Chapter 36: Why Not Give Me a Z-Ring Sometime?

The next morning, Goh was up bright and early, ready to meet the Kahuna. Ash and Lillie, knowing he wouldn't let this go, showed him the way to Iki Town, where they knocked on the door to Hala's house.

"Just a minute."

The door popped open to reveal Hau, who smiled brightly when he saw his friends.

"Ash, Lillie, what a surprise? How long has it been since the Alola League?"

"It's great to see you too, Hau! May we come in?"

"Of course! And who are you?"

"I'm Goh, their friend and coworker. Pleased to meet you!"

After exchanging pleasantries, Goh decided to get on down to business.

"I was hoping that maybe, just maybe…you could give me a Z-Crystal?"

"Goh!"

"What? It can't hurt to ask?"

Hau laughed, waving off Lillie's concern.

"It's fine, Lillie. Let me guess, you saw Ash here use it in action and wanted to give it a try yourself?"

"Yeah! Ilima said I should speak to the Kahuna. Do you know where I can find him?"

Hau laughed, and pointed towards himself.

"You've found him!"

"You?!"

"Yep! Gramps officially passed the title down onto me after I beat him in battle. Told me that I was ready to lead on my own, but he's still around if I need him."

"In that case, please give me a Z-Ring and a Z-Crystal! The raw power and emotion…its unlike anything I've ever seen!"

Hau leaned back, thinking it over.

"Well, this is a little unusual. Usually, we don't allow just anybody to take a Z-Ring and have the power at their fingertips. But if you're serious…"

"I am, I promise!"

"Tell you what, I've been working on a little trial of my own for a while. If you can pass it, I'll give you a Z-Ring and a Z-Crystal. Deal?"

"Deal!"

On their way to the trial site, Ash, Goh, and Lillie did their best to fill Goh in on what to expect.

"So, there's this super strong Pokemon that I have to fight, and if I beat it I can have a Z-Crystal?"

"Well, that's a bit of an oversimplification, but yes. Ah, here we are."

The quartet soon arrived at Ten Carat Hill, where there was the entrance to a large cave.

"Your Rotomphone can take pictures, right?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Here's your trial. Go in there and take a picture of these three Pokemon: A Rockruff, a Jangmo-o, and a Hakamo-o. Once you've done that, come back and show me the pictures so that I can verify your success."

"That's it? Piece of cake!"

Goh confidently strolled into the cave, disappearing from view. Confused, Ash and Lillie turned to Hau.

"Hau, there aren't any Hakamo-o or Jangmo-o in Ten Carat Hill. Why did you-"

Hau laughed and shushed them, not wanting Goh to hear in case he was still nearby.

"Oh, don't you worry about that. Our friend is in for a big surprise…"

A while later, Goh was on the search for his final picture when he found it. A large Hakamo-o, almost as big as a Kommo-o, stood at the edge of a small pool, leaning down to drink from it. Smirking, Goh raised his phone and took a picture of it.

"Easy as pie."

But the flash got Hakamo-o's attention, and he was none too happy with the intrusion. Goh, sensing he had made a mistake, started to back up, only for the Hakamo-o to leap up and land right in front of him, Goh just barely managing to dodge the punch thrown at him.

"Alright, guess you want a battle. Go, Raboot! Use Ember!"

Goh's starter came out strong right out of the gate, hitting the Pseudo-Legendary with a flurry of small sparks, which his opponent shielded against by raising his massive arms. Once Raboot had stopped, he went in to pummel the fire type, who just barely managed to dodge it.

"Double Kick, followed with more Ember!"

Before Hakamo-o could retract his arm, Raboot dealt two swift kicks straight to it, making it cringe slightly while Raboot kept pelting him with embers. But Raboot was quickly thrown backwards by a Dragon Tail, hitting the wall so hard he almost became embedded into it.

"Raboot, are you okay?"

Raboot cringed, but forced himself to his feet, not wanting to let Goh down. Hakamo-o, enraged by their stubborness, ran forward and began hitting him with Close Combat, causing him even more pain.

"Hang in there, Raboot! Use Double Kick!"

Finding an opening, Raboot went in for a double kick. But instead of just the normal two kicks, his legs became engulfed in flames, catching his opponent off guard and allowing Raboot to fight back, actually pushing Hakamo-o back.

"Don't let up, Raboot! Keep it up!"

Raboot did just that, not allowing his opponent even a minute of rest until he fell over, unconscious.

"Way to go, Raboot! You learned Blaze Kick!

Raboot smiled, and did his signature high five with Goh before the two of them returned to the entrance. Hau glanced through his collection of photos before nodding approvingly.

"Congratulations, Goh, you've passed the test."

"Alright! Does this mean-"

"It sure does. Come on with me."

The trio followed him back to his house, where he pulled a Z-Ring out of a chest.

"This is yours. You deserve it!"

"Sweet! Thank you so very much."

"Hold on, one more thing."

Hau rummaged through a chest before bringing out a small orange crystal.

"Here, a Firium Z. I take it that Raboot is your starter, so this will help you the most."

Goh couldn't help but grin like a madman, striking the pose Ash would normally do whenever he accomplished something.

"Oh yeah, I've got a Firium Z!"

"Raboot!"

"Hey, that's my line!"

"Yeah, well I did it better!"

"Listen here, you little-"

Lillie just sighed as the two of them argued, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Boys."