Pokémon: Adventures of Sun and Moon
Chapter 7: Hala's Grand Trial Part 1: A Test of Will

The sun was slowly rising into the sky, Moon was already up and she couldn't wait until she could have her chance to face Hala. She was stretching and jogging across Route 1 with her three Pokémon behind her. She walked past Sun's house and she grew curious and she placed her hand under her chin.

She decided to knock on the door and opening it was Sun's Mom. "Oh, Alola. What brings someone like you here so early?"

"I'm a friend of Sun, and I know he lives here. So I guess I wanted to see how he was doing?"

"This early in the morning?" she curiously asked.

"What can I say, I'm an early riser. But when he does wake up, tell him that I'm going to be having my Grand Trial battle in the afternoon."

Sun's mom yawned as it wasn't long since she had woken up. "I'll be sure to let him know… what's your name anyway?"

"Moon." She answered.

She gave a quick gasp. "Oh so you're the girl Sun managed to finish his first trial with."

"Yep, that would be me…" at that moment she slightly grew nervous because she remembered that hateful words were exchanged between the two during their trial. "H-he didn't say something bad about me, did he?"

"No not all, unless there is something that I should know." She asked with a tone that let Moon know that she was being suspected.

"O-oh no nothing bad happened!" she exclaimed in a panic.

Sun's Mom chuckled. "Oh don't worry; I was just playing with you." Moon let out a sigh of relief. "It's nice to see that Sun has already made two new friends." She quickly gasped. "I remember you; you're the trainer that Sun was fighting in the ceremonial battle. Would you like to come inside? I am making pancakes; I could whip up another batch for you."

Moon looked nervous and turned away. "T-that's very generous… but I-I really shouldn't… I wouldn't want you to put in any effort for a stranger."

"Nonsense, you're one of Sun's friends, far from any stranger. So I'll happily do this for you. Plus have you and your Pokémon had anything to eat this morning?" She got her answer when Moon's stomach grumbled and Popplio was trying to hold back a giggle.

"Okay, you got me there… but are you sure this is okay?"

"Of course, come on in." Moon nervously walked into the house and so did her Pokémon. "Make yourself at home."

"Thanks." Moon was about to walk onto the outside balcony but she before she could. She saw the sleepy figure of Sun walking out of his room.

"Alola Mom…" Sun tiredly greeted but this was before he noticed Moon standing in his living room.

She slyly greeted him. "Well Alola sleepyhead."

Sun who was dressed in his blue pyjama shirt and bottoms blinked to make sure what he was seeing was actually happening. "Moon?"

To prove he wasn't hallucinating, she walked up to him and flicked his forehead. "Do you believe I'm here now?"

"Y-yes sure, but why are you here?"

"I was taking a stroll with my Pokémon and I happened to pass by your place, which looks nice by the way."

"Oh thank you, dear." Sun's mom thanked from the kitchen.

"Anyway, you are going to watch my battle with Hala today, right?"

"Oh, you're going to battle him first?" Sun asked, knowing that their band of four had to each battle against Hala.

"Yep, I figured an outsider like you could learn something by watching my battle!" she said while playfully rubbing Sun's head.

"Still won't let that 'outsider' thing go?"

"Nope, but that's what you always will be to me." She answered with a mocking smile.

Sun gave a sigh and he thought it was way too early to deal with Moon. "If I agree to watch you, will you leave?"

"Oh no, your awesome Mom offered me pancakes and who would I be to refuse that!?" Moon said.

"You are making Pancakes, Mom?"

"Mmmhmm." She nodded while she was mixing a bowl of pancake batter. "You don't mind if Moon joins us. After all you did invite your Lily friend to have dinner with us last night."

Moon's eyes grew wide in surprise and she slyly smiled at Sun. "Did he now?"

"Mommmm!" Sun cried.

"Oh yes, she was very sweet too."

"So Sun, tell me all about what happened last night? Why did Lillie even visit huh?" Moon asked.

"N-nothing happened!" he replied with a stutter.

"Hey, something's missing. Where is our Pokedex side-kick?"

"Huh? I thought Rotom would be with you."

"Nope, I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"Strange, where could he be?"


Inside Eclipse's house Rotom was recharging on the floor of the living room. He looked to be sleeping; a metal visor was closed over his eyes.

Eclipse was bending down to a lower height to stare at the sleeping Rotom Dex. She poked him and it rose and his eyes flashed on, and his monitor powered on. "Bzzt! Oh, Alola Eclipse!" Rotom cheered as he rose into the air.

"Alola Rotom." She greeted while doing the Alolan wave. "So were you sleeping or…?"

Rotom winked at her and got close to her face. "You'll never know bzzt!" he said pointing to her.

"That is weird… I suddenly felt the urge to move my pupils around the circumference of my eyes."

The woman who lived in the house walked into the living room. "That is called 'Rolling your Eyes' dear."

"Noted… I am going to vacate to train my Pokémon. Will that be okay, Miss Lani?" she asked the woman.

"Of course, just be safe out there dear. And please just call me Lani, Eclipse."

Eclipse nodded and, picked up her Pikachu backpack and was about to leave. "Are you coming?" she asked looking to Rotom.

Rotom hovered close to Eclipse. "Oh of course kzzt!" he followed Eclipse out of the house. The two were close to Iki Town but were moving into the wilds of Route 1. "So bzzt where are we going Eclipse?" Rotom asked.

Eclipse let out Oricorio from her Pokéball. The pom-pom bird sang as she flew up before landing on the ground beside her. "Would you mind scanning her?"

"You got it." He got closer to Oricorio. He took a picture of her. "Oh wow, this is interesting. Bzzt!"

He hovered to Eclipse's face level and his display showed Oricorio.

'Oricorio Pom-Pom Style, the Dancing Pokémon. It creates an electric charge by rubbing its feathers together. It dances over to its enemies and delivers shocking electrical punches.'

"Thank you for that information." Eclipse thanked.

"Hold on, there is more. Apparently, Oricorio is a Pokémon that can change forms by drinking the special nectar that is specific to each island. The Pom-Pom style Oricorio are the Oricorio that are native to Melemele Island because they drank the nectar of the yellow flowers."

"Hmm, so what you are saying is that each island has nectar that allows Oricorio to change forms."

"You bzzt bet!"

"Very interesting to know, In any case I need to prepare for my battle with Kahuna Hala. I have to find Hau."

"Oh, but why?"

"I need him to teach me the Z-Move…" she looked at her the Z-Ring with the Normalium-Z embedded in it. "It could be necessary for future battles."

"Very well, to Iki Town!" Rotom cheered.


After a while, Sun had cleaned himself and changed into his regular clothes. Both Sun and Moon were eating the pancakes that Sun's Mother had prepared. "Thanks Mom."

"Yeah, these smell great." Moon complimented.

"Oh thank you, you two. I'm going to go take a bath. Sun, if you go out, make sure you lock the door."

"Okay mom." She moved into the bathroom and her Meowth followed her.

"So Sun, who are you going to catch as your third Pokémon?"

"Third Pokémon?"

"Yes, Hala uses three Pokémon for his Grand Trial Battles; you're going to need a third Pokémon, unless you really want to risk it with just Litten and Grubbin."

"Maybe you're right, but what Pokémon do I go with?"

Moon stood up after she finished gorging her pancakes. "Well I've got my three, so I'd say I'm pretty prepared."

"Pew." They both heard and their eyes grew wide after hearing that sound.

"Wait… isn't that…?"

Sun ran back to his room and he looked under his bed and he indeed saw Nebby floating underneath, she looked tired, as if she just woke up. "Wait… didn't Lillie put you in her bag!?"

Moon walked into the room. "Lil trusted you with that Pokémon of hers?"

"No, I think Nebby might have snuck out of Lillie's bag before she left." He picked her up. "We need to bring her back to Lillie, she's probably worried sick."

"The lab isn't that far away, we should get there quick!" Moon said.

After Sun picked up Nebby he got his Pokéballs and was about to head out. "Mom, we're heading out."

"Alright! Have a fun time out there!" she called out from the bathroom.

Both Sun and Moon left to get to the Pokémon Lab to return Nebby to the probably distraught Lillie.


Meanwhile Eclipse was standing at Hau's open doorway while staring at him as he had opened the door moments earlier. "A-lo-la Eclipse!" he sang. "I never expected you to pay me a visit." After he said this, Pichu was at his feet and was crying to be picked up. "Oh hey there little guy…" he picked up the baby Pokémon and held him close to his chest. "So what's up Eclipse?"

"I require you to teach me the Normal-Type Z move. Since you have done it before, I figured you would make a perfect reference."

"Well I'd be very happy to help Eclipse." Hau said smiling. "We should find a private spot to practice." Eclipse nodded. "Hehe, this way!" he took hold of Eclipse's wrist and he dragged her off to his private training spot… or rather his favourite place to play with his Pokémon.


Sun and Moon stood outside the lab and they could hear noises from inside. "Nebby! Where did you go!?" they both heard, the voice being an obviously panicked Lillie.

Inside, Lillie with the help of Professor Kukui's Rockruff were trying to find the missing Pokémon. "This is very bad, Professor!"

"Calm down Lillie, if we can't find her here, then I'll have Hala help us out."

"B-but what if they found her, I can't have Nebby going through that pain again. I-I have to keep her safe!"

"I understand how you feel Lillie, but you have to stay calm. Trust me; I'm sure your Pokémon will be found. She does sort of stands out, yeah!"

"Knock, knock!" Moon opened the door and Sun stood beside her while holding Nebby. "Did someone lose something?" she asked with an upbeat tone.

"Pew!" Nebby flailed her gas-arms and she hovered to Lillie.

"Nebby!" she hugged the small Pokémon. "Do you know how worried I was about you!? I thought you were taken." She looked the pair standing by the door. "Thank you so much for bringing her back to me; she didn't give you any trouble did she?"

Sun shook his head while chuckling. "Not at all, I found her under my bed; I was kind of surprised I didn't notice sooner."

Lillie sighed in relief. "Ok Nebby, you had your fun, now get back into the bag." Nebby looked down in sadness before floating into the bag.

"Now that, that is all sorted, are you two ready to take on Hala, yeah?" Kukui asked.

"Oh yeah, you bet! Hala ain't gonna know what hit him!" Moon said with excitement.

"Nice to see that fiery attitude!" Kukui said with the same excited tone. "What about you Sun?"

"Well, I'm not actually ready quite yet. I have to catch a third Pokémon you see."

"I'm sure whatever Pokémon you catch. You'll be able to groom it into a fine partner yeah!" Kukui's Rockruff lightly bit on his lab coat to get his attention. "Oh right, when are you going to have your battle Moon? Rockruff has been dying to see the Kahuna battle since I told him about it last night."

Moon chuckled. "Well I'm going to have my battle as soon as I get to Iki Town."

Rockruff excitedly barked. "Looks like Rockruff is excited, yeah!"

"Well I'm done waiting, we're doing this now!" she took Sun's wrist and began to hastily walk to Iki Town.

"H-hey, I thought you would help me find a third Pokémon?" Sun said.

"After!" Moon replied.

Lillie watched the two head off to Iki Town. "Is it just me, or is Moon more excited than usual?"

"Well Moon, has always wanted to raise Pokémon. And after seeing many Grand Trials, she couldn't wait till she could one day do one herself."

"Oh I see… There is a lot more to Moon than we see…"

"Well we should head there, she will be expecting us."

"Ruff, ruff!" Rockruff barked as he jumped in excitement, he followed both Lillie and Kukui out of the lab.


Eclipse and Hau were somewhere on Route 3 and Eclipse's Oricorio was standing beside her. Hau had just finished demonstrating his Z-Move so that Eclipse could see.

"So did you get all that Eclipse?" She looked really focused and she didn't look to have blinked for the duration of Hau's Z-Move. She spent several seconds replaying it in her head. "Uh Eclipse?"

"Done." She said.

"Done?"

"Watch…" Eclipse simply said. She performed the Z-Move all the while her face remained as stoic as it has ever been. Once the white aura surrounded both her and Oricorio, her face shifted to surprise as she suddenly saw everything through Oricorio's eyes for a split second. "Oricorio, use Breakneck Blitz!" Oricorio shot forward while a raging white aura with electric sparks surrounded her. She flew very close to the ground and tore up the ground behind her. Oricorio shot right through a bush and she completely decimated it. She crashed into a pile of berries below a berry tree. The dancing Pokémon flew back to Eclipse cheered as the girl looked at her. "Was that alright?"

Hau's jaw was wide open in surprise. "Whoa Eclipse… that was awesome!" he cheered. "And you did it on your first try!"

Rotom hovered onto the scene. "Yeah… don't get me wrong, Z-Moves are awesome, but you looked like you always do when you did it."

"Is that a problem?" Eclipse asked.

"No but…" Rotom quickly gave up. "Ah bzzt never mind."

Suddenly an angry crab like Pokémon jumped out of a bush that was close to the berry pile. The crab-like Pokémon had a purple shell with blue and yellow accents, there were two long antennae over its eyes and his right eye was slightly closed with a blue eyelid. He had two, blue large pincers that resembled boxing gloves. He had four, purple crustacean legs with blue tips.

The crab angrily pointed at Oricorio and then to the berries. "It looks like that Pokémon is angry that we toppled his berry pile."

"Well bzzt, what Pokémon do we have here!" Rotom took a picture of the Crabrawler and he narrowly avoided being snapped by his pincers. "Hey! Now that izzz just kzzt rude!" Rotom exclaimed while floating back to both Hau and Eclipse. On his display was an image of the crab Pokémon.

'Crabrawler, the Boxing Pokémon. It punches so much, its pincers often come off from overuse, but they grow back quickly.'

"A lot of references to punching, so we can assume it's a fighting type then." Eclipse said with her hand cupping her chin.

Crabrawler was angrily punching the air while glaring at both Eclipse and Hau. "Dibs!" Hau called before Eclipse could get a word in. As he yelled this, he threw a Pokéball into the air that contained Rowlet. The grass owl hovered at Hau's shoulder length. "Okay Rowlet, I need your help, I want to catch that Crabrawler!"

"Koooo!" Rowlet cooed as he looked towards the agitated Crabrawler.

"Start with Peck, Rowlet!" Rowlet's beak shone bright blue and he flew towards the crab Pokémon. Though the Crabrawler quickly countered by pinching Rowlet's wing and he threw him up. Crabrawler followed Rowlet and his right claw shone a white-orange colour and he punched Rowlet to the hard ground. "Rowlet are you okay!?" he slowly got back up. Rowlet turned his face back to Haw while his body faced the opposite direction. He nodded his head and Hau's confidence returned. "Okay, take him on with Leafage!" Rowlet hovered above the ground and shot four sharp leaves to Crabrawler. He quickly ran from the leaves to avoid them. "Now use Peck!" After Crabrawler dodged the Leafage, he was then charged into by Rowlet, beak first, causing substantial damage. The Boxing Pokémon slid to his back.

"Hau, do you not think now is your chance?" she dully asked.

"Oh yeah!" he took out a regular Pokéball from his back. "Okay, here we goooo!" after throwing the Pokéball is bounced off one of the claws of the Crabrawler and he was brought into the Pokéball by a bright blue light. Once it hit the ground, the button shone red and it was shaking. On the third shake, the Pokéball snapped open and Crabrawler shot back out and landed on the ground while glaring at both Hau and Eclipse. "Aw snap! He got out!" Hau said.

"Then I shall assist you." Eclipse said but Hau grabbed her wrist.

"No Eclipse, I want to be able to do this on my own. It's sweet you want to help me, but… I want my first Pokémon catch to be on my own."

Eclipse looked at Hau for a second and gazed at his determined face. "Fine… I shall let you do this on your own. I wish you good luck."

Hau gave Eclipse his usual chipper smile. "Thank you! Just watch, I'm going to catch that Crabrawler!" they both saw the Crabrawler charging to Rowlet with a glowing right pincer. "Rowlet dodge it quickly." Rowlet leaped over the Crabrawler, causing him to miss. "Alright, now use Growl!" Rowlet let out a loud koo which lowered Crabrawler's attack. Crabrawler then opened his claws and fired blue transparent bubbles from the claws. "Rowlet fly away from the bubbles!" Rowlet was easily avoiding the bubbles as they popped around him. "Now dive and use Peck!" Rowlet shot down with a glowing beak and Crabrawler looked prepared as his right claw was shining bright orange.

Rowlet's beak and Crabrawler's claw clashed and both Pokémon were sent rolling back from each other, though Rowlet immediately hovered up to Hau's face height. "Okay, this time for real!" he tossed another Pokéball which bounced off the Crabrawler's head and a blue light dragged him into the Pokéball. After three shakes, this time the Pokéball locked and bright yellow stars shot from it as a loud 'click' sound was heard.

Hau walked to the Pokéball and triumphantly picked it up. "YES my first captured Pokémon!" he exclaimed while dancing.

"Congratulations Hau." Eclipse praised.

"Oh that's right!" Hau remembered with a gasp. "Moon will be having her battle with Hala soon, you wanna watch?"

Eclipse's only response was a shrug of her shoulders. "WHAAT!" Rotom screamed. "Moon is going to fight the Kahuna!? Well what are we doing, just standing around!? Kzzt!" Rotom flew off to Iki Town by himself.

"That is a very excitable Pokédex isn't it?" Eclipse said.

"Yeah, but I think it's cute though." Hau replied.


About an hour later Sun, Moon, Lillie and Kukui got to Iki Town and they saw Hala standing by the town gates. "Ho, ho! I've been expecting you two." He said with a laugh. "Haha, so where's my grandson and his friend?"

"Heck if I know." Moon said with a shrug.

"I'm sure they will get here soon." Lillie assuredly said.

"WAAAIT" They all heard Hau's cry as both him and Eclipse were running towards Iki town. When they both arrived Eclipse looked like she was out of breath.

Moon chuckled to herself. "I think that's the first time, I didn't see you with a bland face."

"I-I shall not… dignify that… with a… response…" she said with pants in between her words.

"Well now that the four of you are here, I can properly greet the young adventurers embarking on their island challenge. I am Hala, the kahuna of Melemele Island."

"We know who you are, but keeping up with introductions. I'm Moon from Akala Island, and I'm going to give my all in this trial!"

"It looks like we have a fire that burns brightly in this one, maybe that's why Tapu Lele came to you. So Moon, will you be the first to battle me?"

"That's right and I'm more than ready!"

"Well Moon, if you're ready then meet me on the stage, then we shall commence the Grand Trial!" he walked to the stage in the middle of town.

"Aren't you even the slightest bit nervous?" Lillie asked.

"Nope! I've totally got this!" they started to walk to the stage.

"So who are you going to use first?" Sun asked.

"That depends; you'll just have to find out."

Kukui put a word in before they reached Hala. "I'm lookin' forward to seeing what moves all of you and your Pokémon will pour your soul into… now that you guys have gone and cleared your first trial, yeah!"

Hala stood on the ring facing the trainers, Lillie and Kukui. "Well, now that all of you are here. I plan on doing my trial a little bit differently." He chuckled to himself. "Each of you will battle against one of my Pokémon, but each of you will only be able to use one Pokémon!"

"WHAT!?" Sun and Hau gasped.

Moon chuckled. "Heh, I like this trial already."

"This Grand trial is to test the deep bonds you have with your Pokémon. A one on one, a true test of skill and teamwork."

Eclipse stepped forward. "Seems simple enough, but it will be much harder for you since we know the Pokémon you're going to use against you?"

"That is correct, but as Kahuna, I should prepare myself for any challenge that comes my way." Hala said.

"That will be perfect!" Kukui exclaimed. "I get to see your best stylin' moves, oh yeah!"

Moon sighed. "Alright, I'll go first, anyone of you guys got a problem!?" she asked with her usual tone

"If I may…" Eclipse started. "You want to battle first so you can, attempt to outshine the rest of us."

"Geez, you make me sound like a monster."

Sun walked to her. "Just do your best Moon, 'cause that's what all of us will be doing. Remember what I told you during our trial?"

Moon sighed. "Yeah I remember. I guess can still show off my skills." Her usual smile returned. "Thanks Sun."

Hau let out a surprised gasp. "Moon, I think that's the first time I heard you call Sun by his real name."

Moon blushed. "T-that means nothing. It's just inconvenient to just keep calling him 'outsider' all the time! That's all!"

Rotom hovered close to Hau. "She is just trying to hide her feelingz kzzt…"

"Y-you mean she's-?" Rotom nodded to Hau's question.

"She'zzz got it bad!" he laughed.

"Aww, but that's so sweet."

Moon glared at the two. "Hau, don't make me tell Rotom about you and Eclipse?"

Rotom instantly lit up. "W-what about Hau and Eclipzze!?"

Hau dismissively waved his hands in front of his face. "N-NOTHING! STOP IT MOON!" his face turned red and Eclipse noticed.

"Hau, your face is red again." Eclipse dully pointed out.

Moon pressed her own cheeks and took a step forward. "Alright wish me luck."

Sun gave her a 'thumbs up'. "With you, I'm sure you won't need it."

"Good luck Moon!" Hau exclaimed.

"Do your best." Eclipse said.

"I hope it goes well for you and whoever you choose." Lillie said.

"Thanks guys…" she walked onto the stage. "Okay Hala. I'm ready!"

Hala laughed. "I've been waiting for a challenge, so Moon. Show me you and your Pokémon's full power!"

"Gladly!"

Hala slammed his right foot on the stage in the same manner as a Sumo Wrestler, after that he took out a Pokéball. "Prepare yourself Moon, because the Melemele Kahuna never loses!"

"Well neither do I!"

Hala threw out an Ultra Ball and coming out was a Crabrawler, this one was slightly bigger than the one Hau caught earlier.

"Whoa, Hala hazzz a Crabrawler too!" Rotom exclaimed.

"Crabrawler?" Sun questioned. "Well, let's see what Moon does."

"I got the perfect Pokémon to deal with you." She threw out her Pokéball and Pikipek shot out in a bright blue flash of light. He landed on the ground and he looked around.

"You attempt to use the Flying type to my disadvantage. Not a bad plan, but it will take more than type advantage to beat a Kahuna." Moon gave a serious look to Hala. "Whenever you are ready,"

"Ha, let's see if you can handle me! Pikipek use Rock Smash!" Pikipek's beak shone whitish orange and he was going to drive his beak into Crabrawler.

Hala smirked. "Crabrawler grab his beak!" the boxing Pokémon grabbed the beak with his left pincer before the attack could land. "Now hit back with Crabhammer!" the right claw was cloaked in water and he threw a powerful punch to Pikipek. The woodpecker Pokémon slid on the floor after the hit but he quickly got up to his feet. "You won't get to me that easily, Moon. Crabrawler can fight back anything you throw at him. Crabrawler, use Power-Up Punch!" His right pincer was surrounded in a swirling bright orange aura and he jumped towards Pikipek.

"Pikipek jump to the sky!" Pikipek launched away from Crabrawler and his Power-Up Punch missed. Once he was in the sky, Moon told him, his next move. "Pikipek use, Rock Smash!" Pikipek's beam shone white/orange and he soared down toward Crabrawler.

"Just like last time, get ready Crabrawler!" Hala said.

"Pikipek, switch into Peck!" Pikipek's beak was engulfed in a bright bluish glow and winds surrounded Pikipek.

"Crabrawler! Defend with your pincers!" the Boxing Pokémon crossed his pincers in front of his body. Pikipek crashed into his target, the impact forced Crabrawler on his back but he quickly got back up and glared at Pikipek. "That's the stuff, now use Bubblebeam!"

Crabrawler's pincers opened up before he shot out a stream of large bubbles, an attack which caught Moon off guard. "Pikipek, dodge quick!" Pikipek tried to fly above the ground but Crabrawler didn't let up and he continued trying to hit Pikipek. Pikipek's aerial moves were no match as one of the bubbles hit him and he was falling to the stage.

"Crabrawler, use Power-Up Punch!" His right pincer powered up with swirling bright orange energy before letting loose a powerful punch that shot Pikipek across the stage. He bounced towards Moon and looked injured.

"Oh no! Pikipek!" Moon exclaimed.

"This is bad." Sun said observing the battle. "I think it's only going to take one more hit before Pikipek is done for. I hope that she can think of something…"

Pikipek started to slowly rise to his small talons. "Pikipek, are you alright?" He chirped to let Moon know that he still wanted to go on. "A-are you sure?" Pikipek looked to Crabrawler and glared at him.

"Hmm, so Pikipek has a lot more fight in him that I thought." Hala said. "Keep your guard up Crabrawler." Crabrawler put up his pincers in response.

Moon quickly thought of an idea in her head. "Pikipek attack with Peck!" Pikipek shot forward yet again with attacking intent as his beak glowed again.

"We won't block this time; slow him down with Bubble Beam!" Crabrawler opened his pincers and shot a flurry of bubbles that were speeding to Pikipek.

"Pikipek spin and pop the bubbles!" Pikipek spun like a drill while using Peck and the bubbles were popping as she continued forward to Crabrawler.

"Block it Crabrawler!" he put his pincers up and Pikipek pecked the pincers.

"Quick, get up into the air!" Pikipek flew up into the sky again.

"Take him down with Bubble Beam!" the pincers opened and he opened fire as he released a stream of bubbles into the air.

"Counter it with Echoed Voice!" Pikipek released a loud chirp which created soundwaves that popped the bubbles before they could reach him. There were bright blue sparkles that were present as the bubbles popped. "Use Echoed Voice again!" Pikipek unleashed a second loud chirp that produced even stronger soundwaves than the first wave and this made everyone in the vicinity cover their ears and Crabrawler took heavy damage. "We got him now, finish him with Peck!" Pikipek flew down to land the Peck on the Boxing Pokémon.

Hala smiled. "You almost got me… Crabrawler use Iron Defense!" Crabrawler brought his pincers to his face and they were covered by iron and this easily blocked Pikipek's attack while sharply increasing his defense. "Push him back!" After the block, Pikipek was thrown back. Soon Hala's orange Z-Crystal started to shine as he crossed his wrists. Hala uncrossed them, swung them in a circle before stretched them forward and crossing them again. An orange aura started to rage around him and Crabrawler. Hala started punching the air in front of him and his punches got faster until he abruptly stopped and the Z-sigil appeared in front of Crabrawler. "This is the power of the Melemele Kahuna! ALL OUT PUMMELING!" Hala exclaimed while throwing one more punch covering both he and Crabrawler in red, bright raging auras. "Now Crabrawler!" Crabrawler's pincers were engulfed in a bright red aura and he threw punches which shot projections of large palms and feet.

"He used his Z-Move now!?" Moon exclaimed. "Pikipek fly up and dodge it!" Pikipek flew up and managed to fly up and dodge the projectiles, when the barrage stopped he thought he was safe but he didn't expect to see Crabrawler meeting him in the air. "Oh no!"

"Finish him Crabrawler!" his pincer still powered by the Z-Move drove down onto Pikipek and the small woodpecker was falling right down back to the stage and he slammed through it creating a hole. Pikipek looked extremely battered through the hole.

Moon had tears hanging over at the bottom of her eyelids. "Pikipek…" when she didn't hear his usual cheerful chirp she got worried, she didn't care whether she won or lost but it would tear her apart if her Pokémon got injured in the process and she knew that there was no way that Pikipek could get up from an attack like that.

Hala placed his hands to his sides as he came out of his Z-Move stance. "It is done…"

"Whoa…" Sun whispered. "I had a feeling that Hala was powerful but… not that strong!"

Moon continued to look down the hole at an angle, meaning she wasn't able to see Pikipek. Tears started to fall down her cheeks. "I-Is Pikipek alright?" Lillie worriedly asked.

"Oh man, I hope Tutu didn't go too hard on her." Hau said.

"Astonishing…" Kukui thought. "This is the first time I've gotten to see Hala's Z-Move up close… I have heard of its power before, but this is on a completely new level."

As Hala was preparing to return Crabrawler, he noticed a glint coming from Moon's Z-Crystal. "Hm… perhaps I spoke too soon…"

"PIKIPEK!" Moon cried out while droplets of tears ejected from her eyes. Right after she cried out his name the hole in the stage lit up and a pillar of bright blue light shot from it. The pillar ceased and a glowing, bright blue figure flew out of the hole with a burst of new energy. The beak of this figure grew and pointed feathers grew from the back of his head, and his thin talons grew longer as well and his body grew as well. Moon looked up and her face of dread was replaced with glee. "PIKIPEK!"

"No…" Rotom said. "He's become…"

The blue aura shattered like glass and the new body of Pikipek was revealed. "TRUMBEAK-BEAK!" the Pokemon exclaimed in a slightly deeper chirp.

"You evolved!" Moon exclaimed.

"That'zzz right!" Rotom excitedly exclaimed while taking pictures of the new Pokémon. "And I have found hizzz entry…" he turned around and Trumbeak's picture could be seen on Rotom's display.

'Trumbeak, the Bugle Beak Pokémon, and the evolved form of Pikipek, It eats berries and stores their seeds in its beak. When it encounters enemies or prey, it fires off all the seeds in a burst.'

Trumbeak looked down at Moon with a happy expression. He could tell how deeply she cared about him, and this gave him the will to carry on with the fight so he couldn't disappoint her. He flew to her shoulder before perching himself on her arm.

Hala started to chuckle to himself. "I see it now; you had a much greater bond with Pikipek than I thought. It was because of that bond that Pikipek was able to evolve into Trumbeak, simply astounding." He then gave a smirk. "But it is like I said, the Melemele Kahuna never loses. Crabrawler, use Bubble Beam!" he then opened his pincers and fired a multitude of bubbles to Trumbeak.

Moon had a bold idea and she formed this after she listened to Rotom's Pokédex description. "Alright Trumbeak, pop those bubbles with Bullet Seed!" Trumbeak remained perched on Moon's arm and the ends of his sharp beak bent backwards as he fired small green glowing seeds to the bubbles and they were popped instantly. "Go for him, use Rock Smash!" Moon threw her right arm forward giving Trumbeak extra momentum as he sped to Crabrawler. His beak was covered in an orange glow.

"Crabrawler defend with Iron Defense!"

Moon smirked. "Aim for the Pincer on the right!" Moon exclaimed and his beak crashed into Crabrawler's left pincer right as they turned to iron. He crashed into that into that pincer and focused all his attack energy into it. "Same place, use Bullet Seed!" Trumbeak shot green glowing seeds onto the pincer and something shocking happened. The seeds hit them with enough energy to force the pincer right off his arm and it fell off the stage. Hala and everyone else gasped, Moon at the same time had a satisfied smirk as she knew her plan had worked. But she knew she wasn't done yet. "Trumbeak attack the other one! Use Peck!" his beak was covered in a bright blue glow and he aimed for the pincer that Crabrawler was using to defend himself.

"Iron Defense!" Hala exclaimed clapping his hands. The move went through and his only remaining pincer was covered in iron sheen and it blocked the attack.

Moon laughed. "I knew you were going to do that! Use Peck, Woodpecker Style!" Moon exclaimed with her usual confident expression. Trumbeak immediately understood and he drove his beak into the pincer with the same speed and accuracy of a woodpecker. After several seconds the right pincer flew off into the air. Moon proceeded to cross her wrists. "It's time to end this!" the Normalium-Z within her Z-Ring glowed. After she uncrossed her arms she threw them forward and she performed the pose for the Normal Z-Move and a raging white aura surrounded her and Trumbeak. "Trumbeak, it's time to show them our real power! Breakneck Blitz!" Trumbeak shot forward like a bullet and left a shockwave in his wake. He was fast approaching the pincer-less Crabrawler and he shot right into him, forcing the Boxing Pokémon off the stage.

Hala looked at Moon and he smiled. "It seems you have bested me, Congratulations, you have passed my Grand Trial."

"Woohoo!" Moon cheered while Trumbeak was happily chirping. She noticed the others looking at her… "I-I mean… was there ever any doubt?" She said.

"I believe there was, though this was before Pikipek evolved." Eclipse said, unintentionally irking Moon as she got off the stage.

Sun nudged her arm. "Just let her have this one, Eclipse."

"What, I was only answering her question."

"It was meant to be rhetorical." Lillie clarified.

"Oh, alright… what does 'rhetorical' mean?" Everyone save for Hala and Kukui had comically fainted.

"You know, I'd really like to meet your parents one day." Moon said.

"So do I…" Eclipse said and the group went silent. "...I just cannot remember them, my memory isn't very reliable right now."

"Oh, well I guess I'm sorry." Moon said.

"You do not need to apologize."

"Oh great, I thought things were going to turn pretty angsty."

Hala approached them. "So who will face me next?"

Sun stepped forward. "I guess I will be."

"Well I was looking forward to facing you; Kukui and his assistant have told me great things about you. I hope that they weren't exaggerated."

Sun scratched his head bashfully. "Oh I'm sure they didn't say too much. But I'm going to give my all."

"I know you will, Sun." Lillie said.

"Yeah, you got this!" Hau said with inflated enthusiasm. Eclipse simply gave him the obligatory thumbs up.

Moon approached him. "Don't underestimate Hala, he was the strongest person that I've ever faced."

"Thanks for the warning Moon."

"It's just that I struggled with him, so just stay on your toes if you want to beat him."

"Got it, I appreciate you trying to help me."

"Hey don't get the wrong idea all right. I just don't want to see you moping around like with what happened with the Z-Move situation."

"O-okay, but no matter what I'll give my best."

Moon nodded as Sun walked onto the stage to meet Hala on the other side. "Well Sun! You have been entrusted with the Sparkling Stone by Tapu Koko! Now show me you and your partner's full power!" Hala tossed out another Ultra Ball and a new Pokémon shot out. This Pokémon was a yellow Pokémon with a bulky build. He had a black marking that extended around his neck. His hands resembled black boxing gloves. There were red, ring markings on his cheeks and had eyes that looked like curvy slits. The top of his head had a yellow knot.

"Whoa, I haven't seen that Pokémon before."

"But that is why Sun, I am here." Rotom said as he had already scanned the yellow Pokémon.

'Makuhita the Guts Pokémon, their daily routine consists of training together first thing in the morning, eating and napping in the afternoon, and then more training afterward.'

"Makuhita trains day and night by himself, he has never lost a single battle yet. I am curious to see how you stand up to this challenge, Sun."

Sun looked slightly nervous after hearing about Makuhita's training regime. Especially since he hasn't actually trained much with his own Pokémon, "Okay, here we go!" Sun tossed out a Pokéball which contained Litten, the starter landed on the stage and looked at Makuhita on the other side.

"Okay, I should start small… see what Hala plans to do first…" He shot his arm forward. "Litten start with Scratch!" Litten sprinted to Makuhita who simply stood in place, waiting for Hala's commands. Litten leaped up and his claws retracted from his little paws.

Hala smirked as Litten was in a perfect position. "Makuhita, Fake Out!" Makuhita spread his arms out wide as Litten came closer he slammed his hands together right in front of Litten's face and the Fire Cat flinched in fear of the attack hitting him. The shockwave knocked him back as he landed on his feet.

"That was Fake Out?" Sun wondered aloud while he noticed that Litten's fur became puffy from the earlier fright.

"Focus, Outsider! He won't let up!" Moon exclaimed.

"Makuhita, use Force Palm!" Makuhita's palm shone white and he shot forward towards Litten.

"Litten dodge the attack!" Sun said in a panicked tone. His Pokémon jumped from the attack before he turned on his paw to face Makuhita. "Alright, now Fire Fang!" Litten leaped to Makuhita and he bit down on the Guts Pokémon's arm and it was engulfed in flames. Makuhita panicked and he quickly put it out. "We got him now, Litten use Ember!" Litten shot a small burst of fire from his mouth as three hairs on his back stood up.

"Block it with Force Palm!" Hala exclaimed while mimicking the action of Force Palm. Makuhita's right palm shone white and he threw it onto the Ember and it made a white shockwave which dispersed the attack into tiny embers.

"He blocked it, stay alert Litten. He's up to something."

"You are right Sun, I am cooking up something, but the question is… will you be able to stop it?" Sun stepped back and glared at Hala. "Makuhita, now use Belly Drum!" Makuhita started to slowly bang on his stomach like a drum and orange shockwaves were generated every time he hit his stomach.

Kukui and Moon immediately realized what was going to happen. "So you saw it too, huh Moon?" she only gave a single nod before looking to the battlefield. "This definitely goes to show you that Hala will never hold back, yeah."

Moon yelled at Sun. "Outsider! Whatever you do, don't let Makuhita land a single hit!" she warned.

Hala smirked as he stood on the other side of the battlefield. "You see, Belly Drum is a move that Maximizes the users attack power, but at the cost of the Pokémon's energy... Right now, it will only take a single move to end this battle."

Sun took a deep breath and took in what Hala said. "Yeah… well you're going to have to hit Litten first, and that isn't happening!"

"I am eager to see what you will do. Makuhita, use Force Palm!" his right palm was engulfed in a white glow and he charged to Litten.

"Litten dodge!" Sun exclaimed. Litten ran in-between Makuhita's legs, avoiding the hit. "Now use Ember!" Litten quickly shot a blast of small fire to Makuhita.

"Makuhita, block it with Force Palm!" the Ember was blocked and Sun quickly realized that he was going to have to let Litten get close to hit an attack as his Embers would get blocked by Force Palm.

"This isn't good." Moon said.

"What makes you say that?" Hau said. "All Sun needs to do is land a hit on Makuhita, and he wins."

"Yes, but Sun can't do it easily. Hala is trying to back Sun into a corner and when Sun has nowhere else to go, that is when Hala will make his move." Moon said.

"Litten go for Ember!" Sun exclaimed. Litten shot another Ember but it was blocked by Makuhita's Force Palm. "I can't use Ember, he will just keep blocking it. I need Litten to attack head on!" "Then we'll just get close! Litten use Scratch!" Litten shot forwards and ran on his four paws as his claws were protruding from his paws.

"Makuhita, use Force Palm!" Hala said throwing his fist forward.

Sun's pupils shrank for a second. "Litten roll under his legs!" Litten rolled under his legs and was behind Makuhita. "Now use Scratch again!" as soon as Litten was done rolling he darted right back to the back of Makuhita.

Hala's face turned serious. "Makuhita, roll away from Litten!" Makuhita rolled from Litten's attack surprising both Litten and Sun. "Makuhita can also be nimble if he needs to be. Haha, here I come Sun! Makuhita, use Force Palm!" the yellow Pokémon shot forward to Litten.

Sun quickly thought of something. "Litten jump off of his face and into the air!" Litten understood instantly and he leaped over the Force Palm and off of Makuhita's face. Once Litten was in the air, Sun gave his next instruction. "Litten use Ember over and over!" Litten shot multiple ember blasts towards Makuhita and they rained on him and he blocked them with his arms. He was unable to notice Litten landed on the ground. "This is it! Use FIRE FANG!" Litten's mouth lit up with raging flames and he ran forward to Makuhitia.

Hala looked calm as Litten got close and as soon as Litten was close enough, Hala put his plan into action. "Makuhita, use Reversal!"

Both Moon and Kukui gasped and everyone watched as Makuhita stopped Litten's attack, grabbed him and managed to power slam the Fire Cat Pokémon onto the stage while putting his one weight on him. When Makuhita got off, Litten was covered in scratches and bruises, he was still breathing but he remained motionless.

"LITTEN!" Sun ran over and picked up his partner Pokémon. "Please tell me you're okay!?" Litten's eyes struggled to open but he opened them and tried to smile when Sun was holding him.

Hala walked to him. "You fought well, but unfortunately you haven't passed my Trial."

Sun stood there still processing what he had just gone through. But he gave a silent nod and walked off the stage. Lillie was the first to approach him. "Sun… are you okay?"

"Y-yeah… I guess I never figured Hala would be that strong."

Moon walked to him. "Don't worry; I'll be sure to toughen you up. When I'm done with you, you and Litten will walk circles around him."

"O-okay, sounds like a plan." She grabbed Sun's wrist. "H-hey…" she dragged him off.

"We're starting right now!"

Lillie stood there scared for Sun. "I honestly didn't think that Sun would have lost so quickly."

Kukui stood next to her. "The Grand Trial of each island is supposed to be the hardest thing a Trial goer experiences. Hala has just shown how strong all the Kahunas are, yeah. Now we have to see if Sun can stand back on his feet. Not only will his second battle with Hala be a test of his skills but a test of his character, yeah."


After the Sun and Moon left Iki Town, the two were by themselves. "Moon why'd you drag me off like that?"

"Because, fighting regular trainers and Kahunas are two different things, you can't just go into a Grand Trial and expect to be able to fight the Kahunas on a normal level. Those tricks you used may work on trainers like me, but not on Hala. He could see your plan coming a mile away…"

"So what should I do!?" Sun said in a slight panic.

Moon sighed. "I can't say… you're going to have to figure it out on your own. That's how I always did things. Listen, dust yourself off and try again. That's the best thing you can do."

Suddenly they both heard the bush shake nearby, a Pokémon walked out of them and it revealed itself to be a Rockruff. However this one looked different, the rocks on his neck were sharper, and he had a scar over his left eye and two scars on his right, front paw. But the most visually noticeable change, was that his black pupils were surrounded by bright emerald eyes.

Moon gasped as soon as she saw the Pokémon. "I-I don't believe it!"

"Whoa, that's a cool looking Rockruff!" Sun said. "I just got an idea." He quickly pulled out a Pokéball.

"Wait… Sun, that's probably not-" disregarding Moon's warning he chucked the Pokéball towards the Rockruff. The stones on his neck were glowing brightly and the Pokemon fired five rock projectiles from the stones and they managed to completely destroy the Pokéball.

"Huh!?" Sun exclaimed.

"I tried to warn you, idiot…" they both looked to the Rockruff. "That is no ordinary Rockruff." He continued to growl at them as he remained in a fixed offensive stance, with his body lowered to the ground and his tail pointing straight up into the air.

"But why is it here?" Sun asked. They didn't get their answer as the rouge Rockruff glared at the two, particularly Sun. But what could that Rockruff possibly want with him?


Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I was struggling to figure out how Hala's trial should work and I eventually settled on a simple 1v1 showdown type of trial. Please tell me what you think and I'll be back with an update soon.