Kiawe never overslept, and he was never late. Regardless, every rule has an exception.

Today was Kiawe's exception. When he opened his tired eyes, and turned his head to check the time on his alarm clock, panic shot up his spine and forced him to leap out of bed. Afterwards, he desperately raced to get to Pokémon school as quickly as possible. Afterall, he didn't want to miss anything important.

When he reached the entrance to his classroom, he burst through the door like a madman. He feared that he had just barged through the door in the middle of one of Kukui's lessons.

"I'm so sorry sir! I won't be this late ever again—"

Kiawe paused, struggling to keep his jaw from dropping to the floor. "What on planet earth is going on in here?!"

The first thing that caught his eye was a chair in the middle of the classroom, which was brightly aglow with a vibrant orange flame. As the chair burned with a hot fire, Ash was seen flailing a piece of paper in the air which was slowly burning at the tip. He likely used it in an attempt to fan away the flames, but had it accidentally catch fire in the process. Sophocles attempted to fan away the flames with his own arms, though it was a fruitless effort. Mallow blew at the flames alongside Bob, though the gesture was clearly no help. Lillie ran in circles, caught in a panic that caused her face to be drenched with sweat. Saki chased after both her own Torracat and Ash's Litten, the two cats darting and dashing around the room to avoid the consequences for their trouble-making. Kukui was nowhere to be seen.

During all this chaos, Lana peacefully napped at her desk, Popplio cuddled up in her arms while it snoozed.

Lillie stopped right in front of Kiawe, being the only one to notice his entrance, and pointed to the fire while speaking with a shaky stutter. "The... the chair... it was being...a c-chair... but then... but then... fire..."

"Well that I could see! My Arceus!" Kiawe huffed. He stomped his way over to the snoozing Lana, and pried Popplio from her arms.

Popplio quickly woke up after the sudden movement, but Lana barely opened her eyes. "... mmm... Harper? Sarah? That you? Let Sissy sleep..."

She curled up into a little ball on top of her chair, Kiawe reacting with a shake of his head. He carried the confused Popplio, who's head kept twisting side to side, towards the flame that single handedly caused a crisis. He held it out forward.

"Please, take care of this."

Looking back at Kiawe's face as his eye twitched with aggravation, Popplio felt a tiny bit of nervous sweat build on its cheek. It obeyed, aiming and shooting a Water Gun directly at the fire. The flames were smothered, and they soon dissipated, leaving only black marks behind. Finally, the atmosphere of the room began to cool, everyone stopping and realizing the situation at hand has been resolved. They also finally realized Kiawe was present.

"Oh! Kiawe! You came... and saved us!" Mallow said, forcing a smile as he cheeks grew an embarrassed rosy pink.

"Thank Arceus." Bob wiped away the sweat on his forehead. "I thought we were going to burn the school down."

Kiawe slammed the palm of his hand right into the center of his face. "Seriously guys, you—"

"Kiawe!"

Suddenly, the boy felt something slam into his side, knocking him to the ground. His eyes darted to the source to see Ash, who wrapped his arms around his waist. "Thank goodness you're alright! I thought the aliens got you!"

Kiawe almost felt his disbelief punch him repeatedly in the stomach. "Are you serious?!"

"Would you cut that out already Ash?! Get off of him!" Saki tugged at Ash's shirt, trying to pull him away. Ash released his grip, brushing away Saki's hand and picking himself up.

As Kiawe regained his own footing, Ash folded his hands together and stared directly into his eyes. "Sorry! Sorry! I'm super sorry! I was just so excited to see you, cuz I thought something might have happened to you and Kukui! You know, like, you guys might have been abducted by aliens or something!"

"Well, no, I'm fine. For the last time, Ash, no. Aliens are not just running around Alola like they own the place." Kiawe brushed himself off with a grunt, before removing his attention from Ash and onto the others. "Anyone care to explain what I just walked into? Where's Kukui? Why was a chair on fire."

The room was quiet, until Sophocles stepped forward. He cleared his throat. "Well, Kukui never showed up for class. While we were trying to figure out where he was... er... Torracat and Litten got a bit restless."

As Sophocles explained, Saki sent a scowl in the Pokémon's direction. Ash's Litten leapt behind one of the bookshelves to hide, while Torracat proceeded to lick its paws as if it were passively bored.

"I see. Seriously, you guys should have just woke up Lana and Popplio. Aside from that whole matter, Ash, shouldn't you know where Kukui is? Usually you see him in the morning, right? I mean, you only live with him currently."

Kiawe narrowed his eyes at Ash, causing the fluffy haired boy to scratch the back of his head. "Yeah, well. I kinda overslept... when I woke up school already started. I kind of just threw my clothes on and ran here. When I got managed to get here, Kukui was nowhere to be found. I guess that mean the two of us aren't technically late, then! No one's here to check the attendance, after all! I'm kinda hungry now, though!"

Ash laughed, but Kiawe lowered his head and closed his eyes. "I would give you a hard time about that if it weren't for the fact that it would turn me into a huge hypocrite."

"Anyways!" Mallow butted her way into the conversation, trying to prevent a possibly conflict-starting exchange. "None of us know where Kukui is, so we're all a bit worried. Maybe we should go look around for him? Make sure he's okay?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about him, love."

An unexpected ninth voice answered, catching the students' attention. Leaning on the doorway was a smiling woman, her bright pink lips standing out from her tan skin. She wore clothes that managed to be both sophisticated and skimpy simultaneously, which was accompanied by an abundant amount of jewelry.

She was pretty to say the least. Both Bob's and Sophocles's hearts began to thump at the sight of her. Mallow and Saki both cringed at the reactions if the boys, but Lillie kept her focus on the topic at hand.

"What do you mean, Ma'am?" Lillie asked. "You're sure Kukui is okay?"

The woman nodded her head. "He just forgot an appointment he made with some researchers. Silly man, he called me in such a panic this morning. He asked me to substitute for his lovely class, and I agreed. I came here as quickly as I could, sorry I'm a tad late. I hope you don't mind me asking you all a question, though."

"Uh... anything! M-ma'am!" Sophocles cheeks were flushed red.

"What happened to that chair? It looks like it was thrown into a fire pit."

The entire class fell silent, except for the steady breathing of the snoozing Lana. For nearly an entire, unbearably long minute, everything was still, until the woman began to laugh.

"Don't worry," she said. "I won't get any of you in trouble. We'll just rid of the evidence, and it'll be like nothing ever happened. The staff will just have to wonder where the chair went."

Half the class had their jaws drop open, the other half sweatdropped. They exchanged glances, flustered by the woman's consistent grin. Bob couldn't help but to question her demeanor. "Um... are you sure? Shouldn't you like, I dunno, write this up or something?"

"Ah, don't you worry about that love. None of you seem like bad children. As a matter of fact, Kukui said that you are all quite splendid children. But, he also said that you are all a bit prone to mishaps." The woman chuckled as she spoke, which rang with an inviting sound. "I'll take this as the result of an innocent mishap, so I don't see any need to discipline you. That's not how I would like to introduce myself, after all"

As the awe-stricken students watched, the woman walked over to Kukui's desk with a powerful, yet classy aura emanating from her. She sat on top of the desk, acting as if she owned the place, and crossed her legs. "So, sweethearts, would you like to proceed with introductions?"

Before anyone else could speak, Kiawe raised his hand. "Do you really need an introduction, Miss. Olivia?"

"He's right to ask that you know," Saki added. "You're a bit on the 'well-known' side."

"You're very well received, Ma'am," Lillie said.

"For many reasons...pretty reasons..." Sophocles said, only to be elbowed by Mallow.

Ash and Bob were both lost.

Kiawe turned his head, noticing their confused glances. "Oh, you two haven't heard of her?"

Both of the boys shook their heads.

"What?!" Mallow jumped with shock. "You don't know about Olivia?! You don't understand how crazy it is that she's substituting for us?!"

"Mallow! Remember! They're foreigners..." Lillie said while she cupped her hands together.

"I could explain everything to them."

Everyone in the room flinched and screeched, surprised to see the supposedly napping Lana lift her head and speak. She smiled, as if nothing were happening. "What's wrong everyone?"

"Nothing!... It's just that... we thought you were sleeping..." Ash said.

"I was," Lana said.

Everyone stared blankly at the girl, except for Bob, who was holding back a chuckle.

"Anyways!" Lana clapped her hands. "Ash, Bob. This is Olivia, Akala's Kahuna!"

Ash's eyes began to sparkle. "Wait! She's a Kahuna?! Just like Hala?!"

Lana nodded her head. "Yes! And she's quite famous around here, too! She's on the cover of a ton of magazines! Someone even made a documentary about her!"

"Except they weren't allowed to use actual footage of Oliva, so they just got some low-tier actor who looked nothing like her. She was literally white," Saki mentioned. "That was a pretty shitty movie..."

"They also added a random subplot about me dating the President of the Alolan Bowling committee, which isn't even a thing." Olivia sighed and shook her head. "I wish I could have gotten a man as cute as that actor though..."

Ash cocked his head to the side. "Is it like that for Hala, too? Does he have a documentary?"

"Ash, Ash, you are so naive. Tsk, tsk." Sophocles wagged his finger, holding his head high like a know-it-all. "Hala's an amazing guy, but that's not what the media is looking for. See, Olivia has... er... 'assets' that Hala doesn't—"

Before Sophocles could continue with his explanation, Mallow elbowed him much harder than before. She accidentally knocked him to the ground, not realizing her own strength.

"Ow..." Sophocles whimpered.

Olivia awkwardly scratched at the back of her neck."Um... what I think he was trying to say was... Hala isn't exactly the type to get overly involved the media. I think he enjoys having his 'Kahuna next door' persona!"

"Which I find rather respectable," Kiawe said with a nod.

"But it must be fun to get all that attention, though!" Bob said.

"Well, it's certainly amusing," Olivia laughed. "But that's enough about me. Please, tell me all your names."

The eight children all introduced themselves, and even introduced some of their Pokémon companions. Pikachu, Popplio, Steenee, and Togedemaru all enjoyed the attention, while shy little Akemi attempted to hide within its trainer's arms. Litten and Torracat both seemed rather indifferent.

"You all have such lovely names! Now then." Olivia stood up, her heels clanking against the ground. "Let's go!"

"Go? Uh, where exactly?" Saki asked.

"Akala," Olivia answered.

"Um, Miss Oliva?" Kiawe wore a blank expression. "Why are we going to Akala all of the sudden?"

"I thought a trip to Akala would make for a fun class activity! I made a few calls on my way here, and I set everything up! Trust me, I made it certain that your trip will be a great one." She walked towards the exit, looking back at the children with her warm, friendly eyes. "Grab your bags and follow me. Oh, and would one of you please grab that burnt chair please? We'll rid of it on our way there."

After the shopping trip, Olivia took the class to a bus stop. Before they knew it, they were all sweating bullets below Alola's world famous volcano, the heat of the area overwhelming. Despite the true admiration they felt witnessing a large piece of nature's art, the only thing the students could focus on was their soggy clothing.

"Geez... I think I'm going to pass out from a heat stroke," Mallow said wiping her forehead.

Lillie nodded in agreement beside her. Snowy, coddled in the girl's arms, whimpered in discomfort.

"The heat doesn't really bother me," Kiawe said. "I mean, what do you guys expect from a volcano?"

"Air conditioning..." Ash sighed.

"My shirt's all sweaty..." Sophocles whined.

Olivia giggled, enjoying listening to the children. "Come on everyone, it's not that bad. Take a look around. Isn't Wela Volcano Park just beautiful? And there are so many unique Pokémon that make their homes here!"

The group took glances at the environment, seeing a pair of Salandits skirt by and Fletchlings soar through the sky. The whole area, even with the hot, dry air, seemed to be lively and energetic.

Ash grinned with anticipation. "Olivia's right! I think we should go exploring! This place seems really cool, so let's have some fun!"

Bob nodded his head. "Agreed! I'm totally down for some exploring!"

"That's the spirit, children," Olivia said.

The boat ride was rather short, but enjoyable. The salty air was refreshing, energizing the students for the exciting day ahead of them. Once their feet were back on land, specifically Akala's land, they followed Olivia's lead. She was determined to give them a tour they would remember, ignoring the fact that half of the class was probably already well acquainted with the island. Kiawe especially took a short vow of secrecy, behaving like Akala was some exciting new world opposed to the island he literally lived on.

The first location was Heahea city, which was the convenient choice considering that was where the docks were located. Olivia stood before the children, her arms spread wide to display the city as if it were a canvas. "Heahea city! Pretty, isn't it?"

"I... I think so," Lillie confessed.

"Isn't this nearby that super fancy resort?" Sophocles asked.

Saki scoffed at the comment. "Yeah, for rich tourists."

Mallow nervously laughed. "Actually, I've heard it's surprisingly affordable!..."

"Well, there might be a fancy resort nearby, but Heahea City has a lot to offer itself." Olivia beamed, as she pointed a finger into the air. "Sweethearts, it's time to go shopping!"

Mallow, Lana, and Lillie all jumped at the opportunity, squealing with excitement. The four boys, as well as Saki, all wore indifferent expressions as they watched the three giddy girls. Their innocent glee was interrupted by the sudden shout of a young man who was around the same age as the students.

"Halt! No shopping shall be partaken in! I will steal your money and ruin your day!"

The boy was very tan, presumably due to the time he spent in the alolan sun. He had blue hair that spiked upwards towards the sky. He wore a mask, which was practically just a piece of blue fabric with eye holes cut out. He also wore a fake mustache that was twirled at the ends, and a vibrant neon cape.

At first, no one knew what to make of the sudden threat. Ash sighed as he looked to Pikachu. "Well buddy, looks like we get to fight some other new villain today."

"Pika..." Pikachu sighed just like its trainer.

"Ugh... why do I have to do this?"

A second unexpected voice sounded, catching everyone's attention. This time it was that of a girl, her striking eyes flooded with irritation. She was dressed in red, wearing a cheap Spider-Man costume from Party City. Behind her was a Lurantis who carried cargo on its back, that cargo being a little girl with short, green hair. She was a small little thing, dirt covering her overalls as she snoozed her day away. She wore of tidy-whities over her head, acting as her mask. Though, her mask was difficult to see under the gardening hat she wore, which almost seemed too large for her head.

Kiawe immediately recognized the girl in the Spider-Man costume, though he doubted his own eyes. "What the? Blaze?!"

"Shut up, please." Blaze took a heavy exhale, throwing her dignity into an abyss. Her speech was flat, making for an incredibly half-baked performance. "Captain Evil Smiling Crow, or whatever. Your days of tyranny are over, for it is I, 'The Fire Iron'. And I'm not alone."

She turned to the snoozing girl, and took in a gulp air. She leaned towards her ear. "I have my SIDEKICK OVER HERE!"

The sleeping girl jumped, her eyes popping open due to Blaze's scream. She fell from Lurantis's back, falling on her rear with a shriek. Now alert, her eyes darted around to grasp her surroundings.

She puffed out her cheeks as her face flushed pink. She jumped onto her feet,and began to smack Blaze's side with her little baby fists.

"That was mean! Why'd you have to wake me up like that? That was mean, mean, mean, mean, mean! Mean!"

Blaze was unaffected by the small girl's strikes, not feeling even a smidge of pain. She reached down, wrapped her hands under the child's arms, and lifted her up.

The small girl flailed her arms. "Put me down, put me down, put me down, put me down!"

"I'm not suffering through this alone." Blaze held the girl outwards, having her directly face the supposed villain. "Say your damn line so we could move on with our lives."

"Line? Oh..." The small girl calmed down, her face returning to its normal color. Her eyes showed her fatigue, as she struggled to keep them open. "Mmm... if I say it, could we get rice?"

Blaze rolled her eyes. "Are you being serious, Ayame?"

The small girl, Ayame, yawned. "Yeah. I wanna get rice... after I nap... for five more minutes..."

To Blaze's displeasure, Ayame fell asleep right in her arms, her head flopping to the side. Blaze groaned, clenching her teeth together to keep herself from saying something she would come to regret.

Lurantis sweated, embarrassed due to Ayame's behavior. The blue haired boy, or rather "Captain Evil Smiling Crow", watched partially amused, partially panicked. Knowing that the two girls were offering little help in their group performance, he was forced to improvise.

"Oh no! Uh! The Fire Iron's sidekick is using her special super sleep power thing! Yeah, that's it. I'm defeated! I must now retreat!"

The boy dashed away, to the amazement of the students. Blaze threw Ayame over her shoulder, carrying her like a log. Her annoyed, scrunched up face turned away from the class. "See you in a few," she simply said.

She walked back in the direction from which she came, the class remaining fixated on her as she vanished from sight. The children were all speechless, their brains trying to piece together what they have just witnessed.

Olivia rubbed the back of her head, a cheeky smile etched across her face. "Oh, why am I not surprised?"

"Um, Miss. Olivia? Did you—"

"Silly Kiawe! We don't have time for questions." Olivia chuckled, the laugh sounding strangely unnatural and fake. "We've got shopping to do!"

Olivia gestured for everyone to follow, and took the lead to Heahea City's best shops. Before everyone followed her, they exchanged comments about their shared confusion.

"What the hell was that supposed to be?" Saki asked.

"You think that could have been set up for one of those hidden camera shows?" Bob asked.

"Hope they got my good side," Lana said.

"Why did that girl tell us she'd see us in a few?" Mallow asked.

"Maybe they're serial pranksters!" Sophocles panicked.

"Er... I think it might be—" Kiawe began to say.

"Guys! We're going to lose Olivia if we keep standing here," Lillie warned. "She's getting very far head!"

"Gosh, you're right Lillie," Ash agreed. "Good call! Let's go!"

Before Kiawe had a chance to offer his own theory, the seven other students chased after the Kahuna. Shaking his head, he had no choice to follow.

"Not so fast!"

A familiar voice interrupted the group's exchange once again. They all turned to the same boy from before, otherwise known as "Captain Evil Smiling Crow". He was in the same goofy gear, his fists firmly planted on his hips. "I will not allow for any exploration! I will get in your way and ruin your day!"

What followed was the boy's attempt at an evil laugh. All the students stood in a mixture of awe and confusion, although Olivia remained the exact same in her demeanor. After his laugh, the blue-haired boy maintained his pose. Seconds piled on top of seconds, as the children stared at the boy and the boy remained still.

The boy finally lowered his arms. His expression softened and became warm, his toothy grin quite inviting. "Seems like the heroes are running late. Well, how are you guys?"

"Um... what?" Ash's head was caught in a spin.

"Dude, who the heck are you?" Saki crossed her arms with a furrowed brow, annoyed by the boy's sudden, casual shift.

"Technically I'm 'Captain Evil Smiling Crow' right now. Weird name, I know. I got it from this villain name generator online. Trust me, 'Captain Evil Smiling Crow' was one of the most legit sounding names it generated." The boy twisted the ends of his fake curled mustache. "Besides, I think I look enough like a Captain Evil Smiling Crow, don't you think?"

"No." Saki said.

"You know, your answer just gave me more questions than I had before," Sophocles said. "For example, what? Why? How? Where?"

Olivia put her face into one of her palms as she shook her head. "Oh, this was such a bad idea. Tides, let's be straightforward with these poor, confused sweethearts."

"I knew it!" Kiawe snapped his fingers, acting like a detective who just found his culprit. "You set this up, didn't you Miss Olivia?"

The children all gasped, looking to Olivia. The Kahuna averted all of their eyes. She raised her hands in the air as if she were a caught crook.

"Ah, you've caught me red handed, love." Olivia bowed her head. "I wanted to make this memorable for you all. I wanted to make Akala seem like this exciting place, so I had the Trial Captains act as Superheroes. My Arceus, what was I thinking?"

"Not gonna lie, Olivia. You were really impulsive about it. It's funny, really." The blue haired boy, Tides, smirked while holding back a laugh.

Another layer of weight was added onto Olivia's back, causing her to slouch further due to her embarrassment. Mallow was the first to step forward, waving her hands frantically.

"It's... it's okay Miss. Kahuna! We appreciate your efforts! Really! Right everyone?"

Mallow looked back at the class, who wore a range of expressions.

"Of course," Kiawe said with a nod.

"Sure," Saki said.

"I'm still lost," Ash confessed. "What's going on?"

Before any more words could have been said, the group noticed three approaching figures. Blaze walked with crossed arms while Ayame wobbled beside her, barely able to carry herself properly due to fatigue. Lurantis trailed close behind Ayame, preparing to catch the small child in case she passed out.

"Ugh. Stop fiend, or whatever. It's time to—"

"You could drop it, Blaze," Tides said. "The jig is up."

"Really? Thank goodness! I don't think I could have continued acting like such a commoner, especially in front of Kiawe."

The girl's words quickly caught Kiawe's attention. "What?"

Blaze recoiled, pulling herself away from the group and putting her hands on her cheeks, hiding their redness. "I didn't say anything."

"Uh... you clearly just did." Kiawe narrowed his eyes at Blaze. Sensing the girl's discomfort, Olivia quickly stepped in.

"Blaze! Might I ask where were you? You were supposed to be here by now."

Blaze looked back at the Kahuna, before shifting her gaze to Ayame. Her eyebrow twitched. "I had to keep waking up sleeping beauty. What a pain."

"Just lemme sleep then," Ayame whined as she rubbed her eyes.

"Quit being so lazy!" Blaze shouted. "We had a job to do! Did you just expect me to do this stupid stunt alone?"

"Maybe," Ayame said with a yawn. "I wanted to snuggle with fluffy Cottonees..."

Blaze's hands balled up into fists. "Are you kidding me?!"

Tides passively smiled, shaking his head. "Here we go again. C'mon guys, not in front of everyone."

"Wait, wait wait. You three are Trial captains?" Bob asked, the sound of disbelief invading his voice. "For real?"

"Just because I look like a spider-fool doesn't mean you get to underestimate—"

"Now, now Blaze." Tides cool attitude took center stage, which Lana in particular couldn't help but find alluring. "We made a strange first impression, let's admit it. Why don't we properly introduce ourselves?"

Blaze huffed, neither rejecting or accepting the proposal. Tides took initiative.

"The three of us are the trial captains of Akala island!" Tides announced. "I oversee the water trial, little Ayame oversees the grass trial, and Blaze oversees the fire trial."

"So cool! I can't wait to take your trials! Be ready!" Ash hopped with a spark in his eyes, his grin large and lively. Pikachu on his shoulder clapped it's paws together, sharing its trainer's glee.

"My trial... ah... ain't gonna be easy you know... trial goer..." Ayame said. Even her voice sounded drained, as if she hadn't slept in ages. However, that changed quickly with a single comment.

"I mean, how hard could it be?" Bob said.

"Don't get cocky!" Ayame's cheeks puffed out, her little hands curling into fists.

Bob began to sweat, not expecting such a strong reaction. He was suddenly knocked out of his surprise by Lana gently pushing past him, her eyes focused on the blue-haired boy whom she just met. Like alarms in his head, a strange but familiar twisting in his stomach occured.

"You oversee the Water Trial?" Lana pranced over to Tides and looked up at him with the eyes of a puppy. "Does that mean you specialize in water types?"

Tides scratched at the back of his neck, resisting the urge to take a step back. "Well, I don't like to brag... but yeah—"

"Pokémon trainer me please!"

Everyone remained still, not sure how to react to Lana's sudden request. Tides himself was completely caught off guard.

"W-what?"

"Everyone seems to think I could become a trainer... but I didn't think that at all." Lana looked the ground, hugging her arms around her chest. "I mean, is it a bad idea to have a team of all Water-Types? That's not the main issue though... one of the few times I tried to battle, I got Popplio hurt. I didn't want to even consider taking a risk like that again. But then again, battling always looked so fun. I kinda felt sick being stuck as a bystander, and being defenseless when trouble arises."

Lana paused, taking a deep breath. Suddenly, her somber expression began to lift, and her mouth curled into a smile. "But then I thought, 'if I can get the right mentor, I could become the battler I wanna be!' I think you're the right mentor!"

In the background, Bob flopped over on his side, his hear shaken. Lillie panicked and bent down to help the boy up. While this happened, Tides weighed his options, and nodded.

"Well I never thought of myself as the mentor type, but hey, I'm willing to give it a shot! Consider it done!"

Lana reached forward and vigorously shook the boy's hand. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You won't regret it! I promise, I'm gonna show you what I'm made of!"

Olivia began to gush, leaning forward and folding her hands. "Ah! What a sweet moment! Tides, you became a mentor, how cute! Remember love, this is a serious role to fill!"

Tides nervously laughed. "Yeah, yeah I know."

The warm moment passed, as did the day. After meeting the trial captains and touring the beautiful island of Akala, the students all headed home with new memories to keep for a lifetime.