Akala Island.
The Ruins of Life, the shrine to the land-god Pokémon Tapu Lele, was revered as the place where life itself first began.
It was also one of the oldest ruins on Akala Island.
"Lele～"
A pink shell floated above the hill overlooking the Ruins of Life. Beneath it was a black upper body and deep pink, tentacle-like hair. This was Akala Island's guardian deity, Tapu Lele.
Tapu Lele's large, sparkling eyes gazed off into the distance. It had vaguely sensed earlier that Tapu Fini seemed to have gone over to Tapu Koko's turf.
So weird. Tapu Koko had a terrible temper—was Tapu Fini seriously not afraid of getting zapped?
Even Tapu Lele itself didn't dare provoke Tapu Koko. They were both guardian deities who protected Alola, but Tapu Koko's neurotic personality made Tapu Lele keep its distance.
Tapu Lele was itching to go. If Tapu Fini could go to Melemele Island, then surely it could go have some fun too, right?
Among the four guardian deities, Tapu Lele had the most childlike, innocent personality. The thought tempted it: compared to just staying on Akala Island all the time, it really wanted to visit the other islands and play with its "colleagues."
But instead, Tapu Lele turned its head and looked down.
A dirt path wound its way up the hill, dotted with yellow wildflowers and trailing vines.
A girl in a light pink dress was making her way toward the Ruins of Life, step by unhurried step, with a Metagross silently floating behind her.
"Lele?" Tapu Lele turned around, tilting its head in puzzlement at the human girl.
It could feel that this human was here for it.
At the same time, it could sense the psychic energy inside this human girl—unbelievable, really.
Tapu Lele was intrigued. Unlike Tapu Fini, it didn't harbor such deep wariness toward humans, so it actually drifted down from above the Ruins of Life, closing the distance between itself and the girl.
Studying the human girl up close, it became completely certain: the psychic power inside this girl was greater than that of most Psychic-type Pokémon.
"Island guardian deity Tapu Lele of Akala Island, my name is Caitlin. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Caitlin wore a flawless, faint smile. The adorable island guardian deity was reflected clearly in her eyes.
"Lele?"
Tapu Lele let out a crisp, questioning cry. Maybe because of the psychic connection, it didn't have a bad first impression of this human girl at all.
"I got word you'd appeared at the Ruins of Life, so I hurried over."
Caitlin folded her hands over her lower abdomen, her tone soft and refined.
"I have a life goal I absolutely have to accomplish. For that, I need power—very strong power."
"I know it's a bold request, but Tapu Lele, would you become my partner? Your strength is exactly what I need."
The blonde girl extended a sincere invitation to Tapu Lele.
"?"
Tapu Lele all but projected a question mark at her.
"Lele～Lele～"
Although the sudden invitation left it a bit stunned, Tapu Lele still very straightforwardly shook its head in refusal.
Still, given how special—and how very polite—this human girl was, its attitude remained fairly friendly.
"I figured you wouldn't agree." Caitlin let out a small sigh.
"In that case, I'll just have to take a slightly… stronger approach."
"?" Tapu Lele leaned halfway out of its shell, tilting its head at the girl.
"No matter what, I really do need you, Tapu Lele. Battle me. I'll show you everything I've got—along with my resolve."
The determination in Caitlin's eyes was so intense it almost stung. Tapu Lele stared blankly at this human.
How long had it served as Akala Island's guardian deity? It had already forgotten.
It had seen far too many kinds of humans. Every generation's Akala Island Island Kahuna—Island Queen—had been personally chosen by it.
But someone with conviction like this girl's—so absolute, so unshakable—was something it rarely ever saw.
No question, among humans, this girl was exceptional. If she were from Akala Island, Tapu Lele would've gladly appointed her as the next Island Queen.
But reality didn't deal in what-ifs.
"Lele～ (Your Metagross is strong, but it's not my opponent. Go back...)"
Tapu Lele floated up a little and glanced at the Metagross behind Caitlin, then shook its head and replied in its clear, musical voice.
Its temperament wasn't as cold as Tapu Fini's. It certainly had its cruel side, but among the four island guardian deities, Tapu Lele was already the easiest to get along with.
"Is that so? Even so, I still want to try. If I can defeat you, then become my partner."
Caitlin smiled faintly. She understood perfectly what Tapu Lele meant, and of course she knew that right now, her own power couldn't match Tapu Lele's.
But she still wanted to give it a shot.
"…Lele～"
Tapu Lele scratched at its head in mild distress, but in the end, its impression of this girl really was pretty good.
If that was the case, giving her a chance wasn't a big deal. This wasn't the first time it had agreed to accept a human's challenge.
"Lele～"
Tapu Lele darted backward and up into the air, and waves of psychic energy rippled outward from it like circles spreading across water.
In the blink of an eye, that psychic glow washed over the ground below—Psychic Terrain took shape.
"Psychic Surge, huh?"
Caitlin watched the battlefield transform around her, clear eyes shimmering.
Tapu Lele's Ability, Psychic Surge—able to spread Psychic Terrain.
Psychic Terrain: it boosts the power of all Psychic-type moves used by Pokémon on the ground, and prevents all grounded Pokémon from being hit by an opponent's priority moves.
Those were the two strongest aspects of Psychic Terrain:
Boosting Psychic-type move power, and nullifying priority moves.
As everyone knew, most Psychic-type Pokémon hit hard but were defensively flimsy. Classic examples were Alakazam and Gardevoir—their physical defense was paper-thin.
Metagross, this pseudo near-hexagon fighter, was one of the rare exceptions.
That was why Psychic Terrain was so important for Psychic-type Pokémon with low HP and bad defenses.
"Metagross!"
Metagross floated past Caitlin, then crashed heavily to the ground, its heavy eyes locked onto Tapu Lele.
"This is… my trial!"
Defeating and catching Tapu Lele—that was step one.
A deep, rich blue glow filled Caitlin's eyes as immense psychic power burst out of her like a storm, pouring into Metagross without the slightest reservation.
Metagross's aura visibly surged, and that same deep blue glow lit up in its eyes as well.
"????"
Tapu Lele stared, wide-eyed and stunned, watching Metagross's strength spike like crazy.
Girl, are you seriously buffing your own Pokémon like this right in front of me? How is that even legal?