Lunar Eclipse: Part I (Pokemon)

Chapter 9

December 20, 2016

I just realized I didn't write an entry after my Grand Trial yesterday! The battle was so exiting that it completely slipped my mind. Let me go back and catch you up.

I trained hard for hours yesterday. I finally felt ready when the afternoon approached and headed straight to Iki Town, where Professor Kukui and Lillie greeted me and wished me luck. I found Hala in the main square. As we prepared for battle on the stage, I noticed the villagers coming out of their houses to witness the event. I smiled when I saw Hau standing next to Lillie and Kukui.

"Allow me to properly greet the young adventurers embarking on their island challenge," Hala said, looking mighty formidable. "I am Hala, the kahuna of Melemele Island. Shall we begin? The final trial here on Melemele Island will be a Pokémon battle against me, the kahuna! It is known as the Grand Trial. It seems that both you and your Pokémon are prepared to combine your mental and physical strengths to unleash your full power! Well, Selene, you have been entrusted with the Sparkling Stone by Tapu Koko! Now show me you and your partner Sun's full power! Old Hala here will also be going all out. Let the grand trial begin!"

Hala chose a Mankey as his first Pokémon, and I decided to go with Sun. The Litten was revved up and ready to go. I was unused to battling fighting Pokémon, so I got off to a rough start. In the end, Sun's fire type moves won the round for us.

"Not bad," Hala said. "Let's see how you handle my Makuhita!"

I decided to withdraw Sun and go with Twitters after Rotom informed me that flying type moves worked well against fighting types. Sure enough, the Trumbeak's Peck and Pluck attacks soon defeated the Makuhita. I now felt pumped and ready to take on the final Pokémon.

Hala released a Crabrawler. I recognized the Pokémon because Crabrawler were often hidden in berry piles under palm trees. I had already had to fend off a few of them. I paused to consider my options and then pulled out Valerie's Pokeball. I knew she would be disappointed if she did not at least have a shot in this battle.

The Bagon growled as she faced her opponent. She responded immediately to my command to attack, but the Crabrawler slipped out of the way and proceeded to execute his own move. Valerie howled in frustration. Thankfully, her next attack hit the pot, but it did not do a lot of damage. This continued for another minute until Hala activated his z power. He used All-Out Pummeling, a fighting z-move that left me in awe and Valerie on the ground, fainted.

"Now what will you do, Selene?" Hala said with a calm smile.

I hesitated. I could use Twitters again since his flying moves would be very effective. However, Hala could not use a z-move again, and there was something I wanted to try out. "Sun, come back out!" I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I hoped I did this right. "Breakneck Blitz!" I moved my arms in the motions that Ilima and Kukui had showed me. Sun glowed with power and then moved forward at lighting speed. I watched with wide eyes as he hit his opponent, causing a spark of bright light.

"Way to go, Selene!" Kukui called from the sidelines. "That's how you use a z-move! Woo!"

Hala let out a deep laugh. "Very good, child, but this battle is not over yet."

He was right. Crabrawler had been severely damaged, but he was still standing. Sun managed to dodge his next attack and get close to him to use Fire Fang. It was this move that sealed the victory. Just before I could celebrate, however, Sun started to glow.

"Whoa!" Hau exclaimed. "Your Litten is evolving!"

Sure enough, when the light faded, I saw that Sun had grown and developed orange fur with a weird yellow orb under his neck. While I examined him, Rotom flew out of my bag to explain: "He evolved into a Torracat. At its throat, Torracat bears a bell of fire. The bell rings brightly whenever this Pokémon spits fire."