There were just under two dozen trainers entering the Vast Poni Canyon, and each one was quick to spread out. Most headed directly forward, off to where the majority of visitors trained and battled. Lillie was with that group, as staying in the central section made sure that Hapu could keep a close eye on her just in case.
For Hope and I, however, we both veered off to the side. Hope went left, intending to visit the deepest, western parts of the canyon, and I went right, heading as far as I could to the east.
We were comfortable leaving Lillie alone specifically because of the training camp we had gone through together. We had spent weeks ensuring her team could handle the stronger Pokémon that lived off-route, and I had drilled into her the tips and tricks I had learned from my own travels in the past. This was as much of a test as it was a trial. Lillie needed to prove she had the strength to go off on her own.
Though, we weren’t complete fools. In case of an emergency, Hope and I were only a single phone call away.
“Ribombee. Togekiss,” I called out.
As soon as I found a path leading upwards, I sent out my Pokémon.
“We’ll be staying here in week-long periods broken up by brief visits to Pokémon Centers. In total, expect this place to be our home for the next month. I want you two to stick together in the air to keep an eye on our surroundings and help look out for a campsite. Prioritize cover and a lack of activity. We need space to train where we won’t be attacked by wild Pokémon.”
They nodded to acknowledge the orders, with Togekiss letting out a trill and Ribombee saluting me with his tiny hand. When they entered the air, they went high up. Ribombee ended up as only a small speck next to the white blur of Togekiss, and they circled around with a surprisingly fast speed that was only a casual pace for them.
Looks like all our speed training together has paid off.
After them, two more Pokémon came out. The first was Mimikyu, who didn’t wait to sink into the ground and merge with my shadow. Eevee came out after, as I’d be a fool to walk around without a visible Pokémon by my side.
I gave him a quick pat on the head—then another to Mimikyu when he popped up out of jealousy. Then, we began the climb up this small ledge-path to see exactly what the Vast Poni Canyon contained within.
Turned out, it was mostly stone.
The canyon wound and twisted around two-thirds of Poni Island, creating a massive, dangerous environment that ultimately prevented most human expansion. It consisted of cliffs of stone interspersed with short areas of grass and foliage here and there at the very top. Caves littered the landscape, but most were too dangerous to enter as they were likely unclaimed.
Alola did have Pokémon Rangers, but in less numbers than other regions. The islands were small enough that routes didn’t need to be patrolled as often, but Poni Island was a special case. The only sections that had patrols were the short Routes immediately outside of Seafolk village and around the private jungle to the very north.
As a result, the Vast Poni Canyon was the equivalent of an area permanently “off-route.” The Pokémon here were territorial, aggressive, and they fought enough to have the strength to always be a threat.
This trial served as a way to both help acclimate those Pokémon to humans and give them a way to run down their aggression. Considering Hapu only encouraged people to enter during the last third of the season, the rest of the year was spent giving the Pokémon here a break.
“Watch out on the left. There’s movement over there,” I whispered to my Pokémon.
I said that for the benefit of Eevee and Mimikyu, as Togekiss signaled she saw something as we traveled. I crouched down on the ledge and peered over the side to see what it was.
There was another trainer here, one actively fighting off a pair of Pokémon. He’d taken to traveling along the canyon floor instead of following one of the raised paths, like I had.
His Lilligant released a Petal Blizzard, and a wild Machoke brought up its arms to defend. The trainer called out for his Grass Type to use the move again, all while behind him, his Pelipper did its best to use Water Pulse to soak the ground and prevent an Alolan Dugtrio from moving forward.
“Eevee,” I whispered, “do you think you can help? Just a quick attack to lessen the pressure on his team.”
Eevee eyed the panicked battle going on below us before slowly nodding his head. He didn’t attack right away, but his eyes lit up when he came up with a plan.
Right when the blonde Dugtrio emerged, Eevee released a single-star Swift. He timed it just right so that the Pelipper was too occupied with an attack to notice, and the star struck the Dugtrio in the back of the head.
That was enough to get the wild Pokémon to turn around, and the trainer’s Pelipper’s Water Pulse actually hit. Soaked and having just taken a super effective attack, the Dugtrio burrowed down to escape, fleeing from the Pelipper that started to look around to search for any other threats nearby.
We ducked down before it saw us. I couldn’t help but to let out a quiet laugh.
“Good job, Eevee. We aren’t really supposed to be helping others, but a single star like that shouldn’t be a big deal.”
Eevee practically strutted where he walked when we continued forward after that. Truth be told, his mastery of Swift was impressive. While he couldn’t learn any offensive Fairy Type moves right now, his evolution’s ability would turn Normal Type attacks into Fairy Type attacks. Mastering Swift was something that would help him later, even down the line.
Traveling to the upper reaches of the canyon saw the least number of aggressive Pokémon around. The top of the cliffs were flat and covered in tall grass for Pokémon to hide in, and I got occasional glimpses of species like Granbull and Exeggcute. These species weren’t as aggressive as others, and I knew the Fairy Type Granbull tended to be especially timid, despite their appearances. We managed to save ourselves from unnecessary trouble by keeping towards the top to avoid the most territorial species.
Paths carved out by wild Pokémon and natural rock bridges served to carry us forward. By staying careful, we only encountered one true period of trouble: when a Skarmory went after the flying Togekiss and Ribombee.
Thankfully, while the flying Steel Type tended to be difficult to take down due to its sturdy defenses, flinches from Togekiss’s Air Slash made it struggle to attack, and a Stun Spore from Ribombee made it realize this battle wasn’t worth fighting.
Most of our time here was spent just trying to find paths forward, as the canyon wasn’t exactly designed for intuitive travel. We ended up taking a full day to find a viable campsite, which we located on a ledge to the far north east. Overall, it wasn't perfect, but it was good enough. It sat just under an overhang that might have once been a short cave. The tops and sides had collapsed downwards, but what remained was sturdy enough. We spent a bit clearing loose stones out before moving to set everything up.
A tent, a campfire, and a chair were laid out. Togekiss’s Psychic helped me ensure everything stood properly, and Tinkaton and Mimikyu created extra space by destroying nearby, large boulders. Above, Ribombee poked around to ensure no aggressive wild Pokémon were nearby. Once the area was cleared, he worked with Eevee and Ninetales to collect twigs, and I started a fire.
“Kyu.”
Mimikyu made his move as everyone began to settle down.
Casually, Mimikyu waddled over as if he had no further plans before hopping up the second I had my guard down. He landed right on the arm of the foldable chair and moved back to nestle into the bend of my arm. The fake head of his disguise flopped back like an animal trying to make eye contact, and I let out a tired but amused sigh, taking my knuckles and rubbing them against his back.
His natural chill offset the heat of the fire, but Mimikyu appreciated the attention, letting out something akin to a purr. His body underneath the fabric felt like dried-out Play-dough, but I didn’t stop given that he was enjoying it so much.
“We're going to have a lot of time on our hands in these upcoming few weeks,” I announced once everyone found a place to relax around our camp. “I plan to get everyone trained and caught up during our period together.”
I hadn't bothered to clap my hands to gather everyone's attention, but my words were important enough that everyone’s attention was firmly locked on me regardless.
“There are a lot of little things we can work on, alongside moves that have been on the backburner for a while. Ribombee, you already know you have Quiver Dance to continue improving, but you can also learn useful attacks like Bug Buzz and Moonblast. Togekiss and Tinkaton, I think you both could benefit from learning Fairy Wind, just to have a new way to practice your familiarity with the Type, and you especially, Tinkaton, could afford to learn a few more trapping moves like Encore to improve your offense.”
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I didn’t have much to say for Mimikyu, other than to mention that Swords Dance would be more useful than Hone Claws given it provided a greater boost to his attacks’ strength. He had already been surprisingly strong when I caught him, but he needed that last little push to keep up with the elite of my team.
Then, for the last of my Pokémon, I looked Eevee in the eye.
“You already know what I’m going to say,” I said to him. “We’re going to make it so you’ll evolve into Sylveon for sure. That means more Normal Type move practice as we spend time together to get closer.”
He smiled and furiously nodded his head, which made his large ears bounce. His eyes drifted over to where Mimikyu nestled against me, and I let out a sigh and waved him over.
“Oh, come here.”
Eevee jumped, and then I had two Pokémon leaning into me. To make matters more difficult, Ninetales jealously trotted over to sit at my side. Her big eyes stared at me, begging for attention, too.
“I only have two hands,” I complained.
Togekiss tried to help by using Psychic to grab Ninetales’s brush and groom her hair. The haughty Ice Type huffed to express her disappointment that I couldn’t grow a third arm, but Togekiss’s attempts were... acceptable.
“While we will be training, I don’t want anyone to get too hurt, so err on the side of caution rather than force during practice. We'll rest tonight after I divide everyone up into pairs for watch. For now, I'll start making food. Any requests? I know some of you have your preferences.”
I sent a glance to Ninetales, and she sent back a toothy grin. Eevee started to mutter something in my lap, and a few others started to speak up as well. I laughed at the enthusiasm they showed when it came to food. I was looking forward to the time we’d be spending together in the coming weeks.
But then, a strange sound rang out as something approached our camp.
It started as a jingle, then a series of clangs, then a cacophonous set of noises. Some kind of claw clicked against the ground in a regular pattern, adding a beat to the musical noises it made as it walked.
I turned around, and my Pokémon did too. Before we could spend too long to relax, we already had our first wild Pokémon approach. Standing at the edge of our camp, the Pokémon froze, seeing us staring. In defense, it dug its back claws into the ground, and let out a snarl.
This Pokémon was a raptor-like species covered in scales that were responsible for the noise. Dragon Types were generally rare, but this one was common to Vast Poni Canyon.
“A Hakamo-o?” I said out loud.
The Hakamo-o's yellow eyes snapped to me and its mouth opened up to expose sharp teeth. It shook to cause its loose scales to bang against one another and make more noise.
The wild Pokémon didn't engage us right away, but it did look around with an angry glare. Most of my Pokémon reacted their own way, with Eevee responding with a challenging look of his own and Tinkaton barely even sparing it a glance. Ribombee, however, let out a squeak and buzzed backwards to hide within Togekiss's feathers. She seemed indignant at the thought of random aggression, and drifted forward in the air in an attempt to greet the wild Pokémon with a friendly demeanor.
“Haka! Mo-o!”
Her attempt failed.
The Pokémon snarled and swiped at her.
Togekiss just barely moved back in time to dodge, but the tips of a few chest feathers fell to the floor.
“We’ve got our first challenger,” I said with a frown. “Mimikyu, if you want—”
It only took me saying his name before he jumped to the ground. Ninetales let out an amused chuff at my side as I stood up, placed Eevee on the ground, and readied myself for a fight.
“Start with Hone Claws. Use Splash and Shadow Sneak to get close safely,” I ordered.
Mimikyu let out a squeak to acknowledge my command as he moved to position himself in front of the aggressing Dragon Type. The Hakamo-o flexed its claws before slashing down, and the Dragon Claw sliced into Mimikyu as he let out a fake cry of pain.
He was immune, after all.
Pretending to take damage like that caused the Hakamo-o to gain a cruel grin. Mimikyu’s false pain encouraged the untrained Pokémon to repeat its ineffective attack.
At my command, Mimikyu used this opportunity to practice with Splash and hop backwards, learning more about how Hakamo-o attacked. After sustaining a bit more “damage” he ducked and dived to avoid a follow-up of several repeated swipes.
“Hone Claws. Slide under.”
A flick of his claw sharpened his shadowy fingers, and he fell into the floor when one more Dragon Claw came out. His shadow slipped right underneath the surprised Hakamo-o only for him to hop back out and enter the air behind it.
“Shadow Claw! Into Play Rough!”
The second he emerged, he let out a swipe of his own. The sharpening from Hone Claws ensured that he was able to harm Hakamo-o past its scales. The Ghost Type move caused it to cry out in pain as it turned around, but since it was forced to turn, Mimikyu had more than enough time to unleash a full-body Play Rough.
“Again!” I shouted.
Hakamo-o was a Dragon and Fighting Type Pokémon, meaning it was four-times weak to Fairy Type energy. It tried for a Headbutt, but the Normal Type energy harmlessly dispersed through Mimikyu. He willingly let it hit so his own attack could land, and Hakamo-o collapsed backwards onto the floor, completely unconscious.
“Kyu!” Mimikyu huffed. He seemed a little annoyed.
“Good battle, Mimikyu. You managed to take no damage in that fight.”
He responded with a Shadow Sneak that brought him back to my side as fast as possible. I knelt down to pat him while he wrapped his cold claw around my leg.
“Ribombee, can you...?”
Ribombee hesitated to approach, but Togekiss encouraged him by using one of her great wings to nudge him on the back. With that, he carefully buzzed over and dropped a Pollen Puff into Hakamo-o's mouth. The sweet flavors had the Pokémon unconsciously chew, swallowing the healing move and causing it to hop right up.
“Mo! O!” the Pokémon shouted.
Conscious once more, it snarled at us, holding up its claws on guard. I watched its gaze flick around the area before it quickly realized just how outnumbered it was.
“Look, we're just camping here, we'll be gone by—”
“Haka!”
It shouted its name with a snap, and its body jingled as it turned and ran.
I couldn’t help but to rub my head out of frustration. Based on that reaction, it didn’t seem warned off just yet.
“Damnit. I knew this campsite was too good to be true. At least I haven’t started cooking yet.” I let out a sigh. “If we're in a Dragon Type’s territory, we need to head out. Type advantage won’t mean much if we’re constantly under attack.”
My Pokémon let out frustrated groans as we started to pack up. A cool breeze from Ninetales put out the fire, and Togekiss’s Psychic was invaluable at making sure everything was folded up.
Once it was all stored once more, I found a new path to follow back into the canyon. Usually, it was dangerous to travel this close to night, but Mimikyu would be able to ward any nocturnal Pokémon away as we found a new, safer campsite.
This time around, I didn’t want us to be attacked. Since we were going to be here for a few weeks, we needed to find a new place not belonging to anyone else.
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Our efforts were for naught. The next day, my guess was proven right. Though we had found a new campsite, the Hakamo-o was back, and this time it brought friends.
“Togekiss. Mimikyu. And... Tinkaton. I trust you three to fend them off. Remember the training goals I want you to achieve when you engage them in the fight.”
They moved.
As annoying as being hunted down and attacked was, the three Hakamo-o here served as a decent way to practice. Last night had proven to us that the Pokémon here were aggressive, which did mean we could use challengers to practice new moves.
Mimikyu tried to use the adrenaline to fuel a Swords Dance, but he wasn’t able to figure out how to properly move around the energy to make it activate. Togekiss did her best to conjure up a Fairy Wind, but all she did was flap her wings and create a breeze. After her, Tinkaton had the hardest time, as she wasn’t trying to attack but trying to trap her opponent with Encore. It was different enough from her usual fighting style of being aggressive with her hammer, and after several failed attempts, she eventually grew frustrated enough to take her opponent out with a single Play Rough strike.
“Just... finish off the rest,” I called out to my team.
Another Play Rough from Mimikyu ended his battle, and the same was true for Togekiss’s Moonblast. The three Dragon Types fell to the ground, unconscious, and I ended up rubbing my head.
“They obviously don’t care about being defeated if that one came back after losing yesterday. These might be decent opponents, but I don’t want Dragon Types interrupting us all the time. Let’s push them behind that boulder so other Pokémon won’t find them, and we’ll pack up camp again. We’ll find an even safer place to train.”
I didn’t want to be forced to fight wild Pokémon constantly. Camping in a spot where you knew you’d get attacked was the number one thing not to do.
Once more we packed everything up, and once more we moved on. It took a few hours to find another viable camping spot in the canyon, and it took even less time than before to set everything up yet again.
...And then not long after, we were attacked again anyway. Instead of three, we had five Dragon Types after us. This time it was the same three Hakamo-o, but they had brought two Jangmo-o, their pre-evolved forms.
“Everyone but Ninetales, engage. Work on the strategies I discussed on your own.”
The fights went well enough as Ninetales sat back, ready to hop in just in case. Eevee and Ribombee knocked out their Jangmo-o opponents in seconds, and they were forced to wait on the sideline as the rest finished off their foes, too.
“We might be near a nest,” I mumbled. “Or they have a wider territory they patrol than I thought. I think this time, we should move to the edge of the canyon. Let’s treat this as stamina training—no resting until we find a new spot.”
We moved again, and we were attacked again. Then we moved, and then we were attacked. By this point, it was clear something was going on, I just couldn’t figure out what.
Either these Pokémon hate Fairy Types, or they’re using us as ‘safe’ opponents to train against as we are holding back. Unlike wild Pokémon, we’re not creating any significant injuries to ward them off. That might be it, but I have a feeling that might not be the real case.
As I hummed during our walk, Ninetales, at my side, looked like she just wanted to take a nap. I was starting to get an unfortunate feeling in my stomach as we moved out further than we had moved before. There was definitely something greater going on.
The next time we were attacked, I had Ninetales take on the group of ten Dragon Types that had come our way. The collection of Hakamo-o and Jangmo-o showed off their extreme weakness by all fainting at once to the same Blizzard.
“That’s it! We’re staying here, whether or not the Dragon Types like it!”
We went a full day without getting attacked, and then we had a period of peace.
After Ninetales’s demonstration, no other Dragon Types attacked. Several days passed without any wild Pokémon approaching our camp, only those chasing after us when we briefly headed out for practice. Mimikyu worked on his Swords Dance, Togekiss worked on Fairy Wind, and the rest of my team continued to develop the moves and skills I wanted them to learn. Our biggest threat tended to be wild Dugtrio, who would approach when alerted via vibrations in the ground.
I started to feel confident about this training trip, and I knew my team would learn a lot. Frequent practice and the occasional battle meant they were building up stamina, and Ninetales’s presence served as a good comparison point to see how they were all shaping up.
I wonder how Hope and Lillie are doing. Hopefully they’re developing their teams as much as me.
Yet, despite all our attempts to find a “safer” place to train, our relatively short time to ourselves didn’t last. Once more, I heard the sound of clanging plates that signified a Hakamo-o, but when I peeked over the edge of the cliff, I saw something else.
This was no raptor Pokémon. This was a full-fledged dragon. It was at least twice the height of the largest Hakamo-o, and its claws were larger than half of my team.
“A Kommo-o. A pseudo-legendary Pokémon,” I said, identifying it under my breath.
The hulking Dragon Type looked up at me with a growl, yet I could tell it was young. Its scales lacked any significant signs of damage, and it was smaller than pictures of trainers’ Kommo-o I had seen in the past.
“There has to be a point to this. There’s no way these Dragon Types are hunting us down so fervently without a greater goal. Now that I think about it, the slow increase in challenge feels too planned. I think... I think this might be part of the Trial.”
It was a growing problem, because ever-increasing attacks would eventually wear us down. Since we planned to stay in the canyon for so long, we needed the attacks to stop. So, we would have to deal with it at the source.
I turned to Ninetales.
“What do you think about beating this guy up and then sneaking into their nest? Dragon Types respect strength, and if we defeat their leader...”
The grin on her face told me she had no problems with my plan at all.