Knock knock.

“Y’all are ready?”

Sleep hadn’t been kind on my nerves.

Stella the Cleffa’s midnight deal had taken us an hour tops; but how could I even go to sleep after that? Tip-toeing back into my room, feeling like I had irreparably broken Lilliane’s trust, I had buried myself under my covers and looked up everything I could about Ledyba and their behavior. The mystery to solve: understand what it had been trying to teach Stella.

I had opened up a real Buneary-hole. Ledyba wasn’t a well researched species: their secondary typing contested from science’s point of view, their position as a competitive battling species low on the ladder, a Pokemon that hadn’t been present much in myth and stories if at all.

Ledyba were Bug-types that, much like other Bugs, used alternative forms of language to communicate on a local scale. Pokespeech was convenient enough when talking with other species, but it wasn't very efficient. Scent was a way to get information quickly and silently, to mark locations and people for a long period of time. But this wasn’t just scent, was it? What I had observed, what had been taught, it had something to do with sight, patterns of light flashes as yet another form of communication–

And so I had dived into the dregs of Pokepedia once more, learning about other methods of communication used in Verdant Caves such as the foot stomping of the Rattata– in Almia, there were Rangers who practiced “worm grunting”, where they ground two wooden tools together against the earth to produce a rumbling sound that conveyed safety to the Diglett population– in Paldea, there was a separate species known as Wiglett, but they had nothing to do with Diglett, they simply evolved into sharing similar characteristics, and–

I had woken up with my phone in front of my face.

Our Trial was to be at dawn.

Knock knock knock knock.

“Girls, y’all are awake?”

I threw off my covers and practically jumped out of bed– leaped over my Oddish, recalled my Dunsparce before he bore a hole through the floor and threw my day clothes on.

“Coming!” I shouted out to Hau outside, and opened the bathroom door to freshen up– rectification; tried to open. Rattle rattle rattle went the handle under my grip.

Lilliane’s voice answered - “I’m almost done!” - and I Mareepishly went to the kitchen sink to splash water on my face instead.

In truth, I was already packed up. I had made sure I only needed to put on my clothes and take my bags - were we to win the trial, we wouldn’t be going the other way. We would come out in Melemele Meadows and continue from there.

Still, I hadn’t slept much. The bottom of my eyes felt puffy with sleep.

I opened the door to a Hau about to knock once more, his eyes wide in surprise.

He stepped back, and I joined him in the crisp morning air, rising sun only starting to crest the horizon.

“Alola,” he said.

“Alola,” I said back.

Hau was strangely muted. Weird.

He balanced himself back and forth on his feet, bags on his back and hands in his pockets; far less than the usual amount of fidgeting from the Iki Town teen.

Petal the Oddish came up to my side, considered the boy, then gave me a tap on the leg with their leaves.

I looked down. My Oddish nudged their head in Hau’s direction. I grimaced and looked back at the boy.

“...Are you feeling alright, Hau?”

“I’m good,” he responded with no pause. “Good. Good-ish. Kind of.” He balanced a few more times for good measure. Then, with a low and flat voice: “...I think I figured something out with Loa.”

“You did?” Had he finally spoken with his Litten?

“Okay. ‘Figuring out’ is hyperbole. But yeah, something’s not right.”

Our eyes locked.

It occurred to me that Hau and I– we hadn’t been vulnerable with each other. Not yet.

“Can Starters… fail the Challenge?”

“...I- I don’t know, Hau. Capital S region Starter, right?” He nodded. “ Trainers fail the Challenge, not their Pokemon. And even then, it’s less a matter of failing and more a matter of how far down the Challenge you got, and how well you performed during those trials, but–” But aren’t there consequences for not doing good enough when one has a regional Starter?

There had been something in the news a few years ago– Alola is small, and its population growing, and the Incineroar, Decidueye and Primarina enclaves as small and secretive as ever; the demand for Starters is highest it ever was. How do you meet the demand?

Where do you find the supply?

The door to my room opened one final time, and Lilliane came out the door.

Oh. Oh wow.

In the past two weeks, we had only ever seen Lilliane wearing one outfit.

It was strange, but it was also an outfit that fit her very well; an embroidered white sundress with pale blue accents, her Sylph Co. handbag, that wide-brimmed sun hat. It caught the eye.

Lilliane only ever had one outfit, but she’d done what she could to make it more practical. Her dress had been hemmed a little shorter, allowing her more leg movement, she had found a way to fasten her bag tightly around her waist, she’d pulled her hair back with a hairband and her unwieldy hat had been stuffed away into the folded space of her handbag.

Her usual outfit had been like cumbersome armor, and without it she seemed a little bit vulnerable but so much more free, too.

“I promise I’ll get actual equipment when we’re back in Hau’oli,” she assured us, face reddening, “I– my mother dressed– dresses me, usually.”

“S-sure.” My heart started to beat loud in my chest. She smiled in embarrassment and there was a little crease at the corner of her eyes I could not see before. Up and up and up went her legs and how had I never noticed how tall she was?

Hau looked back and forth between the two of us curiously, then returned to his usual cheer and motioned toward the path ahead.

“Special service, miss présidente , we have a Trial to pass.”

----------------------------------------

We crossed the threshold into Verdant Cavern once more. We had donned the necklaces around our necks, brittle string tied to a single berry. Once more, we were informed of our winning condition: reach the end of the Cavern, do not lose all three necklaces.

The cave was dark but light was streaming in at Slugma’s pace. The sun had started to crest over the horizon when we had entered, and so the openings in the ceiling let soft diffuse light in that reflected across the walls in a calming green glow. Imprints of leaves and roots started to show themselves as the morning light drew their shapes on the walls.

The air was cool and damp, water and dew drip-drip-dripping down into pools of water on the ground. Sounds in the distance echoed throughout the tunnels, distorted to the point of being undecipherable. Movement that was unrecognizable in the dark was now just visible, at the corner of our eyes– and our heads were on a swivel.

Last time, it had been dusk. This time, it was dawn.

This did not make our task any easier, however.

Many of the diurnal species were at their most vulnerable, and their scouts kept a tight watch, ready to alert their brethren on a dime. Many of the nocturnal species were at their most desperate; only the hungriest were awake still, roaming the galleries in search of wayward denizens or food that hadn’t been eaten overnight.

We began our trek.

I stood in front, with Petal the Oddish and Oran Juice the Dunsparce at my side. OJ kept his senses in alert for movement through the earth (though he couldn’t help the slight tremble in his bulbous body), while Petal was ready to wall us away from threats with use of gas and snaking roots.

I was our navigator, I had memorized the layout of the cave and the tunnels within. Our old tricks were still kept; we knew to look for places where Melemele Meadow flowers grew, but knowing the most direct path and having an understanding of where the exits resided certainly made our task a lot more clear.

Hau stood in back, with Loa the Litten prowling around for intimidation purposes. She had made herself known last time we had made our way through, and Pokemon that had opposed us then would certainly remember the sting of her fire. I had two Pokemon with me, and I was sure that Pokemon of the cave would be more afraid of the Litten than both of mine combined.

Hau was simply to be the muscle. Keep his own head on a swivel and be ready to act if things went south - though that was to be our last resort, this time. Intimidation would work better as a deterrent than a fighting tactic. A few days ago, Hau had been ready to throw down at a moment’s notice– this time he was visibly uncomfortable , for once, which matched his Litten’s demeanor.

Lilliane squeezed herself between Hau and I, bag on her waist, her Cleffa Stella poking out grumpily. The once unflappable girl let her nervousness show, but I saw her summoning her courage and walking in confident steps. That was madame la présidente .

We had three necklaces, and as long as we kept hers safe, we’d make it through.

Once more, over the rocky pathways, making tentative steps on patches of plants and moss, keeping an eye for the warrens and holes dotting the walls. I followed a similar path to the one we had traced the last time.

“Is this– is this the same water spot?” Lilliane asked.

I blinked.

Here, to our left, a pool of water that poked through the cave and had eroded the wall into a downward slope. To our right, a sheet of vines covered the eastern wall in a green blanket. This cavern room was small and had an entrance and two exits, and as I double checked my notes, yes indeed, we had gotten through here during our first attempt.

This was where Lilliane had lost her cool, last time, and where Loa had attacked the Yungoose and earned their ire. “...I think it is, yes.”

“Then we shouldn’t be here.” And at that she crouched and pointed to the floor–

Gathering near the water, the many, many three-toed paw tracks that marked the water bank were suddenly a lot more recognizable than they had been a few days ago.

I felt a nudge at my leg - Petal, trying to get my attention - and saw Oran Juice pull aside some of the vines of the eastern wall, exposing dozens and dozens of warren entrances, in one of which our lights reflected onto the eyes of Yungeese within–

We took a few steps back.

There were only a few Pokemon for now but those were just the scouts, and we knew that the warrens held many many more. We’d experienced the sting of claw and fang once already.

Then I looked in horror as Hau took a few steps forward.

“What are you doing??” I hissed at him– augh! The idiot! Don’t ruin this!

I felt Lilliane tense visibly behind me. Petal and OJ moved a little closer. Loa’s fur stood on end, but she stayed to keep an eye at Lilliane’s back.

Then, the nightmare scenario: the sheet of vines parted and the Gumshoos stepped out.

Slow, ambling movement that shook the earth. A tall and imposing figure that was only a little bit smaller than the tallest among our group, hands locked behind its back . It stopped just after a few steps away from the warrens’ entrances, and regarded our group with annoyance.

Hau and the Gumshoos stopped within a few paces of each other.

Hau bowed.

“On behalf of the Kahuna of Melemele, my apologies for intruding on your territory.” A pause. Then tentatively, he continued. “And uh. For any harm caused last time.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

We held our breath.

The Gumshoos turned its head and snorted. It held up a paw toward the way we came, and dismissed us with a “Shoos.”

Slowly, quietly, we turned around and left. The Yungoose pack did not follow.

We’d find a different way.

“There.”

Hau had whispered it in such a low voice I almost hadn’t recognized it. Following his pointed finger, I noticed beneath a bush near the western wall slight movement in the leaves. A slight rustle, whiskers and a snout just poking through.

The dark fur of two Alolan Rattatas laid low as they tried their best to hide themselves from us. Their short whiskers twitched, and two sets of red eyes peered at us from the underbrush.

We did not move. No one said a word just yet. Everyone but my Pokemon stepped back, and I crouched down and made myself less tall. This also gave me a better look at them, and I noticed the imprint of their bones through their fur–

“Hello,” making sure my voice was calm, making my movements slow and nonthreatening, “We are just passing through, though we wouldn’t mind help. You two look hungry.”

Slowly, I opened up my front pocket, and retrieved the fruit of my efforts of these past few days; what I could buy yesterday with my earnings from the dueling grounds.

“...Do you want to make a deal?”

I placed the sitrus berry on the ground.

Both Rattatas’ pupils dilated and I saw their snouts sniff in the air as the scent of the ripe juicy berry got to their nose. The golden skin of the fruit practically gleamed under the faint light in the cavern.

Still, they hesitated. Wariness and suspicion was still very apparent in their behavior, and they didn’t make their move just yet.

I let go of the sitrus, then took two steps back, still crouched. My Pokemon followed my step.

“Have this one.”

The Rattatas looked at one another, then one rushed forward before the other stopped them. They had a silent conversation for a second, one jumping at the bit while the other remained cautious– but ultimately, hunger won over discretion and the first one leaped over to get a taste of sitrus.

In hungry bites that sent juice flowing, it devoured the berry and left nothing but dregs behind. The Rattata’s partner joined the first, too late to get a taste, and it appeared disappointed in its hesitation.

Still, we did not move.

“Me and my companions,” and I motioned towards the rest of my group, “we just want to make our way through the Cavern to the Meadow unscathed. There’s a lot of contested territory here, and we’d like to avoid it if possible.

“If you’d like to lend a paw…” and I showed them the trove of oran berries I carried in my bag, “Then there could be more in it for you.”

----------------------------------------

Progress.

Following the path traced by the Rattatas, we made our way over the stone pathways and into the tight tunnels of Verdant Cavern. True to our deal, it looked like we were avoiding the more territorial Pokemon successfully. We’d hear the sounds of squabbling in the distance but never encountered the Pokemon responsible in the distance.

An unexpected issue had been taking the exact same path the Rattatas did.

It wouldn’t be surprising, in retrospect, the rodents here often took shortcuts through the tightest of crannies and they couldn’t take into account our difference in size.

So this had led to the present time. Tight nets of vines and plants had been occasionally blocking our way and Loa the Litten had been on path clearing duty. With careful application of her flammable saliva, she’d weaken the plant matter then she would cut it with her fangs.

Up until what blocked us wasn’t just plants, but a tunnel too small for us to fit through.

Loa scratched in annoyance at the stone at the edges of the tunnel– she was strong enough to make sizable claw marks through dirt but not enough to make it through rock.

“Du-dun.”

Loa moved aside so Oran Juice could try.

“Your enthusiasm is good and all, but we’d better find a different way, I think.” Hau said. “You’re good at making tunnels for your size, but I don’t know about digging one for us.”

OJ paused and looked back at the teen, clearly disappointed– but I immediately shushed the boy and nodded at my Dunsparce eagerly. I had a hunch it could work. Let my boy cook.

And so, my Dunsparce inspected the wall: he looked at the tunnel entrance, gauged its length, tapped against the wall with its tail; then turned around and stood tail first towards the wall, look of concentration on his face.

His drill-tail spun and glowed with an off-white glow, and we watched in wonder as he approached the tunnel opening and moved his drill into a half-circle arc. Around the small passage, rocks carved themselves out of the sides and stuck to OJ’s tail like a magnet– and just like that, the shaft was widened enough for us to crawl into.

The rocks had covered his tail like a mis-shapen sheet of armor, and with a thump of his tail against the ground, the glow receded and his rock coating crumbled naturally to the ground.

Hau ran his hand on the now widened tunnel, feeling where the rocks had been pulled away from the wall. “Tapus– taking back what I just said, you got this in the bag.”

I marveled at the application of the Move we had just witnessed, but couldn’t figure out what Move that had been in the first place. “OJ, this– did you always know how to do this?”

Oran Juice shily shook his tail, embarrassed, and just responded with a so-so gesture.

“Can you… can you do it again? Here,” and I motioned toward a patch of dirt on the ground.

Once more, he approached it, turned around, his tail glowed and a patch of dirt carved itself out of the ground like it had been magnetized. All that was left was a hole in the ground and some loose rocks, while part of OJ’s body was now coated in earth and mud. He could move like this still, but still he stopped the Move and let the earth fall to the floor.

Huh. It’s selective, I thought to myself, the Move pulled the dirt to him this time but left rock matter behind. This isn’t quite magnetism… Does it have different applications depending on the material he uses this on?

I pet OJ’s head and he returned the gesture eagerly. While this was something I wanted to explore further, we’d have to postpone it for after the trial.

We heard an impatient squeak ahead as our guides motioned for us to continue.

Our group squeezed itself out of the crawlspace, and we found ourselves in the largest room yet.

The ground was treacherous. Stalagmites and uneven terrain would make trekking through slow and methodical, lest we trip and hurt ourselves or wedge a leg into a crevice. Patches of moss and plants made what footholds we could grab slippery.

What made this room particularly dangerous were its occupants.

Two swarms battled near the ceiling of the cavern. On one side, Zubats wailed in defiance at their attackers, retaliating with poisonous bites and health-draining Moves. On the other, a smaller swarm of Noibats invaded the space with powerful gusts of wind and loud screeches.

With this warzone came a cacophony , a terrible mix of shrieks and squeals that echoed throughout the room and bounced off the walls. Me and my companions winced, Loa’s ears laid flat against her head while most of us with hands plugged our ears with our fingers.

“This isn’t feasible!” I whisper-shouted at the others, “We should turn back! Let’s find another way–”

A sudden scramble across my torso as two small forms launched themselves at me and my bag. Petal and OJ moved as one to help and in my panic I whacked my offenders off.

Two grey furred bodies bounced off the ground, multiple berries in their paws– the two Rattatas that had been our guides thus far. They righted themselves up, grabbed their stolen prizes and disappeared in the crevices of the room.

Betrayal. I felt tricked and used. I touched around my neck and - of course - my necklace had been taken. My bag had been wrenched open and I saw where they had dug into my berry storage to roughly rifle out a few orans. The other bruised berries were starting to smell.

Had they brought us here just to distract us? I could feel tears at the sides of my eyes– humans I could see being mean, but Pokemon had always been good–

A warm hand on my shoulder brought me out of my spiral. I turned to see Lilliane look me in the eyes intensely, she mouthed “ focus” and pointed out something on one side of the room.

Yellow flowers framing an exit.

I rubbed my tears away with the back of my hand and cross referenced with my notes… that was it. If we reached that tunnel, we would be out of Verdant Cavern.

I turned to the others. Lilliane winced, putting her fingers back in her ears. Hau’s uncertainty was clear on his face, looking at the battling swarms above, but he turned to me and gave me a nod.

We slowly started to make our way across.

This was slow and difficult.

We’d all crouched and started to hold on the ground with our hands to ensure that we wouldn’t slip. Every step was an effort of its own, trying to find purchase where it was available, making sure that the soil wouldn’t give or slip out beneath our feet, balancing our bags on our back as best we could.

I was just getting tired . We’d been in this cave for just a few hours and hadn’t encountered any significant danger but there was something exhausting about taking such a passive approach to this. We were putting a lot of effort into going through the same paths Pokemon did, and we were all dirty, sweaty, our knees scuffed and our palms callused.

Worse even, the sound was getting louder , strident screeches and screams that echoed above and around us, while the smell of the crushed berries in my bag were getting more and more pungent–

Oh shoot, the smell.

No wonder it was getting louder.

A mob of Zubats was splintering off from the main swarm and were starting to approach. Lilliane cried out as they approached, Hau crawled faster and closer to us–

“ Petal! Dissuade!”

My Oddish let out as much Sweet Scent as they could, like a smokescreen blocking us off from the incoming swarm, and we put our shirt in front of our mouths like we’d practiced. This wasn’t perfect– I heard my companions cough as the acidic Sweet Scent got in their lungs or started to irritate their eyes.

Cries of irritated Zubats rang out as we continued on our path. Petal continued to send out more Sweet Scent and occasional clouds of Poison Powder when a bat got too close, and while we were gaining ground we weren’t fast enough or safe enough just yet.

Suddenly, a yelp from behind.

Loa bit down on a Zubat that had bitten her on the leg and threw it away, visible poison coursing through her leg muscles. This was bad– did we stop to treat her poison, or move on to–

“This isn’t working!” No longer whispering, Lilliane was now clearly hyperventilating. “I– I’m sorry! This is all my fault!”

Hau kept his head on a swivel, helping Loa get to her feet. “It’s okay– we can still get through! We just have to push forward!” While the Litten was poisoned, she wasn’t exhausted or panting just yet.

Lilliane moved forward once more, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, but I wasn’t paying attention to this anymore– the Sweet Scent was dispersing, my Oddish was exhausted , Zubats were starting to break through–

Until Stella the Cleffa jumped on Lilliane’s back, and a powerful flash illuminated the room.

The bats flew back in surprise. Stella didn’t relent, and after the first, two more flashes, then three prolonged flashes of light, then three short ones, beams of light that weren’t strong enough to be considered a Move or dealing damage, but enough to send out a message .

A message was sent, and help came.

It was another sound that was added to the cacophony: a hum of insectile wings that drowned out the other shrieks and screeches through the cavern. The swarm that entered the room moved less as a mass and more like a sheet of red, black-dotted Bug-types, interposing themselves between us and the Zubats.

We watched in shock as the Ledybas moved in unison and wove a net of hexagonal, translucent Barriers that stopped the Zubats in their tracks. The Ledyba in the middle - the same Ledyba from the last night - turned around and gave a wink and two thumbs up to Stella, who was now back to be cradled in her trainer’s hold.

“Stella, you– how? ” Lilliane stood in utter confusion as a satisfied Stella snuggled in her arms, her job now done. She simply reached up with her hand and wiped tears away from Lilliane’s eyes.

She turned to the Ledyba, incredulous at the unbelievable situation, and in a soft voice she asked “Are you sure you want– you want to help?”

It gave a nod and gave a salute at Lilliane. I caught a whiff of something from it, suddenly– wait a minute, was that Lilliane’s perfume? Was that what Stella had traded to it ??

We could– we could do this.

“No idea how you did this Stella, but good work! Let’s get going!” And Hau grabbed Lilliane’s hand and we continued on our difficult path.

Hugging the wall, protected from the side by our personal flying guard and their Barriers, we persevered. The Zubats gave up on the chase and returned to their own squabble, while we extricated ourselves from the forest of stalagmites, finally reaching flat ground. The final distance before the exit.

Then there was light, and a horrible roar .

In the middle of the Noibat swarm, light was dissipating away from a larger form. Black scales covered its lithe body, flapping larger wings that it seemed uncomfortable with, the two sound-emitting ears on its head now doubled in size and–

A wave of sound emanated from it.

The low-pitched warble tore through the Zubat swarm, visible to the naked eye, like a distorted pulse that warped space around it. The cave shook and pebbles trembled as it echoed through the space. The attack moved through the Zubat swarm and our blood ran cold as we heard the grisly splats of bats crashing on the ground.

I saw blood pooling from limp bodies.

The Noivern turned, and its yellow pinprick eyes locked onto ours.

We ran for the exit.

Fear for my life flooded my brain. This was beyond the nightmare scenario, this was real, very real danger, life-threatening danger, these Zubats were dead , and if this attacked us we would die as well–

We dismissed any caution as we ran like our lives depended on it.

We couldn’t risk looking back but we still heard it shambling movements, unfamiliar in its new body, flapping wings too big for itself as it screeched in frenzied anger– a sound of something crashing against stone and rock somewhere behind us, then to our side, and just before we could reach the exit…

It landed on our path and blocked the way out.

Something in my mind went blank, like a primal instinct clicking into place- fight.

The Noivern took a deep breath, and we were all surprised when Stella barked out an order from Lilliane’s bag, and the Ledyba swarm moved to intercept.

Once again, a horrible, low warble that shook the cave around us, now muffled as a network of Light Screens blocked the attack from reaching us fully. Still, my head thrummed with the sound and I stumbled and landed on a knee. Our companions buckled, Lilliane curled into a ball while Hau fell to his knees, hands on his ears.

Pain spread from my leg. We were hurt, but we weren’t down. All we needed was to find an opportunity to move past it.

It was big and it was strong, but it was also clumsy, unfamiliar with its newly evolved body and still clearly clouded with rage and bound to make mistakes.

Mistakes like focusing too much on us, and not enough on its surroundings.

Loa the Litten jumped on its back from the shadows.

Cold fear seeped in my veins, Lilliane cried in horror. The Litten looked so small on the larger Dragon-type, but still she screeched loud enough for all to hear and sunk her fangs in the Noivern’s neck, true flames at the sides of her mouth as a light gathered here–

“Fuck it up, Loa!”

And her fire exploded.

The Noivern reeled back and trashed as it screeched in pain. The Litten still fiercely held on, flames now running across the Noivern’s fur collar as bruises and scorch marks marked its neck, light started to gather around her maw again, preparing another Fire Fang.

This wasn’t good enough, though - it trashed around but it still blocked the way. I gently grabb Lilliane’s arm and helped her get upWe tried to approach and make our way around but it’d snap closer in a flailing movement.

I looked at the ground, roots and yellow flowers at its feet and thought back to Petal’s skills: perhaps we could restrain it with Leech Seed? No. It was too big. Leech Seed wasn’t strong enough, or the plants would need to be much closer which…

…Which was possible.

“OJ– on my mark, can you reach the Noivern and attack it with the new Move you showed us? Get some of the plants on it for Petal to control.”

The Dunsparce looked at me, wide-eyed and trembling, but he nodded, steeled himself and buried himself in the ground to borrow closer.

On the Noivern’s neck where it couldn’t reach, another loud blast of fire as Loa triggered another Fire Fang. Light danced across the cavern as fire engulfed the Noivern completely, and partially masked by smoke, real light had started to overtake Loa’s body as she held on–

“Now!”

Oran Juice shot out the ground like a bullet.

He landed close and his tail shone and the vines pulled out the ground to stick and wrap around his tail. It wasn’t just vines, but also roots, and grass, and big mushroom tops that bulged with spores, and OJ spun like a top tail posed to strike at the Noivern.

The cover of plants on his tail crashed against the Noivern’s leg and OJ released the move, and it exploded unexpectedly in a thick cloud of beige spores that coated all three fighters.

There was a crash as the Noivern’s limp, unbelievably sleeping body fell to the ground.

Everyone paused for a second, unbelieving of what we were seeing.

Then as soon as we recovered our wits– we rushed.

I recalled OJ while Petal scrambled forward as fast as they could– they weren’t fast enough so I grabbed them and held them to my chest as I ran like my life depended on it.

I looked back for a second and there was Lilliane, teeth gritting, tears pouring from her eyes but determined, cradling Stella and one Ledyba at her side - then behind her, unbelievably, a grinning Hau and the leaping and panting Loa the Torracat.

Ahead:

Light, an exit to this tunnel, morning light streaming into the Cavern like an entrance to heaven.

A wooden painted arch, signaling the end of the trial.

The concerned faces of Trial attendees, one rushing to meet us with an Audino in tow.

And behind them, an idyllic scenery: rolling hills of yellow flowers in a sprawling valley. Bug- and Grass-types flying in troves in the sky.

Our feet didn’t stop when we passed the gate, as we ran into the fields and collapsed onto the flowers.

We had finally passed the first trial.