There was a lot of rejoicing and celebrating after both Hau and I completed the Grand Trial by defeating Island Kahuna Hala, but eventually the crowd faded and it was just the six of us standing there. Kahuna Hala, Hau, Professor Kukui, Captain Ilima, Lillie, and I were all standing on the wooden stage which had seen many Pokémon battles. Our celebrating was broken up by a loud roar-like sound which brought back memories of the Tapu Koko festival.
“Our mighty Tapu Koko must have been watching over these battles,” Kahuna Hala said. “Maybe one day you two will be powerful enough to battle it as well.”
Hau and I exchanged looks like, “Us? Battle a legendary Pokémon? Really?”
“Here,” Hala said extending both hands, “Accept this Z-Crystal. It is Fightinium Z. It allows Trainers to share their power with their partner Pokémon and unleash a powerful Fighting move.”
He handed over the crystals, one to Hau and one to me, and then proceeded. “One more thing, since you two have completed the Grand Trial of Melemele Island, you are ready to move on to the next island in Alola.”
Professor Kukui smiled, “We have just the vessel to get us there, don’t we Lillie?”
Lillie laughed nervously and then turned to me, “Professor Kukui has a sailing ship which is in…ummm.. an interesting condition.”
“It just needs a little tender-loving care and it will be good as new!” Professor Kukui said.
“It might take us a little while to fix it up and get it ready to go on the water,” Lillie said.
“What do you say, 48 hours?”
“Ummmm….sure…”
“Excellent!” Professor Kukui said. “Then lets plan to meet up in Hau’Oli City at the docks in 48 hours to set sail for the next Alolan Island: Akala Island.”
“Sounds like a pretty good plan to me,” Hau said with a smile.
“Yeah me too,” I said. “That will give me time to say Hi to my Mom and spend a little time with her before we leave the island.”
“Ok that’s the plan!” Professor Kukui said and we all nodded in agreement.
Hau went back to his house after saying goodbye and Lillie and Professor Kukui started to make their way towards the Pokémon Lab. Captain Ilima also gave his goodbyes and started to walk back towards Verdant Cavern.
“Hey Alexis, want to walk with us?” Lillie asked.
“Actually I was hoping to speak to Alexis alone for a moment,” Kahuna Hala said.
“Oh ok,” Lillie looked puzzled.
“It’s ok, Lillie. You go ahead and I’ll catch up,” I said.
Lillie nodded and followed behind Professor Kukui who was rambling about sailing and his boat.
“What do you need, Kahuna Hala?” I asked turning towards him.
“I wanted to give you a little advice going forward,” Kahuna Hala said. “You are a very powerful trainer who seems to have natural skill and luck.”
I blushed and looked down at my feet.
Hala continued, “But there is a lot more to being the champion than just that. I am interested to see if you can pour your heart into something that cannot be seen, but is very much real. As you continue on your island challenge, consider what makes up the people and Pokémon that you meet; both what you can see and what you cannot.”
“I…I…don’t understand, Kahuna,” I said.
“It’s like the moon in the daytime and the Sun at night. Things that are unseen but real,” Kahuna Hala said but I still was confused.
“Don’t worry, Alexis. In time you will understand. Now go home and tell your mother about your adventures, I’m sure she misses you.”
I nodded, “Thanks Kahuna Hala!”
“Alola,” He saved with a wave.
I waved back. “Alola!”
I ran off towards Lillie and Professor Kukui and eventually caught up to them halfway down Route 1. I diverted from them once we reached my house and gave them both a wave with a huge smile on my face.
I opened the front door to see that every light in the house was turned off. The house was completely silent.
“Mom must be asleep,” I thought as I closed the door behind me and then I crept across the floor being as quiet as possible. I slipped off my shoes at the bottom of the stairs and then I climbed them trying to soften my steps. I safely climbed the stairs and then I went into my room.
I laid down on my bed relieved to finally sleep in my bed again. My plan was to think about all the awesome things that had happened recently, but as soon as my head hit the pillow, I felt a wave of exhaustion come over me and I was quickly asleep.
“Meowth?”
My eyes opened to reveal that Lucky the Meowth was sitting on my chest.
“Good morning, Lucky,” I said reaching up to scratch Lucky behind his ears.
“Meowth!”
Lucky jumped off my chest and immediately ran downstairs.
“Ow, good to see you too,” I said to myself.
I sat up and realized I had fallen asleep in the clothes I was wearing yesterday which was covered in pollen, dirt, sand, and other battle related debris. I was also hanging halfway off my bed when I fell asleep.
I went to the bathroom and took a quick shower getting all the dirt off me and the smoke smell out of my hair. I changed into my flower shirt and green shorts and went downstairs.
“Oh my goodness!” My mom was in the kitchen whipping up what smelled like a delicious breakfast. “You’re hair!”
I had forgotten that my Mom had not seen my new style.
“Yeah, I changed it up a bit since I’m in Alola now,” I said. “What do you think?”
“I love it!” My mom said with a huge smile.
“Good,” I smiled back.
We sat down at the dining room table and I filled in my Mom about everything. My friendships with Hau and Lillie, going to Hau’Oli City, battling Team Skull multiple times, Verdant Cavern and Captain Ilima, going to Melemele Meadow and rescuing the Oricorio, the Grand Trial and the battle with Kahuna Hala, and finally my journey home.
“Wow that is a lot,” My mom said finishing breakfast.
“Yeah it’s been quite the adventure so far,” I said between bites of berries and delicious, homemade pastries.
“So how are your Pokémon doing?” My mom asked.
“Oh yeah, they’ve evolved,” I said.
I stood up and retrieved my Pokéballs from my bag. I opened them and in a flash of red there was Storm the Pikachu and Smokey the Torracat in the living room.
“Pika. Pikachu.”
“Torracat!”
“Oh my gosh, a Pikachu just like Champion Red’s Pikachu,” My Mom said with glee.
“Yup, and look how big Smokey is now!”
Smokey walked up to Lucky and they smelled each other for a second. While Litten was about the same size as Meowth, now Smokey was twice the size.
“Meowth!”
Lucky darted up the stairs and Smokey followed suit.
“Torracat!”
My mom and I laughed.
“Pikachu!”
Storm jumped up onto my shoulder and I petted her on her head. I picked up some berries and fed a little to Storm.
“Pika. Pika.”
“So you defeated Kahuna Hala, right? So what’s next?” My Mom asked.
“Well we’re going to be traveling to Akala Island next,” I said. “But first the Professor has to fix up his boat and get it cleaned up, so I have some time home.”
“That’s wonderful! I’m so proud of you, honey,” My mom said.
“Thanks Mom,” I said blushing.
“Do you have any plans for today?” My mom asked.
“Well there is some stuff I haven’t explored yet,” I said. “I’m pretty sure there is a cavern to the South of here near the Professor’s Lab that I want to check out.”
“That sounds exciting.”
I suddenly got an idea, “Why don’t you come with me.”
“What? Me? I’m not a Pokémon trainer like you,” My mom said while piling up dishes in the sink.
“That’s ok, it shouldn’t be dangerous or anything,” I said. “Plus if we do run into danger, we have Storm here. She’ll protect us.”
“Pika!” Storm said eating another berry.
“Well it does sound like fun to go exploring the island and I do want to spend some time with my daughter before she leaves on her journey again.”
“Ok great! Let me get Smokey and then we can head out!” I said.
I rushed upstairs with Storm still on my shoulder and I entered my room seeing Lucky and Smokey running around my room and jumping on my bed.
“Meowth!”
“Torra!”
“Smokey! Lucky!” I yelled at them.
Smokey looked up at me with a confused expression and Lucky used that moment of pause to dart between my legs back downstairs.
I just shook my head, “Come on, Smokey. We’re getting out of the house.”
“Torracat!”
I went downstairs with Smokey and Pikachu. Lucky was nowhere to be seen.
“Don’t worry, Lucky is hiding out in my bedroom. I think he’s going to stay here,” My mom said.
“Good plan,” I replied. “Smokey and Storm are plenty of protection.”
“Indeed,” My mom said.
My mom took a few minutes to change into some shorts and hiking boots as well as make us up some sandwiches for lunch which she put in my bag. Then we were off together heading towards Professor Kukui’s Lab.
The lab was still in the same condition as the last time I was there. It looked like a beach house where a lifeguard might stay more than it looked like a Pokémon Lab. If this was the condition of the Lab, I wondered what the condition of the boat was like. I initially went to the lab to see if Lillie wanted to come with us, but the lab’s door was locked. On the door was a note.
Professor Kukui and Lillie are not in. We have gone to Hau’Oli Harbor to prepare for a sea voyage. Come find us before we leave!
-Professor Kukui
“Well it looks like they are already getting ready for the trip. Maybe next time they can come with us,” I said.
“I’d love to spend more time with Lillie, she seems like such a sweet girl,” My mom said.
“Yeah she is pretty awesome,” I said.
We continued our way down the beach and we eventually made our way to the outside the unexplored cavern. Just outside was a man and his Pokémon that I recognized.
“Buck!” I yelled waving my hand.
The man and his Tauros turned around, “Well if it ain’t Alexis. And who is this young lady?”
My mom and I approached Buck, “This is my Mom.”
“Nice to meet you, Alexis’ Mom,” Buck said tipping his hat to her.
“Nice to meet you too, Buck is it?”
“Yes Ma’am,” Buck said.
“Taaaaauuuuu!”
“Is this Tauros, yours?” My Mom asked.
“Yup! This is my buddy Tauros,” Buck replied. “We’ve been traveling all over the island after running into Alexis and then those Team Skull thugs. Eventually we made our way here to talk to the Professor but he’s been away from his lab for some time.”
I quickly filled in Buck about what had happened since we last saw each other.
“I see, so there’s a whole bunch of these Team Skull people in Melemele and probably all over Alola,” Buck said.
“Yeah it looks like it,” I said.
“Well Tauros and I will be on the lookout for any of them and we’ll show them that they can’t get away with stealing Pokémon or berries!”
“Taaaauuuuuu!” Tauros seemed to agree.
“So are you here to visit this cavern as well?” My mom asked.
“Yes Ma’am. This here is Ten Carat Hill and I thought while I was here, I’d check ‘er out,” Buck said.
“My Mom and I are planning on exploring together,” I said.
“You’re more than welcome to join us,” My Mom said.
“Well that’s mighty kind of you, folks,” Buck said. “The only problem here is there’s been a small cave in and these massive boulders block our path.”
I looked behind Buck and saw that he was correct. Large boulders blocked our path to get into Ten Carat Hill.
“Well that’s a bummer,” I said. “What are we going to do now?”
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head,” Buck said. “I think Tauros and I came up with a plan.”
“Tauros!”
“I’m pretty sure that Tauros’ strong horns can break through these rocks if he gains enough speed,” Buck said.
“That would be amazing!” My Mom said.
“We were about to test our theory when you two showed up,” Buck said.
“Well let’s do it!” I said.
“Alright, alright. Ok Tauros, let’s get into position.”
“Taaaaauuuuuuu!”
It took a little bit for Buck to get saddled up. He was wearing his riding padding as well as his helmet. He sat on top of a saddle and harness which was placed upon Tauros.
“Ok everyone, stand out of the way,” Buck said.
My Mom and I backed up away from the entrance.
“Ok Tauros, let’s go!”
Tauros started to pick up speed on the sand and eventually his hoofs hit the dirt as he continued to speeding up. Tauros lowered its head and its horns smashed right into the boulder with a huge thud. There was a large dust cloud produced by the collision. When the dust settled; however, the boulder was nothing but some rubble and both Tauros and Buck had expressions of pride and relief.
“Yeah we did it!” Buck yelled.
“Taaaauuuuu!” Tauros mooed and yelled together.
“That was amazing, way to go Tauros and Buck,” I said.
My Mom and I ran forward and I gave Buck a high five after he got off of Tauros.
“That was quite fantastic,” Buck said with a smile. “Now I can go around and smash all the boulders I want.”
“Taaaaauuuuuu!”
“Ok, shall we continue into Ten Carrot Hill?” Buck asked.
“Of course!” I said and my Mom nodded her head.
All three of us (six if you count Smokey, Storm, and Tauros) continued into the cavern. Buck, my Mom, and I all walked up front while Tauros walked behind with Smokey and Storm on its back.
“Taaaaaauuuuuu.”
“Pika. Pika.”
“Torracat!”
As we walked I noticed little rock Pokémon running around the edges above us. They looked like little rocks with legs.
“Do you know what those Pokémon are?” I asked Buck.
“Yes Ma’am. Those little rock Pokémon are Roggenrola. Just little boulder Pokémon with really tough skin. It would be really hard to damage one unless you have a Water-type or Grass-Type Pokémon. They are also found in the Unova region.”
“You sure know a lot about Pokémon Buck,” My Mom commented.
“Well Ma’am, I’ve lived in Alola all my life right her on Melemele Island. I train with Tauros here and I study when I’m not enjoying a siesta. I want to be a Pokémon Breeder one day and even help with research,” Buck said.
“Well good luck, Buck. I’m sure you’ll be great.”
“Thanks, Alexis’ Mom,” Buck said with a laugh.
We continued farther into Ten Carat Hill. The Roggenrolas took interest in us but mostly kept at a distance while watching us.
“Pika! Pika!” Storm called out and the Roggenrolas just stared back.
My Mom and Buck continued their conversation about Buck’s dreams and his connection to Tauros. All I could think about was how I almost injured myself last time I tried riding Tauros and that I wouldn’t likely be riding on top of it anytime soon. We made our way through the cavern without much issue and we appeared in another open area similar to the opening that connects to Verdant Cavern.
It was a huge, open area with large patches of grass and trees growing up. Some of the ledges were rocky and they looked hard to climb.
“Wow, this is beautiful,” I said. “I didn’t know this was back here.”
“Yeah I think this used to be an active volcano,” Buck said.
Both my Mom and I turned to him with concerned looks on our face.
“Don’t worry, this volcano has been dormant for hundreds of years. Now it is full of beautiful greenery, rich soil, and Pokémon not found anywhere else,” Buck explained.
“Really?” I asked. “What kind of Pokémon?”
“Hmmmm… let’s see if we can find one,” Buck said taking a few steps forward. He brought his hands up to his eyes making some kind of makeshift binoculars.
“Finding anything?” I asked.
“Give me a second….ummmmm….there!”
Buck pointed to a patch of tall grass and I saw that there was a white, fluffy tail sticking out of the grass.
“What Pokémon is that?” I asked.
Suddenly the Pokémon turned around and I saw a face I recognized. The tail and face 
belonged to the Pokémon that Professor Kukui had. It was a Rockfuff. A cute, little Rock-Type, canine Pokémon.
The Rockruff saw the group of us and let out a howl.
“Rockruuuuuuuuu.”
Then I heard several others echoing around the canyon from several patches of tall grass. I even saw a few Rockruff heads poking out behind large rocks.
“Wow, that’s a lot of Pokémon,” My Mom said.
“Yeah Rockruffs are very social Pokémon. They like to form large packs which help protect them from outside threats. However, Rockruffs are very loyal, so if a trainer catches one, the Rockruff will forever be there friend and will protect the trainer at all costs,” Buck said.
“Wow,” I said my mouth hanging open. “Do you think they’re friendly?”
“I’m pretty sure Rockruffs can be pretty territorial, so we might want to be careful,” Buck said.
“Right,” I nodded.
“Torracat!”
“Pika!”
There was a chorus of barks and howls from the surrounding area.
“I’m going to stay back here with Tauros,” Buck said.
“Honey, maybe we should go,” My Mom said. Her voice was full of concern.
“Ummm…maybe you’re right,” I said looking around.
Suddenly the howling and barking stopped and the area was silent.
“What’s going on, Buck?” My mom asked noticing the sudden change.
“I’m not sure, Ma’am,” Buck replied glancing around.
Suddenly there was this blur that lept off a cliffside and landed 20 feet in front of us.
I immediately noticed it was a Pokémon, but I had no idea what kind of Pokémon it was.
“Lycanroc!”
This Pokémon was a large canine Pokémon that was mostly brown with a fluffy, white mane. It had four black spikes protruding from its neck and had a fluffy, white tail. It had large, blue eyes that seemed to pierce my soul. Its ears were brown with black tips and they twitched whenever we made any kind of sound.
All three of us stopped in place as the new Pokémon starred us down. It paced back and forth glancing from person to person.
“B…Buck?” I whispered.
The Pokémon’s head turned to look at me.
I reached slowly into my bag looking for Rotomdex. My hands instead reached a sandwich and I pulled it out instead.
“H…here…P….Pokémon, do you want…ummm…this sandwich?” I asked it.
It titled its head to the side confused.
“Rrrrrrroc. Rrrrrroc.” It growled at me.
I took a chance and tossed the sandwich forward at the Pokémon’s feet.
It looked at me and then everyone else. It eventually looked down at the sandwich and smelt it. It must have thought it was pretty girl because it picked it up in its mouth. The Pokémon turned around and darted into the tall grass.
The rest of us stood there for a second not knowing what to do. We were all glancing around but didn’t see any more Rockruffs or any sign of the new Pokémon.
Storm and Smokey hopped off Tauros and ran up to me.
“Pika?”
“Torracat?”
I reached down and gave them each a little pet and scratches behind the ear.
“I’m not sure what that was or where it went,” I said. “But maybe it’s best that we head out of here.”
“Yeah I agree with that,” My Mom said. “I’ve had too much excitement for a day.”
I reached into my bag and retrieved my Pokéballs. With a red flash, both Smokey and Storm were safely inside. I then dropped the Pokéballs into my bag and pulled out Rotomdex. I then pulled out the second sandwich and handed it my Mom.
“Apparently mine went to the Pokémon,” I smiled.
“No, no! You should have it,” My Mom protested.
“It’s ok Mom, I’ll get one when I get home.”
It took some convincing but my Mom took the sandwich and we all started heading back to the beginning of the Ten Carat Hill. The Roggenrola were still above us looking down with curiosity and confusion, but I barely noticed them.
I powered up Rotomdex.
“Bzzzt. Hi Alexis, what can I do for you? Bzzt.” Rotomdex asked.
My mom got startled by this new voice.
“What is that?”
“Oh. I must have forgotten to tell you. Professor Kukui gave me this special Rotomdex. It’s my talking and floating Pokédex which is the home to a Rotom,” I explained.
“Bzzzt. Good to meet you. Bzzzt.”
“Ummmm…. You too,” My mom tried to smile.
“Rotom, can you identify a Pokémon that’s not here right now?” I asked it.
“Bzzzt. Of course! I’ll just need a description of the Pokémon. Bzzzt.”
I did my best to describe the Pokémon we saw noting that it might be related to Rockruffs.
“Bzzzt. I know what you’re talking about. Give me a second. Bzzzt.”
There was a slight buffering period and then Rotomdex pulled up the information.
“Bzzzt. Lycanroc. The wolf Pokémon. Lycanroc is the evolved form of Rockruff. It has two different forms. Its Midday form is a quadruped Rock-type Pokémon that can move extremely fast. Most Midday Lycanrocs don’t form packs in order to avoid fighting and instead be a Pokémon that takes care of itself. If a trainer manages to catch one, Lycanroc will immediately form a strong bond based on mutual trust and loyalty. Bzzzt.”
“So that was a Lycanroc,” I said. “But Rotom, you said that there are two forms of Lycanroc.”
“Bzzzt. That is correct. Bzzzt.”
Rotom changed the image on the screen to a new Pokémon. This one was bipedal and it was a dark red color with bright red eyes. It looked scary.
“Bzzzt. This is a picture of a Midnight Lycanroc. It is also a Rock-type Pokémon resembling a wolf. However, Midnight Lycanroc loves to battle and tries to better itself through tearing down others. It is wilder than its Midday form and is more difficult to train. It forms a bond based on power and strength. Bzzzt.”
“Well I’m glad we found the Midday Lycanroc and not the Midnight Lycanroc,” My Mom said.
“Yeah me too,” I said.
“Me three,” Buck said.
We all had a brief moment of laughter.
“Thanks Rotom, you can go back to sleep,” I said.
“Bzzzt. Ok, Alexis. Glad I could help. Bzzt.”
Rotomdex deactivated and I put it back in my bag.
“What a neat, little gadget you have there,” My Mom commented.
“Yeah it’s pretty useful and Professor Kukui trusted me enough to give it to me, so I guess that’s good.”
Eventually we made it to the entrance of the cave.
“Well I hope ya’ll had a great time today,” Buck said.
“We did,” I said. “Well at least, I did.”
I turned to my Mom.
She replied, “Yeah I had a pretty good time, but I better get back to the house. I’m sure Lucky is worried about me.”
“Lucky?” Buck asked.
“He’s our Meowth,” I explained.
“Oh ok. Well I better head out too, I need to make my way back to Route 2 so I can keep on studying and training with Tauros,” Buck said.
“Taaaaauuuuuuu.”
“Ok sounds good, Buck,” I said with a smile.
Buck and Tauros went on their own way heading towards Route 2 while Mom and I went back to the house. We got home about 1 pm and we made lunch. Lucky didn’t damage any of our stuff and eventually Smokey and Lucky made peace with each other. The rest of the day consisted of me and My mom hanging out in the house and talking about all the new exciting things that were on the horizon. Eventually she went to bed and I went upstairs to my room.
I spent the next few hours doing research on Akala Island using Rotomdex as a guide and eventually I fell asleep with Smokey and Storm laying in the bed next to me.
Allen The Writer 
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