Chương 185: Chapter 180

With Hope having her battle with Kiawe coming up, we had two days to pass by. That meant two days of no travel, two days of no progression, and two days of my nerves building up about how much time I had left until Sinnoh. Our current plan was to take the northeastern Route 7 to circle around Wela Volcano Park and grab one of those "challenge stones" when we head towards the north.

From there, we'd rush down to face the Water Type Trial—both testing the Trial Captain for a Gym Leader position and letting Lillie challenge the Captain for her Island Challenge—then we'd head directly south to Konikoni City and face Akala's Kahuna. I had two weeks to do that, which meant there would be little time for delays or anything else. Even more, I'd have to leave directly after that if everything went according to schedule, because that was when my own challenge against Sinnoh's Elite Four started.

So yes, I was stressed, and I was half-wondering if I should just skip the Kahuna until I came back. But, I didn't let that stress cause me to skip out on training. For these two days, we stayed in Royal Avenue, a decently-sized settlement built around the Battle Royal Dome. What started as just the aforementioned building by itself and a paved road was now filled with parks, hotels, large stores, and what was called the "Thrifty Megamart."

This area had the strange vibe of feeling solely like a tourist attraction, except the four-way battles of the Battle Royal Dome had developed into an Alolan pastime over the years. We didn't enter the Battle Royal Dome just yet—but we did plan on doing so later. Instead, after waking up in the morning, we found a clear spot past the edge of town and trained our Pokémon. Lillie was with me. Hope was not. Hope left to enter the jungle proper to "practice in a place that synergizes with my team."

For me, I focused heavily on ensuring the stronger members of my team would be well prepared for our rapidly upcoming Elite Four matches, then I spent a bit of time working with my weaker Pokémon.

"When I trained Cutiefly, who struggled with dealing damage initially, I started with a basic power-building regiment," I said to Lillie, who was listening alongside her Pokémon with rapt attention.

"The idea was we needed a stronger basis to work with, so we focused on increasing Cutiefly's power reserves. Cutiefly, if you will." Cutiefly let out a buzz of acknowledgement before sending out a Fairy Wind from his body. This exercise resembled his initial attempt of the move, but instead of attempting to send it far out like an attack, he purposefully kept it in front of his body.

"Ninetales was a big help with this, since she helped Cutiefly get the initial stages down," I added. Ninetales barked proudly not too far away.

"Once Cutiefly was able to maintain this for a decent amount of time, we shifted into applying this newfound strength into his moves. Now Cutiefly—" He already started. Unfortunately, his control wasn't high enough that he could send the previously-created cloud of Fairy Wind out, but he could at least make a new one and launch it forward. This new sparkling cloud shot out at a speed that was fast enough for an attack, which meant Cutiefly had displayed the move properly. On the ground, Togepi clapped happily.

"Finally—and this is the step we're currently on—we're trying to expand his newfound power into other moves," I said, finishing up my lecture.

"For special Fairy Type attacks, there's primarily Dazzling Gleam and Moonblast as options, but there's also Draining Kiss, which I tend to skip over due to the inherent risks involved in the move. It may be a Fairy Type attack, but it heals for far too little to make its melee range and low damage worth it." Lillie nodded her head, furiously writing down everything in her own personal journal.

I let her finish up the section she was on before I waved to Cutiefly to complete this demonstration with another move he was currently working on. Most of Cutiefly's recent practice had been developing Stun Spore, but the basics of this move had been building up for longer. The small bug focused, bringing as much Fairy Type energy as he could into his control, and then he released it all in a faint burst of light. It was like he had turned on a flashlight inside his body—a small, barely working flashlight.

Yes, he had a sort of gleam around himself, but it was neither a Dazzling nor was it a Flash.

"Great job, Cutiefly," I said to the bug, who puffed up his chest proudly in reply.

"As you can see, that was Dazzling Gleam, or at least the basic starting point of one. More practice and more battles will mean he can increase his reserves even further, and then he can turn this flash into a proper searing light." Unfortunately, Dazzling Gleam was the strongest Fairy Type move his species could learn. Moonblast would have been nice as its range would compliment his eventual high speeds, but Cutiefly's true eventual strength would be planted firmly in the Bug Type.

Fun fact: his species was the first species on record to use the move "Pollen Puff." I admit, I still wasn't the largest fan of bugs, but they were a lot easier to get used to than the small and less-sentient creepy crawlies of my old world. What really tipped the scales in their favor was the power they could wield, as ridiculous as that sounds. Between Pollen Puff, Bug Buzz, and the incredible self-buffing move, Quiver Dance, Cutiefly would become a threat to behold. He just needed to get his basics down, first.

"So this is the move-focused training regiment you were talking about," Lillie said, closing her notebook.

"You focus on training moves, because to improve a move, a Pokémon has to improve themself at the same time. Rather than straight Type Energy control, you use teaching moves as a guide to encourage your Pokémon to build themselves up. Then, once the Pokémon learns that move, you have them use it in new and exciting ways to push them even farther." I blinked, then I scratched the back of my head. She was right, but such a succinct summary meant I had little left to say.

"You got it!" I said excitedly, pretending that she hadn't just finished my lecture for me.

"I'll still do physical training here and there since move training doesn't help with speed in most cases, but other than that, yeah. That's the effective basis of how I train my team. Great job." Lillie beamed at the praise, and her Pokémon around her clapped politely at the end of the lecture. Some of them weren't clapping for me, but for Cutiefly, and the small bug curved up his eyes into a smile (his proboscis wasn't capable of much emoting).

With the bulk of my lecture over, Lillie then opened her mouth to ask a question or two (more like a half dozen, which I encouraged her to ask), but that was when a deep squawk emanated from the sky. It wasn't a threat; it was just a call to get our attention. Everyone here looked up, only to see a large-beaked Pelipper wearing a blue cap, gliding down.

"A delivery?" Lillie asked, clearly more familiar with what was going on than me. The pelican Pokémon swooped down to flap in the air in front of me, then it flicked its head up to retrieve a letter from inside its mouth. (The paper was surprisingly dry.)"Thank you...?" I said slowly, pulling the letter from its beak.

"Do I tip you, or—""I got it!" Lillie reached into her pack and pulled out a berry, which she then tossed into the air. The Pelipper shot upwards, swallowed the fruit whole, then it flew off to take care of its other deliveries. How did it eat that if it's storing letters in its mouth? I shook my head, pushing that errant thought away, and I focused on what I had at hand. Lillie walked over to eye it curiously, and I tore it open after confirming it was indeed addressed to me.

"Wandering Elite Alex," I read outloud.

"I have been informed of your presence on Akala Island, and it would be remiss of me to not pass an invitation to you. As a fellow Pokémon trainer, I wish to invite you to a game of Pokémon Golf in Hano Grand Resort, which shall take place at noon. Snacks will be provided to both you and your whole team, and I believe both of us would appreciate having an Elite-level match.

"Please consider my offer, and if you accept, pass this letter to the employee working the front desk. You will be led to the course where our match will take place." I brought my arms down once I finished reading the letter through.

"Who's it from?" Lillie asked.

"I... I'm not sure. It doesn't say." I frowned as I read it over once more. Hano Grand Resort? Pokémon Golf? Whoever sent this letter had to be rich, given the location, the game, and the hiring of a delivery Pelipper to deliver the note to me too quickly.

"Want to come, Lillie?" I asked.

"You're going?"

"Why not? It's weird enough and completely out of the blue, so whoever wrote this definitely caught my interest. The idea of an Elite match is what sold me—it would be a good way to train my team, even if it involves whatever the game of 'Pokémon Golf' is." From next to me, Ninetales let out a bark, having run over when I received the letter. From the look on her face, the free snacks had sold her over, and I let out a sigh as I rubbed her head.

"I think I'll stay here," Lillie said in response to my question.

"I'll have Whimsicott and Altaria stay with you, then." She shook her head as if to say that was unnecessary, and raising an eyebrow, I bid her to explain.

"I want to visit the Royal Battle Dome," she replied.

"I've always heard about it, but I never had the chance. The amount of skilled trainers competing there is high, and plus," Lillie blushed, "I heard the Masked Royal will be there today, too." I chuckled, but I didn't say my immediate thoughts. I doubted Kukui wanted me to reveal his secret identity.

"I can trust him to keep you safe in an emergency, but let me at least leave you someone to keep you company." In the end, I didn't have any fliers go with Lillie. Instead, I handed over Florges's Pokéball, and Cutiefly would travel with her too—he wanted to watch the matches of the Battle Dome as well. After informing Hope of my choice via a message on the Holo Caster, I left after dropping Lillie off at her destination then headed to Hano Grand Resort, which was located not too far away to the southeast.

Whimsicott had to use Tailwind to help Altaria carry me to have us reach the resort in time. Clearly, that Pelipper from earlier had been traveling faster than I thought to deliver the letter before noon. I unfortunately arrived a few minutes late. My Pokémon just couldn't travel the distance with the appropriate speed. Hano Grand Resort was half built onto the island, half built over the ocean. It was its own, little man-made peninsula with tile walkways and saltwater pools out front.

Pokémon lounged and splashed in the water, with people in expensive-looking swimsuits sunbathing on the sides. The entire place was fenced off and only accessible via a bridge to the mainland or via a small staircase that went down to a private beach to its side. I was surprised to see the place had its own dedicated landing area at its front, which I directed Altaria to touch down on, and Whimsicott helped out with the movements.

"Thank you, you two," I said. Whimsicott gave me a salute while Altaria squawked. The basket was folded up once more to fit in my backpack, and I started to walk in. Where the front path was great, the Hano Grand Resort itself truly was grand. The hotel building itself was the largest hotel I'd seen so far. It was composed of great, red towers connected with hallways and rooms.

At least a hundred different balconies stared off towards the ocean, with glass windows allowing them to stare out from the inside if the guests so desired. At the top was a single structure that extended up past the rest. It was connected with two curved supports, creating the illusion that there was a ridiculously massive ring built into the base structure. I stepped through a towering glass archway to be met with a red velvet carpet that led up to a circular main desk.

There weren't explicit walls at the edges of the floor, rather, a pond and fountains surrounded the lobby to give the illusion that the room was floating. Off to the side, a bellhop nodded his head in greetings, and all I could do was stare. There was wealth, and then there was wealth. There was no distasteful overuse of gold or other luxuries, everything was just well-made to its absolute peak with a ceiling that I swear went at least a hundred feet up. I'd seen luxurious places but this was something else.

I wasn't sure just how long I stood paused in the front doorway. Eventually, I had to return Whimsicott, who had been hanging off my shoulder in a similar state of shock, and I moved up to the front desk.

"Welcome to Hano Grand Resort," a woman in a vested suit said.

"Do you have a reservation?"

"No. I, uh, was given this?" I handed over the letter I received this morning. Upon receiving it, the woman blinked in surprise.

"Oh. Oh! Yes, you're Alex, right! Come this way, please. I'll take you to the Young Miss." One of my eyebrows raised at the spoken title as she bowed her head and rushed to move out from behind the counter. She led me through a glass door in the back, which had us pass through a long hallway that connected to at least a dozen different dining halls and in-resort restaurants. Eventually, it opened up to the back of the building, where a vast green of striped grass awaited me—a golf course.

"Photography and recording devices of any kind are not allowed on the green. Each infraction invokes a fine of fifty-thousand Pokédollars and a strike against your name. Upon three strikes, you will be ejected from the premises. Enjoy your stay!" I blinked at the woman, who simply bowed her head and pointed forward. A little bewildered at the rules—though I had no plan on taking pictures anyway— I went on ahead. The course was a mixture of natural and man-maintained.

There were sections of finely mowed grass and sections of jungle that encroached on the hotel's land. A few sandy pits served as obstacles to the sport of golf, and a dirt pathway wound through the land as I searched for my host. I heard her before I saw her. The sound of metal clubs hitting golf balls was surprisingly identifiable. Through the trees, I caught a glance of a woman and a large bird, and when I approached, I saw who she was. I knew her, though not personally.

The woman was roughly my age, perhaps a few years off in either direction. She had light blue hair, almost grey, and she wore a high skirt and visor that matched her sky-blue color scheme. Kahili, one of our potential targets for Alola's Elite Four and an actual member of the Elite Four in the games, stood not too far away, practicing her swing with a club that had a handle decorated like the warm colors of a Toucannon's beak. I stepped off the path to approach her, and she began to speak.

"What I like most about the game of golf," Kahili said, bending down to place another golf ball on her tee, "is that it's a game of pure technique and skill above all else. Sure, a bit of strength is required to properly swing the club, but everything else is about aim, motion, and proper planning." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Her arms snapped forward, swinging so fast it almost seemed like they teleported into a new position without the club hitting the ball. However, the loud crack of an impact rang out, telling me she was on target, and a small white dot flew high up into the sky.

"Add Pokémon into that, and you've got a recipe for a sport that tests every aspect of a trainer," Kahili continued.

"Many disagree, but I consider golf a comparable test of skill to Pokémon battles." In the sky, a large, black toucan with a beak that shifted from red to yellow flew after the falling golf ball. It flapped its wings hard to conjure a strong breeze, which shifted the angle at which the ball hurtled towards the ground. What would have been a stroke that was slightly off turned into a swing that was almost dead-center.

The golf ball landed on the grass inches away from the hole, and its momentum carried itself into its depth.

"We can do better," Kahili whispered under her breath, setting some sort of challenge before shaking her head. She finally turned around once she seemed satisfied with her silent analysis of her swing.

"Thank you for accepting my invite, Alex. I apologize for not being able to list my name, but I didn't want to risk the chance of any reporters catching wind of this meeting. They can get a bit much at times."

"Not a fan of publicity?" I asked.

"Mostly just the intrusive kind. Care for a practice swing before we start?" I eyed her carefully. She had said a lot to someone who only just arrived. But, her offer seemed genuine, and she stepped back and offered me her club. It took a short moment for me to properly adjust my grip, but, doing my best to mimic the stance she demonstrated moments before, I lined the head of the club up with the ball already placed on the tee.

"Swing when you're ready," she said. I swung. The ball went a surprising distance forward. There was an unexpected kick to the impact. My intention had been to send it into the air, directly towards the hole, but the golf ball veered off to the side and landed in a patch of thick grass.

"Decent. In an actual match, you'd follow that up by going to its position where it landed and hitting it again. The objective is to get the ball in the hole, of course, but participants strive to minimize the number of strokes before doing so."

"And in the case of a tie?" I asked, leaning back up and rubbing my back.

"Time is used. The winner is the individual whose golf ball spends the least amount of time in motion. I invited you here for a reason. Care to start?" I didn't respond immediately; I could see what she was doing. The golf course was Kahili's territory, and she likely knew she was on the list of potential Elite Four candidates. Personally, I always thought her presence in the games was strange because she was the sole Elite Four member who seemed to come out of nowhere.

Here, too, she didn't have a direct role in the current set up of the Island Challenge. From the information Kukui had given me, I knew her father owned this resort, her mother was a local, and that she was personally responsible for a large number of donations and investments that help keep Alola afloat. Not much else, however.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't interested. Kahili, I know that you know about the current League reviews going on. I can accept a match of golf, but let's keep it a short one," I said. I felt somewhat guilty Hope wasn't here, after all.

"Of course. Six holes?"

"Down from eighteen?"

"Correct," she replied.

"That works."

"Then we will begin shortly. I'll be taking a handicap, of course. It would be unreasonable to challenge a novice another way. Please be patient for just a few short minutes while we wait for the loaner clubs to arrive." At first, I was confused what she meant, but soon enough, there was a bright red Delibird running towards us through the trees. The Pokémon had a tall cloth tube hanging off its back, and several metal golf clubs stuck out of the tube's top.

The set was handed over to me, and the Delibird saluted me to end a job well done. I glanced over to Kahili for advice before tipping the Pokémon a spare Oran berry. Then, I pulled out the appropriate golf club to make my first stroke. Kahili gave it a specific name, but the word went in one ear and out the other.

"The total footprint of this golf course is smaller than most," Kahili said, "but we make up for that by clever placement of the holes. See that flag, over there?" She pointed a hand, and I squinted my eyes. Over the well-maintained, grassy green, I could see a white flag waving in the wind.

"That will be our first hole. Par is two, it's a straight line. For every swing, your Pokémon will be able to use one move, and you can change what Pokémon you use for each hole. Once you make your first swing, however, you're stuck with that Pokémon until the next set." I nodded, weighing my decisions. Kahili placed a golf ball on the tee in front of me. Considering who I had left on my team, I only really had Ninetales, Whimsicott, and Altaria to choose from.

Everyone else was either still training or slightly too weak.

"Does a Pokémon have to hit the ball in the air?" I asked.

"They're allowed to unleash their moves as long as the ball is still moving," she replied.

"No grabbing, though. Pokémon must influence the ball solely through moves that redirect or hit." Nodding again, I took inspiration from what I saw earlier and sent out Whimsicott. He looked around upon coalescing from the light, surprised at having been sent out so soon after he was last returned.

"You'll be with me for this first hole. I'm going to hit the ball, then can you use Tailwind to direct it towards that hole?" Whimsicott saluted me to show he understood after I explained the rules and our objective, then he hopped up to float in the air and moved to sit halfway to the hole. Golf club in hand, I positioned myself similar to how I had been before, then I let the metal weapon swing as hard as I could. A crack, and the ball flew off into the distance.

I had to cover my eyes to track it under the sun, but Kahili's visor let her do the same, no trouble at all. It took a moment for the ball to reach the peak of its arch, but when it did, Whimsicott was there. He thrust his arms out forward, aimed specifically at where I gestured earlier, and a blast of wind from Tailwind was conjured forward to send the ball out. That gust caused the ball to be knocked far back and away, completely missing the hole as intended.

Its arc was extended to travel over the green itself, landing firmly in the dense jungle foliage at the edge of this golf course.

"I'll mark that down as par," Kahili said with a wince.

"Don't worry about the lost golf ball. We have an Alolan Raichu on staff who collects off-course balls for us at the end of each day." I mumbled a few words of acceptance. Whimsicott flew back down, looking more sheepish than he usually did. For her go, Kahili used the same technique as before, in which she had her Toucannon fly out like Whimsicott did. Her stroke wasn't aimed to get the ball all the way to the hole, rather, she seemed to aim it as if she wanted to hit her Pokémon.

While the ball traveled in a way that almost seemed to be an attack, Toucannon took the incoming projectile with grace. It glided down to flap underneath it, then it conjured a Tailwind to carry the ball forward. Rather than one large push, the bird purposefully flew to have the golf ball "bounce" on the winds. The object was light enough that the breeze pushed it forward, but not once did the ball touch the Pokémon or seemed to be stuck in one place as if carried.

Towards the end of it, Toucannon banked a sharp turn and let the Tailwind cease. The golf ball dropped straight down into the hole, not even bouncing off the rim. Now that was impressive. Next to me, Whimsicott let out a whistle to share his amazement.

"That was incredible," I said. Kahili gained a smile that she briefly covered with one of her gloved hands.

"Thank you," she said.

"There's a reason why my team and I are considered one of the elite." Kahili had actually won her Island Challenge. While there was no Conference at the end of the year like in other regions, competition trainers still participated in an end-of-the-year tournament. Her and her Flying Types had swept through the competition to give her an "easy" ride to first place.

Ever since then, she hadn't truly been in the spotlight—hence my relative lack of information on her—but her countless donations meant the media was always on her case, anyway.

"Hole two," Kahili said.

"Par two again." This flag wasn't too far away, like the first, but a ditch of sand in its center meant any hits would need to travel the full distance or curve over the ground to avoid that trap.

"Whimsicott, this time, keep Tailwind to a minimum and try to change its direction, alright?" He nodded before taking off, and after aiming, I swung again. This time, Whimiscott's Tailwind managed to not send the golf ball off the course, but it had a different effect. Rather than send the ball towards the hole, something about how he used the move caused the ball to lose all momentum and drop straight down out of the air. Baffled, I scratched my head.

"Again, then," I said, beginning to walk over. Once I arrived, another hit brought the ball close to the hole again, and Whimsicott's Tailwind caused it to drop once more. In the end, I managed to get the ball in the hole in five strokes, the last two strokes coming from a failure to aim my putts. With a sigh, I watched Kahili demonstrate her Pokémon's skills, this time, with a vulture-like Mandibuzz. Hole three was longer, and it had two sand traps, requiring all strokes to have pin-point accuracy.

I encouraged Whimsicott to cause his Tailwind to be as forceful as it could be this time around. Even so, it still took three strokes to get the ball in the hole, a par, and Kahili got yet another hole-in-one by having her Braviary slap it out of the air with Steel Wing.

"You know, when I train my Pokémon, I'm very focused on building up their moves. But with this, I get the sense I'm not branching out enough," I said.

"Sometimes, using a move in a different circumstance is a great method to improve it. It's like using a different technique when lifting weights. It works a different muscle," Kahili replied. I nodded in complete agreement as we walked over the course. Whimsicott's Tailwind was all about increasing his own speed, whereas Kahili's Tailwind was about her Pokémon's battlefield control. I could see why she was considered such a strong Flying Type expert.

With her Pokémon's control over the wind, she'd be able to deflect at least half, if not all, the attacks that came her Pokémon's way. The fourth hole was different. The hole for this one was surrounded by a ring of sand. The ball had to be launched in the air, otherwise it'd get stuck in the trap that protected the goal. This called for a far better technique than what Whimsicott and I were showing. So while this was good practice for obscure uses of Tailwind, I wanted to show off my Pokémon, too.

"Ninetales," I said, sending out my starter. At the sight of her, Kahili raised her brow.

"An Alolan Ninetales. Local?" she asked.

"No, I caught her in Hoenn. She was part of a habitat program by Aether." Ninetales preened under my words even though there wasn't anything in them that directly praised her. I think she was just happy to show off, even in such a small way. After explaining the rules to her and our objective—she rolled her eyes; she had paid attention within her ball—I readied myself for a swing and aimed my club.

"How do abilities work for this game, anyway?" I asked.

"They're allowed to be used alongside your chosen move," Kahili replied. I smiled as I gave Ninetales a thumbs up.

"Good," I said. I didn't even need to spend that much time aiming the ball. Where Ninetales sat on the center of the green, an explosion of snow and hail burst out. Snow Warning looked like it created a blizzard in its own right, but then Ninetales conjured a secondary Blizzard of her own. From our experiments in Sinnoh, we know the smaller the Blizzard, the greater the control. A puff of ice no larger than a pillow blew upwards, and it caught the falling ball in its snow.

Then, like a drifting piece of paper, that Blizzard "slid" through the air. It dropped and glided, then it sailed right over the hole where it disappeared and the ball dropped right in.

"That was..."

"Great, right?" I said proudly.

"Ninetales worked for years to get that level of skill down." She bounded over with her tongue hanging out before jumping straight onto my chest. I laughed, making sure to rub her freezing-cold mane just how she liked it.

"That was on the verge of legality. I can see a judge calling out an infraction for having your Pokémon carry the ball," Kahili mumbled, rubbing her chin.

"Wait, what? What about your Tailwind with Toucannon?"

"That's slightly different. Toucannon didn't carry it, rather, he balanced it on the winds of his move." I went silent, and Ninetales's ears drooped down. Kahili didn't say Ninetales wasn't impressive, but I would have liked a bigger response than that. Guess this game has a lot more niche restrictions than I expected. I doubt any Psychic Types would be allowed to telekinetically drag golf balls into their destination. The fifth hole required us to hit the ball over a patch of jungle that divided the course in two.

I returned Ninetales, satisfied with her demonstration even though it technically broke the rules, then sent out Altaria. I made sure to congratulate Kahili on getting her fourth hole-in-one as I did. (It came out a little terse, though. Even with her handicap increasing her number of recorded strokes, I was technically losing.)"You know the rules?" I asked my Pokémon. Altaria stared blankly at me. I took that as a yes.

"Good. I want you to scream the ball into the hole. Can you do that for me?" His feathers puffed up in excitement as he nodded his head, and he took to the air, traveling at top speed. I smirked when Kahili snorted in amusement, and I then went into position to swing. Come on, Altaria. Don't let us down. And then I hit the ball. This time, when the ball flew through the air, the move my chosen Pokémon used didn't have any "physical" components to it.

There was no wind, no ice, and nothing truly visible save for Altaria's deafening squawk that shook the air. It was like a cannon. Rather than redirect the shot, he blasted the golf ball in the direction he was facing. The ball didn't go over that patch of jungle as much as it went through it, and it landed on the grass not too far away from the hole.

"Amazing job, Altaria!" I yelled. The bird did a loop in the air. Kahili hummed at Altaria's success, impressed, as I ran through a path that led through the trees and dense foliage. When I arrived where the ball had landed, I putted it forward and easily dunked it into the hole with the next stroke.

"Impressive," Kahili said as Altaria and I returned back to the start, "but I am curious why you resorted to a Normal Type move when Altaria is a Flying Type."

"Oh, that? Altaria doesn't know any viable Flying Type moves." Kahili went totally and utterly still.

"Pardon me?" she asked.

"Out of everyone on my team, he has the widest array of options, ranging from Moonblast to Flamethrower to Ice Beam to Dragon Pulse. He likes screaming, though, and Uproar has won us several fights. He also serves as a sort of trump card thanks to Hyper Beam and Draco Meteor, but he doesn't know any special Flying Type moves." Kahili stared at me, unmoving, not even blinking an eye.

"I mean, it makes sense. He's a special attacker, not a physical one. Sure, he has options like Aerial Ace or Brave Bird if he wants to get up close, but with how he fights, that means only Hurricane is an option for him, and that move is far too unwieldy to use outside of rain." I paused.

"Altaria has the Cloud Nine ability. He always removes the weather when I send him out in battle." After what felt like a full minute of her just staring at me blankly, Kahili sighed and pinched her nose.

"You're telling me you didn't teach him the strongest Flying Type move there is solely because he wouldn't be able to use it in rain."

"... Yes?" She clapped her hands, her entire body radiating frustration, causing me to flinch. Her friendly demeanor had changed, now replaced with one that spoke of utter determination.

"That's it. You're not leaving this place until Altaria gets a start on learning Hurricane."

"Excuse me? But what about the rest of our match?"

"After learning this? Doesn't matter. I forfeit. Try to use Hurricane to get the ball in the hole on the sixth." Kahili marched forward, throwing several Pokéballs up into the air. Her entire team appeared around her, though, she seemed to only have five with her. A Toucannon, Braviary, Mandibuzz, and Crobat flew above her head while a red Baile-Style Oricorio glided over the ground. The sixth hole was similar to the fourth in that it was its own little island.

However, instead of a pit of sand around it, there was water, and the island was sloped so that any shot other than a straight dunk would roll right off its side.

"To make this shot, you'll need to get past my team," Kahili said, crossing her arms.

"That's five Elite-level Pokémon that won't get out of your way unless you use Hurricane."

"What if we used a different move?" My question was met with a smirk.

"You can try," the Flying Type specialist declared.

"My Pokémon won't even be hit by the attack." I stood next to Altaria, golf club in my hand, staring at the living barricade in front of us. They were arranged like a star; five points for five Pokémon, with the four flying ones guarding the air, and Oricorio guarding the center of the ground.

"Try for Ice Beam," I said, ordering the move for a simple test. I didn't bother taking a shot. At my command, crackling blue lightning left Altaria's mouth, but a flurry of wind burst out of Kahili's Pokémon and redirected the move to hit the floor.

"The Flying Type! Generally praised for its speed and agility, but most ignore its sheer potential for control!" Kahili yelled.

"A sharp wind can topple even the toughest of structures! Why not use that to deflect attacks?!" It was imposing, the way she had everything set up. Kahili spoke of control, and this was a complete mastery over that idea. A properly boosted Hyper Beam or Draco Meteor could potentially take out one of her team members, but then the rest would still be able to attack and deflect any of Altaria's proceeding attempts. He'd be weakened afterwards, too.

"I can't even Mega-Evolve you, either," I said quietly to Altaria.

"You'd lose your Flying Type and make learning Hurricane harder than it needs to be." Altaria said nothing, he simply stared ahead. For all his species was famous for birdsong, he still hadn't sung. Not even once.

"Then, I guess we have no choice. Altaria, use Hurricane." Altaria jumped to leave the ground, where he flew in place a few feet above my head. The rate at which he flapped his wings drastically increased, but all it warranted was a slightly stronger breeze.

"Again. Try it with the energy from Peck," I said. Altaria did as I said, but this time, his beak glowed white. Unfortunately, I didn't see much difference in the result in the end.

"You have to control it! Cause the wind to move with your body!" Kahili yelled.

"Oricorio! Demonstrate it! Show off why Hurricane is the most powerful Flying Type move out there!" Kahili's Oricorio was a red-feathered bird with its wings almost resembling the hanging sleeves of a long dress. It took several fast side-steps forward, its head always staring at us, and one wing was held up, while the other was held down. Once it reached a proper distance away from Kahili's team, now much closer to us, it snapped its back to stand up much straighter then suddenly twisted.

It held its wings out as it spun, and a great gust built around it. Wind and even more wind was funneled into a tube. A twister, then a tornado, then a Hurricane burst into existence. The fury of a windstorm spun in a gale, and then the Oricorio released its control and let the attack fly off into the far distance.

"Like that! It is your fury! Your control!" Kahili yelled. She almost looked frantic. Her current expression was almost completely disconnected to how I viewed her before.

"I think I get it. Altaria, I have an idea," I said.

"Hurricane is based around winds, which are tied pretty closely to the weather, right? See if you can use your Cloud Nine ability to help you with your control." He tilted his head to the side in interest as I stepped forward, readying myself to swing. The golf ball sat on its tee as Altaria prepared. I gave him a proper moment to start, and I took a deep breath as I swung the club forward. CRACK! The ball sailed forward.

I held that breath I just took as no move was immediately released; the ball sailed right towards Kahili's Pokémon without any attack supporting the arc at all. It was Toucannon who swooped down, ready to intercept. Its wings turned white for an attack, but then it paused its descent. The golf ball sailed right past it to land on the island, where it started to roll towards the water. Truthfully, that didn't matter. Altaria had managed to build up a decent spiral of winds.

In no way was this a Hurricane—it simply didn't have the power. However, the winds whipped around and blew in a growing gale, and with my ball landed, he sent the attack forward.

"That's it! You're learning! Everyone else, combine!" Kahili yelled. The five Pokémon on her team reacted with wind-based attacks of their own, sending gusts of air right into the faux-Hurricane Altaria had released. However, instead of interrupting the attack, those attacks fed it, and they turned a weak breeze into a super-powered blast. With the assistance of those five Elite Pokémon, Altaria's poor excuse of a Hurricane turned into a full-fledged attack.

Kahili grinned maniacally as it blew past her, and the move hurtled towards the island where the ball had landed. My shot was inches away from falling in the water when the massive Hurricane hit. The force of the winds ended up knocking the ball back, and it used the slope like a ramp. The ball accelerated to a speed not seen before, and it went up, and up, and up, and up, and up.... Then it disappeared far past the horizon.

"Uh," I said.

"I concur," Kahili replied. We stared off into the empty sky, all the clouds having been blown away. We stood there in silence, staying utterly still.

"Well, I would consider this lesson a success," Kahili said. She coughed into her hand.

"I agree. Thank you for the help. A bit unexpected, but appreciated nonetheless."

"Yes, yes," she said quietly, still staring at the sky.

"And after all that? Your thoughts on my chances of joining the Elite Four?"

"Oh that?" I laughed.

"I can't make up my mind just yet. I'm not doing this job on my own. I'll have to meet up with my partner, Hope." Kahili's hopeful smile disappeared. Apparently, she had missed the memo that I wasn't traveling alone. Still, I had fun, and Altaria learning Hurricane (or at least the basics of it) was a benefit I didn't expect to get. If Kahili wanted to be tested for the potential role, she needed to impress Hope as well, not just me.

"In the future, we'll approach you for a battle for your actual test. When would you be free?" I asked.

"I'm usually here. I'll make time. I'm looking forward to seeing how I perform in the end." I shook her offered hand, and the elite trainer slowly regained her previous confidence. After wishing her luck in the future, I split off to return from my visit. Our trip home was a bit more subdued and went uneventfully, especially with Altaria and Whimsicott having slightly tired themselves out earlier. There was no need for speed on this trip; Whimsicott didn't even use Tailwind.

Honestly, there wasn't any pressing reason that would have required us to head back in a fervent rush. As we touched down back on Royal Avenue, Ninetales released herself to moan about the lack of promised snacks. I blinked—I forgot to inquire about them. I promised to make it up to her later, and I packed up the basket and returned my team before heading to the Battle Royal Dome. This late in the afternoon, this place was busy, a surprising high number of people coming here after work.

However, even with the large arena lobby being filled, I quickly identified Lillie and walked on over.

"You have a good day?" I asked, raised an eyebrow when I saw Florges patting Lillie on the shoulder. Lillie stared ahead, not immediately answering, a thoughtful look in her eye.

"Yes," she said slowly, "but it wasn't what I expected. In the match, the Masked Royal was there, but also, my brother." I blinked. Lillie continued to stare at the floor.

"You mean Gladion? Are you okay?"

"Just shocked," she replied. I nodded my head as Florges gave her a hug, and Lillie gave my Pokémon a thankful smile. From there, we started to walk out of the building, splitting from the crowd to go off on our own.

"How about we get some ice cream, and you tell me what happened, alright?" I asked.

"Alright," Lillie replied.