Chapter 6: Kahuna Matata

It was early morning in Alola, the sun just beginning to creep up over the horizon. In Iki Town, Hau remained blissfully asleep, his Decidueye snoozing on his perch in the corner.

"Mmm, Malassadas..."

His sleep was rudely interrupted by a trumpet blaring in his ear, sending him flying out of bed and onto the floor. Once he had regained his hearing, he saw Hala grinning over him, trumpet in hand.

"What was that for, tutu?"

"Come on boy, stop wasting the day away! If you want to be the next Kahuna, you need to be ready to greet the day before it greets you! Now come on, breakfast and then our morning jog!"

Hau sighed, picking up his backpack and returning Decidueye to his Pokeball.

"When I'm Kahuna, I'm mandating that the day doesn't start until noon."

"I heard that!"

An hour later, Hala and Hau were out jogging through the Alolan wilderness. Well, Hala was jogging merrily, while Hau was struggling to keep up, panting heavily as they approached the top of a steep hill.

"Tutu, please...slow...down..."

"Looks like someone needs to lay off the Malassadas. Clearly I have my work cut out for me!"

"You mean there's more?!"

Hala laughed, slapping his grandson on the back so hard he nearly keeled over.

"Fret not, my boy! I'll make a fine Kahuna out of you yet!"

Hau sighed, beginning to regret his decision on the inside. Just then, they heard a fierce roar. Charing up the hill towards them was a very big, very cross Tauros. Hau drew out a Pokeball, but Hala held him back.

"Stay back, Hau. I've got this."

Hau obeyed, expecting Hala to draw out his own powerhouse. After all, any one of his fighting types could knock out a rampaging Tauros easily. But instead, Hala made himself as big as he could, staring Tauros right down. To Hau's amazement, Tauros stopped, the two of them having the most intense staring contest Hau had ever seen. After a good minute, Tauros backed down and his trainer came running up.

"So sorry about that! We were practicing a Z-Move, but I lost control, and well..."

"Think nothing of it, my boy! He got spooked is all, isn't that right Tauros?"

"Tauros!"

"Just be more careful next time. Lucky we were out in the forest, and not in the city."

"Agreed. Come on Tauros, we'll go try again somewhere else. We're so close, that I can feel it!"

The trainer and his Tauros took their leave, leaving Hau completely bewildered.

"Tutu, that...was awesome! How did you do that?"

"Oh, its nothing really. Sometimes you just need to stand your ground and show no fear. Now come on, lets get going! I want a complete lap around the island before lunch, or you won't eat!"

Hau sighed, and reluctantly took off running once more. This was going to be a long day...

Later that day, Hau flopped down onto a log, exhausted. While he had managed to complete the lap around the island before lunch, that had only been the start of his misery. After lunch, which had been a single protein shake, Hala had him do push ups, sit ups, and jumping jacks until his bones ached. Then he had to do another mile lap, and by the end of it he thought he might throw up. But Hala remained satisfied, nodding in approval at Hau's time.

"10 minutes, not too bad. Take the rest of the day off, we'll pick up from here tomorrow."

Hau just collapsed on the floor, not looking forward to the next day. Needing some time to think, he took off for the forests around Iki Town, finding the peace and quiet helpful.

"Tutu made a mistake. I'd make a terrible Kahuna, I'm just not cut out for it! I'm just not fit enough to react the way to things the way he can. I need to tell him tomorrow..."

His thoughts were interrupted by a rustling in the bush. Before Hau could investigate, a Passimian and an Oranguru came out of the forest, fighting in a heated battle.

"Hey, watch it!"

The two Pokemon ignored him, too focused on their current battle to even pay him any mind. This got Hau pretty mad, and he drew out a Pokeball.

"Decidueye, give me a hand! Get these two apart so we can talk!"

Decidueye nodded, flying into the air to create large gusts of wind to force the two beasts apart. Now with their attention, Hau followed his grandfather's advice and stood tall and firm.

"You two are wrecking the forest! What could possibly be so important?"

The two primates grunted, before gesturing using twigs and other scattered junk to tell their story. It took Hau a moment, but he managed to piece together the story.

"Oh, I see. Oranguru was intruding on your pack's hunting ground, right Passimian?"

Passimian nodded.

"And you were hungry and didn't realize than, Oranguru?"

Oranguru snorted indignantly, but nodded.

"But the forest is huge! Surely there's enough for you two to share. Especially without disturbing the other Pokemon."

The two troublemakers remained silent at first, but eventually saw the truth in Hau's words and went their separate ways. Hau breathed a sigh of relief.

"Glad that's over."

"Indeed."

Hala came over, having seen everything, and he was most impressed.

"You did good, Hau. You handled that like any Kahuna would."

"Thanks. To tell you the truth, I was thinking maybe I made the wrong decision."

"Hmm? Why?"

"Have you seen me today? I was a mess, and couldn't keep up. If being a Kahuna means being that fit, then I just don't think I can handle it."

Hala belted out a hearty laugh, slapping Hau on the back comfortingly.

"Is that what you're worried about, son? You think I was this fit when I started training?"

"Um...maybe."

"Hau, when my predecessor first took me under his wing, I was just like you. Having just completed my trials, I thought I was on top of the world, until he introduced me to his training regime. The first day was so bad I thought I was going to die, and wanted to quit. But he wouldn't let me, and I won't quit on you! I know one day you'll make a fine Kahuna, Hau. It just takes time and practice."

Hau wiped the tears from his eyes, feeling much better.

"Thanks, Tutu."

"Now come on, how about some Malassadas?"

Hau laughed. Best idea he's heard all day.