Track 41 - Nightcall

Leinani continued to train every day with all of her Pokémon around different areas of Ula'ula Island. She would alternate her Pokémon every other day to keep them from getting exhausted. After roughly one month of training, she could feel herself getting worn down.

She knew that she had to outwork everyone.

But, could she do it?

She knew that she had to try something else, and she considered moving her training to Poni Island where she'd surely come up against other strong trainers. However, the thought of being away from her own bed kept her from doing this.

She had another option, that being Enoka. The two had studied together before becoming Pokémon trainers, and although she considered him a rival, she respected his aptitude for battle. It'd be a risk to train alongside him, but she also knew that the two could learn a lot from sparring.

It wasn't Leinani's goal to get information but rather to learn more about her team. She needed to understand the limits of her Pokémon, even if that meant pushing them and getting strict. She knew that it was better to do this before the conference rather than during.

"Vinyl, use Shadow Ball!" Leinani ordered.

"Get out of the way!" Enoka yelled.

Sandygast wailed as she formed the ball of ghostly energy in front of her teeth. She released it forward, but Enoka's Incineroar was too fast. The Fire-type took into the air and prepared for Enoka's instructions.

"Come down with Flare Blitz!"

Incineroar was engulfed in flames, and he pointed himself downward. He crossed his arms and quickly descended, crashing down onto Sandygast and causing a small explosion. When the smoke faded, Incineroar stood up and walked away. Sandygast was left flattened by the attack.

"It looks like we found a Pokémon that needs work," Enoka said as Leinani withdrew Sandygast. Enoka looked at Rowlet and shrugged. He walked onto the small field that they used for their battle and put his hand on Incineroar's shoulder. "You know, it couldn't hurt to evolve more of your Pokémon."

Leinani glared. "DJ and Vinyl can evolve when they're ready. I'm not forcing any kind of sports-enhancing drugs on them to make them evolve."

"I didn't force any of my Pokémon to evolve," Enoka snapped back. "However, they can all feel the true passion that I have for battling. They know how important it is to win the Manalo Conference. They share that passion, so they evolved for me."

Leinani's shoulders slumped. "All of them did?"

"My whole party!" Enoka responded with a wide grin. "Maybe you're just not passionate enough about winning?"

"We are passionate enough! If we weren't then we wouldn't have gotten this far!" Leinani yelled. "Maybe I shouldn't have offered to train with you. Sometimes you're nothing but a jerk."

Enoka stopped smiling, and he appeared taken aback. "I'm sorry, Leilei. I was only joking."

"Well, you're not funny. If your battling skills are as bad as your jokes, you won't be winning this year," Leinani exclaimed. "We're done for today."

"Ah, don't be like that!" Enoka said. "We have so much more training we can do!"

Before Leinani could respond, there was a sudden gust of wind, and then the air went still. Everything was suddenly silent. It was an unsettling feeling that Leinani had only felt once before. She turned her head, finding an intimidating presence like none other. Slowly, Enoka peered to the side, and his mouth slowly gaped open.

It was a large black Pokémon with wild eyes. On its head was a red shell that could clamp down to protect it from attacks. It floated in the air, and its lower half, which was only a bulky tail with a golden bell, barely came off the ground.

"Tapu Bulu," Leinani muttered.

"Are-are you serious?!" Enoka stuttered. "You were too loud, and now it's angry! What did you do?!"

"Bu-lu," the legendary Pokémon said sternly. He glared at the two trainers and lowered his arms.

"I think it wants to fight. It wants to help us train," Leinani said.

"You're crazy! There's no way that we'd stand a chance!" Enoka said. Sweat had started to seep through his black pineapple-print shirt.

"You can back away then," Leinani said as she stepped forward and drew out a Poké Ball. "You wanna fight, Tapu Bulu?"

"Bu-lu!" the Pokémon responded.

Enoka took in a deep breath and then eyed the Pokémon. "Alright, we're in. If it's the two of us, we can win."

"Don't hold me down," Leinani said before throwing her Poké Ball. Rexillius, the Tyrantrum that she received from Charlotte, materialized onto the field.

"Incineroar, you still have some fight in you? Let's go!"

"Incine-roar!" his Pokémon called while standing up straight and letting the flames around his waist blaze.

Tapu Bulu grunted, and the field below them suddenly started to glow green. Grass sprouted and grew rapidly, seemingly fueled by Tapu Bulu's natural power.

"Rex, use Crunch!"

"Incineroar, Double Kick!"

Both of the trainer's Pokémon darted down the field, but Tapu Bulu remained still. He slowly lowered his head, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

Tyrantrum's jaws were covered by dark energy, and he tried to clamp down. However, Tapu Bulu quickly snapped his shell down, taking the attack. He then struck forward, bashing his body against Tyrantrum's cheek.

Incineroar was next, kicking Tapu Bulu away from his ally before twisting and doing a back kick. This was enough to give the Pokémon some distance, but Tapu Bulu didn't appear damaged.

"This thing is strong," Enoka commented.

"Of course," Leinani said with a sigh.

Tapu Bulu emerged out of his shell and let out steam from his nose. He mooed, and the terrain around them started to emit a pink glow. Suddenly, there was an explosion, and both Tyrantrum and Incineroar were knocked back.

"I've never seen an attack like that," Leinani said. She looked at her Pokémon, which now looked considerably weaker than before.

"If you paid more attention in class, you'd know that that attack was Nature's Madness. Tapu Bulu just halved our Pokémon's energy. That puts us at a huge disadvantage."

"You can't learn everything in a textbook. Don't think about giving up. This Pokémon has given us a rare chance to get in some good experience," Leinani said.

"I wasn't thinking about giving up."

"Good. Rex, use Thrash!"

"Incineroar, follow with Acrobatics!"

Tyrantrum roared, shaking their battlefield. He then launched forward and cracked his massive skull against Tapu Bulu. The legendary Pokémon was surprised by the Pokémon's power. Then, Incineroar followed up with a nimble but powerful strike. Tapu Bulu hit the ground but quickly recovered. He braced for impact as Tyrantrum continued his rampage. When the Dragon-type Pokémon got in close, Tapu Bulu's tail started to glow with green energy. He swung it wide, crashing into Tyrantrum's side like a hammer. The larger Pokémon keeled over as he felt the damage pulsate throughout his body. Then, without much warning, his body became limp.

Enoka sighed and looked at Leinani as if to say 'really?'

"Shut up," Leinani said as she withdrew Rexillius. "DJ, you're up! You're my last Pokémon today, so you have to give it your all!"

Rowlet nodded and then flew off of Leinani's hat. She landed next to the worn-down Incineroar and struck a fighting pose.

"Incineroar, hit it with Flare Blitz!"

"DJ, let's use Steel Wing!"

The two Pokémon raced down the grassy field. Flames exploded from Incineroar's body while DJ's wings extended and became hard as iron. Tapu Bulu attempted to dodge, but the two Pokémon circled around him, preventing him from getting out of the way. Incineroar struck first, causing an explosion of flames. DJ quickly followed, struck once with her wing, and then retreated before Tapu Bulu could retaliate.

However, Incineroar was not as fast. As soon as the flames showed signs of dying out, Tapu Bulu emerged, his horns glowing dark green. He jutted outward and drove the horns into Incineroar's midsection. The energy phased through Incineroar, but the visual of his Pokémon getting impaled left Enoka stunned.

"I'm sorry," Enoka said as he withdrew his Pokémon. "Unfortunately, I didn't bring any other Pokémon today. You'll be on your own."

Leinani's shoulders slumped but then she looked at her Rowlet. "We'll be fine without you. Watch and learn. This will be your only chance to study me. DJ, use Leaf Blade!"

Rowlet stretched out her wings and then started to spin. She turned into a saw as she quickly descended from the air. Tapu Bulu prepared by swinging his tail like a hammer once more. The attacks collided, but it didn't take long for Rowlet to lose the test of strength. Rowlet hit the grass field but then quickly took back into the air.

Leinani started to rhythmically stomp her right foot while she snapped her fingers. "Let's do this! Steel Wing! Don't be prideful!"

"Huh? Don't be prideful?" Enoka wondered.

Rowlet's wings changed form once again, doubling in size. She shot down and rocketed directly for Tapu Bulu. The legendary Pokémon swung to try a test of strength once again, but Rowlet was fast and went low. She then struck her wings against Tapu Bulu's midsection, making the legendary Pokémon rock backward.

"Yes!" Leinani shouted.

"Instead of challenging Tapu Bulu's strength, she's instead trying to attack around his speed. DJ is fast. But if she gets hit, this battle is over," Enoka thought.

"One more time!" Leinani ordered.

Rowlet slowly turned around and then darted back to Tapu Bulu. This time, Tapu Bulu took a defensive stance. He mooed, and then the terrain around the field turned pink once again. What followed was an explosion that neither Leinani nor DJ were ready for. DJ was launched into the air while energy was sapped from her body.

"DJ!" Leinani shouted.

Then, Tapu Bulu roared, and his horns extended with the dark green energy. He darted forward and slashed Rowlet out of the air. The Grass-type plummeted but before she could get to the ground, Leinani ran forward. She jumped and caught her Pokémon seconds before DJ crashed. Leinani sighed with relief, but then she looked up, and she felt her heart sink.

Tapu Bulu floated above her, and his eyes were filled with violent intent. However, once he noticed that Rowlet had fainted, he relaxed. The grassy terrain slowly disappeared, retreating back into the ground.

Leinani sighed and then nervously laughed to herself while she slowly stood back home. She felt as though her heart was going to rip out of her chest, and she couldn't bring herself to say anything. Enoka, who felt as though his legs were about to give out, slowly moved himself to be between her and Tapu Bulu.

Tapu Bulu mooed once, shook the bell on his tail, nodded, and then turned and floated away.

Both of the trainers collapsed.

"That was insane," Leinani said. She looked at Enoka and smiled. However, her relief quickly turned into rage. "How dare you not send out another Pokémon to help me!"

Enoka shrugged. "I figured you could handle it."

AUTHOR'S NOTES: And with that, the next chapter will be the start of the Manalo Conference! The next chapter is going to introduce/remind everyone of the different characters and rivals. I'm actually going to add a battle to the next chapter because the ceremony portion (which I intended to be an entire chapter by itself) is way too short. Before I post it, I really want to post up a Magearna one-shot. I'm traveling this weekend to real-life Sinnoh (Hokkaido). If I get some time then, I'll try to write a bit in my downtime.