Ilima was standing to greet Alex just outside the cave. He smiled and held up his hand to greet her. "Greetings, Captain Ilima here," he said with his usual salutation. He folded his arms. "As you travel around the islands of Alola, you will find captains' barricades here and there. These barricades help mark areas where particularly strong Pokemon can be found. Anyone can pass through them, of course, if they are escorted by a strong trainer." Alex nodded. So it wasn't just trial-goers who had to deal with the barricades... it was everyone. The people standing there at the barricade must be the escort. "Those attempting the island challenge can pass the barricades, so long as they clear the trials." He turned his back to her and looked at her over his shoulder. "Are you ready? Then behold the power of the captain!" He held up his hand to the person at the barricade, who pulled a panel of it out and set it aside, opening the path for her.

She stood there, looking at the barricade. That was it? He made it sound so impressive.

He turned back to her. "Voila! Your world is a little bigger. I am the only captain here on Melemele Island, meaning my trial is the only one here. Now that you cleared the trial, please inform our island kahuna, Hala!" Alex nodded. That meant returning to Iki Town for her.

Kukui leisurely walked through the newly opened path and waved to them before approaching the two. "Hey there, Alex!" Kukui called. He looked at Ilima and grinned. "Oooh, looking at the expression on Ilima's face, I'd say you cleared your first trial, yeah?"

Alex grinned back and nodded. "I did!"

He chuckled in return. "Guess I better give you a little reward... Time to learn about Z-Power. Woo!" There's that trademark "woo" of his... "Watch and learn, cousin!" He walked into the grass. A Growlithe approached, and he held out a Pokemon.

Z-Power... Alex looked at the crystal in her hand and wrinkled her nose. How does this even work? Does it give the Pokemon extra power then or something? I guess that would be why that weird pair are interested in them...

Kukui walked back to them. "Phew!" he said, wiping his forehead with his arm. "Z-Powers heap all of a trainer's feelings onto a Pokemon, yeah, which totally wears you out! Using Z-Power once per battle is all a team can handle, yeah." Alex had heard about Pokemon becoming stronger depending on their bond with their trainers... Was that what the Z-Crystals worked off of? If the Pokemon was bonded with its trainer, the crystal would amplify its attack?

"Oh, so is that why you've been looking so ragged, Professor?" Ilima asked.

Kukui broke out in his usual laugh. "No! It's like I was hit with Amnesia! I forgot that I lost Lillie somewhere on Route 3! Think you could spare some time to help me look for her, Alex?"

He lost her?! That's terrible! "Yeah... It's dangerous for her to be out there alone!"

"I can also look around where I think she might have wandered off to," Ilima said.

Kukui nodded. "Thanks, cousin. Let's split up and find her, yeah!"

Alex sighed and shook her head. How could Kukui lose her like that? That's so... irresponsible! "I hope she's okay..." she mumbled and passed through the barricade.

Route 3 was a red, stony path that curved around to the east. From where she was, she could hear wind and the sound of a waterfall. She looked up, seeing a handful of bird Pokemon flying above the incline. Where could Lillie be on this Route?

Near the bend of the path, there was a cave entrance to her right. She approached the sign at the entrance, and the sign read "Melemele Meadow". "'A paradise where the Oricorio dance'..." she read the caption aloud and looked in, seeing yellow flowers inside. "I'll check in here first," Alex said to herself and walked inside.

The first thing she saw, aside from the spreading meadow of gold, was Lillie, looking nervously about. "Nebby!" she called out. "Nebby, come back!" Ah, Nebby must have run off then... again. Alex walked up and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and sighed. "Ah... Alexandra... Nebby..." She glanced back at the meadow. "It got out of my bag again..." She gasped and turned around, then pointed across the sea of flowers. "There!" Nebby waded through the petals and disappeared into a hole in the rocky wall. "But why would it want to go in that cave...? And right after it got into so much trouble on the bridge, too... What if a wild Pokemon attacks it? It doesn't have any moves it can use to battle!"

Alex smiled kindly. "Don't worry, I'll go get it and make sure it gets back to you safely." Lillie nodded slowly, but the worry in her eyes didn't fade. Alex looked back at the wall and moved through the flowers.

Once at the hole, Alex got down onto her knees and crawled inside. The cave was cool and dim, made of gray and brown stone. "It's a little cold in here..." Alex said to herself, her breath visible. Nebby was sitting close to where she came inside, and it turned to face her. It cried out happily and bobbed towards her.

"An elusive target, indeed..." Phyco and Soliera came into view, and they both looked at Nebby. "Hmm... Soliera, test this one. I would also like to check the functionality of that Pokeball thing we tried making in the image of the device used by these Alolan people." They weren't going to try and capture Nebby, were they? "Now that we have at least succeeded in using one to capture an Alolan Pokemon specimen."

Soliera nodded. "Yes sir. I will do so at once." She held out a strange looking ball, a blue and yellow orb. She tossed it to reveal a Furfrou. Oh, she meant a battle? That's fine, then.

"Fighting together with your Pokemon... It is not something we had considered ourselves," Soliera mumbled after she was defeated.

"I see..." Phyco said after the battle. "So that is what a Pokemon battle is! I suppose there are strong trainers like yourself around, we may not need to play any great role in this endeavor."

Alex blinked. "What? What are you talking about?"

"So then we do not need to bother with the other girl, I assume..." Soliera said, turning to Phyco.

"What? What girl?"

"That one you have come to collect..." Phyco said to Alex. "You must know that it is able to warp away in an instant when threatened."

Alex nodded. "Yeah, it even saved me with that once..."

Phyco twirled his mustache. "You should remember, though, that the holes that are created when it does so leaves a path open to dangerous beings." The two did their square wave and left.

Alex watched the two walk away. What did they mean? 'Leaves a path open to dangerous things'? What kind of beings were they talking about. Alex sighed, feeling they always left her with something confusing, and looked down at Nebby. "Come on, let's take you back to Lillie."

"Oh, you!" Lillie huffed once Nebby was before her again. Nebby let out a confused cry, as though it didn't understand why she was upset. She sighed in relief and looked at Alex. "Thank you, Alexandra." She smiled. "And I should thank your Pokemon, too. Here, let me at least do this..." She took Potions from her bag and healed them all. "You know, I read something interesting in a book once... It seems the Pokemon called Oricorio changes appearances by feeding on the nectar from different types of flowers. It's not actually evolving but undergoing a so called "form change". Isn't that interesting? I thought it was, anyway..."

"No, that is, actually," Alex said, looking back at the meadow. She had encountered at least one Oricorio, and it was the same yellow as the flowers. Did they change color with the different flowers, too?

"Back in the bag, please, Nebby," Lillie said, opening the bag and kneeling down. "I know there aren't many people around to see you here, but that's hardly an excuse! And I guess we should be going now..." Nebby crawled inside and Lillie zipped the bag closed. "The professor will probably be worried after the way we just disappeared on him." She stood up and the two girls left the meadow.

"He-e-ey, Alex!" Hau called out, running towards the two at the meadow's entrance. "Oh, and Lillie's with you, too!"

"What are you up to, Hau?" Lillie asked.

Hau flashed her a huge smile. "Just finished up my trial! Heh! Hey, Alex! I wanna see if I really learned anything from my trial. Let me battle you again!"

Alex blinked. "Right now?" she asked, and he tossed his Pokeball while she was in the middle of the sentence. "Guess so then..."

Hau put his hands on his hips. "So you and me both beat that Totem Pokemon, huh, Alex?" Hau asked after the battle. "Looks like we're getting pretty strong! And I'm not stopping now. I'm gonna use this momentum to beat my old gramps, too!"

Alex smiled back. "We are getting strong. I'll keep going too, so you better keep up with me, Hau!"

"Hey there Alex! Knew I could count on you, yeah!" Kukui called out and walked up to the group. "Thanks for tracking Lillie down for me!" He glanced at Hau. "What's this then? Hau, you finished your first trial, too? I bet you used some stylin' moves, yeah?"

Hau grinned and put his hands behind his head. "Heh heh, yeah... All thanks to Popplio!"

Kukui put his hands on his hips, taking one of his usual stances. "Hala's probably rubbing his hands together in glee right about now, oh yeah!"

"What do you mean?" Lillie asked.

"Yeah, why?" Alex added. Was it just to celebrate his grandson clearing his first trial?

"It's all part of the trials, yeah?" Hau said, redirecting to the girls. "After you clear one island's trials, you gotta battle that island's kahuna!"

"Taking on the island kahuna in battle is called the grand trial!" Kukui explained. "For someone like me who's researching Pokemon moves, nothing could be better than the chance to see some more fierce Pokemon battles! Woo!"

"Oh." Alex remembered how terrified she once felt at the idea of facing Hala... now it didn't seem nearly as daunting. Hala would be a challenge, no doubt, but she had far more confidence that she could win.

"I don't know about fierce..." Hau mumbled.

"I'll be the judge of that!" Kukui boasted. "Come on! Back to Iki Town!" He waved to the group. "Catch that Tailwind and blast through Route 3!" Hau ran off first, followed after by Kukui and Lillie.

"A grand trial, huh?" Alex said to herself. A battle with Hala. She looked down at her bag and smiled. "I can do it. I can win!"

She continued along the route, following the curving path. The sound of the waterfall got closer as she moved along the narrowing stone walls. A wooden bridge spread across the gap between the peaks, the other side returning back to grass and dirt. Alex paused on the bridge, looking up at the thin waterfall pouring down the face of the peak. "Wow..." Even a small one, it was pretty. She had never seen a waterfall before, and she never knew how the sound of roaring water could be soothing. "I can only imagine what a big one sounds like..." She smiled, took a picture with Rotom, and continued along the path.

She stopped at a guide post and looked at the arrows. Iki Town was just down the path... She had made a full circle around the island! She took a deep breath and continued. Hala would be ahead... and the final trial would take place.