Immediately following the cutscene on the Altar of the Sunne/Moone, there will be a short event to direct you to your next objective. We'll be discussing USUM's first, since this is an additional event that leads into what SM is doing.
Yeah, it's gonna be a bit before Bethany comes back.
Slightly amusing that Mina paid more of an interest in the events at the Altar than Hapu in USUM, despite her ostensibly minding her own business at home instead of following us.
Yeah, there wasn't anything for you to be worried about here. There was a bit of a bottleneck, really.
Now that we've finished up our business with Nebby, our next objective is to go back to our island challenge and complete Mina's new Trial.
The Trial starts over in Seafolk Village, and Mina asks if we want to be teleported there.
I mean, sure, but Ailey's going to do so more to heal and prepare her Ultra Warp Rides than because she's actually in the market to start your Trial immediately. She needs to rejigger her team, anyway.
Following her home is honestly just a good way of refreshing your memory on which house is hers. This was never relevant to SM, and hasn't been relevant to USUM either thus far.
I don't think we've left a cutscene since after fighting Necrozma thus far. That actually kinda contextualises Rotom here...
Now then, Mina's Trial is an abject lesson in, frankly, how underlevelled Ailey is. Zossie is one thing, but some other members of the team are going to be flailing, too.
It's also going to involve so much team cycling that I'm not even going to bother to highlight my team in detail until the Totem. Just know it's a lot of shuffling around the Amulet Coin, Expert Belt, and in many cases, the 20% items. No joke, Shade and Moss holding the Expert Belt and Charcoal is about to give them otherwise impossible KOs.
Mina's Trial, thus far, is probably the weirdest one mechanically, and I suspect it's even weirder under the hood.
They do start the Island Trial theme, but it won't last long.
It's been a long time since we've fought a Trial Captain, hasn't it? Ailey hasn't done it since Ilima! Trial Captains, sadly, don't have a unique theme.
I'll tell you what Mina does have, though- under-the-hood stats. This Mawile has flat 30 IVs (it is unusual for this), 252 EVs in Atk and Spd, a Serious Nature, and the moves Iron Head, Play Rough and Sucker Punch. Just because Necrozma is over doesn't mean the game is.
Zossie is out entirely for EXP and taking this Initimidate so the real counter doesn't have to. The scaled EXP doesn't scale fast enough to let Zossie contribute that meaningfully, but fortunately, her evolution doesn't depend on getting her levelled up.
Justy will deal with Mawile, and tanks an Iron Head for the switch-in.
Now, Sucker Punch should KO Justy here.
Turns out Colbur Berries are really fun.
That is not so fun. Justy doesn't get Earthquake until level 54, and while it does get High Horsepower (for some reason), that is only by Move Reminder.
Unfortunately, Mawile's got another Sucker Punch, and I don't have another Colbur Berry.
Usagi, your problem.
That's a relief. But we're still only one down.
30/30/25/25/25/30 IVs, 252 EVs in Atk/Spd, Serious Nature, Stone Edge, Play Rough, Earthquake. Stone Edge/Earthquake is a famously potent physically attacking combo, with Earthquake covering Poison and Steel types. I'd love for Zossie to get a KO, but that's not happening if her opponents are carrying coverage.
And this one also has Intimidate!
My only real plan for it involves things that have no real business fighting it fight it, so Usagi spends her time lowering its Atk in preparation.
It does not help her. I imagine a crit contributed, but still.
I still needed the Charm for Shade, despite Intimidate.
Granbull's Earthquake hurts.
Without Expert Belt, that would've fallen short and caused Shade to take a second Earthquake- something that she can't handle.
We're walking on faint margins.
This makes up for it, though- Shade finally has her dual-STAB! She'll be leaning hard on her excellent typing, but she still has some use left in her.
25/25/25/30/30/30 IVs, 252 EVs in Sp. Atk/Spd, and the moves Pollen Puff, Dazzling Gleam and Psychic. And yes, she is holding a Fairium Z. Ribombee is a tough opponent to deal with.
Fortunately, Consilia can take the Pollen Puff this time.
It was close, but Consilia managed a Tailwind.
...Wow, Consilia's not half bad with her own Tailwind! Pity she keeps having to let other people do the benefitting...
Do normal kids have to deal with an exceptionally rich company hunting down their friends? Inter-dimensional monsters threatening the stability of the world?
...Good, just me...
...A petal? You, uh... are going somewhere with this, right?
Fortunately, she is. We are tasked with gathering seven petals- one from Ilima, Lana, Kiawe, Mallow, Sophocles, and Acerola. An interesting choice in Trial, making good use of the fact that Mina can't have her own level geometry for a proper Fairy Trial, and one with some mechanical consequences of note- you know the whole "no wild Pokemon in Trials?" thing? Yeah, I think they're ignoring that rule as a kindness. And also because the mechanical quirks of enforcing a strict Trial state sound terrifying.
Oh... screw you too, you can of bolts.
Talking to Mina gives you a hint on where Ilima is. He's gone and hidden in a bit of an unintuitive place, but Rotom has the map marker anyway.
I didn't actually know that the Trial Guide actually pointed you in the right direction before now. That's a cute touch.
Wow, remember being back here? Mina's Trial does a surprisingly good job when it comes to helping you remember where you've been, which is close enough to the spirit of the Island Challenge that I'm sure this is by design.
I'd comment on the new outfit, but, uh...
Turns out Ailey didn't get that much of a glowup with a change in outfit. She's the only kid still wearing the same shirt she had in Melemele.
...Odd choice in place to hang around, but I respect it. Weird timing, though.
Ilima, as it turns out, doesn't scale up fast. Add that to the fact that Ailey now actually has Fighting types, and this is a fight that's not intimidating anymore. Still, we can't be too reckless.
But before we can fight Ilima, we encounter a Decidueye. That can only mean one thing:
Hau's not too far behind.
And apparently he's doing Mina's Trial too? Frankly, that just makes me think about the logistics of Mina's Trial- how the Petals work, how the Trial Captains know who to look out for, and the implications that, since Mina's Trial is so all over the place, it can have two kids doing it at the same time.
...Why Gladion? Presumably he heard it from his mother, but that implies he went straight to you, considering how little time it's been, plot-wise, since I accomplished this.
I'm not judging you two, but I would like to know what you two are up to behind my back.
Sometimes it's nice to have a normal Trainer to serve as a point of comparison.
And then I remember Hau isn't exactly normal himself. He did just fight off a UB Assembly with Tapu Koko.
An event he seems strangely uninterested in mentioning, incidentally. Not like his grandpa was much better- he's still going on about light and dark.
Hau's taking a few well-placed lessons to heart, and realising that his own failure to take things seriously has made it more difficult for the other people involved to have the same experience. That goes for both your own Pokemon and your opponent, you know? A battle where you're not giving it your all is just killing time.
Although I will remind you not to take things too far in the other direction. Try, but only invest as much energy as you feel is sane.
Freebie, that's nice. But even if I was one to use Bag Items in battle, I maintain that a situation in which your PP is low enough that a full PP restore to all moves is beneficial is one in which both sides have morally lost.
I mean, at this point, we're pretty close to the point that we're both done with our Island Challenges, but we haven't battled each other since Malie City. I haven't even seen your Decidueye in battle as a Decidueye!
I wonder if the same problem of "we're not on the same page" can't be solved by switching to a new team that's more in line with your current goals. I mean, sure, if you felt you needed a change, that's a good thing...
Aaaaaaand there he goes. One thing that hasn't changed upstairs is whatever neurodivergence he's dealing with. Should probably figure out what one that is sooner rather than later.
Ilima is hanging around this grave, near the front edge of the cemetery. You won't miss him, but you do need your eyes open.
A heck of a lot more than I had since last we met.
Last we met, I had two, but...
Err... no, that mentality is a sign of overachieving.
It also happens to be the same thing I cautioned Hau against just now. He didn't get that from you, did he?
Remembering he was Kalosian, I almost thought this was implying a family relation with XY character Diantha. Diantha was a movie actress, not a stage actress, but I would not put it past them to either a) forget that or b) actually go for this cross-game family connection.
It's also worth mentioning that Diantha wasn't a PoC, in a game that actually gave a non-zero amount of attention to adding PoC characters. I mean, yeah, Ilima could've got it from his father, but Pokemon usually prefers to keep family character design simple. If he is supposed to be Diantha's kid, I'd also expect his hair to be grey like hers!
The connection to "beauty", specifically, really connects to XY's theming, which helps me lean towards thinking the XY connection has weight.
Yeah, I have other interests, I'm not just Pokemon battling. Sounds like a you problem.
I'll take it, for what's supposed to be the first expert, but also you should be adjusting your approach for the needs of others. You are doing that, right?
Oh, you were an incredible threat early on. It's been so long that half the team Ailey had back then has been benched!
So, by how much has he improved since the last time we did battle?
It turns out, very little. 30/25/30/25/30/25 IVs, that's +5 to his Def IV (with his stat, worth +2 to his stats), 252 EVs in Def/Sp. Def, and an Adamant Nature. This Gumshoos has the same investment as it did back then, and 40 levels of gameplay later, the weaknesses of Gumshoos are shining more than its strengths. It's carrying the moves Crunch, Hyper Fang, and Super Fang, and if it gets a hit in, it will at least be a good one.
It's worth noting it does get a hit off if I use Flying Press instead. That Def investment does make it annoying. But still... I think I've made my point.
140 BP, 90% accuracy, takes a turn to charge, but has a 30% chance of flinching and a +1 to crit. It really thinks it's better than it is- I'll stick to Flying Press, Acrobatics and Fly, thank you.
30/30/25/30/25/30 IVs, 252 EVs in Atk/Sp. Atk, a Hasty Nature (+Spd/-Def), and the moves Extreme Speed, Flamethrower, Surf, and Energy Ball. Combines the elements of all three potential Smeargles he could've thrown at us earlier, but with the Technician bonus no longer applying and Smeargle's low stats looking a lot less impressive from this side of the game, this has gone from an ace that is absolutely terrifying to a filler mon that emphasises the word "filler". That's a Speed score of 105.
Yes, I'm using Usagi, but Extreme Speed is the only way it's outspeeding anything.
Admittedly, Usagi has been staring down the barrel end of the bench with her own low power finally coming back to her, but Smeargle's -Def and bad stats made it an easy target. But still. Something to think about.
30/30/25/25/30/25 IVs, 252 EVs in Atk/Sp. Def, a Careful (+Sp. Def/-Sp. Atk) Nature, and the moves Sucker Punch, Wood Hammer and Slam. And of course, the Normalium Z to open up the option of Breakneck Blitz. Remember Cranky? Remember how I benched her because it just couldn't keep up with the team? Yeah, this Komala is running 137 Atk, a number surpassed by many of my own attackers, with that terrifying Sucker Punch being basically the only thing of note when choosing your own Pokemon. Oh, and do remember Wood Hammer exists, I guess, since that covers Rocks.
Zossie used it for switch training. And one of the cool kind of prediction plays.
Yeah, just use Ghost types. This sort of thing is basically the sole reason Normals like Dark moves so much.
...I'm not altogether certain you needed the Colbur Berry, honestly.
Especially when you oneshot with the Dynamic Punch. Yeah, there's a reason generalist tanks don't typically invest in one or the other of Def/Sp. Def.
What was that about shining? You have not done nearly as well for yourself as I have.
"Warmth" is a bit brave, for someone focused on achievement over enjoyment.
Yes. That is the objective of the Trial I am to complete. It's not like I'm doing this on a whim.
There's something interesting about this comment- well, two somethings. One, Mahalo Trail doesn't have wild encounters, what the heck are you talking about? Two, he's actually pointing us in the direction of something cool that has just been made available. For the sake of keeping everything at a more sensible place, I'm not going to show it until after Ailey's Grand Trial, but it's worth mentioning it is now there- particularly since it might help you deal with the upcoming Totem.
Mina seems to have intended a bit of a scavenger angle, remembering everywhere you've been, but the other Trial Captains aren't humouring her one bit. Every single one offers to walk you directly to where the next one is.
Honestly, more miraculous is the fact that Ilima actually knows where our next Trial Captain presently is. I'd expect to go to Konikoni City, considering, you know, that's where her house is.
Perhaps he knows more about what we're about to see than he lets on. Either that, or Mallow is next and he's talking about her culinary "talents".
This is the team I'm packing. Yeah, it's kinda obvious I'm thinking about Lana.
They did actually keep the Trial Guide telling you where to look. This is the only one, sadly.
As you enter Lush Jungle, you look over and notice Mallow making her way into the jungle. I do kinda like what they're going for, but it feels like Lana should be following her, rather than already there.
As you give chase, Mallow lets out a short scream, and the camera pans to show she's gone into the back area.
As you enter the room, you see Mallow, absolutely surrounded by forest Pokemon.
She is not in danger.
But I remain highly concerned nonetheless.
Frankly, I'm more worried about the implications of her getting a blast in the face of Pokemon moves. Even restorative ones.
I like to imagine Lana knew we were here for way longer than that.
When Mallow notices us, all the Pokemon start to rush off. The Fomantis directly between us takes a few seconds to notice, probably because its back was to us.
Just now, but I saw plenty. You should tell the Trial Guide you don't want to be disturbed when you do this.
Yes. I'm sure you wanted to feed them. Even if that were true, I'd rather not contemplate the matter any further.
OK, I know it's the branding that's preventing you from getting too close to the truth on the matter, but I don't think Mallow's problem is that she's not relaxed enough. She was always a bit of an irresponsible one.
Whether you fight Mallow or Lana here is actually version-dependent. You fight Mallow in Ultra Sun, and Lana in Ultra Moon. I think Mallow makes more sense to fight, though, especially if you're going to justify it with Mallow's meekness.
Lana, of course, has absolutely no regard for her friend's privacy. I do like that Mallow actually gets to get upset over that.
I suspect the reason that the player hasn't had the chance to fight the Trial Captains yet is because they are being used for this sequence, and it wouldn't make sense to refight them at a lower level later. This also somewhat hints this sequence was a relatively late addition- Lana's reward was actually changed into the freebie copies of the Deep Sea Tooth and Scale, which seems like something that they should have given us around the time that Lana fought us in SM.
Lanturn (Moon): This Pokémon flashes a bright light that blinds its prey. This creates an opening for it to deliver an electrical attack.
Finally seeing Chinchou's evolution, considering it is achieved at level 27. Lanturn is Water/Electric, carrying 30/25/25/30/25/30 IVs, 252 EVs in Sp. Atk/Spd, a Serious Nature, the moves Discharge, Hydro Pump and Thunder Wave, as well as the Volt Absorb Ability. Lanturn's base Sp. Atk and Spd isn't really high enough to make this threatening, although it will stop any Electric type cold. It's weak to Grass and Ground.
Zossie's going to try and poison it on the way out, but it's not going too well.
Stupid paralysis...
Phew. I'll take it, especially since Crysantha is hardly the strongest attacker either.
Crysantha could take a bit of punishment, although it's helping things along by landing a few key dodges.
Ugh, please stop that, I'd like Crysantha to have options...
Huh. Not as bad as I was worrying. I guess I thought Lanturn was bulky enough that Lana would be tempted to build for bulk. No, she thought it could work as a sweeper.
This is not a problem that Lanturn's stats caused. This is just bad luck.
Cloyster has a bit of reticence to play to its strengths here. 30/25/30/25/30/25 IVs, 252 EVs in Def/Sp. Def, a Serious Nature, and the moves Spike Cannon, Icicle Crash and Spikes. Skill Link for the Ability, but Spike Cannon is the only move that uses it. Spikes, at least, is something Cloyster is famous for, although I notice it tends to stick to Icicle Crash.
85 BP, 90% accurate, Physical Ice, has a 30% chance of flinching the target. It is not a move typically associated with Cloyster, who would rather stick to Skill Link Icicle Spear, but it is a favourite move of Sandslash, and one Lanz will be happy to acquire for himself once the Move Reminder opens up.
Would you like to switch, Cloyster?
Cloyster's Sp. Def is a famous weak point of hers, this is more than enough.
Oh, good girl! Anyone who learns Earthquake naturally before the final bosses is all right in my book.
Lana's personal Araquanid is a more focused version of the one that appeared as a Totem. 30/30/25/25/25/30 IVs, 252 EVs in Atk/Spd, a Serious Nature, the moves Liquidation, Leech Life, and Crunch, and a Waterium Z for the most painful Hydro Vortex imaginable (160 BP Physical Water move with STAB and double damage from Water Bubble). Ignoring the lack of Aurora Beam, permarain and backup, this Araquanid makes the Totem look like a chump. And we have come a long way that we're not nearly as scared of it.
Although I am going to try and paralyse it with the last of Genevieve's HP...
Did not luck out with a chance to use T-Wave or Static. Good to try, at least.
I'm counting on this Acrobatics. After this, I don't have much for backup plans.
Fortunately, Hawkeye's high power and Araquanid's shaky Def was enough. Was not looking forward for trying to back that up.
Hook, line, and sinker.
Mallow's reaction also seems more suited to her having been the one that fought us. Especially since she's the first to pipe up.
No matter which of the two you fight, you receive both Green and Blue Petals from this conversation. Mina's Trial only extends as far as everyone is willing to play along.
Also, Mallow tries desperately to pretend that counted as a bribe. Yeah, the only reason this is staying secret is because Ailey doesn't talk.
Huh. Cool. I suppose it'd make sense, considering Wishiwashi are long and thin, that their scales would be the same way.
I wonder if the other petals are supposed to have a thematic basis like this. Mallow's looks kind of mushroomy.
This reads a lot differently delivered to Ray than it is Ailey. I don't think she's flirting, just vain, but either way, it's one heck of an ego.
And also a surprising perspicacity.
You hang out in a jungle. You don't get to talk.
Please do not use that turn of phrase immediately following what I caught the two of you doing.
...I guess I was wrong about Mallow being into Olivia.
Its worth noting that Lana does actually nod before they leave, so it's not just her weirdness going on here.
We're not going to be surprised by our opponent, and we are going to be even less surprised by what Pokemon to bring to fight Kiawe. Ridley, Chip, and Sue, as a matter of course, and Anna for his Marowak- and Consilia for her disguise.
Yes, it seems there's more in Anna's tank than I thought. She might not need benching at all, although Robin makes a solid argument.
You are incredibly late to the party.
Heading up the hill has us find not Kiawe, as expected, but David.
His lack of personality as a personality is continued even outside of a Trial situation. It's kinda hard to take him seriously, and I don't think he wants to be.
Kiawe doesn't even address him by name! I'm not 100% convinced the developers remembered he had one.
Also, you have a Magmar.
...You mean to tell me David is under 20? I refuse to believe he's younger than you are. I wonder if the writers also forgot they made it so Trial Captains have to be kids.
I also think the position should be open for a few more years of a person's life, so long as they remain willing. But I'm not the one responsible.
At least he acknowledges it.
Anyway, let's just get to work.
Sounds very Fire-type user of you. What are we packing...
Arcanine is loads stronger than his Growlithe lead in SM. 25/30/30/25/30/25 IVs, 252 EVs in Atk/Sp. Def, and the moves Flare Blitz, Crunch and Extreme Speed. Of all the Trial Captain Pokemon I'e seen thus far, Arcanine might be one of the scariest designed kits.
Sp. Def investment to get around Water Pokemon, on a Pokemon fast enough that Speed investment is a mite redundant. This is a solid Arcanine.
Flare Blitz is a 120 BP Physical Fire move that does recoil damage. It is the only choice for many Physical Fires, and the fact that Flareon doesn't have the HP to handle this recoil is what makes him so bad. The move is a much better prospect in, say, Theodore's hands, though...
Sp. Def investment preventing a Scald victory.
Still came out well, but with a much more worrying amount of HP for the rest of the fight.
25/30/25/30/25/30 IVs, 252 EVs in Atk/Spd, and the moves Brave Bird, Flame Charge and Quick Attack. Talonflame asks no questions and takes no prisoners.
I dunno why I thought that would work, in hindsight. Maybe if I had Stealth Rock up, but I see Talonflame and go "I need to hit it hard and hit it fast."
That would be worrying...
Except Chip is not taking a Brave Bird with any HP. I don't think it'll be too surprising to learn that Ridley has a longer life on the team.
Zossie, I think can take a Brave Bird?
Yeah, she got this, and the EXP too.
30/30/25/25/25/30 IVs, 252 EVs in Atk/Spd, and the moves Flame Wheel, Shadow Bone and Bonemerang. Kiawe agrees with me on what exactly a Marowak needs to do Marowak things. This one has a Firium Z, of course, and its weaker Fire move is its main obstacle to being Theodore on the opposing side.
Well, also the lack of a Thick Club.
The main reason I picked Anna over Robin is because Marowak's high Defence scares away Crunch users. I thought Foul Play would be more effective, though.
And also this is hilarious.
But you don't learn any Dance moves... Dragon Dance or Quiver Dance, I'd expect. Or maybe using an Ula'ula Oricorio.
Before Kiawe is done complimenting our effectiveness, he is interrupted... by David.
Flat 15 IVs, no serious investment, it's David at his most David. At this level, I believe he knows Sunny Day, Lava Plume, Fire Punch and Confuse Ray.
There's the Sunny Day, to make Ridley's job harder.
Although not that much harder. Still, though, he outspeeds, and he's about to use a move boosted by both STAB and Sunlight. Even with a resist, that'll hit hard, especially if it's Special.
Sue, you take it.
Sue double-resists Fire. She's fine.
And she has options for returning fire that aren't scared of a little sunlight.
...I didn't give an answer. The callback is funny, but I'd expect "so pleased by your battling prowess" to be used as a substitute.
Probably doesn't fit in the textbox.
Could you imagine David in charge of the Fire Trial?
Not, like... actually hot, right? I don't want the flower to burn up...
And it is intoxicating.
...Possibly literally.
Sophocles hasn't wandered far. Outside of Festival Plaza, I'm not sure he's ever left the place.
Of all the free teleports, this one's probably the closest to a Charizard Glide point. Well, it would be if Lush Jungle wasn't itself a Glide point. Still, I do like the acknowledgement that Kiawe is responsible for giving us Glide.
Well, sure.
...Although it does look like he's busy.
Molayne is currently planning on taking... an extended leave of absence, let's put it. This is foreshadowing, but this is foreshadowing something not in SM.
Sophocles and Togedemaru aren't taking the news well. Have they ever been trusted with business up here on their own before?
While that makes sense, that feels a bit too much pressure when the parting is hurting that much. Try and comfort him a little more, mate.
Sounds like Kukui. Him and Hau are two peas in a pod.
That was, I believe, delivering the Professor's Mask to Kukui. And interrupting his quality time with Guzma as a result.
For me, yes. For Lillie, I imagine she'd prefer if my quest didn't involve her mother waking up an angry legendary, dragging it here, and kidnapping her friend.
OK, that's a good line to drop when you're passing on responsibility of an observatory.
Honestly, I'm more surprised Sophocles doesn't wind up giving a smile. He's got the facial expression for it.
Hm. No battle. Not saying I don't mind- I'm not 100% sure Justy could do it alone- but that is quite the surprising turn of events nonetheless. Sophocles will battle you in Ultra Sun, and in exchange, the next battle is skipped for them.
...Are you sure you're OK?
I'll take your word on that. I never did understand that man.
Sophocles drops us right off at Aether House, and ultimately, this stop didn't really wind up contributing much, huh? Considering there's an extra event associated with the next stop, I think Ultra Sun had the right idea about who to fight.
You mean to tell me we walked from Hokulani? Wow, that was a trek...
So long, kiddo. Not gonna say I don't mind letting you go back home and work through your newfound anxieties.
Before we can claim the Purple Petal, we encounter Guzma loitering around the place Plumeria kidnapped Lillie from.
Not entirely sure what he's up to, but I'd hope he had some contrite words with the people in there, especially for the Yungoos incident, too.
To us, though, he merely thanks us for helping with Necrozma. This kinda implies we had a hand in getting him away from Necrozma, which we didn't exactly do. Admittedly, we did start fighting Necrozma while it was busy attacking them, which could generously be read as helping them, but it's not like SM where we went to Ultra Space and got him out.
I'm here for the Purple Petal- which I'm assuming you're doing too. I've got no idea what he's up to.
Guzma refuses to admit what he's up to, and kinda suggests we were planning on doing something together. No, Guzma, we were just bumping into one another.
Hau's happy to pick up a conversation with Guzma like he's done nothing wrong. I can't tell if he's really forgiving or just happy to go with the flow. I'm also not entirely sure Guzma is happy with not being feared, but he'll have to learn to live with that.
Hau's question is about Guzma's signature Golisopod, although he fails to ask a question before Guzma starts talking about it.
Golisopod served as Guzma's first partner, and he's clearly proud of it.
Huh. Kinda strange he didn't bring them all to all our fights, but it does explain where Guzmaa gets his toughness from. Man really knows his Bug types.
...And why not? They're your partners, as good as anything else.
Hau then proceeds to point out that Guzma found benefit in the Island Challenge, despite all his claims the whole thing is pointless.
Hau's claim of "friends" refers to Plumeria and Team Skull, only the former of whom I imagine was actually a friend of Guzma's during the Island Trial. Team Skull formed when like-minded people sought each other's company after the fact.
Guzma realises where this conversation is going and is absolutely not happy with it.
Hala probably tried teaching him this exact lesson several times and Guzma refused to listen.
Not if Kukui has anything to say about it, I'm sure. But I have all the faith that Hau will make a fantastic kahuna once he's figured out what to do about his ADHD.
The Grip Claw is a hold item that makes it so any move that inflicts the Bound status ailment, like Wrap, Fire Spin or Infestation, to last 7 turns instead of the standard 4-5. A bit of a pitiful effect, particularly since binding moves are more often timed by how long both Pokemon are expected to be on the field, this item cannot be acquired at all in Sun without trading- it is found as a random drop from Barbaracle in Ultra Warp Ride and 5% from wild Sandshrew otherwise. Considering its effect, I'm not surprised they forgot to put a freebie in SM.
They have a camera pan up to the skies behind Aether House, in the direction of Po Town, before Guzma makes his next comment.
Seems Guzma has come to grips with the fact it is no longer his generation defining what the Island Challenge is and will be. Well, except Kukui doing exactly that.
Guzma walks off, but Hau's not done with him.
Wow, that's a lot of ambition all at once for a kid whose previous life goal was "find good Malasadas". Where did that all come from at once?
...Look, no matter what uplifting message you might have for him, he objectively failed to become a Trial Captain.
The thing he is is something to be praised, yes, and Guzma's life should be defined by his successes and not his failures, but he did fail to become a Captain. He just didn't fail to make anything better from that.
You know, it's not really a warning if you don't set a date and time. You're just going to catch me unawares when you do finally decide to throw down your Pokemon.
Anyway, we lucked out of a fight last time, so here we are packing a team for a fight this time.
Nanu is currently taking up babysitting duties. Acerola clearly has other business.
...Yeah, I think this is exactly what one could expect from giving Nanu babysitting duties.
At least he's got some purpose to it- he's getting them ready for their own Island Challenge, preparing them to pack Darkinium Z early.
Acerola should probably consider hiring someone more permanent to her position as caretaker to these kids.
Nanu notices we're here for Mina's Trial, and declares that since Acerola is currently busy with undefined "other business", we should challenge him for the Purple Petal.
It should be observed that both Sophocles and Nanu are currently grappling with the absence of a related character, and one of them will refuse to fight you over it depending on version.
Nanu says he plans to fight us at Acerola's power level. I think we're meant to walk away thinking he's just talking about using Pokemon of an appropriate level.
This is because he's lying about using Acerola's stats. You might recall that all Trial Captains thus far have used Pokemon at level 51 with three 30 and three 25 IVs and Serious Natures. Nanu's Pokemon are level 52, have flat 30s, and use Natures that support their kits. We will have the opportunity to battle Acerola later, and she uses the same investment profile as her fellow Captains. Still, Nanu's team is such that this higher investment shouldn't be too threatening.
Nanu uses the same generic theme the other Trial Captains have been using, rather than the unique Kahuna theme.
After all, Sableye's Nature isn't synergistic with his kit! 252 EVs in Sp. Atk/Sp. Def, he's running an Impish (+Def/-Sp. Atk) Nature to weaken his moveset of Power Gem, Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball. No longer running Fake Out and failing to carry tanking moves, this Sableye really does suit Nanu's assertion that he's taking it easier than a kahuna ought.
I trust there were no surprises here?
Huh, he's deploying his ace second. Persian has 252 EVs in Sp. Atk and Spd, a Timid (+Spd/-Atk) Nature, the moves Power Gem, Fake Out and Dark Pulse, and carries the Darkinium Z. You're probably not outspeeding that 193 Spd, but Persian retains a bit of a low-ish Sp. Atk score of 133, so as long as the Black Hole Eclipse doesn't hit too hard, you ought to be fine.
Genevieve is getting the ball rolling, mostly to slow it down.
That's because Hawkeye is planning on bypassing Fur Coat.
Black Hole Eclipse hitting a resist, as you do.
Only with the paralysis could Hawkeye outspeed and land that hit.
Nanu's former Krokorok has been traded for Absol- a bit of a downgrade, to be honest, since that Krokorok would be a Krookodile now. Perhaps he really is going easier on us despite not changing his investments. 252 EVs in Atk/Spd and a Jolly (+Spd/-Sp. Atk) Nature, Absol carries Night Slash, Psycho Cut, and Sucker Punch, planning to leverage the Super Luck Ability to land 1/2 chances of critical hits. 107 Speed, which is decent, but not great. Absol really wishes it was faster.
So yeah, I was saying about 1/2 chance to crit?
Sometimes I wish Abilities like Battle Armour got a pop up to specifically say "hey, if this Pokemon didn't have Battle Armour, you would have just seen a crit, but neener neener."
Also X-Scissor in return. Nemo had more than just taunting Nanu with his Battle Armour.
Nanu's defeat animation also changed with his new circumstances. To be fair, he's using the shorter defeat animation of normal Trainers, while his original animation required the longer one allowed to special Trainers like Kahunas.
I won't tell if you don't tell.
That's all seven petals gathered.
Rather fittingly, Nanu will not teleport us back to Seafolk Village. Gives us ample time to prepare for Mina...
Oh boy, Mina. Mina proved so aggravating that you will be seeing multiple attempts as I readjust my strategy to the dawning realisation that Ailey was not prepared to handle her.
Mawile is one of my favourite Pokemon, but I am sad to say, Shade was a big reason why. You will see Ray fight the Totem and realise immediately how bad Shade was on her own.
It's a bit of a brave ambition to have Tailwind set up, and honestly, it's a bit wasted. Consilia was probably not a correct choice.
Moss: Quite possibly one of the worst Fire types to have prepared. Moss isn't as bad here as that makes it sound, but having the Dark sub-typing is probably the worst thing I could have associated with my Fire type.
Genevieve is the only one here that I feel good about. And even she bumps into problems.
Usagi was brought for a specific reason, but she proved herself insufficient to accomplish that task. It's not really her fault, but it does make me feel like she wasn't a correct team member either.
Ironically, I think Zossie was probably one of the better choices I could've made. The fact that Zossie will be useful in the upcoming Totem says a lot about how Ailey's team was ill-equipped for the challenge.
Let's see... Ilima was visting a grave, Mallow was doing drugs, Kiawe was trying to teach David to do a job he doesn't want, Sophocles was miserable about Molayne's departure, and Acerola was off on vacation.
Actually, no, nobody was doing OK here. Except maybe Hau. And even him I'm not sure on.
I'd imagine that works a lot better if the Trial Captains had more job security. If you're forced out of the job at age 20, you're not really getting to the age where you can appreciate that sort of thing.
That, at least, I'll stand behind. Although perhaps it should be more involved with the rest of the community.
With all seven petals gathered, Mina can produce...
A Flower. You can really see the disparate petal designs when they're all together like this. I'm a bit surprised the circle on Mina's Pink Petal isn't the centre, though.
The Totem is apparently summoned by the scent of the flower, although they never actually textually say it.
I had the same hopes.
I kinda like the whole "door opens" vibe.
This animation is actually pretty charming, even if it moves a bit fast for screenshots to really sell.
The Totem swoops past Ailey-
And then flies around Mina before finally showing up on camera. Mina gives it a careless glance.
Somewhat hilariously, this is the first time we are seeing a Totem Pokemon we have seen before the actual Totem battle. While I have used every Totem except Lurantis and Togedemaru on at least one team, having Razzly long before the actual battle gives us ample time to come to grips with what Ribombee is capable of. And so far, it has had... well, it's competent in its niche, but it's easily countered by a strong Physical hit it doesn't resist. As an early Bug-type, it's easily underestimated, but the AI doesn't exactly estimate its opponents. It's fleshy humans that make those mistakes.
And the developers have vastly underestimated Totem Ribombee's power when setting its Aura. It has an IV spread of 31/1/31/1/31/31, the only reprieve being its lowered Sp. Atk, an EV spread of 252 Def, 100 HP and 158 Sp. Def, to up its survivability as usual, an Impish Nature to both make it harder to hit Physically and weaken its offenses, and a flat +2 stages to all stats (the missing 1 Atk is because Mawile's Intimidate applies before I can check this screen). 161 HP and 134/120 Defences in raw stats before the Totem buff- now 268/240 Defences afterward. That's not numbers to mess around with. And don't forget that 316 Speed. We were struggling to outspeed it before it got that. And it gets worse. Much worse.
- Its Bug STAB is Bug Buzz, for a 10% chance to lower your Sp. Def. Pollen Puff would have had a niche, since it summons allies, but I imagine that would've been an AI breaker.
- Its primary Fairy STAB is Dazzling Gleam- Ribombee can get Moonblast, but they were merciful enough in deciding not to. Not that this is much of a reprieve, but you knew going in that there would be Fairy.
- It eschews a coverage move for Draining Kiss. Remember, it heals for 75% of the damage it deals. We should feel lucky it usually prefers to click Dazzling Gleam for damage.
- For some reason, probably the same reason that the devs thought Ultra Necrozma was a fair fight, Ribombee carries Quiver Dance. +1 Sp. Atk/Sp. Def/Spd per cast, Ribombee can and will buff her stats to the point where even your resists will be oneshot with Light Screen. I speak from experience. Experience I am about to receive.
- Its Ability slot is Shield Dust. Fake Out won't cut it. Electroweb or Icy Wind won't help. If you want to nerf it in any way, you will do it instead of attacking. This is suprisingly painful of a hit for us, especially since Eerie Impulse is so hard to come by and Snarl has just been denied to us to deal with its Special Attacks.
- Its held item is an Occa Berry, to halve the damage of a Fire-type blow. They came surprisingly prepared for Fire types in this fight.
The number one counter-strategy for Ribombee is this: Bug/Fairy is resisted by Poison, Steel and Fire, and if you have a good Poison or Steel type, especially one that hits Physically, you should be able to handle yourself. Ailey, as you might have noticed, has Mawile, Poipole, and Incineroar. While I won't call any of them bad, they have asterisks on their ability to handle Ribombee and its strategy.
If you can find a good non-Dark type user of Taunt, now is the time.
Now then, let's talk about Shade.
First of all, Ribombee is proactive about Quiver Dancing whenever it thinks its necessary. And it sees that a lot.
Second of all... that was an Expert Belt Iron Head. Ribombee has an absolutely ridiculous amount of Defence, and Shade needs team support to do a reasonable amount of damage with Iron Head- team support I just don't have. I don't have Screech, I don't have Haze, I don't really have a way to reduce Ribombee's Defences to a level we're used to from Razzly.
And then we get to the backup. Blissey is the low HP encoutner, and is an absolute treasure trove if you can get it. A fair amount of my initial strategy, including Usagi's entire spot on the team, was based around getting the KO on this and giving Zossie a huge helping hand getting level parity with the team. Stat-wise, it has 15 HP IVs and 0 in everything else, no EVs, a Naughty (+Atk/-Sp. Def) to be as weak as possible... while carrying the moveset of Heal Pulse, Light Screen, Helping Hand, and Dazzling Gleam. Blissey knows its job, and will prepare terrifying moves to see that goal met. Thank goodness it didn't bring Reflect.
Are you still going?
OK... three hit KO on Iron Head isn't that bad, is it?
Blissey chips the paint,
Ribombee finishes the job with its newfound +4 Sp. Atk stat,
And all Shade's work is for naught. Clearly I need a better strategy than having Shade do everything.
Seeing how useless Tailwind is, Consilia switches for hitting as hard as possible with Air Slash. Hawkeye wishes he wasn't weak to Fairy- Ethel would be amazing to have about now.
Genevieve leading gave it issues deal with the other backup spawn, and Moss tries to take that job. It's not really a job she can handle, and ultimately, Genevieve can manage to do it if necessary. This wasn't the greatest Z-Move.
Usagi is just hoping to get one good attack off. Looking at my team... my options are, like, Shiva using Frost Breath (but she's weak to Bug Buzz!), Anna using an Illusion to do something (but she's weak to both Bug and Fairy!) and Chip ignoring Speed altogether and Aqua Jetting for chip (...OK, this could've gone somewhere). Maybe Crysantha's titanic Sp. Def could've been worth something, but without the resists, I'm not sure it would've been much after Quiver Dances.
Now then... let's try a "better strategy".
That being to get Genevieve to lead with Light Screen.
That Quiver Dance is certainly not the thing I want to see in response. That kinda gives me a bit of a time limit.
For the high-HP summon, Ribombee abandons all notions of theming to go with another painful choice. Pelipper has gone with 15/31/15/15/15/31 IVs, no EVs, a Timid (+Spd/-Atk) Nature, and the moves Stockpile, Spit Up, Scald, and Seed Bomb. I have no idea what Seed Bomb is for, but Stockpile is because the theme of this fight is having way too many defensive buffs, and Scald is because they seem to hate Fire types specifically. Spit Up has a BP of 100 per stack of Stockpile- and that's Special damage.
Yes, Drizzle, of course. What did Fire types do to deserve this?
This is after Light Screen.
Thankfully, Pelipper has no Sp. Atk buffs, so Light Screen does enough to give Genevieve a turn.
If Ribombee doesn't go for Quiver Dance, the damage Genevieve takes gets to the point where it can't throw out a T-Bolt to eliminate the Pelipper before this turn's chip finishes her. This is what Moss's Thunder Punch is for.
I've had some attempts where Ribombee Quiver Dances enough that Genevieve can T-Wave. I really do need other Pokemon benefitting from that Light Screen, though- I think on that attempt, Ribombee was stalling out Light Screen, which was an utterly sadistic clever strategy.
Consilia, don't fail me now. You're neutral to Bug, I promise-
I need a Choice Scarf or an Assault Vest or something.
Right, Shade, you can do it...
Not sure what I was expecting. Mostly, just Light Screen to do something, I guess.
This isn't going as I thought.
I wonder if Shade could've taken Blissey. Without investment, it wouldn't be too hard with a good Physical hit, but Shade isn't carrying a Fighting move, so it'd have to be off the back of her own Atk power. I wasn't optimistic, seeing the numbers she was pulling on Ribombee, and that simply means Shade isn't doing an Iron Head to Ribombee, denying me a lot of valuable damage.
And then there's Helping Hand. That's +50% damage for Ribombee, the last thing she needed.
I've got nothing for that. She's sweeping me with Light Screen up.
Corkscrew kinda feels like a "limits broken", but even this feels like it's only doing so much. But I really need something done, and this does turn out to be my ticket to a winning strategy.
Right. Let's win this.
Yeah, you see what I mean by Genevieve not being able to throw out a T-Bolt if Ribombee chooses violence?
The Light Screen was the important bit, but still.
With that said, this may have been a blessing in disguise...
No Quiver Dance means Shade is still above half HP here.
I think at this point, this is is less a ticket to victory and more an expression of my frustration.
Just over half. The real thing that's going on here is that Pelipper is still around.
And thanks to its reluctance to be of direct aid to Ribombee, Shade gets off an Iron Head.
That is a much more useful amount of HP for Ribombee to be left at, and not a Heal Pulse in sight.
Pity Sucker Punch couldn't finish the job, but now my options expand.
Like, for instance, to a Pokemon that resists Bug/Fairy and has a working Eviolite on? Yeah, remember how I said Zossie was actually a valid team member and not just here to soak up EXP?
Its Sp. Atk was high enough that, even with a Quiver Dance, she could finish Ribombee off with Sludge Wave.
No Blissey sucks, but at this point, I just want to declare victory.
Oh, that will come in handy.
Especially since I've still got plenty of time with Zossie before she has to switch out.
Doing a Toxic, though, just to be sure. Wouldn't do to be swept by Pelipper now I've got this far.
Stockpile won't help you now!
Now imagine what Zossie's going to do when she evolves and gets a reasonable amount of Special power. And level parity. And actual coverage.
Wow, second Scald really showing off a damage range, huh? Or that was a Spit Up and the lack of STAB was contributing. Either way-
OK, that's alarming. Next Scald will almost certainly do the job.
Which is why Zossie has no plans of allowing that to happen.
I'm actually kind of surprised Zossie has an animation for declaring victory over the Totems- did they expect people to actually try and use their Poipole? I could see them intentionally leaving a gap in Ribombee's capabilities for Poisons to exploit to allow the possibility, but at level 40?
I do like the recontextualising of this as being a potential painting for Ailey, although I find it hilarious that she recognises a Pokemon whose total contributions to this fight were an occasional Air Slash in what few attempts she managed to handle a Bug Buzz. Those Air Slashes were actually doing noticeable damage, the rest of the fight wasn't working in her favour.
I feel slightly condescended to. Although I will admit crawling my way out of that situation certainly made up for it. Really feeling Ailey's team limitation straining her.
Funnily enough, this makes the only Z-Crystal that got a brand new animation for being gained in USUM over SM. Does make me kinda wish they had at least the zoom-in for the typed Z-Crystals that don't get their own Trials.
That's Ailey's eighth and final Trial complete. By the skin of her teeth.
And, of course, Mina shows off the Z-Pose for Fairium now. See what I mean about the girls tucking their elbows more than the guys?
Hopefully it won't be nearly as painful.
Totem Ribombee has never given me this much trouble before, and I'm not even entirely sure what it was about Ailey that really hurt. I mean, sure, the lack of a strong Poison/Steel/Fire was a key part, but I've done three mono-type runs- Psychic, Fairy and Ice- and they managed to find something to work with- even if I imagine that something was Metagross and Sandslash. I think the thing I really miss most was some way of clearing buffs. Ray is going to show off just how good it is when Ribombee is working with a normal amount of Defence, and the difference is night and day. I also remember the Fairy run getting a good shot with Sylveon's Psych Up. I wonder if they could've got away with a less terrifying Totem buff, but considering they're attributing Totem buffs to Necrozma and Necrozma just unleashed a lot of light over Alola, I wonder if those extra buffs were also supposed to be more lore-based.
Next time: Fortunately, Hapu did not prove nearly as challenging.
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