Trial 1

Team Skull Grunt Battle: You'll face a Level 11 Drowzee. Fighting and Poison types are ineffective. Dark, Ghost, and Bug types are recommended.

Progress Through Verdant Cavern: After defeating the Grunt, climb the east-most slope, crawl through a gap, and search the third small den to trigger the next battle.

Trial Captain's Pokémon Battle: Your opponent will be a Gumshoos (Ultra Sun) or an Alolan Raticate (Ultra Moon). Fighting-types are effective.

Totem Pokémon Battle: This is the final challenge. In Ultra Sun, you'll face a Level 12 Normal-type Gumshoos. In Ultra Moon, you'll face a Level 12 Normal/Dark-type Raticate. The Totem Pokémon gains a Defense boost at the start of the battle and will call for ally Pokémon (Yungoos for Gumshoos, Rattata for Raticate) if it has no allies. Focus on defeating the Totem Pokémon first to avoid fighting two Pokémon simultaneously. Fighting-types are highly effective, especially against Raticate due to its 4x weakness to Fighting moves. A traded Hawlucha with Karate Chop is also a strong option.

Exit Verdant Cavern: After defeating the Totem Pokémon, leap over the ledge, climb the slope to the left, and exit the cave through the north side.

Return to Route 2: You will meet Ilima outside the cave, who will unlock the captain's barricade, allowing you to proceed to Route 3.