A vast array of tents camped out on a relatively flat portion of Akala’s Route 8. A cliffside plain of grass was now dotted with various trainers and Pokémon training, practicing, and preparing. There was a lot of information that could be gathered just from idly looking about, yet Hope and I decided to stay within the cover of our own tent.

“Look at this section,” Hope said. “All properly presented challenges must be accepted by the carrier of the rock.”

“The key words are ‘properly presented.’ Where does it outline what it means by that?” I asked.

She shifted through a set of papers we had printed earlier this week, and her eyes scanned over the rules for this portion of the Kahuna’s challenge.

“Section 12-A: requirements for a trainer to issue their challenge,” she read out loud. “Trainers must, one: state their challenge loud and clear. Two: establish eye contact with the carrier in question. Three: ensure their target is not already engaged in a battle.”

“Anything else we can use?”

She shook her head. “No, the rest is mostly about what constitutes a carrier Pokémon Trainer, which is explicit enough.”

What we were doing was trying to solve a problem. That problem? We wouldn't both be able to grab one of the stones to bring south to the Kahuna. The reason so many Pokémon trainers had set up camp around here was because they all intended to grab one of the three that would be given out this week. The Kahuna’s test worked by having three pillars with three stones each, and once given permission by the local league organizers, it would be a relative free-for-all between everyone of the appropriate level attempting to grab one.

That was why Hope and I were looking through the rules. The pillars would be set up too close together to ensure we could succeed in our attempts. With so many trainers going after the set, we could maybe get one if we worked together.

We were looking over the rules to come up with a plan that would ensure we could both get one of the “challenge stones.”

"And the rules about using Pokémon moves during the initial ruckus?" Hope asked.

"Nothing direct. Nothing damaging."

She hummed. "I definitely think we should focus on messing with the challenge rights, then. Preventing someone from issuing one would mean we could run all the way out."

"But how, exactly, can we do something like that?"

"The answer is in the moves. I think I could whip something up," Hope said.

I tapped my fingers on my lips. There was also the idea that I could mess with sound to ensure a challenge would never be delivered in the first place. A generous interpretation of rules 1 and 3 might imply that if the carrier trainer didn't hear anything, they wouldn't be required to accept the battle otherwise.

"Excuse me?"

Hope and I turned to Lillie, who was in the corner with Cleffa in her lap.

"I actually have an idea."

It took a moment of us staring at her for her to realize we were waiting for her to speak, and she blinked then turned bright red.

"I—I, um! Page two!" she squeaked, stammering as she did.

Hope and I flipped to that page and read it over. Hope raised an eyebrow.

"This is just a discussion on the methods of travel. Anyone who's carrying the challenge stones isn't allowed to fly or teleport," Hope said.

"That's not true!" Lillie replied. "Um, at least, it's more specific than that."

Frowning, I looked back to the section in more detail, homing in on where it discussed teleportation. Flying on Pokémon back was just outright banned, even if a trainer stayed close to the ground, but when it came to teleportation...

"Restricted travel methods, section C, Teleportation," I read. "Moves such as Teleport that allow for instantaneous transportation are not permitted to travel directly to Konikoni City.”

Konikoni City was on the southernmost tip of the island, which is why the stones were given out on Route 8. By having such a distance between the two locations, trainers would be forced to travel all that way and would be required to accept any challenges properly delivered. The test was getting there, or at least getting the stone. Teleportation was too much of a “skip” to allow.

But, when I read through what Lillie pointed out...

"Wait a second, this only mentions banning any teleportation directly to the city," I said.

"Konikoni City is defined as the entire space past Diglet's cave," Hope read off of page 1. "That means Memorial Hill and Route 9 are off limits, too."

"But that still means we can use Teleport, at least in the short range."

"Not more than a few thousand feet at a time, based on the notes on page 3."

Hope and I both looked up from the notes before we both snapped our gaze towards Lillie, totally in sync.

"You might have just provided a basis for our plan," I said.

"Short-ranged teleportation might be limited, but it gives up so much freedom of movement," Hope added.

Lillie blushed and pulled Cleffa closer into her body, who squealed happily at the hug. What happened next caused our tent to be filled with furious writing and discussion, and Hope and I slowly and carefully came up with a viable plan.

There were nine of the “challenge stones” laid out: three of each category. The weakest Pokémon trainers would be collecting green stones, mid-tier Pokémon trainers would be collecting yellow stones, and as for Hope and I, at the highest tier, we would be collecting red stones.

Each stone resembled a sort of totem with a humanoid face on it. Two eyes, a large nose, and a mouth were carved on their front, with a tiny little body that somehow looked both chubby and unreasonably small underneath. Everyone eyed them as the sky blue-uniformed League representatives set them out on behalf of Akala’s Kahuna. We all had to stay behind the line and wait for them to signal for us to move forward whenever the whistle blew.

“Remember the plan?” I whispered.

Hope nodded, and she slipped into the crowd behind me. I stood near the front, and her Vileplume remained in the spot when she just left.

This set of trainers were just attempting to get the red stones—the strongest trainers in Alola were here to obtain the right to challenge the island’s Kahuna today. There was more than I was expecting, which meant obtaining a stone would be more challenging than I initially thought. But, I refused to lose, and Hope refused to lose as well. Our plan needed to work, otherwise, we would need to hunt down whoever obtained one of these stones to “acquire” them for ourselves.

(It wasn’t theft if it was won via challenger, as per the rules. Of course, we had nothing sinister planned.)

After a few minutes of waiting, past the designated time, one of the League officials stepped forward. He was a little heavy, but he had a casual smile on his face as he looked around at all the trainers here.

“Alright, everybody,” he called out with a clap. “The rules were passed out for a reason, so remember to not unleash any offensive moves at people, especially not at anyone’s head. Violators will be subjected to a temporary expulsion for at least a month, and serious violators will be totally disqualified from competing in this year’s challenge.”

He smiled as if he hadn’t just given everyone a devastating threat, and then he started to move off to the side.

“Make sure you grab the correctly colored challenge stone, and then we’ll be off. Prepare yourselves in three, two, one—”

Vileplume acted a moment before the whistle blew. From the pit of her central flower, a pink cloud of Aromatherapy puffed out, blocking the air and causing everyone around her to choke. I purposefully held my breath, expecting this, and as my vision turned pink, I saw that the official didn’t even blink when the chaos started up.

TWEET!

And we were off.

I went on a mad dash forward, bringing out a Great Ball to release my helper for this plan. A few trainers were stuck behind, too busy furiously coughing thanks to that pungent Aromatherapy, but the smart ones managed to circle around its edge.

"Water Gun, Pelipper!"

A voice shouted behind me, and that was enough warning to jump to the side. A burst of water didn't hit me nor anyone else, but it did cause the ground in front to become soggy with mud, a patch of difficult terrain impeding all of the runners’ movements.

"Reflect, make a bridge!" I called out to Carbink.

My newly released Fairy Type gained a smirk hidden underneath their head’s rocky fluff, and they conjured a translucent barrier that let me run across with ease.

There wasn't time to exchange any more attacks. People were already up at where the stones were stored. I saw one blonde haired trainer grab one and take off, whereas with another stone, two trainers were neck-and-neck at running forward.

Somehow, I managed to reach the one I was aiming for first, mostly due to Carbink conjuring even more barriers to block people's path. Carbink used Dazzling Gleam, not to attack, but to flash, and I pressed a cold object close to my chest and took off running down the route.

"That trainer got the stone!" someone yelled at just the right time. "After them!"

And then all of the chasing trainers turned towards me and ran.

"I challenge you—"

"I challenge—"

"I challenge you to a—"

Their shouts were blocked off by temporary boxes of Light Screens, which prevented any sound from getting through. They failed to properly complete their challenge, and I continued to run. Carbink stayed behind.

As it stood, I didn't have any other Pokémon that could help with this section of our plan. Gardevoir was out with Hope, having been released before this whole mess started in the first place. Ninetales would be good if I needed to escape into a cloud of snow, which I didn’t, and Rapidash would only be good if I wanted to completely outpace the people following me, which I didn’t want, either.

No, encouraging people to follow me was my current objective, and I needed to run as far as I could to lure them away. I clutched the stone I was carrying even closer to my chest and hunched over to prevent others from seeing exactly what had been carved onto its surface.

Unfortunately, I didn't get as far as I’d like. A trainer on Tauros-back thundered over the dirt path and pulled out in front of me. When he stopped, I had to stop, too. Now all I could do was stall.

"I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" he shouted at me with a grin.

Both of us locked eyes. The trainers who were chasing me all managed to catch up, now circling us like scavengers trying to get a scrap of a predator's prey. Depending on who would win this match, they'd challenge the leader to a battle. If things went wrong, it'd end up being match after match after match after match until there was one person who remained who was either strong enough to win them all or clever enough to find a way to escape.

Too bad for them, I didn't plan on accepting any challenges right now.

"Sorry, but I refuse," I said.

The blonde-haired trainer twisted up his face in annoyance.

"The rules of this trial state anyone carrying the challenge stone has to accept an appropriately delivered challenge. I did everything correctly. You have to compete in this match."

I shifted back and forth on my feet, continuing to stare the trainer in his face. My gaze was unerring and my expression emotionless. He didn’t bother looking down to see what exactly I was carrying, and eventually, he turned away.

"Yeah, you're completely right," I said.

A few trainers at the side frowned as the silence continued.

"So accept my challenge," he said.

"No."

"Why?!"

I smiled, finally revealing how I felt; I gained a completely and utterly smug grin.

"Why? Well, you see, what you said is that a trainer carrying the challenge stone has to accept all challenges, yes?"

"If the challenges are properly delivered, yeah," he said.

"Then what about someone else? Someone who isn't carrying a challenge stone? Because if you look carefully..."

I brought my arms out dramatically to show what I held. In one hand was a simple rock that Carbink had created when the flash of Dazzling Gleam had turned away everyone’s eyes. Rather than an emotionless, carved face, it resembled the basic challenge stone, except it was twisted up in a grin and a tongue stuck out of its mouth.

The challenge stone wasn’t on my person—it never had been. That voice from earlier, ponting me out to the others?

That was Hope. Carbink had used their geokinesis and clever sleight-of-hand on my part to switch the stones around the stones before everyone had given chase. As they had stayed behind, it was clear that the stone everyone sought was no longer on me.

At the reveal, there was a moment of silence as everyone I lured this way processed what was in my hand. Someone shouted at me, calling out "You cheat!" Another just shook his head, annoyed but slightly amused.

"You tricked me," the challenging trainer said.

"No, I tricked you all," I replied.

No one moved, and then Gardevoir was suddenly next to me. He looked around, a smile on his face just smug as mine, then he held out a hand.

"Bye!" I said.

Before anyone could react, I was gone. I burst out into laughter on a hillside that overlooked the route. Nearby, Hope had a grin of her own on her face while Lillie was staring down at the chaos below—one of the stones was locked into that exact chain of battles I had described earlier.

"Did it work?" I asked.

Hope nodded and held up the appropriate, red-colored stone. Seeing that, I breathed out in relief. Carbink floated nearby, and I gave them a proud rub before returning them to their Great Ball. For the first part of our plan, everything had worked.

"But there's only one stone?" Lillie pointed out.

"Don't worry, I have a plan," I said. Smiling to myself, I turned to Hope and locked eyes, causing her to freeze. "I challenge you to—"

"No," she breathed.

"Tell me where the other rock is."

She blinked, then we both broke out into laughter at the dumb trick. It's been a while since I'd been able to act with this much deception. Honestly, this was reminding me of my shows as Robin. I missed misleading everyone with such a good disguise.

"Oh, you...!" Hope held up a fist and gestured at me angrily, but there wasn’t any true emotion behind it. Afterwards, she pointed in the air. "Tropius has been keeping track of the third stone from the sky. Go directly under him, and you'll find the person with the third stone who escaped."

"Thanks, Hope."

She gave me a nod and wished me luck.

Since Hope and Lillie were secured here, they both shifted back to start to stealth to the Pokémon Center. I locked eyes with Gardevoir as they did.

"Ready to claim it for ourselves?"

He grinned and held the Pixie Plate like a book in his hands.

A moment passed, then Gardevoir changed our location. I found myself under a tree with a young trainer in a green uniform staring at me in shock.

"I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" I shouted before he could react.

The boy blinked, then he slumped.

"Aw, man,” he groaned.

He reached into his pocket to pull out the expected stone.

As the defender, he had the right to set the rules of the battle. For this, he said he wanted it to be a full team six-on-six. I nodded, having expected that, then I looked around.

He had traveled far enough that no one was nearby, but the sound of a match would likely lure trainers to our position.

"Let's make this fast, Gardevoir."

The smile I was met with spoke of extreme confidence, while our opponent just looked annoyed.

"Don't you underestimate me! Go, Fearow!"

"Gardevoir, as discussed."

The second the match started, Fearow flapped its wings to carry it forward, and it spun through the air with its long beak aimed forward. A Drill Peck aimed right towards Gardevoir's chest, but a Teleport brought him away.

He didn't attack.

"That's one," I said.

"Aerial Ace!"

Fearow pulled up in the air and dived back down. Teleport wouldn't be fast enough.

"Reflect!" I yelled.

A screen was brought up, but Fearow still landed. Its beak stabbed into Gardevoir's stomach, but the screen it passed through significantly reduced its momentum and helped to minimize its damage.

“That’s two," I mumbled.

"Pluck!"

Now up close, Fearow bit down and tore away from Gardevoir. He wasn't holding a berry, which was good, but the power of the attack still caused him to wince.

Focus! Please!

His eyes snapped down, full of rage. There was a certain level of extreme alertness in them. He didn't use any defensive moves, but seeing that look, I smiled.

I breathed out a sigh of relief.

"That's three."

With three Calm Minds up, Gardevoir was fully able to finish this battle. He was ready to unleash powerful, boosted attacks, and he looked towards the Fearow with an emotionless look on his face.

Then he burst with Dazzling Gleam.

The bird squawked in pain, causing me to wince. That loud sound meant trainers would likely start rushing here to check out the noise.

"Finish it off!" I yelled.

Before it could react, a Psychic caused the Fearow to crumple to the ground.

"Just you wait! I have another five Pokémon left!" my opponent yelled.

I only have three viable ones with me, but Gardevoir will be enough, I thought, not willing to verbalize that taunt to someone who didn't deserve it.

He sent out a Lycanroc, a midday form, a tan-colored wolf ready to charge forward.

"Accelrock!"

"Stored Power."

Gardevoir was clipped by a few stones, and then he burst.

With the Stored Power inherently increasing its base power through the use of any buffing moves, and then with Calm Mind allowing Gardevoir's focus to enhance it even further, that one attack caused the Lycanroc to fall to the ground.

"Charjabug!" he called out next.

"Stored Power," I said in reply.

The Bug Type fell, then after it, a Drifblim. His fifth Pokémon, an Alolan Persian, managed to last a bit longer.

Against a Dark Type, Stored Power wouldn't work, on account of Persian's immunity. Instead, Gardevoir stayed back and used Life Dew to refresh himself, ensuring the damage he'd sustained wouldn't bother him as much for the rest of the match.

"Night Slash!"

Persian’s claws glowed the color of the night sky as it darted over the ground. Gardevoir didn’t immediately react; he used the time in which Persian was running to take a short break. When the cat reached his position, it jumped in the air and swiped at his chest. However, the attack never landed, and all it did was disrupt the hidden illusion of Gardevoir’s Double Team.

“Dazzling Gleam!”

“Run, Persian!”

Gardevoir revealed himself to be behind Persian, exploding outwards in a Fairy Type light. Stored Power wouldn’t work against Persian, and Moonblast, though strong, was liable to be dodged by such a speedy Pokémon. That left just Dazzling Gleam, which required Gardevoir to get up close to Persian in order to dodge.

Thanks to the Calm Mind boosts, Persian wasn’t able to withstand the attack. It hit the ground, unconscious, laying on its side.

“You have one Pokémon left,” I called out. “Do you want to end the match here so it can still protect you when you head back to the Pokémon Center?”

I admit, I was both trying to be nice while also hurrying up the battle, but what I said seemed to be the wrong thing to say. My opponent gained a slight snarl to his expression, and he held his last Pokéball tight in his hands.

Then, rumbling. I could hear the thundering echoes of hooves rapidly approaching. Likely, the same trainers on Tauros-back from before were now circling around and fast approaching. I needed this battle to end now, otherwise I might get caught up in a fight that would hold me back. Gardevoir’s Teleport was crucial to bring us the short distance away, but if we get stuck here in a chain of challenges instead...

“No. We’re battling until the end,” my opponent said.

I nodded silently. With Gardevoir’s domination of the field and my unintentionally unkind words from before, it seemed sticking this out was a point of pride.

“Miltank!”

I frowned as the pink cow Pokémon appeared. I glanced over to Gardevoir, not even giving him an order.

Within a second, a Psychic crushed it against the ground, and the Pokémon fainted.

I then ran up to my opponent, who returned Miltank as I did.

“The stone, please,” I said, breathing heavily. The sound of the approaching Tauros was getting louder.

At my words, the trainer didn’t immediately give me my rightfully-won challenge stone. Instead, he seemed to pause to think, then he gained a small smirk that I didn’t like to see in the slightest.

“Sure,” he said, “just give me one moment to find it...”

I stared directly at the stone, still in his hand, as he stretched out and forced a yawn, delaying the exchange. I could see the dust cloud in the riders now; they were rapidly approaching and would be here within moments.

"Please," I begged.

Once again, that was the wrong thing to say, as all that did was give the guy a wider grin. He took one more moment to bring his arms out behind him in an even deeper stretch, and I heard the unmistakable sound of three different Tauros skidding to a halt.

"Here," he said.

The stone was thrust into my hands.

"I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

"I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

"I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

Three trainers spoke at once; three trainers issued a challenge. There was a bit of growling between them as they obviously sought to claim the stone for themselves, and I just closed my eyes as I rubbed my temples.

Turning around, I didn't make eye contact with any of them, but my goal wasn't to squirm my way out of a challenge. Instead, coming to a quick plan based on my recent experiences, I took a deep breath then snapped my eyes back open.

"Alright," I said. “I accept.”

"Accept who?! You have to say who you’re battling!" one of the three trainers called out.

I glanced between them, purposefully keeping my expression level. Thankfully, these three seemed to be the only trainers who had caught on to my stone's locations, but I wasn’t sure how long that would last. I needed this next match to be quick.

"All of you, of course," I said. "Trainers carrying the stone get to set the rules of the battle, right? Well for your challenges, how about this: a free for all match not unlike that of the Battle Royal Dome. One Pokémon each, and whoever’s Pokémon is standing at the end wins."

They exchanged a look. "Floating Pokémon still count as standing as if they're conscious, right?" one asked.

"Of course," I said.

Damn. I kind of wanted to use that technicality.

There was a bit of whispered conversation between the three of them before they all gave me a nod to accept the set up. One by one, they took up positions over this grassy area, arranging me and them into the shape of a square, and they all sent out a Pokémon.

First up was a Passimian, a football-themed ape. After that, a Reuniclus, a floating, Psychic Type cell with beefy arms. Finally, there was Starmie, a spinning, psychic starfish. The three Pokémon either stood or floated over our decided field. As for me, I sent out Ninetales.

"Ready?" I called out.

They all sent me their affirmation. I shouted to begin. As they gave their commands, I looked to Ninetales. I had my own plan to execute.

"Ninetales, create chaos. Don’t let them focus you down.”

Ninetales gained a vulpine grin. Mass combat didn’t come up often, but it was at least a possibility we prepared for. Like we expected, all three trainers turned our way—why fight one another if they needed to take me out, first?

A Focus Blast left the Passimian’s hands, a Psybeam was conjured forth by the Reuniclus, and a splash of a searing Scald sailed through the air right at Ninetales.

Then, everything turned white.

Ninetales’s ability, Snow Warning, completely covered the field with snow. All three attacks missed, only hitting the ground and creating a cloud of steam where Ninetales just was. Glancing past the edge of the storm, I was able to see that two of my opponents had tensed up. As for what was going on inside, the weather was too thick to tell.

Something shouted. It was a high pitched, screaming sort of noise. Then, there was a set of simian hollering, and then there was something that sounded like a shout combined with gargling water. By my estimations, those sounds signified that Ninetales had landed three separate Confuse Rays.

I checked the horizon. No one else was approaching. Still, we needed to finish this fast.

“Hydro Pump!”

“Close Combat!”

“Hammer Arm!”

Shapes twisted inside the snow while I stayed silent, merely observing. A blast of water shot through the side of the field, only to be caught by the tired Gardevoir’s hastily created screens. There was a thunk, and the ground shook. Briefly, the snow was pushed back to reveal what had happened.

The Reuniclus’s arm had narrowly missed the Passimian, but the Passimian had managed to land several punches across the float cell’s face.

“Blizzard,” I whispered.

The snow soon closed back in. The temperature around me dropped several degrees. The other trainers yelled out their commands, of course, but there was a reason I had sent out Ninetales for this.

One by one, Pokémon were tossed out of the area of the field. The Passimian was first—its body was both soaked and covered in frost. Next was the Starmie. Its layers of legs weren’t moving and were half frozen off. I expected the Reuniclus to be next, but nothing ever came.

Instead, the snow was pushed away, and I saw that Reuniclus had conjured some kind of box.

“Really think you can pull off a win like that, huh?” the Reuniclus’s blonde trainer shouted out. “Confusion like that doesn’t work when your opponent can detect you via the Psychic Type! Reuniclus, Trick Room! Don’t let that Ninetales escape!”

Walls formed of psychic squares surrounded the field, and Ninetales’s snow was now thin enough to see within. Reunicles, with its two massive arms, charged forward in a speed that drastically outsped the now snail-paced Ninetales.

A smash downwards in a Drain Punch caught Ninetales’s side. I then saw it hold its arms out, readying a twist for a Gyro Ball.

“Sheer Cold!”

It was desperate, but this was our best choice. There was a reason I had Ninetales learn that move, after all. I immediately started to shiver, and the grass on the field froze over and turned blue. Reuniclus, not expecting such a powerful response, went still in the air where it was preparing its attack.

Then, silence. Complete motionless overtook the field. Reuniclus gained a pained look as its interior face shook out of fear. A layer of frost formed over its body as it shook to try to escape. However, Ninetales’s sheer control over the Ice Type meant it had little chance to resist.

When Reuniclus fell to the ground, it was as good as fainted. Its outside had hardened over with dense ice, though, it was still moving within. The organelles and bones in its body tapped on its solidified skin. Eventually, it just shook its head. It couldn’t escape. That was it for this match.

“Ninetales, Gardevoir. We’re out of here,” I said quickly.

“Wait! But we still have Pokémon left!” one of them called out.

“Nope. You can’t rematch carrier trainers right away. There’s a delay period before challenges. Sorry, you should have thought about it before accepting this match. In other words,” I smiled, “bye!”

The screens around the field dropped, sending even harsher temperatures out. I managed to catch the flash of Reuniclus being returned right when everything changed. With Teleport, Gardevoir could only bring us a short distance, as per the rules, but reappearing back next to Hope meant everything had been a success.

“Got it?” she asked.

“Got it,” I said, holding up the stone.

“Great! Now, we just need to escape and head back down south.”

I nodded and thought of all of the other, miscellaneous tasks we needed to do. Fight the Water Type Trial Captain, defend Lillie against Ultra Beasts, fight Kahili’s team of Flying Types, then get past that barricade around Konikoni City to reach where the Kahuna was.

Getting these challenge stones was a victory, but in truth, it was only a single step in the right direction. We were going to have constant trainers hounding us over these next few days. With only so much time left, it was going to be a flurry of activity.

Well, I did need a way to push my team before my Elite Four challenge, didn’t I?