Hala was feeding some of the newly hatched starter pokemon when he felt it arrive. He sighed and didn't turn to face it.

"I'm still mad at you."

"The feeling, is mutual, it seems," The totem pokemon was much calmer now, and had Hala turned, he would have seen even its form was much more relaxed and open. "I have a question for you."

"Oh?"

"Who did you think I was to choose?" Hala turned to look at the totem, and it swept one of its arms out towards Hau-oli, down below, "this island doesn't exactly have a high birth rate."

"there are five hundred children on this island."

"And yet, so few of age."

"You could've waited a few years."

"For what? A child that has never even seen me?" The totem laughed.

Hala frowned, "I knew you were going to choose him, but couldn't you have waited until he had experience."

"He does have experience! More than you did when I chose you." The totem realized it was getting riled up, and reigned itself back in, "besides, he needs to be chosen, now."

"Why?" Hala challenged.

"surely you can feel it in the air?"

And Hala knew, he could.

That subtle disturbance, that had been in the back of his mind for the better part of the year, something was on the planet, in the region, that shouldn't be there. Two somethings, one with malice, and one without. Hala did not want his island to become home to whatever was brewing. There was enough political unrest in Alola right now.

0o0

"Wow Hau, I've never seen someone finish my trial so fast, I hope you're as good a battler."

Myna hadn't thought there was going to be a battle…

"I like to think I've gotten some practice." Hau shrugged with a smile, "I'm super exited, I can't wait!" He was bouncing up and down again, with that boundless energy Myna was almost envious of.

Mallow even seemed to feed off of it, getting a little more pep in her step as she led him up the hill, with the other three following behind.

Myna whistled and Apapane came flying back from the trees.

Mallow lead them to a large somewhat overgrown battlefield. She scratched the back of her head guiltily, "sorry, I've been a little busy, so upkeep hasn't really been my ?."

Myna guessed it was something like a priority… she glanced around, taking in the sights. SO much so that it completely caught her off guard when the first moves were called, and the pokemon battle began.

"See I trained these pokemon to be able to attack and protect themselves without any calls from me." Mallow stepped out of the trainer box, leaving her three pokemon to their own devices.

Hau was only allowed one on the field. Which was fine, because he only had one pokemon anyways.

"Once they feel as though calling for help will not do much good, they'll call in their totem. Though other regions call them Alpha pokemon." Alpha pokemon, often unique in looks, they were always stronger than other pokemon in the area. Sometimes by huge margins. They always had special abilities, and high levels too.

Mallow's job was to train all pokemon she cam across, so that Alola itself would be able to fend off outside invasions.

Myna hadn't realized Hau would be battling an Alpha. Dang.

"Anyways Hau," Mallow called from where she now stood, next to Kukui, who didn't look surprised at all, "I wish you the best of luck!"

And Hau's first trial began.

Myna never found an interest in battling, she couldn't follow it, it was so high speed, but Hau looked like he was doing pretty well, even Wai was looking good. It was a shock to Myna when, early on, when one of Mallow's pokemon feinted, another one let out a loud, ear-piercing sound, and two more joined the fight.

So that's what calling for help meant.

Almost half an hour later, one of the two pokemon still on the field, let out a different sounding, but still as painful sound, and from the bushes, came a massive pokemon. Myna didn't know its name, but with a start, she remembered her pokedex.

It was an older model, but it was updated, so it should have pokemon from other regions besides Kanto… She scrolled through until she found the one she was looking for. 'Lurantis, the Bloom Sickle Pokémon. A Grass type, and the evolved form of Fomantis. Lurantis use their flower-like appearance and aroma to lure in opponents and defeat them.'

Wai was starting to look a little tired, but Hau threw a berry towards it, and Wai caught it. Pokemon had remarkably fast metabolisms, and within a couple seconds, Wai was already looking better. Myna didn't really know what was happening, but Hau would yell moves, or tell Wai to dodge, and the pokemon was gaining on the three in front of it,

One went down, then the other, and only the totem was left. Wai landed a particularly hard hit, and the totem pokemon stopped short.

Then it looked Wai up and down. Then Hau. Then it raised its hand.

Mallow clapped once, "and that's a rap! Lurantis approves!"

Hau looked over, confused, "But I didn't win…"

Mallow waved a hand, "Oh there's ? no way you would win, that's not the point, its to test if you can hold your own against a ? leveled pokemon, and then your ?. My trial ? tests your ? of ?."

Hau nodded, taking it all in.

Lillie said it slower and mostly in Kantonian, "absolutely no way you can win… own against specifically leveled… then your endurance…. My trial specifically tests your knowledge of nature."

Hau was already talking again, so Myna got none of his first sentence… Now he seemed to be excepting that the battle wouldn't actually have a winner. Lurantis came waddling up to him. it sniffed out a tribal bracelet he had on, and Mallow smiled, "It senses your Z-stone."

Lurantis pulled a small diamond shaped green stone from the folds of its feather-like-fur stuff. It handed the stone to Hau.

"Grassium." Mallow explained, "Lurantis thinks you're worthy, that's a first in a few years!"

Hau was looking at the stone, "wow…" he looked up at the pokemon, "thank you…"

Lurantis nodded once, then ambled away and out of sight. Mallow moved off to treat the losing pokemon, and Lillie stepped forwards a bit, and spoke rapidly to Hau, probably congratulating him, but she spoke too fast for Myna to catch.

"Off to the pokemon center with you three, yeah?" Kukui began herding them back towards the main road.

"Are we going back to the city?" Lillie sounded worried.

"oh no, that's tourist land, yeah? We're going further up the rout." And they were. All the way to a red roofed building that looked nothing like the pokemon centers in Kanto. Turned out it was illegal to have a red roof in Alola, unless you were a pokemon center.

In fact, that was the only identifying thing about them. while all having licensed pokemon nurses, they were all like add-ons to family businesses. This one was a café.

Apapane squawked at the sight, never really liking buildings much, so Myna called the bird pokemon bac into its pokeball as they entered. It was a small, homely café, with a playground out back for children and pokemon, and lots of nice seating, and it was mostly open-air, but off to the side, was a counter, with a nurse sitting at it, and a large room gaping out behind her.

Hau was quick to head over that way, while Kukui glanced at the menu and asked Lillie if there was anything she wanted. It went without saying at this point, that if Myna wanted something, she was going to need to go to the counter with him.

So she did.