{Come on, Grace, you got this! Tackle, one more time!}

"Eie, eie-VUI!-"

She slammed head first into her opponent, knocking it clean off its feet. But it wasn't down yet; it seemed to do a flip in the air just before it hit the ground, and landed on all fours, the sly glint in its eyes growing brighter and more angry.

"Mrrrrrr..." it growled. I'd never seen an Alolan Meowth until now. One thing was for sure; it was a lot more cunning and sly than the Kantonian variant.

And a LOT more temperamental.

"Come on, Meowth, you got this! Use Bite!"

{Baby Doll Eyes! That'll weaken it!}

My fighter flashed her charming gaze at the opponent. It staggered for a moment, but quickly shook its head and kept honing in.

{Dodge that and pin it from the side!}

"Vui!"

She dove out of the way of the Meowth's attack just in time, only to spin back around towards it, push off the ground with her back legs and pin it down onto the ground.

{That's the way! Now, Quick Attack!}

But the attack she fired up next was something entirely different. Instead of launching herself, Grace fired up an array of white-glowing stars, and once they'd all formed around her, they zipped by and all slammed smack into the enemy Pokémon, hitting it all over.

{A new attack!}

"Kzzrt! She learned Swift! It's more Powerful than Tackle and Quick Attack, and hazzz the added bonus in that it never misses!"

{Wow...And look at that!}

The opponent was down. It'd taken too much, and had fainted. Again, we won.

"Eie...vui..."

"Wow...Your Eevee's pretty good, for one so young," the Trainer remarked, handing me the generous prize of 1,200₱. "I thought we'd be tough enough to take you on, but I guess we've got some extra training to do ourselves, you know?"

{That's why I'm here now; aiming to take on the Grand Trial later today, and I don't want to be underprepared...I'm also looking to get a fossil while I'm at it. And this is the best way to save up for one, right?}

"No doubt about that. Good luck with-"

"Vui...Eievui..."

We looked down at Grace; again, she had that evolutionary glow about her again, and just like last time, her ears were a bit larger and a tad more perked.

{...We battled an Umbreon on Paniola Ranch,} I explained. {She saw how much I liked it, so she decided she wanted to be one for me. And since she'd so set on doing that, I think she's...trying to resist evolution into something else. I do like Umbreon, but if she's resisting becoming something else just to try and please me, I...don't know if that's good for her. I might ask the Pokémon Center nurse about it. In fact, I might as well head there now to stock back up on potions and the like before I take on the rest of the Trainers here. Thanks for the battle.}

She flashed a thumbs up, and I was off to the Pokémon Center. I skidded to a halt just outside the door and let all of my Pokémon out, just to see how many extra potions I had to stock up on and the like.

{How's everybody holding up?}

"Cha..."

Red flashed a thumbs up, but it was obvious that even he was out of breath, now. Understandable, though; just about any Pokémon would be after fighting four consecutive battles in the afternoon sun. The good news was that even though they were worn out, they didn't need much in the way of healing; Sassafras burned Mikey's Bounsweet and Trumbeak to a crisp, Red demolished Nicki's Miltank, learning the new move Flying Press in the process, and Dartrix had downed Alan's Rockruff with just one Razor Leaf. The only exception was Grace; the Alolan Meowth that she went up against had managed to land a few good Bite attacks on her in the first half of the battle, and she was just as tired as the others.

A few Potions wouldn't hurt for later use. Not too many though; if I went nuts, I'd waste all of my prize money and not be able to get a fossil. So after I returned everyone to their balls, went in and healed them up at the front desk, I got my hands on three Potions, stuck them in my pack and headed back out.

I couldn't help but spy the slope just outside of the Lush Jungle that lead to a small, rocky shore. And there, sitting in plain view, was...

{...Rotom. Is that a...Pokémon of some sort over there?}

"It lookzzz like it! Allow me!"

He scanned the creature as well as he was able to from the distance he was at.

"Just as I suspected!"

"Wimpod: the Turn Tail Pokémon! This aquatic Pokémon izzz extremely adaptable, able to thrive on both the seabed and the shore! But it's also a notorious coward; it'll run and flee at the first sign of any potential danger, leaving a sparkling clean wake in its path! Zzt!"

{Do you think we could be able to catch something like that?}

"Dependzzz on whether we can get close enough! I know you're a speed machine, but Wimpod are faster than you might think!"

{I'm up for the challenge.}

I crept up behind the Pokémon, slowly making my way down the rocky slope. So far, so good. It didn't see me...

Until a rock slipped beneath my feet and tumbled down the slope, and my claws clacked noisily against the ground when I regained my balance.

That was when the Wimpod turned to face me, and it immediately started running to the water.

But I had it outpaced. Its tiny legs might have been fast, but I was faster, and once I knew it saw me, I bolted after it, and finally caught up to the creature and placed myself in between it and the water, Poké Ball in hand. It backed away at the sight of me, emitting a sort of nervous, scratchy noise coming from its feelers.

{If you prove worthy, I'll let you join the team,} I growled at it. {Red! Let's see what this thing's made of!}

I tossed the capsule, and my Hawlucha materialized before its opponent, looking good as new.

"Haw-LU cha!"

{Alright! Start this off with Aerial Ace!}

He spread his wings, then honed in for the attack. The Wimpod curled into a ball in attempt to defend itself, but was unable to block the attack, and Red's powerful move sent it flying over the rocky ground and onto its back, and it stayed there, frozen, for a good fifteen seconds.

{...Did we win?}

"Ah, Wimpod are sort of weak. But they get stronger once they evolve!"

{What do they evolve into?}

"I gotcha covered!"

He displayed the evolved form of the Pokémon on his screen. And the image was a far cry from the puny little Bug-Type we'd just beaten.

"Golisopod: the Hard Scale Pokémon! Itzzz claws are so sharp, they can cleave seawater, or even the air itself, right in two! Although it's very skilled on the battlefield, it also spendzzz a lot of its time meditating deep underwater. Once it enters a fight, it will go to any length it needzzz to in order to win! Impressive!"

{Wow...Wouldn't THAT be something to have on hand!}

But before I could catch it, the Wimpod flipped itself back over from where it lay, and skittered off into he water and out of reach, leaving only a glimmering impression in the gravelly ground where it had landed, a glimmering clean trail following its wake.

{Aw, man...Guess it didn't want to tag along.}

"Hey! What's that in the impression it left?"

I looked up, and saw something glittering in the sunlight in said spot. I approached the impression, lowered my head down to it, and with just one flare of my nostrils and puff of breath, I blew away the bits of grey sand and pebbles surrounding it, fully revealing the object.

It was a small, glimmering gold chunk, rounded off by the rising and falling tides that'd washed over it for who knows how long. I took a whiff of it; smelled metallic. I wasn't exactly sure what it was, though, until Rotom piped up, having examined it along with me.

"ZZT! Is that what I think it izzz!?"

{What? What is it?}

"I think it'zzz a gold nugget! Do you know how much you can sell this at PokéMarts for!?"

{How much?}

"I'm not sure, but prob'ly enough to make up for most of the price of that fossil you want! Come on, let'zzz head back to the PMC and see if we're right!"

{You don't have to tell me twice.}

I dug the gold chunk out of the sand with a quick sweep of my clawed hand, bounded back over to the Pokémon Center and practically leapt in through the front door. I caught the attention of everyone else in there, though. Not what I intended. So to make up for that, I quickly straightened out my shirt, straightened my hat and casually headed over to the PokéMart desk.

"Back again, Echo? Forget anything?"

{Um...}

I rose the nugget up onto the front desk. The longer the clerk stared down at it, the bigger his eyes got.

"...Where did you find this?"

"We found it in the gravel on the shore just south of here!" Rotom answered for me. "A Wimpod that we battled dug it up! Kzzt!"

"Oh...Yeah, they're always digging stuff up out of the ground. Usually to distract people from going after it."

He lifted the object in his own hand.

"That's dense. Yeah, this is real, solid gold. Wow..."

{How much is it worth?}

"I'd say, from this standpoint..." he surmised. "...About 5,000₱."

{5,000₱!?}

My exclamation came out in the form of a shrill scream, and I staggered back in shock, once again earning the attention of everyone else in the small building. Even Rotom was a bit startled by the sudden screech I let out. In realizing what I'd just done, I looked to the crowd, stared at them for a few seconds as I analyzed their own expressions, gave them all an apologetic look, and cleared my throat before turning back to the PokéMart desk.

{Well...} I continued, Rotom now calm enough to translate for me. {Am I...able to sell that here?}

"Uh...Yeah. Sure thing. We take items like this and make a profit by selling them to collectors and researchers and such. I'll take it off your hands."

He readied the amount, and it wasn't long until the gold nugget on the counter disappeared and was replaced with a sizeable wad of cash. This was several times more than any amount I'd ever gotten from winning a battle, and I was blown away by it.

{...Thanks for that,} I said to the clerk as I took it and put it in my back.

"Hey, any time! Come back whenever you need anything else!"

I nodded, then quickly exited the scene.

{Ugh...I just humiliated myself so badly...} I gurgled as I lowered my head outside the building.

"Hey, cheer up, bucko. Everyone makezzz a spectacle of themselves once and a while! Including me! Just don't be so loud next time, maybe, and you should be fine!"

{I'll keep that in mind...Ah...The heat's not dying down much. In the mean time, I guess we should take a break from the battlefield, stop at Konikoni City to grab a fossil, then head back up to the Fossil Restoration Center to have it made back into a Pokémon for he team. Which way, Rotom?}

"According to my map, Konikoni City is in the south portion of Akala Island! We can get there through Diglett's Tunnel! Bzzrt! "

"Hmm..." I gurgled, looking at Rotom's map. {...The entrance to the tunnel is all the way back down in Heahea City. It'll take a lot of leg work going there and back and there again. Especilly in the heat of the day like this. And that's minus the time for battling any Pokémon we might run into along the way. Any shortcuts we could take?"

"Uh, no shortcutzzz, but if you wanna get from one place to another and then back real quick, our best bet would be..."

He paused, looking pretty uncertain.

"Well...Charizard."

I cringed. The memory of my first flight wasn't a pleasant one.

"I mean, I know you're not big on heightzzz, but it will help us get things done nice and fast! Hey, whadaya say? Wanna give Charizard one more try? Captain Kiawe didn't give you the Ride Pager for nothin'!"

I thought about it for a moment, looking back at my bag. The Ride Pager sat in there waiting to be used, and as terrified as I was the first time, Rotom did have a point. It'd get us to the tunnel, back to the Fossil Restoration Center, and we'd be back on our way to the Grand Trial with a fifth teammate in no time flat compared to running in the hot sun.

Besides, I knew what to expect this time, so...

{...I guess I'll give it one more go.}

"That'zzz the spirit! Let's call our buddy Charizzzard and take a ride!"

Still not completely certain, I pulled out the pager and called for the immense, winged Pokémon with the flaming tail.

"Gaurgh...?"

He seemed a bit surprised to see me again after what happened the last time I called him out.

{...I didn't think I'd take Rotom's advice,} I said to him. {But we need to get to Diglett's Tunnel. And pretty soon afterward, we'd need a ride back to the Fossil Restoration Center and then back to Konikoni City. Is, uh...that too much to ask?}

The Pokémon shook his head and flashed a toothy smile, lowering himself so we could board him.

"I guess not!"

We got on, and the moment Charizard spread his wings, I shut my eyes as tightly as I could, and I felt us leave the ground, rising higher and higher into the air. The only thing that kept me from opening my mouth and screaming was the sound of Rotom's excited voice.

"Wow! What a view! I can see the top of the Fire Trial grounds from up here!"

{Is that really true or are you just saying that to calm me down?"

"No, I'm serious, boss! Come on, open your eyes and take a look! Charizard's been flyin' people for agezzz! We haven't got anything to worry about!"

Slowly and cautiously, I pried one of my eyes open to see if it was true...

And there, just to our left, sat the top of Wela Volcano in all its fiery glory. I saw the shapes of several Marowak and the larger, slimmer figure of the Totem Salazzle running about the peak of the mountain where the trial was held.

{...Huh. You'd be right.}

"Hey, and there's the Dimensional Research Lab right up ahead! Lookzzz like we're coming in for a landing! "

I felt the wings on the Flame Pokémon stoop down, and I suppressed another screech as we descended towards the ground, heading just past the lab and flying low along the paved road before he stretched his legs out and landed right outside of Diglett's Tunnel.

{...Can I open my eyes now?}

"Yeah, we're on the ground again! So, what'd you think of that ride? Not as terrifying as the last one, was it? You seemed a bit more into it!"

{Well, I knew what to expect that time, which might have helped...But you are right. It wasn't as bad as I remember.}

"Rauuurrrgh! " the Ride Charizard bellowed in agreement.

"'Ey, Charizard, bud. You think you could wait out here a bit until we come back from Konikoni City? We're just pickin' up a fossil, izzz all, so we shouldn't be long!"

"Runff."

He nodded and sat down on the grass just outside of the cave opening, and we turned toward the cave.

{...So, this is Diglett's Tunnel, huh?}

"Sure is! What a lucky bunch o' Pokémon...I wish I had a place named after me!"

{The, uh...Roto-Tunnel, maybe?}

"That'd a great name! Now all we have to do is find an empty cave and invite a bunch of wild Rotom to come live in it! Ha ha!"

{Easier said than done, probably...Well, let's go. We don't want to keep Charizard waiting forever. "

At that, I pulled a Poké Ball out of my pack and tossed it into the air.

{Red! Come on out!}

The Wrestling Pokémon materialized midair, and landed before me with poise, grace, and a fighting pose to boot.

"Rucha," he squawked, awaiting instructions.

{You're staying out of your ball for the trek through the tunnel. Not only are you our best bet for fighting them, but since you're a Fighting-Type, you might as well train some more for the Grand Trial ahead. The Rock-Types won't stand a chance against a strong fighter like you.}

"Cha...!"

He flung one of his wings around himself like a bright scarlet cape and grinned.

{Alright...Let's go.}

We stepped foot into the dark labyrinth, the only thing lighting up our path being Rotom's glowing screen.

{Looks like the path branches in a few places...Got any idea which way to go?}

"Alas, my map can only navigate us on the surface...I got another idea, though! How 'bout you uzzze your keen sniffer to pick up fresh air coming from the other side of the tunnel?"

{Let me see if I get anything...}

I rose my head into the air, and sure enough, I could smell the fresher, slightly cleaner air coming from the other side as opposed to the one we stood by now.

{I've got something. Let's move south and see if we get there.}

With a kick of my feet, we were off. Diglett's Tunnel didn't seem quite as big as I expected it to be at first, but the twists and turns the underground path made broke this illusion pretty quickly. And boy, did the place live up to its name. There were Diglett EVERYWHERE. They popped up almost every three steps and angrily challenged us, thinking they could beat my Hawlucha, but one Flying Press was all it took and the enemy was down. That ended up happening so many times within fifteen minutes that I lost count, and I was beginning to get pretty tired of Diglett. On the plus side, it provided some extra training for Red, and since they were so easy to beat, he didn't seem to be getting tired just yet. I figured he could probably go on for quite a bit longer without having an extremely long break.

It turned out that we weren't the only trainers making their way through the cave. One construction worker that'd been working on the cave system recently waved a hand in the air and asked to pitch a battle, having heard about me from the Island Kahuna. All he had was a Diglett, and again, Red won the battle with flying colors...Quite literally.

{Why are there so many Diglett in here!?} I asked my beaten opponent, who seemed to have a better idea of it than I did. {I've never seen so many of the same Pokémon living in one place! And they're acting so...ornery! Why is that?}

"Well, ya see, there were a lot o' Diglett livin' here to begin with," he explained. "But as of recently, some o' those Team Skull thugs came along and have been riling 'em up tryin' to catch some for themselves without much luck."

{Team Skull? Oh, great...I don't want to have to face them again.}

"Well, I haven't seen 'em pass by in a while, so they might be gone by now, but keep an eye out just in case. Good news is that members of the Aether Foundation have come down over here to try and calm the chaos. Said somethin' about gettin' most of the Diglett back into their underground nest and even takin' a few back to the Aether Paradise with 'em to help control the population a bit, since there's so many."

{'Aether Foundation'?} I repeated in a hoarse craw. {What's that?}

"Never heard of it, eh? Well, it's basically an organization that helps out Pokémon in need, wild and domestic alike. They're situated on a, uh...'VLFS' a ways southwest of Akala here out into the ocean. That stands for 'Very Large Floating Structure,' I think it does...Matter o' fact, it looks like we got a few here now comin' to check up on us!"

{Huh?}

I turned around the other way to see two humans, both clad in white uniforms, heading over to us.

"Alola~!" one of them, a female, greeted. "Just making sure everything's alright over here. We heard some commotion. Any Diglett trouble?"

"Oh, no, no trouble! We just got done with a battle, izzz all!" Rotom answered for me.

"Ah. I see...Well, make sure to keep an eye out," the male of the two reminded us. "Most of the Diglett are back underground where they belong, but there are still a few bustling about here and there that we're still trying to lead over to the dens. Travel safely."

"By the way...You're that 'Echo' Trainer, right? The one that sources say washed up on the beach one day and figured out how to train Pokémon?"

{Ah, yes. That...That'd be me,} I confirmed.

"Hmm..." she nodded, a thoughtful glint in her eye. "...I assume you've been doing a good job of caring for your Pokémon?"

"Haw, lucha!" Red responded, flashing a thumbs up and a smirk.

"Seems so...Well, good luck on your Island Challenge."

The two of them turned and left.

"Hey, they were pretty nice, weren't they?" Rotom remarked once they were gone.

{I...I'm not sure why I question that. Yeah, they did, but...I don't know how to explain it, but I felt a little...uneasy about them.}

"Huh. I can't imagine why..."

{Me neither...Here, let's just see if we can make it the rest of the way out of the cave, alright? Hey, fella. Thanks for the battle."

"Anything to help strengthen a fellow Trainer! Your Pokémon...They're fantastic!"

With one more nod, I turned and followed along the path again. The smell of the surface atmosphere was growing stronger. I couldn't have been much further away from the other side of the tunnel, so I picked up just a bit more speed and readied to turn the corner ahead...

Only to find two humans in familiar-looking outfits once I made it there, and the sight of them made me skid to a halt, stopping just a couple feet away from them.

"Hey, what gives!?"

"You got a problem, yo!?"

{Oh, NO.}

"Uh-oh."

"Hey, wait..." the female skull grunt realized, eyes narrowing. "You're the fool who beat up my homie and ran him outta the clothing store back on Melemele!"

"Yo, what!? This is the Scarface chic everyone's yippin' 'n' yappin' 'bout back on the home turf!?"

{Hey, back off. We don't want anymore trouble,} I tried to reason with them, raising my clawed hands a bit in defense.

"Dang...She ugly. Never seen anything so darn ugly in my life! What is she, some kind o' sewer mutant that crawled out o' the depths of the Distortion World?"

"Hey! You busterzzz back off! If you think she's ugly, how about you take a look at the people in the mirror!?"

"And I'm guessin' you're that wise-crackin' PokéDex she's always got floatin' around, talkin' for her because she can't even speak for herself," the female grunt sneered. "I'd like to take my shoe to your screen and run it into the dirt, how 'bout I do that?"

Rotom flinched at the threat and zipped behind me, looking pretty shaken. That was the tipping point for me, though, and I got up into her face and let out a long and angry hiss. The two thugs stepped back some, but only for a moment before regaining their overconfidence.

"Hey, come on, dude! There's two of us and only one o' her! We can take her on, no biggie, and then make off with her whole team!"

"Yeah! Yo come on, let's check this fool."

They both drew their Poké Balls, and I hastily dug for another one of my own as Red made another one of his fighting poses.

"Hey! Echo!"

Another voice caught my attention, and another human came running up the path to meet me.

{Hau? Is that you?}

"Aue! I was wonderin' who you were playin' around with without me, and it's Team Skull! How'd you get tied up with these street punks again!?"

{I just sorta ran into them here. People say they riled up the Diglett living in here and that's why they're all over the place.}

"And you're the kid who's been taggin' along with her on your lil' Island Challenge, ain'tcha!?" the male grunt pointed out.

"Heck yeah, I am! And we'll beat you just as well as we did the last two who tried to tussle with us!"

"Nice knowin' you two, then! Salandit, let's fight!"

"A'ight, Fomantis, you know the drill! Take 'em down!"

They released their Pokémon, and they each growled up at me.

"What? You guys are still usin' nothing but prevolves?" Hau mocked. "I've a mind to send out my Brionne against you two, but just for the sake of balance, I'll use my OWN first-stage Pokémon to fight you. Besides, you guys are SO dead either way...Hey, Echo. Wanna see what I got in Ten Carat Hill?"

{I'd love to.}

"I figured you would."

He pulled out a somewhat peculiar-looking Poké Ball; it was black with green spots instead of red or blue with a white bottom.

"Alright! Let's show 'em what we're made of, Noibat!"

The Pokémon emerged, revealing itself to be a small, but determined-looking little Flying-Type, with very large ears and membranous wings like those of the Charizard we flew on.

"Noi!" it squealed.

{Interesting. Let's hope it helps us snag the win...Alright, Red, you know what to do.}

"Rucha..." he snarled at the offenders.

"You take on the Salandit and I'll pick off the Fomantis," Hau suggested, to which I nodded in agreement. "Give it your Screech, Noibat!"

{Red! Aerial Ace!}

Hau's newly acquired Noibat emitted a high and shrill scream at the enemy Fomantis, so loud that it almost hurt my ears, and Red took to the air and made his wings glow, readying to swoop down and land the attack on the Salandit.

"Ember! Before it hits ya!" the grunt ordered his Toxic Lizard Pokémon, which began to fire up the flames in its mouth.

But it readied its attack a bit too late. Red had already honed in for the attack when he said it, and by the time it'd finished firing up its Ember, my Hawlucha had dove down with spread wings and struck the opponent square in the chest, sending him flying backward and landing at the grunt's feet.

The Fomantis fared even worse. One screech attack was more than enough to disorient it and lower its guard immensely, and Hau ordered a Wing Attack from his swift and agile Noibat. That paired with the fact that the move was super effective made the Fomantis fall flat on its back upon being hit by the wing, and it didn't look like it'd be getting up again.

As for the Salandit, it took just one more Aerial Ace to take it down for good. I didn't even have to order the attack; Red was skilled enough to know what to do himself, and it downed the enemy Pokémon easily.

I was pretty confused by just how shocked the Team Skull grunts were at their loss. What did they expect to happen if they sent out Pokémon like THAT against us?

"You know," Hau suggested, smirking a bit. "Since we won the battle, why don't WE make off with YOUR Pokémon?"

"No way, you can't do that! That ain't fair!" the female grunt protested, picking up her downed Fomantis before returning it to its confines.

"All's fair in love and war."

{We can do that?} I asked, Rotom seeming a little perturbed by the idea.

"I mean, we COULD, but that doesn't mean we SHOULD, you know? I'd rather not stoop down to the level these guys are on...Ya hear that, you two? You need to get on our level. Step up your game! Make things a challenge for us! A challenge is WAY more fun than just some easy win like this!"

"You sayin' we ain't got what it takes to put up a challenge for you two fools!?" the male grunt snarled.

"Well, what do you think izzz gonna happen if you always use low-level Poison and Grass-Types? Predictable, predictable! Zzt!"

"I'm gonna stick you in the bathtub with a toaster, how's that!?"

He backed away behind me again, and I stepped forward to confront the beaten grunts.

{If you so much as lay a finger on his screen,} I snarled, teeth bared, and Rotom too frightened to translate for me yet. {I'll make sure you never walk again.}

"Jeez...I'm surprised Kukui let you out into the streets in the first place with those kinda teeth," the female grunt taunted. "...Come on, Grunt, let's scram."

The two of them turned and made a hasty retreat.

"Uh...I-I know they're not good people, but didja have to go that far with the threatzzz?" Rotom buzzed, now calm enough to speak.

{I'm not so sure I'd really do that,} I answered him. {I just wanted them to get the message...But if they DO end up harming you or anyone else I know, like Hau here, or Lillie or the Professor, than I WILL teach them a lesson through some means...They wonder why I was let out on the streets. They've caused more trouble for people than...than I...}

"Something wrong?"

I sighed, realizing that what I was saying wasn't entirely true.

{...No. I've done some regrettable things myself back in my old home. I just haven't done anything to that extent here in Alola yet...The worst I've really done is attack that one Team Skull grunt back on Melemele, but even that's something. I need to remember to be more careful.}

"Oh...Yeah, that'zzz right. You left a mark on that guy, huh...? But you don't need to worry about that anymore, okay?"

"What? About the thing in front of the Malasada Shop that one time?" Hau asked, just to make sure he was on the right page. I nodded in response.

"Oh, yeah. That doesn't bother me anymore. We're cool, okay?"

{Yeah, I...guess you're right,} I agreed. {...You have a pretty strong Noibat. Ten Carat Hill, you said you found it at?}

"That's right! He flew down from the cave ceiling sniffin' around for the berries I had packed away. Put up a good fight, but in the end, he found himself in a Poké Ball. Good news for him is that now he gets more fresh berries than he ever could've dreamed of back in the cave! Heh heh...So what's new with you, eh?"

{Well, first off, Sassafras evolved into a Salazzle at the end of the Grass Trial, and I think Grace is ready to evolve...But she's resisting the transformation. I don't know what she'd trying to keep herself from turning into, but I'm pretty sure the only reason she wants to be an Umbreon and not something else is because of me saying I liked them. The next time this happens, I'll see if I can get her to change her mind...I'm honestly kinda curious as to what else she might become.}

"Yeah, me too. There are SO many different eeveelutions, it's hard to tell what one might aim to be...I'm gonna have some more fun takin' on some of these Diglett before I head out. Noibat might be pretty darn strong, but you can never be too prepared for the next fight, you know?"

{I do know. I'm on my way to get a fossil from Konikoni City and head on back to the Restoration Center. Good luck training.}

"Hey, good luck with your fossil-mon to be! Catch you soon!"

I headed out of the mouth of the cave and emerged on the other side into the fresh air. And there, just one turn away, was the city.

"Hey, there it izzz! Well, what are we waiting for, bucko? Let's grab a fossil and bounce back to the Fossil Restoration Center!"

{Way ahead of you, Rotom. Literally!}

"Hey! Don't leave me behind!"