of you." She said with a smirk.

Sun chuckled as she watched her leave. "Well…" He looked to Lillie who got his attention. "I guess I should head back as well." She was about to turn on her heel.

"W-wait Lillie!" she turned around.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"W-wouldn't you like to stay and have dinner with us?" Sun nervously asked. "My Mom's been learning Alolan dishes and it's really good."

"O-oh… I really shouldn't… the Professor might need me for something… even if it is to iron his lab coats."

"It won't be long, plus I'll walk you back to the lab just like last time."

Lillie was thinking about her options. "I do not see the harm. I guess I can stay for a little while."

…

Inside, Sun and Lillie were sitting at the dinner table; their hats were hanging on the coat rack in the house.

Sun's mother was cooking and she was humming to herself. "So you're Lillie. Sun talks about you a lot you, you know?"

Sun wasn't able to hide his flushed expression. "Mom!" he cried. "She's just over exaggerating." He said to Lillie.

Lillie could only giggle. "Well, I do think it is nice of you to have me."

"Well, aren't you sweet. This is the first time Sun had brought a friend over, not to mention a girl too." She said smirking.

"O-oh r-really, I-I'm honored…" she stuttered.

"Mrow!" Meowth was curiously standing near Lillie's bag.

"W-wait… don't!"

Meowth opened the bag and Nebby shot out and excitedly zoomed around the house. "Pewww!"

"Nebby! Please calm down!"

Litten got excited after Nebby got out of the bag and he was jumping around in excitement. "Don't worry Lillie, I'll make sure that Nebby doesn't get out. Oh…" Sun looked to his mom. "Mom listen. Lillie wants to keep Nebby a secret, so do you mind not saying anything?"

His mom playfully zipped her mouth. "Mum's the word." She sang. "Now I hope you're hungry, I've made Take Down steak!"

As soon as the aroma reached Sun and Lillie's noses, they comically drooled. "That smells very nice, I am glad I took up your offer."

After she had served the dish, they were eating while Litten and Meowth were eating their Pokémon food. Nebby was curiously observing them.

"So Lillie, tell me about yourself?" Sun's Mom asked.

"U-um… I'm not really sure what there is to say." Lillie said with a sad expression.

"Oh, well what are your parents like?"

Lillie didn't answer but Sun noticed that she was tightly clenching her fork. "Um Mom, maybe you shouldn't ask Lillie about that stuff." He said. Lillie looked at Sun with a tear in each of her eyes.

"I see… I am sorry Lillie, I didn't mean to bring up something that would-"

"N-no it's okay." She assured and tried to force a smile.

"So are you on the Island Challenge too?"

"Oh no… I'm not a trainer; I'm professor Kukui's assistant."

"Really, it must be very important."

A sweatdrop fell to the side of Lillie's head. "Yes if mending clothes, cleaning the house and ironing lab coats counts as being important. But I am glad he has decided to take me in."

"So how did you and Sun meet?"

"U-um… well, he helped me out when we first met, and we even met Tapu Koko."

Sun's mom choked on her food for a second and she eventually swallowed her food. "M-mom! Are you okay!?" Sun worriedly exclaimed.

"I am okay Sun, but it's just that Tapu Koko is just a big deal around here! And you two met that Pokémon!? You two are very lucky."

…

The three talked for a while, Sun mostly talked about his trial with Moon. Once they had finished their dinner, Sun walked onto the balcony and he saw Lillie looking out from the balcony.

"Lillie?"

She looked back and faintly smiled. "Sun…"

"I'm sorry about my Mom, I'm sure she didn't mean to upset you."

"D-don't feel bad, I think your mom is really sweet." Lillie looked down in sadness again.

"Lillie... whatever's going on... I won't force it out of you, but just know I'm here if you want to talk okay."

"Um… okay… thanks…" Lillie said with a blush.

"Do you want me to take to the Professor's lab?"

"Um… yes, thank you."

Both Sun and Lillie was about to leave but Lillie stopped Sun by saying something. "Sun… I'm really glad we met on that bridge. If it wasn't for you, Nebby might have…"

"Don't mention it, I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

"Sun… I... "

They both looked at each other in silence but Sun quickly noticed something important. "Wait… where is Rotom!?"

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"Aw man, kzzrt I wanted to stay with Moon but I lost her." Rotom was floating around Iki Town and he noticed Eclipse walking to a small house. "Yo Eclipzze!" he floated into the open door and he saw an old tanned woman in a blue dress greeting the girl.

"You're back... oh Alola." She said noticing Rotom entering the home.

"What'zzz up, old lady?"

"Alola Rotom." Eclipse said. She looked to the woman. "Do not worry, he is a friend."

"I see, I'll start preparing dinner."

"Sooo, nice pad you got here?" Rotom said and Eclipse tilted her head like a confused animal.

"Should you not be with Sun?"

"I know where he lives, I can find him. So are you ready to take on Hala tomorrow?" she gave a nod.

"I plan to prepare for tomorrow…" she opened Oricorio's Pokéball and she cheerily flew up and around the room.

"Oh well, can I zzstay? Pleazze! I want to kzzt… get to know you better." Rotom said.

"I do not see why not."

"Yay! SLEEPOVER!"

"Wait a minute, you are a machine. Do you even sleep?" she asked pointing to Rotom.

"Umm…" Rotom suspiciously shifted his pupils.

"Never mind…"

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Hala was standing outside his home and looked up into the star littered sky. "Alola Hala." He saw Professor Kukui walking towards him.

"Kukui my old friend,"

"Those kids sure are tough, even Hau has gotten much stronger," Kukui said.

Hala chuckled. "Hahaha, we shall see tomorrow. Even my Pokémon are getting excited." He looked at his Z-Ring that had a maroon Z-crystal with a fist on it. "Yes, tomorrow. The Grand Trial will commence."

 

Chapter 7: Hala's Grand Trial Part 1: A Test of Will


The sun was slowly rising into the sky, Moon was already up and she couldn't wait until she could have her chance to face Hala. She was stretching and jogging across Route 1 with her three Pokémon behind her. She walked past Sun's house and she grew curious and she placed her hand under her chin.

She decided to knock on the door and opening it was Sun's Mom. "Oh, Alola. What brings someone like you here so early?"

"I'm a friend of Sun, and I know he lives here. So I guess I wanted to see how he was doing?"

"This early in the morning?" she curiously asked.

"What can I say, I'm an early riser. But when he does wake up, tell him that I'm going to be having my Grand Trial battle in the afternoon."

Sun's mom yawned as it wasn't long since she had woken up. "I'll be sure to let him know… what's your name anyway?"

"Moon." She answered.

She gave a quick gasp. "Oh so you're the girl Sun managed to finish his first trial with."

"Yep, that would be me…" at that moment she slightly grew nervous because she remembered that hateful words were exchanged between the two during their trial. "H-he didn't say something bad about me, did he?"

"No, not all, unless there is something that I should know." She asked with a tone that let Moon know that she was being suspected.

"O-oh no nothing bad happened!" she exclaimed in a panic.

Sun's Mom chuckled. "Oh don't worry; I was just playing with you." Moon let out a sigh of relief. "It's nice to see that Sun has already made two new friends." She quickly gasped. "I remember you; you're the trainer that Sun was fighting in the ceremonial battle. Would you like to come inside? I am making pancakes; I could whip up another batch for you."

Moon looked nervous and turned away. "T-that's very generous… but I-I really shouldn't… I wouldn't want you to put in any effort for a stranger."

"Nonsense, you're one of Sun's friends, far from any stranger. So I'll happily do this for you. Plus have you and your Pokémon had anything to eat this morning?" She got her answer when Moon's stomach grumbled and Popplio was trying to hold back a giggle.

"Okay, you got me there… but are you sure this is okay?"

"Of course, come on in." Moon nervously walked into the house and so did her Pokémon. "Make yourself at home."

"Thanks." Moon was about to walk onto the outside balcony but she before she could. She saw the sleepy figure of Sun walking out of his room.

"Alola Mom…" Sun tiredly greeted but this was before he noticed Moon standing in his living room.

She slyly greeted him. "Well, Alola sleepyhead."

Sun who was dressed in his blue pajama shirt and bottoms blinked to make sure what he was seeing was actually happening. "Moon?"

To prove he wasn't hallucinating, she walked up to him and flicked his forehead. "Do you believe I'm here now?"

"Y-yes sure, but why are you here?"

"I was taking a stroll with my Pokémon and I happened to pass by your place, which looks nice by the way."

"Oh thank you, dear." Sun's mom thanked from the kitchen.

"Anyway, you are going to watch my battle with Hala today, right?"

"Oh, you're going to battle him first?" Sun asked, knowing that their band of four had to each battle against Hala.

"Yep, I figured an outsider like you could learn something by watching my battle!" she said while playfully rubbing Sun's head.

"Still won't let that 'outsider' thing go?"

"Nope, but that's what you always will be to me." She answered with a mocking smile.

Sun gave a sigh and he thought it was way too early to deal with Moon. "If I agree to watch you, will you leave?"

"Oh no, your awesome Mom offered me pancakes and who would I be to refuse that!?" Moon said.

"You are making Pancakes, Mom?"

"Mmmhmm." She nodded while she was mixing a bowl of pancake batter. "You don't mind if Moon joins us. After all, you did invite your Lily friend to have dinner with us last night."

Moon's eyes grew wide in surprise and she slyly smiled at Sun. "Did he now?"

"Mommmm!" Sun cried.

"Oh yes, she was very sweet too."

"So Sun, tell me all about what happened last night? Why did Lillie even visit huh?" Moon asked.

"N-nothing happened!" he replied with a stutter.

"Hey, something's missing. Where is our Pokédex side-kick?"

"Huh? I thought Rotom would be with you."

"Nope, I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"Strange, where could he be?"

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Inside Eclipse's house, Rotom was recharging on the floor of the living room. He looked to be sleeping; a metal visor was closed over his eyes.

Eclipse was bending down to a lower height to stare at the sleeping Rotom Dex. She poked him and it rose and his eyes flashed on, and his monitor powered on. "Bzzt! Oh, Alola Eclipse!" Rotom cheered as he rose into the air.

"Alola Rotom." She greeted while doing the Alolan wave. "So were you sleeping or…?"

Rotom winked at her and got close to her face. "You'll never know bzzt!" he said pointing to her.

"That is weird… I suddenly felt the urge to move my pupils around the circumference of my eyes."

The woman who lived in the house walked into the living room. "That is called 'Rolling your Eyes' dear."

"Noted… I am going to vacate to train my Pokémon. Will that be okay, Miss Lani?" she asked the woman.

"Of course, just be safe out there dear. And please just call me Lani, Eclipse."

Eclipse nodded and, picked up her Pikachu backpack and was about to leave. "Are you coming?" she asked looking to Rotom.

Rotom hovered close to Eclipse. "Oh of course kzzt!" he followed Eclipse out of the house. The two were close to Iki Town but were moving into the wilds of Route 1. "So bzzt where are we going Eclipse?" Rotom asked.

Eclipse let out Oricorio from her Pokéball. The pom-pom bird sang as she flew up before landing on the ground beside her. "Would you mind scanning her?"

"You got it." He got closer to Oricorio. He took a picture of her. "Oh wow, this is interesting. Bzzt!"

He hovered to Eclipse's face level and his display showed Oricorio.

'Oricorio Pom-Pom Style, the Dancing Pokémon. It creates an electric charge by rubbing its feathers together. It dances over to its enemies and delivers shocking electrical punches.'

"Thank you for that information." Eclipse thanked.

"Hold on, there is more. Apparently, Oricorio is a Pokémon that can change forms by drinking the special nectar that is specific to each island. The Pom-Pom style Oricorio are the Oricorio that are native to Melemele Island because they drank the nectar of the yellow flowers."

"Hmm, so what you are saying is that each island has nectar that allows Oricorio to change forms."

"You bzzt bet!"

"Very interesting to know, In any case, I need to prepare for my battle with Kahuna Hala. I have to find Hau."

"Oh, but why?"

"I need him to teach me the Z-Move…" she looked at her the Z-Ring with the Normalium-Z embedded in it. "It could be necessary for future battles."

"Very well, to Iki Town!" Rotom cheered.

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After a while, Sun had cleaned himself and changed into his regular clothes. Both Sun and Moon were eating the pancakes that Sun's Mother had prepared. "Thanks, Mom."

"Yeah, these smell great." Moon complimented.

"Oh thank you, you two. I'm going to go take a bath. Sun, if you go out, make sure you lock the door."

"Okay, mom." She moved into the bathroom and her Meowth followed her.

"So Sun, who are you going to catch as your third Pokémon?"

"Third Pokémon?"

"Yes, Hala uses three Pokémon for his Grand Trial Battles; you're going to need a third Pokémon unless you really want to risk it with just Litten and Grubbin."

"Maybe you're right, but what Pokémon do I go with?"

Moon stood up after she finished gorging her pancakes. "Well I've got my three, so I'd say I'm pretty prepared."

"Pew." They both heard and their eyes grew wide after hearing that sound.

"Wait… isn't that…?"

Sun ran back to his room and he looked under his bed and he indeed saw Nebby floating underneath, she looked tired, as if she just woke up. "Wait… didn't Lillie put you in her bag!?"

Moon walked into the room. "Lil trusted you with that Pokémon of hers?"

"No, I think Nebby might have snuck out of Lillie's bag before she left." He picked her up. "We need to bring her back to Lillie, she's probably worried sick."

"The lab isn't that far away, we should get there quick!" Moon said.

After Sun picked up Nebby he got his Pokéballs and was about to head out. "Mom, we're heading out."

"Alright! Have a fun time out there!" she called out from the bathroom.

Both Sun and Moon left to get to the Pokémon Lab to return Nebby to the probably distraught Lillie.

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Meanwhile, Eclipse was standing at Hau's open doorway while staring at him as he had opened the door moments earlier. "A-lo-la Eclipse!" he sang. "I never expected you to pay me a visit." After he said this, Pichu was at his feet and was crying to be picked up. "Oh hey there little guy…" he picked up the baby Pokémon and held him close to his chest. "So what's up Eclipse?"

"I require you to teach me the Normal-Type Z move. Since you have done it before, I figured you would make a perfect reference."

"Well, I'd be very happy to help Eclipse," Hau said smiling. "We should find a private spot to practice." Eclipse nodded. "Hehe, this way!" he took hold of Eclipse's wrist and he dragged her off to his private training spot… or rather his favorite place to play with his Pokémon.



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Sun and Moon stood outside the lab and they could hear noises from inside. "Nebby! Where did you go!?" they both heard, the voice being an obviously panicked Lillie.

Inside, Lillie with the help of Professor Kukui's Rockruff was trying to find the missing Pokémon. "This is very bad, Professor!"

"Calm down Lillie, if we can't find her here, then I'll have Hala help us out."

"B-but what if they found her, I can't have Nebby going through that pain again. I-I have to keep her safe!"

"I understand how you feel Lillie, but you have to stay calm. Trust me; I'm sure your Pokémon will be found. She does sort of stands out, yeah!"

"Knock, knock!" Moon opened the door and Sun stood beside her while holding Nebby. "Did someone lose something?" she asked with an upbeat tone.

"Pew!" Nebby flailed her gas-arms and she hovered to Lillie.

"Nebby!" she hugged the small Pokémon. "Do you know how worried I was about you!? I thought you were taken." She looked the pair standing by the door. "Thank you so much for bringing her back to me; she didn't give you any trouble did she?"

Sun shook his head while chuckling. "Not at all, I found her under my bed; I was kind of surprised I didn't notice sooner."

Lillie sighed in relief. "Ok Nebby, you had your fun, now get back into the bag." Nebby looked down in sadness before floating into the bag.

"Now that, that is all sorted, are you two ready to take on Hala, yeah?" Kukui asked.

"Oh yeah, you bet! Hala ain't gonna know what hit him!" Moon said with excitement.

"Nice to see that fiery attitude!" Kukui said with the same excited tone. "What about you Sun?"

"Well, I'm not actually ready quite yet. I have to catch a third Pokémon you see."

"I'm sure whatever Pokémon you catch. You'll be able to groom it into a fine partner, yeah!" Kukui's Rockruff lightly bit on his lab coat to get his attention. "Oh right, when are you going to have your battle Moon? Rockruff has been dying to see the Kahuna battle since I told him about it last night."

Moon chuckled. "Well, I'm going to have my battle as soon as I get to Iki Town."

Rockruff excitedly barked. "Looks like Rockruff is excited, yeah!"

"Well I'm done waiting, we're doing this now!" she took Sun's wrist and began to hastily walk to Iki Town.

"H-hey, I thought you would help me find a third Pokémon?" Sun said.

"After!" Moon replied.

Lillie watched the two head off to Iki Town. "Is it just me, or is Moon more excited than usual?"

"Well Moon has always wanted to raise Pokémon. And after seeing many Grand Trials, she couldn't wait till she could one day do one herself."

"Oh, I see… There is a lot more to Moon than we see…"

"Well we should head there, she will be expecting us."

"Ruff, ruff!" Rockruff barked as he jumped in excitement, he followed both Lillie and Kukui out of the lab.

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Eclipse and Hau were somewhere on Route 3 and Eclipse's Oricorio was standing beside her. Hau had just finished demonstrating his Z-Move so that Eclipse could see.

"So did you get all that Eclipse?" She looked really focused and she didn't look to have blinked for the duration of Hau's Z-Move. She spent several seconds replaying it in her head. "Uh, Eclipse?"

"Done." She said.

"Done?"

"Watch…" Eclipse simply said. She performed the Z-Move all the while her face remained as stoic as it has ever been. Once the white aura surrounded both her and Oricorio, her face shifted to surprise as she suddenly saw everything through Oricorio's eyes for a split second. "Oricorio, use Breakneck Blitz!" Oricorio shot forward while a raging white aura with electric sparks surrounded her. She flew very close to the ground and tore up the ground behind her. Oricorio shot right through a bush and she completely decimated it. She crashed into a pile of berries below a berry tree. The dancing Pokémon flew back to Eclipse cheered as the girl looked at her. "Was that alright?"

Hau's jaw was wide open in surprise. "Whoa Eclipse… that was awesome!" he cheered. "And you did it on your first try!"

Rotom hovered onto the scene. "Yeah… don't get me wrong, Z-Moves are awesome, but you looked like you always do when you did it."

"Is that a problem?" Eclipse asked.

"No but…" Rotom quickly gave up. "Ah bzzt never mind."

Suddenly an angry crab-like Pokémon jumped out of a bush that was close to the berry pile. The crab-like Pokémon had a purple shell with blue and yellow accents, there were two long antennae over its eyes and his right eye was slightly closed with a blue eyelid. He had two, blue large pincers that resembled boxing gloves. He had four, purple crustacean legs with blue tips.

The crab angrily pointed at Oricorio and then to the berries. "It looks like that Pokémon is angry that we toppled his berry pile."

"Well bzzt, what Pokémon do we have here!" Rotom took a picture of the Crabrawler and he narrowly avoided being snapped by his pincers. "Hey! Now that izzz just kzzt rude!" Rotom exclaimed while floating back to both Hau and Eclipse. On his display was an image of the crab Pokémon.

'Crabrawler, the Boxing Pokémon. It punches so much, its pincers often come off from overuse, but they grow back quickly.'

"A lot of references to punching, so we can assume it's a fighting type then." Eclipse said with her hand cupping her chin.

Crabrawler was angrily punching the air while glaring at both Eclipse and Hau. "Dibs!" Hau called before Eclipse could get a word in. As he yelled this, he threw a Pokéball into the air that contained Rowlet. The grass owl hovered at Hau's shoulder length. "Okay Rowlet, I need your help, I want to catch that Crabrawler!"

"Koooo!" Rowlet cooed as he looked towards the agitated Crabrawler.

"Start with Peck, Rowlet!" Rowlet's beak shone bright blue and he flew towards the crab Pokémon. Though the Crabrawler quickly countered by pinching Rowlet's wing and he threw him up. Crabrawler followed Rowlet and his right claw shone a white-orange colour and he punched Rowlet to the hard ground. "Rowlet are you okay!?" he slowly got back up. Rowlet turned his face back to Haw while his body faced the opposite direction. He nodded his head and Hau's confidence returned. "Okay, take him on with Leafage!" Rowlet hovered above the ground and shot four sharp leaves to Crabrawler. He quickly ran from the leaves to avoid them. "Now use Peck!" After Crabrawler dodged the Leafage, he was then charged into by Rowlet, beak first, causing substantial damage. The Boxing Pokémon slid to his back.

"Hau, do you not think now is your chance?" she dully asked.

"Oh yeah!" he took out a regular Pokéball from his back. "Okay, here we goooo!" after throwing the Pokéball is bounced off one of the claws of the Crabrawler and he was brought into the Pokéball by a bright blue light. Once it hit the ground, the button shone red and it was shaking. On the third shake, the Pokéball snapped open and Crabrawler shot back out and landed on the ground while glaring at both Hau and Eclipse. "Aw snap! He got out!" Hau said.

"Then I shall assist you." Eclipse said but Hau grabbed her wrist.

"No Eclipse, I want to be able to do this on my own. It's sweet you want to help me, but… I want my first Pokémon catch to be on my own."

Eclipse looked at Hau for a second and gazed at his determined face. "Fine… I shall let you do this on your own. I wish you good luck."

Hau gave Eclipse his usual chipper smile. "Thank you! Just watch, I'm going to catch that Crabrawler!" they both saw the Crabrawler charging to Rowlet with a glowing right pincer. "Rowlet dodge it quickly." Rowlet leaped over the Crabrawler, causing him to miss. "Alright, now use Growl!" Rowlet let out a loud koo which lowered Crabrawler's attack. Crabrawler then opened his claws and fired blue transparent bubbles from the claws. "Rowlet fly away from the bubbles!" Rowlet was easily avoiding the bubbles as they popped around him. "Now dive and use Peck!" Rowlet shot down with a glowing beak and Crabrawler looked prepared as his right claw was shining bright orange.

Rowlet's beak and Crabrawler's claw clashed and both Pokémon were sent rolling back from each other, though Rowlet immediately hovered up to Hau's face height. "Okay, this time for real!" he tossed another Pokéball which bounced off the Crabrawler's head and a blue light dragged him into the Pokéball. After three shakes, this time the Pokéball locked and bright yellow stars shot from it as a loud 'click' sound was heard.

Hau walked to the Pokéball and triumphantly picked it up. "YES my first captured Pokémon!" he exclaimed while dancing.

"Congratulations Hau." Eclipse praised.

"Oh, that's right!" Hau remembered with a gasp. "Moon will be having her battle with Hala soon, you wanna watch?"

Eclipse's only response was a shrug of her shoulders. "WHAAT!" Rotom screamed. "Moon is going to fight the Kahuna!? Well, what are we doing, just standing around!? Kzzt!" Rotom flew off to Iki Town by himself.

"That is a very excitable Pokédex isn't it?" Eclipse said.

"Yeah, but I think it's cute though," Hau replied.

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About an hour later Sun, Moon, Lillie, and Kukui got to Iki Town and they saw Hala standing by the town gates. "Ho, ho! I've been expecting you two." He said with a laugh. "Haha, so where's my grandson and his friend?"

"Heck if I know," Moon said with a shrug.

"I'm sure they will get here soon." Lillie assuredly said.

"WAAAIT" They all heard Hau's cry as both him and Eclipse were running towards Iki town. When they both arrived Eclipse looked like she was out of breath.

Moon chuckled to herself. "I think that's the first time, I didn't see you with a bland face."

"I-I shall not… dignify that… with a… response…" she said with pants in between her words.

"Well now that the four of you are here, I can properly greet the young adventurers embarking on their island challenge. I am Hala, the kahuna of Melemele Island."

"We know who you are, but keeping up with introductions. I'm Moon from Akala Island, and I'm going to give my all in this trial!"

"It looks like we have a fire that burns brightly in this one, maybe that's why Tapu Lele came to you. So Moon, will you be the first to battle me?"

"That's right and I'm more than ready!"

"Well Moon, if you're ready then meet me on the stage, then we shall commence the Grand Trial!" he walked to the stage in the middle of town.

"Aren't you even the slightest bit nervous?" Lillie asked.

"Nope! I've totally got this!" they started to walk to the stage.

"So who are you going to use first?" Sun asked.

"That depends; you'll just have to find out."

Kukui put a word in before they reached Hala. "I'm lookin' forward to seeing what moves all of you and your Pokémon will pour your soul into… now that you guys have gone and cleared your first trial, yeah!"

Hala stood in the ring facing the trainers, Lillie and Kukui. "Well, now that all of you are here. I plan on doing my trial a little bit differently." He chuckled to himself. "Each of you will battle against one of my Pokémon, but each of you will only be able to use one Pokémon!"

"WHAT!?" Sun and Hau gasped.

Moon chuckled. "Heh, I like this trial already."

"This Grand trial is to test the deep bonds you have with your Pokémon. A one on one, a true test of skill and teamwork."

Eclipse stepped forward. "Seems simple enough, but it will be much harder for you since we know the Pokémon you're going to use against you?"

"That is correct, but as Kahuna, I should prepare myself for any challenge that comes my way," Hala said.

"That will be perfect!" Kukui exclaimed. "I get to see your best stylin' moves, oh yeah!"

Moon sighed. "Alright, I'll go first, anyone of you guys got a problem!?" she asked with her usual tone

"If I may…" Eclipse started. "You want to battle first so you can, attempt to outshine the rest of us."

"Geez, you make me sound like a monster."

Sun walked to her. "Just do your best Moon, 'cause that's what all of us will be doing. Remember what I told you during our trial?"

Moon sighed. "Yeah, I remember. I guess can still show off my skills." Her usual smile returned. "Thanks, Sun."

Hau let out a surprised gasp. "Moon, I think that's the first time I heard you call Sun by his real name."

Moon blushed. "T-that means nothing. It's just inconvenient to just keep calling him 'outsider' all the time! That's all!"

Rotom hovered close to Hau. "She is just trying to hide her feelingz kzzt…"

"Y-you mean she's-?" Rotom nodded to Hau's question.

"She'zzz got it bad!" he laughed.

"Aww, but that's so sweet."

Moon glared at the two. "Hau, don't make me tell Rotom about you and Eclipse?"

Rotom instantly lit up. "W-what about Hau and Eclipzze!?"

Hau dismissively waved his hands in front of his face. "N-NOTHING! STOP IT MOON!" his face turned red and Eclipse noticed.

"Hau, your face is red again." Eclipse dully pointed out.

Moon pressed her own cheeks and took a step forward. "Alright wish me luck."

Sun gave her a 'thumbs up'. "With you, I'm sure you won't need it."

"Good luck Moon!" Hau exclaimed.

"Do your best." Eclipse said.

"I hope it goes well for you and whoever you choose," Lillie said.

"Thanks, guys…" she walked onto the stage. "Okay, Hala. I'm ready!"

Hala laughed. "I've been waiting for a challenge, so Moon. Show me you and your Pokémon's full power!"

"Gladly!"

Hala slammed his right foot on the stage in the same manner as a Sumo Wrestler, after that he took out a Pokéball. "Prepare yourself, Moon, because the Melemele Kahuna never loses!"

"Well, neither do I!"

Hala threw out an Ultra Ball and coming out was a Crabrawler, this one was slightly bigger than the one Hau caught earlier.

"Whoa, Hala hazzz a Crabrawler too!" Rotom exclaimed.

"Crabrawler?" Sun questioned. "Well, let's see what Moon does."

"I got the perfect Pokémon to deal with you." She threw out her Pokéball and Pikipek shot out in a bright blue flash of light. He landed on the ground and he looked around.

"You attempt to use the Flying type to my disadvantage. Not a bad plan, but it will take more than type advantage to beat a Kahuna." Moon gave a serious look to Hala. "Whenever you are ready,"

"Ha, let's see if you can handle me! Pikipek use Rock Smash!" Pikipek's beak shone whitish orange and he was going to drive his beak into Crabrawler.

Hala smirked. "Crabrawler grab his beak!" the boxing Pokémon grabbed the beak with his left pincer before the attack could land. "Now hit back with Crabhammer!" the right claw was cloaked in water and he threw a powerful punch to Pikipek. The woodpecker Pokémon slid on the floor after the hit but he quickly got up to his feet. "You won't get to me that easily, Moon. Crabrawler can fight back anything you throw at him. Crabrawler, use Power-Up Punch!" His right pincer was surrounded in a swirling bright orange aura and he jumped towards Pikipek.

"Pikipek jump to the sky!" Pikipek launched away from Crabrawler and his Power-Up Punch missed. Once he was in the sky, Moon told him, his next move. "Pikipek use, Rock Smash!" Pikipek's beam shone white/orange and he soared down toward Crabrawler.

"Just like last time, get ready Crabrawler!" Hala said.

"Pikipek, switch into Peck!" Pikipek's beak was engulfed in a bright bluish glow and winds surrounded Pikipek.

"Crabrawler! Defend with your pincers!" the Boxing Pokémon crossed his pincers in front of his body. Pikipek crashed into his target, the impact forced Crabrawler on his back but he quickly got back up and glared at Pikipek. "That's the stuff, now use Bubblebeam!"

Crabrawler's pincers opened up before he shot out a stream of large bubbles, an attack which caught Moon off guard. "Pikipek, dodge quick!" Pikipek tried to fly above the ground but Crabrawler didn't let up and he continued trying to hit Pikipek. Pikipek's aerial moves were no match as one of the bubbles hit him and he was falling to the stage.

"Crabrawler, use Power-Up Punch!" His right pincer powered up with swirling bright orange energy before letting loose a powerful punch that shot Pikipek across the stage. He bounced towards Moon and looked injured.

"Oh no! Pikipek!" Moon exclaimed.

"This is bad," Sun said observing the battle. "I think it's only going to take one more hit before Pikipek is done for. I hope that she can think of something…"

Pikipek started to slowly rise to his small talons. "Pikipek, are you alright?" He chirped to let Moon know that he still wanted to go on. "A-are you sure?" Pikipek looked to Crabrawler and glared at him.

"Hmm, so Pikipek has a lot more fight in him that I thought," Hala said. "Keep your guard up Crabrawler." Crabrawler put up his pincers in response.

Moon quickly thought of an idea in her head. "Pikipek attack with Peck!" Pikipek shot forward yet again with attacking intent as his beak glowed again.

"We won't block this time; slow him down with Bubble Beam!" Crabrawler opened his pincers and shot a flurry of bubbles that were speeding to Pikipek.

"Pikipek spin and pop the bubbles!" Pikipek spun like a drill while using Peck and the bubbles were popping as she continued forward to Crabrawler.

"Block it Crabrawler!" he put his pincers up and Pikipek pecked the pincers.

"Quick, get up into the air!" Pikipek flew up into the sky again.

"Take him down with Bubble Beam!" the pincers opened and he opened fire as he released a stream of bubbles into the air.

"Counter it with Echoed Voice!" Pikipek released a loud chirp which created soundwaves that popped the bubbles before they could reach him. There were bright blue sparkles that were present as the bubbles popped. "Use Echoed Voice again!" Pikipek unleashed a second loud chirp that produced even stronger sound waves than the first wave and this made everyone in the vicinity cover their ears and Crabrawler took heavy damage. "We got him now, finish him with Peck!" Pikipek flew down to land the Peck on the Boxing Pokémon.

Hala smiled. "You almost got me… Crabrawler use Iron Defense!" Crabrawler brought his pincers to his face and they were covered by iron and this easily blocked Pikipek's attack while sharply increasing his defense. "Push him back!" After the block, Pikipek was thrown back. Soon Hala's orange Z-Crystal started to shine as he crossed his wrists. Hala uncrossed them, swung them in a circle before stretched them forward and crossing them again. An orange aura started to rage around him and Crabrawler. Hala started punching the air in front of him and his punches got faster until he abruptly stopped and the Z-sigil appeared in front of Crabrawler. "This is the power of the Melemele Kahuna! ALL OUT PUMMELING!" Hala exclaimed while throwing one more punch covering both he and Crabrawler in red, bright raging auras. "Now Crabrawler!" Crabrawler's pincers were engulfed in a bright red aura and he threw punches which shot projections of large palms and feet.

"He used his Z-Move now!?" Moon exclaimed. "Pikipek fly up and dodge it!" Pikipek flew up and managed to fly up and dodge the projectiles, when the barrage stopped he thought he was safe but he didn't expect to see Crabrawler meeting him in the air. "Oh no!"

"Finish him Crabrawler!" his pincer still powered by the Z-Move drove down onto Pikipek and the small woodpecker was falling right down back to the stage and he slammed through it creating a hole. Pikipek looked extremely battered through the hole.

Moon had tears hanging over at the bottom of her eyelids. "Pikipek…" when she didn't hear his usual cheerful chirp she got worried, she didn't care whether she won or lost but it would tear her apart if her Pokémon got injured in the process and she knew that there was no way that Pikipek could get up from an attack like that.

Hala placed his hands to his sides as he came out of his Z-Move stance. "It is done…"

"Whoa…" Sun whispered. "I had a feeling that Hala was powerful but… not that strong!"

Moon continued to look down the hole at an angle, meaning she wasn't able to see Pikipek. Tears started to fall down her cheeks. "I-Is Pikipek alright?" Lillie worriedly asked.

"Oh man, I hope Tutu didn't go too hard on her," Hau said.

"Astonishing…" Kukui thought. "This is the first time I've gotten to see Hala's Z-Move up close… I have heard of its power before, but this is on a completely new level."

As Hala was preparing to return Crabrawler, he noticed a glint coming from Moon's Z-Crystal. "Hm… perhaps I spoke too soon…"

"PIKIPEK!" Moon cried out while droplets of tears ejected from her eyes. Right after she cried out his name the hole in the stage lit up and a pillar of bright blue light shot from it. The pillar ceased and a glowing, bright blue figure flew out of the hole with a burst of new energy. The beak of this figure grew and pointed feathers grew from the back of his head, and his thin talons grew longer as well and his body grew as well. Moon looked up and her face of dread was replaced with glee. "PIKIPEK!"

"No…" Rotom said. "He's become…"

The blue aura shattered like glass and the new body of Pikipek was revealed. "TRUMBEAK-BEAK!" the Pokémon exclaimed in a slightly deeper chirp.

"You evolved!" Moon exclaimed.

"That'zzz right!" Rotom excitedly exclaimed while taking pictures of the new Pokémon. "And I have found hizzz entry…" he turned around and Trumbeak's picture could be seen on Rotom's display.

'Trumbeak, the Bugle Beak Pokémon, and the evolved form of Pikipek, It eats berries and stores their seeds in its beak. When it encounters enemies or prey, it fires off all the seeds in a burst.'

Trumbeak looked down at Moon with a happy expression. He could tell how deeply she cared about him, and this gave him the will to carry on with the fight so he couldn't disappoint her. He flew to her shoulder before perching himself on her arm.

Hala started to chuckle to himself. "I see it now; you had a much greater bond with Pikipek than I thought. It was because of that bond that Pikipek was able to evolve into Trumbeak, simply astounding." He then gave a smirk. "But it is like I said, the Melemele Kahuna never loses. Crabrawler, use Bubble Beam!" he then opened his pincers and fired a multitude of bubbles to Trumbeak.

Moon had a bold idea and she formed this after she listened to Rotom's Pokédex description. "Alright Trumbeak, pop those bubbles with Bullet Seed!" Trumbeak remained perched on Moon's arm and the ends of his sharp beak bent backward as he fired small green glowing seeds to the bubbles and they were popped instantly. "Go for him, use Rock Smash!" Moon threw her right arm forward giving Trumbeak extra momentum as he sped to Crabrawler. His beak was covered in an orange glow.

"Crabrawler defend with Iron Defense!"

Moon smirked. "Aim for the Pincer on the right!" Moon exclaimed and his beak crashed into Crabrawler's left pincer right as they turned to iron. He crashed into that into that pincer and focused all his attack energy into it. "Same place, use Bullet Seed!" Trumbeak shot green glowing seeds onto the pincer and something shocking happened. The seeds hit them with enough energy to force the pincer right off his arm and it fell off the stage. Hala and everyone else gasped, Moon at the same time had a satisfied smirk as she knew her plan had worked. But she knew she wasn't done yet. "Trumbeak attack the other one! Use Peck!" his beak was covered in a bright blue glow and he aimed for the pincer that Crabrawler was using to defend himself.

"Iron Defense!" Hala exclaimed clapping his hands. The move went through and his only remaining pincer was covered in iron sheen and it blocked the attack.

Moon laughed. "I knew you were going to do that! Use Peck, Woodpecker Style!" Moon exclaimed with her usual confident expression. Trumbeak immediately understood and he drove his beak into the pincer with the same speed and accuracy of a woodpecker. After several seconds the right pincer flew off into the air. Moon proceeded to cross her wrists. "It's time to end this!" the Normalium-Z within her Z-Ring glowed. After she uncrossed her arms she threw them forward and she performed the pose for the Normal Z-Move and a raging white aura surrounded her and Trumbeak. "Trumbeak, it's time to show them our real power! Breakneck Blitz!" Trumbeak shot forward like a bullet and left a shockwave in his wake. He was fast approaching the pincer-less Crabrawler and he shot right into him, forcing the Boxing Pokémon off the stage.

Hala looked at Moon and he smiled. "It seems you have bested me, Congratulations, you have passed my Grand Trial."

"Woohoo!" Moon cheered while Trumbeak was happily chirping. She noticed the others looking at her… "I-I mean… was there ever any doubt?" She said.

"I believe there was, though this was before Pikipek evolved." Eclipse said, unintentionally irking Moon as she got off the stage.

Sun nudged her arm. "Just let her have this one, Eclipse."

"What, I was only answering her question."

"It was meant to be rhetorical." Lillie clarified.

"Oh, alright… what does 'rhetorical' mean?" Everyone save for Hala and Kukui had comically fainted.

"You know, I'd really like to meet your parents one day," Moon said.

"So do I…" Eclipse said and the group went silent. "...I just cannot remember them, my memory isn't very reliable right now."

"Oh, well I guess I'm sorry," Moon said.

"You do not need to apologize."

"Oh great, I thought things were going to turn pretty angsty."

Hala approached them. "So who will face me next?"

Sun stepped forward. "I guess I will be."

"Well I was looking forward to facing you; Kukui and his assistant have told me great things about you. I hope that they weren't exaggerated."

Sun scratched his head bashfully. "Oh, I'm sure they didn't say too much. But I'm going to give my all."

"I know you will, Sun," Lillie said.

"Yeah, you got this!" Hau said with inflated enthusiasm. Eclipse simply gave him the obligatory thumbs up.

Moon approached him. "Don't underestimate Hala, he was the strongest person that I've ever faced."

"Thanks for the warning Moon."

"It's just that I struggled with him, so just stay on your toes if you want to beat him."

"Got it, I appreciate you trying to help me."

"Hey don't get the wrong idea all right. I just don't want to see you moping around like with what happened with the Z-Move situation."

"O-okay, but no matter what I'll give my best."

Moon nodded as Sun walked onto the stage to meet Hala on the other side. "Well, Sun! You have been entrusted with the Sparkling Stone by Tapu Koko! Now show me you and your partner's full power!" Hala tossed out another Ultra Ball and a new Pokémon shot out. This Pokémon was a yellow Pokémon with a bulky build. He had a black marking that extended around his neck. His hands resembled black boxing gloves. There were red, ring markings on his cheeks and had eyes that looked like curvy slits. The top of his head had a yellow knot.

"Whoa, I haven't seen that Pokémon before."

"But that is why Sun, I am here," Rotom said as he had already scanned the yellow Pokémon.

'Makuhita the Guts Pokémon, their daily routine consists of training together first thing in the morning, eating and napping in the afternoon, and then more training afterward.'

"Makuhita trains day and night by himself, he has never lost a single battle yet. I am curious to see how you stand up to this challenge, Sun."

Sun looked slightly nervous after hearing about Makuhita's training regime. Especially since he hasn't actually trained much with his own Pokémon, "Okay, here we go!" Sun tossed out a Pokéball which contained Litten, the starter landed on the stage and looked at Makuhita on the other side.

"Okay, I should start small… see what Hala plans to do first…" He shot his arm forward. "Litten start with Scratch!" Litten sprinted to Makuhita who simply stood in place, waiting for Hala's commands. Litten leaped up and his claws retracted from his little paws.

Hala smirked as Litten was in a perfect position. "Makuhita, Fake Out!" Makuhita spread his arms out wide as Litten came closer he slammed his hands together right in front of Litten's face and the Fire Cat flinched in fear of the attack hitting him. The shockwave knocked him back as he landed on his feet.

"That was Fake Out?" Sun wondered aloud while he noticed that Litten's fur became puffy from the earlier fright.

"Focus, Outsider! He won't let up!" Moon exclaimed.

"Makuhita, use Force Palm!" Makuhita's palm shone white and he shot forward towards Litten.

"Litten dodge the attack!" Sun said in a panicked tone. His Pokémon jumped from the attack before he turned on his paw to face Makuhita. "Alright, now Fire Fang!" Litten leaped to Makuhita and he bit down on the Guts Pokémon's arm and it was engulfed in flames. Makuhita panicked and he quickly put it out. "We got him now, Litten use Ember!" Litten shot a small burst of fire from his mouth as three hairs on his back stood up.

"Block it with Force Palm!" Hala exclaimed while mimicking the action of Force Palm. Makuhita's right palm shone white and he threw it onto the Ember and it made a white shockwave which dispersed the attack into tiny embers.

"He blocked it, stay alert Litten. He's up to something."

"You are right Sun, I am cooking up something, but the question is… will you be able to stop it?" Sun stepped back and glared at Hala. "Makuhita, now use Belly Drum!" Makuhita started to slowly bang on his stomach like a drum and orange shockwaves were generated every time he hit his stomach.

Kukui and Moon immediately realized what was going to happen. "So you saw it too, huh Moon?" she only gave a single nod before looking to the battlefield. "This definitely goes to show you that Hala will never hold back, yeah."

Moon yelled at Sun. "Outsider! Whatever you do, don't let Makuhita land a single hit!" she warned.

Hala smirked as he stood on the other side of the battlefield. "You see, Belly Drum is a move that Maximizes the users attack power, but at the cost of the Pokémon's energy... Right now, it will only take a single move to end this battle."

Sun took a deep breath and took in what Hala said. "Yeah… well, you're going to have to hit Litten first, and that isn't happening!"

"I am eager to see what you will do. Makuhita, use Force Palm!" his right palm was engulfed in a white glow and he charged to Litten.

"Litten dodge!" Sun exclaimed. Litten ran in-between Makuhita's legs, avoiding the hit. "Now use Ember!" Litten quickly shot a blast of small fire to Makuhita.

"Makuhita, block it with Force Palm!" the Ember was blocked and Sun quickly realized that he was going to have to let Litten get close to hit an attack as his Embers would get blocked by Force Palm.

"This isn't good," Moon said.

"What makes you say that?" Hau said. "All Sun needs to do is land a hit on Makuhita, and he wins."

"Yes, but Sun can't do it easily. Hala is trying to back Sun into a corner and when Sun has nowhere else to go, that is when Hala will make his move." Moon said.

"Litten go for Ember!" Sun exclaimed. Litten shot another Ember but it was blocked by Makuhita's Force Palm. "I can't use Ember, he will just keep blocking it. I need Litten to attack head on!" "Then we'll just get close! Litten use Scratch!" Litten shot forwards and ran on his four paws as his claws were protruding from his paws.

"Makuhita, use Force Palm!" Hala said throwing his fist forward.

Sun's pupils shrank for a second. "Litten roll under his legs!" Litten rolled under his legs and was behind Makuhita. "Now use Scratch again!" as soon as Litten was done rolling he darted right back to the back of Makuhita.

Hala's face turned serious. "Makuhita, roll away from Litten!" Makuhita rolled from Litten's attack surprising both Litten and Sun. "Makuhita can also be nimble if he needs to be. Haha, here I come Sun! Makuhita, use Force Palm!" the yellow Pokémon shot forward to Litten.

Sun quickly thought of something. "Litten jump off of his face and into the air!" Litten understood instantly and he leaped over the Force Palm and off of Makuhita's face. Once Litten was in the air, Sun gave his next instruction. "Litten use Ember over and over!" Litten shot multiple ember blasts towards Makuhita and they rained on him and he blocked them with his arms. He was unable to notice Litten landed on the ground. "This is it! Use FIRE FANG!" Litten's mouth lit up with raging flames and he ran forward to Makuhitia.

Hala looked calm as Litten got close and as soon as Litten was close enough, Hala put his plan into action. "Makuhita, use Reversal!"

Both Moon and Kukui gasped and everyone watched as Makuhita stopped Litten's attack, grabbed him and managed to power slam the Fire Cat Pokémon onto the stage while putting his one weight on him. When Makuhita got off, Litten was covered in scratches and bruises, he was still breathing but he remained motionless.

"LITTEN!" Sun ran over and picked up his partner Pokémon. "Please tell me you're okay!?" Litten's eyes struggled to open but he opened them and tried to smile when Sun was holding him.

Hala walked to him. "You fought well, but unfortunately you haven't passed my Trial."

Sun stood there still processing what he had just gone through. But he gave a silent nod and walked off the stage. Lillie was the first to approach him. "Sun… are you okay?"

"Y-yeah… I guess I never figured Hala would be that strong."

Moon walked to him. "Don't worry; I'll be sure to toughen you up. When I'm done with you, you and Litten will walk circles around him."

"O-okay, sounds like a plan." She grabbed Sun's wrist. "H-hey…" she dragged him off.

"We're starting right now!"

Lillie stood there scared for Sun. "I honestly didn't think that Sun would have lost so quickly."

Kukui stood next to her. "The Grand Trial of each island is supposed to be the hardest thing a Trial goer experiences. Hala has just shown how strong all the Kahunas are, yeah. Now we have to see if Sun can stand back on his feet. Not only will his second battle with Hala be a test of his skills but a test of his character, yeah."

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After the Sun and Moon left Iki Town, the two were by themselves. "Moon, why'd you drag me off like that?"

"Because, fighting regular trainers and Kahunas are two different things, you can't just go into a Grand Trial and expect to be able to fight the Kahunas on a normal level. Those tricks you used may work on trainers like me, but not on Hala. He could see your plan coming a mile away…"

"So what should I do!?" Sun said in a slight panic.

Moon sighed. "I can't say… you're going to have to figure it out on your own. That's how I always did things. Listen, dust yourself off and try again. That's the best thing you can do."

Suddenly they both heard the bush shake nearby, a Pokémon walked out of them and it revealed itself to be a Rockruff. However this one looked different, the rocks on his neck were sharper, and he had a scar over his left eye and two scars on his right, front paw. But the most visually noticeable change was that his black pupils were surrounded by bright emerald eyes.

Moon gasped as soon as she saw the Pokémon. "I-I don't believe it!"

"Whoa, that's a cool looking Rockruff!" Sun said. "I just got an idea." He quickly pulled out a Pokéball.

"Wait… Sun, that's probably not-" disregarding Moon's warning he chucked the Pokéball towards the Rockruff. The stones on his neck were glowing brightly and the Pokémon fired five rock projectiles from the stones and they managed to completely destroy the Pokéball.

"Huh!?" Sun exclaimed.

"I tried to warn you, idiot…" they both looked to the Rockruff. "That is no ordinary Rockruff." He continued to growl at them as he remained in a fixed offensive stance, with his body lowered to the ground and his tail pointing straight up into the air.

"But why is it here?" Sun asked. They didn't get their answer as the rouge Rockruff glared at the two, particularly Sun. But what could that Rockruff possibly want with him?

 

Chapter 8: Hala’s Grand Trial Part 2: Litten’s Fire

A battle-hardened Rockruff was glaring at Sun while Moon stood by his side. “Uh Moon, why is that Rockruff stalking me?” Sun asked while shaking slightly.

Moon thought about it before giving her answer. “Hard to say, I’ve heard stories about a powerful Rockruff that exists on Melemele Island. In fact, stories say that he challenged Tapu Koko, he lost, and the stories say that with that loss, came a spirit that was unmatched by any Pokémon. This Rockruff is always looked for, but no one can ever find him. But he has to come to you, I wonder what that means?”

“I don’t get it what does he want?” the Rockruff jerked his head, gesturing Sun to follow.

“He wants you to follow him, but I’m coming with. This may be your thing, but I want to see this for myself.”

As they followed Rockruff, he turned around with an angry look on his face but turned back as if nothing was there. He allowed both Sun and Moon to follow him.

After they left a pair of figures were watching them leave, they were dressed in peculiar white and navy blue bodysuits covering their bodies. One of them was male and the other was female, the male looked to have a blue mustache and beard, while the woman had medium long navy blue hair that fell to her left side. They wore peculiar helmets and had simple masks with slit cutouts so they could see through them.

The woman was the first to speak. “Captain, that mysterious aura we have been tracking, could it be coming from those trainers.”

The Captain remained silent for a while. “Difficult to say, While watching the so-called Island Kahuna in action, there is no questioning his strength, but those children have displayed their own strength, especially since they hold those Z-Rings… Perhaps it is because there is so much light in this world, I am actually a bit envious.”

“What shall our next move be Captain?”

“Considering we are new to this world, it would be best if we continued to watch those kids.”

“Affirmative.” They both left to follow Sun, Moon and Rockruff but their presence wasn’t as secretive as Eclipse saw then and she scratched her head.

“New to this world?” she repeated to herself. She looked back and saw that Hau was about to fight against Hala. She turned back and walked to watch him.

…

Sun, Moon, and Rockruff arrived at the secret training spot and they could see large boulders that were in pieces. Those very same boulders looked like they could only be destroyed by a Tarous “Whoa, looks like someone’s been busy.” Moon commented.

“So why have you brought me here?” Rockruff looked at Litten, he gestured for Sun to put him down. “Oh, uh okay.” Once he was put down Rockruff walked to a berry tree and grabbed a bright orange berry with his maw and placed it in front of the battered Litten. The fire cat sniffed it and he smothered it with his paws and started to eat the berry. He immediately felt better and rose to his four paws.

“Oh wow, that was a Sitrus Berry.”

“I don’t get it, what is happening?” Sun questioned. Rockruff glared at Sun, the rocks on his neck were glowing and he fired three white glowing rocks at a boulder and the boulder had large cracks in it. “Oh wow, that’s strong!” commented Sun. Rockruff tilted his head to the boulder and looked at Litten. “I see, Litten use Ember!” Litten powered up an Ember and it hit the boulder but it did very little to affect the boulder.

Rockruff looked down and shook his head almost as if he was disappointed by Litten’s display of power. “Looks like he thinks Litten’s Ember sucks,” Moon jabbed with a satisfied smirk.

Sun narrowed his glare to her. “I’d like to see you do better!”

Moon gave a single laugh. “Ha, gladly, Go Popplio, use Water Gun!” Popplio shot out of her Pokéball and while in the air, she twirled and blasted water to the same boulder but just like Litten’s Ember, it didn’t do much to it. “Hmm, I thought for sure that would do something.” Rockruff looked right at Litten and his emerald eyes were gazing right into him. He suddenly fired a Rock Throw to Litten and the fire cat was hit and he slid back.

Litten growled at the Rockruff. “Hey, what was that for!?” Sun exclaimed. Rockruff glared right at Litten and was barking at him. “I don’t get it, what’s his problem? Does he want to help me or not?”

Moon shrugged her shoulders. “Don't look at me. I don’t travel to Melemele often; I’ve only heard stories about this particular Rockruff.”

Rockruff glared at Sun, his neck pebbles shone white and he fired projections of rocks to Sun and he narrowly ducked under them. After seeing his attack miss, Rockruff leaped up and his fangs were glowing bright yellow and were engulfed in electric sparks.

Litten saw what was happening and he shot a powerful Ember at Rockruff, which forced him away from Sun. Rockruff hit a rock wall and fell to the ground.

Popplio wanted to help Litten but Moon put her arm out in front of her. “No Popplio, something tells me this is Sun’s deal to figure out.” Rockruff was getting to his feet after Litten attack him and he smirked. Rockruff then howled and an orange rising aura surrounded him. “Hey watch out, that was Howl.”

Sun took that into consideration. “So you want us to battle you?” The green-eyed Rockruff didn’t respond as his charged towards Litten. “He’s using Tackle, in that case. Litten counter with Scratch!” Litten’s claws extended and he charged right to Rockruff.

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Meanwhile, Hau had just finished his grand trial and defeated a white monkey Pokémon with his Rowlet.

“AW Yeah, that was amazing Rowlet!” Hau exclaimed. Rowlet flew back to Hau and perched himself on his arm.

“My, my, you really are getting stronger, aren’t you Hau.” Hala commented.

“I-I have Sun and Moon to thank really, they have been pushing me to get stronger. Haha.” Hau said with a nervous scratch on his head.”

Rotom was cheering with Lillie and Kukui not standing too far. “That wazz awesome!”

“It’s like Hau had used Astonish on me, oh yeah!” Kukui said.

“Guys stop, you’re gonna make me blush,” Hau said.

Hala laughed. “Alright, so where is my next challenger.” He looked to see that Eclipse was quietly observing the battle.

Hau had walked off of the stage and directly to her. “So what did you think? Eclipse…” he asked her

“I didn’t know I was supposed to have an opinion... but I did see how well you and Rowlet worked together.” She then opened a Pokéball and Oricorio came out. “Now I shall do my battle.”

“Alright good luck Eclipse!”

“I shall try my hardest.”

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“Arf Grrr!” Rockruff was still standing tall despite Sun and Litten’s best efforts.

“Geez, what does it take to bring down this Rockruff!?” Sun asked.

Rockruff then angrily growled and urged Sun and Litten to go for him again. “Okay, Litten go for him again, use Fire Fang!” Litten shot forward and he tried biting down on Rockruff, but he missed. Rockruff fangs became electrified and he bit down on Litten. Litten let out a loud meow since he was in pain. “That’s it!” Sun exclaimed. He crossed his uncrossed them and as he moved his arms, Litten was dragging his paws in the dirt. Sun was covered in a white aura while he performed the dance the ‘Z-symbol’ flashed in front of Litten. An orange aura covered Litten. “Use Breakneck Blitz!” A sharp and white aura surrounded Litten and he shot forward like a bullet towards Rockruff.

Rockruff looked shocked and Litten headbutted him and he flew back into a hard rock, making spiderweb-like cracks in the wall behind.

“That was awesome Litten!” Sun cheered. Litten was panting tiredly.

“Litten looks tired,” Moon said. “You shouldn’t push him too far. Otherwise, he won’t be ready for the battle with Hala tomorrow.”

“Yeah I know, but I don’t understand… how is battling against this Rockruff going to give me a better chance against Hala?” Rockruff growled. “N-no offense…”

Moon smiled. “Just trust me, I’m sure Rockruff knows what he is doing.”

Suddenly Rotom had hovered to them. “Oh, there you are! I’ve been looking all over, what have you been up to bzzt?”

“I’ve been training with Litten and this Rockruff.” Rockruff growled at Rotom. “He isn’t very friendly.” Rockruff snapped at Sun’s hand but he quickly took it away from the path of Rockruff’s fangs. “Whoa, see why I say you’re not friendly.”

Moon chuckled. “Haha, I think I like this Rockruff.”

“Of course you would. You laugh at my misery.”

Moon continued to laugh. Rockruff was walking away while Sun and Moon were pre-occupied. Rockruff looked to Litten before leaving the area.

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Sun and Moon with their starters out of their Pokeballs were sitting in front of Sun’s house and they saw Hau running to them with Eclipse in tow, rather he was dragging Eclipse with him.

“There you two are!” Hau exclaimed. “Check it out. Tada!” He showed the both of them his Fightnium Z crystal. He then whispered to Eclipse who stood next to him. “You too Eclipse,”

“Oh… tada?” she showed her new Z-Crystal as well.

“Whoa, you managed to beat Hala too?” Moon said with a slight shock.

“Yes, granted I was using Oricorio, and I won mostly with type advantage… it was no big deal.”

“No big deal!? C’mon Eclipse, you managed to beat Tutu! That’s a totally big deal!”

“I guess, but this Fighting Z-Crystal is useless to me, I don’t have a Pokémon with a fighting move. Is there a way I can exchange it for another one?”

Moon chuckled. “It doesn’t really work like that, but you should hang on to it. It could become useful somewhere down the line in your Island Challenge.”

“Possibly…”

Sun got up and he woke up Litten who was taking a cat nap next to him. “Hey Litten, want to continue training? We have a big day tomorrow…” Litten yawned and stretched while his back hairs stretched.

Moon heard a rustling in the bush and she saw a pair of green eyes stalking them. She knew what was watching them and Popplio barked to get her attention. “Oh, I just thought I saw something…” she kneeled down to Popplio’s height. “Hey, how do you feel about a stakeout?” she whispered.

“Arf, arf, arf!” Popplio happily barked while she clapped her flippers.

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That night, Sun and Litten were asleep after their training session. Outside Sun’s house, there was a small dark figure sneaking around. It then saw the sliding door and managed to slide it open slightly. Walking into the living room, it sniffed the air and headed to Sun’s room and the door was slightly open, allowing it to walk into Sun's room unopposed.

After walking in, the light of the moon revealed that the figure was Rockruff. It walked to where Litten was sleeping in his bed. The green-eyed Rockruff pushed his paw on Litten and tried to wake him up. Litten meowed slightly when he woke up. When seeing Rockruff, he was about to let out a shocked meow but Rockruff muffled the sound by placing his paw on his muzzle. Rockruff gestured Litten to be quiet.

Litten complied and he stood up. Rockruff gestured for Litten to follow. Litten tilted his head to his sleeping partner and let out a soft meow. Rockruff then assured that he would come back. Rockruff and Litten exited the room and eventually the house.

From a close bush outside, Moon could see the two Pokémon walking away and they were heading for the mountain close by. She looked behind her to see Popplio sleeping on her back while she was snorting a water balloon from her nose. “Hey, Popplio!” The bubble popped and Popplio woke up and looked at her partner. “Rockruff and Litten are on the move, and I think I know where they are going! Right, let’s wake up Sun.”

…

Both Moon and Popplio were in Sun’s room and a stream of water was blasted to Sun's face which instantly woke him up. He coughed out water and saw Popplio cutely smiling at him. She clapped her flippers as soon as Sun woke up.

“W-what the!?” he saw Moon beside him.

“Hellooo sleepy head.” She said with a cheery tone.

“Are you trying to get me to hate you? Cause it’s starting to work.”

Moon chuckled. “Rather than getting mad at me, you should notice the empty spot next to your bed.”

He looked to his side and saw that Litten was gone. “Oh no! Where’s Litten?!” He yelled with a panicked tone.

“Relax, I know where he is. Just follow me…”

Sun got out of bed in his blue shirt and black shorts. After leaving the house Moon led the way. “So where are we going?”

“Ten Carat Hill, I can be sure that’s where Litten is. C’mon.”

“Wait how could you possibly know?”

“Just trust me.” After this exchange, they made their way to the cave that would travel through Ten Carat Hill.”

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Rockruff and Litten ran through the cave of Ten Carat Hill and they got to the exit of the caves and arrived at the Farthest Hollow. There were a bunch of wild Pokémon like Roggenrola, Boldore, Carbink, Mawile, Machop, Machamp and Spinda.

Litten looked around and was awestruck by the atmosphere as many of the wild Pokémon were looking at him.

He then heard the sounds of a fight close by and he saw a Boldore sliding back on its three legs. It shot rock blasts to its opponent and the opponent looked like a much bigger Rockruff, with the same coloring of fur, a long fluffy tail, sharp ears and four jagged rocks were stretching from his neck which was covered by white fur. Its eyes were a piercing blue color.

The wolf Pokémon howled and six jagged rocks surrounded his body and they blocked the rocks shot from the Boldore. It then howled and a red aura surrounded him, indicating that his attack increased. The wolf surrounded itself in a white aura and it headbutted Boldore and the other rock type slid back and fell stayed down in defeat.

The wolf Pokémon howled after his victory and the other Pokémon became rowdy in response. Litten gave off an impressed meow.

Rockruff then told Litten to follow and when they got close to the wolf Pokémon. He looked down at the pair.

Sun and Moon got to the Farthest Hollow but Moon stopped Sun from going any further. “That’s as far as we go.”

“Wait why?”

“Do you see Litten?”

Sun looked around and noticed the black and red kitten standing next to Rockruff and the wolf Pokémon. “Yeah I see him, but who is that Pokémon he and Rockruff are with?”

Suddenly Rotom flew over to the pair of them. “You called?”

“How did you know we were here?” Sun comically asked.

“Wouldn’t bzzt you like to know! But let me tell you about that larger Pokémon.” He took a picture and scanned through the unfilled paged of the Alola Dex and he found a match. “There we go!”

‘Lycanroc – Midday Form, the Wolf Pokémon and an evolved form of Rockruff. Its quick movements confuse its enemies. Well equipped with claws and fangs, it also uses the sharp rocks in its mane as weapons.'

“Whoa, so that’s Lycanroc’s evolved form?” Sun asked.

“That’s right, Lycanroc evolves into different forms depending on the time of the day.” Moon answered

Sun started to walk forward. “I’m going to go see Litten.”

“Hold it!” Moon grabbed his arm.

“What’s the big deal?”

“You can’t go there! You see at night, Ten Carat Hill becomes a special training ground for Pokémon. And it is said that only Pokémon are invited to train with them.”

“You mean like a Pokémon Fight Club?”

“Exactly, and what’s the one rule of Pokémon Fight Club?” Sun shrugged his shoulders as he couldn’t even guess. He didn’t think that there were rules out here. “You don’t talk about Pokémon Fight Club! Humans shouldn’t interfere. So all we can do is sit back and watch.”

Sun really wanted to help Litten, but he would never think of interrupting a Pokémon only issue, even if the issue involved his Pokémon. “Okay, I’ll sit back… That means you too Rotom!”

“Aw man, but all the new Pokémon…!” he cried. “That’s half the Pokémon on Melemele Island!”

Litten stood on the field and a Spinda wobbled in front of him. The Fire cat was confused as the Pokémon in front of him looked to be stumbling on his feet. The Lycanroc barked, telling Litten that he was going to fight Spinda. A fiery aura surrounded Litten as he was about to fire an Ember to the white and red Pokémon. However the Spinda quickly punched Litten right between his eyes before he could get the attack off.

“That was Sucker Punch!” Rotom observed. “When a Pokémon uses that move, it always strikes first before the opponent can make a move.”

Litten meowed in slight frustration after he slid back. He saw the Spinda wobbly walking to him. Litten growled and shot forward attempting to scratch Spinda. But Litten’s scratch narrowly missed and Spinda tackled Litten, making the Fire Cat slide back. Spinda continued to wobbly walk to him. Litten got mad and tried a Fire Fang but as he got close, Spinda lowered his back like he was doing the limbo and Litten flew over him. Spinda’s right paw was glowing white and he was landing almost accidental looking punches to Litten’s face.

“And that’s Dizz-zzy Punch!” Rotom exclaimed.

“I don’t get it, why can’t Litten land a single hit?” Sun said.

Rotom decided to scan Spinda to find out. “I’m on it!” after scanning Spinda, a picture of a Spinda that was spotted differently appeared on Rotom’s display.

‘Spinda the Spot Panda Pokémon. Each Spinda's spot pattern is different. With its stumbling movements, it evades opponents' attacks brilliantly!’

“So that’s why Litten can’t hit it,” Sun said. “I’ve got to help him.”

“Nu-uh, can’t allow that,” Moon said, sternly.

“But I can’t just sit here and do nothing… I have to help him!”

“Litten has to figure out what to do himself, Rockruff took him here so that he can perform better in battle. If you ran in and helped now, then that would only dent Litten’s confidence in himself. Trust me Sun, it’s for the best!”

Sun had a concerned looked but he decided to take Moon’s words to heart.

Litten meanwhile was still struggling to land a hit on Spinda who continued wobbling around with a drunk-like smile on his face. Litten was getting increasingly frustrated and so he went for another scratch. Unfortunately, he missed again and Spinda quickly turned around and landed another Tackle.

Litten was sent into the dry dirt and he got up and his back hairs were flaring. He charged up an Ember but like last time Spinda shot forward and punched Litten again, preventing him from getting the attack off.

“NYAAAA!” Litten frustratingly meowed but he then looked towards Rockruff and noticed him telling Litten to calm down. So Litten thought: ‘What would Sun do?’ He realized that Sun would try and figure out the opponent’s moves if nothing else was working. So that’s what he did, instead of attacking, he watched Spinda’s moments carefully. To any normal person, they looked sloppy, clumsy and random, but this was Spinda’s best defense. His clumsy moments made it impossible for a Pokémon that wasn’t Psychic to predict his movements. When Litten realized this, he decided to close his eyes and instead would rely on his ears to tell him where Spinda was. After tuning out the cheers from the other Pokémon, he started to charge up an Ember. As soon as he did that, he heard rapid footsteps speeding towards him. Litten quickly used his cat reflexes to front-flip over Spinda’s Sucker Punch and Spinda, as well as the other Pokémon, were shocked.

Litten took the opportunity to fill his mouth with fire and he jumped to the confused Spinda and bit down on his head. Spinda rolled away and he rose to his feet and continued to do his confusing movements, but Litten already had him figured out. The next time Litten would open his eyes he would shoot a piercing glare at Spinda that intimidated him and his defense was lowered. Litten ran as fast as he could and his claws outstretched from his paws and he raked Spinda in the face and a second time across his stomach.

Spinda fell on his back and wasn’t moving. After Litten turned to him, he got back up and the Spinda shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he gave up and the rowdy Pokémon started cheering.

“YES! He did it!” Sun cheered. “But how did he do it?”

“Litten must have figured out Spinda’s unusual movements, and when he got them down. He was able to take him down.” Moon analyzed.

“Awesome… he figured that out on his own!”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t look like he’s done yet.”

As Litten was panting, a Machop stepped to face him and it started to flex his muscles. The Machop wasted no time and ran to Litten and he swiped his feet across Litten’s front paws, tripping him and he fell to his face. After the Low Kick, Machop raised a hand to Karate Chop Litten but the fire cat jumped back and he charged an Ember in his maw and fired it to Machop.

When the embers exploded on the Superpower Pokémon, the Machop was surrounded by a pale red aura and it looked like he was in pain. This indicated that he was burned, Machop got mad and he landed a Karate Chop on Litten's head. But Litten actually shook it off, he expected it to hurt a lot more but it didn’t. Litten didn’t know it, but it was because of Machop’s burn that he couldn’t do much damage as he would have liked.

Never the less, Litten scratched Machop and his mouth filled with fire and he chomped down on Machop’s arm and he tossed the Pokémon up into the air. Litten shot up as well and his claws stretched out and he slashed Machop twice, and Machop hit the ground.

When Litten landed on his feet, he let out a growl, almost asking if the Machop had had enough. The Machop quickly conceded and he walked back into the crowd. Litten was starting to feel tired, but he saw an Oran berry rolled to him. Litten quickly ate it and he saw a Mawile rolled it to him. Litten felt refreshed and ready to fight again.

“How long can Litten keep up the fighting?” Sun asked.

“As long as he can,” Moon said. “We’ve got a long night ahead of us.”

…

As the night went on, Litten went on to defeat more and more Pokémon; he managed to best a Roggenrola, a Zubat, a Carbink and even a Psyduck. The sun started to slowly peak over the horizon and Litten was waiting for his next opponent.

The Lycanroc looked down at Litten and he started to stomp the ground, when he did this, Rockruff did the same. Other Pokémon started to catch on and they were stomping their feet and once they were all stomping, the ground started to shake underneath them.

“W-what’s going on!?” Sun asked.

“Don’t look at me!” Moon exclaimed. Suddenly a pair of eyes was glaring out of the cave behind them, the Pokémon behind the two let out a terrifying roar. The Pokémon shot out and it was revealed to be made out of rocks that were clumped together and it slithered towards the large group of Pokémon and it glared right at Litten. The large rock Pokémon, hugely towered over litten

“W-WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!?” Moon comically screamed while she hugged herself in fear

“O-ONIX!?” Sun exclaimed.

“That thing is native to Alola!?” Moon asked.

Rotom had question marks on its display. “Not uzzually, sightings of Onix are extremely rare… in fact, I think this is the only one in Alola. It probably lives deep within the underground tunnelzzz of Ten Carat Hill! Kzzt! Only my scanners would be able to locate it, and even then I’d have to have my scanners upgraded.”

“Well from what I know about Onix in Kanto, they are very bad news…” Sun said. “I’m really worried about Litten…”

Litten looked up at his opponent and he was sweating profusely but he quickly shook it off and remembered that Sun wouldn’t run from a challenge, so why should he? He growled at Onix and sent a burst of fire to Onix’s face but it did very little to hurt the Rock Snake Pokémon.

Litten gulped as Onix attempted to slam his tail right down onto Litten but he ran from the impact and he saw the tail left a hole in the ground. Litten panted as he jumped as high as he could but could only get as high as the mid-section of Onix and he raked that section with Scratch, but it wasn’t doing any damage at all.

Onix them generated large rocks and he threw them to Litten and when the fire cat landed on his feet he managed to avoid most of them, but one of them hit and he was thrown back and he looked very hurt.

“I’ve got to get out there!” Sun exclaimed.

“No, Sun you can’t! I would like to help too, but I can’t just go out there myself. Right Popplio?” Moon looked to her side and saw that Popplio was gone and they both saw Popplio hopping towards the commotion in order to help Litten. “Popplio! GET BACK HERE!” Popplio blasted a stream of water that hit Onix in the face and it looked to do… acceptable damage because Onix was glaring at her.

He let out a loud roar and he roared and bright blue flames were shooting towards Popplio. The Dragon Breath engulfed her and she was covered in burns. Litten got up to see this and he was shocked to see that Popplio was trying to fight against Onix and he ran to her as soon as Onix flicked his tail to her.

As the tail was about to slam into Popplio, Litten slid in front of her, turned around and he shot off of his front paws and blocked the tail from slamming into her with his rear paws. Once the tail was out of the way, Litten drove his right rear paw onto the midsection of Onix and a small crack was made and Onix roared in anger.

Litten protectively stood in front of Popplio and he let Onix know that his fight was with him. Rockruff looked down with an impressed expression and looked to Lycanroc. The wolf Pokémon nodded and he barked to Onix and nodded to the rock snake after getting his attention

Onix then nodded back and he got on his stomach and quickly slithered back to the caves of Ten Carat Hill.

As the sun was coming up Lycanroc started to howl, then Rockruff joined in the howl and soon all the other Pokémon were forming their respective cries into howls. Then Litten joined in, and so did Popplio.

Both Sun and Moon let out sighs of relief. “Glad that’s over…” Sun said.

“We should probably get out of here before, Lycanroc sees us.” Moon suggested

“But what about Litten and Popplio?”

“They’ll find their way back, now c’mon.”

“Alright…” Sun, Moon and Rotom snuck away while the howling was going on.

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They got back on Route 1 and both trainers were still trying to take in what they saw. “Woah, seeing Litten battle like that, it made me see him in a new light.”

“That’s because you’ve never seen Litten battle on his own before. So it was a new experience.” Moon said.

Running onto Route 1, Litten, Popplio, and Rockruff met up with Sun. “There you guys are, about time you finally got here.” Sun picked up Litten and he noticed the battle scars that he had gotten from his battles. “Well, what happened to you?” Sun fake asked, not wanting Litten and specifically Rockruff to know that they were watching them.

Litten meowed and he licked Sun’s face.

“Now how about we get some rest, we have an important battle coming up for us.” Litten gave a single nod of agreement.

“Wait, where did Rockruff run off to?” Moon asked. And true to her questioning, the rock type had run off somewhere.

Both trainers shrugged and Sun went into his house to rest while Moon walked off somewhere else with Popplio.

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That afternoon, Hala, Kukui, Lillie, Hau, and Eclipse were waiting for Sun to arrive. “Where is he? I am starting to get worried.” Lillie said.

“Perhaps he is taking another day to prepare for the challenge?” Eclipse said.

“Don’t worry you two, like a perfectly timed Counter, Sun will find a way to beat Hala.” Kukui said.

“Well, I can hope so, because he won’t find it so easy to beat me, even with training,” Hala said.

“Wait, here they come now!” Hau excitedly exclaimed.

Both Sun and Moon were making their way to the center of Iki Town, Litten was by Sun’s side as they got close.

“Hmm, excellent, you have arrived. So Sun are you ready to take on my Grand Trial this time?”

Sun smirked and he looked down at Litten who also had a confident look. “You bet we are!”

Hala then walked onto the stage. “I’ll be waiting then.”

Sun then knelt down and whispered in Litten's ear. “Hey, before we start, you should know I saw you battling last night.” Litten was shocked and his fur frizzed for a second. “Calm down, I saw how you fought and I think it is going to serve us well against Hala. So let’s give it our best shot!” Litten nodded and he jumped onto the stage and Sun joined him.

“So you two looked fired up, haha. So let’s see if this result will be any different.” He had an Ultra Ball in his hand and he threw it towards the stage. Coming out in a blue flash was a Pokémon that was a lot larger than Makuhita. It looked akin to a sumo wrestler, it had very large, and three-fingered hands, a yellow skirt that was torn in some places and what looked like blue pants that covered his legs. He had two-toed feet. The rest of his body was colored white with a dark blue crest stretching from between his eyes to the back of his ears.

“Oh no…” Moon muttered.

“Who is that Pokémon?” Lillie asked.

“Leave it to bzzt meee!” Rotom took a picture of the Pokémon and it showed on his display.

‘Hariyama, the Arm Thrust Pokémon, and the evolved form of Makuhita. They love to compare their freakish strength—strength enough to send a truck flying with a single slap.’

“T-that… sounds scary…”

“That’s definitely Tutu’s doing,” Hau said. “He likes to train himself and his Pokémon. So Makuhita must have evolved last night,”

“No rest for a Kahuna,” Hala said. “I am always training up my friends. So, knowing the huge task ahead of you, are you still going to take me on?”

Sun was initially shocked but he quickly got over it. “It doesn’t really matter about the Pokémon I have to beat does it? My goal stays the same, I have to beat you to pass the Grand Trial right?”

Hala nodded while he smiled. “So let the Grand Trial begin!” both Hala and Hariyama stomped their feet in a sumo wrestling fashion and they both glared at Sun and Litten.

“Litten let’s start with Scratch!” Litten shot forward and his claws stretched out of his paws.

Hala had a serious expression and looked at his target. “Hariyama, use Fake Out!” Hariyama shot forward and he clapped his large hands in front of Litten’s face and the fire cat flew back and slid back on his feet.

“Hey Litten are you okay?”

Litten nodded to Sun and looked at Hariyama. “Okay, let’s really get going. Litten use Scratch!” Litten meowed and he ran forward to Hariyama.

“Stop him, use Force Palm!” Hariyama ran towards Litten and threw his large palm forward but Litten quickly sidestepped the attack and he leaped right up at the side of Hariyama’s face and raked his face with his claws.

Litten pushed off of Hariyama and landed on his feet on Sun’s side of the stage. “That was awesome Litten.”

“So it would appear that Litten is a lot faster now,” Hala commented.

“You bet, so it makes it easier to do this! Litten use Fire Fang!” Flames leaked out of Litten’s mouth and he shot forward to Hariyama. While he hung in the air, Hariyama could see where Litten was aiming for.

“Force Palm now!” Hariyama shot his palm into Litten’s body and the Fire Cat went shooting back towards Sun. He rolled in front of him and Sun got worried.

“Litten, are you okay?” Litten slowly rose to his feet and shook off the damage he took from Hariyama.

“You and Litten have improved, but so have I.”

Sun formed an idea in his head. “Litten run around Hariyama and keep using Ember over and over.” Litten complied and he was running towards Hariyama and he was shooting Embers out of his mouth over and over and they were hitting Hariyama, though they weren’t doing much damage to him.

“What are you planning, Sun?” Hala threw his arm up. “Hariyama, use Force Palm.”

Sun was quick to give Litten another command. “Listen to his movements and dodge!” Litten flashed back to when he closed his eyes and listened to the movements of the Spinda. He did the same and shut his eyes, and when he did he listened out for the movements of his feet which suggested where he would attack. Litten jumped over the large palm and ran up Hariyama’s arm and shot an Ember in his face.

“Yes!” Sun cheered.

“Amazing…” Lillie commented. “How was Litten able to do that?” she asked.

Moon playfully shrugged her shoulders. “Eh, I wouldn’t know… Maybe Sun just got a lot better. And I totally had nothing to do with that." she playfully said.

Litten continued firing Embers at Hariyama and Litten was starting to get tired. “Keep going Litten. I know you can do it!”

Litten narrowly avoided another Force Palm and he jumped to Hariyama’s face and kicked off of him with his hind paws. Litten blasted another Ember and this time when it hit. Hariyama was surrounded by a pale red aura and he was in pain all over his body.

Kukui was impressed as he figured out what Sun was doing. “Oh yeah, Sun has definitely improved!”

“How so professor?” Eclipse asked in her usual dull tone.

“The reason Litten let off so many Embers was because Sun wanted to burn Hariyama.” He explained.

“How is that beneficial?”

“Because when a Pokémon is burned, they will constantly lose energy, but there is an added benefit, yeah.”

Hala chuckled. “Very good, you did all that just so you could burn Hariyama, so his offensive power would be reduced.”

Litten flashed back to when he burned the Machop and when he took the Karate Chop that didn’t do much to him. “Exactly.” Sun said. “But we are far from done.”

“Haha, so am I, Hariyama use Belly Drum!” Hariyama banged on his stomach like a drum, doing damage to himself but he used this technique to maximise his attack.

“He’s weakened, Litten finish him with Fire Fang!” Litten sprinted forward and his fangs filled with flames.

Hala had a plan for this. “Hariyama block it with your arm!” he placed his arm in the path of Litten’s fiery fangs and Hariyama still took damage from the attack. “Now use Reversal!” Sun gasped, so did Hau and Moon as they watched Hariyama grab Litten’s tail and throw him to the ground.

“This is bad; Reversal is a move that does more damage the less energy the user has. Litten must have taken a lot of damage.” Kukui said

“C’mon Litten.” Sun thought and before Litten could even move a muscle, a fiery red aura was surrounded Litten’s body and he slowly rose from the ground and his eyes shot open. Flames could be seen in his pupils for a second before he instinctively used Fire Fang and he bit down on Hariyama’s neck, causing lots of damage. “Whoa… you’re awesome Litten!” Litten kicked off of Hariyama and stood in front of Sun.

“Haha, well Pokémon and their bonds never cease to amaze me. That was Litten’s ability.” Hala said.

“What are you talking about?”

“All Pokémon have abilities, which can help them in battle or other ways. Litten’s ability is Blaze. When Litten is in trouble and about to run out of energy, his Fire type moves become much stronger.”

“Oh really? That’s awesome Litten!”

“Nya!” Litten exclaimed.

“While I am enjoying this battle, you’ve done a lot of damage to Hariyama and I can’t lose like this!” he crossed his arms and the Fightnium Z let off a glint before Hala decided to use his Z-Move. He was punching constantly while covered in orange-red aura. “Tapu Koko, lend me your strength!” he let out one final punch and the Z-symbol appeared in front of Hariyama! “All Out Pummelling!” the aura transferred to Hariyama and he repeatedly thrust his hands forward sending projectiles of orange palms and feet towards Litten.

Sun in response crossed his arms as well. “We’re not going down without a fight!” Sun performed the moves and Litten was trying to copy Sun’s movements. The white aura surrounded Sun as soon as fists hit his stomach and chest. “You’re up Litten!”

“NYAAA!” the white aura transferred to Litten and he was ready.

“Our final move Litten, use Breakneck Blitz!” Litten shot off towards Hariyama, leaving a dust trail as he ran. He was avoiding the palm and feet projectiles that Hariyama had sent to him, he then had a clean path to Hariyama.

Hariyama on the other hand wasn’t done as he charged forward to Litten, aiming to strike him with his large palm.

“I can’t watch!” Lillie covered her eyes and both Pokémon struck each other and they slid past each other and they both collapsed.

Both Sun and Hala were worried for their Pokémon. There was a long silence, before long one of the Pokémon started getting up and everyone was gasping that even one of them could get up to their feet.

The Pokémon that got up was Litten and he proudly stood on his feet as he looked at Sun. Hala scratched the back of his head while he chuckled. “Whoa! Well played.” He complimented.

Litten ran back to Sun and into his arms. “That’s right we did it!” the Fire cat started licking him.

Hala pointed his Ultra Ball at Hariyama. “The results come as no surprise to me. You Sun are a fine trainer, and Litten is a fine Pokémon too.” He returned Hariyama to the Ultra Ball

“Thanks, Hala.”

“I can see why Tapu Koko, chose to gift you with the sparkling stone. With this victory, I shall give you this, as proof that you passed the Melemele Grand trial. Fightnium Z.” he gave Sun the Z- Crystal. He then looked to Moon, Hau and Eclipse. All of you gather around. The others walked towards the stage. “With the passing of my Grand Trial, you have passed all the trials of Melemele Island. So to continue with your Island Challenge, you should move on to Akala Island.”

“Don’t you live there Moon?” Sun asked.

“That’s right, so I can show you guys around.” Suddenly they all they saw a Tauros charging towards them.

“MOOOOAAARRRRRR!” the Tarous mooed.

“I got this!” Moon stood in front of everyone and outstretched her arms and stood in Tarous’ path.

“Moon, what are you doing?!” Sun exclaimed.

“Poor girl, she was too young...” Eclipse said.

“See, I don’t know if you’re joking or if you are serious.”

The Tarous got close and it tried to stop as soon as he knew Moon wasn’t going to move. After skidding to a stop, Moon walked closer to him. “So what’s got you all worked up?” Moon started to stroke Tauros.

“Seems like Tauros wants to run around too, like he wants to take his own Island Challenge, yeah!” Kukui said.

Hala then thought of something. “I have an idea, Moon how about I set you up so that you can ride my Tauros whenever you’d like?”

“Whoa!” she gasped. “No kidding!?”

“No reason why he shouldn’t get to enjoy the island challenge, too!”

“Oh wow, thanks Hala!”

“I’ll get you all set up! This way Tarous.” Hala walked into his home to retrieve the ride gear with Tarous following him.

“Wait, you want to ride Tarous?” Lillie asked.

“Don’t get your braids in a twist Lil; people in Alola have been riding Pokémon for as long as I can remember.” Moon explained.

“But even then, can you handle it… I mean Tauros has nearly killed us before.”

“Okay one, it wasn’t like that and two, Tauros here just wants to stretch his legs. With him as a ride Pokémon, he can do that and no one gets hurt, plus Tarous can get to locations a lot faster, so it’s a win-win in my book!”

Hala came back out and when Tarous was following him, he had ride gear on him. “Alright, he’s ready Moon, give him a try.”

“Sweet.” Moon leaped onto the Tauros and she tightly gripped the handle bars, Tauros was uncomfortable at first, he tried to shake the gear off. “Hey, hey. It’s okay, I’m here.” She said in a soothing voice. Tarous calmed down and he stood still. “Okay, now Tauros how are you feeling?” Tauros mooed in response to Moon’s question, but the fact that he wasn’t trying to shake her off was good enough for her.

Hala walked to Moon and he handed her silver Pokéball. “Alright Moon, this is Tarous’ Pokéball. Make sure you take good care of him. Whenever you need to get somewhere quickly or need to get obstacles out of your way, Tauros will serve you well.”

Moon took the Pokéball. “Don’t worry; I’ll take good care of him.”

Kukui looked at Sun, Moon, Hau and Eclipse. “So are the four of you going to travel together?”

“Hey, why don’t we?” Hau asked. “It’s better doing the Island challenge with friends.” He said and he showed off his signature smile.

“I have no particular issue with it.” Eclipse said.

“Why not, it could be fun.” Sun added

They then turned their attention to Moon who sat on top of Tauros. She groaned to herself. “Ugh, Fine we can travel together… but just don’t get in my way alright!” she warned pointing to all of them.

“Haha, yes! This calls for a celebration!” Hau exclaimed. “Let’s all get Malasadas!”

Sun chuckled. “Of course, classic Hau.”

Moon smirked. “Race you guys there! Let’s go Tauros! Last one there buys for everyone!” Tauros roared and he left the group behind and a dust trail followed him.

“HEY, NOT FAIR!” Hau cried as he chased after Moon and Tauros.

“You’re not going to chase after them?” Lillie asked looking to Sun

“I could, but then who would bring you along?” Sun said.

“W-what… oh no I couldn’t possibly come, I do not wish to impose…”

“You’re not imposing on anyone, you're our friend to Lillie now come along.” Sun took Lillie’s hand.

“Oh o-okay…” she blushed and was looking away from Sun so he wouldn’t notice... but Eclipse did.

“Lillie, are you getting hot? Your face is turning red.” She flatly stated.

“D-don’t look at meee!” Lillie cried while flailing her free arm. Sun on the other hand was confused.

Kukui and Hala stood to the both sides of Eclipse. “So Eclipse, how are you feeling?” Kukui asked.

“Honestly… I am not too sure if I can put it into words, but I feel if I travel with them. I might find out more about this place and maybe even myself…”

“Yeah, that’s the spirit!” Sun said.

Suddenly they sky turned black and everything went dark, almost as if there was a total eclipse. “Whoa!” Sun exclaimed.

“Ah!” Lillie cried in shock.

As quickly as it happened, the light had returned and everything was back to normal. “Hmm.” Hala hummed.

“Professor what was that!?” Sun exclaimed in shock.

“Pew!” Nebby was shaking with fear from inside Lillie’s bag.

“Is your Nebby scared?" Sun asked.

“Nebby… Don’t worry – it’s ok. This must be what they call a solar eclipse. It happens when the light from the sun gets covered up.” Lillie said.

“Was a solar eclipse forecast for today? Ah, well. It must be some kind of good omen, yeah!” Kukui said

“A good omen? How so?”

“A long, long time ago, Alola was cloaked in darkness, yeah… But people say that’s when Alola’s people and Pokémon blasted all that darkness away with light! And they also say that was why people started gathering Z-Crystals, and that custom turned into the island challenge.”

“Oh, well I’d like to hear more of that story sometime.” Sun said.

“I’ll be happy to tell you, but right now you must catch up with Hau and Moon.” Hala said.

“R-right…”

However, Eclipse kept her gaze to the sky and they noticed that both her eyes were green. “Eclipse… beware the Blinding One…” she muttered to herself.

“Eclipse…?” Sun asked with concern in his voice.

“Who is Eclipse?” she asked. “That isn’t my name…” she said but in a more timid tone that her usual dull one.

“WHAT!?” Sun and Lillie exclaimed.

Eclipse blinked and her left eye returned to its red colour. She noticed that both Sun and Lillie were staring at her.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked not remembering what she had just said.

“Well… didn’t you just…?” Sun started.

“Your eye changed colour… then you started saying some weird stuff.” Lillie said.

Eclipse was dumbfounded. “I do not remember those actions taking place.”

“Wait, what’s your name?” Sun said.

“Eclipse… but you already knew this…” she answered.

Sun and Lillie gave concerned looks to each other. They knew they wouldn’t get answers from Eclipse anytime soon so they decided to drop it.

“Never mind, we should catch up with Moon and Hau.” Sun said.

“Oh r-right…”

The three left, leaving Kukui and Hala. “What do you think Kukui?” Hala asked, referring to Eclipse’s actions.

“It is unusual, yeah… but I wouldn’t hold it against her. Hopefully she will be able to find herself through the island challenge.”

A distance behind them stood Tapu Koko and an electric aura covered it as it flew up into the air. “KOKOKOOOOO!” it screamed while it was soaring through the sky.

Kukui and Hala turned around. “Was that…?”

“No doubt about it.” Hala said. “That was Tapu Koko, it seems as if he has taken interest in those kids, particularly Sun.”

“No doubt, yeah!” Kukui said.

“Excuse me?” they saw the two figures dressed in white body suits. The woman spoke while the male kept stroking his moustache. “We’d like you to answer some questions for us.”