My mind was already racing with possibilities of how to tackle this situation. Unfortunately, my current team composition was limited.

First of all, Azumarill was completely out of the picture. She had too many injuries to fight any time soon. Ninetales was with me too, yes, but the jungle would slow down her speed and block any line of sight into the air.

As for Dedenne, my third team member, he was the Pokémon we needed to chase in the first place! That left just Gardevoir, whose Teleport had the potential to bring us close quickly, but he hadn't trained his sensing capabilities as much as Rapidash to follow such a fast moving Pokémon. Unlike the time we chased Zinnia, Tapu Koko was already too far away to see, and the dense canopy of the jungle was in the way.

As I stared through the burned hole in the tree branches at the blank sky above, Hope cleared her throat.

"I don't have anyone who can follow. Tropius is too slow, and everyone else is stuck on the ground."

"Hala’s our best chance to find the Tapu, then,” I replied. “He should know where it lives. But...” I bit my lip. “I don’t know where he is, either."

The clearing was plunged into silence. Hope awkwardly stepped side to side.

“I think he might be at the festival grounds from last night. It makes sense to me that he would be there to be available to any new trainers.”

"I think you’re right. That’s our best option for now. Gardevoir isn't familiar with the place so we can’t teleport. It’ll be faster to go through the jungle. We need to go."

Hope sent me a firm nod, and we both immediately began to run. Venusaur was still out from where Hope released him to protect her, and it moved to run alongside us. Despite the Grass Type being slow and bulky, Venusaur's Vine Whip and its mastery over the Grass Type let it easily "push" thick trees out of the way to help forge a route through the dense foliage.

A few wild Pokémon got annoyed at our presence, but Venusaur simply demonstrated its Razor Leaf against them. Hope released her Cherrim, too, to ride on Venusaur’s back, and its Heal Pulse ensured no Pokémon we encountered remained too injured.

With Melemele being the second smallest of the major islands, we hadn't actually traveled too deep to find Tapu Koko. We were near the edge of its central jungle, and Venusaur’s assistance let us travel in a straight line through it. There were even a few points where it lifted us up over small cliffs and ledges to let us keep moving.

The roofs of the houses in Hau’oli outskirts came into view first. One last tree was pushed out of the way before snapping back, with us squeezing past it just in time.

We tread the same path through the town, with several people pointing out our mad rush. Curiously, some people were also running up the hill, but they seemed to be excited rather than panicked.

As we crested over the hill, I ended up slowing to a stop. The air hissed with electricity. More noticeably, people crowded together around that same main stage.

“Back up, please! Give them some room!”

Hala was doing his best to keep the crowd at bay, but people were simply too interested by the sight on the stage.

Tapu Koko was there. The wild Legendary Pokémon stared out with an almost imperious gaze. There was a moment where its eyes met with my own, and it... stiffened?

Honestly, it almost looked guilty.

“What’s going on, here?”

My words came out more like a demand rather than a question. The crowd's awe faded away, and they parted to form a path.

Dedenne suddenly rushed forward. He leapt off the stage, sailing yards through the air, and he tucked down into a roll that came to a stop just before my feet.

"Ho? I didn't expect you to arrive so soon," Hala said.

I didn’t reply, focusing on Dedenne instead. Dedenne squeaked happily and held up his hands.

Recognizing the universal symbol for “up,” I held out a hand for Dedenne to climb up onto, and he moved over to rest on my shoulder.

Hope and I approached the stage while Dedenne rubbed his cheek against mine. Above, Hala looked very amused while Tapu Koko refused to meet my eyes.

“It seems that Tapu Koko has been taken by Dedenne,” Hala said. Tapu Koko suddenly crossed its arms. “If I may be so bold, you are aware of Tapu Koko’s Type, yes?”

“Fairy Electric,” I answered easily enough.

“And Dedenne’s?”

“Fairy Electric,” I replied slowly, my eyes widening in realization.

Tapu Koko huffed besides Hala.

“I’ve known Tapu Koko all my life, but I do not believe a Dedenne has ever passed by our way,” Hala said. “At least, one that strong. Several of the species have visited the island in recent years, but to challenge Tapu Koko to a battle?”

Dedenne used this opportunity to jump off my shoulder and land on the ground. He purposefully held his arms out before flexing. A few kids on the side laughed and clapped their hands.

“I believe Tapu Koko wishes to take Dedenne on as a temporary apprentice.” Hala said. “Is that of interest to you two?”

I must have looked like a fish with how low my jaw dropped. The kids laughed at the sides and shouted out for Dedenne, who replied by creating colorful sparks between his whiskers.

Unable to process this for a moment, I moved to kneel down. Dedenne turned to face me, puffing up his chest, and letting out a prideful squeak.

“This isn’t... this isn’t what I expected at all when Tapu Koko took you. Are you okay?”

Dedenne nodded his head. His grin didn’t leave his face.

I breathed out, shaking my head.

“This must be like a dream. I can’t imagine studying under a Legendary, let alone one going out of its way to kidnap you. You can’t pass this up, but... you understand what this would mean, right?”

Dedenne tilted his head.

“No support staff, no traveling, no quick transport via Pokéball. Not only that, but you’d be stuck here. You won’t be able to travel with me. You’d be with the Tapu.”

Dedenne froze, as if he hadn’t expected that. He glanced over his shoulder to stare at the Legendary, who was watching this conversation with pointed interest. When Tapu Koko saw him turn, it purposefully looked away. Hala chuckled again, and he patted the shielded arm on Tapu Koko’s side, an act that showed great familiarity with the Legendary.

“It should only last a few months,” Hala said. “Tapu Koko does have other duties they need to do.”

For some reason, Tapu Koko slumped slightly next to him.

“Then...” I said, and Dedenne's attention was drawn back to me. “Tapu Koko is a Legendary Pokémon. Whatever you learn would be priceless, and based on what Hala said, no other Dedenne has ever got this opportunity. If I had to guess, by the end of it, you’d probably be the strongest Dedenne in the world. It’s not a chance worth missing.”

I think that was what convinced him in the end. I could tell he had been hesitant upon realizing how this would force him to stick by Tapu Koko’s side. But, he’d always wanted to increase the power of his own attacks, and I always felt like I hadn’t been able to properly support him in that manner.

As a solution, I couldn’t think of any better opportunity than this.

This time, when Dedenne nodded, he put his entire body into it. His eyes squinted shut, and his chubby body jiggled under the force of the effort. All of his energy was put into accepting the offer, and I let out a sad sigh.

“I’ll miss you,” I said.

I patted Dedenne’s head, and he grabbed my hand into a hug. I used this opportunity to pull him in as well, and I pointedly ignored the crowd making noises in response around us.

After what felt like too little time at all, I placed him back on the ground, and Dedenne scurried off, briefly glancing over his shoulder to give me one last look.

Just like before, Tapu Koko picked Dedenne up. This time, instead of rapidly disappearing into the sky, Dedenne was given the chance to move up and rest on Tapu Koko’s shoulder.

There was a moment where Dedenne and I met each other’s eyes. He gave me a firm nod, and Tapu Koko did the same, too, almost to say it would take care of him. Then, the Legendary brought its arms together, returning to its totem-shaped bird form, and the pair disappeared into the sky in a bolt of lightning.

The crowd around me cheered as if this was a momentous occasion. I was too focused on yelling out my own message as the distant yellow faded away.

“I’ll be visiting every so often! Altaria and Whimiscott are going to want to visit and say goodbye, too!”

“I’ll make sure we work something out,” Hala said. “This may be a completely unexpected situation, but it’s not without precedent. Certain exceptions will be and have been made.”

My gaze lingered on the burn mark on the stage, left there where Tapu Koko’s electricity had stained the ground. A few people shook my arms in excitement, but I drew back, uncomfortable at the touch.

Hope walked up next to me.

“Think Tapu Bulu might want to train one of my Pokémon?” Hope whispered.

“Not sure,” I sighed sadly. “We’d have to visit it to find out.”

As I stared up at the sky, I found myself clutching Dedenne’s Fast Ball, and Hala approached, each footstep having a certain presence to them that came with the power and authority he wielded. It didn’t take long for the crowd to split enough for him to reach Hope and I—giving us a first chance to actually have an opportunity to talk—and a wide smile formed on his face.

“So,” he said in his deep voice. “I heard you and Azumarill challenged Tapu Koko?”

There was a bit of an amused edge to his voice. I let out a nervous chuckle, my focus suddenly snapping to a different subject entirely.

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

There were a lot of restrictions about visiting Tapu Koko. It had a small temple hidden in the jungle, built into a cave on the side of a central mountain. The Pokémon around it were ready to defend it at the slightest provocation, but going with Hala ensured they would stay back.

One flock of Spearow glared at me every time I ended up going.

I ended up visiting Dedenne multiple times over the next few days, and as far as I could tell, Dedenne wasn’t just under an apprenticeship with Tapu Koko; the pair were exchanging information both ways. Tapu Koko was helping Dedenne with his Electric Type moves, and based on the charades he performed, I got the gist that Dedenne was helping Tapu Koko be more tricky with its attacks.

Hope visited there with me the first day, where both Altaria and Whimsicott gave their temporary goodbyes. After that, Hope ended up splitting off from me to have a bit of time to herself at the start of the season, and I started visiting Dedenne at the end of each day during the next week.

With my basic, independent schedule, my time became divided up between training on Route 1 and visiting Dedenne each night. After a few days, I got the sense Tapu Koko wasn’t appreciating the frequent visits, so I was forced to dedicate more of my focus on Route 1 while I waited for Hope to return.

And how, exactly, did I train on Route 1? Simple. I found a comfortable place to relax, set up a chair and disguised myself, and whenever one of the children walked past me, I shouted “Our eyes locked! That means we have to fight!”

That wasn’t actually a rule, but it was funny when they were caught off guard. Tinkatink, Togepi, and Eevee were the focus for these days, as they needed to be trained up to reach the same level as everyone else. Eventually, I’d need to focus more on my more experienced team members as I couldn’t afford to truly slack off before my Sinnoh Elite Four challenge, but it was nice to return to the basics for a bit.

For these battles, the trio did their best to practice, but they had to hold back to not overwhelm the beginning trainers that frequented the area. They purposefully took falls, too, as to not dissuade any beginners from continuing their journey. Everyone but Eevee was well trained for their level of experience and could have easily won, but I wanted to be fair.

Togepi stuck to Charm and Pound. Attacking wasn’t her goal—the goal was to practice using Charm in a fight. We’d been working on seamlessly blending the weakening move into her attacks for a while at this point.

Whenever a stronger trainer approached us, Togepi would mix in Extrasensory to practice her special capabilities, and she used Aerial Ace to rush forward and land devastating attacks. However, nine times out of ten, when she looked like she was about to win, she would purposefully fall backwards and “faint” when our opponents made their last stand.

I handed ten bucks to whoever beat us, gave them some tips, and sent them on their way.

Tinkatink was less prone to acting. She just wanted to swing her hammer. Since she was so close to evolution, she vastly outpowered almost everyone she fought, and her weapon looked almost comical when compared to her small size.

The difference in size actually caused a small quirk when it came to her species’s development. The closer she was to her evolution, the larger and more unwieldy she made her weapon. Since her hammer was so much larger now, she had a harder time swinging it, which made her overall weaker in battle. Really, I used this opportunity to have her practice her defenses instead. When one of the starter Pokémon—or one of the other weak Pokémon the trainers caught on this route—came her way, she worked on using Baby-Doll Eyes, Astonish, and Protect to minimize the damage she took.

As for Eevee...

Well, Eevee was special. He had little battle experience compared to everyone else, so the battles he fought were genuine fights. When no one was around, Ninetales actually helped him with his attacks, as she had mastered Quick Attack and Tail Whip long ago. We trained his agility to improve his movements, and his mastery of his debilitating Charm and Baby-Doll Eyes served to ensure he’d last longer in fights.

The one limitation he had to abide by was a restriction on Swift. Swift was a decently strong special attack that damaged his foes without fail. Relying on it too much this early would hinder him in the long run.

As the days passed by, we battled our share of trainers, and I managed to see a few familiar faces, too.

First off, Hau, Hala’s grandson and main rival in the games, ran around and challenged everyone on this Route to a fight. He and his Rowlet and Pichu went into every battle giving it their all. They won the vast majority of the matches they fought, and even when they lost, they did so with a smile on their face.

He went up against me, and I didn’t hold back. Togepi took out his Pichu, Rowlet took out Togepi, then Eevee came out to finish off the weakened starter.

I gave him some advice, mostly telling him to make use of more utility moves, and he was off to run back to the Pokémon Center, next. I also made sure to inform him about Hope and my talks coming up at the local Pokémon School, as I knew Hope’s expertise on the Grass Type would help with his starter. This was an advertisement I gave everyone who passed my way.

Then, Elio came.

The protagonist of the games wasn’t the same as Hau. He always smiled, but he wasn’t over-eager or challenging everyone to a fight. He only battled certain trainers on this route, and, rather than needing to shout out to him, he would approach them straight off the bat.

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I didn’t say anything when he came up to me. He had a simple approach where he purposefully locked eyes. I got the message easily enough, and I stood up from my chair to ready myself for the battle.

“Choose your Pokémon. I plan to use two, so you should do the same,” I said.

Elio nodded, and I palmed a pair of Pokéballs. Since I was staying in one place on this route, most of the healing was done through potions and revives. My team was a little tired this late in the day, but they still had the energy to make this a decent challenge. I wasn’t planning on holding back against him; I wanted to see just how much potential a supposed “protagonist” might have.

We were set up on a small clearing of grass just off the main road, with my chair set up right behind me. I’d specifically chosen this place since it had a palm tree to provide me shade, and it gave me an incredible view of the crystal-clear waters that surrounded Alola.

"You ready?" I asked.

Elio gripped a blank Pokéball tight in his hands.

"Then, let's go. Eevee!"

"Rockruff!"

Embarrassingly, the sound of his voice caught me off guard. I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting, but he sounded like any other kid.

Well, he was a teen specifically rather than just a kid, but it was hard to think of him as anything else since he looked so young.

When our Pokémon were sent out, across from Eevee, a brown dog appeared on the field. It had brown fur and floppy ears alongside a pair of bright blue eyes. Small stones grew out of a neck covered with white fur, which, combined, resembled a natural mimicry of some sort of fur collar.

The Rockruff had a sharp look in its eyes as it knelt down to ready itself to battle. Eevee pawed at the ground across from it, just as prepared.

"Your move first," I said.

"Sand Attack!" Elio shouted without delay.

Rockruff moved far quicker than the other beginner Pokémon I'd seen. Its feet kicked up terrain when it ran, then it skidded to a halt to push up a dirt-filled wave.

Eevee reacted with Baby-Doll Eyes, his pupils flashing pink to weaken Rockruff's willingness to attack—but this wasn't an attack. The grit from the wave blew into Eevee's face, irritating his eyes and forcing him to slam them shut.

"Tackle!" Elio ordered next.

Rockruff followed up with a slam into Eevee. I shouted for a Quick Attack, but his lack of experience, and now sight, made him panic.

The impact knocked Eevee back. He stumbled, and Rockruff took advantage of that to follow up with a commanded "Bite!"

At this level, most trainers would have paused upon landing a successful move like that Tackle. As a result, Eevee wasn’t prepared for that second attack. Rockruff bit down on Eevee's neck and dragged him down to the floor, where Eevee then tried to trip Rockruff with a Tail Whip. However, a sidestep easily avoided it, and like a fox jumping into snow after prey, a vertical jump into a Tackle finished Eevee off.

"Impressive," I said, returning my Pokémon. "That's the most dominating anyone has been so far."

Elio's face went red as he returned his team member as well. I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Not keeping Rockruff out?"

"I don't have to. I want to split the experience," Elio said.

Eevee was replaced with Togepi, and Rockruff was replaced with Litten.

"Let’s continue,” I said. “Togepi, Metronome.”

"Ember!"

Flames left the striped cat's mouth to sear against Togepi’s shell, but the shell served as ample protection. Scorch marks appeared among the shapes on Togepi’s surface, and she easily pushed through to wag her arms back and forth.

Togepi then exploded with electricity.

A Shock Wave struck Litten without fail, and it stumbled back, not expecting the powerful attack. I called out for an Aerial Ace—most definitely going overboard—and Togepi rushed forward with all her speed, putting her Hustle to use to maximize this attack.

"Lick!" Elio hastily shouted.

Litten did its best to leap to the side, but Togepi still caught it thanks to the speed of Aerial Ace. I winced—again, this was far too powerful to have used against a beginning trainer—but I was proven wrong when Litten was knocked back but didn’t fall.

Togepi took a step forward, then she grimaced. Her body looked strained, and I realized what had happened.

Litten used Lick right when Togepi hit it, paralyzing her. That's quick thinking for someone who just started.

I could have called for a Psycho Shift—one of Togepi's Egg Moves that exchanged any status condition with her foe. However, I felt that I’d already pushed enough. This battle had reached its end.

"Ember!" Elio screamed.

The flames shot from Litten's mouth, and when they struck Togepi, she fell back.

"That's it from us," I said.

"But Togepi can still fight!" Elio cried.

Perceptive.

"I recognize that, but knowing when to pull back is as important as knowing when to give it your all. Togepi has had a long day and needs to save her energy for future battles."

Elio sighed and returned his Litten. The Pokémon was holding up a paw from an injury it took from that Aerial Ace. As for Togepi, she was returned as well, though it wasn't especially needed. The Embers were strong, but Togepi was still stronger.

I approached Elio to shake his hand.

"Good fight," I said. "Impressive skills for just starting out. I can tell you’ve been practicing."

A small smile formed on Elio's face, and he blushed red.

"Y-yeah. We practice a lot at night, and I've been doing research to become a trainer all my life! It's my dream to stand at the top. I'm going to be Alola's first Champion!"

I almost coughed at his goal, but I managed to maintain a casual smile.

"That's a good dream. Keep this up, and I imagine you'll have a good chance. For now..."

I handed him his award money, then I cleared my throat to get his attention before he left.

"Before you go, you should know there's going to be a few talks at the local Pokémon School. Experts are coming in to discuss the Grass and Fairy Type. If you plan to expand your team, it might be worth listening in."

He hummed but didn't say anything else. He thanked me with a nod then left, leaving me behind as he rushed to his next battle.

"Yeah, he definitely has potential," I muttered under my breath.

I started to head back to my chair, thinking about what Elio represented. It'd only been a few days, and his Pokémon were already performing mid-level techniques. There was still almost the entirety of Alola’s League to get through, which meant he had plenty of time to bring his team even higher.

I really want to battle him when he reaches the peak.

"Um, excuse me?"

I stumbled, and I glanced towards the voice that called out to me. I hadn't noticed anyone approaching, nor had I seen anyone watching.

There, on the road, was Lillie. She was dressed in her initial outfit from the games—the one with the white dress and wide brimmed hat. It, when combined with her blonde hair, almost made her resemble a Nihilego. Considering Lillie’s mother designed her outfit, it raised several uncomfortable questions about their relationship.

"You're Alex, right?" Lillie asked.

I blinked.

"What? No, I'm Avery, a wandering traveler, of course!"

She looked me up and down as I did my best to laugh a confident laugh. Her lips pursed in response.

"But all you're doing is wearing a different outfit with sunglasses."

Someone in the air giggled, and I shot an annoyed look towards Whimsicott. He was floating in the air above Lillie, where he had been assigned to watch over her. His presence was meant as a compromise for Lillie's independence. She wanted to protect Nebby by becoming a trainer, but she wasn't strong enough to go off on her own—yet.

Nebby knew Teleport and could get Lillie out of danger. Whimsicott was great at staying high up where people wouldn’t notice him, and his debilitating moves would ensure Lillie would be able to escape.

It would be hard to give chase when under the effects of Taunt, Encore, or even just Cotton Spore.

"Alright, I'm Alex,” I admitted, “but don't tell anyone else on the route.”

"O-okay."

She clenched the edge of her dress and stared my way. I had been moving back to my chair when she called out to me, but I now paused to see what she wanted. She wasn't saying anything at all.

The awkward silence carried on like that for the next full minute.

"Do you need something?" I asked.

"A-aren't you... Aren't you going to challenge me to a battle?"

I wanted to smack my face. I hadn't even made that connection. She had Popplio; she could fight. Just because one battle ended didn't mean I couldn't start the next.

"Of course!" I cleared my throat. "Our eyes locked! I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

I purposefully threw my arm forward and stuck up my chin to do so in the most dramatic way possible. My exaggerated movement broke through the awkwardness, and I saw the first hint of a smile appear on Lillie's face.

"I only have one P-Pokémon. I hope that's okay."

I held up Tinkatink's Pokéball.

"Well, what do you know? I only have one left too."

She pulled her hat down so I couldn't see her face, and she moved off to the side of the road where Elio had stood before her.

I tossed forward the Pokéball, and Lillie held out her droplet-marked Pokéball to send her Popplio forward. There was a bit of a kickback as the Pokémon appeared, her arm was pushed back against her body with a soft yelp.

"It's better to toss the Pokéballs. Doing so increases the range they can appear, and the built-in knock-back is designed to have the ball fall back your way."

"O-okay. Thank you."

I glanced between the two Pokémon out right now. Tinkatink had her heavy hammer in both hands while the weapon’s head hung on the ground, and Popplio had pushed itself up into a battle-ready stance, where its flippers kept its upper body raised.

"You have the first move," I said. "Have you battled before?"

Lillie mumbled something quietly under her breath.

"What was that?"

"J-just a few wild Pokémon. This is... our first trainer battle."

I smiled.

"Let's make it a good one."

Lillie pulled back her hat a bit to better observe both Pokémon on the field. Her hat was large enough to completely protect her from the sun, and I noticed just how pale she was.

Nervously, she pointed a finger at Tinkatink and voiced her first command.

"Water Gun, please."

Popplio's fins slapped the ground to allow it to properly reorient itself to aim, and a forceful stream of water shot out of its mouth. Tinkatink, being a small Pokémon, would have likely been blasted back from the force, so she brought up the hilt of her hammer to use its weight to weather the blow.

"Good. Tinkatink, Astonish."

Tinkatink wasn't able to move that fast on account of her oversized weapon, which should have given her opponent plenty of time to react. However, Popplio didn't move out of the way; it only widened its eyes in shock, and it braced itself to take damage.

Tinkatink jumped—not into the air, but her body tensed before releasing that built up potential all at once. It looked like Tinkatink had been about to attack but stopped half way. However, the Ghost Type energy of Astonish still hit, and Popplio winced as a result.

Before I gave Tinkatink any follow-up orders, I waited for Lillie to give her Pokémon hers. But, I noticed her eyes were closed.

"Lillie? Are you okay?"

One eye peeked open, and her face turned red.

"Sorry. I don't like when Pokémon are hurt."

"I get it. It's hard to see those you care about get hurt, but it's also important to remember that battles are how Pokémon grow. Inherently, battles make Pokémon stronger. Humans provide a safe and controlled environment for them to do so. Don’t think about it as them getting hurt. Think about it as them challenging themselves to get stronger."

I tried to give her a comforting smile, but she only pressed her lips together tighter.

"That's what Kukui said. I'm trying, but I still don’t like how it hurts them."

"That's alright, too. How about you give the next attack?"

Lillie blinked at the reminder that we were still in a match, and she stuttered to order a quick "P-pound!"

Popplio swung one of its fins forward, aiming to hit Tinkatink. She purposefully used her small stature to step back and duck under it, reflexively using Baby-Doll Eyes to weaken Popplio for the rest of the match.

"Now Rock Smash," I said.

It took her a moment to wind up her swing. It was just long enough for Lillie to yell out "Growl!"

In response, Popplio shouted its name, and Tinkatink wavered, but her attack still pulled through. Her amalgamation of steel and metal was heaved off the ground and was sent swinging in a wide arc in front of her. Popplio braced itself, and the hammer thudded into its stomach. A wheeze meant Popplio had the air knocked out of it.

"Popplio!" Lillie shouted.

Tinkatink rolled her eyes and used the impact to twist into a spin in the opposite direction. I told her what move to use next.

"Metal Claw."

This attack struck true for a second time, and Popplio took a hit right in the side.

This second impact knocked Popplio back, where it fell on its side on the ground. For a moment, I thought this had been too much for Popplio, but the Water Type grunted and pushed itself up to its feet.

“Determined. Good,” I said.

Popplio wavered in place. It was clearly having trouble staying conscious.

"C-can you continue?" Lillie asked.

Popplio turned around and gave Lillie a small nod. Lillie's hands clenched into fists.

"Water Gun!"

Her order came out louder than before; it was clear she was forcing it. However, the move was aimed proud and true.

Tinkatink was still recovering from the recoil of her attacks. Her large hammer was making battle difficult. With Lillie’s order, the watery blast sailed forward and hit Tinkatink right in the chest. Water covered her head to toe; she was now dripping water and sputtering with annoyance.

Tinkatink had plenty of fight in her left. Popplio had little. I quickly came to a decision.

"How about one more attack to call the match? No need to make our Pokémon too hurt," I said.

Lillie bit her lip and glanced Popplio's way. Her Pokémon was too focused on Tinkatink to look back at her.

"Okay."

Now, do I take it easy on her, or do I go full force? There's arguments for both, but for Lillie...

She was extremely focused, yet she wasn’t taking her eyes off of the heavily injured Popplio. Based on what Popplio had used so far, I had decent reason to believe it'd already demonstrated all of its moves, too. Meanwhile, Tinkatink still had plenty of surprises left to show.

I didn’t want to dissuade Lillie with an overwhelming loss. I decided to stick to something she’d already seen.

"Use Metal Claw."

An Ice Hammer would have been too much. Metal Claw would test Lillie’s ability to respond.

Tinkatink ran forward, soaked, and Lillie took an unconscious step back. There was something about having such a small Pokémon run at her, dripping, that I assumed looked intimidating. Quickly, Lillie ordered another Water Gun, but that was all she did.

Tinkatink dodged, but the blast of water still clipped her in the side. That caused her to stumble, and she tried her best to twist that loss of balance into a forceful swing. Her weapon gained a metallic sheen, she swung with all her strength, and a Metal Claw started to fall down directly towards Popplio’s head.

"Please! Dodge!"

Hearing that command made me smile. Sometimes, calling out for a Pokémon to dodge was enough to remind it it could move.

For the first time in the match, Popplio tried to avoid the attack. With Tinkatink's slow speed and current difficulty maneuvering, Popplio had plenty of time to push off the ground and shift itself back.

The attack failed to reach it. Tinkatink’s Metal Claw struck the grass. The failure made her breathe out a sigh of disappointment, but Lillie breathed out a sigh of relief.

"That match is yours, then," I said.

"Wait, what?!"

"Remember? I said we would settle it with one last attack. Your Water Gun hit, but Tinkatink's Metal Claw missed. Anything more would have been unfair; Tinkatink has been training for months longer than Popplio. With that handicap, I'd say you win. Congratulations, Lillie. That was a good match."

Lillie looked like she wanted to disagree, but her bag at her side suddenly shook, and Nebby the Cosmog burst out.

The ball of stardust pushed into Lillie’s chest in congratulations. Injured, Popplio pushed itself back to lean against her leg. It closed its eyes and said its name quietly.

"I won," Lillie whispered.

"Pretty handily, too. A bit more training, and I'm sure you can become a great trainer!"

Her face turned red as she hugged Nebby back. At the same time, she patted Popplio's head.

Lillie then returned the Water Type, and she told Nebby to return to its bag. It took a bit of handling, but both Pokémon soon were brought back into their portable homes.

I used that moment of brief struggle to approach. Lillie blinked when she saw what I held in my hand.

"What's this?"

"Money. Cash. Your reward. You won the battle, right?"

"But my mother—"

"Doesn't matter right now. You earned this on your own."

Lillie paused as if she didn’t believe my words. Slowly, a hand inched up to retrieve the bills from my hand. She acted as if they would fall apart if she applied any significant force. The sum wasn't much, but Lillie still stared at it as if it was the whole world to her.

"You know," I said, breaking her out of her trance, "Hope and I are giving a talk at the Pokémon School tomorrow. With Popplio on your team, it might be worth attending to learn more about the Fairy Type."

Her face looked up as if she just remembered I was here, and for the first time today, she smiled.

"I'll be there! I promise!"

And then Lillie ran off to bring her Pokémon to the Pokémon Center.

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

The trainer school on Route 1 was the main pillar of Alola’s education system. It stood as an institution of both classical learning and Pokémon-based learning. Primarily, students who went to the school lived on Melemele, but there were those whose families lived on another island while they boarded on campus during the week.

Approaching it, it was clear its wealth wasn’t only in its knowledge and the skill of its teachers. The campus was large—far larger than what the games implied. It consisted of several buildings arranged in a circle that overlooked an impressive set of battlefields, and the campus itself overlooked both Route 1 and the houses of Hau’oli’s outskirts. By far, it beat out any public school I had seen in the past.

“Look at that.” Hope nudged my arm. “The student on the right.”

Students here took classes on how to both live with and train Pokémon. As a result, many of them ran around with one or two Pokémon out. The one Hope pointed to was a young girl who obviously wasn’t old enough to go on a journey, but, despite that, she had a Stenee, a Grass Type and the evolved form of Bounsweet, loyally walking along at her side.

“Still upset about your trip into the jungle?” I asked.

“Ugh. It was awful,” Hope groaned. “I like forests, but not when they’re so humid it’s impossible to breathe. And the Pokémon? They’re surprisingly strong for being so close to civilization—which was great for training—but it’s not great when none of them are Grass Types!”

Hope threw up her arms.

“So you’re jealous.”

“Alex, I’m more than jealous. It’s been a week since we came to Alola, and I still haven’t added anyone to my team.”

She hung her head dramatically, and I patted her on her shoulder as part of the bit. Honestly, It took an embarrassingly long time for the both of us to even think about checking our Pokédex, and based on what we found, there weren’t any new and unique Grass Type species available on Melemele for Hope to catch.

Hope was unlikely to catch any Pokémon until we visited the next island.

We passed through the campus on our own. It felt a little wrong to me because I didn’t have any Pokémon out. Dedenne was with Tapu Koko, Eevee and the rest of the smaller Pokémon were back home, and Whimsicott was off protecting Lillie.

That left me with only six Pokémon, and they were all too large or noticeable to take out. The sole exception was Carbink, but they were jetlagged from the difference in time between here and Hoenn.

Despite my disappointment, we still made our way up to Professor Samson Oak’s office easily enough. He had his own room in a building furthest in the back, with his office being located on its own floor all the way at the top. The building was heavy on wood and bamboo in its construction, and the windows tended to be open wide and lacked any panes of glass.

When we reached his door, we knocked, and a cheerful “Come in!” sounded out. Entering his office, we were met with a view of the campus.

Glittering waves stretched out into the distance. The tops of all the palm trees poked up around the building. Nearby, a Komala endlessly slept on a bunch of leaves within arm’s reach, and the sound of children’s laughter echoed through open windows across the walls.

“Wonderful! It’s great to see you two have made it!”

Professor Oak stood from behind a desk to move closer and shake our hands. As he did, the other person in the room walked over to do the same.

“This is Ilima,” Professor Oak introduced. “He’s in charge of the— Well, I should let him introduce himself!”

The Professor laughed as we moved to shake Ilima’s hand as well.

“Hello,” Ilima said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. As Samson said, I’m Ilima, a graduate of the Pokémon School and the Captain responsible for the Normal Type trial.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Hope said. “We read your file.”

“Likewise,” I added.

Ilima was one of the older Trial Captains of the current generation, as the role tended to be handed off quite young. He had an immaculate brown vest he wore over a white T-shirt, and his white chinos were rolled up to expose his lower calves. I wasn’t able to tell if his pink hair was dyed or natural.

“I’m glad,” he replied. “Since you’re already here, I was wondering if you’d be willing to hash out a schedule for your review? This weekend, the local Photo Club is doing a scavenger hunt, and I planned to decline any trialgoers during that period to encourage them to go. I would be free then, and I think Gumshoos would appreciate the break.”

“Gumshoos,” Hope said. “The Totem Pokémon?”

“That’s correct.”

The Island Challenge was a bit different than a Gym Challenge, because fighting the Trial Captain wasn’t strictly necessary. Instead, the primary way to progress through the challenge was to beat an unusually large Pokémon called a “Totem Pokémon.” Trial Captains’ roles were generally based around granting permission to take on the Totem Pokémon, which only occasionally included a battle.

Personally, I had a theory Totem Pokémon were connected to the Alpha Pokémon of Sinnoh, but their unusual size and power was due to otherworldly energy that was prevalent on the isles, making it a local phenomenon.

At least, that’s what I remember from the games.

“We can discuss more about this later,” I said. “I’m interested in seeing your Pokémon in action. We’ll meet that morning.”

“I’ll clear my schedule. I’m looking forward to seeing your own Pokémon in exchange,” he replied.

“Well, you might get the chance today.”

Taking that transition of topic as it was, Professor Oak led us back to his desk, where we all sat down.

“So, you two are going to give guest lectures, hm? I assume that’s what you planned?”

“Mine is going to be more of a demonstration, actually,” Hope interjected. “I want to show off a few basic strategies people with Grass Types might be able to use.”

“That sounds wonderful. And you, Alex?”

“I’ve given it some thought, and I’m probably going to stick with a lecture for the first half. I have a lot of ideas I want to share on Fairy Types, and I want to show off a few tips and tricks for training well.”

Professor Oak smiled, and he handed us a paper on his desk. Looking it over, it was a brief schedule for the day.

“I’ve taken the liberty of setting aside a time for you two to go. Hope will go through hers first, then Alex, then our special guest.”

“You have a third special guest?” Hope asked.

“We do! I wanted to make sure every child had a chance to learn something that would be helpful with their starters. Between your Grass Type expertise, Alex’s Fairy Type expertise, and our third surprise lecturer’s Fire Type familiarity, everyone stands to greatly improve. In fact, there’ve been record sign ups for the people who wish to listen in!”

Hope grimaced, and I scratched the back of my head.

“Ah. That might have been me,” I said. “I advertised pretty hard along Route One these past few days.”

Professor Oak chuckled.

“That would do it.”

He went into more details then asked what we needed—extra seating, specific locations, or reservations of fields outside, and then he asked us permission to have these talks streamed, recorded, and posted online.

Like the Pokémon League, the school had its own sites where videos of battles and lectures were recorded. Not everything was included, just as much as they could. It started in recent years, and it was something they wanted to do with us.

“Sounds a bit... uncomfy,” Hope said.

“I don’t see it as too different from battling in front of a crowd.”

“You’re one to talk, Robin,” Hope accused. I laughed. “There’s something about recording a lecture instead of a battle that feels off to me.”

“I understand. We’ll turn off the devices for you. And you, Alex?”

“I don’t mind. I want more people to train Fairy Types, after all. They’re often underused, and a lot of them deserve good homes.”

Professor Oak smiled and wrote that note down.

“Wonderful. Then, if there’s anything else you require—”

“We’re good.”

“No, thank you.”

“Then we’re right on track to begin.”