Alex marched towards the winding path of Route 10. Before she could go too far, a woman stopped her. "My eight Stufful have run off along this route... Could you help me? Just tell them to come back to me if you see one."

Alex shrugged. "I don't see why not." Eight Stufful, though? Why so many? Still, she could understand why the woman would ask for help; Alex would be also be distressed if her Pokemon wandered off and she couldn't find them. The woman thanked Alex, and the girl began to walk down the path.

She slowed down, looking up cautiously at the top f a tree that was shaking. "Uh..." She approached it with caution. It had to be a Pokemon, right? Once she was close enough, a Fearow flew out of the leaves towards her!

"Well that was startling!" Alex snapped, putting her hands on her hips once she chased the Pokemon off. She glared up at the tree, which was now still and calm. She let out an annoyed sigh and continued on.

After scouring the route, Alex returned to the woman at the beginning of the trail. "Oh! You, child!" the woman called out when she saw Alex coming. Her eight Stufful were crowded at her feet. "All my Stufful have made it back, thanks to you!" She smiled happily. "You've been a great help to me here. I surely do owe you, my young friend. Have this Muscle Band from me, as a token of my appreciation." She held out the item, and Alex took it with a thank you. "Cute and strong and just a little bit wild... That's what a Pokemon should be like! And that's why Stufful is the best."

"'Cute and strong and just a bit wild', huh?" Alex grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I can agree to that." She waved and resumed her journey down the trail, towards the hill.

When she reached the end of the trail, where it began to wrap up the mountain. At the base stood a bus stop sign, and at the bus stop stood... two Team Skull members. Alex groaned to herself and approached the bus stop.

One of them turned when they heard her. "What? You never see somebody take a bus stop to go before?"

The second turned. "Hey yo! You trying to steal our bus stop? Best go find your own, ya heard?!"

Alex rolled her eyes. "But it's not even yours!"

"Dang, I lost?" The second turned to the first member. "Then my homie's gotta fight you. That's just life in Team Skull."

"We stand up to even the strong, yo! We stand up, but not for long, yo!" the first replied.

"Yo, think about the bus drivers! If we take this stop, they can all chill!" the second said.

Alex rolled her eyes again. "That's not how that works..."

The two shrugged. "Oh, I'm over this! Back to livin' large at the mansion!" The pair ran off, finally leaving the stop alone.

"Alex!" Kukui called out and walked up to her. "What's going on? Some Team Skull punks just ran passed me going in the other direction, yeah? I sure wish they'd challenge the League instead of getting up to no good all the time..."

Alex cocked her head to the side. "'The League'?"

Kukui chuckled. "You'll find out soon enough! Just you wait, cousin." He turned to face the bus stop. "But first things first. If you want to head up Mount Hokulani, we should take the bus. It'll blast us up there to the top, yeah, as quick as Sky Uppercut!" He walked over to the stop, and she joined him.

After a short while, a bus with an Exeggutor sign over the windshield drove up. Alex and Kukui walked over to the door to board it. ""You are welcome aboard the Exeggutor Express!" a voice over the intercom said. "Our safe driving record will absolutely slay you! Come on, come on, climb in!" Alex and Kukui climbed up the steps and each took a seat on the bus.

Once they reached the top of the hill, the bus pulled up to the entrance of a building and stopped. Alex and Kukui both stepped off the bus, and Alex looked up at the building.

"Over here!" Alex looked back and saw Kukui waving to her. She approached him, glancing at the railing that separated the road from the cliff. "Mount Hokulani is the second tallest mountain in Alola," Kukui started when she stopped beside him. "And the tallest..." He looked up and pointed to the mountain in the distance. "Check it out, Alex! You see that jutting, majestic peak over there? That's Mount Lanakila, the highest place in Alola! It's a sacred spot, yeah, the closest you can ever get to the Legendary Pokemon of Alola, said to be the moon incarnate." He grinned. "That's it! Right there! On the peak of Lanakila! That's where I'll establish our Pokemon League!"

Alex looked up at him, then back to the mountain in the distance. She remembered that Iki Town held Pokemon battles to honor Tapu Koko, so was it a similar case?

"We'll get everybody who's finished their island challenges, yeah, and up there on the peak of Mount Lanakila, they'll battle against the kahunas to become the island challenge champion! I've always valued our traditions here in Alola, but it's time to make a champion the world will recognize! It's time to get our own Elite Four and make our own Pokemon League!" He grinned and put his hands on his hips. "To think that, someday, the kiddos in Alola will be able to go from being the island challenge champion to the world champion! And then, when we have our own champion, they can show the rest of the world what's so special about Alolan Pokemon and their trainers, yeah!"

Alex stared up at him, her eyes wide. Was there so such thing as a WORLD champion? She knew each region had its own Elite Four and champion, but was there really something beyond that? "Uh... thanks, Professor." They waved to each other, and Alex wandered off to explore the area.

There wasn't much to look at, except for cliffs and Mount Lanakila in the distance. She looked at the observatory and shrugged. That was the reason they came up here for, wasn't it? She walked over to the building and saw a man standing outside the doors.

Kukui had walked up beside her. "Hey there!" he said to the man outside the doors.

The man gave Kukui a small smile. "You're still fired up as ever, eh, "Royal"?"

Kukui laughed and turned to Alex. "Ha! Alex, lemme introduce you. This is Molayne. He runs the observatory here and also manages PC boxes, but he's not Hokulani's captain."

Molayne shook his head. "But I was the captain once, my masked friend." Alex glanced at Kukui through the corner of her eye. What, not denying it this time? "It's Alex, right?" Alex blinked, looked ahead of her, and nodded. "Thanks for coming all the way up to Hokulani to visit us. Our Captain Sophocles is a rather busy young man, I'm afraid. Always calculating comets' paths or updating that Festival Plaza thing of his..."

"Jeez, that sounds like math way beyond my comprehension..." Alex mumbled to herself.

"If you want to be introduced to the Masked Royal, though..." Molayne continued. "Well, that's something I could definitely help you with right here and now."

Alex blinked. "What?"

"Yeah, I think she's even stronger than we were at this point of our island challenge!" Kukui said to Molayne. "One more thing, cousin- the name's Kukui! Who's this Masked Royal you're talking about?!" Alex rolled her eyes. Oh. There it is. "Just... think about that favor I asked you, yeah, Molayne? I want you to seriously consider it." He paused. "I guess I should head back to Malie Garden. Even Hau should be done eating malasadas by now, yeah?"

"If that stomach of his even has a bottom..." she mumbled again to herself.

"I'll make sure he makes it up here, too." Kukui turned and boarded the bus.

Molayne chuckled. "That guy's as interesting as ever. My old buddy! Here's a little something to remember our meeting by, Alex!" He held out a crystal in his hand.

Alex stared at it. "Wait, isn't this...?" She took the crystal and looked at it, turning it in her fingers. It definitely was a Z-Crystal. "But I haven't done anything..."

"Behold!" Alex jumped. Molayne moved, showing her the Z Crystal's moves. "Cutting sharpness! Unyielding power! Yes, this move has them both! And it is what you need to know to draw forth the Steel type Z-Power. I gathered these Z-Crystals when I was on my own island challenge back in my own day, adventuring with Kukui and my Pokemon in search of strength. You should go ahead and use it now." He took a step to the side. "Now go inside and tour our observatory as you like! And if you're ready for the real trial, Captain Sophocles can be found in the head's office!"

Alex nodded. "Thanks!" She pulled open the door and walked inside, Molayne following after her.

In the lobby of the observatory was a group of Charjabugs and a Togedemaru. "Hokulani Observatory can view distant planets and galaxies," Molayne explained. "With the help of Pokemon like Togedemaru and Charjabug, of course!" The Togedemaru cried happily.

"I guess it's time to feed you guys!" he called out to the Bug Pokemon. They buzzed excitedly. With how many there were, it seemed he would be busy, so she went further inside.

In one of the rooms in the hall, Alex saw a boy standing by a machine that looked like it had to di with tracking star movement. "You're getting close to your goal..." the boy said. "I imagine you must've come here to attempt the trial, huh?"

"O-oh, sorry!" Alex rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "That is why I am, though..."

The boy, Sophocles, turned to face her, but his eyes were casted to the floor. "So... Uh... Where are the Charjabug?"

Alex blinked. "Oh, um... I guess it's their dinnertime? Molayne said it was time to feed them."

"Oh, they're eating... Right." Sophocles nodded. "The Charjabug are real gluttons, you know. The Charjabug help me out with my trial, so can you go get them all for me?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, of course!"

I'll have to get everything else ready while you do that..." he said, more to himself. "I'm gonna have to get Togedemaru's help, too. This'll be my first time testing it..." He looked up at her. "S-so it would be a huge help if you would go call all the Charjabug for me!"

Alex smiled. Sophocles seemed nervous; perhaps he was new as a Captain? "Of course, I'll be right back!" She left the room and returned to the lobby, only to find it empty of Pokemon and Molayne. "Oh. Maybe they're outside?"

Molayne was right outside the door, and he turned when he heard her leave the building. "There you are! The Charjabug are all fed and happy!" At his feet were the Charjabug, and one cried happily. Molayne looked down at them, then folded his arms. "Hm? Let's see..." He paused. "I'm only counting six! They're not all here yet!"

"Is there something wrong?" Alex asked.

"I'm sorry, Alex, but do you think you could go find the remaining Charjabug?" Molayne asked. "We're missing only three. They should still be eating in that empty lot by the bus station."

Alex nodded. "Yeah, of course!" She ran over to the empty lot that stood beside the bus stop.

The only thing that was in the tiny lot was a wooden fence, dirt, and some dry bushes. "Okay, where are you..." Alex mumbled, squatting down to look in the bushes. As expected, there was a Charjabug there. "There's one," she said, and the Pokemon came out from the bush. She checked the other bushes, but she only found one other of the Bugs. She stood up and looked around the lot. The third one wasn't there!

Molayne walked into the lot. "How's it going, Alex? Didja find all those Charjabug?"

Alex shook her head and frowned. "No... Unfortunately, I could only find two of them."

Molayne looked over at the two Charjabug that sat near the fence. "Oh, seems like Sevenjabug is missing... It always wanders off to strange places."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "'Sevenjabug'?"

"Hm? Oh, we call the nine Charjabug by their nicknames! Onejabug all the way to Ninejabug.

Alex stared at him blankly. Those were... kind of lame names.

Molayne rested his chin in his hand, looking at the Pokemon in thought. Alex looked around the area. At least the area around the observatory was pretty small.

It didn't take long for Alex to find the missing Pokemon. The Charjabug was near the bus, staring up at the driver. "There you are!" Alex said, running over to it. It looked up at her. "We were looking all over for you!"

Molayne heard her. "Oh, Sevenjabug, there you are!" he said when he arrived. "Thanks for finding him, Alex! Now, we should get back to Sophocles. No doubt he's been craning his neck like an Exeggutor waiting for us!"

"Yeah, probably." The boy did seem anxious about the trial. She figured if she were in his position, she wouldn't be able to sit still.

Molayne led the Pokemon back into the building, and Sophocles was waiting for them eagerly in the hall. "You gathered those Charjabug quickly... I knew there was something special about you," he said, looking at the Charjabug gathered at Alex's and Molayne's feet. Sophocles pased, then looked down the hall. There was a room with a colored door down the all that was framed with the trial pillars. "So, over there... That's the room where we have the trial." The three and Pokemon walked over to the pillars. There was an electronic panel on one of the pillars. "Switching off the security system!" Sophocles called out, tapping on the panel. The colored doors slid open, and the boys, Charjabugs, and Togedemaru all made their way inside.

Alex took in a deep breath. "All right, let's do this." She followed them inside.

Inside the room was a grid on the floor, where the Charjabug were gathering. Molayne and Sophocles stood around the grid, and three Charjabug were standing on it. "Onejabug, Twojabug, and Threejabug are all on board the Roller... Yes! We should be ready for them to lend us their electricity, eh, Soffy?"

Togedemaru stood by the remaining Charjabug. The two looked over at the Pokemon near the corner of the room. "Togedemaru and Charjabug get along very well," Sophocles said. "We use Togedemaru's Ability, Lightning Rod, to absorb any sudden surges from Charjabug so we don't get zapped!" Alex nodded. That made sense; it was for safety reasons. "Oh, and by the way, we gave Togedemaru a nickname- Togemaru!" Alex internally sighed. These nicknames, though...

Sophocles looked at Alex. "So, do you want to begin my trial, Alex?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready!"

"Wow, you're really into this... Okay, let me explain how my trial works." Sophocles directed her towards the grid. "First, you need to connect the Charjabug that are on the Roller. We'll use the electricity from the Charjabug to power up the machine..." He pointed to a giant Vikavolt made of metal that was above them, and the cables connected to it were also connected to the grid. "That should let us call the Totem Pokemon.

"Use the four buttons on the edges of the Roller to rotate the panels, and connect the Charjabug in a line."

"Just as an example, this is what happens when you rotate the panels." Molayne pressed one of the buttons on the grid. Four of the panels moved, and one of the Charjabugs were moved back.

"You don't need to worry about which way the Charjabugs are facing, so long as they're connected in a line," Sophocles continued. "Let me summarize: we connect the Charjabug to summon the Totem Pokemon, which you will hopefully defeat. Also, as a side note, this is the first time we're using the two machines, the Roller and the Pinger. So let's get this trial going, okay? My trial is about to begin!"

Alex nodded and turned her attention to the Roller. So that was why he was so nervous... It was a new method to summon the Totem Pokemon. At least it sounded like they would all be safe with Togedemaru in the room. "So it's a puzzle, huh..." She walked over to one of the buttons and began to move the Charjabugs.

Once she moved them into a line, the Roller rolled them in between two of the buttons. "Now we're ready to power up the Pinger!" Sophocles called out. He pressed a button near the Pinger. The three Charjabugs sparked with electricity, and the electricity from them was carried through the cables to the Pinger. "Yes... It's working... The electricity from the linked Charjabugs is moving along the cable..." The Pinger itself because to spark between its mandibles, and a green light lit up on its backside.

The three stared at the Pinger. "It's actually working..." Sophocles mumbled, staring wide eyed at the machine. "The Pinger is getting a good dose of power! Now... the Totem Pokemon should be here any minute!"

A Pokemon cry suddenly filled the room. Alex looked back and saw...

An Elekid.

"Ah, of course. Elekid loves electricity, too. It must have been tempted out by the Pinger," Sophocles explained once Alex managed to chase it away.

"We didn't call the Pokemon we wanted, but it seems like the Pinger works just fine," Molayne said to Sophocles. "So what now, Soffy?"

Sophocles shook his head. "I think one row of Charjabug isn't giving enough electricity..." he said thoughtfully. "If that's the case, all we need to do is add another circuit!" He ran over to the grid, led three more Charjabug onto the grid, then back to the button for the Pinger. "If my theory is correct, this should let us pump more power into the Pinger! So, my trial will continue, Alex!" Alex nodded and returned to the grid.

Alex easily moved the panels to make another line of Charjabugs. The three were rolled between the bottom two buttons. "Now we're ready to power up the Pinger!" Sophocles said and hit the button. The electricity flowed from the Roller to the Pinger, and the metal Vikavolt sparked again. "Yes, we're getting much more power than on our last try!" Another Pokemon cry filled the room, and this time it was...

"Hm... Electabuzz," Molayne said. "It seems like the more power we pump into the Pinger, the bigger Pokemon it attracts. This is amazing, Soffy!"

"If that's the case, let's give it some more power! That'll definitely summon the Totem Pokemon! The more Charjabug we connect in a direct line, the greater the electrical current that is generated, and the longer it flows..." Sophocles nodded. "So that means-!" He ran over to the Roller and added three more Charjabug. "I've got it, Alexandra! Actually, I think you've got it already, too. So my trial will continue to continue!"

Alex returned to the Roller and moved the Charjabugs once again.

"Okay, Alex... The Charjabug are all connected. Everything should be good now," Sophocles said. "Now we're ready to connect the Roller with the Pinger!" Sophocles hit the button once again, and the electricity flowed through the Charjabugs, through the cables, and to the Pinger. The Pinger shook aggresively, with sparks flying out of several different parts of its body.

"Um, the cables are looking a little unstable... I hope it doesn't cause a problem..." Sophocles' voice lost all of its previous confidence.

The metal Vikavolt shook more violently, the green, yellow, and red lights on its back flashing. The cables suddenly flew off the metal Pokemon, which turned the opposite direction and now faced the Roller.

"Oh no... The Charjabug will get blasted with electricity if we don't do something!" Sophocles cried.

The Vikavolt continued to shake, the electricity sparking in its mandibles, bigger and brighter than before. The electricity shot out from the Pinger, darting towards the Charjabug on the Roller. Alex hid her face in her hands, bracing herself for the worst. She could hear the crackle of the electricity, but the cries of the Charjabugs never came. She peaked between her fingers.

"T-Togemaru! What are you doing?!" Sophocles cried. The Togedemaru that was in the room had jumped in front of the bolt of electricity before it could hit the Charjabugs. "Are you trying to save everyone?!"

Alex gasped, watching as every spark was flying directly towards Togedemaru. "Togedemaru's Ability is Lightning Rod. It can attract electricity to itself," Molayne explained, though his voice was heavy with worry. "But... the current is too strong! There's no way Togedemaru's electric sacs can handle all of it!"

"What can I do, what can I do?!" Alex dug into her bag, frantically looking for an item or any of her Pokemon that could help, but there was nothing that would be able to help.

"Togemaru, hang in there!" Sophocles shouted desperately. He looked between the Pinger and its controls frantically. "Agh, I-I-I gotta do something!"

The sound of a crash shortly overwhelmed the crackling of the electricity. Alex looked up and saw a huge Togedemaru was standing on the pipes above their heads. It jumped down, intercepting the electricity that was striking Togemaru. The Pinger's attack stopped, and it now swayed silently.

The giant Togedemaru glared at Alex and cried out at her. Was this the Totem Pokemon?!

Sophocles let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thanks, Alex!" he said, once she defeated the Totem Pokemon. He looked over at the Pokemon gathered near the grid. "Togemaru and company... They were saved by the Totem Pokemon." He paused. "The Totem Pokemon is really something else! And that means you're one heck of a trainer to have beaten that Totem, Alex!"

Alex chuckled nervously. "Oh.. thanks! That Totem Pokemon really did save the day though, didn't it?"

"I'm curious, though. What is that aura that the Totem Pokemon surround themselves with?" Molayne mused.

"I need to work on the Totem-calling machines, though... Togemaru, and Onejabug and company- they're all my precious friends." Sophocles looked wearily at the Pinger.

"You've got that right, Soffy. Finding things that you notice, even little things, and improving on them... That's how science works," Molayne said encouragingly. "Come to think of it, that's how Pokemon battles work, too!"

Sophocles looked down thoughtfully, then walked over to Alex. "Here, Alex. I'll give you this Electrium Z to reward you for beating the Totem Pokemon." He held out the crystal to her, and she took it with a smile.

"Thanks, Sophocles!"

"Come on, Soffy- you still need to show her the proper Z-pose to use it!"

Sophocles paused. "Watch," he mumbled reluctantly. He did the pose and frowned, as though he was embarrassed.

"Congratulations on clearing your trial! And Sophocles did well as captain, too," Molayne said cheerfully.

"I was really nervous..." Sophocles mumbled, furrowing his eyebrows.

Alex nodded to herself. So she was right when she thought that he was new to the responsibilities of a captain, not just the machine.

Molayne nodded. "Don't you worry. I'm sure that I made the right choice in naming you captain, even if you are my cousin." Sophocles smiled, making Alex smile as well. Molayne seemed like a really nice guy.

"Usually it's the island kahuna who appoints the captains," Molayne explained. "But there are some, er, unusual circumstances here on Ula'ula."

"So I somehow ended up as captain..." Sophocles continued. "But you were really great, Alex."

"Well, if you're done here, Alex... could I ask you to do a favor for me?" Molayne asked, and Alex nodded. "My pal Kukui seems to have forgotten this." He handed her... the Masked Royal's mask.

Alex took the mask and sighed. She was sure that once she handed it over to the Professor, he would continue to deny that the Masked Royal was him...

"He said he'd be going back to Malie Garden, didn't he? Sorry to ask, but take it to him, would you?"

"Yeah, of course." Alex put the mask in her bag.

"Maybe next time we can battle, too..." Sophocles said softly.

Alex looked at him and smiled. "I'd like that, Sophocles. I'll be sure to come back, okay?"