I enter the next event flag, as expressed by doors.

Hau immediately appears to signal cutscene time and does such useful exposition as reminding me of my name and location.

Then a pair of creepy toddlers turn and shout Strangers! as one. They rush us and demand a battle.

Hau: What? Why?! Careful, Hau. Big Hala is watching you.

We’ll protect our home when Acerola’s away! they snarl, jumping in excitement before lunging for him to feast on his entrails. That’s what you get for showing weakness, Hau.

Disappointingly, it’s a single battle with Hau stealing the other kid’s fight.

Hau: Phew… So I won, yeah? Then why’s this little fellow still gnawing on me? So apparently yungoos aren’t capable of severing legs.

Witch Cosplay: I’m ba-a-ack, everybody! She then laughs and says something about shopping. Starting to get annoyed, game. Cutscenes need points.

Hau then asks where Lillie is, and apparently with Hapu, the character who presumably has some important plot role that is still a complete mystery. Then she explains she’s a captain. I don’t care.

Look, the game starts off with the idea captains are serious business, but the second island is full of people busily doing their own things with the captaining as a secondary hobby, and this island felt we needed to compound that with the story of a guy who wasn’t qualified and knew it screwing up the entire trial format. That means that it’s hard to care if you’re a captain, because that doesn’t actually tell me you have any clue what you’re doing.

Completely pointless cutscene over, I talk to the kids.

Everybody lives together with Pokemon here at Aether House, says one. The Aether Fun-day-shun pays for everything! says the other.

Huh, so what benefit do they get there? Is this a straightforward charitable smokescreen or something more?

Witch Cosplayer: My trial takes place at the abandoned site where the supermarket used to be.

Ah, so we are following up on that.

When I’m done exploring, at least.

I find a bright room of toys and balloons and a big black paneled wall that’s probably for scientists to stand behind watching and taking notes.

Leaving triggers another cutscene.

Lillie: What do you think you’re doing?! Stop it! Stop it right now!

Oh no she’s being menaced by one of the dumb children.

ThinksHeCanDanceChild: For real, girl?! Your bag was moving! Right in front of my eyes! And I’m just supposed to ignore that?! If you’ve got some rare Pokemon in there, I’m gonna have to take it and make some cash!

But why would you think she does?

Most people keep pokemon in pokeballs. It does seem like people in Alola like to keep pokemon out, but they definitely make use of pokeballs and that, not a bag, is where they’d put any pokemon they didn’t want to be seen.

Going on the idea pokeballs do have some sort of lock, as clarified never, someone stealing a pokemon might do something like this, and maybe criminals are the sort of people to see someone else acting shifty and assume they’re hiding some awesome stolen pokemon.

Even if it’s not that rare of a Pokemon, I bet I could still get paid, yo.

See, this actually is a great chain of reasoning if the only reason someone has a pokemon stuffed in a duffel bag is because they themselves stole it. It’s probably not totally awesome, because, well, Lillie really doesn’t give off that hardened criminal vibe, but it’s something good enough Lillie stole it, so it must be worth something.

Also, can I just take a moment to say thank you, tiny child who is still flailing around through your animation loop, for your completely sensible villainy. None of this “uh, the boss said do a thing for some reason I dunno???” or “SOMEHOW AWAKENING FURIOUS WORLD-DESTROYING GODMONS WILL MAKE THE WORLD BETTER!!!” You want money, probably to stick shiny things on that skull pendant or some other good purchasing decision like that, so you’re going to steal something.

Dittochild actually runs over to get between them! Aw, she does care about Lillie! Or possibly just battling. But probably Lillie.

ThinksHeCanDanceChild: Oh, so we’re following that script, are we? A Trainer dashes forward to save the girl, huh? I’m not gonna let you be the hero in this scene!

I will say that criminals really need to consider that instead of fighting it out every time, they consider going with discretion over valor. Yeah, you think she’s got something cool in that duffel bag, but you’re literally on a trial captain’s doorstep, AND I can see another random trainer behind you. Maybe try stalking a bit to see if there’s a safer place to confront her. Or, if you do think this is safe enough, take the hint of someone else immediately showing up, pretend it was a joke, then stalk her until you get another opening.

He shouts about his drowzee is adorable when I beat him.

Lillie: I just wanted to go for a stroll on my own, to see what it must feel like to be a Trainer… So Hapu and I went our separate ways…but then Nebby tried to get out of my bag… Didn’t you! Go on, you little troublemakers… You’d better thank Bonnibel, too!

Nebby squeals and thrashes, which could mean anything honestly.

She then continues to apologize through our conversation, as evidently her whole shopping trip was spent instead thinking of how she wants to help out me. So she bought me luxuryballs! Then she apologizes for that – I bought them without even thinking!

Witch Cosplayer then comes out and says hi to Lillie.

Witch Cosplayer: What’s the matter? You look all worn out. Do you want to rest at Aether House awhile?

This is probably meant to be innocently nice, but on the other hand, Lillie always looks strung out from the stress of rudely existing near other people, so maybe Witch Cosplayer is in fact in cahoots with the secret evil part of Aether and trying to lure Lillie in.

Lillie: Oh, Acerola… Thank you! I think I might take you up on that.

That’s weird. Lillie seemed to know to avoid Aether before.

Witch Cosplayer, legitimately excited or trying to leave so the Aether grunts can swoop in, runs off to her trial site.

Okay, Lillie, are you sure this is a good idea?

Do your best to become a real champion!

Lillie, you’ve really got to pay more attention to your own far more important concerns.

Well, nothing I can do for now. I continue and find a snorunt! It’s a pretty easy capture – I do use an ultraball, but it’s at barely half health. Have they redone the capture formula?

It can only survive in cold areas. It bounces happily around, even in environments as cold as -150 degrees Fahrenheit.

…it’s just raining. There’s green grass everywhere. And yeah, splashing water about will generally make us feel at least slightly colder…but that’s mostly because water causes heat to transfer more rapidly. We’re warmer than our environment, we get colder. Something colder than its environment would get warmer in rain.

I head to the pokecenter and chat. Someone’s offering a trade of graveler for haunter. I get some tapu cocoa and the guy mentions the word “taboo” may be an Alolan word, which is just what the tapu Wikipedia page explains. So the tapu pokemon are definitely intended to be tied to the forbidden/banned aspect of the word.

You know how some Pokemon can steal HP from others with moves like Absorb and Mega Drain? Do you think it tastes different depending on the species of Pokemon they steal it from?

Probably! It’d be cool to one day have something tracking this – a golbat who prefers the taste of some pokemon, so happiness is raised faster using draining moves and perhaps even slightly lowered if you tell it to chow down on a grimer.

Someone else says there’s lots of professors on the islands, perhaps because of the climate. I find it’s hard to believe that’s the main reason.

Well, I have a gastly that I used the island to get to L24, so I grab that and dive into the grass.

A pelipper appears!

Gathering food is the work of young males. They store food in their capacious beaks and carry it back to others waiting in the nest.

That’s a weird entry. Why only young males? Why do they all have huge beaks if it’s only the male and only during a short period of their life?

I continue along in the direction I’m supposed to go, then get distracted by water. I fish up a bubbling spot and find a psychedelic bruxish.

In the process, my gastly levels up and evolves.

It fears the light and revels in the dark. It may be on the verge of extinction in cities that stay brightly lit at night.

Huh, that’s an odd thing to say.

I mean, cities aren’t the majority of the world, and it’s pretty specific to say that something’s going extinct just there. But perhaps haunter are an urban pokemon to start with. And the world certainly is getting brighter at night. If haunter function like ghosts, they may not be able to leave areas easily, either.

But the bruxish!

It stuns its prey with psychokinesis and then grinds them to mush with its strong teeth. Even Shellder’s shell is no match for it.

Huh.

Anyway, back to the pokecenter, where I trade away my haunter and get one very freaky golem in return. It really seems like a second attempt at a nosepass.

Because it can’t fire boulders at a rapid pace, it’s been known to seize nearby Geodude and fire them from its back.

And also, it gets me a rock z-crystal. It really seems like the game is expecting me not to want to do trials any longer.

I return to the black sand beach. A hiker talks about a surfing pikachu. Yeah, I want one too.

Tomorrow, the trial!