Despite OZone hitting a wall in his currently successful path of rounding up the Ultra Beasts, he needed time to plan how to gather the resources and gear necessary for his plan to move forward. With the thinking cap on, he requested his ten admins to lay low and to work in the inner branches of Cosmo Corps for the meantime. Even standing by, things were just as busy as ever for the man running the laboratory, which the same could be said for Alola as a whole. Nothing is neglected over the warming sun and cool waves that wash on the sandy beaches that touch every corner of all of the islands.

Take Melemele for example, returning to Verdant Cavern, the girl who specializes in Water-Type Pokémon finally takes on her very first course in the Island Trial Challenge, turning a tide on the Yungoos and Gumshoos. Lana had the trail nearly in the bag, but one more Pokémon remained, nearly as big as the cave itself, Totem Gumshoos gave her a run for her money. However, she wasn't backing down either. It took the combination of Popplio, Corsola, and Mantike to wither the boss of its energy.

"Almost done, Corsola! Use Rock Blast!"

The small coral Pokémon leaps into the air, weary of the large Gumshoos's Bite, it launched several of its branches encoated in a silver energy right after dodging, causing the Totem Pokémon to tumble down in a dramatic fashion, but nevertheless, it was unable to resume fighting and scurried away deep into its personal cave. Lana raised her fist in the air victoriously and gave Cosola a hug for its amazing efforts.

"We did it Corsola! You showed that Totem Pokémon what for!"

Corsola chirps in a happy tune, along with her partner Popplio who was hugging her leg. Ilima clapped his hands together, walking on Lana's moment of glory.

"You did it, Lana girl! You have successfully completed my challenge, I couldn't be any more proud of you, my friend."

Ilima's hand rested upon his hip, his grey eyes glistened as he smiled downward to the girl who returned her Corsola in its Pokéball for some needed rest and picked Popplio up right in her arms.

"Thank you so much, Ilima! The Totem Gumshoos definitely was powerful, but our training with everyone back at the Pokémon school paid off."

Popplio clapped towards Lana's comment, happily squeaking for its fruitful efforts in the Island Challenge.

"Pop! Pop! Pop!"

A light chuckle slipped out of Ilima, followed by a nod.

"Yes, I agree. Nothing makes me more happy seeing my girl at work. Showing me how powerful of a tsunami you can become," The young man reaches his hand out, revealing a white crystal in the palm. "For proof of washing me away, please take this. The Normalium Z."

Lana took the small gift in her hands, staring into the rather clear object, which encloses it within her grasp.

"Th-thank you Iliama! I knew I had the strength to pull it off!"

Iliama nods right before holding hands with Lana after she places her new Z-Crystal away. His charming smile in some cases would make the strongest girls gush into a blush, but Lana was immune to his dreamboat-like magic since they're good buds.

"Please, Lana. If there may be any trials up ahead that may require some advice, don't hesitate to ask me," Letting go of her hands, they headed out of the den where Totem Gumshoos lives, eventually reaching the entrance of the Verdant Caverns. "Maybe we can have a Pokémon battle before facing Hala in your first Grand Island Challenge. Remember that we all support you, your classmates, your fun little sisters, your parents, and me, Lana girl."

There was no way the young trainer could ever forget that, she smiled with Popplio in her hands before heading home. The sun began to set across the region, a truly eventful day that was.

* * *

The next day at the Pokémon school, Lana explained how her island challenge went to her friends in Professor Kukui's class during lunch. She sounded proud of her accomplishment, just as she should.

"Since Popplio faced most of the Alolan Rattatas in the first half of the Island challenge, it was up to Mantyke and Corsola to face off against Totem Gumshoos. The large Pokémon was tough, but in the end, we prevailed."

Out of everyone to speak, Bob crossed his arms with the utmost satisfaction, speaking up his thoughts on the matter of Lana winning her first Island Trial.

"See, guys? I told you Lana would be just fine! If there was anyone I personally thought would do just fine in the trials, it would be Lana."

Hearing that made Lana pretty warm on the inside, the very boy she looks up to in interest wouldn't ever have the need to worry about her position. Sophocles darted his eyes into another direction, not wanting to admit he was only a tad worried for the girl's sake.

Ash wasn't however, in fact, he had faith in Lana to do well. He threw his fist in the air, while holding the backpack that had the mystical gas Pokémon Cosmog, Nebby and Bebe. His sleepy Rowlet rested on the boy's head.

"Way to go Lana! How do you feel knowing you have the skill to become a Pokémon trainer?"

Lana smiles, replaying a short answer to Ash.

"It felt... Amazing."

Kiawe pats Lana on the back, also proud of her for completing her very first trial.

"I'm proud of you Lana, you can only go up from here. Just be sure to train before your match with Hala, trust me, he knows his way around Fighting Type Pokémon."

The tallest boy in the class crossed his arms, glancing towards a particular girl in the class who had a tough time in his challenge. Unfortunately, Saki spotted his quick look before he turned towards the chalkboard, praying the girl wouldn't say anything in regards to her first lost.

"I'll say," Was all Saki could say, before Mallow patted her back after her first battle with the Melemele Island's boss. "Just be sure to be prepared before challenging Hala."

There was a slight pause, before Lana nodded, thanking the girl for her advice. After Saki spoke, Lillie walked in from the door, Snowy in her arms and Lucky resting on her big hat.

"Hello, everyone. I'm sorry for my late arrival."

The shy girl sat right next to Mallow, right before being filled in on Lana's first win. Lillie gasped, surprised Lana had already completed her first challenge, winning in the process as well.

"Oh my goodness! Congratulations, Lana! I didn't think you would challenge the first trial so soon! Please forgive me!"

There was no need to sweat on the little details, what matters was what the class planned to do about Lana's 1st win. In Kukui's class, they need to celebrate the success of the girl, but what should they do with their special day? Mallow raised her hand with a major suggestion of hers.

"Oh, hey! I think I may have an idea! Why don't we go to my family's restaurant for a delicious meal made by me?"

Not a bad idea by the green haired little lady, Sophocles had his mouth watering by the delicious soup they served where Mallow worked part time. Ash ends up fantasizing about the sandwiches and was also all in for it.

"That sounds like a great idea! Gimme a sandwich, Mallow! Gimme! Gimme!"

Ash was getting Grabby hands with his eyes sparkling to the imagery of food clouding up his mind, but it was humorous to Lillie. She held a light giggle from Ash's boy-ish behavior. Saki was all for it, since she isn't a picky person, so was Lana. Everyone but that one boy was all in, Bob.

"Well, err..."

He stuttered, pulling the collar of his shirt forward to free his neck from closing.

"Don't get me wrong, I like Mallow's cooking as much as the next guy, but I was thinking we could do something a bit more... uncommon?"

He didn't know if that was the right word to use, but everyone started trading looks. Not in the way if they were offended, although they wondered what Bob wanted to do instead.

"Did you have an idea, Bibby Boo?"

Lana asked, which caused Bob to crack his voice in sheer shyness because that was something he hasn't heard in a long time. The problem wasn't that he didn't want to go out for lunch with his friends, but that it seemed like something they could do any other day of the week.

"I, well-it's your achievement, Lana. You should be the one asking what you might like to do. Don't consider what I want to do for your day, what do you feel like doing?"

Lana blinked, not even thinking for herself, which she looked downward at Popplio. Her Pokémon perked its head up at the same time, before glancing at the sparkling sea.

"Well... I haven't gone fishing in a long time... So... if you all want to join me out for a peaceful day with some fishing rods, that would be really nice!"

Bob clapped his hands as he stood up.

"Alright, perfect! Pack the rods, take the bait! We're all going out in the sea and fishing!"

He acted a bit enthusiastic for what Lana considered what she wanted to do, but it might have been the fact that he's glad Lana got to choose what the group activity was.

"I was looking forward to that lunch, but fishing doesn't sound like a bad idea." Saki shrugged, still going with the flow on the current topic.

"But-but-does that mean... no soup?..."

Sophcles began to shake, really looking forward to the free food as well. Ash replied, also shaking because that meant he won't get his free sandwich either, he'll have to PAY for his.

"No soup Sophocles, no sandwiches... no sandwiches."

Good as heartbroken, Kiawe shook their heads toward their desires for delicious foods. Despite him being no fisherman at heart, he liked hanging out with his friends, so he was on board too.

The rest of the class agreed that they'd go to Melemele wharf and set towards the sea for a day of fun!

* * *

The next day, Lana and her friends met up at Hau'Oli Beach, from where they headed straight to the warf of the island, and rented some Lapras to guide them to the spot where they plan to fish. Since Lana's family owns a Lapras, she went ahead and borrowed it for the occasion. While everyone in her class managed to show up for a relaxing day, Rotomdex unfortunately wasn't anywhere to be seen. Professor Kukui and Professor Burnet were busy doing some research of their own, the Pokédex tagged along and assisted the two with needed Pokémon data that Ash and his friends manage to record during their time together. The professors were even willing to watch the Cosmogs while Ash was out. Meanwhile, once reaching their location, Lana stopped the group from going any further. The perfect spot to fish has been found.

"Alright! At long last, we're in the middle of the sea, everyone! Let's cast our rods and cross our fingers to catch something strong and rare!"

Ash exclaimed as everyone tossed their lines a distance in the ocean, and time took its course. The class paired up into four separate groups like mini rowing boats.

Ash and Sophocles paired up, Pikachu and Togademaru ended up taking a nap, the sun definitely kept the electrical rodents warm.

"Hey, Sophocles? Did you end up doing the homework for this weekend?"

"Yeah, of course I did, Ash. Why?"

"Well... umm, you don't suppose I could copy ours really quick? I tried answering number two by myself but it's really confusing!"

Ash begged Sophocles for help on their weekend assignment, but the brainiac of the class was not doing him any favors.

"What?! No! You'll never truly understand if you ask someone else to solve it-!"

A vicious tug came from Ash's rod, he stood up and gave his line a pull.

"Holy moly! I caught something! I caught something!"

When he did pull, Sophocles ended up being pulled towards the water.

"Woah! I caught something too! It's so heavy! I-I think I caught a Relicanth!"

He tried pulling his rod with his short chunky arms, managing to pull himself from his former position, while Ash began to be pulled in the water.

"Woahwoahwoahwoah! It's pulling me in! Whatever it is! I'm-definitely going to catch it!"

Using all his strength, he pulled himself from being pulled into the water, when Sophocles began to lose his balance.

"Aaaaaaaah! Guys! Guys! Guys! I'm losing! I'm losing! I think I'm going down!"

Both Pikachu and Togademaru to their owners yelling and saw Sophocles about to fall into the water.

"Ahh! Togedemaru! Pikachu! Help meeee!"

"Pika-pika?!"

"Toooog?!"

Together, they manage to pull Sophocles to the center of Lapras's shell, which simultaneously causes Ash to flop into the water. The short boy didn't feel any weight from his line and managed to pull in what he caught. Turns out it was just a fishing rod, Ash's fishing rod.

"What the-oooooooh! Our fishing hooks somehow caught each other and... tricked us into catching something..."

Sophocles took a look downwards to the water, seeing Ash climb back on soaking wet and embarrassed about their lines all caught together. Both boys ended up sighing when Saki laughed towards their suspense.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But THAT was too funny!"

Mallow was paired up with her, so she was enjoying herself with the class. She even joined Saki in laughing until a Mareanie chewed on some Corsola branches popped its head from the water.

"Oh? Is your Mareanie having a little snack, Saki?"

The two looked at the small Pokémon before the girl turned towards her and shook her head.

"No, my Mareanie is in its Pokéball."

"Oh."

Mallow replied, staring at the small Pokémon with Saki until they were sprayed with a Scaled from the Mareanie before diving back into the water.

"Hey!! Gross! What the hell! Come back you little shit!"

Saki ended up yelling, Mallow trying her best to calm her down. Kiawe and Lillie sat on their Lapras from afar, watching some class antics unfold. Kiawe smiled, glad he wasn't anywhere else watching his goofy friends be themselves.

"Umm... Kiawe?"

He turns to the light voice of the blonde girl, wondering if she had any questions.

"Oh, what's up, Lillie?"

She just wanted to ask if he managed to at least get a nibble, but he shook his head. He wasn't expecting to catch anything and was fine with that fact. What wasn't fine was what Snowy was up to. Without Lillie's content, it somehow created a small raft made entirely of ice and decided to float around on it, unaware it was floating away from the group.

"Uh-L-Lillie! Snowy seems to be-"

"Snow is-? Aaaah! Snowy, wait! Please!"

Lapras started swimming towards Snowy, which was staring at its reflection in the ocean, startled by a Luvdisc that popped its head out. It took a step back, immediately grabbed by a highly concerned Lillie who also began to lose balance and fall onto the ocean with her Pokémon in her arms. Before she fell, Kiawe immediately grabbed onto the girl, getting little assistance from Lucky.

"You okay, Lillie?"

Kiawe asked before he let go of her. Normally something of a near drowning experience would likely traumatize Lillie, but she took a deep breath and managed to recollect herself, followed by a nod.

"Y-yes, I'm okay now. I would've been soaked if it wasn't for you. Thank you Kiawe."

He smiled, saying there was no need for gracefulness. Kiawe handed back Lillie's rod while getting back into the water.

Out of all the groups, Lana's managed to catch a ton of Pokémon. She fished Shellers, Tentacools, and Chinchous. She even managed to catch a Wailmer, which was a sight to see. Bob was pretty much quiet, while Lana and Popplio had quite the time fishing all those Pokémon.

"Are you having fun, Bibby Boo?"

He turns around from his constant focus on his line to Lana, as he smiles nods.

"Of course I am. I've always enjoyed being out here, it's so peaceful ya know?"

When he felt his line tug, he managed to catch something a little... different.

"Oooooooooo."

An Octillery. It's suction cups stuck itself onto its rod, so it wasn't going anywhere.

"Heh. I think that Octiller may like you if he's not letting go. Why don't you keep it?"

Bob looked at the Pokémon, not entirely certain if he should, but since his battle with the Island Challenge and with the Kahuna are both weak to water, he shrugged.

"Fuck it. Octillery, were busting caps soon. If you don't want to join my party, leave now."

"Cteeeeeeeeer."

Tossing a Pokéball, it didn't really hesitate to escape, it just clicked inside, his 5th member of his party already ready to battle.

"Welp. That happened."

Lana smiled and even giggled at Bob's "That just happened" expression on his face as the day ended up passing by. Everyone went their separate way back home, while Bob and Lana walked to her house on the shore.

"Thanks for walking me home Bibby Boo, I wouldn't want it any other way."

"Ahh-Lana..."

Bob heavily blushed, covering his face with his hand that smelled like sea water. He was uncertain of how he felt when Lana kept calling him that, well, used to at least. He started to get used to that nickname, getting used to Lana's open personality. They've been hanging out for a while now and needed to ask her something. However, her mom and sisters awaited Lana's arrival, so she had to get going. He was going to let her go, until something deep within made him call her name.

"L-Lana, wait!"

She stopped and turned around to a smiling girl, waiting for what he wanted to say.

"Yes, Bob?..."

He gulped, immediately started regretting grabbing her attention. He couldn't just say "Nevermind, lol." That would be highly unacceptable, what he needed was time to think, so he asked if they could hang out, alone.

"I was wondering if you'd umm... Want to err... Hang out... just... us?"

That sort of answer alone was enough for the girl to run towards him and give him a nice hug.

"Yes, Bibby Boo, I'd love to!"

Lana eventually turned back and went inside, leaving Bob a lustered mess. He walked alone on the streets towards his cousin's hotel and took out Octillery.

"So... Octillery... err... You have any relationship advice?"

"Cteeeeeeeeer."