More true stories! I've since given up trying to find raw macadamia nuts. The most I can ever hope to find outside of Hawaii are plain roasted ones. But I remember loving the raw nuts, even if I did have to smash them open with a chunk of brick. And after tasting a few that had gone rancid, I guess I understand why they don't try to transport them anywhere until they're cooked.

We sort of accidentally found the place where lava was pouring into the sea. I never appreciated how hot lava was until I realized that I couldn't get close even to a small hole where it was visible. People believe that taking lava off of the island is bad luck. Some people don't believe, and take beautiful pieces of lava anyway. And then they mail those pieces back to Hawaii when bad things start happening. Every year, thousands of lava rocks are mailed back to Hawaii. It happened with my dad as well.

Polaris-Ponyta, Mia-Cubone, Marin-Primarina, Lunick-Rockruff, Zetty-Rotom Dex

Chapter 7: The Boiling Sea

After ocean storms and volcanic mountains, it was almost bewildering to find myself standing in the theme-park setting of Royal Avenue. I now had Lana and Kiawe's trails under my belt, and it was time for a frivolous break. When I saw Ben and Hari come around the corner, I waved, grinning. It didn't make any sense for them to come with me to the trails when they weren't allowed to watch – especially when they had their own projects with Kukui. But I was glad to see them again.

We explored the shops of Royal Avenue and I found a bag of raw macadamia nuts. Outside of Alola, I only ever found cooked ones, I guess because they go rancid so easily. Of course none of us had a nut cracker. But we found a broken chunk of brick and used it to crack the hard round shells. The Pokémon helped, with Mia using her club. There was an occasional rancid macadamia, which were rather horrifying to taste. But the rest were delicious.

Shopping was a good distraction. It had been a couple weeks, and I was still angry about Julio. After we had our fill of Royal Avenue, we headed to a trail Kiawe had recommended. The road moved along the coast ended very abruptly in a rolling black wasteland. Some years ago, lava had flowed over this part of the island, burning everything to the ground and then covering the ashes in waves of black concrete. But even here, life was beginning to dig in its persistent roots. Beneath some of the ledges of lava, fern spores had taken hold and fresh green fronds were uncoiling. I loved ferns for that.

We weren't the only weirdos trekking out on the endless black landscape. A few other people had come here for the same reason. We were looking for the place where the lava poured into the ocean. Some tourists were in flipflops – not the best foot gear for this terrain. Cooled lava can be sharp.

"Do you know what the two kinds of lava are called?" I asked.

"Two kinds?" Hari repeated.

I nodded. "Yeah. Remember earlier on we passed a different area of dry lava, and it was all jagged like rocks had gone through a cheese grater? That's the a'a. This we're on here is the pahoihoi. See how it's more rolling and smooth? You can remember the difference because a'a hurts to walk on. So you shout "ah ah!" when you walk on the a'a."

"I can imagine," Ben said. "That other stuff looked like it would tear your feet up."

Hari knelt and picked up one of the shining peels of lava. It had flaked off like an onion skin. He turned it, amazed to see the sunlight blossoming off in different colors, from purple to green. It looked like raku pottery. "I never knew lava could be so pretty."

I nodded. "You're not supposed to take it off of the islands though. It's bad luck. Tons of people every year actually mail their lava back to Alola, because they start getting bad luck after they bring a piece home."

"How do you know that?" Ben asked, giving me a knowing smirk.

I laughed. "My dad brought a piece of lava home after our first trip here! And of course he mailed it back not long after."

Ben started laughing too. "Your dad would do that."

"I wonder why it's bad luck," Hari said, carefully setting the piece of lava back. "Maybe the Tapus cause it. In some of the stories, they can be pretty destructive."

We walked on, and started to see traces of hot lava. Little fissures split down to reveal a dim orange glow. Did that mean there was hot lava under our feet? Maybe it was better not to know. We could see a plume of steam rising endlessly where earth met sea. We went as close as we dared, but the steam was so thick that we couldn't actually see the lava pouring in. It was still amazing though. There was another fissure nearby. This one was about as big around as my head. The opening glowed orange, and it was so hot that we couldn't get within fifteen feet of it.

Nature is amazing.

…

The moon filled the jungle with silver light, which glinted off the long claws of our opponent. The hulking totem Lurantis slashed at Lunick, who tumbled backwards and dove into a bush. With its totem aura flaring bright, Lurantis cleaved the bush in half. But Lunick wasn't there. He had crawled deeper into the underbrush. Lurantis waded after him, using her arms as scythes to reduce all potential hiding places to kindling. Finally only one bush was left, and Lunick was cornered. Lurantis loomed over the bush, raising both blades to take down the cowering puppy. Except there was no cowering puppy. Instead a gangly shape rose up, long claws extended. Lunick had evolved by the light of the moon. His eyes glowed and he struck with his claws. Lurantis retreated, confused. But it didn't take long for the totem Pokémon to rally herself. She lunged and Lunick leapt over her head, striking from behind. Lurantis spun, but once more Lunick ducked under her blades. He knocked her legs out from under her. But just as he raised his claws, Lurantis blasted him backwards with Petal Blizzard. Lunick tumbled backward and lay still.

I returned him and sent out Mia. The little Cubone gripped her bone tightly as she faced her huge opponent. Lurantis swung at her, but Mia jumped back and used Bonemarang. Lurantis deflected it and moved in, sweeping Mia off her feet. Mia rolled upright and threw herself forward with Headbutt. The top of her skull collided with Lurantis's chin, sending her opponent reeling back. Mia landed, and began glowing. I gaped, watching as yet another Pokémon evolved by the light of the moon. Mia stood tall, now holding a flaming club. An Alolan Marowak.

"You're awesome, Mia!" I shouted. "You got this!"

Lurantis growled in frustration and charged again. Mia leapt over the swinging blade and struck with Shadow Bone, right on top of Lurantis's head. Lurantis staggered, and Mia followed with Flame Wheel. Lurantis tottered on her feet, then collapsed. Mia stood, winded and proud.

Behind me, Captain Mallow cheered. "That was amazing! Two evolutions in a row! Did you time that?"

I shook my head. "I did know they were close to evolution. But I've had Pokémon delay evolving. Or reject it entirely."

"Yeah, fair enough. Congratulations on beating the totem Pokémon! I've got your Grassium Z here."

I accepted the sparkling green crystal, holding it up to the moonlight.

"Where are you off to next?" Mallow asked.

I glanced into the depths of Lush Jungle. "I want to catch a Fomantis."

"Well, that will be easy. The recipe that lured in totem Lurantis will also draw wild Fomantis. Now that the totem has retreated, they'll feel safer coming in. All you have to do is wait."

"That's great! Thanks!"

The two of us settled down by the fire. "What do you look for when catching a Pokémon?" Mallow asked.

"Ah, well, I won't catch Pokémon that didn't want to get caught. So when the Fomantis get here, I'll see if any of them want to come along. Usually Pokémon like to challenge me first, to see if I'm worth following."

Mallow nodded, looking interested and slightly disbelieving.

Movement caught my eye. The first Fomantis was edging out of the bushes. The pot was sitting on the ground beside the fire, and had cooled during the battle against the totem of Lush Jungle. Fomantis eyed us cautiously, climbed onto the rim of the pot, and started slurping at the contents. After a few minutes, more Fomantis appeared. Mallow and I were sitting so still that they barely seemed to notice we were there. But once we had a good crowd of wild Pokémon, I straightened up. Most of the Fomantis turned toward me, though a few kept sipping at the stew.

"Feel free to keep eating," I said. "I'm looking for a Fomantis to join my team. Do any of you want to come along?"

A couple of them retreated back into the jungle. Most returned to their meal. Mallow and I exchanged glances. That had been anticlimactic. But then something tapped me on the knee. There was a Fomantis looking up at me.

"What does it mean to join your team?" He asked.

"Good question. You've seen Pokémon trainers in the jungle?"

Fomantis nodded.

I knelt in front of him. "They partner up with Pokémon and battle together. Usually the human trainer gives directions while the Pokémon battles an opponent. Different trainers do different things. But I usually end up… fighting bad guys."

Mallow suppressed a laugh. She knew what I'd done in Unova and Kalos. Those weren't the only bad guys I'd faced, but they'd certainly been the most publicized. Mallow was also giving me an odd look. She didn't know I could understand what Fomantis was saying.

"I'd fight bad guys," Fomantis said.

"That's great. So you think you want to come along? Even if it means leaving here? You would get to travel all over Alola though. Among other places."

Fomantis thought for a minute. "I don't think I want to leave after all." He turned and left.

Well, now I really felt like an idiot. I tried not to meet Mallow's eyes. Then something tapped my back. I turned to find a second Fomantis. He blinked up at me. "I want to go. Take me."