Hey there folks, and welcome to the second chapter of my Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke Challenge, a weekly serial blog chronicling my attempt to play blind through the latest generation of Pokémon with a self-imposed Nuzlocke ruleset. If you haven't seen one of these blogs before, or you're not familiar with the concept of a Nuzlocke challenge, I implore to read last week's inaugural entry before you get stuck into this one. It explains the core rules of the Nuzlocke format, not to mention it begins the narrative we're about to continue. While you get caught up, we're going to continue our adventure through the Alola region. This week we'll be stopping off in Hau'oli City, meeting the unsavoury Team Skull, and taking on our first Island Trial. Let's get going, shall we?

Chapter Two - Hau'oli Smokes!

Alola, Diary! A lot has happened since I last wrote anything in here. Some of it has been wonderful, but some of it has also been terrifying and brutal. I've overcome my first Island Trial and made some awesome new friends along the way, but I've also been unlucky enough to lose a friend in the process. I'll do my best to cover everything before it's time to move on from here.

You may remember that I was on my way to Hau'oli City, the main city on Melemele Island. I was supposed to be meeting with Lillie so we could explore the place together. Initially I couldn't get into the city because a rogue Tauros was blocking the path, but Kahuna Hala managed to subdue it and lead it away from the main road. Hala has an incredible affinity for Pokémon, and I hope that one day I'll be able to communicate with them the way that he does. Of course, I have a great relationship with Scorch and Feathers, but I sense I still have a long way to go before I can tame a wild Tauros! When I finally arrived in Hau'oli City, I met up with not Lillie, but Hau. He took me over to the Alola Tourist Bureau, where one of the guides upgraded my Rotom Dex with something called a Poké Finder. It works a lot like a camera and lets me take pictures of Pokémon in the wild. I tested it out a bit and managed to get some nice snaps of a Pikachu just outside the city limits.

After messing around with the Poké Finder for a while, Hau went off to grab some malasadas from the local eatery, and I finally caught up with Lillie. We explored the city's shopping district together, and she convinced me to spend some money on a new haircut and a change of clothes. I'll bet Mom would love my new Alolan summer-wear, but I'm not too sure how she's going to feel when she sees my hair for the first time - it's a lot shorter than I usually have it cut! I sense it's going to be a little while before I go back home, so maybe it'll have time to grow out a bit between now and then. After a long afternoon of shopping, Lillie and I parted ways. I explored the city a little more, training up my team of Pokémon in the long grass outside the City Hall. I even managed to catch a Grimer, which I've named 'The Ooze'. She's a lot different to the Grimer from back in Kanto, with a deep green colour and an additional Dark typing. She seems strong and reserved, and I can't wait to get to know her better (even if she does stink a little!).

My wandering took me away from the city centre and down towards the Marina, where the ferries arrive from and depart for the other islands of Alola. I recognised one of the faces in the crowd here as Ilima, a guy who I'd previously met at the Trainers' School out on Route 1. While we were talking about our Pokémon and the Island Trials, a couple of goofball gangsters in black outfits and balaclavas pushed their way over to us and started demanding to battle. They said they represented an organisation called 'Team Skull', who I'd never heard of, but I'm beginning to think must be a bit of a nuisance around these parts. Ilima battled one and I battled the other, The Ooze doing well in her first battle against a trainer by resisting his Zubat's persistent attacks and closing it down with a powerful Bite attack. When the fight was over, the grunts took off. Ilima healed my Pokémon by way of thanks, then challenged me to a slightly better-spirited battle. His Smeargle was tough to counter, packing a Water-type move that caused problems for Scorch. Luckily The Ooze was able to carefully quell the attack, then subdue it with her Poison Gas and Bite attacks.

Ilima seemed pretty impressed by the way I handled myself in battle. He mentioned that he'd been keen to battle me since he saw me beat the teacher at the Trainers' School the day before. He revealed that he was captain of one of the Island Trials, at the Verdant Cavern just off Route 2 to the north. He reckoned that with the way my bonds with my Pokémon have been developing so quickly, we'd probably stand a good chance of beating his Trial and taking away the reward. Eager to make my first real stop on my Island Challenge, I thanked him for the battle and returned to the Pokémon Center to grab a drink at the café and rest up for the night with Scorch, Feathers and The Ooze.

The next day I set out in the direction of Route 2. I met with Lillie on the way out of town, who congratulated me on my progress and wished me the best of luck for the upcoming trial. As we reached the edge of town, I found the path once again blocked by an ornery Tauros, with Kahuna Hala trying his best to placate it. He invited me to join him at his side, and together we managed to calm the Pokémon and clear the road once again. Much like Ilima and Lillie, I think Hala believes that I have what it takes to take on these Island Trials, although he never said so outright. With the path clear, I was able to step out onto Route 2 and start making my way north to Verdant Cavern. On the way I added a fourth Pokémon to my team, an Abra who I've named 'Oracle'. He can't do much more than Teleport around in battle at the moment, but he's a gentle creature, and boy does he love eating Poké Beans! I've tried hiding them, but I think he must be using his Psychic-type powers to locate them and help himself. At this rate I'm going to run out of the supply given to me by the barista at the café.

Route 2 posed some difficult battles for us, but my team and I gave as good as we got. Oracle and The Ooze both got a little more battle experience, but Feathers was the one seeing most of the action - so much so that after one battle, he evolved! He's now a Trumbeak, and still as reckless and headstrong as ever. In the afternoon we took a detour to explore Hau'oli Cemetery, a Pokémon graveyard that looks out over the city. I spoke with some of the trainers there and learned that there's a darker side to Pokémon battling - if a trainer pushes their Pokémon too hard without time to rest or recover, then their companions can die, and this is where those poor fallen creatures are laid to rest before they ascend to Pokéaven. It's a peaceful, serene place to be, nothing like the spooky tower at Lavender Town back in Kanto. Even so, I hope I don't have to spend too much time here over the course of my journey. While I was wandering through the cemetery reading the headstones, I encountered a Drifloon which I managed to capture. I named him Zeppelin, and put him on my team straight away. His jolly demeanour lifted the spirits of my other Pokémon as we moved on through Route 2 towards the Berry Fields.

As we reached the entrance to the Berry Fields, we were intercepted by a Delibird which steered us off the route and into the fields themselves. It quickly became apparent why it had brought us there - those grunts from Team Skull that we'd fought in Hau'oli City were accosting the owner of the fields and trying to steal his berries. For the second time in two days, I battled those pesky delinquents and came away victorious. The grunts ran off to the north, and I had a funny feeling that wasn't the last I'd be seeing of them... But more on that later. The owner of the Berry Fields thanked me for helping him and let me pick some berries to feed to my Pokémon. I still have a few in my bag now, although it's a wonder there were any left by the time Oracle was finished!

We continued along Route 2, battling wild Pokémon and trainers along the way. Zeppelin was proving to be an incredible addition to the team, opponents' Normal-type attacks passed right through him as he whipped up Gust attacks around them. We reached the Pokémon Center at Route 2's far end just as night was falling, and I was surprised to see Hau standing just outside - he must have overtaken us while we were dealing with Team Skull at the Berry Fields. He was also preparing to take on Ilima's trial at Verdant Cavern, so we agreed to stop off at the Center and get drinks at the café while our Pokémon rested with the nurse. After restocking our items at the Poké Mart, we settled in for the night, excited at what the next day might bring at our first Island Trial.

I woke up early the next morning, eager to get started on the Trial at Verdant Cavern. Hau seemed decidedly less enthusiastic - no matter how much I banged on the door of his room, I couldn't wake him up. In the end I resolved to head out to the Cavern on my own. I was met at the entrance by Ilima, who explained the rules of his Trial to me - I would need to find and battle three Pokémon within the cavern before I would be permitted to approach the totem and claim my reward. It didn't take me long to find my first two Pokémon, a pair of Yungoos, but the third one proved a bit more elusive. As I was scrabbling around in the holes in the cave walls, I heard some familiar voices over my shoulder. Those irritating goons from Team Skull had followed me into the Cavern, and now they were trying to sabotage my Trial! A quick battle made it three for three against them, and to top it all off, their trespassing in the cave actually made it easier for me to find and defeat my third and final Pokémon, a Gumshoos. With three native Pokémon defeated, I was given leave to enter the deepest part of the Verdant Cavern.

In front of me was a stone totem, with a bright crystal glimmering on a plinth set into it. As I approached it, a gigantic Gumshoos jumped down from above and blocked my path. Feeling confident, I sent out Zeppelin to wear this powerful Totem Pokemon down. What I wasn't expecting was for it to call forth a Yungoos to fight alongside it. I tried to call Zeppelin back, but his laziness got the better of him, and before he could return to his Poké Ball the Yungoos hit him with a powerful Pursuit attack. Zeppelin collapsed, and no matter what I did, I couldn't rouse him. With tears in my eyes, I sent out The Ooze to finish what my Drifloon had started. A few Bites were enough to take out both the Yungoos and the Totem Gumshoos, clearing the path for me to pick up the crystal from the plinth.

I made my way out of the Verdant Cavern, carrying Zeppelin in my arms. He didn't die in vain, and I know there wasn't anything I could have done against that Yungoos's Pursuit, but I still feel responsible. I knew that Yungoos had the potential to hit hard, and I should have sent one of my sturdier Pokémon in to take the hits. As I walked through the Cavern, a Diglett popped up out of the ground in front of me. I managed to catch her, and named her L'Oréal (those little tufts of metal sticking out of her head made me think of this shampoo advert from back in Kanto). I think she's going to make a good addition to the team, she seems pretty relaxed, although given the right situation she can get pretty hot-headed in battle.

On leaving the Verdant Cavern, I was met by Ilima and Professor Kukui. Both offered their condolences at the loss of Zeppelin, and advised me to inter him at the cemetery near Hau'oli City. Ilima congratulated me for passing the trial, and explained that the crystal I'd picked up was a Z Crystal. Kukui gave me a crash course in the use of Z Crystals - apparently, by combining them with the Z Ring I received from Kahuna Hala back in Iki Town, I will be able to unlock the hidden 'Z Power' of my Pokémon. This particular crystal is known as a Normalium-Z, which gives any Pokémon with Normal-type moves access to powerful Z Moves. I've given the Normalium-Z to Scorch to hold for now, although I haven't had a chance to test out its power yet. I'm guessing that future Island Trials will give me access to more of these Z Crystals to unlock more of my team's hidden 'Z Power'.

That's where I'll leave off with this entry. As I write this I've just arrived back at the Verdant Cavern Pokémon Center, after a trek back along Route 2 to commit Zeppelin to the Hau'oli Cemetery. It's late, I'm tired and so are my Pokémon, so we're going to rest up before continuing on our adventure. Next up is the rocky mountain road of Route 3, and I want to make sure my team is in the best possible condition before we press on. I don't want what happened to Zeppelin today to happen to anyone else. Hopefully, with the addition of powerful Z Moves to my battle arsenal, we'll be able to overpower any enemies who threaten us. Until next time Diary, Alola!

Two episodes in, one Trial complete, and one unfortunate death. Pursuit has been my undoing a few times in Nuzlockes, most notably my Egglocke of Pokémon X where I lost a Bagon very early on in a very similar situation. It's something I sense I'll need to be vigilant of moving forward, especially since there seem to be so many Dark-types on Melemele Island. As always, thanks very much to you guys for reading. I hope this series is delivering an experience that's as much fun to read as it's been for me to write so far. Until next time, take care, and I'll see you around.

Daniel

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Currently playing - Pokémon Sun (3DS)