Poni Island, the westernmost island in the Alola region, was protected by the guardian deity Tapu Fini.
According to legend, when Solgaleo and Lunala first descended upon Alola, they battled the four guardian deities within the island's great canyon. After subduing them, the two legendary Pokémon bestowed upon them the power to control Z-Power itself.
Because of this, the ancient people of Alola built the massive Sun and Moon Altar deep within Poni Canyon to worship the two legendary Pokémon.
At this moment, on the island's southern side along the Ancient Poni Path, a majestic Braviary slowly descended from the sky.
Peter jumped down from its back while holding Whitney's soft little hand.
They had come here to challenge the island trial.
"According to Principal Oak, the current island kahuna should live somewhere nearby," Peter said while glancing around curiously.
In the anime timeline, Poni Island originally had no island kahuna.
The previous kahuna, Hapu's grandfather, had already passed away by then, and later Hapu herself would earn Tapu Fini's recognition and become the next island kahuna.
But after investigating the current timeline, Peter discovered that Hapu's grandfather was still alive, which saved him quite a bit of trouble.
Just as the two of them were about to ask a nearby resident for directions, a small girl leading a brown horse approached from the road.
She was incredibly tiny, almost like an elementary school student. A blue patterned hat sat atop her head, while an enormous braid thicker than her own head hung behind her.
The horse she led possessed long black braided hair and heavy mud-like coverings wrapped around its hooves, giving it an imposing appearance.
"Mudsdale, the Draft Horse Pokémon. A Ground-type Pokémon that specializes in kicking opponents with mud-coated hooves. It's said that even massive trucks can be reduced to scrap metal with a single kick, Rotom!"
The moment Peter saw her, he immediately walked over.
He already recognized her.
This girl was Hapu, granddaughter of the island kahuna.
"Hello," Peter greeted politely. "Could you tell us where Island Kahuna Hapu's grandfather lives?"
Hapu frowned slightly upon hearing that.
"You two don't look like people from Poni Island. If you're tourists, you should just visit the other islands instead. There's nothing fun on Poni."
With that, she turned as if intending to leave.
"Wait!" Whitney hurriedly stopped her. "We came here to challenge the island trial. Could you at least point us in the right direction?"
"Don't know. Don't know anything. You should just leave."
Hapu immediately climbed onto Mudsdale and rode away with the heavy sound of pounding hooves.
Watching her obviously conflicted expression, Peter narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
"Let's follow her," he said. "We'll figure things out soon enough."
Following behind Hapu, Peter and Whitney soon arrived at a countryside home complete with a courtyard and farmland.
Rows of local Poni Radishes were growing throughout the fields.
"Grandpa! Grandma! I'm back!" Hapu shouted.
An elderly couple with snow-white hair soon emerged from the house.
The old man leaned heavily on a cane, his face carrying an obvious trace of exhaustion. He didn't look particularly healthy.
This was the current island kahuna—
Sofu.
"Hmm?" Sofu noticed Peter and Whitney standing outside the courtyard. "Do we have visitors?"
"Huh—?" Hapu turned around in surprise before spotting them again, immediately frowning. "Didn't I tell you to leave? Why are you following me? Poni Island can't hold island trials right now!"
"Hapu, don't be rude."
The grandmother lightly patted her head before apologetically explaining to Peter and Whitney,
"We're terribly sorry. The old man caught a bit of a cold recently. This child simply doesn't want her grandfather overworking himself anymore…"
"I see…" Whitney nodded in understanding.
When she was little, she used to worry constantly about her grandfather forcing himself to accept Gym battles while sick too.
Of course, after becoming a Gym Leader herself, she gradually realized adults weren't nearly as fragile as children imagined.
"Hello, sir," Peter said respectfully. "We came from another region and have already completed the trials on the other islands. We're hoping to quickly obtain the recognition of Poni Island's guardian deity. Would it be possible for you to arrange the trial for us?"
"No problem… cough, cough—!"
Sofu nodded, but before he could finish, he suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit.
"Grandpa!"
Hapu hurriedly supported him, her face full of worry.
"I'm fine… don't worry…" Sofu waved weakly before turning back toward Peter and Whitney.
"How about this? Head north to Poni Grand Canyon and challenge the Totem Pokémon there."
"If you succeed, the next trial will be assigned by Hapu. Once you complete both trials, come back to see me."
After saying that, Sofu gently grabbed Hapu's hand.
"The island trial is the duty of the kahuna. While I'm unable to act, you must fulfill that responsibility for me. Understood?"
Hapu hesitated briefly before finally nodding.
"I understand, Grandpa. Rest properly at home. I'll handle this trial."
Peter and Whitney naturally agreed as well.
Soon after, the two followed Hapu northward toward Poni Grand Canyon.
Along the way, Hapu shared some of the Poni Radishes she had grown herself. She also apologized for trying to chase them away earlier and voluntarily explained the situation inside the canyon.
According to her, in ancient times there had only been one true island trial location—
Poni Grand Canyon.
Because it served as the sole route leading toward the Sun and Moon Altar, the ancient Alolan royal family stationed powerful guardians there.
Those guardians were none other than Alola's pseudo-legendary dragon line—
Kommo-o.
Naturally, the strongest Kommo-o within the colony became the Totem Pokémon of the canyon. Empowered by the Totem aura, they eventually drove out nearly every other Pokémon species from the region and claimed the entire canyon for themselves.
In Hapu's words, not even her grandfather's Golurk could defeat that Totem Kommo-o.
"Kommo-o…" Peter murmured thoughtfully.
Back in his previous life, Kommo-o had been reasonably popular among fans as a pseudo-legendary Pokémon. It possessed its signature move Clangorous Soul, an absurdly powerful boosting technique that allowed it to function as a terrifying sweeper.
Clangorous Soul: Sacrifices a portion of HP to raise all stats by one stage.
Unfortunately, its Dragon/Fighting typing gave it a crippling four-times weakness to Fairy-type attacks, alongside four additional two-times weaknesses. Combined with its mediocre HP stat, successfully setting up boosting strategies was extremely difficult.
And honestly…
Aside from Jangmo-o's adorable first-stage form, the entire evolutionary line's appearance was somewhat questionable.
Though Cynthia's Kommo-o-themed outfit in Pokémon Masters actually looked pretty amazing.
As Peter mused to himself, the road gradually narrowed.
Towering canyon walls rose up on both sides.
Poni Grand Canyon—
They had arrived.
"Alright," Hapu said while pointing ahead. "That cave up front is where the Kommo-o line lives. Oh, right… you'd better wear earplugs before going inside."
Peter nodded before digging into his backpack and pulling out a pair of soundproof earplugs he normally used while sleeping. He carefully helped Whitney put them on.
For a Pokémon like Kommo-o that specialized in sound-based attacks, fighting inside a semi-enclosed cave environment would make its moves unimaginably dangerous.
"Well then," Peter said with a smile, "we're heading in."
"Good luck!" Hapu waved.
After saying goodbye, Peter and Whitney stepped into the dark cavern together.