When we realized that our Diana was not a fan of her default outfit, the editor decided to buy her replay character a new one more in line with our Diana's tastes. The result is written here.
It was a bit more difficult than Eli had expected, first with the Golbat confusing everything and then the Salandit being a Fire-type, too. But he won, due more to having four Pokémon instead of two, and Plumeria conceded defeat.
"If her sidekick is this strong, I see why Gladion lost. But if either of you mess with Team Skull again, I'll show you how serious I can get."
Eli was about to say something, but Plumeria left, pushing past Lillie and Professor Burnet as she did. Lillie flinched, but Burnet seemed to expect it.
"Lillie got lost again," she explained. "She said she saw Team Skull."
"We took care of them," Diana said quickly.
"Yes, it doesn't seem hard." Burnet looked back at Lillie and nodded. "I'll leave you here. The Masked Royal has a match, and there's no way I'm missing it!" Her smile turned dreamy. "I wonder what he looks like under that mask..."
"He's your husband!" Diana pointed out, but Burnet's glare told her all she needed to know about the wrestler.
"Let him have this," the older scientist hissed, and she walked away, humming what Diana supposed was the Masked Royal's theme song. Right when she was out of sight, Olivia finally arrived from the ruins.
"I'm sorry about that," she said to Diana. "Tapu Lele called me specifically to help clean up the ruins."
"Did these ruins catch on fire, too?" Diana asked.
"Only the bridge!" Eli hissed, getting a slight giggle from Lillie.
Olivia shook her head. "It was just some minor Team Skull vandalism. It's nothing important." She took notice of their slightly disappointed faces, and smiled. "I thought you would want that Z-Crystal as soon as possible, Diana. Don't tell me you want to quit now."
"Who said anything about quitting?"
Lillie stepped forward. "I'll heal your Pokémon for you, first," she insisted. "And Eli's, too."
"Just Eli's. I went back to the Pokémon Center." Diana pulled Rotom from her bag and nodded to him. "Start filming," she instructed, "and don't forget the boss music."
Olivia smiled wider. "Great. We're going to give it everything we've got!" She pulled out her first Pokeball. "I hope you're ready for your strongest challenge on Akala Island! Nosepass, go!"
Diana watched the Pokémon appear, and for a moment, she wondered how big its boogers would be. The thought was quickly shaken from her head - she was a scientist, she'd prefer to learn important things first. "Let's do this, Stanford!"
When it came down to it, the key to Diana's victory this time wasn't Stanford. For the first time, it was another Pokémon that won it for her.
Stanford, being a Flying-type, had a weakness to Rock that left him vulnerable, and Rock-types had high defenses. He didn't make it past the Nosepass that Olivia had chosen first, so Diana sent out Stufful instead. Her resistance to Rock-type moves came in handy for her to take out the Nosepass with a Payback attack, and she knew Bide to wear down the Boldore. She fell to the Midnight Lycanroc's Z-Move, but that was when Poliwhirl and Diana's own Midnight Lycanroc came in handy.
Olivia, as any kahuna would be, was a graceful loser. "Diamonds only sparkle after coal is pushed to its absolute limit," she explained. "Here, the Rock-type Z-Crystal. You've earned it."
"Rockium Z?" Diana asked for clarification, as if she needed it. Olivia nodded. "And can you show me the dance one more time?"
She felt embarrassed to ask. But when Olivia had done it to take out Stufful, Diana had been distracted. After all, it was daylight, Olivia had shiny jewelry, and she was pretty enough to make Diana think 'stupid pretty kahuna' more than once. But this time, she paid attention.
She wasn't the only one distracted, it seemed. Lillie and Cosmog were watching the dance, too. Both seemed pleased, envious, and in Cosmog's case, excited. It inched closer to Diana.
"No, Nebby," Lillie scolded, and Cosmog groaned but shuffled back to her side.
Olivia turned at the sound of her voice. "You said yourself you're not a Trainer," she said, and Lillie nodded. "So why bother to come to the Ruins of Life?"
Lillie gestured to the Pokémon. "Because of Nebby," she answered. "I just want to help it get home, but I don't know how. It likes playing in ruins, so I keep visiting them to see if I can find a way..."
Olivia looked down at Cosmog. "You don't see a Pokémon like that every day," she stated. "What did you say it was called?"
"It's called Nebby…"
"I meant its species," Olivia clarified. Something about her voice told them all that she was trying to be polite. When Cosmog made its trademark 'pew' sound, she had to smile. "It doesn't matter. I'll take you back to town."
Of course, the moment was ruined when Hau ran up, once again far too excited for his own good. "Kahuna Olivia! I challenge you to..." he paused as he saw the three kids accompanying her. "Oh! Hey, guys! Did Diana just finish her Grand Trial?"
"You missed the whole thing," Eli told him. "Try catching up sooner, next time."
"I can catch it online, I'm subscribed to Rotom." Hau made a face at him. "Why don't you try not to set things on fire."
"Hey, I've been doing great!" Eli threw an arm around Diana's shoulders. "Being a Trainer really works for me! I'm not as flammable, or paranoid, or even afraid when I have Diana and our Pokémon with me! I'm almost cured!"
The grass behind him spontaneously combusting said otherwise.
Hau told them that 'the green guy from the Aether Foundation' told him to check out the Hano Grand Resort. Diana, though just as curious as she should be, was annoyed by Faba enough that she decided to keep him waiting.
Besides, Hau was battling Olivia. If Faba had only invited him, they'd need his help getting in. And since she'd told Lillie that she'd start following her own sense of style instead of her mother's, there was no better time than now to start.
Eli and Rotom were both bored out of their minds as they waited for her to choose her new outfit. She herself felt ridiculous stepping out of the changing room to the least likely people to be interested, but she was rewarded by Rotom jumping in to take pictures.
Eli was actually impressed, too. "You actually did choose an entirely new outfit," he said, as if it shocked him. "All the way down to the shoes."
"I said I was going to embrace my own style," she reminded him. She took a moment to cringe. "My style is more expensive than I thought, but..."
Rotom didn't stop the spontaneous photoshoot. "But your own style makes you look even better! No more floral-print yellow! No more green shorts! Embrace the inner Water-type user!"
Diana looked down at her outfit. She'd chosen a white and pale blue puff-sleeve top, a white pleated skirt with hidden shorts built in, and blue sandals with ankle straps. Did she look like a Water-type specialist? "I was going for Flying," she admitted. She tugged on the blue part of her shirt. "Sky." Then she brushed down her skirt. "Clouds."
"Even though you don't have a mostly-Flying team anymore?" Eli asked.
"I know I'm not a specialist, but I do have an owl and a crow on my team." Diana shrugged. "And if people think I'm a specialist, it would throw them off, right?"
"It might," Rotom confirmed.
"Good." Diana paid the woman behind the counter, yanked the tags off of her new purchases, and walked out of the store. "Then let's get to that resort. We're taking the long way - I can shake pebbles out of my shoes now."