Three: In which Hau and Ava finish their first battle, Ava investigates the Trials, and Ilima gets a taste of Kanto. Later, Plumeria gets a visitor.

"Pikachu! Use Electro Ball!"

"Shit." Ava muttered. "Jäger, use Bite!"

"GRIMER!" Jäger exclaimed, charging at the Pikachu as fast as it could (which, with a base speed of 25, wasn't very fast).

Ava didn't look, afraid of the end result. Jäger, she had learned, was a fuckin' tank when it came to taking hits. He was a decent attacker, but his crippling speed was an issue. It was pure luck that Hau's starter was a Rowlett (which did nothing to Jäger). But the Pikachu was proving to be a problem. Even though it was poisoned, it kept going.

"Pika!" Pikachu squeaked, finally succumbing to the poison. It fell down, leaving Jäger the victor.

"Aw man." Hau returned Pikachu to its Pokéball. "You're pretty good at this!" He complimented Ava. "Are you sure you've never been a trainer before?"

Ava tossed Jäger an Oran berry and shrugged. "Not something I really did in Saf-the Sevii Islands." She caught herself last minute. "But whatever. I guess this is something I'm doing now." Ava tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Probably should've gotten a haircut before I left." She muttered to herself.

Lillie, who had been watching from the safety of the café courtyard, spoke up. "There's a hair salon nearby. If you want to get it cut, I mean." She took a hesitant step forward, looking at Jäger warily. "And they can dye it too."

This caught Ava's attention. "Really?"

The blonde girl nodded. "I-I can show you." She said meekly. Guiding Ava down the street, Lillie pointed out the few shops she knew. There was a clothing shop, a beauty parlor, and the hair salon. Ava took a minute to stop in the former two; at the clothing store, she purchased a new pair of shorts and a tank top. The beauty parlor was giving out lens cases and makeup kits to first time customers, which Ava immediately took advantage of. "Green's a good color." Lillie commented, watching Ava select a new contact color. "On you, I mean. It's nice."

Ava gave Lillie a soft smile. "Thanks hun." She rooted around in the new makeup case. "Which lip color do you think would work? I don't really do makeup stuff, so I'm fuckin' clueless."

Lillie peeked into the case. "Maybe the pink?" She quietly suggested.

"Thanks." Ava applied it cautiously. "Okay, now for that hair salon." The girls exited the beauty parlor and went one shop over. Inside, Lillie helped set Ava up with a styling appointment. Ava [shamelessly] flirted with the hair stylist as the Alolan girl cut Ava's hair. Without the bun, Ava's hair fell to her mid-back. The stylist cut it to her shoulders, and dyed it a lighter, ash brown.

"This look really compliments your face." The stylist chirped, finishing the dye job. "Anything else we can do for you?"

Ava grinned at her. "Nothing with my hair, at least."

The stylist blushed. "Um, that's going to be 2,500." She walked Ava up to the front where Lillie was waiting.

Paying for her haircut, Ava was oblivious to Lillie's staring. "Ready to go?" She asked, dropping her wallet in her bag.

"Huh? Oh, yes." The blonde girl stood up quickly. "Let's go." She escorted Ava out of the building. Hau and Jäger were waiting outside, bonding over a malasada. "Now what?"

"Time to meet Ilima!" Hau exclaimed. "They're at the Marina, which is right next to the malasada shop."

Ava recalled Jäger into his Pokéball. "Let's get a move on, then." She offered her arm to Lillie, who was still a bit unsure of walking around the city. "You seem to know a lot about Hau'oli. Do you spend a lot of time here in your free time?" Ava asked, taking in the scenery.

"Hau does. I don't really like to go out." Lillie replied. Reaching the Pokémon Center, Lillie stopped to gaze out at the water. "But it is beautiful out."

Ava glanced from the sea to the girl. "You're right about that." She murmured.

Somewhere nearby, a boombox began to blast...music? Ava couldn't make out what it was, but it sounded less like music and more like kids shouting rhythmically into microphones. "Eek!" Lillie squealed. "That's...that's Team Skull!"

"Team what?" Ava asked, looking over Lillie at the source of the noise. She let go of the girl and walked forward. There were two blue-haired grunts with skull caps, rapping at a pink-haired individual.

"Ilima needs our help!" Hau exclaimed. "Come on!"

"Ah! Hau and Lillie! And...you." The pink-haired person or Ilima, as Ava assumed, greeted the trio. "Tell me, can any of you tell these ruffians to step off my territory?"

One of the rappers turned to see Ava. "Don't yo! That's a no-no! When we beat you, we're gonna get fro-yo!"

The second looked at his friend. "Wait, really?"

"Nah Ken, I just needed a rhyme." The first responded. "Do they even have fro-yo here in this lame-ass city?"

"I dunno." The second grunt, Ken, looked at the natives. "Is there fro-yo here?"

Hau frowned. "Why would we want to help Team Skull? All you guys do is rap badly and steal berries from people!"

The unnamed grunt gasped. "Ah, bro. Did you just-bro did you just say my rhymes ain't fine?" He grabbed a Pokéball from his belt. "Drowzee, come out an show these fools how we kick it, Team Skull style!"

Ava held back a laugh. "Hau, step back. I got this." She lazily tossed the Pokéball out, releasing Jäger. "Bite." She ordered.

"Griiiimer!" Jäger reached for the Drowzee, jaw open.

"Zee?" The Drowzee cried. It was down in seconds, with Jäger chewing away at its yellow skin.

Jäger soon realized that the Drowzee wasn't food. "Griiime." He turned back to Ava. Sliding over the pavement, he tugged at Ava's bag. "Grime?"

"Give me a sec." She pushed him off. "Look, Ken and Not-Ken." Ava addressed the Team Skull Grunts. "You guys can back off, 'kay? This," she paused, examining Ilima, "incredibly lovely human being doesn't need your shit."

"Fine!" Not-Ken recalled his Drowzee. "And my name is Heath! Not Not-Ken!" Heath the Team Skull Grunt dropped the microphone on the sidewalk and stormed off.

"Next time you're done-zo, son-zo." Ken said to Ava as he followed his teammate down the street.

Lillie, who was cowering behind Hau, didn't speak until the Skull grunts were well on their way to Route 2. "Wow." She said quietly. "You handled them like nothing."

Ava bent over to feed Jäger another berry. "Eh. They didn't pose that much of a threat." She stood up, brushed herself off, and turned her attention to Ilima. "Are you okay?"

The trial captain strode over to the trio. "I'm better now, thanks to you." They said, smiling at Ava. "You are?"

"Ava Moon." She stretched her hand out for Ilima to shake. "Is it safe to assume you're the Trial Captain?"

"Captain Ilima, at your service." Ilima took Ava's hand at kissed it (in a gesture that made Lillie internally cringe). "I don't suppose you're interested in challenging my trial, are you?"

That's not the only thing I'm interested in. Ava thought to herself. "Among other things." She replied. It still wasn't very smooth of a response, but Ava didn't really care. She knew her brain didn't function well around attractive people.

Ilima chuckled. "Well then." They nodded up to Route 2. "I'll meet you up at Verdant Cavern. Hau and Lillie are welcome to attend as well."

"We're going. Definitely." Lillie spoke up, shocking pretty much everyone. "We wouldn't miss Ava's trial for the world."

Route 2 was, much to Jäger's delight, filled with berry trees. The fields were bright swatches of green and filled with flowers. It was a welcome change for Ava, who had previously spent most of her time in a Saffron apartment building. The trainer-Pokémon duo battled trainers as they came upon them, but stayed away from wild Pokémon. All the while, Rotom floated around the pathway, taking photos of stray Cutieflies and the occasional Growlithe.

Lillie led the pack, walking with her head held high and Nebby bouncing beside her. This newfound courage was becoming of her, and Ava couldn't help but wonder what Lillie would be like if she was this way all the time.

And then a gust of wind blew Lillie's hat off, and that was pretty much all over.

"I got it!" Hau ran after the hat, nearly tripping over a Yungoos at one point. "Almost...got it!" Jumping forward, Hau snatched the hat out of the air. He landed (with a painful thud) in front of a wide cavern.

"Welcome to Verdant Cavern, home of the Trial of Captain Ilima." Ilima was leaning on the trial gate. "Glad you all arrived safely."

"For the most part!" Rotom buzzed, taking a snapshot of Hau crashed on the ground.

"That's enough from you." Ava said, ushering Rotom into her bag. "So, what. I have to battle inside this cave or something?" She dropped a berry into Jäger's eager mouth. "And there's a Totem Pokémon at the end I have to take on."

"Indeed." Ilima pushed themself off of the Trial gate and walked Ava inside the cave. It was dark and musty inside, with water dripping from stalactites on the ceiling. There were small burrows in the ground and nests of bats along the walls. "Inside this cave you will face three wild Pokémon that are hiding in those dens." Ilima began to explain. Nodding to the eastern part of the cave, Ilima added, "Up ahead lies the Totem's den. Once you beat the wild Pokémon, you must journey there to grab a Normalium Z. Of course, the Totem Pokémon won't let that be too easy." They chuckled, turning back to Ava. "Are you up for the challenge?"

"Why not. Is there any sort of reward I can get out of this?" She asked, ushering Jäger forward.

Ilima smirked. "That can be arranged later. Good luck." They walked back outside to meet Lillie and Hau, leaving Ava and Jäger inside.

"This better be good." Ava looked down at her new partner. "Let's get a move on, partner."

Jäger slunk off to investigate one of the dens, and was quickly greeted by a Yungoos. The sludge Pokémon defeated the rodent easily, and slid along the cave floor after Ava. "Grime!" Jäger bit another oncoming Yungoos in the head.

"Yeah, something seems off about this to me too." Ava said to her partner. She tread carefully, an uneasy feeling washing over her. "You've fought two of those things, right? So the third should be up-"

"Wait just a minute yo!"

"Oh god not again."

"Team Skull comin' in hot! Show you what we got!" The Team Skull grunts, Heath and Ken, jumped out at Ava from behind a stalagmite. They were covered in dirt, but still raring to go. "Here to sabotage your trial! We're mean and vile!"

Ava looked from them to the rock, and back at them. "How long were you guys hiding there?"

"We've been here for at least 20 minutes!" Ken (or at least, the one she thought was Ken, for they were practically identical) shouted. "And I really need a shower, so let's get this over with!"

Heath called upon his Drowzee, but that was over pretty quickly. "You need to remember your type match-ups, man." Ava remarked as Grimer bit down on Drowzee. "Dark beats Psychic."

"Maaan." Heath whined. "I was countin' on you catching something weak. Or like, cowering in terror at our sneak attack."

Ken sniffled and kicked at a rock on the ground. "The boss's gonna be pissed that we keep failin' man. We haven't even gotten to that meadow!" The grunt began to tear up. "What if we get kicked out? Then what're we gonna do?"

Grabbing his partner's shoulders, Heath exclaimed, "Keep it together bro! We're not going down without a fight!"

"Ahem." Ava coughed, trying to get their attention. "What's this meadow you're talking about?"

Jäger trudged past the Skull Grunts, fixated on one of the dens. A Gumshoos slept inside it, unaware of its impending doom. "Grimee?" Jäger shouted at Ava, as if he were asking for permission.

"Yeah, go for it." She shouted back. Turning to the grunts, she continued her previous train of thought. "Look, you guys seem pretty desperate. Is that right?"

"No!" Ken exclaimed. Then, as an afterthought, "Yeah."

Heath put an arm around his buddy. "We got sent to Melemele because we're rookies, and the boss doesn't really care about this place. But our mission is to get into that meadow on the southern part of the island and investigate the weird shit goin' on there."

"But we ain't got a way past those rocks down there!" Ken added. "And we were tryna' scare up some muscle down at the marina, but that didn't work."

Ava sighed. "How about this. If you guys promise to stop messing with trial goers around here, I'll help you into that meadow of yours. Okay? And I can get you set up with a hot meal and stuff while you wait."

"You-you'd do that? For us?" Ken asked. "A bunch a no-good, rotten Skullings?"

Ava looked over their heads at Jäger, who was still fighting the Gumshoos. "Yeah, why not. Everyone deserves a second chance." She pulled a notebook and a pen out of her bag. Scrawling her address on a page, she handed it to Heath. "You go here and tell the woman that you're friends with Ava. She'll take care of you while I'm gone."

"Thanks bro!" Heath pulled Ava into an emotional hug. "You're an honorary sister in our book!"

"Yeah sure whatever." Ava patted him on the back. "Now I need to finish up this trial, okay?"

"You got it!" Ken and Heath saluted her, high-fived each other, and slid down the hill inside the cave.

"Grimer?" Jäger chowed down on an Oran berry he had found after defeating the Gumshoos.

Ava shrugged, meeting him at the top of the hill. "I gave you a chance, didn't I? They seemed like they deserved one too." She and Jäger exited through the hole in a wall of the cave. The duo was greeted with sunlight, and a small pasture. In the middle was an old, wooden podium. Something sparkled inside it, drawing Ava in. "So that's a Z-Crystal." She said softly. "Let's grab it and get...out…"

Something terrifying roared as she spoke, and a beast jumped down from a ledge. Blocking their exit, the giant Gumshoos let out a terrifying growl. "Shoooooos!" It screeched.

"Well shit." Ava muttered. "Hey Rotom, what level is that thing?"

Rotom buzzed to life. "The totem Pokémon is level 12." They reported.

"And what level is Jäger now?"

"With the extra training you did, Jäger is level 14." Rotom buzzed. "Can I take a picture of the battle?"

"Go for it." Ava said, stepping out of Rotom's view. "Jäger, use Poison gas!"

Jäger emitted a purple gas that enveloped Gumshoos. The large rodent flinched, but gnawed at a berry. "Shooos!" It growled, unharmed.

"Shit. That thing had a Pecha berry." Ava muttered.

What's more, the creature had help. A Yungoos ran out from the cave and flung itself at Jäger. Jäger spit out another Poison Gas, effectively poisoning the two rodents. "Grimer!" He cried.

"Don't worry about that rat, get rid of the totem first!" Ava ordered. "Use Bite!"

Jäger was hit before he could attack. The Gumshoos used Superfang, having Jäger's health. Jäger reacted in time by biting it, and the Gumshoos was weakened by the poison. The Yungoos hit Jäger in the side with a Tackle, lowering his health even more.

"Jäger!" Ava exclaimed. She searched her bag in a frenzy for some sort of healing item. "Here!" She grabbed a Sitrus berry that they had found under a tree and tossed it to her partner.

"Grrimer!" Jäger ate it happily.

"Use Harden!" Ava ordered. The Superfangs would still hurt, but keeping his defense up would at least slow the Yungoos's damage. "Now use Bite again!"

The Gumshoos met Jäger again with a Superfang, but another Bite and some poison damage did the trick this time. The Totem Pokémon fell to the ground with a thud, leaving the Yungoos unprotected. It charged at Jäger with a Hyperfang. "Griime!" Jäger cried, his health dangerously low. He retaliated as quick as possible, biting down on the Yungoos and throwing it to the ground.

"Jäger, are you okay?" Ava ran to her partner's side. "Shit, please be okay. Rotom, what's his health look like?"

"Bzzt." Rotom scanned Jäger. "His HP is at 2, but he's still okay."

"Thank Mew." Ava sighed, cradling the sludge Pokémon. "Don't scare me like that."

Jäger gave his trainer a toothy grin. "Grrrrimer!"

Ava returned him to his Pokéball so he could rest. Then, stepping carefully around the fallen Totem Gumshoos, she retrieved the Normalium Z from the pedestal. "Would you look at that." She said to herself. "I actually did something for once."

Hau and Lillie had wanted a full explanation as to why there were Team Skull grunts running out of the cavern. Ava promised them one, but only after Hau completed his trial. He and Ilima went inside, leaving Lillie and Ava out to examine the Z-Crystal.

"It's beautiful." Lillie said, staring in awe.

"You should hold onto it." Ava replied. "It suits you."

Once Hau completed the test, Ilima invited the three back to their house in Hau'oli. Hau was immediately distracted by the kitchen, where he and Lillie made conversation with Ilima's parents. Ilima and Ava retreated upstairs to Ilima's room.

"How long have you been a captain?" Ava asked, leafing through one of the many bookshelves in the room.

Ilima thought about it for a minute. "Only a year or so. I was studying in Kalos for two years before that. When I returned, the local captain had retired. I was just qualified enough to be put in charge." They sat down on their bed, pushing the green striped covering out of the way. "What about you? Where did the wind take you before Alola?"

Ava bit the inside of her cheek. "Just around the Sevii Isles." She replied. "My mom and I lived on Three Island, but I always to explore the other islands." Sitting next to the captain, she sighed. "Didn't really happen. We just picked up and moved here."

Ilima placed their hand over Ava's. "It seems this is your chance to explore now. Alola isn't the Sevii Isles, but it does come with its charms."

Ava closed the gap between them swiftly, curious to discover the charms Ilima spoke of.

Someone was knocking on the door of the Team Skull Mansion, and it was pissing Guzma off. "Why haven't any of you losers opened the fucking door yet?" He shouted, storming down the staircase. "It's right there, and you goons are just clownin' around!" Flinging the door open, he shouted at the visitor, "What the hell do you want?"

"Well hey, Guzma!"

The Bug-type expert wasn't really sure what he was expecting when he opened the door, but this definitely wasn't it. "...Molayne?" Guzma scratched his head. "What'cha want with us?"

"I uh, was wondering if your sister's around." Molayne explained, shoving something behind his back. "I know we haven't talked in a while, what with you two running a gang and all."

"Right." Guzma looked at the Steel-type trainer with disbelief. "I can get her." He stepped back into the mansion and shouted up the staircase at Plumeria. "'Ey Plumey! You got a visitor!"

"Who is it?" Plumeria shouted back at him, leaning over the stair rails.

"Uh, Molayne." Gumza responded.

"Mo?" The Team Skull admin repeated. "Hold on." She ran into her room and slammed the door, reappearing minutes later with a non-Team Skull crop top and black eyeliner. She slid down the banister and almost pushed Guzma out of the doorway. "It's been a while."

Molayne chuckled. "It has, hasn't it." He unveiled the object he had been hiding from Guzma. "I saw these in Maelie and thought of you."

Plumeria gasped. It was a bouquet of pink and yellow flowers, wrapped with a black bow. "Are those plumerias?" She asked, taking the flowers from him.

"Yeah. They're pretty rare around these parts." He chuckled, bouncing on his heels anxiously. "Do you like them?"

She tried to hide her excitement. "I...they're okay." Plumeria looked back at her old friend. "You, uh, you want to come in for a drink? I was thinking of pouring myself a cup of Tapu Cocoa." She bit her lip, and added, "Only if you want."

Molayne checked his phone. "Why not? I have some spare time."

The Poison expert led him inside to the team's rather damaged kitchen, where she heated up some milk and stirred in the Cocoa powder. "How've ya been?"

The blonde trainer sat down carefully in a chair that already looked broken. "Pretty good. I passed the captain status down to my nephew."

"Lil' Sophocles?" Plumeria handed him a cup. "Sweet kid. He still messin' around with electronics?"

"When isn't he?" Molayne laughed. He took a long drink, savoring the flavor of the cocoa. "You still make a mean cup of cocoa." He complimented her. "Are things still crazy around here?"

Plumeria thought of the Melemele operation, and how that Lusamine woman was breathing down their necks. "Yeah, you could say that." She muttered. "Guzma's always finding something to freak out about." Setting her cup on the little green table, she sighed. "It's never quiet 'round here. There's always some problem that needs to be solved."

"And you always have to solve it." Molayne finished her train of thought. "I completely understand." He smiled at her. "You were always the one with a solution."

"They didn't always work." She replied, looking out the kitchen window. "But yeah, I guess I was." They let the silence sink in for a minute, enjoying their cocoa in peace. "Don't tell anyone I said it, but I miss ya." Plumeria said quietly.

"I've miss you too." Molayne smiled.

A grunt took this sweet moment and crushed it. "Aye Plumeria, the boss wants to see ya. Something about the dumbasses on Melemele."

Molayne stood up. "I should be going anyway." He finished his drink and placed the mug in the sink. "It was good to see you."

Plumeria nodded and watched him leave. The front door slammed shut, and Plumeria muttered,"You too." The admin stood and took her cocoa upstairs, following the only slightly confused grunt to her brother's room. "What's up?"

Guzma greeted her with a sly grin. "You like him." He teased as she sat on his bed.

"What? I-I don't know what you're talking about." She growled, sipping her cocoa angrily. "Now what the hell is going on?"

Her older brother sat down on his throne, playing around with a Buginium Z. "I got a report from those idiots on Melemele. They said the meadow was blocked by some rocks."

"So...what?" Plumeria was confused. "The mission's a no-go?"

Guzma leaned forward, grinning. "This is where it gets interestin'. They say some trainer girl with a Grimer is gonna help them get in."

Plumeria set the cup down on one of Guzma's side tables and lay back on the bed. "Why would she do that?"

"Dunno." Guzma shrugged. "Point is, we're about to crack this whole Necrozma deal, and we don't even have to get our hands dirty."

"You think the girl knows how dangerous this is gonna be?" Plumeria asked.

"From what I hear, this kid'll be able to handle it." Guzma shook it off. As bad as it sounded, he wasn't too concerned with the life of this random trainer. She was going to help him get out of debt with Aether, whether she knew it or not. At the end of the day, that's what mattered to him. With Aether off his back, he would be safe to run Team Skull how he wanted. His sister would get the treatments she needed. They wouldn't have to go back to that scumbag outside of Hau'oli, and they could continue keeping kids off the streets and out of harm's way. And if Guzma had to crack some skulls to accomplish all that, it was a small price he was willing to pay.

Surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me.

And yet here I am, for some damn reason. Whoops. Updates will be sporadic, mainly because I'm working on something else for AO3. You can also find this on AO3 under the same title.

Shoutout to the OG readers who notice the major character change I made.