Here we go with the final challenge! For anyone still grinding out their last NaNo words, good luck and godspeed! I hope you've enjoyed the crawl.
With you, Hau, and a trial captain working together, you'd expected even the swolest of ultra beasts to be a cakewalk. This hulking bug-creature is unnervingly resilient, though, merrily flexing away in between punching your pokémon clear across the arena. Perhaps the strange storm churning overhead is giving it a power boost, or maybe it's simply stronger than the beasts you've faced on its own merits; whatever the case, the situation's looking a bit grim when Hau shouts, "Hey, look who it is!"
Running up from behind you, scowling as usual, is Gladion. Null lopes along in front of him, sights already set on the ultra beast.
"Getting into trouble again?" Gladion asks as he comes up beside you. "I'm not surprised. Since you took away my chance at the kartana, you'd better not complain about me taking over for you here."
The tendency is there, but you really do need the help. Null's already in the fray anyhow, and you doubt it would take kindly to any attempt to call it back.
Write 150 words while you work with Gladion to defeat the Buzzwole!
It's obvious why Looker called Null a "beast-killer." The chimera hights with a single-minded ferocity, matching the buff ultra beast blow for blow. With all the other pokémon helping Null out, the beast soon begins to weaken, and Gladion takes out a strange pokéball like the one Sophocles used. Before you can ask him about it, he's hurled it at the ultra beast, which, after a prolonged struggle, finally succumbs to capture. Null growls at nothing and appears to snuff at the ground, clawing anxiously at the dirt.
Acerola calls her team back and starts passing out healing items, while Looker goes over to retrieve the captured beast with Gladion. "Thank you for your assistance," he says to you and Hau, "but please, refrain from further encounters with the beasts most ultra. It is not safe for you here."
"I don't know, Looky, there are so many beasts popping up, I don't know how we're supposed to contain them all. We could use all the help we can get. Especially against that guzzlord out there." She turns in the direction of the desert.
"Regardless, that does not excuse putting the innocent in danger."
"Awww, come on," Hau says. "You know Hala would want me to do anything I could to protect Alola. I'm supposed to be the next Kahuna. This is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing!"
"You are still a child! This mission has no place for the children!"
"I'm probably older than Gladion, and you're letting him fight!"
"I doubt it," Gladion says. He's spraying Null down with a potion, and the chimera gives him what looks like a fond but painful nuzzle with its masked face. "But I agree with Hau. If he wants to fight, let him fight."
Looker argues back, steadfast, but you're beginning to see some hope. If there's anybody who'll be able to wear the detective down, it's Hau and all his boundless energy.
Write 200 words while Hau talks Looker into letting you join the mission.
In the end, Looker proves remarkably resistant to Hau's wheedling. It isn't his arguments that finally change his opinion, but another unexpected arrival.
"Ah, Miss Lillie!" Looker says, clearly relieved to have an excuse to brush Hau off. "Have you brought it? The dimensional stability device?"
Lillie nods firmly, reaching into her bag to pull out a nondescript device. Nebby pops out as well, trilling delightedly. "I met Professor Burnet down at the docks, and she told me how to use it."
"Most excellent," Looker says with a firm nod. "Then, if the two of you are prepared, I think you should go. There is no time to be wasting!"
"I'm not going without them," Lillie says, indicating you and Hau. "They're my friends, and I know they're great trainers. We're going to need their help."
Looker sighs. "Miss Lillie, as I have been telling young Hau--"
"I'm not going without them," Lillie says again, resolute.
"Oh, very well," Looker says, throwing up his hands. "We have not the time for this arguing anymore. If the two of you insist on going, be ready quickly. Five minutes, no more."
Hau whoops and goes in for a high five with Lillie, and then you, and then Gladion, who ignores him. "I've gotta get to the Pokémon Center!" he says. "Don't go anywhere without me!"
You'd better get moving, too!
Write for 5 minutes while you prepare for your trip into the desert!
After making a trip to the Pokémon Center, stocking up on healing items, and replenishing your stock of food and water, you join the rest of your group back at the entrance to Haina Desert.
"Good luck to all of you," Looker says solemnly. "Remember, return here if the danger is too great. There is no need to be throwing away your lives."
"Make sure Uncle Nanu is okay, too," Acerola says. "He's with Tapu Bulu, but they already tried to stop Guzzlord once and failed. I'm worried about him."
You assure her you will, pay a professional if unenthusiastic farewell to Looker, and then the four of you are off, braving the desert's continual sandstorm. The atmosphere is dark, thick clouds overhead blocking out the sun and the whirling sand reducing visibility even more. This would be a lot easier if you had a pokémon that could control the weather!
"We need to stick together," Gladion says, and you don't disagree. The desert's well known for its shifting, confusing trails, but the device Lillie has, among other things, is supposed to lead you straight to your target.
"It's supposed to be able to send ultra beasts back where they came from," she says. "I might not be able to battle, but once the rest of you weaken the guzzlord enough, I can use this to send it away and stop more ultra wormholes from appearing nearby!"
Sounds like exactly what you need. One step at a time, though. For now you just need to find the guzzlord, and then you can worry about how you're going to handle it.
Write 200 words while you braive the Haina Desert!
There are wild pokémon that live even in an inhospitable place like Haina Desert, of course. It feels like you've met roughly all of them at this point.
"I don't think I've ever seen the sandile out here so angry," Gladion shouts, struggling to be heard over the wind. Null sends another of the crocodilian pokémon flying with a decisive swipe of its claws, but you can already see another one digging its way out of the sand not far away.
"I know!" Hau yells back, cheerful as ever. "Is this some great training, or what?"
It is good experience, for sure. But you'd really rather save your strength for the big finale... and the pokémon's desperate aggression unnerves you a bit, too.
Write 250 words while you fend off the wild pokémon. Once you do, you may evolve one of your pokémon.
The atmosphere grows darker and darker yet. It feels like you're lost, merely stumbling through the desert in hopes of finding a way forward. Lillie's hunched so low over her machine that you can't see the screen at all. You just have to trust that she knows where all of you are headed.
As time goes on, though, you start to hear noises in the wind: roaring that's more than the sandstorm, dull thuds that might be explosions. Now and again the sand trembles beneath your feet, but it's not a sandile. In fact, the wild pokémon have stopped throwing themselves at you, too.
You know you aren't imaginging things once you start seeing flashes of light up ahead, in strange and shifting colors. Energy attacks.
"We're getting close!" Lillie yells. "That must be the battle up ahead. Let's hurry!"
You're nearly there! Sprint for 5 minutes to reach Guzzlord at last.
As you draw closer, you can see your target at last. It's an immense ultra beast with a body that seems to be mostly mouth, wicked pincers giving it many sets of jaws. It stands at the epicenter of the dark storm, with a large, pulsing ultra wormhole hanging overhead. Unlike the others you've seen, this one appears permanent, or at least, it shows no signs of closing for now.
The guzzlord's currently defending itself both from Nanu's team of dark-type pokémon and from Tapu Bulu, who's coated the surrounding desert sand with a thin carpet of vegetation, its attacks causing more plants to spring up wherever they fall. Under ordinary circumstances you'd be thrilled to see a mythical pokémon like that, but right now that's the least of your concerns. It's hard to tell how well it's doing against Guzzlord, but the ultra beast still looks plenty lively, snapping and snarling and firing powerful beam attacks from the mouths of its pincers.
Nanu isn't the only person out here in the desert, either. Barely visible behind the guzzlord's flank is a familiar blonde woman, watching the battle with obvious delight. Her mouth is moving; is she giving orders? Ranting away where no one can hear? By the expression on Lillie's face, you guess she's seen her mother, too.
It's time to end this. You start forward, and Hau dashes after you. "Stop," Gladion says, putting a hand on your arm. "We can't just go barging into a battle like this. Let's take a few minutes to prepare. We only get one shot at this, and we need to do it right.
You're itching to battle, but arguing with Gladion never goes well. Any minute now... any minute now, and you'll take your shot at saving Alola!
Write 300 words while you prepare for the final battle.
At last your teams are healed up, strategies have been discussed, and everything is prepared. Gladion will be the battle's heavy-hitter, with you supporting him. Hau and his pokémon will distract the guzzlord, something you're sure they'll be great at. And Lillie will be watching the whole time, just waiting for the moment when she can seal the beast away and end the battle once and for all.
"Are we ready?" Hau asks, and when Gladion nods, says, "Woo! Fistbumps, everybody!" Even Gladion joins in, if reluctantly.
"Good luck, you three," Lillie says. "Give it your best."
"What are you talking about, Lillie? You've got the toughest job of all of us. Good luck yourself," Hau says.
Lillie smiles and gives a decisive nod. "I will. And no matter what happens... I'm glad to have met you all. I know we can do this together."
"Come on," Gladion says. "Let's get this over with."
He leads the charge with Null at his side, Hau hot on his heels. The two of them blow past a startled Nanu, their teams fanning out around Guzzlord and sending out an opening volley of attacks. You'd better get in there and help out!
This is it, Trainer! When you're ready, check out the spoiler below to see your final challenge. And good luck!
November 28 - Dark Heart of the Desert
With you, Hau, and a trial captain working together, you'd expected even the swolest of ultra beasts to be a cakewalk. This hulking bug-creature is unnervingly resilient, though, merrily flexing away in between punching your pokémon clear across the arena. Perhaps the strange storm churning overhead is giving it a power boost, or maybe it's simply stronger than the beasts you've faced on its own merits; whatever the case, the situation's looking a bit grim when Hau shouts, "Hey, look who it is!"
Running up from behind you, scowling as usual, is Gladion. Null lopes along in front of him, sights already set on the ultra beast.
"Getting into trouble again?" Gladion asks as he comes up beside you. "I'm not surprised. Since you took away my chance at the kartana, you'd better not complain about me taking over for you here."
The tendency is there, but you really do need the help. Null's already in the fray anyhow, and you doubt it would take kindly to any attempt to call it back.
Write 150 words while you work with Gladion to defeat the Buzzwole!
It's obvious why Looker called Null a "beast-killer." The chimera hights with a single-minded ferocity, matching the buff ultra beast blow for blow. With all the other pokémon helping Null out, the beast soon begins to weaken, and Gladion takes out a strange pokéball like the one Sophocles used. Before you can ask him about it, he's hurled it at the ultra beast, which, after a prolonged struggle, finally succumbs to capture. Null growls at nothing and appears to snuff at the ground, clawing anxiously at the dirt.
Acerola calls her team back and starts passing out healing items, while Looker goes over to retrieve the captured beast with Gladion. "Thank you for your assistance," he says to you and Hau, "but please, refrain from further encounters with the beasts most ultra. It is not safe for you here."
"I don't know, Looky, there are so many beasts popping up, I don't know how we're supposed to contain them all. We could use all the help we can get. Especially against that guzzlord out there." She turns in the direction of the desert.
"Regardless, that does not excuse putting the innocent in danger."
"Awww, come on," Hau says. "You know Hala would want me to do anything I could to protect Alola. I'm supposed to be the next Kahuna. This is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing!"
"You are still a child! This mission has no place for the children!"
"I'm probably older than Gladion, and you're letting him fight!"
"I doubt it," Gladion says. He's spraying Null down with a potion, and the chimera gives him what looks like a fond but painful nuzzle with its masked face. "But I agree with Hau. If he wants to fight, let him fight."
Looker argues back, steadfast, but you're beginning to see some hope. If there's anybody who'll be able to wear the detective down, it's Hau and all his boundless energy.
Write 200 words while Hau talks Looker into letting you join the mission.
In the end, Looker proves remarkably resistant to Hau's wheedling. It isn't his arguments that finally change his opinion, but another unexpected arrival.
"Ah, Miss Lillie!" Looker says, clearly relieved to have an excuse to brush Hau off. "Have you brought it? The dimensional stability device?"
Lillie nods firmly, reaching into her bag to pull out a nondescript device. Nebby pops out as well, trilling delightedly. "I met Professor Burnet down at the docks, and she told me how to use it."
"Most excellent," Looker says with a firm nod. "Then, if the two of you are prepared, I think you should go. There is no time to be wasting!"
"I'm not going without them," Lillie says, indicating you and Hau. "They're my friends, and I know they're great trainers. We're going to need their help."
Looker sighs. "Miss Lillie, as I have been telling young Hau--"
"I'm not going without them," Lillie says again, resolute.
"Oh, very well," Looker says, throwing up his hands. "We have not the time for this arguing anymore. If the two of you insist on going, be ready quickly. Five minutes, no more."
Hau whoops and goes in for a high five with Lillie, and then you, and then Gladion, who ignores him. "I've gotta get to the Pokémon Center!" he says. "Don't go anywhere without me!"
You'd better get moving, too!
Write for 5 minutes while you prepare for your trip into the desert!
After making a trip to the Pokémon Center, stocking up on healing items, and replenishing your stock of food and water, you join the rest of your group back at the entrance to Haina Desert.
"Good luck to all of you," Looker says solemnly. "Remember, return here if the danger is too great. There is no need to be throwing away your lives."
"Make sure Uncle Nanu is okay, too," Acerola says. "He's with Tapu Bulu, but they already tried to stop Guzzlord once and failed. I'm worried about him."
You assure her you will, pay a professional if unenthusiastic farewell to Looker, and then the four of you are off, braving the desert's continual sandstorm. The atmosphere is dark, thick clouds overhead blocking out the sun and the whirling sand reducing visibility even more. This would be a lot easier if you had a pokémon that could control the weather!
"We need to stick together," Gladion says, and you don't disagree. The desert's well known for its shifting, confusing trails, but the device Lillie has, among other things, is supposed to lead you straight to your target.
"It's supposed to be able to send ultra beasts back where they came from," she says. "I might not be able to battle, but once the rest of you weaken the guzzlord enough, I can use this to send it away and stop more ultra wormholes from appearing nearby!"
Sounds like exactly what you need. One step at a time, though. For now you just need to find the guzzlord, and then you can worry about how you're going to handle it.
Write 200 words while you braive the Haina Desert!
There are wild pokémon that live even in an inhospitable place like Haina Desert, of course. It feels like you've met roughly all of them at this point.
"I don't think I've ever seen the sandile out here so angry," Gladion shouts, struggling to be heard over the wind. Null sends another of the crocodilian pokémon flying with a decisive swipe of its claws, but you can already see another one digging its way out of the sand not far away.
"I know!" Hau yells back, cheerful as ever. "Is this some great training, or what?"
It is good experience, for sure. But you'd really rather save your strength for the big finale... and the pokémon's desperate aggression unnerves you a bit, too.
Write 250 words while you fend off the wild pokémon. Once you do, you may evolve one of your pokémon.
The atmosphere grows darker and darker yet. It feels like you're lost, merely stumbling through the desert in hopes of finding a way forward. Lillie's hunched so low over her machine that you can't see the screen at all. You just have to trust that she knows where all of you are headed.
As time goes on, though, you start to hear noises in the wind: roaring that's more than the sandstorm, dull thuds that might be explosions. Now and again the sand trembles beneath your feet, but it's not a sandile. In fact, the wild pokémon have stopped throwing themselves at you, too.
You know you aren't imaginging things once you start seeing flashes of light up ahead, in strange and shifting colors. Energy attacks.
"We're getting close!" Lillie yells. "That must be the battle up ahead. Let's hurry!"
You're nearly there! Sprint for 5 minutes to reach Guzzlord at last.
As you draw closer, you can see your target at last. It's an immense ultra beast with a body that seems to be mostly mouth, wicked pincers giving it many sets of jaws. It stands at the epicenter of the dark storm, with a large, pulsing ultra wormhole hanging overhead. Unlike the others you've seen, this one appears permanent, or at least, it shows no signs of closing for now.
The guzzlord's currently defending itself both from Nanu's team of dark-type pokémon and from Tapu Bulu, who's coated the surrounding desert sand with a thin carpet of vegetation, its attacks causing more plants to spring up wherever they fall. Under ordinary circumstances you'd be thrilled to see a mythical pokémon like that, but right now that's the least of your concerns. It's hard to tell how well it's doing against Guzzlord, but the ultra beast still looks plenty lively, snapping and snarling and firing powerful beam attacks from the mouths of its pincers.
Nanu isn't the only person out here in the desert, either. Barely visible behind the guzzlord's flank is a familiar blonde woman, watching the battle with obvious delight. Her mouth is moving; is she giving orders? Ranting away where no one can hear? By the expression on Lillie's face, you guess she's seen her mother, too.
It's time to end this. You start forward, and Hau dashes after you. "Stop," Gladion says, putting a hand on your arm. "We can't just go barging into a battle like this. Let's take a few minutes to prepare. We only get one shot at this, and we need to do it right.
You're itching to battle, but arguing with Gladion never goes well. Any minute now... any minute now, and you'll take your shot at saving Alola!
Write 300 words while you prepare for the final battle.
At last your teams are healed up, strategies have been discussed, and everything is prepared. Gladion will be the battle's heavy-hitter, with you supporting him. Hau and his pokémon will distract the guzzlord, something you're sure they'll be great at. And Lillie will be watching the whole time, just waiting for the moment when she can seal the beast away and end the battle once and for all.
"Are we ready?" Hau asks, and when Gladion nods, says, "Woo! Fistbumps, everybody!" Even Gladion joins in, if reluctantly.
"Good luck, you three," Lillie says. "Give it your best."
"What are you talking about, Lillie? You've got the toughest job of all of us. Good luck yourself," Hau says.
Lillie smiles and gives a decisive nod. "I will. And no matter what happens... I'm glad to have met you all. I know we can do this together."
"Come on," Gladion says. "Let's get this over with."
He leads the charge with Null at his side, Hau hot on his heels. The two of them blow past a startled Nanu, their teams fanning out around Guzzlord and sending out an opening volley of attacks. You'd better get in there and help out!
This is it, Trainer! When you're ready, check out the spoiler below to see your final challenge. And good luck!
Your path through Alola finally leads to this! All you can do is trust in your pokémon to see you through. One by one, call their names... May your words give them the strength to finish this fight!
- If you caught a pokémon on Ula'ula, it's their turn to do battle! Call them forward! If this is a native Alolan or Alola-form pokémon, write 50 words for each of Alola's four islands (200 words)! If not, write 100 words times the generation this pokémon first appeared in!
- If you caught a pokémon in Lush Jungle, send them in now! Do all of the following that apply: if you caught a grass-type pokémon, write for 5 minutes. If you caught a bug-type pokémon, write to the next multiple of 300 words. If the pokémon is any other type(s), write 100 words for each of them.
- If you caught a pokémon way back on Melemele, it's their turn! The memories you've made together will give them strength. Write 100 words, then write an additional 100 words for each time you've evolved this pokémon!
And, finally, the one who's been with you through everything... Who is your starter? It's time for them to make a final stand!
- If you chose the laid-back rowlet, write for a final ten minutes
- If you chose the fiery litten, write 400 words
- If you chose the playful popplio, write until you reach the next multiple of 500 words
- If you caught a pokémon on Ula'ula, it's their turn to do battle! Call them forward! If this is a native Alolan or Alola-form pokémon, write 50 words for each of Alola's four islands (200 words)! If not, write 100 words times the generation this pokémon first appeared in!
- If you caught a pokémon in Lush Jungle, send them in now! Do all of the following that apply: if you caught a grass-type pokémon, write for 5 minutes. If you caught a bug-type pokémon, write to the next multiple of 300 words. If the pokémon is any other type(s), write 100 words for each of them.
- If you caught a pokémon way back on Melemele, it's their turn! The memories you've made together will give them strength. Write 100 words, then write an additional 100 words for each time you've evolved this pokémon!
And, finally, the one who's been with you through everything... Who is your starter? It's time for them to make a final stand!
- If you chose the laid-back rowlet, write for a final ten minutes
- If you chose the fiery litten, write 400 words
- If you chose the playful popplio, write until you reach the next multiple of 500 words
