"Well you guys," Tanyu said with a slight yawn, stretching out on the soft mattress inside the center. "Tomorrow we'll be doing our first trial. And after that, it'll be a fight against Hala. We'd better get some rest."

Meowth and Rowlet nodded in agreement before taking their places in the spots they'd occupied their first night together. It had been a long day of training for the two of them. After the visit with Hau and Lillie, Tanyu decided to work on his team a little and train them until the evening hours.

"You two are awesome. Tomorrow, we're going to win that challenge and then we'll take on Hala. Until then, we're going to need to train hard. Hala seems like a really strong opponent, and I doubt he'll be pulling any punches," Tanyu added, pulling the covers over himself as his head hit the pillow.

"Good night you two," Tanyu stated before drifting off into dreamland.

Pokémon

The Moon's Rising

'Umikūmāhā

"Alright Rowlet, let's run it back. Leafage once more and this time try to keep it under control a bit more," Tanyu commanded. "Meowth, I want you to anticipate Rowlet's movements," Tanyu added, getting a shrug from the feline.

Rowlet hovered in the air above Meowth, his eyes trained on the cocky cat as she gave him a smug smile. She crooked a claw at the owl, beckoning him to attack her. Obliging, Rowlet spread his wings and swung them inwards, creating a torrent of leaves that lit up as they flew. The leaves spiraled swiftly around Meowth in tornado fashion, causing her to be on her guard. Extending her claws, she followed Rowlet as he dove and began to circle her with the leaves.

As Rowlet circled, he increased the thickness of the leaves, giving himself more cover. Meowth grit her teeth in frustration at the sudden change. Rowlet had the advantage, and she knew it. It wasn't like the first time they'd met when he was a total rookie. He was getting better. Listening carefully, she pinpointed Rowlet's location and followed the sound of his wings. Suddenly, she couldn't hear them anymore due to the many leaves rushing around creating a disruptive sound. Sniffing the air, Meowth took advantage of her heightened senses to scout out her sparring partner. Catching his scent, she whirled around and swiftly threw up her paws, catching the beak of the attacking owl.

Rowlet pushed harder, forcing Meowth to dig her heels and claws into the ground beneath her to keep herself from sliding too far back towards the tornado of leaves. Finding her footing, Meowth swung her body aside and let Rowlet rush on by towards his own leaves. The quick-thinking owl pulled himself up, a few leaves barely scraping his feathers on ascent. Tanyu smirked, pleased with the progress his team was making.

"Okay you two, that's enough. I think you guys are more than ready for this trial, whatever it is," Tanyu stated, returning his companions to their spheres.

"Does this mean we're going to Verdant Cavern!?" Rotomdex exclaimed, turning to its owner with a wide smile.

"That's right. Now, do you think you can show us the way there? The trial's tonight from what I was told yesterday. Not exactly sure why I can't take it during the day, but rules are rules I suppose," Tanyu shrugged, getting a happy buzz from Rotomdex.

"BZZZZZT! Sure can!" Rotomdex chirped, firing up its navigational systems in order to give Tanyu the proper route to Verdant Cavern.

Tanyu fixed his eyes on his floating dex and scanned the map, he wasn't too far from Verdant Cavern. He had no idea what type of trial awaited him, so a little bit of a trip wouldn't be too bad. It would give him more time to mentally prepare for whatever challenge Ilima had waiting there.

"Thanks Rotom," Tanyu stated, taking a seat beneath a nearby tree, legs in criss-cross fashion.

"No problem Tanyu!" Rotom replied with a salute, hovering around Tanyu curiously.

Tanyu sighed and closed his eyes, shutting out everything around him for the time being. Okay, focus Tanyu, he thought as he went into another meditative state.

In his mind, he could see Meowth and Rowlet across from one another. Rowlet had taken off and begun the Leafage technique, the leaves whizzing around Meowth in tornado formation. Rowlet then added a second layer, further shielding himself from sight. Meowth stood in the center, on guard and lying in wait for any assault that would come her way. Tanyu ran through the sparring session further, getting to the point where Meowth managed to detect Rowlet in spite of the storm of leaves and all the noise.

He knew that Meowth's senses were on point, but the amount of noise that was created should have disrupted her focus. That was when he noticed the subtle twitch of the nose from Meowth. A smile curved onto his features as Tanyu ended the mental simulation to begin a new one.

"Tanyu! Howzit brah!" came Hau's voice, disrupting Tanyu's concentration.

Sighing, Tanyu opened his eyes, his brows anchoring into a frown as the happy-go-lucky Hau approached. To think he'd finally gotten some time to himself. "What's up?" Tanyu inquired, hiding his irritation as he spoke.

Hau grinned, placing his hands behind his head. He was clearly in a happy mood as always. Tanyu wondered if the guy ever got down about anything. It was like people in Alola weren't normal...at all.

"Nothin' much Tanyu. Just chillin' and getting ready for my trial! I'm gettin' chicken skin!" Hau laughed.

"I bet," Tanyu replied, remaining in his meditative position in hopes that Hau would leave him be.

"So Tanyu, can I ask you somethin'?" Hau queried, scratching the back of his head slightly.

So much for me getting some training of my own in, Tanyu sighed inwardly, keeping his eyes fixed on Hau. "Sure...what is it?"

"Well uh..." Hau began, seeming slightly nervous about whatever it was he was about to ask. "See, I was wonderin', have you ever...you know, been on a date before?" Hau asked curiously.

Tanyu blinked, clearly not expecting this question to come up. It suddenly dawned on him exactly what Hau was asking. Remembering how Hau acted around Lillie, he had a feeling he knew where Hau was going with this conversation. Tanyu shrugged and pushed himself off the ground and stretched.

"Once or twice, why do you ask?" Tanyu asked, feigning ignorance as he watched Hau rub the back of his neck.

"See, I kinda...well...like Lillie," Hau admitted, laughing nervously as he disclosed the information.

"And you're telling me this because...?" Tanyu pressed.

"I dunno. You seem cool brah, and I figured I could trust you after the battle we had," Hau added with a grin.

He thinks I'm trustworthy? That's new, Tanyu mused, crossing his arms, analyzing Hau before replying.

"So you want to ask her on a date, but let me guess, you're not sure how. Am I right?" Tanyu questioned him, getting a nod in return. So my hunch was right. Interesting...

"Well...yeah! I mean, we've been friends for a while and-"

"You want me to give you advice on how to hook up with blondie. I've only one piece of advice, and this isn't coming from me," Tanyu added, taking a deep breath as he prepped to repeat the words of an old friend. "Just be yourself, that's all you can really do. Be straightforward, and don't beat around the bush. Don't rush in though, that's not the best option," Tanyu advised, a faint smile crossing his face as he saw Hau's expression change from uncertain to confident.

"Thanks Tanyu! I'll give it a shot," Hau grinned, grabbing Tanyu's hand and shaking it gratefully, taking Tanyu by surprise.

"Uh...you're welcome? I guess," Tanyu shrugged. "It's just something an old buddy of mine once said," Tanyu added, using the term 'buddy' loosely.

There were very few people Tanyu considered friends. Those who were fortunate enough to be in that circle were those whom he respected. N was one such person, and later on, his lover...Hilda. The thought of the battles they'd fought sent chills down his spine. She was on a different level than he was. It was no wonder she became the champion later on. Tanyu shook his head vigorously and sighed.

"Anyway, just remember those things and you'll be fine," Tanyu added.

"Will do!" Hau beamed, reaching into his pocket to pull out his own dex. Looking at the time, Hau put it away. "See you around Tanyu, I've got a hot date with a malasada shop!" Hau called out over his shoulder as he ran off.

Tanyu blinked, watching as the boy took off full sprint towards the city.

"I swear. He seems to care more about food than the island challenge," Tanyu said aloud, returning to his spot under the tree to take a seat. "Now...where was I?"

The moon, joined by her friends, the stars, lit up the night sky over the Verdant Cavern. Moon beams pierced through the top of the cavern like spotlights. It was peaceful and quiet, something Tanyu appreciated greatly. Standing before him was Ilima, the first trial captain. Tanyu knew he wasn't going to be easy to best, even if he was only the first stepping stone among many on his way to the top.

"Welcome to Verdant Cavern. I trust you've had ample time to prepare?" Ilima asked, getting an affirmative nod from Tanyu.

"I'm ready to battle whenever you are," Tanyu grinned.

Ilima shook his head and chucked. "Oh no, you won't be battling me. As much as I'd love that right now, the trials aren't like gym battles where you battle the leader."

"Wait...then what did I travel all the way-"

A loud screech echoed through the cavern, causing any of the inhabitants of the environment to scatter into hiding. Tanyu's senses went on alert as he tuned his ear to the sound he'd just heard. It sounded familiar, but different at the same time.

"Okay, what was that?" Tanyu demanded, shifting slightly where he stood.

"That was the sound of your trial. You see, here in Alola, we trial captains are selected to train the Pokémon of our established trial area so that they are able to take on the challenges they might face. However, one of them that is stronger than the rest, is commissioned to be the Totem Pokémon," Ilima informed, looking to where the loud screech originated.

"So it's basically a super-powered Raticate?" Tanyu questioned.

"You've a good ear," Ilima complimened. "That is indeed a Raticate. One I spent a lot of time on actually. You'll find him a great deal stronger than anything else you might come across in this cavern," Ilima warned.

He's not kidding. I can feel some intense energy in here. This is going to be rough, Tanyu thought, looking back to Ilima. "So how's this gonna work?"

"Simple. You defeat the Totem, you win. However," Ilima paused, directing his attention towards the rustling sounds behind him. "He's not alone."

As Ilima finished speaking, A Rattata and a Raticate skittered out from where they were hiding. Both had black fur however, Tanyu wasn't focused on the new look he'd seen his first day. He was now looking at a much fatter Raticate.

So I'm dealing with rodents huh? I can deal with that, Tanyu thought as he reached for his two companions. Because I've got the bane of their existence right here!

"Rowlet, Meowth, battle's on!" Tanyu declared, launching his two friends into battle.

Meowth and Rowlet surged onto the battlefield, Rowlet soaring into the skies while Meowth simply stared down the opposition, intrigue evident in her features. Raticate narrowed its eyes and hissed at the feline. Meowth grinned sadistically and crooked a claw at the obese rat. Irritated, Raticate and Rattata charged. Meowth extended both sets of claws and kept her gaze fixated on the charging adversaries.

"Meowth, take care of the Raticate, Fury Swipes! Rowlet, Leafage on Rattata!" Tanyu called out.

Meowth tore off after Raticate, claws glowing white as she closed the distance. Raticate's jaws opened wide to reveal white glowing teeth, signifying that he was using Hyper Fang. Meowth, deftly avoided the deadly jaws of her foe and made several vicious strikes across his face, causing Raticate to stagger back and hiss.

Rowlet fired off a barrage of glowing white leaves toward Rattata who found himself and his friend trapped in a vortex of leaves. Rowlet proceeded to circle the swirling tornado of leaves, causing the two adversaries to go on high alert. Meowth, who was trapped inside, didn't seem to mind at all.

Not exactly what I had in mind Rowlet, Tanyu frowned, analyzing the scene while trying to make sense of it. But this actually works better...

That's when it clicked. It was dark, and Meowth could see perfectly fine. With her field of view being around two hundred degrees, twenty more than the average human, she had near perfect visual surveillance. Rowlet was the perfect partner, seeing as he had perfect vision in the dark. This may have been the domain of these rodents, but it was during this time that the predators hunted.

Raticate screeched loudly and lunged, his speed somewhat surprising considering his increased size and body mass. Meowth moved to evade only to be rammed by the smaller Rattata. Tumbling across the ground, Meowth rolled onto her feet and leapt up to avoid the jaws of the overweight Raticate. Rowlet, taking advantage of the situation, flickered into view and dove down upon the stumbling Raticate and drove his beak straight into the back of his head, sending the rodent toppling onto his face.

Rattata made a dive for Rowlet only to be knocked away by a slash from Meowth's claws, sending him sprawling along the ground. Rowlet and Meowth remained back to back as both adversaries struggled to a stand. Tanyu smirked. This wasn't too bad. Just then, both Raticate and Rattata screeched loudly, their cries echoing through the cavern. Answering their call was a loud shriek that shattered the air. Tanyu winced at the sound and whirled around to see where it had come from.

There, standing at he entrance of a cave just above them, was quite possibly the largest Raticate he'd ever seen. It had to have been at least five feet tall, maybe a little taller. Either way, it was enormous. It's crimson hues darted from Meowth to Rowlet, irritation evident in in his gaze as he glared at them. With a mighty screech, a crimson aura erupted around the Totem Raticate.

It became clear to Tanyu, that he was in for one hell of a fight...

Ah Cliffhangers, don't you just love them? It's fun to do in times like this, but also absolutely necessary. I want this Totem battle to be a good one so I'm giving part of another chapter to it. Tanyu is going to have some serious work to do, because this thing ain't playin' around. Also, Hau outed that he liked Lillie. How cute right? Right? Don't judge, it's a cute ship! Anyway, see ya next chapter!