Alola readers. Brav here with another chapter. I'm terribly sorry with the fact that this one is very much overdue, going far past the deadline I had set for myself. I really wanted to get this out quicker after having a remarkable boost in reviews and viewership.
My schedule recently has taken a turn for the insanely busy lane, working a couple of jobs while trying to balance out chores at home, social life, gym, etc. I have a few trips planned in the next couple months; my cousin is getting married in Cancun sometime mid-July and I plan on taking my father to the Texas Rangers/Seattle Mariners game for Father's Day down in Arlington this weekend. So there's a lot on the plate, but I'm excited for my first time going into Mexico. The good news is that I've got the majority of the next chapter written up already, just needs some tweaks and extra bits added. Hopefully that won't take too long.
In the meantime; a lot of interesting things in Pokemon news have happened since I last updated and now.
Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. The whole internet lost their shit over the announcement over these new games. We got neither what most of us expected, Stars or a Diamond & Pearl remake. Instead they pulled a Black & White 2, which I completely anticipated, but wanted pretty desperately to be proven wrong. It was for the better though, as I thought that the sequels to Black & White were a step up from their predecessors in terms of story, Pokemon diversity, features and all.
I do have to tip my hat off to Pokemon, Nintendo and Game Freak for trolling us all by going on a familiar, but unanticipated path with this. My expectations were blown away by Sun & Moon and I'm actually very eager to see what else they have planned up their sleeve for these two games. Alola has been my new favorite Pokemon region by a large margin (probably because it's the only one I've actually been to in real life, multiple times I might add) so I'm wondering all the new things about Alola they will be revealing. Definitely getting them on release date.
Nobody's asked it yet, but I'll just answer it anyway. Will I be incorporating stuff from USUM into this story? I'm not sure yet. We've only seen just a teaser trailer, so there's little to gauge off of. From what I've heard though; it's said the setting is going to be told in an alternate timeline than the original Sun & Moon. so maybe we'll see the familiar characters in a different setting under different circumstances or we might get a whole brand new cast. Hard to tell at this point and I'll be figuring that out once more is revealed.
Also, noticed a handful of my colleagues from the awesome Lake Valor have jumped in on the favorite and follow subscriptions. I will be posting this story in the Literature Library as well! I should really stop my A/N before it becomes longer than the update. Enjoy the chapter!
I knew that now with three pokemon on his side, he would be able to stand more of a chance even with a rather feisty rufflet that he had added to his team, but he had said earlier that he wanted to do some practice battling, since he had no experience on Rufflet. He showed us his new pendant that his mother gave to him. It was one of Tapu Koko and said to protect the wearer if he or she encounters the deity personally. I think it fits well and is such a wonderful gift! Wish I had one...
Leilani actually took him back out to Hau'oli City or something to further hone his training. He readily agreed to that, but I wish I was the one who offered to go with him and we could go together and do two things at once. He could get stronger and I could be around him. I'm not a trainer, but I still find it just strange that the boy who helped save Nebby doesn't really want to talk with me when Leilani is around. I get that he doesn't want to lose again to Hala, but am I making a bad impression? Does he only want to be friends for now so that he can be a trainer and go around with others that are strong like Leilani to take on the island challenge? I hope not, because I thought that what Elio and I had together was special! I don't want anyone else to take that away from us!
Anyway I decided to tag along with them. Sun hardly paid any attention to me the whole time until he noticed me being upset when he was about to challenge Kahuna Hala again.
Sun blinked his eyes as the morning light streamed into his bedroom through closed blinds. He then started to hear pikipek chirping in a harmony that meshed well with the slight sound of crashing waves against the shore. The blanket on his bed was casually draped over his body, providing some warmth balanced out with the cool air conditioning provided through vents in his room.
Next to his pillow; Litten had curled up with part of his covers and was sleeping soundly. Rufflet was right next to him, surprisingly competent and quickly obeying the few ground rules Elio had given out before retiring. Unlike the other two; he had kept Grimer in his poke ball. While his mother Elaine had welcomed the poison and dark type into the house, she was adamant that he stay in his poke ball while sleeping. His room had an expensive carpet and newly made floor, so she didn't want to spend hours trying to clean the thin trails of fluid that the slimy pokemon left in his wake.
Elio's mind wandered back to the previous night on the few things that went right and the even more that went wrong.
Grimer and Litten had battled their best. He had continued to hone his battling prowess and establish himself a style of fighting through several other trainers that were hanging around Melemele Island.
Then came the Grand Trial. Hala proved to be quite a formidable opponent and seeing how none of his two pokemon were weak to the fighting type; he figured that they would prove to be enough to handle whatever thrown their way.
Boy was he wrong.
At first; things seemed to be going well. He had to make a few switches between his two partners in mid-battle, but they worked together to take down the kahuna's makuhita and mankey.
What caused him to collapse was the crabrawler. Immediately, Sun knew that this tough purple crablike pokemon was going to be even more difficult to deal with than his two other teammates. The prior two battlers had already done a number and with Crabrawler yet to enter the battle; they both made for easy finishes.
Hala's words rang in his mind, "It is harder for your pokemon to achieve victory when you have less than your opponent."
His luck had come through later that night when he ironically went out to vent his frustration of losing. He didn't know where Rufflet had come from or why it did to help fend off the attacking spearow, but for some reason; he was definitely glad that the feisty little eaglet had been added to his team. The potential was already there, now he had to learn how he battled in order to maximize their effectiveness.
Lillie's words also hung in his head. As much as he did frown upon her for avoiding being a trainer, he had to give her the fact that she gave good advice. For some reason, he found that her unexpected appearance made him feel even more embarrassed after losing. She had taught him so much about pokemon, even though she wasn't a trainer herself. Until she had managed to calm him down, Elio couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye.
Sun rolled out of the bed onto his feet and stepped into the bathroom, twisting the handles on his shower. Fifteen minutes later; he stepped out, fully clothed and ready to take on the day again.
"Good morning sweetheart," Elaine greeted her son as he entered the kitchen with Litten following close behind and Rufflet perched on his left shoulder, "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah Mom," Elio replied, running a hand through his messy hair before slipping his hat back on, "Have you met Rufflet?"
"No I haven't," His mother said, "I know you said that you caught a new pokemon before going to bed last night, but I didn't get to see it."
Sun gestured for the little bird off his shoulder and he fluttered onto the dining table, carefully walking up to Elaine's outstretched hand. He cocked his head to one side before letting out a cute caw and affectionately rubbing his feathery head against her palm.
"Aww," She was already in love with his newest team member, "He is so adorable!"
"Let! Rufflet!" The bird chirped excitedly.
"I went to get some fresh air after the battle," Sun explained, "And then while Lillie and I were heading back to Iki Town, we were attacked by spearow again. That's when Rufflet here decided to join the fight, except he wanted to attack everyone. I just had to catch the new face."
"Wow," Elaine was very impressed by his story causing her son to smile widely, "You and Lillie?!"
The boy's smile faded when he realized that his mother's excitement was with the girl accompanying him than the new pokemon he had.
"Mom,"
"Oh don't mind me young Elio!" She gushed, "You're just looking out for all your friends, that's all! I'm so glad that a girl like Lillie has you around to keep her safe! That's a man's job after all!"
Elio groaned, "Yeah that's great and all, but can we get some breakfast going?" He was more hopeful that she would drop this conversation about Lillie than getting actual food.
"Of course sweetie. What would you like?"
"I'll just have some cereal." Elio got up and moved to the fridge, "Grimer's already been fed the trash from last night,"
"Good. Although I'm still not set on having him in the house, he sure is useful. You've caught wonderful pokemon so far!"
Sun nodded, pulling out some more milk for Litten. His hand moved to a carton of berries before stopping.
"Mom, can I feed Rufflet some of your berries?"
"Of course!"
"Thanks," He grabbed a handful and dropped them into a bowl, sliding it over to the bird.
"Rufflet!" He grabbed one in his beak and began to gobble up the fruit eagerly. The height of the dish was taller than the pokemon expected, so it stretched up its talon feet, partially tilting to his side. The bowl was partially against his head as he happily continued to eat his breakfast. It was hard not to laugh at his persistence and silliness. Elio poured himself a bowl of cereal, handing Litten his bowl of milk and sat down at the table.
"So what do you plan to do today?" Mom asked while getting breakfast of her own.
"I don't know, maybe go out to Hau'oli City again and see what else there is to see. I want to schedule a rematch with Kahuna Hala today too."
"Really? Right after you lost?"
"Yeah. I was so close last time, so now I'll be able to win!"
"May I offer some advice," His mother asked, "When I went around Kanto to challenge the gyms, a lot of them were quite difficult. I first lost against our own Cerulean City Gym and challenged the leader to a rematch the next day. I lost again."
"What?"
"Sun, you have to ask yourself how badly you want to win. It may be your greatest ambition to continue overcoming these decisive battles and persistence is key, but continuously challenging the Gym Leaders or these kahunas at every opportunity without a plan will only get you even more frustrated."
"What are you saying Mom?" Sun asked. The conversation had also caught Rufflet and Litten's attention as they briefly paused from their meals.
"It's good that you're eager to go and challenge Hala again, but do you have a plan?"
"I do. I now have three pokemon, one of which now has a type advantage over him."
"That's good, but you need to know that just because you have that type trump does not guarantee you a win. Highly skilled pokemon that work well with their trainers can overcome many adversities in battle, including counters."
"Okay,"
"So have you even tried to battle with Rufflet? You need to get used to using him and give him experience as you work together. Trust me sweetie, I've tried battling with a pokemon I had just caught, sometimes it can be rough, but it's part of being a trainer."
Sun nodded, "You're saying that just because I may have a whole team of flying and psychic types doesn't mean I will win?"
"Absolutely not. If that were the case, then most of the gym leaders would be pushovers."
"Okay. I understand. Maybe we should go and see what you've got huh?" He reached over to stroke Rufflet's head. The eaglet let out a happy caw from the contact. "But what could I do? I suppose we could go and practice."
"Maybe there's something in Hau'oli to hone your battling skills," Elaine said, taking a bite of her cereal, "Go and ask Hau. Professor Kukui might know something. Even that little cutie Lillie!"
"Mom," Sun groaned. He was already getting irritated with his mother's adoration of the blonde. "Do you have to?"
"Of course my Elio!" She gushed, "I know how you are about making new friends and I think that both you, Hau and Lillie will become close very soon! You can't deny that she is incredibly pretty."
"Yeah," Sun's voice trailed off, "Well anyway, I'm going to head out and try to schedule a rematch with Kahuna Hala tonight."
"Okay! Good luck and be safe!"
"Thanks Mom." The boy stood up, pulling out two poke balls, "Let's get going."
As he turned to leave, Elaine realized something. She grabbed the box off the countertop and set it on the table.
"Hey Elio?"
He stopped, almost out the door when hearing his name called, "Yeah?"
"I got you a little something." She extended a hand towards the tiny box, "Go ahead. Open it up."
It resembled one of those jewelry cases containing rings and the like, so prying the clamshell open, he was definitely surprised to see a familiar gold piece of metal inside.
"A Tapu Koko pendant?" It was exactly just like the one he had seen at Alola Sunrise.
"Mhmm. I saw it at a place called Alola Sunrise! It's supposed to be a super popular jewelry and accessory shop for girls! Kind of strange that I instead found something for my own boy!"
"Oh cool," Sun feigned not knowing about it because he knew that if his mother caught on that he and Lillie went inside once; he'd be interrogated with plenty of questions. The teasing of the two of them together was already enough.
"I asked Kahuna Hala last night and he told me that I could get a piece of jewelry that is said to help keep new trainers safe. Tapu Koko watches over anyone wearing one of these pendants!"
Sun stared in amazement at the golden luster and the incredible details of the fine metalwork. The lines were extremely defined and sturdy with the chain being attached to either side of the guardian deity's shell "armor"
He gently removed it from the box and slipped the chain around his neck, allowing the bottom to fall under his shirt.
"Thanks Mom. I really like it."
"Alola Sun!" Hau came running up to him as he entered Iki Town again. There was hardly any evidence of the previous battle fought on the stage since every prop there had been cleaned up and disposed. Today, the sunshine was notably absent, instead replaced by many low hanging clouds that seemed to be touchable by lingering close to the top of the Ten Carat Hill.
"Alola Hau," His greeting was more strained since the loss last night continued to dwell in his head, "Hey check this out," He reached back under his shirt collar and pulled out the pendant, "Look what my mother got for me."
"Woah!" Hau's eyes widened in amazement, "You got a Tapu Koko pendant! That's so cool! I heard that if you've ever met it, it's supposed to watch over and protect you while on the island challenge if it's blessed by gramps!"
"That's what my mom thought and I guess he did do it last night." He slipped it back underneath, "I wish Lillie had one too, but she isn't a trainer though."
"I'm sure you can still give it as a gift," Hau suggested, "So what you got planned for today? Gonna schedule a rematch with my gramps? You're still not down over it are you?"
Elio shook his head, "Yesterday I was, but today is a new day, so I'm only looking forward! This time I'm going to win though! But my mom says that maybe we should get some more practice. Especially when I just caught this Rufflet."
"You caught a Rufflet!" Hau's eyes practically shined with glee, "I wanna see!"
"Sure," Sun grabbed the great ball, "Okay Rufflet. Come on out!"
"Ruff!" The tiny blue eaglet cawed upon being set free from his capsule. He looked around at his new surroundings and flapped his wings, flying up to Sun's shoulder and perching on top.
"Cool!" He allowed Hau to gently stroke his beak, "Kind of awesome now you have three pokemon! I still got two."
"I don't remember catching pokemon being a race," Sun replied indifferently, "As long as they enjoy being with you and you with them, I don't think the number matters."
"You're right! So do you need to get stronger?"
"That's also what my mom says. Rufflet may have an advantage over fighting types, but that doesn't mean I'll have it in the bag."
"Just like Nebby."
Sun stifled a snicker at the mention of Lillie's elusive little cosmog as he returned Rufflet back to his great ball, "Yeah. Like Nebby."
"Well maybe we can go into Hau'oli City. I heard there's a place where you can eat and battle at the same time."
"That's right!"
Hau and Sun turned to the girl's voice who had piped up from behind them.
The kahuna's grandson had a blank flustered expression on his face, "Le-Leilani?"
"Howzit boys?" She gave a cheerful wave before turning serious to face Sun first, "E kala mai i'au,"
He stared at her blankly, "I'm trying to learn Alolan Leilani, but that went right over my head."
The girl giggled, "I am sorry you lost last night. That was hard to watch."
"I know," Elio bowed his head, "I came into the battle woefully unprepared."
"Well you live and learn. Maybe a trip back to Hau'oli City is in order. Are you guys hungry?"
"I just ate breakfast, but I probably will be once we get there."
"I know a place where you can take care of your pokemon skills and stomach at the same time. In fact, I might just go there today since I've been dying to battle again since I passed the Melemele grand trial!"
"Wait a second, you beat my gramps?!" Hau's eyes immediately doubled in size and an ear to ear grin split his mouth as he jumped up, raising a clenched fist, "Way to go Leilani! Ho'omai'ka'i!"
"Mahalo Hau!" She beamed, "Soon it will be your turn and yours too Elio! Now let's get going so that time will come faster!"
"Alola cousins!" They heard Professor Kukui coming up to them as he arrived at Iki Town's centre with Lillie. When they were approaching; the blonde assistant saw both Hau and Sun react excitedly to something that Leilani had said. For Hau's jump upwards, she didn't really care since it was nearly all he did when he was excited.
That's pretty much ninety-nine percent of the time. She dryly thought.
What really seemed to get under her fair skin was Elio's own reaction. It was more subdued that Hau, who clearly wore his own emotions on his sleeve, but the boy's genuine smile and undivided interest meant that he greatly admired the other girl for something she did.
I thought he admired me so much. Does he like Leilani? Like "like" like?
"Hey Lillie!" Hau completely ignored the Professor as he went right over. Before she could react, he threw his arms around her shoulders in a friendly hug.
Hau…you're holding me too tight!
"Hi Hau," She gasped, barely able to suck in a breath of air, almost losing her hat, "How are you?"
"I'm awesome as awesome can be! So happy you're here!"
"Me too, now can I at least go say good morning or Alola to Elio?"
"Oh right," He sheepishly released her from the death hug, "Sorry,"
"It's okay." Lillie said, walking up to Sun and Leilani, who were both sharing a knowing look.
Next time, don't hug Lillie so tight Hau, He thought to himself, She looked about to pop like a balloon.
"Hi Sun. Good morning."
"Good morning to you Lillie. Howzit?" He waved his hands in the traditional Alolan greeting.
She giggled, sending shivers down his spine, "Pretty good. I hope now with your rufflet, you will be able to beat the kahuna this time around. I'll be pulling for you!"
"What about me?" Hau said cutting in. Sun wanted to at least knock him down a notch for ruining the little moment they had, "Are you going to cheer for me too?"
"Of course I am." Lillie said, although she had said it with a little less enthusiasm than when she addressed Elio. Still, the boy felt a pang of jealousy. "I'll be sure to watch both of you and make sure you do your best."
"All right!"
"Say Sun, what's that?" Kukui cut in pointing to the gold chain that was just partially visible in between his neck and shirt.
"Oh this?" He reached down and pulled it out, "This is a Tapu Koko pendant."
The others gathered around, eyes widened as they gazed wondrously at his new piece of jewelry that he held for all to see, "I really like it."
Lillie gasped when she recognized the design.
That's the one he was looking at when we went to Alola Sunrise! I didn't see him buy it! Maybe he went back?
"It's beautiful," She blurted out loud. Coincidentally, it was the same thing Leilani had said right at the same time. The two girls exchanged surprised looks, not expecting the other to comment likewise abruptly.
"Thanks." Elio grinned, oblivious to it, "My mom got it for me and said it was blessed by Kahuna Hala. Someone once said that if you ever personally encounter Tapu Koko and receive a blessed pendant by the kahuna, that it is said to watch over you while you embark on your journey."
"Well I think it's a nice gift." Lillie didn't know what became of her, but she couldn't help reaching over and gently cradled it in her hands, "Really. It suits you."
"Mahalo," When his pidgin of appreciation caught Leilani and Hau's attention, he couldn't suppress another grin, "See I'm learning Alolan. Slowly but surely."
"Oe i ike iki," He said, making Leilani giggle and even a short exhale of amusement from Professor Kukui.
"Well then. Why don't we make our way down to Hau'oli City? I can show you and Elio a very good place to take care of battling experience as well as fill our opu!"
"Actually um," Hau shut his eyes and put both hands behind his head, "I remembered that Tutu wanted me to help him with patching the roof."
"Oh that reminds me," Sun said, "I better go and find your gramps. There's a rematch I have to schedule as soon as possible."
"Come on. We can look for him together."
"Um," Lillie hesitantly stepped forward, "Sun, would you like to come to Hau'oli City again with me?"
"Sure!" He said, "Hey Leilani, do you mind if Lillie tags along? We can go shopping and battling together and maybe even go get something to eat!"
"Uh," The brown haired girl stopped, suddenly fidgeting with her hands. Across from her, Lillie's own confidence took a sudden dive too. Unbeknownst to Elio, both of the girls had been secretly wishing that they each would be going into the city alone with him. Neither expected him to offer the other to accompany them.
She sighed, "Yeah, that's fine."
"Awesome." He turned to the other end of Iki Town, "We can go as soon as I talk to Hala!"
Before either of the girl could reply, he dashed off after Hau to go and find the Tutu, leaving them both contemplating what exactly they had gotten themselves…and each other into.
They found Hala sitting cross-legged on the floor inside his large kahuna house at the top of Iki Town. He was on top of an elongated tatami mat, hands placed at his sides and head bowed. His eyes were closed and he had remained perfectly still, not moving a muscle.
Sun passed Hau upon entering his home and strode over on the open floor.
Only to have a hand grab the back of his collar and the other boy quickly shunting them out of sight.
Elio's mouth was open as he was in the middle of protesting when Hau's expression turned serious and he slowly put a finger to his lips.
"Tutu's meditating right now," He whispered quietly, ushering them to a table, "He can get very upset if disturbed."
"Right," Sun hushed, "Sorry."
They heard footsteps in the big room as Hala finally made his way into the kitchen. His easygoing face broke out into a thin smile as he saw the two boys sitting down at the dining table just behind the counter island.
"Ah Alola Elio,"
"Alola Kahuna Hala."
"Hala please." The man gently said, "I have told you before."
"Sorry, old habit." Elio said, "But I would like to challenge you to another grand trial battle."
Hala studied the boy's expression. It was hard, with a determined stare, but also with a newfound reassurance that maybe the outcome of their future battle would not be the same. It had only been one night since their battle, so unless he was training all while everyone else was sleeping; hardly anything would have been improved.
"I must say that I am surprised," His rich voice penetrated the air around them, "While I do admire your persistence keiki, what have you done to further yourself in battle? It is commendable that you are not giving up, but without a newfound strategy, another battle would simply be a waste of my time."
"I caught another pokemon," He said suddenly. There was no intent of his to reveal what it was though, so he wanted to keep its identity concealed for as long as possible.
Hala's eyes twinkled, "Excellent. Now we will battle on equal terms. Still, you need to find a suitable approach, especially now that you have a team to coordinate how you want to use them in a pokemon battle. Be sure that you are fully in sync like what young Kukui says; finding that one perfect move."
He saw that Sun nodded, still trying to understand the information bit by bit.
"Listen here keiki. I did not mean to lash out at you when I said that it would be wasteful for a rematch. I and everyone here want you to succeed. Now that new pokemon of yours; have you battled with it yet? Bonded with it? I know you are very selective when it comes to catching them, so I understand it must have done something significant if you desired to add it to your team. Still, it is necessary to learn how it wants to battle and find out what its strengths and weaknesses are. Throwing an inexperienced pokemon into an important battle immediately is almost doomed to fail."
He walked over and set a heavy hand on Sun's shoulder, "It's clear that Tapu Koko has taken an interest in you for some reason, flying down to save you on the Mahalo Trail and give a Z-Stone that day. Just because our guardian deity seems to favor you does not mean that we will make this Island Challenge any easier."
"I don't want you to Kahuna," Sun said, "I won't feel as if I accomplished anything if I knew you were holding back."
"Oe i ike iki,"
"What?"
Hala chuckled, "If you know how truly strong I can become, I would never be granting a Melemele Stamp to any trainer passports! Do not worry about that…at least for now. What you should shift your focus on is your upcoming grand trial. The young kaikamahine Leilani seems to have also taken an interest in your battling prowess and it seems that she and Lillie want to help you improve. Why don't you take her up on the offer? If we are thinking of the same place, you will no doubt get stronger quite quickly. Go hungry too as the food there is very irresistible." He waved, "Go. Best not to keep your friends waiting."
"Mahalo Hala."
He smiled in response, "Now you go enjoy yourself. Be back at here in Iki Town with you and your pokemon ready for battle!"
"Sorry I took so long," Sun sprinted back to the town's entrance where the two girls were apprehensively awaiting his return. Neither of them looked particularly happy but their moods brightened up immediately when they sensed him arriving..
While he was away; Leilani had tried to initiate some sort of conversation that didn't revolve around either of the two boys. Lillie tried her best to keep the conversation polite, but found it difficult to find a generic topic for some unconfirmed reason. Weather was no different, hardly any exciting news other than Hau and Sun completing the Normal Trial in the Verdant Cavern. There was Team Skull, who had since seemed to be out of their hair for the moment, but the last either girl had heard; there was a boy who had stopped their efforts at trying to take pokemon at the Hau'oli Marina.
They both knew exactly who the unspoken boy was.
For the blonde, her own opinion of Leilani was beginning to change even when they had met a couple of months ago. At first, the other girl was polite, friendly, upbeat and easygoing. Lillie thought she might actually find a good friend besides Hau.
Then Elio came into the picture and Leilani's demeanor changed when she did see him for the first time at the Festival during that following week. His focus shifted almost immediately to the new fact at the time and other than at the main battle's end, he hardly paid her any attention at all. He had been the only person she could talk to besides Hala and Kukui that wasn't either a complete stranger or overbearing like Hau.
A lot of the boys there in Iki Town had always been endeared with Leilani and for good reason. It was rumored that she was among the girls on Melemele Island that were picked to advertise some sort of sun care products that were always in high demand in the Alola region. On the other hand, there was hardly any attention from the kids of the opposite gender directed her own way with the exception of Hau and now Elio, but she didn't mind it for some reason. In fact, it was better to lay low.
That still didn't help a surge of envy rile up within Lillie's body as she trailed behind her two companions who were deep in conversation while walking. Sun was clearly very interested in what the other girl had to say and he was cracking a smile at her at least once every sixty seconds. Even though she tried to pry and see if he was one of the boys chasing her down, the answer from him was vague.
She wished that it was her in Leilani's place, saying something exciting that made him light up with one of those heartwarming smiles or laughs. Her mind went back to the time Professor Kukui asked her to go and fetch him from his house. At the last minute when he opened the door after she did get there; her mind had done its usual job of drawing a blank on the reason behind her trip in the first place. Quickly thinking of something to say, she did a visual impression of him that ended up accomplishing two things at once; letting him know that the professor wanted to see him and giving off a performance that made him laugh out loud at her satirical attempt.
"In case you don't know," Leilani continued, holding out Rotom in her hands, "You can have Rotom out and about to record your battles with the Versus Recorder feature on its camera function. This is especially helpful in tournaments."
The pokedex buzzed happily at the mention of his capability, "Of courzze! I will do whatever I can to azzizt my boy!"
"Okay," Elio looked at it again when she opened the menu on the screen, "So you can kind of watch what you do wrong and change it around."
"Exactly! That's right! Now let's look at the fighting type. You know their strengths and weaknesses?"
"Yeah, they're strong against bug, rock and uh dark. Weak to flying, psychic and fairy."
"Good. One thing I will tell you about fighting types is that like it sounds, they're very physical. Many of their moves require them to directly strike their opponent. Think how your pokemon can counteract that."
Sun seemed to ponder her words, "Well I can have Grimer absorb a lot of hits with his body and Rufflet can fly around, avoiding those attacks. Maybe we can expose a weakness that way."
"That's the spirit. Now be ready to implement all of that in the battling we're about to do! So are all of your pokemon ready to go?"
He glanced down at the two poke balls and one great fastened around his waist, "Um, yeah. Let's do it!"
"And I hope you're hungry too!" Leilani cheerfully said, "Because we're going to stuff ourselves full!"
Sun recognized many of the sights of Hau'oli City as Leilani led them down Kalakaua Avenue again towards the shopping district. The Makiki Center was bustling with shoppers of all kinds and although some of the ramps and walkways displaying multiple venues of different kinds, Elio actually didn't feel as lost as he did last time. Sure, it had been a solid two weeks since being there, but a lot of it was familiar.
Including the two girls accompanying him. He already noticed that many others were staring at the opposite gender in their party with thinly concealed interest. He wasn't sure if it was admiration or jealousy.
Leilani stopped at one of the stands in the middle of the walkway, flipping through a magazine. Elio and Lillie peered at the cover, seeing a breathtaking shot of the Alolan ocean preceding a half circle of the red setting sun. Just under the layer of water; they saw some elongated boats with men seated neatly in a row, all leaned back and holding the edges of oars that dipped into the waves.
The title read; Hana Hou!
"This is Hana Hou!," Leilani explained as she paid for it, "It's the most popular magazine here in the Alola region! I love reading all the interesting things that they have to say, even though I've grown up here my whole life. I read the new issue that comes out once a month and still continue to discover things I've never discovered before. You know, one day I would like to become a journalist or editor for Hana Hou!"
"Wow!" Despite her conflicting emotions, Lillie found a bit of admiration for Leilani's aspiration. She did seem to know what she wanted to do. "That's amazing!"
"I know right? One day, I, Leilani Taula will be traveling around the world, showing everyone how great our home of Alola is while I telling the rest of Alola about what else is out there to experience! Maybe one day when you become the island challenge champion Elio, I'll be an editor and you'll be on the front cover!"
"I like the sound of that," Elio flashed his contagious smile again.
"I just wish that I knew what I wanted to do," The blonde's face fell and she glanced around, holding the bag containing Nebby close to her. "Things can be so confusing sometimes."
"That's life for you," Elio said, sounding absentminded, but still listening to the conversation as he browsed the magazine stand, "Look at me. I would never believe it if I told myself that I'd be embarking on an island challenge with pokemon of my own halfway around the world. I'd just tell you that you'd be crazy."
"Really?"
"Yeah." He looked over at her and cracked a smile. This time, Lillie was the intended recipient. There was just a faint pinkish tint barely visible on her cheeks.
Leilani smiled and shook her own head.
They spent another few minutes continuing to check out the other magazines and politely declined offers for subscription forms by the owner. Sun recognized many of them that could also be found in Kanto. Poke Chic, Coordinator Monthly, National Pokegraphic, and Pokemon Go were all there, but it clearly seemed at Alola's favorite was its own Hana Hou! Also present were the daily issues of the Hau'oli Star Advertiser, the city's primary newspaper press.
"Alright, let's get going. " Leilani declared. The trio finally left the stand and followed her further into the Makiki Center.
"Oh hold on!" She quickly moved to a directory in the middle of another big square, "We're here," She mused, "Okay, so just follow this way down and go to the big building. The place we're going to is in the back. You'll have to cross the street. I'll catch up. I think I forgot something at the stand!"
"Okay," Sun said, hesitantly. He glanced at Lille almost having what looked to be a relieved expression on his face, "C'mon, let's go."
They continued down the next walkway towards the bigger building close to the end of the big shopping gala. Sure enough like Leilani had said, a big street split the final section, connecting further down with Kalakaua and right towards the beaches and highrise hotels lining the coast.
Sun saw that traffic was stopping and a pedestrian light flashing green, allowing them to cross.
Absentmindedly, his hand gravitated towards Lillie's and they firmly clasped them together as they moved with the rest of the crowd across the warm pavement.
Her hand felt amazingly soft as if it were made of a luscious velvety material. It was slightly warm and her long slender fingers were entwined with his.
Lillie almost shivered at the contact. In a big contrast to hers; Sun's hand felt a little rougher and there was something small and coarse like sandpaper in between each of his digits. As one, they walked hand in hand onto the sidewalk and towards the Makiki's main building. While moving through the crowds and weaving through other groups of people, many of their heads turning in their direction.
She was worried one of them was with Aether on orders to come and track her and Nebby down, but the only thing they offered to her was easygoing smiles. What neither of them realized was all those nice gestures towards them were a result from the attention they were attracting. Even just strolling casually with their hands interlocked, they gave off the perception of a very striking couple. A lot couldn't help but glance at them, admiring to themselves what they thought were two teenagers very much in love for one another.
Even though Lillie knew his hands were rough from doing quite a bit of physical activity, Sun's touch was incredibly gentle and it did feel really good to hold someone's hand. After mother changed and her own brother grew distant to run away; she finally came to find out that it was something she really missed.
Elio was the first person in nearly two years to calmly hold her hand. She didn't mind it at all. Actually it was very enjoyable.
"Lillie," She glanced over at Sun, quickly finding out that they were still attached together. He looked at her curiously, "You're still holding my hand."
"Yeah,"
"Oh…okay. Do you still want to keep doing that?"
"Yes," She nodded, "Sorry Sun. I'm still a little bit nervous. Is it okay if we keep holding hands? It'll make me feel more comfortable."
The boy's face lit up with another smile, "Of course it is! I don't mind! To be honest though, I'm glad you like it."
Both teens noticed a slight pink blush flash across their faces before turning and continuing on, not bothering to loosen their grip on one another.
Lillie frowned while they were walking, Does he like Leilani as more than just a friend? I've barely even gotten past the friendship point with the boy who saved Nebby and he's jumped ahead to her, already wanting to spend time together through Hau'oli City. I wish that was us.
She suddenly was very glad that the other girl was absent for the time being. The time together alone was very enjoyable and it felt an immense pressure taken off her shoulders.
"Lillie," Sun repeated, snapping her out of the train of thoughts plaguing her head, "Hello? Alola? Earth to Lillie?"
"Huh!" She suddenly gasped, "What?"
"Oh, heh." Sun chuckled, "You were zoning off. Everything okay?"
"Wha-I mean um…yeah. Thanks Sun."
"Ah! There you two are!" They turned to the voice to see Leilani running over to catch up to them. She stopped right in front and cast an intrigued glance at their entwined hands, "Oh. Did I miss something?" She asked with a growing smirk on her face.
"No," Elio was oblivious to her suspicions, "We're just waiting for you."
"I see," Her expression didn't change, "Well thanks for that. Even though I'd know my way around anyway."
"Neither of us do," Lillie said, openly admitting that she still wanted to explore more of Hau'oli with Sun when given the opportunity. "So we're glad someone here knows where we're going."
"It's not too far!" Leilani said in a sing-song voice, "Come on alola manu! By the way, you two look soooo cute together!"
Neither of them had any chance to process what she said before they took off after their guide, not wanting to get lost again.
I wonder what Leilani was going to get? Lillie wondered, Was it a gift for Sun?
The large building in the Makiki Shopping Center was nice and cool, compared to the humidity outside. Sun was breaking out in sweat with his skin pricking from the steamy weather and his head felt hot.
Maybe a haircut is in order. He scratched his rather shaggy scalp.
"All right! We're here!"
"Woah," Sun heard the sounds of trainers and their pokemon that seemed to be…engaged in battle?
"What is this Leilani?" Lillie asked.
"This is the Battle Buffet! Where you can satisfy your hunger for food and pokemon battles!" She gestured to the entrance, "C'mon! Let's go!"
Sun turned to her, "Sorry Lillie, I know you don't like pokemon fighting. If I knew this was what she was going to take us, I wouldn't have asked you along."
"Don't worry about me," She shook her head, "Even though I hate to see them getting hurt, you've shown me that you are a talented trainer. Besides," Her green eyes met his, "I'm starving, so you better go and win us a ton of food!"
"Okay," Elio made a fist, "Let's do it!"
"Alola and welcome to the Battle Buffet!" The host greeted politely as they entered, "Table for three?"
"Yes please,"
"Excellent. That will be eleven please."
Lillie started digging in her bag for her wallet when Sun automatically stepped forward to hand over the appropriate amount. Leilani was just as shocked.
"Excellent. Now who will be participating in the battle?"
"You want to battle?" He turned to Leilani, who nodded, "Just me and her."
"Good. Please follow me."
After showing them to their tables and bringing over glasses of ice water, the host returned.
"Is this your first time here?"
"Theirs," Leiliani pointed to her two companions, "I've been here before."
"Welina to the Battle Buffet then! Before we get started, let me go over some rules for you." She handed out the drinks, "You are free to take as much food as you would like, however there are others that may try and claim the same dish as yourself. This must be settled with a one on one pokemon battle! There are different dishes with different values that will stack up over the course of your visit."
Leilani nodded, "You will have a total of ten minutes of battling time for settling on contested dishes and that will end up being your choices for dining here!"
"I assume you're a new trainer?" The host asked.
"I tried the grand trial against the kahuna last night," Sun admitted, "I lost, so hopefully I will be able to become stronger by taking care of my pokemon's skills and stomach at the same time."
"There's no better place to do that than right here!" She said, "Enjoy your time and feel free to get started whenever you like!"
With that, the host left their side, leaving the three teens alone.
"Sun," Lillie started, "You didn't have to."
"Didn't have to what?"
"Pay. Pay for lunch for me."
"Why not?" He looked over at Leilani, who appeared to also say something similar, "You're both helping me become a better trainer and get ready for my big battle tonight. This is the least I can do. Besides," His rare, but signature grin returned to his features, "I'm not going to say no to taking two beautiful girls out for lunch."
"Mahalo,"
"Yeah Elio…mahalo."
"'A'ole pilikia."
"C'mon let's go before all the food is gone!" Leilani jumped up and grabbed Sun's arm, pulling the surprised boy towards the big serving counters.
They stopped right in front as two other trainers moved to claim a big bowl of salad that looked to be decently full. Once both sides affirmed that it was the dish they wanted, a cook pulled it back and directed them both to one of the elongated floors just to the side of the restaurant that were closed off for battles only. Already there were two other battles going on and they immediately saw more people coming back up to seize more food.
"Okay, so we've got three kinds of dishes. Bronze, silver and gold. Gold yields the highest points and it multiplies your total by three and whatever servings you earn. Silver does two and so forth. However if you do ignore certain dishes out there, they depreciate as one or two servings may be taken from uncontested dishes while you're battling. This is called stealing and you're perfectly okay to do this as well."
"Why can't we take the whole thing if nobody wants it?"
"It's not allowed unless someone else claims it and settled via a battle." Leilani glanced over at some of the other battles happening, "You're also going to encounter quite a diverse array of battlers here. Some will try and take you out quickly to minimize time spent fighting and gain as much food as possible. Others will use stall tactics to force their opponents into situations where the amount of food earned gets less with every passing minute whether it be by stealing or on one battle. You have to choose carefully though as sometimes, trainers watch certain dishes for opportunities to claim it for themselves, deny it to others or reduce the clock on others in a time costly battle."
"Okay. Are we allowed to heal our pokemon in between fights?"
"Yeah. Here," She handed him a couple of revives, "These are quite useful."
"Thanks. Now let's do this! Come on Rotom! I need some help over here!"
"Yeah!" The two trainers exchanged a high five and went right to work. Hearing his name called; the pokedex flew out of Sun's backpack to join him, rambling all about how epic battles and food could get here at the renowned restaurant in Hau'oli City.
From her seat, Lillie watched with curiosity as the Sun and Leilani came into the buffet with totally different approaches. The latter quickly set her sights on a bronze ranked dish that was quite full; Eggant with chili sauce. Another boy also wanted it and they immediately went to determine who would earn it in battle.
The boy used an Alolan rattata and tried to put up a fight with its impressive reflexes, but Leilani used her small cutiefly, using both its own blinding speed and type advantage to secure a quick victory and earn herself a decent amount of winnings.
Going back to Sun; she saw that he used her stealing tactic a couple of times. Although there was a gold dish; he hardly saw any food inside which was why people passed up on it. When nobody was paying attention, he went right in to snag the last piece of miltank cheese pizza.
He tried his luck on a newly arrived silver dish that looked like whirlpool sushi, but there was a trainer who had also tried to claim it herself. Neither backed down, so the cook set it aside, allowing them to settle it with a battle. He opted to use Litten while she revealed a red and white birdlike pokemon that was carrying a sack over its shoulder.
"Delibird," Rotom stated beside Sun, "Delivery pokemon. It always forages about for food to share with other people and pokemon. Although it prefers cold environments, this pokemon seems to tolerate the heat in Alola to some extent. Delibird is an ice and flying type. Additional information is available upon catching this pokemon."
"Ice and flying huh," Sun saw that he had the type advantage, "Okay. Use ember!"
Litten hissed before spitting out a ball of tiny flames. The delibird took the hit, but surprisingly recovered quickly.
Must be because it's used to heat, even though its super effective!
"Delibird, present!"
"Del!" It reached into its sack and hurled a boxlike object at Litten. He was struck rather hard and tumbled back, struggling to get up.
"Don't let it take you down buddy!" Sun encouraged, "Try a scratch!"
"Present again!"
Another box came Litten's way as he stood back up, but instead of receiving damage, his wounds were quickly healed."
"What?"
"Delebirdzzz move prezzent can either damage or heal its opponent. It izz randomly decided!" Rotom said.
"Huh," I've already wasted enough time battling what should've been an easy win, "Litten, ember again!" The fire cat launched another one, connecting for a second time and easily knocking the delibird out."
"Aww," The girl said as she recalled her defeated pokemon back into its ball, "Oh well, it was worth a try. Your Litten is crazy strong! Let's battle again soon! Enjoy the food!"
It was a close matchup. Sun had tried to minimize the time he had spent battling by either winning quickly or stealing for dishes that were being ignored by the others. At the same time, his allotted window for battling over contested food was edging closer to Leilani's. Both seemed to be fairly close in allotted points though. They had accumulated a bunch of food. Rindo salad, eggant with chili sauce, vanillite parfair, Hoenn style ramen, blaziken nuggets just to name a few.
Elio used Litten a couple of times and brought Grimer out once, but the pokemon he used the most was Rufflet.
Hala had been right in getting a new pokemon. At first, neither him or Elio were on the same page. Rufflet was fully obedient, but not much felt right in the fact that Sun used him for mainly his type advantage against a couple of grass and bug pokemon.
Then he switched his approach on the next battle over some lau lau, his opponent's wingull was also fast, firing water guns that Rufflet barely had enough time to dodge. Sun finally realized what his new pokemon's strengths were; having speed and power while also able to fly bravely through attacks to disrupt their coordination. His ability of hustle came in handy with powerful pecks and wing attacks, but the hindrance of accuracy had caused him to miss a couple of chances to close out a battle, costing him valuable time. Still, Lillie was very impressed that the two clicked almost immediately once Sun had found out what he was good at.
Soon enough it all came down to one and a half minutes of battling time for both Sun and Leilani. Each trainer had a pretty good amount of food from stealing and winning battles, but they wanted to go for one more dish.
"This is our super popular take down filet mignon!" One of the chefs called out, placing a gold plate down on the serving aisle, "First come first served!"
A handful of trainers heard the new valuable dish coming out and eagerly moved to claim it. Some already had their pokemon's poke balls out in hand for an inevitable battle about to take place.
Sun was there first and right about to take a helping when he sensed a presence beside him and turned to look.
"I'll be taking it all," Leilani declared.
"Oh no you're not," Elio said, reaching for the dish again, "This is mine."
A knowing smirk grew on their faces, "Fine, we'll settle it with a battle! Then we'll see who gets it!"
They quickly took one of the vacant stages and Sun was the first to throw out Rufflet's great ball.
"All right Machop! Let's go!" Leilani cried, throwing out a poke ball. It burst open to reveal a reptilian bluish-gray skinned humanoid pokemon with readied fists and a determined gaze.
"Machop?" He recognized the Kanto-native pokemon, "Rotom?"
"Yezzir! Already regizzterrd! Machop…Superpower pokemon. Machop always loves working out and exercising its muscles and every defeat resolves it to train even harder the next day. It is capable of throwing pokemon much larger than its size such as graveler with little to no effort. Machop is a fighting type. Additional information is available upon catching this pokemon."
A fighting type…Elio wondered, Was Leilani wanting this to happen so I could have more experience against it?
"Rufflet, lead this off with peck!"
With a loud caw; he jumped forward, glowing his beak and jabbing it into Machop's side. It flinched and was moved slightly back, but it didn't do much damage.
"Bulk up!" Leilani called.
"Don't let it get comfortable!" Sun said to his pokemon, "Use leer!"
If she wants to make this a long battle, so be it!
Rufflet's eyes became intense as it stared harshly at the machop.
"Smack down!"
"Dodge it!"
Machop held a stone in its hands as Rufflet took off. But when he flapped his wings to get airborne, the other pokemon threw the rock, hitting directly on the side and causing the bird to fall. He just barely managed to raise them again and prevent a hard landing. But the damage had been done. Not only was it a super effective attack, but Rufflet's ability to fly around things had now been impeded.
She purposely targeted his flying ability to take away that advantage!
"Guess it's a ground game now," Elio muttered, "Peck again!"
"Grab it!"
"What?!" Sun stared in surprise as Machop's big hand lashed out, wrapping firmly around Rufflet's beak. The tiny eaglet struggled, moving as much as possible to loosen or break free, but the superpower pokemon continued to hold firm.
"Karate chop!"
"Block it with wing attack!" Although the circumstances were less than ideal, Rufflet managed to raise its undamaged wing to counter Machop's other forearm. The two canceled one another out.
"Do it again, but hit Machop instead!"
Cawing again; Rufflet's wing glowed white and he swiped it across his midsection. The attack had caught it by surprise and released him.
"Okay, now fury attack!"
"Counter with low kick!" Leilani yelled, "Trip it up!"
He rushed forward, intent on jabbing his beak into Machop's side multiple times. The fighting type planted its left foot in front, moving it out and sweeping in a circular motion just as the two pokemon came together again. One of his sharp talons was suddenly brought out under him as Machop's kick dropped him like a sack, doing a considerable amount of damage.
"Machop, seismic toss!"
"Get back up!" Sun called out to his stunned pokemon, "Peck quick!"
Machop reached down just as Rufflet jumped up again, pecking Machop's exposed chest. The surprise knocked it back again.
"Alright let's finish this," Sun clenched both fists, "Wing attack!"
"Let!" Rufflet swooped out, using its injured, but still functional wings to take a brief glide and close the distance faster. He glowed once again and slammed both right into Machop, catching it with enough force to toss it airborne for a brief second.
"Machop!"
The tiny lizardlike pokemon tumbled to the ground, landing in a fainted heap right in front of his trainer.
There was a ding on their battle timers just a moment later, indicating that their clock for battling on food had now fully elapsed.
Sun's mouth dropped open. I won? Right in the nick of time?!
"Well," Leilani looked a little down at the loss, but forced a smile at seeing the boy opposite her run right over to his bird and scoop him up, hugging him tightly while showering him with praise. Rufflet chirped happily, nuzzling his face against his trainer's shoulder.
"Thank you so much Leilani!" Sun flashed another smile, "That was an amazing battle!"
"You rocked out there." She high fived him, "You and Rufflet look like you've been battling together for months. I think you're now ready to take on the grand trial again."
"Really?"
"Yeah I do, but first, let's eat!"
Lillie could hardly believe all the food both Sun and Leilani had won over battles. The dishes kept on coming and there was more than enough to go around for the three of them.
Her thoughts of jealousy towards Leilani had since evaporated when they ate, chatting excitedly about different things and ate some more. An even more heartwarming gesture that Sun displayed was liberally sharing the prime grade take down filet between the three them. Lillie now knew why it was a highly desired dish. The rub, marbling and juices of the beef melded together into something absolutely incredible with bursting intense flavors.
"This should be worth twice as much as the price of admission," She admitted after chewing another piece.
"I know," Leilani groaned, leaning back into her chair. Having so much food had satiated all of them and they felt like they were ready to burst, "Whenever I come here, the take down steak is something I'll always seek out. It's basically their most popular dish."
"I can see why," Sun had to tap out already and had surprisingly finished just about everything he had won. It wasn't helping that he had to loosen his poke ball belt to help relieve his innards of having food overload. His eyes felt heavy, "I could really use a nap right now."
"Me too," Lillie added, "I don't think I've ever eaten this much food before in my life!"
"I feel like I have to run around Melemele Island again."
"Has everyone gotten enough to eat today?" The host asked, coming up to their table, "Let's evaluate your guys' score. Hmm," She paused, "All three of you look pleasantly full to me! Leilani, your score was forty six and Elio had forty four. Thank you for dining with us today and we hope to see you again soon! Alola!"
The teens watched her go and groaned in their seats from their full stomachs.
"Gee, I wonder what gave away the fact we were full," Sun deadpanned.
Leilani laughed, "So would you come back here again?"
"Yes, but not today or tomorrow. Or next week."
After leaving a tip at the table, the three made their way back out to the promenade and headed back towards Iki Town. It was in the mid-afternoon when they were just at Kalakaua Avenue where the ocean crashed against the shoreline. Both Sun and Lillie noticed that the crowds along the beach were much more dense than usual.
"It's about that time," Leilani explained, "Hottest period of the day plus the waves are at their best. No better opportunity to go surfing."
"Surfing," Sun repeated, "Wow. I'd like to try that one day."
"Sure," She smiled at him, "When we get an opportunity, I'll teach you." Glancing over at Lillie, "Hau and I will teach you both."
"Hau knows how to surf? Woah, that's pretty awesome!"
"I don't know," Lillie was looking out, "It looks pretty scary."
"Yeah it does at first, but when you're used to it, then it's not so bad."
Leilani began to walk away and Sun began to follow, but he quickly didn't notice the other girl's presence beside him. Turning back, he saw that she was still staring at the azure ocean, mesmerized by its foamy waves and skilled surfers on their boards, effortlessly gliding over its surface.
"Lillie!" Sun called out to her, "Are you coming?"
Sun seems so interested in everything Leilani has offered him. Pokemon battles, food and now surfing. What have I done except make him go out of his way to protect Nebby?
"Lillie!" He shouted again with his hands cupped, earning himself a bit of attention thrown his way, "Come on, let's go!"
"Pew!" Nebby shook inside her bag, snapping the blonde back to her senses. She rushed over to his side again.
"Sorry Sun. I'm just wondering about things,"
He glanced at her soft features curiously, "What things? Lillie, are you alright?"
"Yes," She gently nodded, "You're right. We better not be late to Iki Town. I have to be there to cheer you on when you take Hala down!"
Elio smiled, "Awesome. Let's go!"
He extended his hand out to her, completely catching off guard with the gesture. A sheepish grin spread across his face and the familiar blush returned, "I uh...I kind of liked it when we held hands back at the Makiki Center. Really, you're the only one I'm comfortable doing it with."
Lillie felt the same. Normally she'd be kind of shy if it was Hau or someone else, but the boy who risked his own life to save Nebby just felt...right to hold hands. Like him; her confidence took off into the sky whenever he was around. Interlocking fingers was almost as if she was feeding off the calm energy he radiated and it felt like they could tackle anything together.
Me too. She slipped her delicate hand through his and they walked back towards Iki Town.
So we've gotten the Battle Buffet, which I've kind of tweaked to give it a more realistic take than the turn based game variant. And is Lillie getting a little jealous of Sun and Leilani spending time with each other? The latter ran off at one point to get something! What could it be?
Translations (there's quite a few in this one :D):
E kala mai ia'u - I am sorry
Ho'omaika'i - Congratulations
Oe i ike iki - You know nothing
Opu - Belly
Tutu - Grandmother/Grandfather
Keiki - Child
Kaikamahine - Girl
Makiki - Park
Hana Hou! - One more time!/Encore! Hana Hou is the bi-monthly inflight magazine of the real life Hawaiian Airlines usually featuring hot trendy tourist areas on all the islands as well as travelogues, interviews and tips whenever one is visiting the Hawaiian islands. In the Pokemon universe I've created, this Hana Hou! has a similar purpose and is the local Alolan people's most popular magazine, instead coming out once a month.
Alola Manu - Lovebirds
Welina - Welcome
As always, a big mahalo to everyone who has read, favorite, followed and especially reviewed so far! You give my writing purpose.
Brav