"Meowth, use Flatter!" Tanyu interjected.

Gastly opened his mouth wide, gathering ethereal energies inside in the form of a ghostly looking sphere. Before the ball of poisonous gas could react, Meowth had fired off a wave of crimson energy in his direction, the attack connecting and sending Gastly into a confused fit. Power flooded the ball of gas, however, due to the state his mind was in, it was all for naught.

"What'd you do yo!" The female thug hollered, getting a smirk from Tanyu.

"It's my strategy, something you don't seem too familiar with," Tanyu muttered, cracking his knuckles while Meowth sharpened her claws.

"Now, since Emily took down Zubat, I guess Meowth will have to sharpen her claws on Gastly. Punishment!" Tanyu commanded.

A dark aura surrounded Meowth's frame as power rushed through her like a roaring flame. With a loud battle cry, she lashed out at Gastly, claws encased in darkness as she slashed across the gaseous orb's face, sending him spiraling through the air before falling on his face, out of the fight.

"That was wack yo!" Said the woman, her eyes popping out in astonishment.

"Yo, let's bounce sis. These fools are killin' our vibes," the male thug frowned, recalling his fallen Zubat.

"Remember this yo, Team Skull neva forgets stuff like this! We'll be back yo!" The male grunt called out as they began to leave.

"Is there a problem here?" Came an unfamiliar voice, causing the crowd to turn around.

"Oh shoot yo! It's the Captain, let's blow this joint!"

Pokémon

Moon's Rising

'Umikūmākolu

Tanyu glanced at the new arrival, curiosity lingering in his gaze. The fact that the presence of this individual kept the two ruffians from causing trouble any further was enough to pique Tanyu's interest. Aside from the pink hair and sweater-vest, Tanyu could feel an intimidating aura resonating from the young man. Another thing that caught his attention, was the fact that the thug mentioned the word captain.

"Good to see you again Captain Ilima," Emily beamed. "How's my prized student?" Emily asked, getting a smile out of the lad.

"I'm well Teacher Emily, did I miss something?" He asked with a piqued brow.

Emily shook her head and laughed. "Nothing new, just the Team Skull thugs trying to cause trouble as usual. Nothing I couldn't handle, especially with the help of this young man here," Emily gestured to Tanyu.

Ilima directed his attention to the darkly clad youth, locking eyes with him for a moment, taking the time to size the youth up.

"Thanks for helping out Teacher Emily. Though she's able to handle herself, sometimes she can get a little bit off track," Ilima smirked.

"Ilima, that's not very nice," Emily said with a frown, stifling a laugh as she spoke.

"He's not wrong," Tanyu muttered. "You do seem like you ramble."

"Mr. Sugimoto, if you were in my class, that would have gotten you detention," Emily retorted, crossing her arms over her chest with a frown.

"Wait...Sugimoto? As in Lydia Sugimoto!?" Ilima exclaimed, his eyes immediately shifting back to Tanyu.

"Yep, that's Lydia's boy, Tanyu." Ilima said with a chuckle, watching as Ilima's eyes lit up.

"Well this is certainly exciting. Your mother is pretty well known around here," Ilima stated. "I was only nine when I saw her in action in the final island challenge. Her team was so fierce!" Ilima stated, his eyes shimmering with excitement.

"I...didn't know my mom was that big a deal here," Tanyu said, sweating rather nervously at the overly enthusiastic display of excitement coming from Ilima.

"Oh yes, she was something to be feared. Teacher Emily was an adventuring buddy of hers alongside Kukui, although he went to Kanto after his island challenge to take on the gyms there," Ilima stated, stroking his chin.

"Sounds like I've got a lot of catching up to do," Tanyu replied, folding his arms and closing his eyes with a sigh.

"Don't be so down on yourself. From what I just witnessed, you are every bit the battler she is. And I can't wait to see what you'll do in this year's island challenge. This one is by far the biggest one from what I've heard so far," Emily informed.

"Yeah...see, I keep hearing that, but nobody will tell me what it is," Tanyu mumbled, letting out sigh.

"To be honest, the mastermind behind it all is Kukui. But if I know that man, he doesn't usually blab everything right away," Emily chuckled.

"That's most certainly true," Ilima replied. "So Tanyu, whenever you wish to take my challenge, I shall be waiting for you at Verdant Cavern. Come by tomorrow night. For now, I need to pick up a few things from the market. Aloha," Ilima said with a wave before walking away.

"Hau...you can slow down, those malasadas aren't going anywhere," Lillie said with a raised brow as she watched Hau whoof down the plate full of malasadas that he had ordered.

Beating his chest, he swallowed hard and let out a contented sigh.

"That was ono!" Hau grinned, patting his stomach and leaning back in his seat. "I think I may order more later," Hau laughed.

Lillie's brow twitched slightly. Where does he put it all? Lillie shook her head at the thought and crossed her arms.

"So Lillie, what are you gonna do while you're here?" Hau asked curiously, getting a nervous laugh out of Lillie.

"M-Me? Well I uh...might take a look at the clothing stores around here," Lillie stated, tapping her index fingers together in a nervous fashion.

As the two spoke, the door to the malasada shop opened to reveal Tanyu.

"Yo Tanyu! Howzit!" Hau exclaimed, waving his hand wildly for Tanyu to see.

"Do you have to be so loud?" Lillie blinked, her gaze shifting to meet Tanyu's, her brows furrowing into a slight frown.

"So this is where you two have been hiding," Tanyu stated, making his way towards the duo and sitting down at the stool on the opposite side of the circular table.

"I don't know about hiding. Eating however-"

"Eating? More like inhaling, Hau," Lillie sweatdropped, getting a goofy grin from Hau in return.

Tanyu canted his head in confusion. He took note of the rather large plate Hau had in front of him. By the looks of things, Hau had been gorging himself on whatever feast he'd ordered. Tanyu's eyes shifted to the line that was at the counter and took note of the many different kinds of malasadas that were on the menu. Tanyu pondered whether or not he ought to order a few. With a shrug, he stood up and made his way towards the line.

"Be back in a few. I'm gonna see what these things are all about. It should be intersting," Tanyu mused, making his way towards the counter to grab a bite to eat.

Plumeria stood outside of her dilapidated home, her eyes staring up at the grey skies above. It was yet another overcast day in Po Town. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She cleared her mind of all distractions and simply focused on the surroundings. She could hear the rustle of the leaves in the trees and the subtle skittering of Bug-types across the grounds of the mansion. Her meditative state was interrupted however, by the sound of her phone.

Frowning, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the ringing device and answered it.

"Yo..." She answered, somewhat peeved that she was disturbed.

"Yo sis, you'll neva guess what happened yo!" Said a male voice from the other side.

"What happened bro?" Plumeria replied, furrowing her brows.

"We was just mindin' our business at the playground, ya dig? Well the teach wasn't down with that, so we battled yo!" Said the male on the other end.

"Yeah, and then they sent us packin' yo! All we wanted to do was chill out," came a female voice.

"Did you start this fight?" Plumeria questioned, arching a brow as she waited for their response.

"Nah sis, but the guy with Teach was askin' for a beat down. He had the nerve to insult Team Skull yo!" Said the male with a snarl.

"Bro, it sounds like you and sis gave them reason to pick a fight with you. Still, I can't exactly let anyone disrespect Team Skull like that. If you see them again, let me know where they are. I'll personally make sure that doesn't happen again..."

"So what exactly is in this thing anyway?" Tanyu blinked, looking down at the treats before him.

"They're only the best thing to ever exist! Try it cuz!" Hau urged excitedly.

Tanyu looked down at the powdered balls of dough on his plate. Picking one up, he took a whiff to get a good idea of what he'd be putting in his mouth. It smelled good, which was always a good sign. With a shrug, he opened his mouth and took a bite of the pastry. His eyes widened as he bit down on the deep fried goodness in his hand. In that moment, it clicked as to why his mother liked the treats so much. They were really good.

"Where have these things been all my life?" Tanyu said, looking down at the other items on his plate. "I do have one question though, what are these things?" Tanyu asked curiously, indicating to the other pastries on his plate.

"Oh! Those are mochi! They're also very sweet. Looks like you got chocolate and peanut butter. Those two are my favorite," Lillie chimed in.

"Mochi...sounds interesting," Tanyu added, popping one of the rice pastries into his mouth.

Swallowing, Tanyu picked up another one and bit into it as well.

"These are pretty darn good. I'll have to grab some of these to go," Tanyu stated, leaning back in his chair. "So...Hau. You excited about the trials?" Tanyu asked.

"Shootz brah! I'm hyped!" Hau grinned, chowing down on another malasada while he conversed.

Lydia sat in her living room, book in hand while she sipped on Mago Berry tea. As she read, she heard her phone vibrating on the table beside her. Picking it up, she looked to see who it was before answering.

"Emily? How are you?" Lydia greeted.

"Alooola my friend!" Emily exclaimed, causing Lydia to wince at the volume of her voice. "Guess what? I just battled your son!"

Lydia's eyes widened slightly. "Did you now? How'd he do?"

"He was actually fairly decent. About where you were starting off before you got so tough," Emily said with a slight hint of jealousy in her voice. "He battles about the same as you do, calculating and stuff..."

"Sounds like you had fun. Though I can't imagine my son was able to match up to you so early," Lydia mused. "Did he at least put up a good fight?"

"He certainly did. Though he ended up throwing in the towel in the end," Emily added.

"He gave up the fight? That's rather strange," Lydia replied, setting down her book after marking her place. "Why'd he do that?"

"He said it was because Meowth was already hurt enough, and he already knew he wouldn't be able to win at the rate things were going. He had a good strategy, a pretty darn scary one at that. I mean, when he used it on those Team Skull delinquents-"

"Wait. Team Skull came around?" Lydia frowned, slight irritation in her voice as she spoke.

"Well yeah, but they weren't much of a bother. Tanyu and I took them down pretty easily. His Meowth pulled off a wicked combo!" Emily added enthusiastically.

Lydia sighed in relief.

"That's good to know. Those thugs are always out causing trouble. I don't need them around provoking my son," Lydia stated firmly. Especially given his past activities.

"Don't worry so much sistah! I'm sure if they ever try to bother Tanyu again, he'll send them packin just like he did earlier," Emily assured her.

"That's not exactly what I'm concerned about. I know he can handle himself," Lydia sighed. I'm more concerned about the methods he'll use, Lydia thought, shaking her head as she continued. "I just don't want him getting hurt," Lydia added.

"If he's anything like you were, I doubt he'll have too much to worry about," Emily stated, getting a slight laugh out of Lydia.

"Thanks, but that's part of what I'm worried about. I wasn't exactly the most humble individual starting out. I was cocky as hell and still kinda am," Lydia chuckled.

"True. You did have a big head back then. But Tanyu doesn't seem to be that way, at least...not to my knowledge anyway. He does have your attitude though," Emily mused.

"Yeah...I noticed that," Lydia sweat-dropped. "Like mother like son," Lydia laughed nervously.

"Shootz! Anyway, I have a ton of papers to grade, so I'll give you a call tomorrow or something? It's the weekend and we should definitely do something! Have a girls night out maybe?" Emily proposed.

"That sounds great actually. Maybe Burnet can come along too. That woman works way too much," Lydia added.

"Look who's talking ya busy Combee," Emily grinned.

"Oh go grade your papers already," Lydia shot back, causing Emily to laugh.

"Shootz sistah!" Emily stated before ending the call.

"Shootz," Lydia replied, setting her phone down after the call ended.

With a sigh, she picked up her book and opened it once more, all the while wondering how her son was doing on his journey.

"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.

There you go folks! Also, a little bit more has been revealed about Lydia! We're getting to know more of Tanyu's mother's past little by little. So I decided to do something different as you can see. Tanyu didn't battle with Ilima against Team Skull, it was Emily. Anyway, next stop, the trial! What surprises await? Well, this is where things go a bit off course. Get ready for some fun!