The next morning found us on a plane heading towards Heahea City, located on Akala Island. Our destination was the Lush Jungle, where a bulk of the portals on the island had been reported. Once we landed, an off-road vehicle was waiting for us. We soon arrived at the entrance to the jungle, where Trial Captain Mallow was waiting.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to Lush Jungle, the trial grounds for me, Mallow!" she greeted us energetically. We all said hello before she led us through the jungle. Today was going to be spent looking for good camping spots throughout the jungle. It's important to know where you can sleep and rest without getting ambushed by Pokémon, especially if the portals opened up and a demon came out.

"Now, I know you have an Elite Trainer with you, but I must warn you about the Totem Pokémon. Totem Lurantis is crazy fast, like, faster than I can eat my Mallow Special!" she exclaimed. "Totem Lurantis also likes to call on a few Pokémon for help, so you won't just be facing her. That's why you need to be careful to not disturb her, else she'll quickly bring you down and kick you out of the jungle!"

"Excuse me," I cut in, "but has Totem Lurantis been able to deal with the portals and all the things that happened to the Pokémon because of them?"

"Er, no. She had a tough time trying to calm down the Pokémon, and when that failed, tried to take out the demon from the portal. She wasn't strong enough, but was able to escape."

"Then why would she kick us out?" I asked. "She wants to keep the Pokémon safe, we want to understand what's going on in order to put a stop to it. If anything, we should work together in order to get this going faster."

"Well, umm… You see, Lurantis isn't really… Well," Mallow began mumbled out, taken aback by my rather aggressive questioning.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put you on the spot," I apologized, "but I'm rather concerned about being attacked by a Pokémon trained by a trial captain while we are supposed to be focused on investigating this phenomenon."

The group stayed quiet as Mallow's face gained a look of understanding before turning sheepish.

"Ah, yes, sorry about that. I guess it doesn't make sense. Well, the first time you stay here, the Totem Pokémon may confuse you for trial goers. She will challenge all of you until one of you beats her. After that, she will leave you to your research and even assist with what she can. I guess she wants to see your strength for herself."

"Got it," I replied. "The trials are like the Gym Circuit, right?"

"Yes."

"If I have two badges, do I have to start the trial from the beginning?"

"Umm, I don't think so," Mallow answered. "Since Alola has joined the International Pokémon League, our trials can be done in place of the Gym Circuit. One trial for each Gym. Do you want to participate?"

I nodded my head. It would be good to continue challenging strong opponents. Mallow told me that I should speak with the island Kahuna if I truly wanted to take the trials on. We then continued through the jungle, taking note of good spots to camp in. Nina was also looking for spots to put cameras so that we could continuously observe and easily search for any strange changes.

After a good five hours, we were taken back to the entrance. Mallow mentioned something about making her Mallow Special before skipping back into the jungle. Cosette, Brian, and Nina went back to Heahea City. I think they were going to spend most of their waiting time at a nearby research lab.

Ana grumbled something about the beach and battle dome before leaving atop a beautiful Galarian Rapidash. Now that I was alone, I had a tough decision to make. Should I start the trial or should I find myself a new Pokémon? After thinking about it for a few minutes, I decided to go with the obvious: the trials.

I headed for Konikoni City, using Diglett's Tunnel to train while we walked. Nautilus, Tetsu, and Larvesta went on their own to do some training. I told Nautilus to periodically check in with me so I knew how they were doing and vice versa. As for myself, Kippie, and Doublade, we went battling anything and everything that moved.

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This was more for me to see how Doublade liked to battle. I noticed she did a lot of hit-and-run tactics with Shadow Sneak, which was a pretty good strategy. However, she needed to learn more in order to properly deal with hidden variables and unfavorable situations. Which is why I asked her to focus solely on the three moves she was training.

That made her focus on close-quarters combat, which she tried to avoid by using Flash Cannon as much as possible. I frowned at that. I quickly knocked out the Golbat I was fighting with a chop to its… Back? The Zubat line doesn't seem to have a neck. Interesting. Well, I still knocked it out and called Doublade over after she was done with the four Zubats that encircled her.

After asking her why she was avoiding close combat and hearing her replies of "Hone, Hone. Ed Honedge," I think the problem was that her previous Trainer had her focus solely on ranged and sneak attacks, if I understood Doublade correctly.

"That's more than fine, if you want to become an expert in these hit-and-run tactics. But I also want you to at least be proficient when fighting a Pokémon up close. I don't want you getting hurt because of something we can easily prepare for."

With that, and a few more encouraging/reinforcing words, Doublade was more than happy to get into the training I planned for her. With that, the next hour was spent fighting and getting through the tunnel and Route 9 to Konikoni City.

Once we arrived, the first thing I noticed was how quiet and calm the outskirts of the city were. A cool, tranquil air blew through with a salty scent. I took a deep breath and a sense of peace washed over me. I returned the team and walked into the city, enjoying the overall gentle atmosphere.

I remember the Island Kahuna, Olivia, owned a jewelry shop which sold evolution stones. Doublade should need a Dusk Stone in order to evolve to Aegislash, if my memory is correct. Oh hell yeah, I can get me an Aegislash soon. I'll have Doublade train for a bit longer to ensure she's at her absolute strongest before evolving, though. Don't want to miss out on any potential gains because of my own impatience.

After fumbling around looking for the shop, I entered a simple wood building. While the exterior was simple, the shop's interior was designed to make you feel like you needed jewelry. Dim lights gave just enough light for people to see the room and everything in it. Brighter lights were within the glass cases in which the jewelry and stones were in, causing them to shine and sparkle.

Pictures of beautiful and famous celebrities adorned the walls, showing off the jewelry sold here. There were also some before and after pictures of Trainers with their pre- and post-evolution Pokémon. All of these pictures were posted above the relevant jewelry and stones that were laying in showcases. The floor was covered with a royal purple carpet, presumably to prevent any damage to the accessories should they fall. Or maybe because it looked good in the room.

I walked up to the counter housing most of the evolution stones, looking at the differences in quality and, more importantly, price. With the Transport App, catching and sending Pokémon for Tasks became so much easier that I felt like it was more like passive income than work. While it wasn't a huge amount, the money I made from random Tasks like that was enough to keep the team fed.

That meant the money that I had saved, the monthly League Payments that I would receive, and anything job that had a seriously sweet payout could be used for anything I wanted. I could buy items to improve my Pokémons' strength, buy TMs/TRs, buy a plot of land for my own, anything really. The fact that that amount of money was at around 75,000$, with just over 40,000$ in savings, meant I was starting to amass some wealth for myself.

It also meant that the 14,000$ Dusk Stone was more than prime real estate. I handed over the cash before telling the clerk which stone I wanted, prompting some weird looks from the other customers. I guess handing out a wad of cash is as weird here as it was back home. After buying the stone, I looked at some of the other things they had.

Mystic Water necklaces, Charcoal bracelets, Choice Bands, and Life Orb chokers. Huh, that's an odd one. Wonder if that's how it damages the user. Anyway, as I was browsing the wares, I was approached by a dark-skinned woman with dark-gray eyes and short black hair. She was wearing short fuchsia shorts and a flamingo pink top that left her entire back exposed.

"Anything you're looking for in there?" she asked me with that customer service smile many people learn to wear.

"I actually just bought what I needed, thank you," I replied. "However, I do want to sign up for the Island Trial, if the Island Kahuna is able to help me with that."

"Sure thing. What's your name?"

"Marco Pérez. I've got two Gym Badges in Kalos."

"Marco… Alright, you're now a trial goer. Good luck!" she said with a giant smile.

"Eh? That's it? No explanations for the rules or anything?" I asked incredulously.

"Nope, I'm sure you're capable enough to take on the trials. And since you know I'm the Kahuna, I'm sure you know enough about the trials to keep it going. Though, you'll have to start with Kiawe and work your way up."

And with that, she walked out. I guess the real world doesn't hold your hand like the games. Good. That means I can just keep going without many cutscenes.

With that, I went outside and unlocked my phone. I heard from Nina that there were flying services available for people to travel around the island quickly. I looked it up quickly and saved the number to my phone before calling it. After a quick conversation of me telling the person I was in Konikoni City and wanted to fly to Wela Volcano Park, I walked to the edge of town and waited for my ride.

A man arrived with a Charizard that had a harness attached to it. It looked just like the game, except I didn't need to change into that ridiculous outfit. Just a helmet, windbreaker, and joggers were needed to keep me warm and protected against the winds. The helmet was provided by the dude who flew in with Charizard.

Once I was ready, I grabbed onto the bar that was attached to the flaming pseudo-dragon's back and hoisted myself up, causing Charizard to grunt a bit.

"Ha, looks like you're a bit on the heavier side, mister," the man heartily laughed. "No matter, just a bit more exercise for Zarlene here."

Once we made sure everything was properly attached and hooked up, the man gave Zarlene a few quick pats. Taking this as the take-off signal, Zarlene flapped her wings and took off into the air. The sudden movement up slammed me into Charizard's back. She then shot forward toward the volcano, almost throwing me off if it weren't for the bar I could hold on to.

As the air slammed into my face, all I could think was:

'I fucking hate this.'