"Nosepass! Show them what you're made of!"

{Kick this off with Hone Claws, Red!}

My Hawlucha landed elegantly on the ground before me, facing off against the enemy as it materialized midair and fell to the ground with an audible "THUD."

"Pass..."

Having already received his first command, Red slid his claws against one another to sharpen them, not attacking just yet. But Olivia saw it as a chance for her to take advantage, and she went in for it.

"Thunder Wave! Maybe we can paralyze it!"

The strange-looking Rock-Type sent out a sputtering jolt of electricity our way, too fast for Red to avoid, and the attack hit him head on...

But he simply shook the Thunder Wave off as if it were nothing, then smirked confidently at the opponent.

"Oh! Thunder Wave doesn't work!" Rotom announced. "Red'zzz ability must be Limber, then! It prevents paralysis!"

{That's good news,} I responded. {Alright, Red! Go in for Karate Chop!}

He kicked off of the ground and into the air, claws glowing red, and shot down towards the opponent at blinding speed. The collision kicked up a massive amount of dust, and through the cloud, I could see the enemy Nosepass. The attack had done a number on it, but it was still standing.

"Use Spark!"

The Rock-Type charged up again, the electric energy now engulfing its entire body, and it charged at my idle Hawlucha at an alarming speed for something so clumsy-looking.

{Counter with another Karate Chop!}

I was a moment too late. Right when he'd finished firing up his attack, the opponent slammed into him, sending him hurdling across the field. It did some damage, but not enough to down him; Red pushed himself back up and brushed off the dust from his feathers before making another intimidating pose.

"Cha!"

"Try your Rock Slide, Nosepass!"

{Take to the air again, Red! And hone in as close as you can to finish it off!}

The Wrestling Pokémon spread his wings and became airborne on my command, and Olivia's Nosepass started hurling enormous boulders into the air out of nowhere, and they started to fly towards him. He weaved through two, flew over another, barrel-rolled to dodge a forth, and then did the same in the other direction to avoid the next, and then performed a corkscrew to display his skill as he readied to dive beneath the last rock...

Only to get his timing off, and the boulder fell overtop of him as it came careening towards the ground.

He squawked in agony as the rock crashed into the earth on top of him, and then he went limp. Had he fainted?

"Cha...Ru-CHA!"

As suddenly as he'd been struck by the rock, it was in pieces. He'd used his Karate Chop to destroy it, just like we'd done during Mallow's Trial.

Although his fighting spirit still burned, it was obvious that he wouldn't be able to take anymore attacks very well.

{Don't mess around!} I called to him. {We can save that for another battle! Focus! Use Karate Chop one more time!}

He looked back at me, seemingly unamused, then stood tall and spread his wings one more time.

"Use Spark again, Nosepass! Maybe we can finish him off first!"

The enemy fired up its Electric-Type attack again and started to charge, but by the time it was close enough to strike, Red had successfully prepared his finishing move.

"Haw...Lu..."

He drew back his glowing hand, and then...

"CHA!"

He struck his target right in the center of its giant red nose.

The Nosepass flew over the battlefield towards its Trainer and landed on its side. And it wasn't getting back up.

She returned the Pokémon, then pulled out her next fighter.

"If Nosepass wore your Hawlucha down, wait until you see what else I have in store!"

She called out her second Pokemon, and it materialized on the ground, emitting a sort of scratching noise of a battle cry.

It actually looked a bit like a Wimpod, but with a few notable differences, such as its two longer front appendages, the four red-tipped wings it had coming out on each of its sides and the black and red accents on its exoskeleton plates instead of grey and purple.

{Huh...Interesting Pokemon. What kind is it, Rotom?}

"Allow me!"

He zipped around the creature, and it looked at him curiously with its big, round eyes.

"Scanning...Scanning...Scan complete!

"Anorith: The Old Shrimp Pokémon! Said to be a Bug-Type Pokémon progenitor, it uzzzed its eight wings to swim through the ancient ocean, and it was surprisingly quick! However, they wouldn't survive as well in the ocean today, since the water composition has drastically changed since then. Huh...But by the lookzzz of it, I guess they don't do so bad on land, either! Bzzrt!"

{Ancient oceans...So, is it a Fossil Pokemon?}

"That it is! If you'd chozzzen the Claw Fossil instead of the Jaw Fossil, you'd have one, too. Crazzzy, huh?"

{That is crazy,} I agreed. {...But it's not what happened, is it?}

"Alright, Anorith! Smack Down! That ought to finish it off!"

{Use Roost!}

Red took a knee and started to recover his lost health. But by the time he was finished, the rock launched by the enemy was too close to dodge.

Fortunately, it didn't do quite as much as any of us anticipated. But Red was not only battered, but losing energy. The fire in his eyes was slowly dying, his fervor for the battlefield draining as he became more exhausted with each move. And Potions didn't recover energy as much as they healed wounds.

I pulled out his capsule, and he turned to me, shaking his head, insisting that he still had enough in him to take on one more opponent. But it was clear that he didn't.

{Return, Red, } I said to him as he was sucked back into his Poké Ball. {You did well enough.}

As I stored him away, I pulled out my own second fighter and tossed his ball in the air.

{It's gonna be Fossil against Fossil, Olivia!} I announced, Rotom staying quiet as to not spoil the surprise. {Tyrunt! Time to shine!}

The Royal Heir Pokémon formed from the red light before its opponent, and gave out his best roar to scare his opponent. But the enemy Anorith simply narrowed its gaze at us.

"Think we didn't come unprepared for enemy Rock-Types?" Olivia remarked. "Anorith! Show them your Metal Claw!"

With that, the creature started to make its way across the field. I was impressed by how fast her Nosepass was, but THIS? If it was this fast on land, I was scared to see just how fast it was in the water where it used to dwell.

{Tyrunt! Roll off to the side and stun it with Stomp!}

{Will do,} he growled back, a faint indication of a smile on his jaws.

Anorith might have been fast on its wings and claws, but Tyrunt had one thing it didn't: well-developed legs. And he used those legs to push himself off to the side just as his opponent was about to slash him with its steely-glowing claws, then to push himself back and slam his foot down right on top of the Anorith's head. The creature seemed to emit a surprised squeak as it was struck, and stayed put after the impact, completely dazed.

{Now's our chance! Use Bite!}

He opened his mouth and bore his teeth, readying the attack...

And then, all of a sudden, his fangs started to glow white!

{His teeth are glowing...What is that, Rotom?}

"I'll tell ya what it izzz! It looks like our buddy Tyrunt just learned the move Crunch!"

{Crunch?}

"It's like Bite, but a LOT more powerful! Zzt!"

Olivia looked as though she was about to call out another attack, but before she could give her Anorith another command, Tyrunt let out a snarl, then clamped down onto the Anorith's middle. Again, the enemy Fossil Pokémon let out a suppressed shriek, and he thrashed his head about with it in his jaws and finally tossed it back to its Trainer. It landed on its back, exposing its soft underbelly, before unsteadily pushing itself back up. Tyrunt's new Crunch attack had taken a lot out of it.

{Excellent, Tyrunt!} I called out to him. {You've almost won already!}

{Just following your orders, Alpha!} he smiled back. {We've both almost won!}

{Alright, then! Finish it off with Tackle!}

With that, he started to charge at the Anorith, tail glowing and his yellow eyes focusing on his target.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Olivia called out. "Metal Claw, one more time!"

Right before I was about to order Tyrunt to dodge, he collided into the attack, and the enemy slashed him once across the legs right when he drew near enough, knocking him off balance, then dealt one to the side and one more, particularly powerful Metal Claw right to his face. He let out a bark of pain as the tough, scaly skin on the bridge of his snout broke, and his earthy brown scales began to run red.

{TYRUNT!}

He shook his head from side to side, trying to soothe the stinging pain of the gash on his face, but to no avail.

"It's distracted!" Olivia realized. "Take him down with Bug Bite!"

The enemy began to advance on Tyrunt, who was still bothered by the wound on his face.

{Snap out of it, Tyrunt!} I hollered. {Hurry! Prepare your Dragon Tail!}

{Huh...?}

{Dragon Tail! You've almost got it!}

{It hurts...Everything hurts...}

{Just this last move! I promise! Finish the job!}

Trying to ignore the pain that not only wracked his face, but now his entire form, he fired his Dragon Tail up as best he could, the light emitting from it sputtering a bit.

{Wait for it...Wait for it...}

The Anorith skittered closer, its mandibles now exposed as it prepared its attack.

{SWING!}

He grunted as he spun around and slammed his tail into the enemy as best he could. And it hit once, twice...

THREE TIMES before he stopped spinning and looked at his opponent.

The opposing Fossil Pokémon was on the ground before him, eyes closed and even more badly battered than Tyrunt.

It was down.

She returned Anorith to its Poké Ball, and I took the chance to pull out a Potion and apply it to the gaping wound on my Pokémon's face. The gap closed and the bleeding ceased, but there was still a faint tan mark indicating where the last Metal Claw had landed on his face, obstructing the darker brown scales around it.

I sighed at the sight of it; Tyrunt did bear several of my own traits, such as my eyes and build, but he didn't deserve to bear the scar. I hoped it would go away soon.

{...Did I do good?} he huffed, still fatigued from the fight.

{You did more than just 'good,' Tyrunt,} I told him. {You were amazing.}

{I was?}

"Are you kiddin', buddo!?" Rotom exclaimed. "You RULED the battlefield out there! Bzzt!"

{Yeah...He did rule the battlefield...}

The very moment I said it with my own mouth, it dawned on me.

Tyrunt...The Royal Heir Pokémon...who rules the battlefield like a...

{That's it,} I gargled.

{What's it?} he asked, looking up at me intently.

{Your nickname. I know what it should be.}

His eyes widened, and his jaw fell slightly agape in anticipation.

{You're name...} I gurgled. {...is King.}

He beamed, and proudly stood taller than ever, the white plumage on his neck puffing out as much as he was himself.

{I take it you like that?}

{I couldn't have wished for anything better,} he said to me. {...I'll live up to that name with everything I have in me.}

{I'm sure you will,} I nodded. {...But I think it wise to rest for the rest of the Grand Trial.}

{Are you sure? The Potion really helped. I think I can keep going! I don't want to stop until I drop!}

{I don't know, King. It might have healed up your face well enough, but it didn't do much else. Besides...}

I looked up to see Olivia calling out her third Pokémon.

"Your Tyrunt may have beaten Anorith, but he won't fare so well against this! Lycanroc! Come on out!"

The Pokémon materialized, and then rose from its hunched position, tilted its head up, and let out an echoing battle cry.

"Awowwwwwwrrr!"

The Pokémon was taller than either of the last two by a significant amount, and sported a white and blood-red coat of fur, immense claws on its hands and a mouthful of teeth just as sharp as King's were. This Pokémon not only looked far stronger than the ones we'd already beaten, but the glare in its scarlet eyes indicated that it meant business.

{...It looks like it actually might be a bit much for you to handle, anyways.}

Tyrunt pouted, then reluctantly stepped toward his Poké Ball.

{You do have a point, it seems...But when you have your next Trainer battle, can I go first?}

{I'll see to that.}

He nodded in satisfaction as I returned him to his capsule and pulled out a different one yet again.

{Alright, Dartrix! Take over!}

My partner formed in front of me, and he immediately spread his wings to display the blade quills he kept stored in between his feathers.

"Krrrrroooooo!"

"That's how you wanna play, is it?" Olivia asked. "Then we'll play the offensive card on both ends! Lycanroc! Use Rock Tomb!"

{Dodge and counter it with Razor Leaf!}

He flapped his wings and lifted off the ground as the rocks summoned by the enemy came flying towards him, and swerved off to the side just in time to avoid being hit, and then he extended his left wing and shot out three glowing blade quills at the Lycanroc, too swift to dodge. They struck the opponent right in the face, and it snarled as they made impact, the glow of its eyes becoming brighter.

"Use Bite! We'll whittle it down first before bringing out the big guns!"

The opponent got down on all fours and began to advance on us, jaws open and ready to attack.

{Razor Leaf, one more time!}

He fired up his blade quills again, but Olivia saw the attack ahead of time.

"Hard left! Then pick up speed!"

It narrowly evaded our attack, then honed in on Dartrix all the way, having already gotten uncomfortably close. We had no time to avoid its jaws clamping down on my partner's wing and thrashing about with it in its mouth before he was thrown off to side.

{DARTRIX!}

Before he could flap his wings and return to the air, he crashed into the side of one of the cliffs surrounding the Ruins and slid back down to the ground, his wing wet with both drool and the blood starting to leak from the bite wound.

"Kroo...Koo roo..." he hooted as he unsteadily stood back to his feet, shaking the moisture from his wing the best he could before turning back to face the enemy Lycanroc.

There was a fiery glow in my partner's glaring gaze, and it only seemed to intensify the longer I looked at it...I vaguely remembered that look, but I couldn't pinpoint when I'd seen it before.

{Razor Leaf, one more try!}

He let out a deep, ominous-sounding trill, then spread his wings and aimed his attack, the blade quills hidden in his plumage glowing ever brighter. And it was odd, but I could have sworn that they looked bigger than normal, too...

I found out why when he shot one at the opponent.

The long, thin, pointed blade quill landed right at the Lycanroc's feet, having seemed to have narrowly missed its mark. But the very next moment, it burst with energy, exploding right in the enemy's face and forming a strange, clear barrier around it. The Pokémon yipped in both pain and shock as the attack, and I stared on myself, just as bewildered as our opponent.

And it was the next moment that Dartrix landed, and the glow in his eyes grew even brighter, then began to spread over his face, then head, then down to his talons. I finally realized what was happening.

He was evolving. Again.

From beneath the white light, Dartrix grew taller still, his leafy tail fanned out, becoming bigger and longer than ever before, and the leaves on his facial disc multiplied, spreading over his head and draping over his shoulders.

The light dissipated, and there stood my newly-evolved partner Pokémon, a Dartrix no more.

"Drrrit twoooo..."

He grabbed one of the vines on his newly-formed leaf hood with the shorter feathers at the ends of his now-spotted wings, then extracted another long blade quill, set the back end of it on the vine, pulled it back, and then let go. The projectile flew at the still-stunned enemy at blinding speed, and it caused yet another explosion when it made impact.

When I unshielded my eyes from the dust that'd been scattered, I saw the enemy Lycanroc lying there in its stomach. It tried to push itself back up, only for its arm to cave in, and it fell once again, wheezing as it collapsed into a faint.

The Grand Trial was complete. We won.

"How lovely..." Olivia remarked, seeming unamused by her loss.

As the Kahuna returned her fallen Lycanroc to its ball, my avian partner turned to face me; now, he was just as tall as I was, and his now red and yellow eyes, leafy hood and dark mask of a facial disc made him a far different Pokémon from the dandy Dartrix he'd been before.

One thing was for certain, though: he looked INCREDIBLE.

{Rotom,} I chittered. {What kind of Pokémon is he now?}

"Guess that'zzz my cue to scan!"

He zipped around the Grass-Type to collect the necessary data.

"Scanning...Scanning...Scan complete!

"Decidueye: the Arrow Quill Pokémon; the evolved form of Dartrix and final form of Rowlet! It can nock and fire an arrow quill at an enemy in just a tenth of a second, and itzzz shots nearly never miss their target! Unlike its Flying-Type pre-evolved stages, Rowlet and Dartrix, Decidueye is a Grass and Ghost-Type Pokémon, so it's completely immune to Normal and Fighting-Type attacks! Bzzt! Nifty, huh?"

Decidueye straightened out his leaf bow, which was now red instead of green, and awaited my response.

I nodded in satisfaction; his new form looked better than I could have ever imagined.

{I'm proud of you, Decidueye,} I crawed. {You really are an amazing partner.}

"Dwit, dwit!"

He bowed courteously, displaying one of the arrow quills he had tucked in his wing.

{What'd he say, Rotom?}

"He said that he'll continue to make you proud in the days to come! I should agree. Such a naturally skilled archer would certainly know hizzz way around the battefield! Zzt!"

{A what?}

"An archer! Someone who fires arrowzzz and fires 'em well!"

{...That's it.}

"What's it?"

{"Archer"...How about that for a nickname, Decidueye?}

"Not very original with naming thingzzz, are ya, boss?"

{Oh, come on, Rotom. I like it. What say you, partner?}

The Arrow Quill Pokémon nodded and smiled in response. It was all the answer I needed.

{It's settled, then. That's your name!}

"Dritt dwoo!"

Archer seemed more excited simply by the fact he'd gotten a nickname at all than what it actually was. Either way, however, both of us were satisfied.

"Hm...Well...Coal must be pushed to its limit before any sparkling diamonds show through."

Kahuna Olivia stepped forward, no longer disappointed at her loss.

"Ha! Evolving mid-battle and downing my partner with Spirit Shackle...That's certainly one way to pass the Grand Trial with flying colors! You and your team really are something, Echo! Now, you wouldn't mind me seeing your Trainer Passport for a moment, would you?"

I dug the booklet out of my back and handed it to her, and watched as she got out the stamp, pressed it onto the page, and wrote down my accomplishment. She handed it back to me, and I admired the pink completion stamp before reading over the written text beside it.

"Akala Trial Completion"

"With this stamp, all Pokémon up to Lv. 50 will obey your every command."

"Aue! That was AWESOME SAUCE!" Hau cheered. "Man, she may know Icy Wind, but if I wanna step up to your game, I gotta evolve Brionne! Hey, maybe we'll get there when the team and I take on the Grand Trial ourselves! We've done all the other trials, so we could do it whenever!"

"Hmm...Perhaps when the sun shows its face again, Hau, I'll test your strength," Olivia told him. "It seems quite late at this point."

She was right; we all looked up to see that the sky had turned an inky blue-black, and the stars sparkled against it, shining nearly to their fullest. There was just a sliver of light still shining over the horizon and turning it teal, but soon it would be gone, not to return until the sun rose the next day.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Hau understood. "S'pose I should find a place to roost for the night...You wanna bunk, Echo?"

{Sounds like a plan to me,} I nodded.

"Dwit dwoo!" Archer agreed.

"And, ah...How 'bout you, Lillie? Wanna hang with us for the night?"

"Oh...Thank you, Hau," she replied. "Yes, I would. If you don't mind, at least."

"No, no, not at all!" he replied. "Let's head on out, then!"

I returned Archer to his capsule, and we all left the Ruins of Life, bound for the city.

"So, get this," Hau said to us. "Just before I met up with Echo past Memorial Hill, I ran into this weird green guy and his assistant, or intern, or somethin' like that, and helped him out of a Team Skull jam. Said he was from the Aether Foundation, and he wanted me to come to Hano Grand Resort when I finish my trial. Crazy, huh?"

I was surprised enough to not register seeing Lillie tense up out of the corner of my eye.

{Weird...The same exact thing happened to me,} I chittered curiously. {And, ah...You saw the aftermath of that battle.}

"Heh...Yep."

"Ooh, the Aether Foundation?" Olivia marveled. "I wonder what they would want with the two of you?"

"Guess there's only one way to find out!" Hau shrugged as we passed through the cemetery. "Hey, uh, Lillie. You gonna come with us there?"

"U-um, I think I'll stay here!" she answered quickly, seeming on edge. "We'll all have breakfast tomorrow, I'll watch your Grand Trial and then I'll...um...go browse the clothing stores again! Yeah! Got a to-do list for tomorrow, so..."

"Oh...Okay. Hey, at least we'll all be together tonight and tomorrow morning, right?"

I nodded at Hau, then turned to face Lillie.

{Is...something the matter?}

"Who? What? With me?" she responded, somewhat curtly. "No. Nothing's wrong. Nothing at all."

{Are you sure about that?}

"Positive. I'm just...not fond of Very Large Floating Structures, is all."

I could tell she wasn't being completely honest, but I decided not to pry into the situation anymore.

{Oh. Well...Okay,} I nodded. {Rotom. Any hotels in the area?}

"We could stay at the Tide Song Hotel for the night! It's a tad pricy, but it'zzz really the only place in Heahea City to spend the night. The good news izz that they give a discount to Trainerzzz participating in the Island Challenge! If you three pooled your moolah together, that'd probably turn out alright! Bzzrt!"

"Sounds good to me!" Hau exclaimed as he picked up speed. "Come on, let's step it up!"

{Way ahead if you, Hau!}

"Hey! You guys!" Lillie called out from behind us. "Wait!"

{Hmm...}

I skidded to a halt, and Hau did the same soon after.

{Maybe we should stay together,} I decided as she caught up to us. {I mean, the last thing I we want is to run into any Team Skull members in the dark of night. Right?}

"Ha...Yeah. No kidding," Lillie nodded nervously. "Hey. At least I know you can handle them...!"