The scene shifted.
The school had transitioned from night to day.
The schoolgirl hurried forward with her backpack. The once-empty corridors were now bustling with students, their speech bubbles flashing with text.
[You overhear people discussing the classroom explosion discovered this morning. Feeling quite guilty, you lower your head and speed off toward your homeroom.]
The transition is way too fast! Kashiwagi thought.
He had been curious about how she would handle the Mimikyu, but the simulator skipped straight to morning without a conclusion.
Did she release it? Catch it?
Personally, he was hoping for the latter.
Under his gaze, the girl entered her classroom and quickly approached two girls her age.
[You spot the two classmates you bet with and rush over, only to find them backing away several steps, looking at your excited face as if they've seen a ghost. Seeing their reaction, you have a moment of realization.]
The student clearly realized that among the "ghosts" she encountered last night, two were fakes. But she didn't seem to care; she continued to approach and pulled a strange plushie from her bag—one identical to the tattered Pikachu doll.
[You tell them that the truth behind the school's "monster" legend is actually a Mimikyu staying there in secret, and you point out the fact that they were the ones pretending to be ghosts last night. To your surprise, they flatly deny it and, in a fit of pique, claim that the Mimikyu is just a random excuse you made up.]
Seeing their stubbornness, messy lines floated over the girl's head—she was clearly rendered speechless by them.
Sensing the futility, she returned to her seat and began interacting with the Mimikyu peeking out of her backpack. At that moment, her Rowlet flew in through the window.
The trio—the girl and her two Pokémon—began to wiggle in their cartoonish pixel forms as their bubbles cycled through various happy expressions.
[Through your communication last night, you discovered that Mimikyu's nature is one that fears sunlight and strangers yet longs for harmony with others. Along with Rowlet, you have become friends with Mimikyu.]
The class wasn't huge, but it had more students than Ash's class in the anime. However, not a single person greeted her.
"Great with Pokémon, but terrible with people, huh?" Kashiwagi watched the "lonely" scene, wondering how a girl with her fearless, proactive personality managed to have zero friends at a Pokémon School.
Those two girls?
Before seeing this, he might have thought they were just pulling a prank to tease her, but now it was clear they were "at odds" by nature.
Was she a transfer student like Ash?
As Kashiwagi pondered, the girl was suddenly called out by a pixel sprite that looked like a teacher and taken to an office. The topic, unsurprisingly, was the explosion in the classroom. Even without security, it was easy for the school to trace it back to her.
However, the faculty at the Pokémon School were remarkably lenient. Among the questioners was a real "character"—Samson Oak, who loved adding Pokémon names to the end of his sentences and mimicking their poses. He was like a human Ditto.
[You apologize to Principal Oak and the teacher. They generously forgive you and ask if you're adjusting to school life. You've only recently moved to Alola; at least a week ago, you were still living in the Kalos region with your mother.]
"She really did move..." Kashiwagi thought.
Alola must be incredibly livable for so many people to migrate there. Maybe once the Orre region developed, he could retire in Alola when he got older?
Anyway, by then, Ash would have resolved all the major crises, so he wouldn't even have to worry about Ultra Beasts.
...
In the simulation, the girl returned to class. But unlike the earlier "deserted" scene, the moment she sat down, a large group of classmates swarmed her, chirping with questions about last night.
Some asked what really happened, others asked how she blew up the school or if a Pokémon did it.
[Hearing your classmates' curious questions, you friendly-ly answer them all—from the bet about the school ghost to how you used Berries and Pokémon scales to manufacture grenades.]
Wait, what? Another pharmacist? Kashiwagi looked at her with surprise. He remembered Moon from the Pokémon Adventures manga was also a pharmacist, but this girl... seemed much more aggressive.
Moon made medicine to heal Pokémon; this girl made medicine to bomb them. "Chemical worker" might be a more accurate title.
Unfortunately, the pixel backgrounds suggested this was an earlier era. Mallow, Lana, and Lillie probably weren't school-aged yet—maybe not even born.
Seeing the once-isolated girl become so popular, the two girls who had played ghost earlier began to stew with jealousy. They shifted into "mockery mode."
[You hear them say that if you're so capable, why don't you challenge the 'Island Challenge'? Hearing this term for the first time, you are very interested and ask the others for details.]
[After learning about the 'Island Challenge,' you immediately announce your intention to take it. The surrounding classmates hesitate, while the two bullies laugh exaggeratedly, claiming the challenge is extremely serious and difficult in Alola—hardly something a newcomer brat could ever hope to complete.]
"These two... they have the potential to be Team Skull members," Kashiwagi thought, his expression turning strange.
You don't see such "standardized" villains much these days; perhaps only an anime-style setting could produce such talents.
He offered a silent prayer for the girl.
That said, she really did have the "Hot-blooded Youth" (reckless) streak in her—agreeing to a challenge before even doing a deep dive into what it entailed.
If it weren't for that Blue Talent, he'd be worried about her future.
[You ignore their words. Your heart is filled only with curiosity and longing for the Island Challenge. Having arrived in a strange land, you can't wait to actually do something.]
Well, her style was admirable. Doing something out of spite versus doing it out of interest are two different things; at least she wasn't just being a "dummy."
Kashiwagi nodded in satisfaction, while the simulated scene temporarily froze on the two people's heads, with mocking expressions appearing in the bubbles above their heads, the female student ignoring them.
The screen quickly dimmed...
When it brightened again, the girl was in the Principal's office.
[You learn more about the Island Challenge from Principal Oak, including the process: greeting the Island Kahuna and accepting their trial. On Melemele Island, the Kahuna's name is Hala, and he currently lives in Iki Town.]
Hala? Not Professor Kukui? Kashiwagi wondered if Kukui was still a student in this era. As he speculated, the girl, Rowlet, and Mimikyu dashed out of the school toward Iki Town. Her whirlwind energy drew stares from passersby.
Unfortunately, her stamina was clearly insufficient to support such a long-distance sprint.
She didn't get far before she had to stop and gasp for air.
[You deeply regret your rather frail constitution, but luckily, you are fortunate enough to catch a ride.]
The "ride" was a Tauros wagon carrying a load of fruit. The driver was heading to Iki Town and offered her a lift.
However, the journey wasn't meant to be smooth.
As the wagon reached a hillside, it inevitably slowed down. Suddenly, dozens of eerie red lights flickered in the surrounding forest. In the next instant, a swarm of Alolan Raticate and Rattata burst from the brush. They unceremoniously overturned the wagon and began looting the scattered fruit.
Distress bubbles appeared over the driver's head. The girl wouldn't stand by and watch. While sending Rowlet and Mimikyu to attack, she pulled out a handful of small orbs from nowhere and threw them.
Is the Bomb Maniac starting? Kashiwagi's eyes widened.
But the orbs didn't explode with fire; instead, they released a wave of golden powder. Every Raticate and Rattata that breathed it in collapsed, twitching on the ground.
[Seeing how effective your Stun Grenades are, you nod with satisfaction.]
Stun Grenades...
So, she's a "Weapon Master" whose skill tree leans in a completely different direction than Incense Master or Moon?
On the screen, Rowlet flapped its wings to disperse the lingering powder, ensuring it didn't affect its own team. The wagon driver stood there, completely dumbfounded—in all his years, he had likely never seen such a scene.
The ambushers were sprawled across the ground.
A tan-skinned sprite with slightly graying hair sprinted onto the screen. Seeing the carpet of Alolan Raticate and Rattata, a giant exclamation mark popped up over his head.
The man began to converse with the driver and the schoolgirl.
[From his self-introduction, you learn that he is Hala, the Island Kahuna. After greeting him, you immediately express your desire to participate in the Island Challenge. However, looking at the pile of unconscious wild Pokémon, he asks how exactly you achieved this.]
[You tell him that you used Stun Grenades—devices made from Vivillon's paralysis powder and Berries. You explain that they won't cause lasting harm to these "bandit" Pokémon, but they certainly give them a lesson they won't forget.]
[You receive Kahuna Hala's approval and your first trial: deal with the Alolan Raticate and Rattata that have been ravaging the fields and attacking Tauros wagons lately.]
The Island Challenge consists of Trials, Grand Trials, and the elusive "Great Trials."
The basic Trial usually involves battling Pokémon or completing special tasks like finding items or solving local problems.
Kashiwagi saw that Hala's task was to "govern" the pests. He assumed the girl would do the logical thing—find some Gumshoos or Yungoos, the natural predators of the Raticate line. They were the pros at driving these pests away.
However, he had overestimated her patience.
As an outsider with no local friends, how could she know about the predator-prey dynamics like Ash did?
Besides, a "Hot-blooded Girl" usually prefers the simplest solution: kicking down the front door.
She chose to tail the recovering Raticate all the way back to their nest.
There, predictably, she encountered the Totem Alolan Raticate.
The fat, bloated leader lounged atop a barren rocky hill, lazily munching on Berries provided by its underlings.
[Staring at the exceptionally large Alolan Raticate, you realize this guy is the boss of the bandits. You step out into the open, challenging it to a one-on-one duel. You declare that if you win, it must restrain its minions and stop them from attacking the fields and wagons.]
Kashiwagi: "..."
...You're something else.
He watched as the girl stood grandly in the open, surrounded by a swarm of angry rats without showing a hint of panic. He could already see what was coming next.
Sure enough, as Dark-types, the Raticate weren't interested in a fair duel.
So when the swarm lunged, the girl decisively pulled a handful of "medicine" from her pockets and scattered them—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The screen flashed with explosion effects. When the bubbles cleared and Rowlet fanned away the gunpowder smoke, most of the Totem's lackeys were already down.
"You really missed your calling as a demolition expert!" Kashiwagi marveled.
It was his first time seeing a Trainer who treated themselves as a primary combatant. Even if she used "tech," taking down that many Pokémon single-handedly was impressive.
Forced into a corner, the Totem Alolan Raticate accepted the challenge.
Fortunately, having learned the specifics from Principal Oak, the girl knew Totem battles were different. She didn't fight this one herself; she played by the rules and used Rowlet and Mimikyu.
But even in a standard battle, her talent was formidable.
Rowlet had clearly inherited its Trainer's affinity for explosives, using Seed Bomb and Energy Ball with terrifying precision. Even with its Totem Aura active, the Raticate was blown into a sorry state, its attempts to use Hyper Beam interrupted repeatedly.
Furthermore, Rowlet was fast and stealthy. It would dive into the nearby foliage, leaving the Totem rat unable to track its position, forced to just take the hits.
Eventually, before Mimikyu even got a turn, the Totem Raticate surrendered.
A smiley face appeared over the girl's head. Using materials found on-site, she quickly concocted an "Antidote Bomb" to wake the paralyzed minions and treated the Totem's wounds.
The big rat seemed somewhat grateful; after a little hop, it presented her with a black, diamond-shaped crystal.
The crystal enlarged on the screen.
"Darkinium Z, huh..."
[You have received a gift from the Totem Alolan Raticate—a Z-Crystal.]
This was her first Z-Crystal, and the number of smiley faces over her head multiplied.
Later, she brought the Totem Raticate before Kahuna Hala, reporting that the leader had promised to stop harassing the farms in exchange for some Berries to fill their bellies.
Alola values the coexistence of humans and Pokémon, so Hala naturally agreed to this small request.
However...
Hala: "..."
Seeing the ellipsis over the Kahuna's head, Kashiwagi knew the man had probably intended to teach her how to use non-combat means to solve problems—to better understand Alola's ecology and the bonds between people and Pokémon, just as he later taught Ash.
Unfortunately, the girl's style was too "explosively" efficient. She understood the "capture the king to catch the bandits" logic perfectly and just nuked the problem away.
Hala was left in a state of conflicted confusion, eventually asking her a hypothetical question.
[When Kahuna Hala asks what you would have done if you couldn't beat the Totem Raticate, you tell him you would have researched ancient Alolan methods for pest control. However, you add that battling wild Pokémon to forge friendships is your personal style, so you stuck with what you know.]
Hearing this, Hala's conflict bubble turned back into a smile. He seemed satisfied with the answer.
[Kahuna Hala acknowledges that you have passed the trial. You are incredibly excited and can't wait to participate in the Grand Trial. Hala agrees.]
The Grand Trial: A battle against the Island Kahuna.
Hala's rules were a 2-on-2 Single Battle, and since he used Fighting-types, the girl had a significant type advantage.
The battle reflected this.
Rowlet utilized its aerial mobility to rain Seed Bombs down on Hala's Hariyama like a miniature bombing chicken.
Just as Hariyama showed signs of fatigue, Rowlet dove in for the finish.
Unexpectedly, this was a trap. Hala finished charging his Z-Power at lightning speed, letting Hariyama unleash All-Out Pummeling!
The animation was staggering even in pixels—half the screen was covered in golden fist shadows. The sheer power of the Z-Move was terrifying. But when the smoke cleared, it wasn't Rowlet standing there—it was Mimikyu.
[You tell Hala that at the last second, Rowlet used Baton Pass to switch out for Mimikyu. Hala is surprised and impressed.]
Even a Z-Move couldn't bypass type immunity.
Shortly after, Hariyama fell to Mimikyu's Play Rough, and Hala's second Pokémon, Crabrawler, couldn't withstand the tag-team assault. The girl successfully passed the Melemele Island Trial and Grand Trial, earning Hala's recognition.
She received a Z-Ring and a Flyinium Z. Originally, the Kahuna was going to give her a Fightinium Z, but considering it didn't suit her style, he swapped it for a Flyinium Z so she could use it immediately.
[You have obtained the Z-Ring and Flyinium Z. You have successfully completed the Melemele Island Challenge. It is time to head to the next island.]