Inside the ruins cave deep within a forest outside Lili Town, Hara and Steven knelt on a stone platform, facing the altar. A heavy silence hung between them.
"Today, Mr. Steven and I will conduct the Grand Trial battle. Tapu Koko, guardian deity of Melemele Island, please lend us the blessing of Alola," Hara said, his eyes closed, his voice low and reverent.
Steven slowly opened his eyes once Hara finished. Whether Tapu Koko truly heard them didn't matter much — what mattered was that the ritual had been properly observed. With that done, the two rose and made their way out of the ruins cave.
"Mr. Steven, how was it?" Cynthia had been waiting by the entrance. She stepped to Steven's side at once, her eyes bright with curiosity.
"My legs are nearly numb," Steven replied with a quiet laugh.
"We're heading to the Grand Trial arena now," Hara said, already walking ahead, hands clasped behind his back.
Cynthia, growing restless, began tapping at Steven's palm and the back of his hand with her fingers. He tolerated it for a while — but eventually caught her hand before she could pull away. That settled her considerably.
Hara led them to an open clearing. Professor Kukui was already there, and the wide stone platform at the center left no doubt about what it was for.
"Good luck," Cynthia said with a warm smile.
Steven gave a small nod and stepped onto the stone platform. He and Hara took their positions on opposite sides.
"Mr. Steven, for this Grand Trial, each Trainer may use one Pokémon. Do you accept?"
Steven raised his hand in an easy thumbs-up. A one-on-one match was straightforward enough.
"Then the Grand Trial battle between Hara, Island Kahuna of Melemele Island, and Steven Stone, Champion of the Hoenn Region, officially begins!" Kukui spread his arms wide, every bit the enthusiastic referee.
"I look forward to this!"
"As do I."
The two exchanged a brief acknowledgment, then released their Pokémon.
Two flashes of white light burst across the arena.
Steven, naturally, called out Metagross. Hara's choice was Hariyama — a massive, barrel-chested Pokémon built entirely of muscle, its legs a deep navy blue, with broad, petal-like structures ringing its waist.
Hariyama was first recorded in the Hoenn Region, so Steven was no stranger to it.
He glanced down at the Z-Ring on his left wrist. The ice-blue, diamond-shaped Z-Crystal set into it caught the light. Hariyama had three possible Abilities, and one of them — Thick Fat — would cut the power of Ice-type moves in half.
"I'm hoping it doesn't have Thick Fat," Steven muttered with a wry smile. It wouldn't change the outcome, but it would certainly dampen the impact of an Ice-type Z-Move.
Hidden high in a nearby tree, a Pokémon with shell-like structures on each hand watched in silence from among the leaves. Its calm gaze drifted from Steven on the platform to a pink, diamond-shaped Z-Crystal it held in its own hand.
Island Guardians rarely strayed far from their own islands. Tapu Koko turned the Psychium Z over slowly, expression unreadable. It still hadn't worked out why Tapu Lele had come to give it this Z-Crystal the day before.
On the platform below, the battle had already begun.
"Metagross, use Protect."
Steven kept his tone even. Hariyama wasn't unusual in Hoenn, and Fake Out was a standard opening — the kind of move a well-trained Hariyama would typically lead with.
"Hariyama, Belly Drum!"
Thwump. Thwump. Thwump.
Hariyama drove its enormous palms into its belly in a rapid rhythm. Its Attack surged to the absolute maximum in moments.
Steven's expression tightened. He had read it wrong.
Could this Hariyama have Guts? he thought. With Fake Out, the brief flinch would have allowed Hariyama to follow up with Belly Drum anyway — and even chip away at Metagross's HP in the process. Every point of damage mattered in the long run.
As it stood, Hariyama's Attack was now at its peak. But using Belly Drum had cost it significantly — its HP had dropped well below half.
"Metagross, Stone Edge."
Better to test its limits first.
"Metagross!"
Metagross drove its legs into the ground. The stone platform cracked beneath it with a heavy crack, and jagged pillars of rock erupted from the earth, scattering flagstones as they surged toward Hariyama.
"Smash through them!" Hara called out without hesitation.
Hariyama squared itself and swung one open palm in a wide, sweeping arc. The first stone pillar exploded on impact. It pressed forward without pause — left, right, left — each strike shattering another pillar before it could reach it.
"Psychic!"
The "X"-shaped steel on Metagross's face blazed with pale blue light. A concentrated beam of psychic energy shot forward — targeted, precise, aimed directly at Hariyama.
"Knock Off!"
Hariyama shattered the last pillar and immediately crossed its arms, both hands glowing with dark energy, bracing in front of its body.
Bang.
Even so, the force of the Psychic attack drove Hariyama skidding backward several steps. It barely held its ground. The Knock Off had absorbed some of the impact, but its defensive stats were never its strength — had it taken the hit clean, it might well have been finished.
"Hey-cha!" Hariyama stamped the ground, steadying itself. In the same motion, it reached into the yellow petal-like folds at its side and pulled out a berry, tossing it into its mouth.
"A Figy Berry," Steven said, recognizing it at once. A berry that kicks in when HP drops below a quarter — restoring a substantial portion of health in one go. Hariyama's HP was now better than it had been right after using Belly Drum.
Steven's gaze moved from Hariyama to Metagross.
"Shall we find out how much that Belly Drum is worth?"
"Metagross!" Metagross slammed its legs into the cracked stone in reply.
"Then let's go." Steven raised his arm. "Meteor Mash!"
Metagross tucked its hind limbs in and shot forward through the air, forelegs extended, rocketing straight at Hariyama with the force of a falling meteor.
"Show the Champion what you're made of, Hariyama!" Hara laughed. "Close Combat!"
"Hey-cha!"
Hariyama charged forward to meet it head-on, palms raised and ready.
The collision was thunderous.
Metagross — whose raw strength far exceeded most Pokémon's — began to lose ground. Hariyama drove forward with each exchange, its Belly Drum-boosted power overwhelming even Metagross's formidable frame.
"My Hariyama hasn't met its match in raw strength since that Belly Drum," Hara said, a quiet confidence in his voice.
Bang.
Hariyama took one final step, drew its arm fully back, and thrust it forward in a straight, powerful shove. Metagross was sent skidding across the stone platform and came down hard.
"Remarkable power." The corner of Steven's mouth curved upward.
Once was enough to know what they were dealing with.
"Metagross — Psychic!"