> Pokémon Ultra Luna.
>  by Lieral
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 01- The beautiful light of the moon.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Another day is gone..." I said to myself with a sigh as the sound that indicates the finish of the last class of the day finally soared, followed by a general expression of relief coming from the students outside the closed door of the room I basically call as mine, since I spend most of my time here, inside the small and dark space that was the director's office. (Celestia spends most of her time prowling around the school looking for any breach that students might cause.)

I could not blame them, though, today was the only day lasting between them and their so long desired vacations and I could not blame myself for letting a really tired and grumpy sigh either. This one was a hell of a year in my opinion.

I frowned heavily. I have no idea what would be the reaction of someone seeing me like that... But what else could be done?

I sat on my chair recapitulating the past. One day long ago, I could say that this is just a school, a boringly normal school. But I was not complaining at that time, those were simple days, with nothing more to worry about than a phew cases of bullying or a bad day of lunch.

But this is not the case now.

If I have to guess, then I would say that everything started with Sunset Shimmer.

At first, she was the dream of every teacher, she not only was a fast learner, but she could also be compared to a genius. But that was just a facade. Soon she proved that her brilliant mind was being used in the wrong way, she was truly a bad person. And worst of all was the fact that both I and my sister knew about it, but she never left behind any solid proof.

We tried and tried to speak to her, make she understand that there is a better way to live. But just like a rock, impassible and stubborn, she never listened to our appeals.

And then, we learned that the mysterious red-haired girl was even more than she looks like. Someone from literally another world. And after her, another one came, and from that moment on, the disaster began... I watched helplessly as she put that damn crown on top of her head and literally become a Demon.

I was scared... Scared of her power, scared of what I could not understand.

But more than scared, I was angered! Angered with myself and my own stupid weakness. I could just watch as she literally threw a giant fireball toward some of my students.

It seemed that my head was spinning, and in my mind, I was only thinking about the possibility of one of those fireballs hitting and wounding my sister.

I closed my eyes, and I could feel my blood running faster inside my body just by thinking about that possibility... I promised I would never let anyone hurt her... Not again.

I heard someone at the door.

"May I come in?" A very familiar and soft voice asked just after she knocked on the door.

"It's your room, remember?" I joke as the image of my sister appeared in front of me.

"You should at least open the curtains," Celestia said and entered the room with both hands behind her back.

"I work better in the dark," I said with a small grin. 

"Right now we don't need to work anymore," She said and with a smile, she showed me what she had been hiding all this time, two glasses and a bottle of wine. "Let's enjoy a little!"

I smiled back. "If you say so," Celestia sat on the chair just in front of me and gave me an empty glass, just waiting for the purple liquid to be distributed.  I observed my older sister without much sentiment, (I never was known for being emotional), and noticed that she also observed me with a serious expression.

"A coin for your thoughts," Celestia said and gave me the completely filled glass of wine. I smirked, she always knew that if I had to choose between any kind of alcoholic option I would choose wine, or maybe Sake, but mainly those famous for being enjoyed while observing the moon (My favorite hobby.), but I also could see that her intentions with that drink were not just because she wanted a company for a drink.

"Just remembering the past," I said and decided to drink a little. The wine went down through my throat with the same feeling it always gave me, a single moment where I can feel my head just a little lighter, a single moment where I do not have to remember my terminal uselessness.

"Good or bad moments?" She asked and began to drink her own glass of wine, but in my mind, I could just think: She always knew how to read me...

Too bad I can play this game too. 

"If I have to say, bad." I simply answered after a quick gulp.

Celestia frowned a lot. "You shouldn't live in the past Luna." She said without noticing her own right hand automatically holding left arm, where I knew far too well that bellow all those clothes there is a single scar that still haunts me at night.

"I was not talking about it," I said and closed my eyes to enjoy another drink. I could not see, but I knew that Celestia should be with a funny expression, so I decided to let it out a little. "I was thinking about the most recent events in our school."

"Which one?" She asked with a small laugh. "The tyrant that became a demon? Or the magical beings that took control of our minds? Or maybe about the other Demon that appeared through the Friendship Games?"

I smiled bitterly. "Do not forget about the monster of the camp or the stone capable to erase memories!" She looked a little serious now and drank the rest of her drink, and so do I.

I put my glass closer to her that filled it up already trembling a little, she never was resistant to alcohol. "What exactly have you been thinking?" She asked and looked into my eyes, her checks already a little red betrayed her concentrated expression, I know she will not remember most of this conversation tomorrow morning.

"I was thinking that in the end, there is nothing I can do," I said and drank a really big gulp this time.

"What?" Celestia seemed really surprised by my statement. "What are you talking about?" She asked without turning away her gaze.

"During all those occasions, there was really nothing I could do to help... Nor the students... Nor you..." I said and stood up. I walked slowly toward the window and I opened it with a single movement, letting the majestic moonlight enter through the window almost like a breath of a fresh wind. "And in one of them, I was also controlled by one of those monsters!"  

"So was I!" Celestia said standing up with her two trembling legs she was not angered, instead, she just wants to let it clear that it was not my fault... As always...

I turned toward her. I actually do not know what my expression looks like, but it must be something really bad since Celestia seemed shocked by seeing me like that. "But in the end, you are the one to deal with all the problems those situations created," I said and closed my eyes for a second, thinking about some even older problem caused... WAY older ones...

Again she sat down on her chair and let another drink go down into her body. "You cannot live in the past..." She interlaced the fingers of both hands and propped herself on the table, and then laid down her head on top of her hands her majestic hair seemed almost ethereal with the soft moonlight hitting it.

She said it naturally, but for me, it was easy to say that she managed to understand what I have been thinking as easily as she does with some students, I hate when she does that, but I just bared my teeth, after all, I knew she was right.

A loud 'Thump' caught my attention. Turning my face toward my sister I saw her head laying on the table with her eyes closed and her multicolored hair falling on her face.

I smiled. 'Such a weakling against alcohol.'  





Most people did not know, but both my sister's and my physical strength are way above the regular. Applejack is easily the strongest person in this school now, and her brother, the one called Big Mac, was considered the strongest student in his years of study, probably a little stronger than she is without her magical pendant, and he once tried to have an arm wrestling against my sister in front of all the school... It was really fun to see everyone's face when he did not move a single inch toward his objective, and instead, it was an unforgettable defeat.

And I am not kidding when I say that I am not even a little below her level, that is the reason why taking Celestia in my arms just like a princess and take her toward my car was easy as pie, luckily there was no one to see it. She used her arms to unconsciously hug me and laid her head on my shoulder

I smiled and laid her in the back seat of the car and adjusted it to make her comfortable. From that moment on, it was easy to drive back to our home.





The only veranda of our house is in my own room, on the third floor of the house, and like every night I just sit in a comfortable chair watching the moon with a large mug of hot coffee.

Most people say that is not a good idea to drink coffee at night, but for me, it this is almost a ritual. A single moment of the day where I can simply watch the moon and the stars in the night calmness.

Sometimes (maybe more than I would like to admit), I drink some kind of alcoholic drink instead of coffee, but since I already drank a little today, I thought it would be a good idea to drink something lighter.

"There are almost no stars at all, tonight," I said it to myself, a custom so long acquired. The sky is cloudy, and the only light able to surpass the sea of clouds that covers the heavens is none other than the beautiful light of the moon, which looks especially great today.

I closed my eyes. I do not know why, but for some reason I feel extremely nostalgic today, memories from recent and old events crossed my mind uninterruptedly. But I do not think this is really a problem, sometimes I think nights like this one are nothing more than a simple reminder, a moment of remembrance of you did of right and wrong, and how to not commit the same mistakes of your past.

With my eyes still closed I smiled bitterly. Mistakes are definitely a subject I understand a lot about.

While I was lost in my own thoughts, it was when suddenly I felt a violent change in the wind, something unusual at the height I found myself in. And then I made the mistake of opening my eyes for the first time in minutes of self-reflection and self-judgment. 

Just above me, I could see what seems to be like stars in the sky, but that should not be possible considering the cloudy night.

A single and growing crack in the air was in front of me.

My eyes widened with surprise a single second before I was suddenly swallowed by it.
> Chapter 02- Kukui
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

To myself, to the universe or even the multiverse and to anyone that can listen to me, I need to say I am sorry but I DO need to ask something...

WHAT. THE. FUCKING. HELL. JUST. HAPPENED?

I do not know what was that crack in the air, but I am sure that it should not be part of my peaceful night. When I was swallowed by that thing I could do nothing but try to scream in horror, but not even my voice could escape that thing. The next thing I knew was the fact that I was falling... maybe from the same height as my veranda, and I fell in which seems to be... Sand?

Where is the logic?

Calm down, Luna! First, we need to think... Where are we? I thought to myself. And that ended up actually being a good idea, with an objective in mind I can think clearly, so, now I need to analyze my surroundings.

I opened my eyes slowly but continuously. The sky is beautiful tonight, there are so many stars in my sight that it would be impossible to count all of them... Shit.

"If there are so many stars that means I am not in my home, am I right?" I asked the nothingness, for some reason, my own voice sounded different, but considering that I fell from a high place some kind of collateral damage is expected.  

I tried to stand up, but my body does not seem to be responding right now. Perfect, all I needed now is the possibility of having broken my spine. besides, I feel a lot of pain in my head, I probably hit it when I fell, and it is getting harder to keep my eyes open.

"Not good..." I said to myself as my eyes are getting heavier and heavier. NO, I have to keep my mind working!' I looked at my side and saw the sea and sand, which means beach.

Why a beach?

"Well, I do not think I should be complaining," Considering the fall, I do not think I would have survived such height if falling on concrete.

I tried to move my arms again. It worked a little, I felt a lot of pain and it did not move too much either. 'Shit...'

I knew I could not give up yet. If I faint now there is the possibility that I will not wake up again. I do not need to wait for long, though.

After a few minutes, I heard steps. The sound was soft thanks to the sand, but after that, I listened to a strong male voice calling.

"Huh? Hey, you, Are you 'kay?" He asked and his steps became a lot more frenetic as if he started to run. I tried to answer, but unlike my other tries, this time my voice failed to me.

Finally, the man got in my view... Or part of him, all I could see were large, strong muscles, seen from beneath a lab coat.

And that's when I blacked out.





'How long do I slept?' That was my first thought when I felt my conscience coming back to me, I could not open my eyes, but I could feel that I was laid on some kind of couch.

"Yeah, I know! First Lillie three months ago and now this! I don't think this is a coincidence!" The same male voice I heard before I blanked out saying, but I could hear no answer.

"I know," He said despite the lack of an audible answer. Maybe he is talking on the cell phone. "I know it, but I need to see Hala in a few minutes. She is unconscious, and I did tests to see if she have any kind of damage, but despite the really loud sound from the impact, she seems completely fine! I will go to speak with Hala and will be back soon."

However is that man, he seems to be worried about my state, I should take this as a lucky shot, I do not know where I am, but at least I found someone kind enough to help me.

"Stay here until I am back!" Surprisingly he said that to me. I do not think he knows I am awake yet, but his steps suddenly got faster and the sound of a door being opened and closed could be heard.

Now I am alone... Probably.

Again I tried to open my eyes, but it took me a while to do it, luckily I always healed a lot faster than most people did, a mysterious I never really understand, but after my knowledge of other worlds and magical worlds I decided to believe it is simply magic. Meanwhile, I used my other senses to think where could I be.

The sound of waves are still present, and I could not hear any kind of sound made by people, which means it is still night. A strange pounding echoed, and it did not resemble any kind of bird I knew, which is troublesome since it means I am far from my place. 

Where am I right now? I wondered and tried to force my memory to work despite my actual state of numb. something about that crack in the air was somehow oddly familiar to me... Think Luna, Think...

Crack in the air... Reality breaking apart... The own space shattering...

MIDNIGHT SPARKLE!

I opened my eyes at once. The shock of the remembrance took away any kind of slumbering. The last time I saw something like that was when Twilight Sparkle was corrupted by equestrian magic and opened holes in the air that connected both realities!

Did that mean I am in this place called Equestria now?

Probably not. According to the few that lived or saw that place, there were no humans there, and the body I saw when that man came to help me was definitely a manly one.

It was not safe to say I am in another world yet, but it is not a theory to be discarded right now.

While wondering where I am I did not notice that I was watching the roof of that place I found myself in with a lot of interest. Even from the inside, the ceiling was VERY reassembled, with holes of varying sizes and shapes, as if it were constantly attacked by something.

I turned my head slowly, and my body does not hurt anymore, I was on the couch inside some kind of small house, in front of me there is some kind of stairs leading to underground just beside the door. I sat up and turned my gaze to the other part of the house, which seems to have an improvised second floor with a pink stair attached to the wall.

I definitely never saw that place before.

Standing up with not much effort, I decided to walk and observe that place. On this floor, there is not much to be seen beside a kitchen and some decorations not very flashy, but what really caught my attention is the fact that the walls also have numerous holes and patches.

Turning my head I saw a large aquarium occupied a good part of the wall right next to the phone, but what caught my attention was not the fact that it was made to look like the ocean floor, but the fishes...

I heard about some fishes that resemble a heart, but not like this. With a relatively flat body in the shape of a heart, this strange fish was not like anything I have seen.

Hell, where am I?

That was my this was my only concern until I realized a little detail while observing the aquarium... Staring back at me there is a girl, a girl with long black hair, and a pale blue skin, just like mine. Honestly, it looks exactly like me in my young times, which brought me back to bad memories...

Not behind or at my side, but exactly where I should be staring at the glass. I moved my right arm and the reflex followed my actions. I rested my forehead on the glass, scaring the fishes, and the reflex does exactly the same. I smiled bitterly.

And here was I thinking that it could not get worse.

The door opened and I turned to see whoever is there, but there is no one.

Instead, there is what looks like a small dog, It has a primarily light brown with a darker brown muzzle, paws, and ear tips. It has large blue eyes, button ears, a short muzzle with a triangular pink nose, and a short tuft of fur on each cheek. Around its neck is a ruff of grayish-white fur stubbed with dark brown pebbles. The dark brown markings on its paws extend to a thin point on each wrist and ankle. It has a grayish-white tail that curls tightly over its back and is covered in fluffy fur.

And he seems really surprised to see me. 

Just my luck...

Most dogs have some kind of primal instinct instructing him to protect his territory. And that one seems to have a hell of an instinct.

He tackled me with impressive speed, honestly, I do not know how my reaction speed had been enough to dodge this. He did not manage to stop until he crashed on the wall with his head, opening a really big hole for something with his size. And I knew I should be impressed by his physical strength and endurance since he was not even dizzy, but most of my mind was just focused on one thing.

That explains a lot about the holes in this place.

He turned to face me again, but this time I am not unprepared, I assumed a more rigid posture and I held the arm of the couch with one of my hands while maintaining eye contact with the dog.

He attacked me again, but this time with a single arm, I effortlessly trowed the entire couch toward him. I smiled in triumph for a second, my physical strength is the same as when I had around my 12 years old, much smaller than my actual one, but still monstrous when compared to the others.

But my moment of victory did not last long. As the couch was flying toward the dog, I saw during a single moment he opened his mouth, and around it, a much bigger mouth appeared, magically formed in front of my eyes from thin air, and he literally bites the couch in two with those magical teeth of his. 

Okay, little dog, now I am impressed!

I am not proud to say I started to run toward the door like a coward, but that is exactly what I did.

That proved to be a horrible idea as soon as I stepped outside the house. I was close to the ocean, and the night sky was simply amazing, this time it even has some fallen stars here and there, but my problems lie elsewhere.

Creatures... A whole bunch of creatures I never saw before walked at night in the tall grass or was staring me from the roof of the small house, just like that black bird with feathery tufts on its head resembling a witches hat. Luckily most of them decided to ignore me.

But not the dog.

"Seriously, what have I done to you?" I asked as the dog stepped on the stairs. He still wanted to fight, I can see the fire in his eyes. "Okay, if you do not stop," I assumed a combat posture that was part of my life so long ago. "I will stop you in a hard way!" I said confidently, now I have a lot more of space, if there is a place where I have a chance, it is this one.

But I do not have to act at all. Just when I thought I would have to rely on violence, I was saved by the stranger trio I had seen. 

Three creatures interweave between me and the dog, the first one is a small, avian resembling a young owl with a round body and short legs. Its plumage is primarily brown with a white underside and a strange facial disc. The facial disc itself is in the shape of two overlapping circles. It has large black eyes and a stubby beak. The top part of its beak is white, while the lower half is an orange-brown.

The second one is a quadruped, feline covered with primarily black fur. It has a short muzzle with a tiny, black nose, red eyes with yellow sclera, and short, pointed ears with pale gray insides. There are two red stripes around each of its legs and two horizontal stripes with a vertical stripe across them on its forehead. The lower part of his face is also red, and there is a large tuft of fur on each cheek. 

And the third one is a is a pinniped that is primarily blue. It has large eyes, a long, white snout with black whiskers, and a round, pink nose. There is a small, rounded earflap on each side of its head. Around its neck is a light blue ruff, which extends past its shoulders. It has four flippers. The front flippers are larger than the hind and have white markings separating its toes.

All of them simply stood between me and the dog, I did not know if this would be able to stop the dog from attacking me, but he seemed to recognize those three since he suddenly stopped and sat down at the stairs.

I did not know who or what are those three, but with their help, I finally decided I could let my heart slow down.

Those three turned to face me. The owl for some reason begun to spin in his place with a large smile. The cat just showed his emotions with a meow, and the stranger one was the seal, that suddenly begun to somersaults in the same place, it was actually a little impressive.

"Thank you," I said smiling to the trio, But when I opened my mouth another voice talked.

"Hey there," My heart suddenly accelerates again with that scare. "I think I have said to you to stay inside, and I am pretty sure you listened." 

I turned to face the owner of the voice. He is a young man with a VERY muscular physique (definitely those are the same muzzles that saved me), has dark eyes, black hair, a black man bun, and a goatee. He wears a white hat with a rainbow decoration in the front, he also wears glasses with a teal frame, a white lab coat with rolled-up sleeves, grey baggy pants with a teal stripe and white ribbon and some teal shoes with white outline. 

He did not seem angry, but a little playful. I did not answer at first mainly for not knowing what to answer.

"You OK? I saw you got attacked by the Rockruff."

So that's his name, huh? "Yeah, but I got a bit of help." I simply answered.

"Looks like you did," He smiled, showing his white teeth. "Though, I sure didn't expect that, Yeah... I didn't think those little fellows would dash out on their own to save a stranger! But I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. Welcome to Alola, the Pokémon paradise, mind if I ask your name? That's what I'm supposed to be saying."

"It would be a good idea to say your name first, do not you think?" I said crossing my arms and looking him into his eyes, what is pretty hard considering the difference in our sizes.

He does not seem even a little ashamed as he answered my question. "I'm Kukui, the Pokémon Professor!"
> Chapter 03- Pokémon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Pokémon?" Now that I think about it is the second time he says that word. But now I am the one getting ahead of myself. "My name is Luna."

"Huh?" For a moment he seemed surprised. "You don't know what Pokémon is?" He asked.

"I would love a clarification," I answered lowering my arms.

"People and Pokémon work together here in Alola," He said and pointed to my three little saviors. "Those three, plus the Rockruff that attacked you, are all Pokémon."

I turned to face those three again.

"If you have a Pokémon by your side you can go anywhere, yeah, but it's a little dangerous to go alone since wild Pokémons might be waiting to attack you in the tall grass," He said and started to walk toward the house I just left. "But let's not talk here, come in and I'll explain everything."

I walked in his direction with those Pokémon by my side, but I was suddenly stopped by a loud yell coming from Kukui as he put both hands on his head. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY GRANDMOTHER'S COUCH?"

What a nice start for a conversation...





The couch had been divided in two, which did not stop Kukui from sitting in one half while I sat on the other half in front of him.

"And that's the resume I guess," He said after he finished his explanation. "But I don't think that's what you wanted to hear, yeah?"

Now I am the one holding my forehead with a hand while fighting back a headache.

Basically, he explained what are pokemon, how people use pokemon battle to solve almost anything and most bases that a trainer needs to know to battles, such as weakness, resistances, status attacks and a little about different pokemon species and evolution.

And that basically confirms the theory that I am actually in another world... Or I might just be dreaming, but I do not think I am that lucky.

"Can you please give me a lot of coffee?" I asked.

He seemed to understand my need since he stood up from his half of the couch and went to the kitchen.

"OK, just wait for a little while and tell me if anyone comes in, I'm waiting for a visitant."

"Is the man called Hala?" I asked.

"I knew you were awake when I said for you not to leave!" He said triumphantly. "But no, it's actually his grandson." 

"Great..." First of all, I need to think. If there is anything Sunset Shimmer taught me, is that if you are in another world, you do not say it out loud for everyone, it is better to keep it a secret for now.

He came back with a big mug of coffee, which I drank really fast.

"Wow, your stomach seems like a Snorlax's!" He said impressed as the hot coffee went down my throat with one gulp.

"And I guess I should know what is a Snorlax," I said putting my mug aside.

"It's a Pokémon," He said smiling.

"I guessed that much," I answered and laid back on the couch. With my head a little clearer now I could finally process everything that had been happening. I sighed. 

"Hey, Luna, where do you come from?" Kukui asked still smiling, but he could not trick me. Unlike some people, I am really good in reading the eyes of the other, and his eyes are vivid, almost on fire, and mainly, they are intelligent, way more intelligent than he wants people to think.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked back.

"OK," This time he was the one to sigh. "Let me change my question: Considering how I found you I would guess you fell from a high place, higher than you may think actually, and the fact that you didn't know what Pokémon are still impressed me, but what I wanted to ask is..."

I sat up again, for some reason, I think his question will be way more important than my comfort.

"Wherever you came from, even if during a single second, do you think you had seen some kind of weird crack in the sky?"

WHAT?

"You..." I narrowed my eyes. "What exactly do you know?"

"May I take it as a yes?" 

I sighed. "Yes, you may."

His eyes shined with excitation. "I knew it!" He said and stood up with a jump. "You came from an Ultra-Wormhole!"

"What?" I asked.

"Let me guess, the reason you didn't know what pokemon are, is because you came from another universe, and in that universe, Pokémon didn't even exist! Am I Right?"

Wow, I think I just cleared the record of secret keep for less time of the universe.

"Man, you are good," I simply said, "Now, do you mind to explain me?"

"Ultra-Wormholes are extremely rare events that occur in this world, it is believed that it lead to another universe, but it is so rare that we have very little details about it!" He said sitting down as I frowned.

"So, it means my chances of going back are few, am I right?" 

"Wow, you're a pretty pessimistic girl, aren't you?" He asked with a laugh. "Even if that is true, your chances aren't zero!"

"What do you mean?" I asked surprised.

"My wife is a famous scientist specialization in Ultra-Wormholes," He said as if it was nothing and my eyes widened. "BUT, she is on another island at this moment."

"Okay, that means I will have to stay here for a while," I said and leaned back.

"This is true," He said and leaned back against the couch too. "But, do you mind if I ask something?"

"Go ahead, I do not think I have a reason to keep anything from you now."

"Why is your body like that?"

"Excuse me?"

"Like... Blue!"

"It is not common to have different skin colors here?"

"Yes and no, we DO have different colors, but not like yours."

"Does that mean I can not get in public?" I asked with a sigh.

"Or we could just say you have a rare condition that makes your skin looks like that!"

I smiled. "You solve problems in a very simple way, for a professor, do you not?"

He laughed. "It's not the first time I listen to that phrase," 

"Why am I not surprised?" My smile did not fade away. "Anyway, since I am already here, what can I do to spend my time and help to find a way home?" I asked.

"Well, my first option would be becoming a Pokémon trainer!" He said naturally.

"Is it that easy?" 

"To become a trainer? Yeah. To become a good trainer? Not even a little!" He answered with his characteristic smile.

"Okay, I gave up!" I said to myself, in the end, if I can not change the reality, I may at least follow the flow. "I will sign in, show me what I have to do!"

"The first part is to choose your starter!"





"This is the grass type Pokémon, Rowlett," He said pointing to the little owl that helped me before. "He may have a cute appearance, but this is the only one between those three that already have a second type."

"Interesting..." I said staring at him attentively.

"And this is the fire type pokémon, Litten," He said pointing to the cat. "He only shows his emotional side to those he really trust, plus his final evolution has a really strong attack."

"Cute..." I commented.

"And this little girl here, is the water type pokemon, Popplio," He showed me the little blue seal. "Honestly this is probably the less popular starter ever," He said with a sad expression. "People look at her and misjudge what they see, and this little one always wanted to show her potential." He finished the explanation with a nod.

At first, the rock, paper, and scissor system seem a good one, considering their types, but one of them caught my attention more than the others...

A little girl, always in the shadows of someone else and trying to show her valor...

I walked toward Popplio that seemed extremely surprised and held her in my arms. I looked into her eyes with a silent question, a question that means I do not want this to be a one-sided decision: Do you trust me to be at your side?

Popplio gave me the brightest smile I have ever seen, accepting me as her trainer. 

"Well, it's decided then," Kukui said smiling too. "Why don't you give her a name, yeah?"

"A name?" I wondered for a second before I answered. "Welcome to my party, Moon!"
> Chapter 4- Hau
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, you went with Popplio, What a fine-looking team you are! Now that you can have a pokemon battle, you are what we call a pokemon trainer," He said and gave me a strange ball, half red and half white with a black strip on the middle. "And this is her Pokeball. She will feel nice and cozy inside of it."

"Pokeball?" I asked.

"It's how we carry the pokemon around, but if you prefer you may let her walk by your side too."

I clicked the button in the middle of the Pokeball, and suddenly, a white trace of light involve Moon and went back to the Pokeball carrying her somehow into it. 

"interesting technology..."

"Woo, nice one, now it's time to meet the Island Kahuna!"

"Island Kahuna?" I asked.

"Truth is, that partner Popplio of yours is a gift from the Kahuna, not me. So, let's go and say proper thank you to him, and you may even receive other gifts from him."

"Other gifts?"

"Well, it's better for us to go to Iki Town, they're starting the preparations to a festival, and I think you can learn about pokemon battles on the way too."

"Okay..." I said as we went outside.





That's definitely quite an interesting team... I thought to myself while watching the alien from another world and the rejected starter working together.

At first, Luna was worried about Popplio's well being, but just like every trainer I meet before, once she understands that the trainer isn't the only one having fun, she went all out to win.

The first pokemon she fought was a Yungoos, perfect for beginners.

Now we are half way to Iki Town and after ten straight battles, both of them are still full of energy, Yeah.

I looked ahead where Iki Town is almost in sight and wandered about those two, mainly the taller one. Most beginners are only interested in beating his opponent with sheer brute strength, using his stronger moves in the first opportunity, but she is not like that.

She understood immediately the concept of status moves and applied it to her first battle perfectly, predicting the right time the Yungoos would not attack or defend. Definitely not the way of thinking of a child, Yeah...

Plus, she also had no problem in understanding the concept os the Ultra-Wormhole or other worlds and accepted all of that with surprisingly calm.

Frankly, who's this child?

Unfortunately or not, my wondering was stopped by a late guest. 

Descending the stairs just at the entry of Iki Town, a big-hearted boy appeared. Hau, the Kahuna's grandson begun to run as soon as he saw me, but to my surprise, he passed straight through and went to talk with Luna.

"Hey, hey, who are you? Are you new here? Welcome to Alola, have you choose your starter yet?" He said all of that with a smile so bright it kinda hurt my eyes. Luna's eyes widened for some reason... Honestly, she accepted she's in another world easily, but a single Hau can put that expression in her face? "Oh, yeah, my name is Hau, what's your name?"

"Luna," Her face is back to the normal, but she still answered slowly.

"I couldn't wait to pick up my starter, so I came to see the professor," He finally has seen to notice that Poppli... I mean, Moon was just at her side. "Whoa, your Popplio is so cool! Hey, wait, you already picked your pokemon?"

"Sorry about that, Hau," I said making the boy turn in my direction. "We had a little problem on the way here, so I let Luna chose her pokemon first."

"Fair enough, I guess it was just fate for you guys to meet."

"But you can still choose one of these two, Hau," I said as Litten and Rowlet gave a step forward each.

"I'm sorry, but I always knew who would be by my side," That's rare, to most kids this is a hard decision, some of them gives this decision the title of 'most difficult of my life!'... But I shouldn't be surprised by that. "Litten, I choose you!" Litten immediately understood and ran toward him. "Alola, friend! we're going to do so much awesome stuff together! Just you wait and see! Hey, Professor, you better take care of Rowlet there!"

Frankly, they could run a power plant using this boy's energy. "You better bet I will," I said smiling. "Now, Rowlet, everyone, back to the Pokeball!"

"Wait up! I and Litten have a favor to ask," He turned to face Luna again, this time, with Litten at his side. "Be our opponent in our first ever pokemon battle together!"

Ho! Now that's interesting, the grandson of the Kahuna that always lived between pokemon or the little genius from another world, that had her first contact with pokemon today? That's a match I'll be glad to see! And to my surprise, as soon as I turned my face to see Luna, the fire in her eyes was almost visible to the naked eye.

"As you wish!" She answered with a decisive tone.

"All right, I'll seriously enjoy this!"





The first thought I had about that Hau was simple...

MY GOODNESS, PINKIE PIE CAME TO ANOTHER WORLD AND BECAME A BOY!

A single second after that I could not believe I just had that thought.

But now, here we are, separated by a few meters with only our pokemon between us, in both of our first real battle against another trainer, and his eyes showed a sign of courage I rarely see, and never in someone at his age. I smiled, just like Pinkie Pie, if I have to be honest, I would have to say, I like this boy.

"Okay, Litten, I choose you!" He said and stretched out his arm.

"Mrawr!"

"Moon, it is time to test what we learned up to now!" I said confidently.

"Bwark!"

"Litten, use scratch!" Hau ordered and his Litten obeyed ready, using a speed far superior to any pokemon I have seen, he closed the distance between him and moon within the blink of an eye and attacked using his claws.

Moon took the damage quite well, but instead of ordering an direct water-based attack I decided for a different approach. "Moon, use growl!" she listened to my voice and immediately make a strange sound that seemed to affect Litten's sensitive cat ears. 

"Nice one! Litten, use growl too!"

I smiled, I knew he would do it.

"Moon, now use water gun!"

"What?"

Without a doubt his Litten is the fastest one here, but after seeing me using an attack he also posses, his childish and competitive mind decided it is a good idea to fight fire with fire, and while he is occupied trying to use his status move, my Moon projected a heavy water attack that hit fair and square on the poor Litten's face, but yet he refused to fall. But drying his black fur makes he lose some precious seconds.

"Now use pound!" Moon obeyed without questioning and attacked her opponent using her head.

"Litten use scratch!" Hau yelled and just like my Moon, his Litten obeyed and attacked using his claws again, but with a smile, I noticed that it had no much effect, since just like my Popplio, his Litten is weakened by the growl, the only difference lies in the fact that Moon is not a physical attacker.

"NOW THAT YOU ARE CLOSE USE WATER GUN!" I Yelled, and Hau finally seemed to understand my strategy.

"LITTEN, TRY TO AVOID THAT!" He yelled but it was not possible considering how close these two are, and Moon's attack hit her target with a ferocity strength since her sp. stat had not being lowered, and Litten was sent flying away hitting a big tree.

I looked at the fallen cat with a blank expression, but now that the battle is finished I finally noticed how fast my heart is racing. fighting another trainer is totally different from fighting wild pokemon, that is for sure.

But what really caught me off guard was Moon jumping on my arms with a single jump. I almost let her fall, but luckily I managed to hold her before it happens. She smiled so brightly that I actually smiled too. Despite the difference in species there is no denying that she is a good girl.

"Our first defeat, sorry Litten," Hau said taking Litten in his arms and then into the Pokeball. I put Moon inside her Pokeball too and went to talk with Hau and say sorry for having wounded his Litten, but he closed our distance before I could have given a step toward him. "Whoa, you and your Popplio were both so cool, that was awesome!" he said almost jumping in the same place. "For me, the important is to have the kinda battle were everyone has fun! You and your partner too y'know?"

"Right on, Luna! You and Hau both brought ou the best in your partners, and pulled out some incredible moves there." Kukui said approaching us with small steps.

"Hey Luna, Iki Town is right up those stairs, you should totally check it out!" Hau said somehow already waiting for us at the stairs... Someone has to write down that we never should give this boy coffee... Never.

"He is right, once we get there we will search for the Kahuna," Kukui said and I nodded. Hau awaited for us at the stairs with his wide grin still on his face. Once we were at his side he asked:

"Hey, Luna, may I ask you something?"

"Go ahead," I said already climbing the stairs.

"Why is your skin blue?"
> Chapter 05- Lillie and Nebby
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Iki Town was way smaller than I had predicted. With exception of three houses, most of the other houses were distant from each other and in the middle of them all, where there is what should be some sort of square, there is a strange kind of ring.

Hau went straight to the bigger house there, probably from that 'Kahuna' and went inside energetically.

"Looks like the Kahuna isn't here," Kukui said and turned his face toward the big central area, where some tents, probably of food, were already being assembled. "Why don't you explore this place a little, yeah?"

"Explore?" I wondered about it... It does not seem to have many places to see around here...

That is what I thought until I saw far from my own location some kind of path bellow two big trees with some kind of totem stone at each side of it. I decided to check it out while I can.

I walked toward it without another word, but as soon as I got closer, I discovered someone already had the same idea. A small blonde girl, probably she has the same age as Hau, dressed in a white dress and hat with a big and suspicious bag.

Of course, I followed her. 

If there is something that my experience as Vice-Principal taught me, is that a young one with a big bag is not a good combination... Seriously, never trust someone with a big bag at the first sight.

She went through the path with a normal pace, and I followed her just a little behind, not far enough to lose her of my sight, nor close enough for her to notice.

We walked through a zigzag path until it reached its end, opening in space and following to a really old bridge. When she got closer to the bridge I was surprised to listen to her voice speaking to someone close, I thought she had noticed me, but suddenly her bag begun to shake and make a strange sound.

"Pew!"

"I know, I know, I'll take you to the ruins. So please stay in the bag until we got there." She answered and restarted her walk toward that bridge, but as soon as she passed through four totem stones, the bag suddenly gave a jolt forward, pulling her along. "WAIT, NEBBY!"

As for instinct, I followed her running too, but they were way ahead of me. She struggled to keep her bag under control, but before she managed to control the bag, from inside it a pokemon flew.

"PEW!" With that cute sound that pokemon that seemed some kind of gaseous mass (Does that even exist?) flew straight to the middle of the bridge sparkling a little, where it suddenly got attacked by a bunch of bird like pokemon, but instead of fighting back the pokemon just tried to keep itself a little safer, but it was not having any success.

I ran toward the girl that stopped just at the entry of the bridge with a horrified expression.

"Who are you?" Asked before I could interrupt myself, there are a time and place for everything.

"H-Help, please, save Nebby!" She held and shake my arms in desperation, her hat almost fell from her head with such sudden movement and her green eyes are filled with despair. "I'm not a trainer, so I can't..."

I sighed internally. That girl is almost crying, pleading for help to the first person she saw. Even if I wanted to, it is really hard to say 'no' in such a situation.

So, instead of saying anything else, I gave her the Pokeball containing my little Moon to hold, since there is no way that battling on that old bridge seems to be a good idea. And just like that, I jolted forward.

If it was a stupid idea? Of course, it was. Even with just one pokemon in that bridge (and four other attacking, but hey, they are not touching the bridge), the bridge was making some really serious cracks sounds. And that was when the first of the birds decided to attack me.

The pokemon is fast, but I managed to avoid it somehow, but it showed its price, the pokemon did not stop in time and hit part of the bridge that trembled dangerously. I kept running, but the pokemon did not give up and tackled again, but this time, his claws managed to let a big cut in my arm. I stopped, holding my left arm that seemed to be cut by three very sharp blades.

The pokemon strike back, and this time I lost my patience. As soon as it got closer I used my right hand to hit it with a small fraction of my strength and I hit it so hard that it flew toward the logs of the bridge and broke one of them in half and fell onto the precipice.

"I hope that have hurt," I commented to myself and restarted my race. I jumped the broken log and tried to maintain my balance, but it is a little hard when your 'ground' does not help you at all.

Running I almost fell twice more, and I was beginning to wonder how long is that bridge... Seriously, it looks smaller when you are not on it. But, the good part is that after that, I finally managed to reach the strange purple and blue pokemon. I tried to keep those birds away, but they had the advantage over us.

I kneeled down and tried to protect the pokemon with my body. These birds must be really convinced to hurt this little guy since they do not even stop for a second when I came to protect it, and immediately started to attack my back with their claws.

I could feel their claws slashing through my clothes and my back with sheer strength. I closed one of my eyes and groaned in pain, my back started to feel numb, and my face was already covered by sweat.

"Pew?" I looked down at the pokemon I was protecting, and finally managed to see it better.  It is a small Pokémon with a gaseous body similar to a nebula, It has two wisp-like extensions that must serve as arms and an ellipse running down its body. Its front and back are black in color, and his cute face with shining checks is looking at me with nothing more than worry and fear on it.

I smiled to comfort the small pokemon, and soon after that I turned to face that girl, and what I saw... was basically myself.

The girl is almost crying and looking helpless as I tried to save her friend and failed miserably. Yes, I can say I understand this feeling far too well.

Suddenly, bellow me an unbelievable heat began. I turned my face to the small pokemon and saw his own face contorted with effort. I did not understand what it wanted to do until the heat that emanates from it grew more and more.

And that is when the entire bridge exploded.

Somehow he managed to keep me safe from the explosion, but without our 'ground' we began our fall toward the end of our life. I hugged it and turned my body to absorb most of the damage, I do not know why I did it, but when I did, I again saw that little girl again. The terror on her expression was something I could see even from here.

It is funny that my last vision in life will be a self-reflex in someone else's face.

I closed my eyes... I am sorry Celestia, it seems I will not be able to come back and help you with the school. I am sorry Moon, looks like our journey was smaller than I had predicted.

But even in that situation I smiled. Now, even if during a single second, I understand what is like to be the one saving someone else, and not being a useless person...

That is a good feeling, I think I can live with the fact that I died that way.

A sound of various birds being beaten at the same time caught my attention and I opened my eyes again.

That is when I saw it... Blackhead and torso with white markings on its chest, just above its eyes, and on top of its head. Extending from the top of its head is a large, orange plume with bristles along the back. There is a yellow marking covering the top bristle and half of the bristle below it. The bottom of this crest goes all the way to its neck, where it divides its face in half and creates a beak-like nose.  

But just like everything I meet, what really matters are his eyes, his small, blue eyes with yellow markings behind them. He is looking deep inside of mines, we could read each other with easy.

I do not know what he saw in my eyes, but I know what I saw in his: Energy, ferocity and an untamed spirit that challenged me silently.

I narrowed my eyes in challenge. It does not matter if it is here and now or not, But I know we will fight each other someday... Someday not far away.

He wrapped me in his arms and carried me flying back to the side of the mysterious girl in white. He let me fall again toward the ground and jumped away from me and the girl in a fashion manner. He stared the pokemon in my arms for a second, and as fast as he appeared, he flew away like a lightning.

I sighed and stood up, the pokemon I was holding immediately flew from my arms and went toward that girl.

"Pew!"

"Oh, thank goodness," She kneeled and hug him, but soon her voice changed to an almost angry one. "You tried to use your power again, didn't you? You know what happened the last time you used it, you couldn't move for ages! I don't want to see you like that again."

I look at her but she seems to be thinking about something and changed her voice again.

"No, I know I shouldn't say that I know you were trying to save that time... And I couldn't even help you in return."

"Pew," The pokemon freed from her arms and went toward where the other pokemon had been and pointed something out whit his appendages.

"What is that?" The girl and asked walking toward it. "A sparkling... Stone? it almost feels warm at the touch," She took it and suddenly turned in my direction. "OH, I'm sorry, I am so grateful for your help!" She said with her eyes sparkling almost as much as the stone, and I could not help but smile.

"Do not worry with that," I said and waited for a second until I noticed I do not know her name. "But do you mind telling me your name?"

"I'm... I am Lillie. And I suppose this stone must belong to you!" She said giving me the sparkling stone with a bright smile, far different from the desperate face from a minute ago. Anyway, I took the stone with my right arm while trying to hide my wounded left one... I guess old habits never really dies.

The stone was black with a strange white pattern on it. I put it on my pocket and waited for her to give the next word, but since she, unlike Kukui and Hau, does not make all the conversation by herself, she makes it kinda hard for someone like me to keep a good talk.

"Hum... I have a favor to ask..." She said moving her weight from one foot to the other in an ashamed way. I just nodded giving her permission to say what she wants. "Don't tell anyone about this... about seeing Nebby. It's... It's a secret, OK? Come on. Into the bag Nebby!"

I do not understand why this should be a secret, but I nodded anyway and she put 'Nebby' back in the bag. She turned to face me and asked another favor. "Hum... I'm worried we might be attacked by other wild pokemon, or... Something else, can you please come with us back to Iki Town.

I nodded. "Yes, but can you please give my Pokeball back?"

"OH! I'm sorry, here it is!" She said and gave me my Pokeball. After that, we started our walk back to Iki Town, but I could see she looking at me from time to time. and that is when I noticed I have not said my name, but it would be really strange to simply bring that matter up, so I waited for her to make the first move. "Do you mind if I make you a question?"

Here it is. I just nodded.

"Why is your skin blue?"
> Chapter 06- Hala
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took us no longer than a few minutes to reach Iki Town again, but thanks to my wounded arm and back, those few minutes seemed way longer than they really were.

"Well, looks like you already meet my assistant, yeah!" Kukui's voice caught my attention before I actually could see him. He was on top of the central ring with his never-ending smile still on his face. Both me and Lillie climbed onto the ring he was in, and I could finally observe that there were strange, white-marked symbols around us. "Lillie, I thought you were with the Kahuna!"

"Kahuna Hala? He said that he had something to attend to, so he left town on his own." Lillie said looking at Kukui as if it is usual behavior.

"Oh yeah? Well, that's a shame. Anyway, where had you been?"

"I was just, um, taking a little stroll up Mahalo Trail while I wait for him to return..." She answered nervously. I narrowed my eyes a little, maybe Kukui does not know about Nebby, or maybe she should not be there in first place. well, actually, I do not know what exists after that old bridge...

"And that's how you met our new guest, Luna?" Surprisingly the subject changed to me, taking me away from my moment of wondering. "She just got to Alola a while ago. Be sure to help her to find her way around, yeah?"

"Luna? Oh, goodness, I can't believe I didn't ask your name before!" She blushed a little and turned to face me. "So, you're also one of the professor's acquaintances? It's very nice to meet you!"  

"I can say the same," I answered with what I hoped was my warmest smile, but I am not very good at it.

"THE KAHUNA IS BACK!"

A loud voice makes all of us turn to the same place at once, and there was a lot of people waiting on the top of the stairs that lead to the exit of Iki Town watching as someone climbed up the stairs with a small giggle.

'Hala' is a stocky old man, who has white hair tied in a ponytail similar to his grandson Hau, as well as white eyebrows and mustache. He wears a blue shirt under his yellow jacket with flower pattern, a shirt tied in a knot over a red and white fan. He also wears white shorts and white/blue flip-flops. And in addition, he has squinty eyes.

"Hohoho, have I missed anything?" He said giving small slaps on his own prominent stomach.

"There you are, Kahuna Hala! Was there some kind of trouble?" Kukui asked as if he was talking to an old friend.

"Ahahaha! I just got caught up in the middle of some brawling Rockruff, that's all!" He climbed the small ring and turned his face toward Lillie. "Sorry, Lillie, what were you saying before? For some reason, I thought I saw Tapu Koko flying about..."

Lillie nodded a little embarrassed. "Oh, hum... Yes, Kahuna Hala... Nebby got attacked by some Spearow on the Plank bridge, but Luna here helped us! But the bridge collapsed, and I thought both of them might fall to the bottom of the ravine. And that's when the island's guardian deity swooped to save them!"

"Wow, that's something you don't hear every day!" Kukui for some reason was truly impressed by this fact, a lot more than when Moon and the others saved me, and way more than when he discovered that I am not from this world.

"Ho! Although it is said to protect us, our Tapu Koko is a rather fickle creature. Yet our guardian deity was moved to save you," He finally looked at me, also impressed, by this fact... Well, I do not think is an everyday event for an 'Deity' to move for someone else, mainly if this Tapu Koko is half of what they are saying. "Kukui, my boy, I think we have cause to celebrate! After all, looks like we have a brave and kind new trainer in our midst!"

I would be more embarrassed by such a compliment from an definitely important person, but, it is getting really hard to concentrate in the conversation while having a massive amount of open wounds on my back, reminding me of my small act of bravery and really big act of stupidity. He started to walk toward me, and I had to turn my neck up a little to keep eye contact.

"I'm glad to meet you, child. I am Hala, the Kahuna of Melemele Island. Welcome to Alola!"

"PEW!"

Everyone turned to face Nebby as soon as it started to make its characteristic sound, obviously outside the bag.

"Hey, you little troublemaker, I know the Kahuna and the Professor are here to keep you safe, but you still should stay in the bag, it's safer that way!" Lillie said to the pokemon that clearly do not want to be put inside the bag again.

"Well, I think I have a small present to you Lun... Hey, ARE YOU BLEEDING?" Kukui's voice really reached a loud level when he wants to. He must have noticed to mark on my left arm since I do not turn my back for him to see.

"OH, NO!" Lillie's voice came a second later. "That is from... How could I not notice?" 

"It is alright, you do not have to blame yourself..."

"AND WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" She yelled at me... Actually, she yelled at me with a confidence I do not know she had, and for the first time in many years to count, I was actually scared of receiving a lecture.

"Let's not get into details here!" I looked at Kukui with thankful eyes. "Lillie, you go ahead to the lab and prepare the first aid kit, and PLEASE don't get lost in the way! I will get her there as soon as possible."

"Ok, right, please be fast!" She said and started to run, stopped a little to put Nebby back into her bag, and resumed her run.

"Thank you!" I said and walked away from the ring.

"You're welcome, but she's right at one point, you should have said something!" Kukui reprehends me, but it was not half as scary as Lillie. 

"Mainly with all those wounds in your back too!" Hala's voice caught Kukui's attention that suddenly stopped and walked around me in an attempt to see my back.

"You had all those wounds and said nothing all this time?" For the first time since I met him, his smile completely disappeared from his face, and his eyes burned with rage, and also for the first time I saw nothing of his warm side... Maybe he actually IS as scary as Lillie after all.

"Huh? Hey Luna, would you be kind and let me see this sparkling stone you're holding?" Hala said (Thankfully! Is that how my students feel when I got closer? That would explain a lot, actually...) and I turned my gaze toward my right hand, the strange stone was still within my grasp, but it still shined beautifully in the moonlight.

I gave him the stone, after all, it was not mine from the start.

"Where did you get that?" Kukui's eyes widened a little.

"That guardian of yours left behind when he saved me," I answered simply, but Hala's expression suddenly got thoughtful.

"So he gave you that stone... I don't know from where you are, but perhaps Luna, you're here in Alola because this is the place you meant to be!"

That is something I really would pay to see...

"Don't worry, I will give it back to you tomorrow." He said and leave toward the big house I saw Hau getting into before.

"And you, you little troublemaker," Did he seriously called me like that? "Let's get back into the lab as soon as possible."

I finally understand you, Nebby...





"Now, take off your shirt!" Lillie received me with these words as soon as I entered Kukui's lab.

"Excuse me?" I asked back a little surprised as she got closer to me while holding a small first aid box and something purple that seems some kind of sprinkler.

"You heard the lady!" Kukui said with a serious tone. "We cannot take care of you if you don't help us to help you!"

"I know, I just expected for you to take me out on a dinner before asking that," I said and stared the strange equipment in Lillie's hand. "What is that?"

"Huh?" Now she is the one that seemed to be surprised. "It's a potion. It's more often used to heal Pokemon, but it works with humans just fine too!"

"Interesting," I stared the small potion for a while. I saw some pokemon battles, and it is not impossible for one to get seriously hurt in one of them I guess. So, the medicine should be really amazing to take care of such cases.

"I think you can handle it," Kukui said and turned toward the door. "I still need to have a word with Hala, so please Lillie, be sure that she doesn't get in more problem, okay?"

"Don't worry," Lillie said confidently. Where is that helpless girl that watched me falling from a precipice? I think I can handle her better. "I'll be sure she will be in top condition!"

"I'm counting on you!" Kukui answered, waved goodbye and left the house.

"Now, let's go to the second floor," She said and climbed the pink stairs that would lead to the second floor... Thinking about it now, this will be my first time seeing it.

"After you," I said and followed the girl.

I was actually a little disappointed to discover that the second floor is not even half of what I expected. There is a couch where Lillie probably sleeps, a small nightstand with a few pokemon toys and some makeup and lastly but not least, some litters full of books.

She sat on the couch and pointed a place just in front of her. "Now, let me see it."

"..." I sat down without a word. Usually, the only person that I would give the permission to see me shirtless would my own sister, Celestia, and even that is a rare event. But I do not think I have another option right now.

"Well... It could be worse," She said trying to break the ice. She used a cold and clean towel to clean my back. It hurt a little, but nothing I could not handle. I think she is not used to helping another person, her hands are trembling a little and before she uses the next item of her list she asked. "I think this next part will hurt a little bit, so tell me when you're ready."

"Go on," I answered and I heard she gulping behind me. Maybe she is the one that wanted some time to prepare. 

"Okay... Here we go," She sprinkled something on my back, and the result was much worse than I expected. First, the cold liquid hit my wound as a jet of pepper on an open wound, which it actually is, but the worst part came next. I felt as if my skin wanted to sew on herself, I groaned in pain for long 3 seconds before the pain started to fade away. But as soon as the first impact disappeared, I felt an unbelievable relief, as if the wound itself has literally disappeared with the pain.

"Are you okay?" She asked with an obviously scared tone of voice, and as an answer, I turned my face a little to look at her directly and smiled. I may not be good at starting a conversation or keeping one, but at least my attempt worked since she sighed in relief. "I know a thing or two about pokemon healing, but I'm not used to healing another person..."

I guessed that much. "Do not worry, I think you are doing a fine job," I smiled at her that blushed and looked away from me with my compliment. Looks like teasing her will be way more fun than I expected.

"PEEEW!" Looks like Nebby does not like to be ignored since he jumps on top of the couch and went toward me with as much force as that strange body of his allowed him to.

"Do not be stingy, Nebby! I need to finish her healing first," Lillie said looking at the little guy from above my shoulders.

"Let her be," I said calmly as I petted his head unceremoniously. "I think he is actually kinda cute," As soon as I finished my phrase I wondered if I really should have said that. At first, the only reaction I received was Nebby being really happy with the compliment, but I think someone else got jealous of that.

My only Pokeball shook a lot, and suddenly, my little Moon got out of it by her on and jumped onto me with a lot of strength, sending both me and Lillie off the couch.

I fell on my back, which hurt a lot, and Lillie fell just by my side. I looked at the small pokemon hugging me with all the force her little fins could muster, obviously she felt jealous about Nebby. I sighed a little and patted her head too.

Ouch...
> Chapter 7- Midnight.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"OKAY, NOW ROCKRUFF, MY BODY IS READY, WOO!"

I woke up with a phrase I definitely did not expect to hear so early in the morning, followed by the sound of a really loud bump.

"What the hell?" I lift half of my body from my improvised bed, knocking over Moon that was sleeping on my lap.

"Huh? Is already that time?" Lillie woke up and used her hand to scratch her eye to make the remaining slumber fade away, Nebby woke up right at her side. She did not seem impressed or surprised by this strange phenomenon, actually, she seems more bored than even frustrated.

"What is happening?" I asked as Moon yawned and scratched her eyes too.  

"Rockruff is attacking the professor," She sat on the couch she uses to sleep and stretched herself, her pajama was pink, what is not a real surprise considering her personality.

"Is that common?" I asked as the loud bump happened again, followed by a slightly louder 'WOW'.

"Why do I think we will have to fix the walls again? You know professor Kukui is a move researcher, right?" I nodded in agreement. Unlike me, Moon seems a little numb yet, since a small water ball was being filled and emptied in front of her nose. "Well, he says the best way to understand a pokemon move, is by being hit by it!" She said and walked toward her already prepared usual cloches, just waiting for her.

"So, he is basically being hit by Ruckruff's tackle because he wants to learn from it?"

"We're lucky! There's one time I woke up with he being hit by a Water Cannon!" She yawned again.

"That sounds painful... How do I teach this move to Moon?" Truth being said, that sounds like a really powerful move.

"I don't know if a Popplio can learn it, maybe you will need to wait until she evolves,"

"Great..." I commented and stood up, stretching my now healed back. This world's medicine is really impressive, to heal all those wounds in a single night. "I will be waiting for you down there. Okay, Moon, back to the Pokeball." 

I went down the stairs to the first floor of the house so she could change her clothes in peace, and when I reached the floor I saw Kukui ready to take another hit, and the Rockruff seems glad to give one.

"Oh, Luna, already awake?" He asked turning his head toward me with a really big grin.

"It is a little hard to sleep in this situation," I answered and leaned against the wall crossing my arms.

"Don't be so serious," He said laughing. "But it is good to see you awake, I wanted to give you some presents yesterday, but I didn't expect you to be hurt."

"Neither do I," I said and turned my head to face Rockruff that was growling to me. "Good morning to you too."

"Don't worry with that little guy, yeah, he is not that bad,"

"Oh, really?" I asked pointing the destroyed couch.

"Hahaha!" He laughed and walked toward me, his prominent muscles were red, where Rockruff's head had hit him. "Don't take as personal. He had a bad experience with a trainer before, that's why he doesn't like new people here!"

"Bad experience?" Now I am listening.

"Yeah..." He adopted a serious expression. "He had a trainer some time ago, but one day that trainer simply decided that this little guy here was not good enough for him, and abandoned him in front of my lab."

Rockruff growled even more. Maybe he does not want to remember it or does not want anyone to know about it. I walked toward him that took a step back.

"Hum, Luna, what do you want to do?" Lillie asked as she finished her descend from her small loft already with her white dress, hat, and bag, but Nebby was not inside it yet.

"I know we had a bad start," I said and trowed my only Pokeball toward Kukui that took it effortlessly, but he seemed a little surprised. "But what do you say about letting everything a little more interesting?"

"L-Luna?" Kukui called my name as if I was crazy for doing what I am doing now, but unlike him, Rockruff seemed a lot more interested in my offer. He howled once as a sign for me to continue.

"You will attack me," I said looking into his eyes.

"WHAT?" Both Kukui and Lillie yelled at the same time. They were surprised, but not as half as the small dog in front of me.

"You will use the strongest tackle against me. I will not dodge or run away, instead, I will take your attack fairly, and if I give a single step behind, it is your won!"

"WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO? GET HURT AGAIN?" Kukui yelled from behind me. A really strange question from someone that has done exactly the same thing a few minutes ago. Rockruff growled with a mischievous smile.

"BUT, if I manage to stay in place and get you immobilized, you will become one of my partners!" I finished with a serious expression. Rockruff definitely did not expect that and gave a step back again.

"Luna, if you want to capture him you should have a POKEMON battle, not get into one yourself!" Kukui said trying to make me give up from my idea.

"And letting them have all the fun?" I asked sarcastically and walked toward the door, where I stopped and assumed a prepared position, one of my legs a little behind me with my foot turned a little for better support, and one a little ahead, both of my knees a little folded and I planted my feet firmly on the ground. "Kukui, you will be the judge! Now Rockruff, think about me as your old trainer, and attack me with you have to offer!"

Maybe I should not have said that... Suddenly he looked at me more like a pray than a challenger. Lillie was covering her mouth and looking at us with horror, while Kukui seemed like this is the first time he does not know what to do, even Nebby stared us as if we... Or better I am crazy.

He started to run toward my direction without a second invitation, using even more strength than when he broke the wall yesterday.

For a single second, my adrenaline went so high that everything around me seemed to be in slow motion, from Lillie covering her eyes to the dog coming in my direction with bloodthirst. A second after that, his head finally made contact with my body and I felt as if I would vomit at any second, but I clenched my teeth and used almost all my strength to stay in place. Rockruff's head was harder than any stone that had hit me in my life (And I was hit by a lot more than I would like to admit).

But I stood firmly, actually, so firmly that the wooden floor could not resist and broke with the pressure I was doing on it with my feet, and I used my free arms to hold Rockruff and with a final effort I pressed him on the ground that also broke upon the impact of his body.

The time turned back to its own pace, the dust that covered us finally disappeared and the remaining result was that Rockruff was trying to break free from my firm grasp, but failed.

I looked at Kukui that was staring me open-mouthed with his glasses almost falling from his face. Lillie finally opened her eyes and looked at me without believing, while Nebby was cheering me up.

"T-The winner is Luna!" He said slowly yet without really believing in his own words. But as soon as his brain seemed to process what just happened, he smiles and putting his hands on his hips he said: "That means Rockruff is your new pokemon, YEAH!"

"I can't believe!" Lillie was looking at me in complete amazement. 

The Rockruff howled bellow me and tried to bite me. I let him go and stoop up cleaning my new shirt, but he does not seem even a little happy with that.

"Rockruff," I called and the small dog turned to face me, but with his head down in humiliation, I could not see his eyes. "I know you agreed with that gamble, but I will not force into being in my team."

He looked at me surprised, and so does Kukui and Lillie.

"Pew?"

"I will not force into my team, but if you want to, there is still place for you!" I said offering my hand.

"That's very honorable," Kukui entered the conversation and walked toward me. "But brings me back to our last conversation."

"What conversation?" I asked looking at his face.

"Those gifts I should give you, yeah!" He took something from both of his pockets. "This is a Pokedex, you may use it to discover a pokemon's type just by looking, but to gather more information you'll need those Pokeball."

I took the small and red machine he was offering me, but when I was going to take the pokeballs, Rockruff jumped and used his paw to press one of them and was swallowed to inside it.

"Welcome on board, Midnight!" I said smiling.





If I have to say what is the worst part of being a pokemon trainer, I would say it is this stupid rule that 'A trainer can not refuse a pokemon battle.'

Seriously, I had to beat five trainers just to climb my way toward Iki Town, and the only good part is that both Moon and Midnight are getting really good at this, they even learned a new move each, Moon learned an attack called 'Baby doll eyes, which is great to deal with grass type since their attack will lose some power, and Midnight learned sand attack, which really help a lot when dealing with a strong opponent... Not that I had seen any.

"Where is she?" I wandered while finishing my way to the Town, the main stairs are almost in view right now. Kukui was the first one to leave the lab, and not long after that, I came leaving Lillie behind since she said she wanted to be sure that Nebby will not break free from her beg this time (Which I really doubt). But I had been stopped a lot of times and she was not even close to my sight.

I looked at the setting sun, actually the only thing in my sight are two people dressed in a REALLY strange way, I mean, it is literally blue everywhere with a strange machinery pattern.

"Measuring the number of auras here... The numbers seem a bit high. What do you think captain?" A feminine but serious voice asked the person at her side.

"Hm! What was that? Did you say something? I was... Well, I was certainly not distracted by this foolish display of festivity!" Seriously man? "So there are aura readings in this place... Maybe it is the influence from the one they call the island Kahuna..." I wonder what do they want to say with 'auras', and what does Hala have to do with all of that. "But everything is so bright here in Alola... Far brighter than we had been told it would be. I find it loathsome. this awful brightness."

"Even though this is the light we have sought for so long?" The woman asked back.

"Y-Yes, I suppose you are right..." The man answered a little bewildered. "We must carry our investigations to return the light to our own world as well before the Blinding one awaken..."

'OUR WORLD?'

They turned away from Iki Town and started to walk toward somewhere else, but I will not let they escape from my grasp so easily. I stepped from behind the tree I was hiding and stopped exactly where they will have to walk.

"YOU- You are not a native of Alola either, are you?" The woman asked me with a surprised expression, while the 'Captain' just stared me while playing with his mustache.

"Great," I said and started to walk toward them. "That saves me from giving explanations, but you two still have to talk."

"Well, looks like we have an interesting character in our midst, did not we?" The man said looking at me. "But you should not have all that anger when requesting something from someone else."

"Well, excuse me if being taken away from my home letting my sister behind was not in my plans for my Saturday!" I answered feeling my veins throbbing inside me. "But looks like you two had a different approaching in this situation."

"Huh?" The man looked surprised at me.

"Captain, do you think?" 

"Indeed... Looks like she came from an Ultra-wormhole without intention,"

"Believe me, I guessed that much," I responded aggressively. "What I am really interested is in the fact that you two DID NOT seem to be here against your will."

"Well, of course, this is because..."

"THERE YOU ARE!" A very familiar voice yelled from behind me. "C'MON, WE'RE ALREADY LATE!"

Before I could react, and with way more strength than I thought she would be able to muster, Lillie came from apparently nowhere and held my hand within her grasp and simply dragged me toward Iki Town with impressive speed.

"WAIT, LILLIE, I HAVE TO..." I looked to where I had been just a second before and I saw that both of those two had already disappeared.

Just my luck...
> Chapter 8- Tapu Koko's festival
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, I admit... I am really furious right now.

In less than a single minute, I had a chance to learn how to go back to my own world and lost that chance because of a 'festival'... I bet I could give a punch in anyone, even that guardian Deity of them.

"Are you okay...?" Lillie asked some good steps away from me, which is probably a good decision. 

I was not really angry with her, but with this 'festival' I can say I am since for some reason everyone seems to think I am the main star of the show. I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself a little.

In the end, I think I just want to find something or someone to blame.

Two kids and a Rockruff were playing and running from one side to the other, the few houses that here exists are pretty big when comparing to Kukui's lab.

"The Alola region is made up of four islands," Someone suddenly spoke to me, and I saw Hala walking in my direction with a different expression from yesterday. "Each island has its own guardian pokemon. Our festival today is made to express our thanks to these great pokemon guardian Deities for always remaining by our side... Well, we call it a festival, but it's just that little thing you're seeing here."

I looked around, and indeed, there is not much to be seen but some small food stalls and that huge ring in the middle of the Town... But more importantly, there is no apparent reason for him to explain that for me and Lillie... Unless...

"That Kukui does not know how to keep his mouth closed, does he?" I asked with a sarcastic grin.

"Luna?" Lillie does not seem to have understood what I meant, but Hala definitely does.

"Don't blame him, I think he just wants you to enjoy as Alola as much as possible," Hala said giving some small slaps on his own belly... Maybe this is an old custom of his. "But I think it's time to change the subject, please come this way, Hau is already waiting for you."

"Why?" I asked.

"Hold on, Didn't anyone explain to you about tonight?" Hau's voice reached my ears with the same enthusiasm as always.

"Oh, yeah, right on time," Kukui was the next one to come.

"Right on time for what exactly?" Lillie asked as Nebby was again trying to break free from the bag, but this time she was doing a great job holding him inside it... Surprisingly.

"A full-powered festival for pokemon battling," Kukui put his hands at his side with a smile. "We battle in name of Tapu Koko, pitting our best moves against one another in friendly battles, woo!"

"So, you two are taking part in this battle?" Lillie asked looking at me and Hau, that had his hands on the back of his head with a giant grin. "I don't like seeing pokemon fighting since they so often end up getting hurt... But I'll be sure to watch you both!"

"Your pokemon have fought for you up to now, so please show this same loyalty to your pokemon too," Hala reentered the conversation. "Are you sure they are up to this challenge?"

"Well," I grinned with anger, which makes everyone give a step behind... Interesting to see that after all those years I still can intimidate the others. "I really wanted to take away my frustration, and a pokemon battle may be exactly what I am needing!"

I turned to face Hau directly.

"It's just me or it's getting colder here?" He asked avoiding to look into my eyes...

Yeah, I think this will be fun.





The fire crackled on the burning torches around the arena in which we would fight. 

"For all life on our islands, and for those that undertake the island challenge with joy in their hearts," Island challenge? That is the first time I heard this term. "We pray for their protection, for them and all Melemele. May this pokemon battle be an offering to our guardian!"

I stood out of the ring, just waiting for my part.

"Hum, Luna..." I turned to see Lillie by my side while Hala finished the formalities. "I don't know what happened down there, but since I dragged you here, you seemed really angered, so... I'm sorry if I did something wrong."

Damn, it is really hard to stay angry with her.

"Do not worry, I will go easy on Hau for you!" I joked.

"Before you, stands Hau, grandson to the Kahuna!" Hala said out loud for everyone to listen. The boy climbed the stair with his usual humor.

"Let's have fun with this, Litten!"

"And before him, stands Luna, the one that met with Tapu Koko!" I listened to some murmurs while I climbed the stair, people talking about how rare that event seems to be.

"As long as we both have a good time, I think we both can call it a great battle, eh?" Hau asked smiling.

"Do you think I will go easy on you because of that?" I teased him.

"NOW, LUNA AND HAU, BRING FORTH THE POWER OF YOUR POKEMON, IN A ONE VS ONE BATTLE!" Hala yelled announcing the beginning of the battle.   

"As you wish," I said taking my first Pokeball.

"If you say so! Go Pichu!" Hau stretched his arm and send out his pokemon, which for my surprise was not Litten.

"Midnight, I am counting on you!" I said sending out my new partner.

Soon after that I was sure that I had done the right decision. That Pichu is obviously an electric type pokemon, which means my rock type Midnight is the best choice.

"Now, use Charm!" Hau ordered.

Obviously, the boy learned a thing or two from our last battle, since instead of a direct approach he decided for a more strategic one, even if I have absolutely no idea what does this 'charm' do, but two can play that game.

"Midnight, use sand attack!" Midnight did just what I said and trowed sand on the poor Pichu's face, the little mouse tried to clean up his face, but I would not give it such privilege. "Now, crunch!"

Suddenly, just like when we first met, some kind of 'second mouth' was made from thin air and Rockruff used this chance to bite Hau's pokemon with all the strength he could muster, and when he finally made contact I thought that the battle is already over, but that was a mistake.

"Now, discharge!" Hau's order was listened loud and clear by his pokemon, that surprisingly could still keep up after Midnight's last attack, and countered by sending an unbelievable amount of electricity toward everywhere, hitting my pokemon and sending him back toward me, but since midnight is a rock type, he was not very impressed and stood up without problem.

"Now, finish this with another crunch!" I yelled but just when he started to run, some kind of strange electricity involved his body and he could not move. "WHAT?"

"NOW PICHU, DOUBLE SLAP!" Hau's smile was enormous, he obviously had predicted that.

His Pichu closed the remaining distance between him and Midnight with a speed only a pokemon could use and started to hit Rockruff a LOT more than two times.

"TACKLE!" Midnight makes what I ordered, but Pichu managed to avoid somehow and got out of reach.

"Now, what do you think?" Hau asked mocking me with a smile. "Way different from yesterday, isn't?"

"Certainly," I said calmly... And I just know what I have to do to win this battle. "However, some things never change!"

"Oh, yeah?" He looked at me in a challenging way. "Pichu double slap again!"  

Pichu attacked fast like a lightning, he will become a really fast pokemon someday, but right now, this was his final mistake. He forgot that he got sand on his eyes just a minute ago, and now when the time is decisive... He missed.

"CRUNCH!" That was my final order when Pichu missed he simply got too close to Midnight, and without a way to avoid, the great cloud of sand that was lifted from the impact served only to make some suspense, but it simply could not hide the fainted pokemon forever.

"AND THAT'S IT! Another great battle this year!" Hala announced.

"Phew, That was awesome Luna!" Hau said scratching the back of his head with the same smile as always. I think he had just as much fun as me. "That was really a great battle, I had a blast fighting you!"

"I can say the same," I smiled back at him as he got a few steps closer.

"KO-KO-KOOO!" A really loud sound reached my ears, and everyone else's too.

"HA! As you can hear yourself, this is Tapu Koko's song of approval." Really? I would never have guessed... "And I almost forgot, I think it's time for you to take this!" Hala walked toward me and gave me a strange and black bracelet. "Your Z power-Ring, a mysterious armband that can draw out the power that lies deep within Pokémon... It can bring forth their Z-Power! We kahunas can make them by refining stones like the Sparkling Stone that you received from Tapu Koko. Although until you collect during your island challenge, you will not be able to draw out the Z-Power of your Pokémon"

"Wait, wait, wait," I said just after putting the 'Z power-ring' in place. "You know I have no Idea what are all those things you talked about, right?" But instead of answering me, he just looked at Kukui.

"In other words, is time for you to get out there and travel around the islands for your island challenge, yeah!"

"Island challenge?" I asked and he makes the number four with his fingers. 

"You'll travel to each of the four islands here in the Alola region. The island challenge is about aiming to be the strongest Trainer— the island challenge champion. Woo! And maybe... You'll even find the reason you're here..."

"Sounds great, right? I can't wait to have a real adventure!" Hau said.

"Yeah, but I will let Kahuna Hala explain the details." 

"The island challenge Kukui spoke of... Is a journey to overcome your own limitations," Suddenly with that simple phrase he got my total attention. "As you travel to the corners of Alola and meet with others during the journey. It is the great adventure that the children of Alola embark upon, along with their partner pokemon." He walked toward Hau and stopped in front of him. "Now, allow me to give you the Island Amulet!"

"WOW, Thanks Tutu!" 

"PUF..." I turned away and used both my hands to try to suffocate the first real laughter I have in years... Tutu? Seriously?

"I'm gonna make it through the island challenge to try to become the island challenge champion!" Hau was literally bouncing in place. Luckily I think he did not notice that I had just laughed.

"And there is one for you too," He said and gave me a strange patterned amulet. "Please, do give the island challenge a try."

"Yeah, doing the island challenge is the best way to know all Alola!"





We were just walking toward Kukui's lab when Lillie got closer to me (With Nebby STILL inside the bag... A new record!).

"Tapu Koko is amazing isn't it?" She said looking down. "I hope I can meet him again, so I can thank him for saving my friends!"

"Friends?" Plural?

"Yeah, Nebby... And you," She said with her voice really low as if she is afraid I am going to turn her down. I looked away blushing a little, sure, I know the importance of friendship (Have you seen my school?) But is not part of personality to just open myself to someone I meet yesterday.

Luckily Nebby saved me from the situation since he tried another one of his many attempts to escape with his cute 'PEW'.

"Suppose its time to get you kids home, Yeah?" Kukui said startling both Lillie and me. 

"S-Sure, let's go!" Lillie said walking ahead of me.

Luckily she could not see my smile.





"I was able to detect powerful auras from this 'full powered' festival."

"I suppose you would... According to our earlier research, it seems that the Z power-ring and this creature called Tapu Koko are bathed in a great deal of light. Alola overflows the light that was released by the Blinding One... I find myself rather envious."

"I wonder if we can't find some way to use the great power that fills Alola for ourselves?"

"That is precisely why we, the Ultra Recon Squad are here to make clear. Onward! There is still so much of Alola we have not seen, and we must investigate it all!"
> Chapter 9- School
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"LET'S GO TO THE SCHOOL TODAY SO GET UP NOW SLOWPOKES, YEAH!!"

And so, again I was awakened by a phrase I really did not expect to hear.

"What?" Lillie stood up fast. Probably too fast, since she was not fully awaken she tripped on something and fell (I was not able to see what she tripped onto since I was worried with the fact that my improvised bed is RIGHT NEXT to her couch!) and unfortunately I was not able to avoid in time, so everything I did was to take Moon away from me just a little before the impact.

"WOW, full of energy already you two?" Kukui's face was the only part of him visible since he is still at the stairs (At least he respect Lillie's Space...) 

"PROFESSOR!" Lillie lifted her head and looking straight into his eyes she yelled. "DONT SCARE ME LIKE THAT!"

"Oh, I scared you?" He laughed jovially. "Then let's ask Luna what she thinks about this whole situation!"

"What?" She turned her face to me for the first time today, and obviously, she was not used to having someone else in the loft yet, because her surprised face was simply priceless. "WHAT?" She jumped off me so quickly I actually did not manage to see her movements at all, but all I had to do was to follow the bright trace of red that was her face. "Luna? I-I'm sorry, are you okay? Do I hurt you?"

"Well, I already woke up in a Kinder way on the orphanage," I said and stood up while scratching the back of my head that had just hit the floor a minute ago. "But besides this fact I am fine."

"I'm really sorry..." Lillie said looking down, and again I noticed something: It is really hard to stay mad with her even if I wanted to.

"Worry not," I said taking Moon on my arms. "But I must admit I did not expect for you to be so heavy..."

"Oh Oh!" Kukui suddenly makes an extremely scared face. "I'll see you two downstairs, BYE!"

"Kukui?" I turned to face him but he had already disappeared, and from the sound of the impact, I can say he simply jumped off the second floor... Seriously, for a professor I think this guy is in top human condition! "Why do you think he did tha... Hum, Lillie, are you alright?"

The redness on her face was even more evident now, but there was something different now. Her expression was a mist of shame and... How can I say it politely... The pit of torture and perdition waiting for souls to be tortured in hell!





"First lesson of the day... Never say to a girl that she is too heavy," Kukui said and gave me an Ice pack. "I think this will let a mark for a week!"

"Really? I did not notice!" I said putting the ice pack on my right cheek, where Lillie had given me the strongest slap I ever received in my life... And that says something. "Putting that aside, what is this 'school' story about?"

"Buddy, I don't think you will be able to put it aside so early, Y'know?"

"Yeah, neither do I... OUCH!" The simple contact of the ice with my face was enough to send back the waves of pain I was starting to feel fading away. "Man, Midnight's tackle did not hurt like that!"

"HAHAHA, I sure bet so!" He laughed again, but that lasted only for a second because his face suddenly changed to one of the few serious faces he ever put since I arrived. "But I have a better question right now..."

"What is it?"

"Do you really live on an orphanage?"

My eyes widened. "How do you..."

"You said it upstairs," He answered my question before I could finish it.

"I did?'' I took a moment to remember the conversation before I got slapped. "Well, I think I did..."

"You think you did what? You're not sure you lived on an orphanage? Because this would a very poor excuse!" He put both hands on his hips.

"I was just trying to remember when I said something like that," I said closing my eyes for a second. "But answering your question, Yes, I did live on an orphanage during my childhood, both I and my sister did."

"Wait, do you have a sister?" Kukui seemed surprised with my comment, and now that I am thinking about it, I think I never did tell him about it. So I just nodded as an affirmative (Which was a bad idea... Accidentally I moved the ice pack and the pain returned...) "And why didn't you tell me?"

"Pew?"

"I saw no way where this would be a relevant knowledge,"

"That's a good excuse, but I think deep inside you're just avoiding giving information about yourself!" He said a little anger, but most of him were just serious. "Which means there's something on your past you're simply too afraid to tell the others because you're afraid what they might think!" 

I opened my eyes and looked at him. I am not used to looking people from below, well except my sister, but my actual body is actually smaller than Kukui... Way smaller...

"PEW!" 

Suddenly both of us were startled by the small Nebby, that surely noticed the tension in the air.

"I am sorry little one," I said kneeling and petting him with my left hand. "Is Lillie ready?"

"I am," Lillie's voice came from my left side, so I turned my head to face her. She was looking down and her cheeks are still a little red (Not as much as mine, though) but she managed to look at me a little. "I'm sorry, did it hurt?"

"More than you think," I said smiling, but she did not pick up the fact that I was only mocking her and it seemed that her whole world had just turned upside down and her eyes began to watering. "I am kidding Lillie. This is not the first time I was slapped, and will not be the last."

"What?" She looked at me a little surprised and relieved since I said it was not as painful as before.

"Worry not," I said and turned toward Kukui that was still with a serious expression. "But what are you saying about school?"

"Let's talk about it outside," He said and turned away unlocking the door. "I will take this opportunity to show you how to get on the Pokemon center."

"Pokemon what?" I asked throwing the ice bag far away from me right on the kitchen's sink.

"Pokemon center, Yeah," He said already outside, so both I and Lillie followed him. "It's a place where you can rest and heal your pokemon!"

"Heal them? That is very useful," I said descending the stairs with Lillie right behind me.

"Isn't?" He put his hands on his hips again and faced us smiling... And just after that, a strange phenomenon happened. The city, no, the entire sky turned black in a single second, making hard for me to see even those so close to me, and just like that, everything has fallen into darkness. 

"Ah..." Lillie looked at the sky surprised too, and from inside her bag, Nebby makes a small protest as the sky cleared as if nothing had happened. "Nebby... Don't worry, it's OK, this must be what they call an eclipse,"

"Was an eclipse forecast for today?" Kukui's expression was far different from Lillie's, he was serious and using his right hand to play with his goatee. "Oh well, that must be some kind of good omen, Yeah!"

"An omen? Do you think something good will happen?" Lillie asked.

"Sure, a long, long time ago Alola was cloaked into darkness. But people say that's when Alola's people and pokemon blasted that darkness away with light. And they also say that's when people started gathering Z-crystals and that turned into the island challenge!" He turned to face me with a smile, but I am not someone to be fooled with a simple smile Kukui... I know you are not that confident that this is a good thing. "LUNA! Now that you've got that Z-power ring, I hope you collect tons of Z-crystals YEAH! That's exactly what move researcher like me needs to unlock some new secrets!"

"Professor, this is not why she is doing it!" Lillie said in a protective way. "C'mon Luna, I can show you the way to the school and the pokemon center is right next to it."

"Do you think you can get there without getting lost?" Kukui laughed like he always did when playing, and I also tried to keep me from laughing out loud, so I turned my face so Lillie could not see me hiding my face.

"HEY! What is wrong with you two? Picked up this day to mock me?" She asked with her checks red again.

"PEW!" Nebby tried to break free from his small 'cage' but she managed to keep him under control.

"Nah," Kukui smile got even bigger. "Don't worry Lillie, we're stopping now,"

"I never said that," I said and turned to face Lillie... But again I saw the gates of hell waiting for me...





"That was unnecessary..." I said with a hand on my the top of my head trying to ease the pain of a growing bump that struggled to form. "And since when you are so strong?"

"I'm sorry... I don't know what happened to me," Lillie and I walked side by side on the streets of the island, observing the nature around us with interest. "For some reason, it is worse when you mock me than when the Professor does."

"Should I take it as personal?" I asked mocking her purposely, but she did not understand it that way.

"NO!" She yelled and stopped walking, so I turned to face her. "There's nothing wrong with you! I mean... I..."

"It is alright," I said smiling. "I understand what you wanted to say."

"R-really?"

"Sure, but do not expect for me to stop," I said restarting my walk while I waved with one of my hands.

She accelerated her own pace until she reaches me again. "A-anyway, we're almost there," not a single minute has passed since she said it and I could see a strange building definitely made to resemble a Pokeball, which I assumed was the pokemon center. "This building here is the pokemon center, and the next one is the school!"

I continued walking without even giving a second glance to the pokemon center because I did not know I was not ready for my next vision.

It should be a simple school, actually it IS a simple school, however, my heart began to ache as soon as it got into my view. Behind the wall, a white school was a prominent sight. With white walls and a few students running from somewhere toward nowhere, I could finally feel how much I miss everything.

Ignoring Lillie that was obviously concerned with me I pressed a hand on the wall.

I am far... Far from home, far from know, and far from what is dearest to me... I rested my head against the wall and closed my eyes. Celestia must be dying of worry while I am here, participating in a challenge just because I do not know what else to do.

I felt something on my pockets vibrating but I ignored it. My only hope is an Ultra-wormhole, but it is an event so rare that I can not even control or predict, Kukui's wife might be a good chance, but there is no grant that she can do anything to help me at all.

And again there is nothing I can do. I smiled bitterly, I was actually thinking I was getting better with that, when I saved Nebby I felt that I had done what is right and even accepted the fact that I was going to die simply because that was the first time I felt so ALIVE, but I was just using that 'heroic act' to make me feel better with myself... Thinking well I was just using them to reach my objectives, not different from Sunset Shimmer or my old self...

I opened my eyes as I felt three contacts at once, on my left leg an hot and gentle touch brought me back from my self-punishment together with a small pain on my right one and a soft touch on my right shoulder.

I turned my face and saw Lillie pressing her hand against my shoulder looking at me with pledging eyes, Moon was touching my left leg with her small pawn while Midnight was pressing his neck against my other leg.

All of them decided to not say a single word, instead, they looked at me waiting for my answer to their acts.

I kneeled and petted both Midnight and Moon on the head, they did not take their eyes from me while I did it. "I am sorry I worried you three," I said and turned to face Lillie that for my surprise was offering me a pocket handkerchief. "Thank you, Lillie, but I do not need it..." 

My words were stopped by a single drop that fell on my left hand. I used the same hand to touch my face and with an expression of surprise, I finally noticed that my face was actually wet...

"I was... Crying?" I asked out loud without even believing. "I do not remember when I cried the last time..." I commented and started to wipe away my tears from my face with the back of my hand, but that would be very rude with Lillie, so I took her handkerchief.

"Feeling better?" Lillie gently asked as I stood up and put the handkerchief that was not even a little wet since there was not much for it to clean on my pocket. 

"Yes," I answered looking above her shoulder where I could see Kukui looking at me with both hands on his pockets.

"If you need more time, I can talk with the teacher," He said scaring Lillie that did not notice his approaching. I clenched my teeth, that is exactly the kind of situation I hate, being surrounded by people feeling pity for me.

"No," I used my pokeballs to put both my pokemon back and went toward the entrance with decided steps. "I bet there was a reason for you to make me come here, right Kukui?"

"Yeah," He gave the same answer I expected, but his voice was different from the usual, serious, almost solemn. "I thought a day learning about pokemon might be just what you needed before you start your island challenge."

"Well, I would hate to let the teachers waiting," I put both my hands on my pocket and restarted my walk without looking back.





I have no idea what happened back there...

Since I meet Luna she always looked so... Strong, capable to take the entire world head on without a second thought, and not just talking about her skills as a trainer, but her strength as a person too, far different from me.

But seeing that same girl leaning her forehead against the wall and crying silently while all I could do was to watch without action was simply heartbreaking.

The worst part was the fact that I was there and was not capable to utter a single word if her pokemon hadn't freed themselves from their Pokeball I wouldn't have done a thing. When we first meet she risked her own life and almost died for me, and since then she had always been helping me while I only give her a bigger headache. 

Such a great friend I am...

"Most kids spend years studying to become a pokemon trainer," A familiar voice brought me back from my lamentation, and when I turned to the origin I was not surprised to see Kukui with both hands on his pockets. "But I think this will not be necessary with her..."

I was forced to agree... we're looking at Luna from across the windows of the class she is in, surrounded by kids she doesn't seem to care a little bit, as if she is used to it. But what really matters is types, combination of types, weakness, resistances, negative status, all the different types of pokeballs and evolutionary stones, and almost all abilities... She somehow already memorized everything in a single day.

"This is impressive even for her," I said it out loud and turned to face the Professor. "But I have a question."

"Well, tell me!" Kukui smiled brightly and used his thumb to point to himself.

"Why did she need to learn all that from the start?" My question took Kukui by surprise since I could see his smile fading away slowly and his arm descending too as he made a serious expression.

"Why do you ask?" His expression was one I never had seen before on his face... he's trying to buy time to think in a lie...

"Even if only after a certain age the trainers can really have a pokemon, all of them already had seemed enough pokemon to learn a thing or two, while she doesn't seem to be the case," I said looking at him while my bag trembled a little.

Kukui sighed.

"Have I told you how I meet her?"

"No, you just told me she's going to stay with us for a while," I answered and closed the zipper of my bag that Nebby had just unzipped.

"Well, while you were helping the people with Tapu Koko's festival I heard a really loud impact on the beach, I thought it was a battle between two really powerful pokemon..." He turned his gaze toward the ceiling of the corridor we're in and I waited for him to find the right words to use. "But it wasn't."

"Wait, are you trying to say the SHE was the cause?"

He sighed again. "Yes, she was!" My eyes widened in surprise. Sure, Luna is impressive, I saw she defeating a Spearow with a single punch and stopping a pokemon (Rockruff) with sheer brute strength, but to say she could do something to be compared with two pokemon that the PROFESSOR KUKUI said they needed to be really powerful to do? That's above human's capacity. "I found her laying on the beach in the middle of a great crate on the sand..."

That's just...

"Just like when Burnet found you," He finished his phrase and took his hands away from his pockets. "There's only one difference, when she woke up she had no memories of pokemon at all,"

"What?" I asked without noticing. "But she's an amazing trainer, she even bested Hau twice on battles!"

"YEAH, impressive isn't?" He answered laughing.

"But then she lost some memories?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Well, the important thing is that she is learning right from the start, and she is learning fast, to say she is some kind of genius would very well be an understatement!"

"Haven't you asked anything else? From where she is? Did she have a family? You said she wasn't from Alola, right?"

"Lillie," He looked at me seriously. "I think she needs some time to get used to Alola and all that is happening in her life, you saw very well back then that she is trying to process a lot!" My heart sank on my chest, months ago, when Nebby used his power to save us, Kukui's wife found me lying on the beach with Nebby by my side and took us to Kukui's lab. During a lot of time, she was like a mom to me and helped me with everything I needed. But I was there and even so I haven't done the same thing to someone that has an even worse case than me...

At least I still have my memories... The good ones and the bad ones too...

"Do you think I shouldn't talk about it?"

"Yeah," He said sadly. "I think she needs some time to herself before we ask her too many questions,"

"You're right," I said looking down.

Kukui looked at me still sad, as if it's his fault that I'm sad, which definitely isn't the case. I'm not mad with him, I'm mad with me for not noticing all that before, and for not knowing what to do.

"But I think there's something you can do to help her!" As soon as he finished his phrase I turned my gaze toward him almost pleading for him to say what I can do. He smiled. "Why don't you focus only on being her friend? I think she is not used to it, and she really needs some practice! YEAH!"





"Then... What did you say to circumvent the situation?" Luna was looking at the kids playing during the lunchtime with interest. 

I had just said that Lillie had started to suspect something and had asked about the strange lack of knowledge from Luna's part, so I at least expected some wilder reaction, but she just crossed her arms and asked without giving the subject much thought.

"I said I found you laying on the beach and you had lost all your memories about pokemon because of that," I said putting my hands on my pocket.

"First that story about a rare condition and now this, for a professor you have quite some talent for lying, do you not?"

"I wouldn't put it that way, though,"

"Well, I would," She answered with a serious expression and I laughed. As much as I hate to admit this is a way to put it.

"You don't have to worry, Lillie is a nice girl, I don't think she will be touching in a subject if she thinks it will make you uncomfortable."

"Yes, she is that kind of girl..." She looked at me. "However, I think between us, she is the one keeping more secrets, together with you."

"What?" Now she got me off guard.

"When I was pretending to be asleep while you talked on the telephone you said that phrase: 'First Lillie three months ago and now this! I don't think this is a coincidence!' And there is Nebby too, not only everyone treat him like a secret, but when I scanned it with my Pokedex the answer was 'Impossible to identify', which means he was not even registered on the Pokedex to begin with!"

I looked at her wordless... How much does she really know about these subjects? How much should I keep and tell? For the first time in a long time, I don't know what to answer. "You're really something else, aren't you?"

"I think I will take it as a compliment..."

"Well, answering one of your questions, three months ago my wife found Lillie laying on the beach with Cosmog by her side, neither of them was capable to move so we took care of them. and since then she is living with me." I told her the truth and for the first time today something was capable to make Luna surprised. There's no denying that both of them had appeared on this island in an extremely similar situation. 

"Do you think she is from a different world like me?" She returned to her old expression.

"No, I don't! For a sample, she was really aware of pokemon and had a lot of knowledge on the subject, however, just like you said she doesn't like to talk about Cosmog or anything related to her life before the incident."

"Interesting..."

"That's all you have to say about it?"

"Well, if she does not want to talk about it, I will not be the one to bring the subject," She turned away from me calmly. "Besides, I have other subjects to worry about..."

"Such as?"

She grinned. "A professor would not bring someone to the school just to watch, there is always a test at the end of the day!" She didn't doubt for a single second, I can see it in her eyes. 

"Well, you're not wrong," I answered also smiling. "But I will not be the one doing the test!"

"This is MY job!" The teacher approached us calmly. "Today we're doing a special test just for you! You will battle three of my students!"

"Three trainers in a row?" Luna stared the teacher interested.

"Yes, and after them, you will face me!" She smiled.

"Well, I do not think that waiting too much will do me any good," She said and went toward the stage already waiting for her.

"She is a very confident person, isn't she?" 

"Yeah..." I may have said that, but I'm not so sure...

If someone asks: 'Is she strong? Does she have a future as a trainer?' Then the answer would certainly a 'yes', but confident? No... She acts like that for sure, but I don't think that's just it.

The eyes don't lie... I know there's something on her past she doesn't want me to know about, maybe because she thinks this will change the way I see her, but I don't think that's the case. If I have to guess then I would say that whatever she's hiding changed the way 'SHE' sees herself on the best of cases.

"NOW, LET'S START!" The teacher's loud voice brought me back to the present where the first battle had just started. Facing Luna was a girl maybe just a little older than her, and the match was going to be Popplio vs Bonsly... As expected from Luna an excellent choice.

"Moon, USE WATER GUN!" Moon was the faster one between them and hit a super effective move with the strength of a cannon as the small brown pokemon suffered a lot from the impact, but wasn't out yet.

"BONSLY, BABY DOLL EYES AND THEN TACKLE!" Smart movement, lowering your opponent's strongest and most effective side and attacking soon after that will give that girl a chance to strike back.

"BALLOON!" Popplio used her big nose to fill a balloon just a little bigger than herself. At first, I didn't know what she's going to do, but soon her plan was clear. The small Bonsly wasn't capable to stop in time and literally entered inside the giant bubble. "Now, Use water gun," She said calmly.

Bonsly tried to run away from the attack, but all he was able to do was to spin the bubble without getting away, and the water gun hit heavily instantly defeating the baby pokemon.

"That was fast!" Lillie commented by my side. Nebby was watching from a small opening on the bag that Lillie herself probably did.

"Yeah, that was a really nice strategy!" I answered.

"Now they're going to change the opponent?" She asked and soon after that, a small boy took the girl's place. "Wait, isn't he too young to have a pokemon?"

"Probably it's from a parent," Luna used her Pokeball to retrieve Moon and send out Midnight as the boy send a Grimmer.

"NOW, BATTLE TWO START!"

"MIDNIGHT, ROCK TROW!"

'WHEN DID HE LEARNED THAT?' I had no time to be surprised because Rockruff's stones on the neck started to glow strongly and close to his tail a lot of stones began to form from the nothingness. He trowed all the rocks just like bullets from a machine gun.

Grimmer seem to be taken back and was not fast enough to dodge the next move.

"Tackle!" She confidently yelled and just as ready Rockruff landed another heavy hit on the green pokemon. Honestly, as a trainer, she's not someone to be taken lightly.

"TOXIC!"

Now, that's a good strategy. Grimmer send a purple smoke that went straight toward Midnight and immediately went inside his small body.

Luna clinched her teeth and her eyes suddenly seem to be out of control, she was looking at the stage, Midnight, Grimmer, the other trainer, the trees around and everything so fast that her eyes seem to be spinning... Now, how will you react to that pressure?

"TACKLE!" The boy yelled and his pokemon attacked with savagery, hitting Midnight for the first time since his battle with Hau. Grimmer held his opponent with his slimy arms, but that was a mistake...

"ROCK TROW!" Luna yelled and despite the poison running through his veins, Midnight heard out and loud. Again his neck begun to shine and several stones hit his opponent with so much force that the small Grimmer flew out of the stage completely out of combat. 

"Will Rockruff be fine?" Lillie asked.

"Yes, but only if the battle doesn't get much longer," I answered calmly, completely different from Rockruff which was already starting to breathe heavily. I looked at the third opponent and saw a boy in green clothes.

"Well, I wasn't considering entering in this battle against a novice like you, but I think I'll have to teach you a small lesson," He's arrogant and confident in his pokemon strength, hardly a good combination. He sent an Ekans to the battle.

"Can you continue?" Luna asked already taking Moon's Pokeball but Rockruff had other plans, he howled once and showed his canines to his opponent.

"THIRD BATTLE, START!"

"EKANS, USE WRAP!" The snake pokemon closed the distance between the two pokemon faster than the poisoned one could react and wrapped itself around Midnight exerting the overwhelming strength that only a snake can.

"BITE!" Luna ordered and despite his situation Midnight managed to bury his teeth on the opposing pokemon that yelled in pain and freed the rock pokemon. "NOW USE ROCK TROW!"

"AVOID THAT!" Ekans barely managed to dodge the flying stones but the trainer still had an ace in the hole. "AGILITY!" Ekans got a little faster than before and managed to dodge the second wave of rocks easily this time.

"BITE," Rockruff attacked again this time with full force, but Ekans dodged and hit him with a weak tackle, so weak that there's no reason to do such attack... Unless...

"He's smarter than he looks," I said and Lillie looked at me without understanding. "He's just buying some time until the poison defeat Midnight,"

"That's low!" She complained furiously. "Should we tell Luna?"

"I'm pretty sure she already noticed. Besides... I think she already has this battle on the bag,"

"Why do you... Is she smiling?" She asked surprised.

"Yeah, and I think that's bad news for that Ekans,"

"Midnight, dig!" She said calmly. Rockruff obeyed and started to dig a hole just big enough for him to get into, and a single second after there's no way to see him anymore.

"Naiveee," Her opponent mocked her.

"If that is the case, why do you not say for your Ekans to follow Midnight?" She teased him with a psychotic grin while shrugging.

"YOU... You asked for that. Ekans, go after that Rockruff!" The pokemon soon disappeared after Midnight.

"Midnight, use rock throw and then bite!" She said and a small howl came from the hole.

"You sure we're having the same battle?" The boy said shrugging too. "Ekans will just avoid like before,"

"Oh, really? I do not think about it, what big hole in my plan..." She said theatrically. "Wait, tell me, how will your Ekans avoid without space enough?"

That was just what the boy needed to understand her plans, but before he could even get in a panic a big explosion came from the hole, and a few seconds later Midnight appeared carrying a fainted Ekans with his mouth. 

"She manipulated him all the time... That's diabolical."

"But what about Midnight?" Lillie asked and I looked at the pokemon again. He was breathing so heavily that it was obvious that he can't go on with that poison in his organism.

As if she had heard what we had said a second before Luna used her Pokeball to take Midnight back, which was a good choice, but that leaves her just with Popplio... 

"Amazing, you defeated all my students!" The teacher took the place of her student. "I can't believe I have that pokemon for less than a week! But I'm the last challenger, and my pokemon is..."

As soon as she sent out her pokemon Luna turned to face me...

This battle is going to be Popplio vs Rowlet!

She faced her opponent again clenching her teeth. "Now, how you're going to deal with it, little genius?" I wondered out only loud enough for myself to hear. "NOW, THE LAST BATTLE, START!"

"BALLOONS," Luna commanded but when Popplio shoot the first two balloons Rowlet closed the distance between them a lot faster than most pokemon she ever faced.

"Peck," With this same speed Rowlet got behind Moon and attacked. The poor blue pokemon shout but soon stood up.

"MORE BALLOONS!" I don't know what she wants to do, but Moon wasn't the one to disobey and within a few seconds the whole battlefield was filled with floating balloons. 

"LEAFAGE!" Rowlet sent out a barrage of cutting leaves that unfortunately hit its target and Moon was sent flying again. "Now, peck!"

"Moon, Use the balloons!" My eyes widened with surprise together with a grin, the small pokemon is known for its acrobatic skills, and as if to prove that point Popplio jumped onto a balloon and made a small reverence taunting its enemy.

"LEAFAGE!" The teacher said and Rowlet again sent out a barrage of leaves.

"Jump from balloon to balloon," This time Popplio was able to jump before being hit, but the balloon simply couldn't withstand the power of the attack.

"GO AFTER POPPLIO!" Rowlet flew toward its opponent, but as soon as it got close Moon jumped again, and again, and again until it reached a three. "NOW, FINISH THIS WITH LEAFAGE!"

"JUMP!" Again the acrobatic capacity was a good advantage, Rowlet got to close and yet missed the attack. "NOW, WATER JET!"

"WHAT?" This time I'm the one that yelled. When did she learn THAT? But I was not capable to utter a single more word. Moon got involved in a veil of water and hit Rowlet with immense speed and strength sending the grass pokemon with full force toward the ground. "THE WINNER IS LUNA, THE CHALLENGE IS OVER!"
> Chapter 10- Team skull
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The battle was finally over with an impressive result. After four straight battles Luna still managed to be the winner in all of them.

Two beans of red light cut the air and returned the fainted and the tired pokemon to their respective Pokeball... Which is definitely the worst part of being a trainer. Seeing the little Moon so weak and tired was way too much for me.

But as soon as I stopped looking at the Pokeball I noticed that the teacher, Luna, and Kukui himself are heading toward each other with decided steps, the only difference was on their respective expressions, Kukui held a confident grin while the teacher a proud smile. "That was amazing, maybe you'd like to take over as a teacher here for me!"

"I am sorry, but I already have a school to take care of," My heart sank on my chest. Not because she's joking or playing again, but because of her smile. Someone taught me that a smile is often used to keep hidden someone's hidden sadness, I know this very well, and this time it was just the saddest smile I had ever seen.

"Know your pokemon and know their moves, that's the basis of being a pokemon trainer," Kukui said confidently, and just now I noticed that there's a man with pink hair right next to him.

"Greetings, Captain Ilima here," That man has both gentle eyes and voice and seemed harmless. "I couldn't help but observe your battles. You looked so very delightful during the challenge that I had to come to talk with you,"

"This is Luna, and she just recently came to Alola," Kukui started to explain. "She's got a real sense for how to use moves, and I think she's going far as a trainer, yeah!" I smiled when I noticed that she is blushing and avoiding to look at anyone. She's obviously not used to receive compliments.

"I see, then welcome newcomer, I look forward to seeing the brilliance of your moves in my trial," Ilima noticed that Luna doesn't see to recognize the word trial' and decided to talk a little about it. "Actually, we captains are the ones who conduct the trials you will face on your way to challenging the island Kahuna. My Trial is held in Verdant Cavern, I will be waiting for you there." He waved goodbye and walked away.

"Well, I guess it's time that we dismiss you from school, Luna!" The teacher said and was followed by a torrent of people, all the students, that wanted to say their respective farewell, actually it's like they think she's never coming back...

And that's why I closed the distance between us with way more confident steps than normal. "You seemed to be in perfect sync with your Popplio, weren't you?" I asked and she turned to face me and something strange happened. The smile she was wearing when talking with everyone simply disappeared from her face for a second, then she looked at me for a second time and smiled again, but her eyes were a little angry. "Um... Since we come this far together, why don't I show you some more of the city?" I said nervously.

She avoided eye contact but nodded slowly. Was it something I said? Why she's so upset? Maybe I should give her a tour of the city so she may calm down a little.

We walked side by side toward Hou'li city quietly, with Luna giving me some quick glances. "You know... I was really impressed by seeing how you battled with your pokemon at the trainer's school... It feels like you're giving it your all for your pokemon's sake! I... I think that's why you were able to save Nebby that time, Luna,"

She looked at me surprised and blushed a little, which is really cute giving her unique skin color. "Thank you..." She said avoiding eye contact.

"Hey..." I stopped walking and she turned to face me. I don't want to receive a bad answer, but this can't go on. "I did something wrong?"

"What?" She asked back.

"Since after you defeated everyone back then, you're avoiding looking at me, and had been acting strange all the while. That's why I want to know... I did something wrong?" Nebby shook the bag but I ignored it and looked into her eyes.

"So you noticed, huh..."

"Well, kinda hard to not notice," I said. I'm not sure I want to listen to the answer, but I'm sure I can't stay without knowing. "I just want to be sure I haven't done anything wrong."

She scratched the back of her head and looked away. "Tall..."

"Excuse me?" I didn't manage to listen at all.

She pointed a finger toward me and said out loud. "How come you are so taller than me?" I blinked once, and then twice more, and then... I laughed. I laughed so hard I wasn't sure when's the last time I laughed like that. My body curved and my stomach started to ache. "What is so funny, I am serious here!"

"It's just..." I tried to stop laughing but it was really hard. "You looked so mad... HAHAHAHA... And it's all because of that?" She looked away from me. "C'mon, I'm not that taller than you..." For the first time I stopped to look at this point, and now that I think about it, If I look straight then all I can see is the top of her head... I'm some good inches taller than her.

"Laughed enough?" She asked crossing her arms.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Luna!" I said fast as she started to walk away from me toward the city. "It wasn't on purpose!" I walked so fast that I soon closed the distance between us. "It's just... I was so worried I might have done something wrong that when you said the reason I felt so relieved it just..."

"Okay, I understand... Can you show me the city now, Please? And maybe a pokemon center too!"





Okay, I will admit: I definitely overreacted.

It is not a secret that I have a small height complex. Back home this is not a real problem since most of my time is spent with younger people (students) and my social life is limited to Celestia, Cadence and a few people which I already got used being around even if I am the smaller one.

But then, I came to this world... Kukui have the body of a fully grown up, so it is not really fair to compare myself to him, and I think Hau is just slightly taller than me and I am not even certain of that, but Lillie... We have the same 'age' when speaking of our bodies, and she is not a little taller than me. No, she is some good 5 cm taller than me easily!

This world is not fair, seriously...

"MALASADA!" Hau, which found us as soon as we got close to the city, yelled and started to run so fast I thought only a pokemon (or Pinkamena Diane Pie) should be able to.

"Remember me to never stay between that boy and a plate of malasada..." We are walking on Hou'li city, 'The biggest city in all Alola', and just spending some time before we get back to Kukui's lab.

"Sure, but only if you do the same for me," Lillie stopped in front of a showcase and gave each small piece of clothing a good look, something I admit that despite being also a woman I do not understand at all such desire for shopping a few girls have.

"Want to enter and see?" I asked Lillie that was already turning away.

"You sure? I still haven't shown you around yet,"

"Worry not, I will be waiting for you with Hau," Truth being said, I am really curious about this 'malasada' thing. Is it as tasty as Hau said or is just a local preference? Only one way to find out.

"Well, if you insist!" She almost did not finish her phrase and her golden hair already disappeared into the shop. In the end, despite everything, she is still a kid.

I walked across the streets searching for details about the local life. Kids still playing while their parents watch from distance, on the beach a woman takes a sunbath as a man by her side (probably her husband) slept with a magazine covering his face, a big mall was right next to a pokemon center where people were constantly entering and leaving the place, some in hurried pace while others calmly and speaking with a companion. 

In the end, I may be from a totally different universe, however seeing similarities is far easier than seeing the differences.

After a few streets, I finally saw Hau leaving a shop with the rest of something that looked actually really good. After a single second the rest of what I presume is that 'malasada' disappeared into his mouth and with a really big grin he waved at me almost jumping in the same place.

"Hey, do you know that pokemon also loves malasada? It's a great way to gain their friendship!" When I got closer he put both hands behind his head without noticing that there is still some fragments of the malasada still on his face.

"That is really nice to know," I said and cleaned his face with Lillie's handkerchief that just now I noticed that was still on my pocket.

"Hum, Luna, what are you doing?" He asked confused.

"Cleaning your face,"

"Sure, but I could have done it by myself, don't you think?" He said and I was taken back by his question, but after a few seconds, I started to laugh. 

"I am sorry, it is just an old habit. I always have to clean Celestia's face after we ate, despite the fact that she is the older one she is really childish in some aspects," I wiped away a tear of laughter and looked at the handkerchief, it was not wet anymore.

"So, who's Celestia?"

"Yo, yo, yo, check it," I looked above Hau's shoulder (Now I can see that we have exactly the same high... Point for me) and saw two people dressed in punk attire and wearing bandannas with a skull motif coming toward us.

"Whenever. Wherever we meet you, Team Skull don't even greet you!" The first one of them gave a few more steps than the second one and stood to observe both Hau and I. And then surprise... They made some strange movements and used their arms to make them looks like a Skull's eyes. "Why don't you throw a bone and hand us those Island Amulets to us now?"

"Excuse me?" I said giving a step forward, but with a serious expression Hau stopped me by putting one of his hands on my shoulder and walked toward them.

"Oh, so you're part of that Team Skull, huh?" He was showing an expression I never saw before, almost like Hala's when serious. "All you guys ever do is to steal people's pokemon and get in the way of their island challenge,"

"You know it!" One of the grunts said shaking his arms toward a lot of directions again. "We hate the island challenge and every kid fool enough to try it, yo!!"

"Well, If I have to bet, I would say you just were not strong enough to do it by yourself," I said standing side by side with Hau and crossed my arms.

"YO, Watch your tongue!" 

"I bet you hit the jackpot!" Hau gave his characteristic laughter and assumed a hostile posture. "Hey, Luna, give me a hand here."

"With pleasure," All the four of us sent out our pokemon at the same time.



 

I'm not really a guy to hold grudge against someone, but everything has a limit.

My grandpa told me about those team skull guys, and despite this being the first time I'm actually seeing one of them I already have some good reasons to don't like them. First: just like Luna said they're trainers that weren't able to complete their challenge and decided to don't let anyone else complete theirs. Second and most important: A trainer and a pokemon are friends, and to steal someone's friend for a stupid reason like that is definitely unforgivable.

I stared the grunt in front of me just like my Pichu stared the Zubat in front of him.

"Well, what is the plan?" Luna murmured only loud enough for me to hear. This is the first time I'm battling alongside someone, and how funny it is to think that this one is my rival.

"Attack!"

"Simple and clean... I like it!" She gave one of her various psychotic grins. "Moon, Balloon, another whole lot of them!" with a nod her Popplio filled and trowed a lot of water balloons around all the four pokemon, but mainly against Ratata.

Well, I can't stay behind her shadow all the time. "Pichu, tackle!" He attacked in a straight line in high speed but Zubat managed to avoid, probably because of the small advantage of being able to fly, however, Pichu used one of the many balloons to redirect and with a second jump, he hit the target with his head.

With a cry of pain the blue pokemon flew against its will toward Moon. "Pound!" The blue pokemon used its head to hit Zubat again but failed to notice Ratata approaching silently.

"TACKLE!" Pichu got a good hit on the Ratata which exploded a lot of Balloons.

"Water gun," Moon shoot a lot of water on Zubat that it even hit Ratata after. "Please, do the honors," Luna said looking at me.

"Fine, DISCHARGE!" With a lot of force, Pichu's electrifying attack was more than enough to put both pokemon out of combat thanks to how wet they were.

"Wow, NO FAIR! I was playing a different game!" The first one yelled.

"Let's get out of this port! Nobody has to know this!" Both of them turned their back to us and started to run away toward our opposite direction, and of course, I couldn't hold back the urge to wave a small goodbye, y'know, just to be sure they will remember me.

"Those team Skull jerks really must have a lot of free time on their hand, yeah?" Luna nodded. "But keeping other people from doing their island challenge isn't gonna just make it like they managed to finish theirs, y'know?"

"Indeed..."

For some reason, Luna's voice sounded a little down, almost melancholic as she watches those two running away from us. I know I'm not smart like Lillie and Kukui, but even I can see when there's something wrong with a friend, and man, there's something wrong with that girl... 

I put both my hands on the back of my head. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Yes, I will be," She looked at me. "I will go to my trial, please buy a malasada for me too," 

"Sure," answered as she walked away toward Verdant Cavern... Wait, How did she know I was going to buy another one for me anyway?
> Chapter 11- First trial
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Through attempting the trials during the island challenge, one can exceed his or her own limits!' 

Some pretty words that should prepare the ones doing their Island Challenge for whatever is coming...

"That is not funny," I gave a step back as I look straight to the black mass in front of me. "That is not funny at all!"

Staring back at me is a really giant black mass. Its fur is mostly black with a brown, leaf-shaped patch on its belly and brown inside its ears. Its hands, feet, cheeks, and tail are a whitish-cream color, and its hands are much smaller. It has large, puffy cheeks with four whiskers under its chin and two sprouting sideways from the top of each cheek. Its large incisors are still as visible as its shining red eyes.

But this is not a surprise, I faced Raticates before, but they are generally not taller than my leg... Unlike this one that is not only taller than me but even taller than Lillie and probably even taller than Kukui!

And that burning aura around him is not helping.

Everything started half an hour ago. I entered the trial site after speaking with Ilima and he explained the trial for me. He had said that the pokemon in Verdant Cavern are usually quite fierce and my challenge is to find three Ratata that were hiding in their dens and then face something called Totem pokemon.

After I defeated the Ratata (and finished observing the nice view that was that cavern) I reached the deepest part of the cavern where a pedestal lies in the middle with a shining stone on it. And as soon as I was going to take my prize... SURPRISE, a giant black rodent with super Saiyan aura!

I instantly sent out both Moon and Midnight that also were not expecting such opponent. "I will definitely kill Kukui for not telling me anything about this," I murmured only loud enough for me to hear and assumed a combat posture too.

I researched enough to know that is not usual for a trainer to get into the fight with a wild pokemon, and getting into the fight against another trainer's pokemon would be very rude and low, but the thing is, there is not a TRUE rule saying that we cannot get into the fight, most trainers are just not strong (or stupid) enough to do so

But against a giant Saiyan with an army of minions? Sounds fair to me.

"Midnight, rock throw, Moon, aqua jet!" Both of them moved as soon as my orders were given and the battle started. Rockruff's neck shone with the familiar light and sent out a wave of hard rock against the many Ratata surrounding the Totem and Moon instantly got covered in a veil of water and attacked the Raticate with both speed and precision.

Midnight's attack created a heavy mist of sand and still hit a lot of minions with strength enough knock them out and Moon gave a certain hit on Raticate, a nice start, but not enough yet. "Water gun and tackle!"

Moon was still close when she used her water gun on her foe, and Midnight hit it with his head with almost the same strength he used against me... Almost...

But what actually matters is that Raticate lost its balance and fell almost smashing its partners.

Midnight went back to my side and howled once, but Moon did not have the same luck. When she was going to get back a wave of Ratata stopped her and the Raticate stood up with impressive speed for something so big. "Midnight, rock throw again!" I ordered but as soon as the many rocks were going to hit the totem something I did not predict happened. A lot of Ratata simply jumped in front of it and received all the attacks.

What is this? Mafia?

While I was distracted two Ratata held Moon as a hostage. I grinned my teeth and searched for a strategy, but nothing is coming to my head.

The Raticate gave a ridiculously huge jump and it took me too much time to understand what it was going to do. 

With a heavy slam, it fell using all its weight and strength on top of both Ratata and my little Moon.

The shock controlled me for some precious seconds. With eyes and mouth wide open I observed as the veil of sand slowly faded away showing both Ratata out of combat and Moon using all her strength just to keep her eyes opened.

That was exactly when the rage took complete control over my body. With a guttural scream, I closed the distance between me and the Raticate faster than it's minions could even notice and punched it with all the strength I could gather in my moment of rage.

The Raticate yelled in pain as it flew meters away a lot faster than it is capable to move while breaking piles and piles of rock with its heavy body until it crashed violently against the wall creating a really big hole in it.

I breathed heavily. My thoughts were still a turmoil, as half of me want to attack that thing to the point where it will never be able to move again and half of me want to keep myself in control, not my madness.

I looked back at Moon. She was weakly trying to stand up, so fragile I lost most of my reason. How many times had I been like that? Fallen without being able to do nothing.

But not this time!

I barely noticed Midnight fighting against the army of Ratata all by himself as I turned to face the totem pokemon again. It was trying to stand up again. "You better be prepared, I am not going to be so gentle again!"

The Raticate yelled again, but this time I immediately noticed that this is a different thing, but just too late I understood. It is calling reinforcements! Just like a wave of plagues, even more, Ratata and smaller Raticates appear from their dens. Dozens, hundreds and even more than that.

I grinned my teeth.

This is bad, this is really bad.

At first, I thought that the fact no one was seeing the fact was an advantage for me since I would be able to join in the fight and no one would be there to judge, but now I am not so sure.

I can see that this is not a usual thing. Kukui said it is normal for pokemon of Alola to call comrades to fight by their side, but they always call one by one. I think it took me like a personal issue.

I retreat until I am at Moon's side. Midnight clearly is in a bad spot too, he can fight a few dozens of Ratata, but hundreds? We are in disadvantage? BADLY.

Within a few seconds, we were surrounded by a giant wave of darkness. "We need a miracle," I said to myself while searching for any possibility, but I do not find any.

I took a knife I had hidden in my boot. Quite frankly, I survived TWO She-Demons attacks, evil Sirens and even a living forest, and I simply refuse to die by the small hands of rats. 

And that was when the miracle happened.

A blue light just where Moon is has blinded me as I tried to watch what exactly is happening, but just when the light faded away I noticed what happened. Where the small Popplio had been is now a pinniped pokemon with three ruffle-like growths around its body. The first ruffle is just under its front flippers, while the last is shortly before the tail. The ruffles alternate white and pale blue. Its long ears are made up of three segments that lighten and increase in size towards the tip; the first segment is ovoid, while the latter two are spherical. It has a long, conical snout with a white tip, a spherical pink nose, and large dark eyes with pinkish pupils. Its front flippers are much longer than its tail flippers, although both have white tips. There are three digits on the front flippers.

Moon evolved into Brionne!

I have read about evolution at the pokemon school, but this is my first time watching it happening in first hand, and I could not stop a smile from appearing in my face.

With renewed strength Moon sang creating more balloons than she ever did and sent them flying creating a massive rain that hardened the view of the enemies and then she made a strange sound, a disarming voice that seemed to deeply hurt simply ALL the enemies.

The totem Raticate gave a step back trying to hold its ears tightly. And of course, I did not let it go unnoticed. "Midnight, rock throw, Moon, bubble beam!" With this single order, the Ratata decided that the smarter thing to do is to flee from the battlefield, leaving their leader behind to be finished by both powerful attacks.

Another veil of sand covered all the place as it fell with a loud noise. "Had enough now?" I asked the fallen pokemon, but it slowly stood up again. "All your allies fled, why do you not give up too?"

It roared challenging us and used its huge claws to dig into the ground and sent a huge sand wave toward us. "BASTARD," I cursed while covering my eyes, it is using the same attack I used against Hau, and while we were distracted I did not saw when it closed its distance and used its really huge incisors to hit Midnight with what I presume is an attack called hyper fang.

I grinned my teeth again as both Midnight and moon seem to be in really bad shape. "Bubble beam again," Moon shoot her attack aiming Raticate's face and it hit with enough strength for it to give a step back again, but this time I am not going to waste my chance. "Rock throw on its leg!"

Midnight gladly hit its leg with a torrent of hard shaped stones and I decided it is time to finish it all. "Disarming voice again!"

This time Moon's attack was so much more powerful I literally could see as a pink wave of sound was formed and hit Raticate with the strength of a cannonball and sent it flying again until it hits the wall.

Midnight and Moon stood side by side and I stood just a little behind them cracking my knuckles, something I did a lot in my life but does not have the same effect without my fingerless gloves. "If you want more, we are always up for a good brawl," The Raticate looked at us for a few seconds but in the end, it turned its back toward us and jumped toward a higher floor and disappeared into a big den.

I let go a deep breath and smiled as both my pokemon turned to face me with a wide grin each. "You guys were amazing," I petted both their heads. "I think we have a date with the pokemon center as soon as possible, but for now we are done," I offered their Pokeball and they hit the button and entered it with the usual white trace.

I turned toward the pedestal and stretched my left hand toward the sparkling stone.

"What an incredible trainer you are," A voice I heard only twice before caught my attention and I turned to see Ilima walking toward me. "For you to be able to defeat the Totem pokemon I trained to such powerful a state, I don't know what I can say, but now, the Z-Crystal is all yours!"

"So this is a Z-Crystal, huh?" I took the stone from the pedestal, and as soon as I took it powerful multicolored flames covered my hand without burning me.

"What you just received is the normalium Z, the proof you won your first trial," Ilima's eyes flared to life as he suddenly made a REALLY strange dance with his arms and hips until he stopped with his arms creating the form of a huge 'Z'. "All you have to do is to strike an elegant pose like this on, then you will be able to turn a normal type attack into a Z-move,"

I stared him with what I really hope is a blank expression... If this is necessary to perform a Z-move then I will probably never use one.

"Ah, yes, I forgot to mention," Ilima undoes his ridiculous pose and spoke again. "The Totem pokemon! In every locale where the captain holds his or her trial a powerful pokemon just like the Raticate you just fought,"

"Is there any other Captain on this island?" I asked.

"Actually, no. Now, all that awaits for you here is your Grand Trial, that is, the battle against Kahuna Hala," He answered with a wave of his hand. "Now, do you want me to take you to the pokemon center?"

"Please, do," I said without thinking twice. Both I and my team deserves a little rest.





As soon as I stepped outside the bottom of the cavern I felt two very familiar presences. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply once. "Ilima, do you mind if I stay behind a little?"

"Huh?" He looked at me intrigued. "Sure, did anything caught your attention?"

"You can say so," I said and waited for him to disappear from view and turned to face those who are getting closer to me.

"Ho, so she claimed the Z-crystal with the aid of her pokemon," The strange man with the mustache said with an interested tone.

"So, the people of Alola overcome those trials willingly to obtain this mysterious power, to gain access to Z-power, is that it?" The woman by his side asked.

"Depending on no one but herself, what a fine aspiration, quite different from our tendency to solve all our problems with our technology," The man said while playing with his mustache.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, my name is Soliera," The woman said.

"And I am Phyco," He looked at me expectantly.

"Luna," I said while I sighed. "And what are you two doing here in Alola?"

"We are investigating the Z-crystals found here in Alola for our own particular reason," The woman answered. That is certainly a standard answer.

"There is not a way where your reasons led me back to my world, there is?" I asked even if I already know the answer.

Soliera and Phyco exchanged a sad look. "Unfortunately our mission here is of utmost importance, and we cannot help you with that," He said and I put both my hands on my pocket before walking away from them toward the exit.

"Is that so. Thank you anyway," There is no reason to talk with them anymore.

"Perhaps we will find a reason to work together sometime in the future," Soliera said but I did not look back at them and silently walked.

I think I should be crying right now, and indeed I am feeling down, but there is no reason to cry after receiving an answer I already was expecting.





I walked away from the verdant cavern with my hands still inside my pockets.

"If you keep frowning like that you'll get wrinkles early," Huhui's voice is loud and full of energy as always. "But judging Ilima's expression I'd say you cleared your first trial, yeah?" I nodded and kept walking toward the pokemon center. "Hey, Luna, Did something happened?"

"I will explain later... Just let me heal my pokemon," 

Kukui and Ilima exchange some glances but neither of them tried to stop me.,
> Chapter 12- Last goodbye
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"YOU DID WHAT?" I yelled and put both my Pokeball on my belt.

"I... Huh..." Kukui gave three steps back in an attempt to get away from me. "I kinda... Lost Lillie around route 3 and..."

"SO YOU DO LOST HER!"

"Hey, I'm not to blame if her sense of direction is horrible..."

"YOU ARE A PROFESSOR AND THE ONE IN CHARGE OF HER!" I yelled and he gave another step back but this time his arms were elevated in a futile attempt to calm me down. "SHE IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!"

"Aren't you going to say something? You know, just for protection," Ilima asked from behind a couch where he is knelled.

"I would love to!" Kukui answered as I gave another step forward.

"AND WHY DO YOU NOT SAID IT BEFORE?" 

"Well, it's like I was hit with Amnesia, and you were so mad I..."

"Forget it," I said and walked toward the exit passing right by his side. "I will go search for her around the route 3, you will see if she is back to your lab, and Ilima will stay by here watching everyone that just RESEMBLE her, are we clear?"

"YES, MA'AM!" Both Kukui and Ilima answered while beating continence

I left the pokemon center without looking back.





Okay, I may have overreacted...

But I think this is expected. I am the Vice-Principal of a school, it is MY responsibility to take care of kids like Lillie and even older ones, and that is why when Kukui said he lost Lillie I panicked.

Moon and Midnight seem to be in perfect sync with my mood, every battle, be it against a trainer or a wild pokemon, finishes as fast as it started.

I walked through the many ways of the route 3 while searching for any sign of Lillie or Nebby, but I had no sign of them for almost half an hour until I got into a big place.

The scent of the air changed dramatically to the familiar scent of flowers, and as soon as I open my eyes I understood why. At first, I thought it would be a cavern, but the sky is still clearly visible above, and all the floor is filled with too many yellow flowers for me to count.

"Nebby, Nebby, Come back," My heart almost skipped a beat as I heard a very familiar voice calling for a very familiar name. Lillie was just at the edge of the sea of flowers searching for Cosmog with her eyes. "Oh, LUNA!" She quickly turned to face me, but she blushed a little and avoided my eyes in shame. "Nebby... He got out of my bag again..."

I scanned the place searching for the little troublemaker and saw him getting into a small cave. "What does he want there? What if he got attacked by a wild pokemon? He has no moves he can use for battle!"

That was all I needed to hear. I ran faster than many pokemon toward the cave he went in, and after a single second, I got into the cave too.

I expected it to be a small place with barely space enough for Nebby, but I was wrong. It opens like a castle formed by the very nature until I can see another entrance somewhere far away from me.

I saw Nebby not far away from the entrance and I soon got near him. He looked at me and smiled with an PEW.

"What an elusive target, indeed," I looked toward the origin of the voice and saw Phyco and his partner getting closer.

"Target?" I asked with a tone that let clear that I am not happy with this term.

"Soliera, test this one," Phyco said with authority. "I also would like to check the functionality of that Poke Ball we tried making in the image of the device used by these alolan people. Now that we finally succeeded in using one to capture an alolan pokemon specimen,"

"Yes, sir, I will do it at once!" Soliera took a strange patterned poke ball and sent out a Furfrou, a dog-like Pokemon with a troublesome fur that halves the damage of physical attacks.

I sent out Moon as my answer.

"TACKLE!" Soliera yelled with a strangely sharp voice.

"Balloons," I ordered with a voice far calmer than her's, after all, I learned enough to know how well a pokemon can feel his trainer. If I am nervous Moon will be nervous too.

Furfrou attacked but it did not hurt much, and in response Moon did five huge balloons, each one of a different color and hiding behind one of them.

"TACKLE AGAIN," Soliera ordered again for my surprise. Is this really her first battle? Attacking an opponent when she is clearly setting a trap is not a good idea no matter the world.

The Furfrou attacked straight on the balloon that sent him flying toward another one, and this continued until all the five balloons had given a really decent amount of damage. "Aqua jet and then bubble beam!" Moon got covered in water and did our already characteristic strategy, hitting the Furfrou with enough force to send him flying upwards, and then followed him and finished the battle with her bubble beam. She landed already bowing as if she just had performed a small show.

That was... Fast. I could not help but think that way while scratching the back of my head.

"I see, so that is what a pokemon battle is! I suppose if there are strong trainers like yourself around, we may not need to play any great role in this endeavor," Phyco is still playing with his mustache.

"So then we do not need to bother with the girl I assume," Soliera said not louder than a murmur, but I listened loud and clear (years of practice trying to stop stupid students to do stupid students things).

"Leave Lillie out of this," I said with a warning, and Moon howled to mark my point. However, Phycos just nodded ignoring me.

"That one you have come to collect... You must know it is able to warp away in an instant when threatened," Phyco looked at Cosmog that hid behind my leg scared. "You should remember, though, that the holes that are created when it does so leave a path open to dangerous things,"

"We should be going, sir. The president is waiting for us and our report," Soliera said and at the mention of this 'president' Phyco's face darkened and he nodded agreeing.

"I hope one day we may be able to help you with your problem," Phyco turned his back to me and walked away with his partner by his side.

"I hope too," I took Nebby in my arms and walked away toward where Lillie is waiting for me.





My heart was a mix of emotions when I saw Luna walking toward me with Nebby within her arms keeping the few sightseers around from seeing him.

Part of me is happy and wanted to hug Luna tightly for taking Nebby back safely, and part of me just wanted to dive into the middle of the sea of flowers and hide myself. Look's like every time she sees me I am in need of help. She'll never trust me to do anything at all like that.

She silently gave Nebby back to me. "Thank you Luna," I put Nebby inside the bag before he could even say pew. "This time I'm not letting you go," She was not looking at me, and her expression was like she just had received some really bad news. "I- Iguess we should be going, the professor will probably be worried after the way we just disappeared on him," For some reason that brought a smile to her face.

"Yes, I think he is..." She looks just like a snake remembering when she ambushes a pray... Actually, I never saw a snake remembering when she ambushes a pray, but I bet she would do exactly that expression.

"D-did something happened?"

"Nope," She answered with renewed mood. "Not at all!"

I guess I'll have to wait until I meet the professor to understand...





"LILLIE!" As soon as we stepped inside Kukui's lab he received me with a loud expression of relieve. "I'M SO GLAD NOTHING HAPPENED TO YOU!"

"What?" Now I don't know what's happening. "But professor, I already got lost before, why you're so worried this time?"

"Because my life never was on the line before..." He stared Luna that avoided eye contact and walked toward the stair that led to the second with her checks scarlet, and she was taking something on her boot before climbing, but I don't know what is.

"What happened on the last hour?" I asked.

"Well, the thing is..." As soon as Kukui started to explain something (from luna's direction) flew with too much speed for me to understand what exactly it is and hit his glasses taking it away from his eyes within a second.

Both of us slowly and trembling turned our heads toward the wall where now there's an pair of glasses impaled by a knife.

We turned our heads trembling in fear toward the second floor, where we saw as she pulled her leg and disappeared from view. "Hum... Did she had that with her all day?" I asked with a gulp.

"I... Have no idea," Kukui straightened himself and coughed once. "I was thinking if she was going to do her Grand Trial today, but I don't think she's in the mood right now. Actually..."

"Actually?"

"Actually she's acting like that since she dismissed Ilima earlier,"

"What?"

"When she finished her trial she said she would like Ilima to take her to the pokemon center, but a minute after that she said she would like to stay behind a little more and dismissed him," Kukui looked at the second floor again. "I know there's a lot she's hiding from us, but I think something serious happened this time,"

I sighed. "So you think like that too," I put my bag on top of the emended couch and walked to the stairs.

"Wait, Lillie, I don't think..." I turned my face toward him smiling confidently. He sighed once and scratched the back of his head. "You know, I have no idea what we should do, so, let's do this your way," He walked toward the fridge, took a cup of a purple liquid I recognize as wine, just like the one my mom always drink, and walked through the door leaving us alone.

When I got on the second floor I was expecting to see almost anything, except what I saw. Luna was sitting at the writing desk with depression clear on her face. Her hand moves faster than even I can write while she writes what I can only presume its a letter.

She finished the letter and folded it with a tired expression, and if I look into her eyes I almost can see them watering up.

"Luna..."

"It was a big day," She stood up and without facing me she went to her improvised bed. "I will take a nap now," I looked at the sky, and it is already late night now.

"Good night," I took my hat away. "See you tomorrow,"

There's no answer.





It is no secret I am a night person, everyone that meet me can confirm that. I waited for Kukui and Lillie to fall asleep just like I did last night and silently went toward the door, but this time I left Moon and Midnight behind me.

I opened the door slowly and went outside where the sea breeze and the faint moonlight are waiting for me. Not far from me there is a log that one day was a big tree now lies on the beach where anyone can sit.

And that is what I did. I sat down while taking the letter I had written a few hours ago. Usually I am not a sensible person, something that my sister jokes but is not happy about, but this time is different.

The only 'grant' I had that would be able to take me home already said it is not going to help me, and that is the reason I wrote down this...

It is actually a simple letter, but explains almost everything, and makes sure that a few points are passed:  I am fine, I am trapped in another world and... I am sorry.

I looked down at the letter. All I want is to be sure that Celestia will be able to live her life fully if the worst case happens and I never manage to get back home.

The only problem is, even now there is no way I can deliver this letter. I wrote it most for myself, and if someday the slightly chance of sending it appear I will be ready.

Silently, but with the speed of a lightning a presence appeared in front of me. I looked at the only pokemon I know that can move that fast. "If you want me to challenge you, that is not the time..." I turned my gaze toward Tapu Koko.

He looked at me for a few seconds. "I think I should thank you," I said without emotion in my voice. This may be rude, but I never was one to low my head just because of an deity. "Without you, both Nebby and I would be dead by now," He continued staring me. "But tell me, why do you saved us? Or better, why do you wanted to save Nebby?"

He turned his neck to the left for a second. "I am not stupid to think I am a strong trainer yet, but even I can say how weak Nebby is even in normal conditions," I stood up and looked straight into his eyes. "Phyco said he can left an opening for dangerous creature, but this is not your reason is it?"

Tapu Koko continued staring me for a few seconds without doing any movements. He looked  at my hand and pointed toward my letter. I looked at my letter and then back at him. "Why do you want this?" I asked.

He did not answered but pointed at it once more and an idea crossed my mind. "Can you... Take this to my world?" For my surprise he nodded once. I gave him the letter with trembling hands. "Make sure this will reach her," He looked at me for a few seconds. We are almost the same height so I can clearly see his eyes, and the fire I saw in them the last time we meet had not vanished at all, but this time they are filled with a feeling I do not really understand. Is it pity? Or he is... Sorry for something.

With a quick glance above my shoulder he turned away and flew toward the sky as fast and silently as he came. I sat down and waited for the small steps on the soft sand that I am sure is going to come in a few seconds.

Lillie sat by my side silently. Her pink pajama is not made to endure the cold of the night, so she have a small blanket above her shoulders. She looked at the trace left behind by Tapu Koko and I waited for her to ask about it, but she did not asked, instead she just stood by my side for a while.

I am grateful for that. Now that I know the letter is going to reach my sister I feel like I had finally said my last goodbye, and this weight is crushing me. I do not know if I can talk about it now without letting more tears come to my eyes.

We stood there for a while watching the ocean reflecting the moon. The fresh air of the night is a gift I do not have where I live, so it is also really welcome now. With a quick glance I saw that Lillie is going to ask something, so I prepared myself to the worst.

"So that's how Midnight and Moon learned their new attacks without me or the professor knowing. You had been training them while we are sleeping," For my surprise she did not asked about Tapu Koko, and instead she discovered my trick easily. I smiled.

"I am a night owl," I answered simply.

"I see," She do not looked at me, but I can see that she is smiling. "Tomorrow is you battle against Kahuna Hala, isn't?"

"Yes, it is," I was thinking in finishing my phrase here, but she is trying to comfort me, and it would not be fair to simply stay silently while she do all the job. "Is he strong?"

"All the Kahunas are," She finally looked at me. "But they use only pokemon that are a close the level of the challenger. Since you're starting your Island Challenge here, he'll use only pokemon that he know you can fight against, but if this is the last Island of a challenger then he'll use far stronger pokemon,"

"Sounds fair to me," I am getting tired. I gently leaned my head on Lillie's shoulder. I am not used to such direct expression of affect, but I think I am fragilize now, and she had already proved she is a trust worth person. "Hey Lillie,"

I expected her to jump out of the contact, or blush as if there is no tomorrow, but she did not, instead, she took part of her blanket and put it above my shoulders, keeping both of us warm. "Huh?"

"You are a good friend," I closed my eyes and allow myself to just listen the sounds of the waves reaching the sand, and for the first time since I arrive, or better, since I was a teenager, I felt... Peace.
> Chapter 13- Grand Trial
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning almost gave place to the next part of the day, and again I am on the middle of a great ring just made to hold what is about to happen.

"I have been expecting you," Kahuna Hala is right in front of me looking more confident than ever. "Allow me to properly greet the young adventurers embarking on their Island Challenge. I am Hala, the Kahuna of Melemele Island. The final trial here on Melemele will be an one-one battle against me, and it is known as Grand Trial!" His voice sounds far more formal than it truly is, but surprisingly, the view of that old man being serious for the first time is truly intimidating. "You had been entrusted with the Sparkling Stone by Tapu Koko, now show me you and your partner's true power!"

I took my pokeball at the same time as him, and both of us sent out the only pokemon we will be using to decide this battle. "Moon!" I sent out my first partner.

"Hariyama!" Hala yelled and sent out a pokemon I had never seen before. It has narrow eyes and rounded ears. On its head is a short, triangular crest. Dark blue hair grows across the tops of its eyes, around the head crest, and extends down its back to form a long ponytail. The upper half of its body is cream-colored, while the lower half is dark blue. Yellow extensions encircle its waist, resembling a skirt. There is a small, orange half-circle marking in the center of its torso just above the skirt. Hariyama has large hands with three fingers and small, two-toed feet. Both its hands and feet are orange.

I took my pokedex and scanned Hariyama, but the answer I received was not one I was expecting, not because of his type, obviously is a fighting type. 'They love to compare their freakish strength—strength enough to send a truck flying with a single slap.'

"You have to be kidding me!" The surprise was obvious in my voice as I turned my eyes toward Lillie. Last night she said the Kahunas choose carefully their pokemon according the level of his or her challenger. 

"What is wrong?" Hala does not seem even a little playful now. "As one that caught the eyes of Tapu Koko that should not be enough to scare you,"

"First of all I decide what scares me or not. And second, I think you are overestimating me," I looked at him straight into these eyes that now lacks any kind of harm.

"Am I?" He asked without caring about my opinion. "After what Ilima saw during his trial I am not so sure of that," Now he took me by surprise. What exactly does Ilima saw? Did he saw when I got physical against Raticate? Because that would be pretty hard to explain... "Now, if you do not mind, my boy Kukui, please do the honors,"

"WAIT!"

"Now, The Grand Trial, a battle between the challenger Luna and the Kahuna of Melemele Island Hala shall... START!" Kukui lowered his arm fast as if opening a race, and as soon as he finished his phrase Hala decided it is a good idea to start and finish the battle as fast as possible.

"Hariyama, ARM THRUST!" Luckily I soon noticed that his pokemon is not as half as fast as strong, he attached with his palm open but was not fast like Moon can be.

"Moon avoid that and disarming voice," She indeed managed to avoid his attack, a good thing since he completely destroyed the place where his fist touched.

But despite the lack of speed he definitely is different from the opponents I faced. Of course he had been well raised and trained, because even without a second command he continue attacking Moon with a dangerous precision, and was not giving her a chance to use her attack. Actually, the only thing that was keeping her still on the game is the amazing acrobatic abilities that I already learned that is a signature of her specie.

"Balloon," She instantly inflated an orange balloon that was soon easily destroyed by Hariyama, but this is exactly what I want. "Keep creating balloons,"

"I am actually feeling a little insulted if you think that these balloons are going to stop us," Hala's voice was definitely not angered and mainly, he does not noticed my strategy yet.

Many different colored ballons are inflated as fast as they are destroyed but they are serving well their purpose. "Bubble Beam," 

Hariyama managed to dodge the attack in an impressive display of agility, so the attack missed and watered even more the floor. "Now, Arm Thrust again," He kept attacking.

My eyes covered all the battlefield and was also taking any detail of the scenery with the fastest speed I can, be it about the holes on the floor or the Palm Tree nearby. After all, not only Moon cannot keep this going on for too long and we cannot win without attacking too... It is time for a change of pace. "Aqua Jet," When one of the many attacks was going to hit Moon she covered herself in water and flew toward somewhere above Hariyama's shoulder with impressive speed and stopped at the other side of the battlefield. "Now disarming voice!"

"Hariyama, stop her with a tackle," Sensing the danger Hala ordered a different attack, and for my happiness it was even better than if he uses Arm Thrust again. They did not noticed the completely wet ring, and when Hariyama attacked he slipped on the floor and Moon did not even needed to dodge before she uses an attack stronger than the one she used against Raticate. And even better was the fact that it hit the target with full force.

Hariyama groaned in both pain and surprise as the super efective pink cannon ball hit his belly and sent him flying toward the other side of the ring. "Now, Water Jet again!" Moon used the attack and this time she aimed just fine, hitting Hariyama right on his face. 

"ARM THRUST!" Hala's voice now was covered in surprise and shock. Hariyama tried to hit Moon, but still covered in her personal jet she avoided easily and hit him again, this time right on his belly. And again and again he tried to hit her with his powerful arms, but again her acrobatic skills were far too much for him to deal with, and for each missed hit of his part he received a painful hit from our part.

Hala's face was now covered in sweat as he observed the battlefield just like I did a while ago. He grinned his teeth and with a decided voice he yelled. "BELLY DRUM!"

With the side of my eye I saw Kukui's expression change from an interested one to a truly shocked one. "LUNA, THIS WILL TIRE HIM OUT BUT IT WILL QUADRUPLE HARIYAMA'S PHYSICAL STRENGTH!"

"YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!" Now I am the shocked one. I turned my gaze toward Hala, and I almost can swear I saw the same aura that the Raticate had around him. His expression is hard like stone and the decision was clear in those small eyes.

He crossed his arms in front of his body creating an X and then started to create an arc, and I soon recognize as the z-move dance just like Ilima taught me, but the ending was different since instead of forming an giant Z with his arms he instead started punching the air a lot of times, and he LITERALLY was covered by the same aura as the Raticate that did not stopped on his body, but soon covered Hariyama too.

All my body was basically yelling for us to run away as fast as possible. Damn, the pressure that was overflowing Hala was hundreds of times stronger than the army of Ratata, and even the Totem Raticate seems like nothing more than the flames of a dying candle when comparing to Hala's.

"AQUA JET ON THE TOP IF THAT TREE!" I pointed toward the top of a Palm Tree on the opposite side as Kukui and the others that were almost as pale as I probably am.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO ESCAPE!" Hala yelled and pointed toward the tree. "HARIYAMA, FINISH THIS!"

As soon as Moon hit the top of the tree that curved dangerously I saw the most absurd display of strength I ever saw since I came to this world, (and that says something...) Hariyama start punching the very air with blinding speed, and with every punch a shock wave was created totally obliterating the ring and anything in front of him, all the attacks aiming the same Palm Tree Moon had hit a second ago, and the onslaught of hellish attack continued for one of the longest ten seconds of my life and destroyed the Palm Tree and even an abandoned house to the ground before sending one last attack far more powerful that went straight toward the sky and even cleared the few clouds that still had a minute ago.

Such power... I could not help but smile.

This power is so ridiculously huge that obviously have an absurd price. On top of the last piece of the ring Hariyama was breathing as if there is no tomorrow, and Hala was no better. "I think this should do," Hala said looking at me.

"Yes, I agree," He looked at me surprised with my calmness. "FINISH THIS WITH ANOTHER AQUA JET!"

"WHAT?" Hala yelled and too late saw Moon falling like a meteor toward Hariyama that did not even bothered lifting his guard after the Z-move. She hit his face with all the strength that she and the gravity could muster together and sent him flying for various meters before she lands on the now small stage with a respectful bow.

It took a few seconds for everyone to breath again and finally notice what have just happened, and Kukui was the first one to react. He lift his arm and with a surprised voice he announced. "T-THE BATTLE IS OFFICIALLY FINISHED, AND THE WINNER IS THE CHALLENGER LUNA AND HER PARTNER MOON!"

I heard those words with satisfaction. And then it hit me like a punch on the stomach... An uncontrollable need of laughing. I tried to hold back for a few seconds but it was no use, I fell on my part of the ring and laughed like a crazy while covering my eyes with one hand. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

Everyone got near me (including Moon) and stayed by my side for a while, but just after a whole minute of unstopping laughter and after all the air left my lungs that I was able to recover from the shock that hit me at the after match. "T-T-That W-was Ridiculous!" I yelled with all the small amount of air I managed to gather. "I CANNOT BELIEVE IT WORKED!"

"What worked? How did Moon managed to get through that without a scratch?" Lillie was the closest one and help me to stand up a little, but all she managed was for me to sit. My legs are still shacking too much.

"THE PALM TREE!" Hau yelled in surprise. "You ordered Moon to hit the top of the Palm Tree so Tutu was going to aim after that, but the Palm tree sent Moon flying on the totally opposite direction thanks to the alavanca effect!" With a single phrase  he resumed all my strategy.

"That was..." Kukui looked at me for a second and then started to laugh too. "THAT WAS GENIAL!" Hala laughed too and soon all of us were laughing just because no one was really expecting something like that.

With effort Hariyama stood up and walked toward us, taking Moon on his arms and then putting her on top of his head where she back flipped twice and barked. 

"Well, the result come as no surprise for me," Hala offered his hand and helped me to stood up again, and this time my legs were not shacking that much. "What a fine trainer, and what fine pokemon too!"

"TAPU KO-KO-KO!" A laud and imposing sound reverberated all over the place.

"HO! And our mighty Tapu Koko agrees!" Hala looked back at me. "Humph, perhaps Tapu Koko is hoping for a day where you will grow strong enough to face him too! Accept this Z-crystal, it is the fine proof that you finished your Grand trial here on Melemele Island,"

As soon as I touched the orange crystal multicolored flames surrounded my fist without burning it, but everyone except for Hau gave a step back or looked at me worried until the flames faded away. 

"W-What was that?" Kukui's voice was the first one to cut the silence.

"Huh?" I looked at him confused. "This is not normal?"

"Where in the world this should be normal?" He exclaimed.

"Seriously?" This time Hau was the one talking. "This happened with me too when I caught my Normalium-z!" He put his hand behind his head and spoke calmly.

"Hum... Look's like you two have something big in your fates," Hala was thoughtful for a second. "Kukui my boy, aren't you going to the second island now?"

"As soon as Hau finishes his Grand Trial too," Kukui put his hands inside his pockets.

"Oh, yeah," Hau almost jumped in place. "And you don't even think in going easier on me than you did with Luna, did you listened me?"

"HAHAHA! Alright, but I think we should get somewhere else," As soon as hala finished his phrase the rest of a big tree that was close to the destroyed Palm Tree fell with a loud thump.

"Yes, somewhere inhabited may be a good choice..." 

Everyone laughed again.
> Chapter 14- Time to sail away
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do you think he will make it through his trial?" Lillie's voice could not hide her worry.

"You meant Hau?" I asked just to make sure, but I am not looking at her right now. "No doubt he will," I answered with a rare display of certainty.

We are in the middle of a store in Hau'oli city mall. I stared my own reflection on the mirror with a certain proud. I am still wearing a black blouse and jeans black pants, courtesy of Kukui's wife's wardrobe. I put the black and red patterned cap on the top of my head and adjusted my newest pair of fingerless gloves and a black and blue jacket.

"Really?"

"Mark my words, when we get on the port to the next island he will be there waiting for us and eating a Malasada," I changed the red cap for a blue one. I decided to not mention the promise he did on the ocean: 'One day I will beat even my grandpa in an all-out battle' he said. Living his life on someone else's shadow, and now trying to stand up against him as an equal. That is both oddly familiar and admirable. "Better," 

"It looks good in you!" Lillie complimented me which brought a small blush in my face. Except for Celestia, I am not used to receiving compliments like that.

"Thank you," I said shyly. "Is there anything here that caught your eyes?" It was a desperate attempt to change the subject, but I am not in a position to find anything better.

"No, actually not," She closed her bag (which Nebby tried to flee again) and looked at me again. "Hey Luna, do you mind if I make you a question?"

I looked at her with the side of my eyes while paying the attendant that sold me all those clothes. In my experience, if someone asks for permission before asking the actual question then that someone will not just ask for your birthday or anything easy like that. "Go on,"

"Do you... Like staying with us?" She changed her weight from one leg to the other while staring the white floor of the store. "I mean, being here in Alola with m... I mean with US?" She quickly changed what she was going to say.

I stared her with my eyes wide open for a few seconds. I do not even notice the attendant trying to give my money.

I never thought about it... I was brought here against my will, sure. I want to go back to Celestia, Sure... But why do I never thought about this? I lift one of my hands to my chin. 

From where I came I almost only had Celestia, the most important person to me. I do enjoy my job, but it is not the same thing anymore, not because it is boring, but for the constant reminding of how powerless I am. And Alola?

I thought about my first contact with pokemon. It was not the best one, but now this same pokemon is traveling with me. Kukui is an impossibly nice guy and Hau is very fun to have around to cheer up the mood, and there is Lillie too. Our encounter also had not been under certain circumstances, but ever since I saved Nebby I noticed how much she had been there for me... When I had a breakdown at the school or when Tapu Koko took the letter I wrote and promised to give it to Celestia.

My first Trial was challenging and the Grand Trial was even scarier, but I would do them again if necessary. I looked at Lillie that was still waiting for my response with a worried expression and did not even noticed the zipper of her bag opening silently.

I walked toward her and closed the bag myself. I smiled and looked at her again. "Yes, I do enjoy to stay here with all of you," I expected that it would be enough to bring a smile to her face, but I was wrong.

"Do you... Remember from where you came?" 

"Why would I not?" I asked a little puzzled.

She looked surprised for a moment and opened her mouth to say something again, but decided not to. Instead, she shook her head twice and gave me a sad and fake smile. "It's good to have somewhere to come back, isn't?"

Every part of me wanted to ask what is wrong. I hate to be left in the dark about something, and both Nebby and Lillie are totally surrounded by questions I can not answer. But looking by their point of view so am I. That is why I decided not to ask about this now, instead, I smiled and took her hand in mine. "We should be going or Hau will let us eating dirty,"

She looked at me surprised, probably because of what I did not ask, but a relieved smiled soon showed signs in her expression. "Yeah, let's go!"





"You're late, I already finished my third Malasada!" A very familiar voice spoke as soon as we stepped into the port and I looked at Lillie with an expression that yells 'I told you so!'.

"I am sorry," I said and continued my way toward Hau and Kukui that are waiting for us in front of the most patched up boat I ever saw in my life, its front is divided in two and probably is older than me.

"Anyway, hey prof, are you sure this old thing's really seaworthy?" He asked what I was almost asking myself.

"Hey now, don't go calling my boat old! She's not old..." She? "Call her classic or well seasoned, okay? Or you'll hurt her feelings!"

I will just ignore that...

"I quite like that it has some sense of history," Lillie also tried to defend the boat's reputation and after that Nebby said something in his completely 'Pew' formed vocabulary.

"Oh yeah, since we're all here it's finally time to sail away, woo!" Kukui smiled and went toward the boat followed by a running Hau, a shy and cautious Lillie and for me, whose expression almost yells 'whatever'.

It took some time for everyone to get in position. Kukui went toward the 'second floor' where he assumed the rudder, Hau and I each stopped on one of the two points of the boat bow and Lillie stopped a few feet behind Hau while making sure Nebby is not going to leave his small 'cage'.

I leaned against the barrier on my right side and waited for what is almost coming. Hau looks just like a small kid (which he actually is) and could not hide his enthusiasm. After a few minutes a huge bump hit us all, and after a few more seconds a big airstream hit my face.

"WE-E-E ARE OFF!" I looked at Hau that was having one of the best moments of his life. "COME ON GRANDMA, KICK IT UP A NOTCH!"

"DON'T CALL HER GRANDMA!" I smiled as I Kukui's angry voice yelling from the closed cabinet.

"If we push the boat much harder than this we will all end up on the bottom of the sea!" Lillie, as always, is the only sane of us all, since I was also almost yelling for it to go faster with a wide grin on my face.

"HA HA HA, you're probably just worried about your silly hat flying off!" I looked at Lillie that was indeed trying to keep Nebby under control AND keeping her white hat in place. "I wonder what Akala Island is like?"

"So this is the name of the Island? Akala?" I asked trying to speak louder than the roaring wind.

"You bet! This is half the fun of doing the Island Challenge, seeing all Alola by yourself!" Hau gave one more step forward which almost made Lillie yell at him... Of course, I gave a step forward too while holding my new cap that was almost flying away thanks to the powerful wind and started another moment of self-reflection.

I never even left the state where I was born before, and here am I now, in another world exploring an entire continent almost all by myself with more friends than I made in years. The burden of letting Celestia in the dark left my shoulder and now I feel like I left behind an entire piano. It is not my fault that I am here, I am doing my best to go back, I am having fun, I am getting stronger!

With an almost crazy smile I hold back my huge will of just yelling toward the ocean how relieved I am now, and with an assault of adrenaline I jumped on top of the boat's edge where I can almost see Lillie's heart trying to leave her chest out of worry for me, and after a moment to regain my balance I managed to sit down.

"I am free..." I murmured only loud enough for me to listen.





After a few hours on the rudder, I decided it's finally time for a break so I let my partner doing the job. It's not the first time we're doing this travel, and after so many times he knows the way almost better than me.

I walked downstairs with my hands on my pocket and after a few seconds, I opened the door to the cabin where all the kids are sleeping... Or almost all of them.

It's a simple room with a small bed and a couch, there's also a thermal box which I use to keep things cold but usually, it's empty with rare exceptions such as today. And on the couch, there's a scene that almost makes me laugh.

"One word about this situation and you are a dead man," Luna was sitting on the middle of the couch with a serene expression while looking at the moon through the windows, and sleeping using her left leg as a pillow was Lillie with Nebby on her arms also sleeping, and using her right leg as a pillow was Hau that was just a few minutes from drooling. "There is no rudder for you to take care of?"

I got into the room and closed the door behind me. "My partner is taking care of it,"

"I never saw any of your pokemon," Luna drank a purple liquid from a goblet. "Is he used to such a task?"

"You would be surprised," I looked at the goblet and saw that it is almost on the middle. "Have your iron nerves finally gave up and decided that it needed an escape?"

She looked at the wine on her hand and smiled nonchalantly. "This? No, this is nothing. I would say it is a hobby, I always enjoyed to drink something while watching the moon," She closed her eyes in an even more serene expression.

"It's common in your old world for kids like you to drink?" I couldn't help but ask. 

"You would be surprised," She drank another gulp and opened her eyes looking at me again.

I sat down on a chair in front of her and served a goblet for me too. I bought this wine with the intention of drinking it with Burnet, but since it's already open there's no reason for me to not drink too. "You have some really mature tastes, huh?" I drank a small gulp too. Her only answer was staring the floor for a few seconds. "And I never saw someone at your age with so amazing balance," I said as if it's nothing, but she looked at me narrowing her eyes a little... Damn, this girl is FAR smarter than she wants people to think.

"Practice," She answered almost challenging me.

"It takes years of practice for someone to stay on the edge of a boat without falling as you did,"

"And?"

I smiled. That girl is better in this game than I am. "And that's it. I couldn't find a plausible explanation for that doesn't matter how much I tried,"

She didn't expect that answer. Her eyes showed a small trace of surprise and then she laughed silently for a few seconds. "It is the first time I see someone like you, Kukui," She looked at me amused and put aside the now empty goblet. "When most people do not know the answer for something they lie and hope for the best, but you are not like that,"

"I'll take that as a compliment," 

"And you should," Her expression darkened. "How long until we reach Akala Island?" She took a lock of hair that fell on Lillie's face and turned her gaze to the moon outside while petting her (and Hau's) head.

"A few more hours," I finished my own goblet and looked at the moon again. "Tell me, what happened last night?"

"Huh?"

"You can't fool me so easily. When you showed those amazing new moves I knew you were hiding something, so I slept with an eye open tonight," Her expression didn't soften at all. "I saw when you went outside, I heard you talking with someone and not long after that Lillie followed you and you two stayed there for almost two hours, and then, out of nowhere, today you seem like a different person, almost... Lighter,"

She looked at me for a few seconds and sighed. "I was talking with Tapu Koko," This time I couldn't hide my surprise even if I wanted. "And he said he could take a letter I wrote to my sister for me,"

It took me around 30 seconds to truly understand what she said, but after a few more seconds everything started to make sense. "I see... That's how it is..."

She looked at me puzzled. "Excuse me?"

"I think Hala is right about you Luna. Maybe there is a reason for you to be here," I stood up and filled both of our goblets. "But let's not talk about it now," I gave her wine and offered my own in a clear gesture. "For you and your sister!"

She smiled. "Her name is Celestia," The tinkling of the goblets got lost over the sounds of the ocean
> Chapter 15- Arsene Lupin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unlike most people, I do not get sleepy after drinking alcohol, quite the opposite actually.

Hau and Lillie are sleeping for so long using my legs as pillows that now I am in a deep need for a walk so I can stretch my body a little.

Cautiously I lay Hau's head on the couch but he son reacted at the loss of his pillow. I took Lillie's now empty bag and used it as a substitute.

I know Lillie is going to be a little harder. That girl is a really light sleeper and I am sure that if I do anything too fast she will soon wake up, and this is not what I want. She deserves a little rest after staying with me for so long when I gave Tapu Koko my letter.

Kukui is sleeping on a chair with his arms crossed above his chest and his head is going back and forth as the boat travels. I managed to break free from Lillie (which I must say have the softest hair I had ever seen, except maybe for Pinkie Pie) and stood up effortlessly. The fresh air of the ocean is a temptation I can not resist so I went toward the door stopping only to give a quick glance to the almost cute scene in the room.

Lillie is sleeping on the couch without her usual hat and with Nebby in her arms while both Kukui and Hau are trying not to drool on their sleep.

"Men..." I murmured with a soft smile upon my face and opened the door as silently as possible.

As expected the moon is shining with its pale light and the stars are clearly visible even with all that fog

I went to the edge of the boat where the wind is not going to find any obstacle before hitting my face. I took a deep breath and looked at the horizon expecting to see nothing but the sea, however, I was wrong.

"This..." A shadow of a smile crossed my face as I narrowed my eyes a little and the shadow of an island finally appeared in front of me despite the fog. "Akala island?"

I have no idea why, but suddenly a strong feeling of impatience appeared on my chest as I noticed how much I want to land. Kukui said that unlike Melemele, this island has three trials and one grand trial. What kind of people there is here? What kind of pokemon there is here?

I heard a strange sound behind me. I turned toward the origin of the sound but thanks to the growing fog it took me some good seconds to understand what exactly had caused it, but not much longer than that I finally managed to spot Lillie in my point of view.

"I am sorry, did I wake you up?" I narrowed my eyes a little more. This fog is starting to really piss me off. "I really needed a walk, but look, we already can see the next island!" I looked at Lillie expecting to see a shared excitement, but that ended up not being the case. "Lillie, are you alright?"

Instead of answering she just gave some small steps toward me with both hands behind her back. I narrowed my eyes. Something... Something just seems odd, but what? Her dress? No. The way she is walking toward me? Maybe, but no... And yet I am feeling extremely intimidated by those golden eyes that are piercing through me.

When she got only three feet away she stopped and stared me for a few more seconds.

Think stupid brain! What is wrong?

She took her own hat and looked at it as if she does not like what she is seeing, and then she smiled. And she simply throws her hat away toward the sea.

"What are you doing?" I tried to reach her hat before it fell away from the boat but Lillie stopped in front of me. "This is your favorite hat..." That was the exact time my brain stopped working.

With confidence, Lillie put her arms around my waist and approached her face of mine.

I have no idea what the fucking hell is happening. She smiled in a very creepy way and pushed me toward the edge of the boat. "L-LILLIE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Not the smartest phrase I ever used, but like I said my brain is not working anymore. "I know I swing both sides but this is definitely not a smart thing for us to do!"

She took my cap and put it on the top of her head and... Walked away from me?

I took this opportunity for me to breath again. I know that my brain is still trying to work again, but what is wrong with me to say something so personal just because a suspiciously golden-eyed girl hugged me?

My own eyes widened. golden eyes? But Lillie's eyes are green!

"Luna?" Lillie's voice finally reached my ears, but not from the girl in front of me, and instead, from the same girl that was looking at us shocked... But she was on the door I left a few minutes ago.

As a simple matter of reflexes I tried to catch the fake Lillie that was just a few feet away from me, but not only she dodge with a back flip but she jumps onto the floor of the captain cabin without seeming to have any problem. "Who the hell are you?" I asked while keeping eye contact with the fake but my only answer was a giggle.

"What is happening?" The true Lillie stopped by my side and a few seconds later the door opened again.

"What is all that noise?" A very sleepy Kukui walked toward us with both hands on his pocket. "What are you two looking at?" He turned his gaze toward where we are looking with a blank expression. For a few seconds, he stared the fake Lillie and then looked at the real one by my side and scratched the back of his head. "I think I'm a little drunk..." He walked toward the door and closed it behind his back.

"Hum... Should we tell him?" Lillie asked.

"Tch, I will end this my way!" With my right hand I tried to take Moon's Pokeball, after all, there is obviously a high chance of this being a pokemon's trick... But where are my pokeballs?  I desperately tried to find the side belt where I keep my pokeballs, but it was not with me.

But how? I do not let it go from me even during a second since I got on board.

A giggle caught my attention. I looked at the fake Lillie that was still wearing my cap and showing something very familiar on her hand... 

...

"When I lay my hands on you, you better pray God for mercy, because this is not something I will be giving you," I almost roared. Who does she think she is? Arsene Lupin?

She laughed really loud this time. She sounds just like a prankster fox, and this seems to let the real Lillie by my side a little furious. "How we will get her?" She asked 

"Well, if we can not bring her down..." I focused a huge amount of strength on my leg and aimed carefully. I probably have only one chance. And without a warning, I jumped toward the fake Lillie that had only a second to understand what is happening, and I used this opportunity to hit her with all the strength my body could muster in the air.

My attack probably was an overreaction, but it worked in the end. Both of us hit the windows of the captain's cabin and shattered it with our bodies, luckily I am wearing some really heavy clothes so the falling glass did not cut much of me. And in front of me, I could see a very surprised pokemon.

He is a bipedal,  Pokémon with a muscular build. Feline and with bright green eyes with yellow sclerae, and tiny, pointed ears. His torso is gray with several black stripes and seems to resemble a wrestler tank-top; the front and back both have a single vertical stripe up the center, crossed by two horizontal lines. Around his waist is a belt formed from flames that somewhat resembles a championship wrestling belt. The arms, legs, and tail are all red with black stripes forming bands around them. The arms have three stripes, spiky tufts of black fur over the shoulders, and large five-fingered hands with white claws and a single light red pad on the palm. Its legs have only two stripes and simple three-toed paws, and the tail has one stripe and a tuft of spiky black fur around the tip. If I have to bet he is Kukui's 'partner'.

I looked down expecting to see the fake Lillie, but instead (as I suspected) there is a pokemon I never saw before. He is a bipedal, gray-brown, fox-like Pokémon with purple and black accents. It has a pointed snout and ears with also purple insides. It also has some purple rimming its eyes and mouth. It has a large, purple, voluminous mane with black tips and a very defined physical body. 

I smiled. "Caught you, you little Arsene," The pokemon smiled too and tried to break free from me, but I held him down. "Not this time!"

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BOAT?" Kukui's loud voice reached my ears. I think he is not as drunk as he thought he was... I felt a huge pressure on my belly and without even being able to understand what is happening the pokemon sent me toward the ceiling with all his strength.

Obviously, I was sent flying, but I do not let go of his hand so he immediately regretted his actions because soon he was flying too. I hit the ceiling with a lot of force, but when we fell the pokemon was squeezed between me and the floor, and he did not like it.

"LOOK YOU TROUBLE MAKER, YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR... OH MY GOD!" Kukui got on the second floor followed by Lillie, and both of their expressions showed pure shock at the sight of this pokemon. "CAPTURE IT NOW!" He took a different Pokeball than the ones I am used to, this one is not red on the top, but instead is black and yellow, and sent toward me that took it with my left hand, but I do not use it immediately. 

The Pokemon tried to break free again, but I bet he is not under his best condition. "First, I want my cap AND my pokeballs," I ordered and the pokemon took my cap from his head and put it back on mine, and after receiving my Pokeball back I stood up calmly letting go of the pokemon.

Kukui and Lillie are looking at me as if I am crazy, and the pokemon seems just as confused. I cleaned my cap and looked back at the pokemon that was standing up cautiously. "So, you can disguise yourself? This is impressive," I put my cap back and adjusted my gloves. "And you are a great thief too, in a way, I admire that,"

"Seriously, that's the part you admire?" Kukui asked. "I think we should study your sense of moral, yeah," He tried to make me feel bad, but I ignored him and cleaned my jacked that was full of shattered glass.

"I will not force you to join my team, that is not my style, but I can say you are very welcome," I stretched my hand with the Pokeball toward the pokemon, he looked at me really surprised, as if he is not used to having this option. "And of course, I would tell you about the that was probably the biggest thief of all times, and you will even receive his name!" That phrase definitely caught his interest. "Maybe you can learn a thing or two with him,"

"You're trying to catch a pokemon by teaching him how to steal?" Lillie asked.

"Why not? he is already good at it," I shrugged, and when I was distracted the pokemon hit the button and the familiar light engulfed him taking him inside.

A few minutes of silence filled the room.

Kukui also took his pokemon away and turned to face me. "Do you have the slight idea of how lucky you are?"

"Do you want to rephrase the sentence?" I crossed my arms and stared him with an ironic look on my face.

"You just gave an option for a shiny pokemon to go away!" He said as if this is something absurd.

"And?"

"Hum, putting it simply, a shiny pokemon is like a normal pokemon, but his colors are different," Lillie quickly explained. "Its something so rare that the best comparison would be you actually,"

"So he is rare?"

"Let's just say that the chance of finding a shiny pokemon is the same as finding a blue-skinned girl, yeah"

...

"Oh," I finally understood what they were trying to say. "Now I get it..."

"Good," Kukui again assumed the command of the boat. Without Arsene, the heavy fog disappeared and I could see that Akala Island is just a few minutes away. "If you don't have any more questions, I think we should wake Hau up, he will like to see this,"

"Actually, I still have a question," Lillie looked at me as if trying to remember something. "What exactly means 'you swing both sides?'"

...

"I'm not being the one to explain!" Kukui jumped through the window of the cabin leaving me and Lillie behind.

"Traitor..."
> Chapter 16- Olivia
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the boat FINALLY reached the shore it took me no more than a minute to get onto the firm floor of the land. I may like the historical touch of the boat, but that doesn't mean I want to become part of history itself while on board. Nebby followed me calmly (and outside the bag) while both Kukui and Luna walked side by side toward us.

"LAND AHOY!" Hau jumped from the boat straight to the island without even using the stairs and yelled with all the strength his lungs allowed him. "Akala Island, here I come!"

"Isn't it a bit late to say 'land ahoy' after we've already been onshore?" I asked with a small sigh and then turned to face Luna. "Don't you think so too?"

As if combined, both Luna and Kukui put their hands on their waists and with a serious expression answered me. "The land is certainly ahoy, oh yeah!"

I stared them blankly for a second. I don't know if I should be worried about the fact that apparently, Kukui is actually contagious or that I'm apparently the only sane person here. Even Nebby seems to be laughing off my face, which makes me puff my left check a little in anger. Why does those two like teasing me so much?

"Still haven't managed to find a shirt that goes with your lab coat, Kukui?" A feminine adult but playful voice spoke. Everyone turned to face the owner of the voice. "I've told you're gonna scare the strangers looking like that,"

"Nebby, get in the bag!" I said already trying to reach him.

"Don't sweat it, Lillie," Kukui smiled a little. Obviously, those two know each other.

"Why, hello there. Nice to meet you all, my name's Olivia," The woman looked at us with a smile. She was being followed by another girl, definitely not as old, but still older than me and Luna.

"Hey, thanks for stopping by," The girl has green hair and a smile that rivals Hau's. "My name is Mallow, I'm one of the captains here in Akala," As soon as she finished her phrase Luna narrowed her eyes in a way I can only describe as challenging, however, that stare silently changed its target and both Luna and Olivia glared each other for a few seconds.

Olivia smiled and closed her eyes for a second and something in her changed. In one second I thought I was looking at a very gentle woman, and in the next, I felt like I'm in front of a wild beast that found an interesting pray.

"May I ask your name, both of you?" She opened her eyes again.

"My name's Hau," Obviously he was the first one to answer.

"Luna..."

"Is that so..." Olivia still smiled but asked curiously. "Well, so, what's the plan now?"

"It's up to these kids. It's their island challenge after all," Kukui waved his hand and Olivia nodded.

"Yes, I suppose so. Well, I'll be waiting for my chance to face you when the time comes," She turned her back to us and walked away waving a goodbye. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you've got!"

"Me too," Mallow agreed and also followed her way.

Those two started to fade away at distance and while Kukui smiled. "I'm sure she wanted to come to see that you made it all right," He laughed. "Not that she will admit it of course,"

"She seems like a very kind kahuna," Luna was still observing the strange duo... Wait...

"Why do you think she is the Kahuna? She hasn't said anything about that," I asked truly confused.

"Can't you tell just by looking?" Hau smiled at me. He doesn't seen mean, but the way he said makes me think that I'm missing something obvious.

"Like you said she's a very gentle woman, yeah," Kukui agreed but his expression was very serious. "Despite her kind heart, her battle style is as brutal as Hala's,"

I opened my mouth in surprise. I always knew Hala is a strong trainer, but yesterday was the first time I've seen him fight, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't impressed. He looked like a completely different man and his pokemon that I knew for so long suddenly seemed like a monster in terms of battle. However, neither Luna or Hau showed surprise like me, instead, Hau smiled challenging and Luna kept her expression like iron.

"Well, what do you guys want to do now?" Kukui suddenly changed the subject. "If you want you can go straight to your next trial, but I suggest you enjoy the island too,"

"It's obvious for me, I'll go search for the closest malasada shop," Hau answered already walking away.

"Maybe I'll see some shopping on my own, and search a thing or two about the ruins too," I put a hand o my chin and said thoughtfully.

"Oh yeah? Well, I have a little thing to solve around here, so I'll find you two later," He turned away but stopped before even starting to walk. "When we met I think I can take you to Burnet's lab, so be prepared for anything,"

I smiled with the idea. There's already some good time since I've seen Kukui's wife so I was obviously expecting for a chance, but something seems off... The way he said it was strange, almost solemn, and why we should be prepared for anything? I don't understand.

But Luna does...

Looking at her I saw that she was barely keeping her emotions under control as if Burnet is some kind of really important piece on the table, and she is not sure if she wants or not to see her by her own.

"I... Will stay with Lillie for a while," For my surprise, she said with a very firm voice and Kukui finally walked away. I gave her a side glance, but I honestly am not sure if I should say something or not, so we just started to walk around the streets of the island.

We walked side by side for a while in silence, but I'm really not good with silence... "So," I stopped observing the surroundings with fake interest. "Akala island seem to have less nature than Melemele, don't you think?"

She gave me a sad smile. "Yes, that seems to be the case," A store got into view and I thought it would be a very good change of pace to see what there's inside, but sadly Nebby got the same idea and tried to break free again.

"NOPE," I caught him before he could go very further, but he managed to break free and jump onto Luna's arms.

"Are you going to search for the ruins?" She asked while petting Nebby's head.

"Yes, they're called ruins of life," I answered with a nod. "Apparently, they house the great guardian of Akala Island, a creature called Tapu Lele,"

"PEW!" Nebby let pretty clear his opinion on the subject. 

"I wondered if you'd like to come with us when we go to visit the ruins?" I changed the weight from one foot to the other. I want her to come with me, but saying that would be so embarrassing. "I mean... Little Nebby here seems to like you quite a bit, Luna,"

"PEW," Again, Nebby let clear his seal of approval.

She smiled, this time a real one, and gave Nebby back to me. "Yes, I would like to,"

After that, we went toward the famous hotel that was very close to us.
> chapter 17- A small interlude
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Again I read the letter she sent me, for what I feel is the thousandth time.

Many times I have seen this familiar handwriting, but it's the first time in a long time I've seen it so shaken as if she, the one writing it has finally given up on her hope. I turned my gaze toward the starry sky with a sigh. I am sitting on her favorite place drinking a small cup of hot cocoa. She would probably have loved a night like this one.

But she's not here anymore.

It's a little funny when you think about it actually. We've been together ever since she can remember. Ever since I can remember. And after a single night... PUF! She's gone.

Of course, as soon as I woke up the next day and noticed that she disappeared I desperately searched for any sign of her whereabouts, but all my search was simply fruitless.

Of course, now I know why... It doesn't matter how much I search there's no way I can reach her when she's in another world. That thought boiled my blood and I stood up. In the letter, she said she wasn't in the world of Equestria, which would have been a place where she would be able to come back from, but in a completely different one.

I called our student, Sunset Shimmer, since she obviously is the most experienced in the subject, but it still gave me no result at all. I went inside while still trying to keep myself under control. I can take devils, sirens, monsters and anything the universe wants to throw at me, but taking my sister away is too much, my heart still aches like there's no tomorrow.

A strange sound caught my attention, and looking down I could see a strange patterned shadow that I've seen only once before. I turned around so I could see him better. The strange creature who handed me the letter was standing on my strand as it watched me silently.

"What's wrong? Have another letter for me?" I asked sharply. I know I should be grateful to him for giving me information about my sister's whereabouts, but the anger within me makes it very difficult. It's like I'm looking for someone to blame, somebody I can throw all the rage and accumulated sadness that I have inside me.

He only stared at me for a few seconds, which added to my anger. "Don't you have anything better to do?" I asked. "I'm sure there are other people around here that you might be able to bother, just look around," He blinked once. I know he can understand me, so it means he just ignored me.

That was the final straw.

"WHAT THE HELL YOU WANT MORE FROM ME?" I trowed the mug right on his face and it broke with the impact, but I don't care. I don't care about anything anymore. "YOUR DAMN WORLD TOOK HER FROM ME ALREADY, WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT?"

He blinked again.

I grinned my teeth. "ANSWER ME DAMMIT!" I took the chair that was by my side and trowed it, and this time he used his strange arm/shield to protect himself. "OH, NOW YOU CAN DO SOMETHING USEFUL, DIDN'T YOU? SO WHY DON'T YOU BRING HER BACK?" I took my table from the floor effortlessly, and this time I had a pleasant feeling as his expression finally changed to a surprised one.

He put both his arms up in a clear attempt to tell me he means no harm, but I couldn't care less. I trowed the table at him. "IF YOU CAN'T BRING HER BACK, THEN TAKE ME TO HER!" The table exploded in a million pieces, but of course, he wasn't harmed.

He nodded.

My eyes widened. "What?" He turned his back to me and pointed at me and then at himself again. "You... Can take me to where she is?" 

He looked at me with sadness. There's more than he's willing to say now... But I don't care.

I walked toward him decided.





"What a bunch of idiots," I cleaned the small trace of blood that I felt falling from the corner of my mouth. "Can't even give a single decent punch,"

I looked at the sky. It's raining... Like always. It never stops raining around here.

I sat on a big stone close to the door of Po town and looked at what I had just done. Twelve 'Trainers' are lying on the floor completely unconscious. I smiled bitterly. Those stupid idiots can't do anything without their pokemon and yet they tried come against me? The big Guzma? Of course, I beat them down, and very easy even.

"You made a big mess this time, huh?" I turned toward the origin of the voice and grinned.

"Yeah, these guys were just a bunch of daddy's little boys that couldn't do a single thing by themselves, So I decided to show them what the human form of destruction is like, HAHAHAHA!" I laughed. He is a man that seems like the very description of depression, and yet from his direction I already can feel his overwhelming presence as if I'm in front of a true monster.

"Sure," Nanu walked toward me without caring about the many semi corpses he was stepping on. "And the fact they were after those little idiots you call a gang have nothing to do with that?"

"What do you want old man?" I asked sharply. He always manages to piss me off.

He shrugged. "A certain lady want to talk with you,"

"Huh? And what this has to do with you?" I looked away. "Many ladies want to speak with ya'boy Guzma here, but they don't need to talk with you first,"

He smirked with his hands still on his pockets. "I think this one is a little different," He turned away. "I just had to bring her to see you, so my job here is done,"

"And since when you're one to just help the others? Decided to do your job, cop?" I crossed my arms and laughed as the rain makes my hair fall on my face, which probably will make me looks like a crazy person in no time at all.

"Well, I was in a good mood," He started to walk away, but stop a few meters after. "He's all yours," And resumed his walk.

When he said a lady wanted to talk with me I thought it was a girl wanting to become a grunt, but this is obviously not the case. She has blonde hair with silver streaks and green eyes. She wears a white dress with a diamond badge on it, black and white leggings, and boots of the same color, which means she obviously is not going to ask for a chance on team skull. Despite the heavy rain she was not using an umbrella and doesn't seem to care to get dirty.

But there's something wrong. Nanu is already gone, but that damn feeling of sheer power still haven't vanished at all. The woman walked toward me without even giving the beaten trainers a glance, instead, her eyes were solely focused on me. And with each step, the presence of power is growing too.

She stopped not far from me with her arms holding each other. Suddenly I felt something falling across my check. A single drop that I'm pretty sure isn't from the rain. I can't believe I'm going to say it, but I smiled a little nervously, but not because I'm speaking with a pretty woman, but for an entirely different reason.

I can't deny anymore, the ridiculous amount of power I'm feeling is coming from her alone. Is like standing in front of a legendary pokemon that lacks any sense of pity for the others. But I kept myself from trembling.

"What do you want?" I asked even more sharply than when I talked with the old man.

"Are you the man called Guzma?" Her voice is soft and caring, completely opposite to her aura.

"And who wants to know," For some reason, her traces remember me of someone...

"My name is Lusamine," She answered while staring me in the eyes.

"Oh," I smiled. Now I get it. "The president of that artificial island and bunch of stupid naturalists," I kept the better part for the end. "Came to get your little boy back? Sorry to say it lady, but Gladion isn't even in this island anymore,"

As I mentioned his name the ghost of sadness crossed her face, but she did not cry or yelled at me, instead, something far scarier happened. She smiled. A smile lacking any kind of sanity that suddenly froze me entirely.

I can't take my eyes from her. It's like she's a snake and I'm only a small pray that can't counterattack. This time I'm shaking. I thought I was dangerous, I thought Nanu was dangerous, but this woman... She's a devil.

"Yes," As if she read my thoughts she said it and put both her hands on my checks. "You're far stronger than he made me believe," My eyes widened. No adult has ever said I'm strong, much less someone close to such an absurd level. It's a trap! I can't fall for that! But for some reason, my body is not responding.

"W-What do you want?" That's all I managed to say.

"What I want?" Her smiled disappeared for a second, and then returned far crazier than ever, making me gulp for the first time in my life. "I want you to be part of my beautiful world,"

The never stopping rain got even stronger as a thunder crossed the sky, but all I could see were those hypnotizing green eyes.





"Why are we here?" I asked as I observed the horse statue in front of me. "She said she's not in Equestria, so there's no reason for us to be here," He looked at me and then observed his surroundings. There's no one in view.

He went toward the left side of the statue where there's another mirror. I stopped by his side but all I could see was my own tired expression.

He touched the mirror that suddenly glowed with a magical light.

My eyes widened in surprise. Did that means that every side of the statue is a portal to a different world? Then that means... Luna is after this mirror? I jolted forward abandoning all sense, but he stopped me and shook his head once? "What's wrong? I have to bring her back!"

He shook his head again, and then pointed toward the mirror, and then toward the school and shook his head again. Not a very easy analogy but I get it... "When I cross this mirror... There's no turning back to this world, right?"

He nodded once solemn.

I smiled. "Too bad, but my world had already been taken from me... And I'm going to take her back," Without giving him a chance to stop me I jumped inside the portal.
> Chapter 18- Hotel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I love air conditioning.

Of course,  I have nothing against Alola. Quite the opposite actually. The abundant nature and clean skies are a welcome change for me, however, with the clean skies comes a really strong sunlight which is something I do not found really nice. But now, sitting at a table inside the big Hotel just at the entry of Akala and feeling the familiar temperature of an air conditioning is one of the best feelings I felt ever since I came to Alola.

I glimpsed my surroundings while still paying attention to the words of Lillie sitting at the table in front of me. The place is really big with many tables around the reception where many couples are enjoying each other company. Thinking well, does Lillie and I looks just like one of them? I do not really mind but I wonder if Lillie is going to find this unpleasant.

"What is it called again?" I asked interested.

"Mega Evolution," She took a sip from her ordered drink and discreetly eyed her surroundings, almost as if she is expecting to see someone. "It is an very interesting process only a few pokemon have access to. As you have seen, evolution is natural to most Pokemon, but usually the maximum that a pokemon can evolve is until a third stage, and this change is theoretically irreversible,

"But a few specimens are able to reach a new stage that further amplifies their powers and can even alter their innate natural abilities using a special type of stone. But this is a reversible mode used only for battle and when the pokemon and trainer ties are extremely strong," She explained it almost as a teacher ... It was actually kind of cute.

"Interesting, can you tell me which species are capable of doing this?" I asked before drinking some of my own drink.

"Lucario, Absol, Aerodactil, Alakazam, Audino, Beedrill, Gallade, Gardevoir, Gengar, Garchomp, Houndoom, Loppuny, Glalie, Pidgeot..."

"Hey, calm down mini Twilight, I think I get the point," I interrupted her before she could go on too long. "But I am very grateful for the information,"

"Who's Twilight?" I flinched for a second. I do not know if apparently Lillie has the ability to bond very well in small details, or maybe I am the one that is not very good at hiding anything.

"Just a girl I met a few times," I answered while trying to look away. It seems that a minor problem is happening outside, as about three hotel staff rushed to the entrance without satisfying any of the people they bumped into. "I wonder what happened,"

"You never give me any concrete answers, and this change of subject was as subtle as a Mamoswine banging his head on the ice," Again I flinched. Apparently the answer is the second option. "Well, it's not like I'll force you to tell me or something. Just be said that you don't have to hide anything from me, okay?" I looked toward her. I cannot see her eyes, her hat is in my way, but I can tell she is being frank, most likely more than I am. She traced her finger across the rim of the cup as if nervous. Damn, why does she make it so hard not to like her, so I would not mind hurting her feelings or lying, but now ... I can only be happy that her hat gets in the way, because I don't know if I could face her.

"HEY," A woman yelled with a man, apparently another staff members. "Have you managed to deal with the situation out there?"

"N-not yet ma'am, apparently those grunts are receiving orders and they're more afraid of their leader than of us," He slowly answered.

"ARE YOU AN IDIOT OR WHAT?" I think she does not liked his answer. "WE'RE THE MAIN HOTEL IN THE ENTIRE ISLAND, WHAT DO YOU THINK OUR COSTUMERS WILL THINK ABOUT A BUNCH OF GRUNTS AROUND HERE? WHY HAVEN'T YOU USED FORCE YET?"

"They will probably think it is better than putting up with an adult woman without self-control," I sighed as I stood up. "Hello ma'am, I believe team skull is causing you problems, am I right?" 

"Yes," She also sighed. "What wouldn't I do to get rid of them soon?"

Probably get your own hands dirty. "What about a small deal? If I get rid of them my friends and I can stay here for the night,"

"What?" She asked in surprise as she analyzed me from top to bottom. To be completely honest, I do not like her, but I would also like to save money if possible, and Lillie certainly won't dislike having a soft bed to sleep after sailing all night. "Why would I do that?"

"LUNA," Lillie suddenly looked at my direction surprised.

"Because it would be very kind of your part. And because if everyone knows that the employees of the best hotel on the island are ready to attack children just because they make a little noise on your doorstep will not be good marketing for you. So, it will be better if another children takes care of it without ruining its reputation,"

Finally she assumed a thoughtful expression. It is good to note that despite my now tiny body I still maintained my manipulative and argumentative abilities. "Fine, you have I deal. Do whatever it takes to take those brats from my hotel,"

"Sure, meanwhile, show my friend Lillie where is our room,"  Waved my hand while walking toward the door.

"But Luna, we just reached this place, we're far from midday," Lillie said nervously and even Nebby 'pewed' his agreement.

"I know, but we will need somewhere to rest after I do my first trial," I smiled. "Oh, and ma'am, I have two other friends, so I think a big room is better than a small one,"

"YOU WHAT?"

"THANKS FOR THE DEAL!" I ran toward the door laughing out loud and attracting a lot of attention, but who cares? In the end, a deal is a deal, and I do said 'friends' in plural... It is not my problem she did not read between the lines.





On the outside I was greeted by a sight I honestly expected to see. Two already familiar faces (or what you can see from their faces) were causing the commotion everyone was talking about. I walked toward them, making my way through the crowd slowly. To be honest, I am in no hurry at all.

"WHA..." The first one of them saw me and soon a shocked expression appeared in his features, and to be honest, I would be lying if I say I did not think this is slightly enjoyable. "WHAT ARE YOU... I mean, I KNEW I WOULD FIND YOU HERE, YO! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT HUMILIATION BACK THEN, "

"I knew you... Wait, that pokemon of yours evolved?" The fist one asked surprised for a second, but after that I can see in his eyes that he smirked. "Well, it doesn't matter, my new friend here will be more than enough," He took a great ball and sent a pokemon he did not had when he fought Hau and I, a Drowse.

I softly sighed. According to Hau these guys are famous for interrupting the island challenge trainers, and I am a trainer doing an island challenge with nothing better to do, so, I think I will take this as the perfect chance to test my new partner. "Sounds fair to me," Without another word he throws a great ball with an Drowse. 

I smirked. Now, this will be interesting. "Ready when you are,"

"Drowse, use psychic," He ordered and his Drowse moved his small pendulum from one side to the other and some kind of purple aura appeared around my pokemon, but besides that nothing happened. 

"YO, WHAT'S THAT? WHY THIS ISN'T WORKING?" I felt slightly pitiful and a lot amused with his confusion. 

"Shadow Claw, please," My pokemon closed the distance between him and his enemy so fast I was really surprised. I mean, I knew he was going to be a fast pokemon, but he is easily the fastest one I have seen by now. Anyway, both of his hands became surrounded by a shadow aura with the format of a claw and he hit the Drowse on his chin with his left claw sending slightly upward and then used his right one to punch him back to the floor. 

"Since when a Brione can learn shadow claw?" His eyes are even more surprised than his pokemon's that was slowly rising again. 

"Beats me?" I shrugged. I would be lying if I say I am not enjoying playing around with him, but I have a thing or two to do, so I think it is time to speed up things. "Dark pulse,"

"YO?" That was all he said before my pokemon sent flying an horrific wave of darknes toward his fragile psychic type pokemon that did not managed to do anything against it and was brutally knocked out. 

The crowd around us exploded in cheers for me, mostly the staff members, and I could not help but blush a little. I hid my face with my cap. I do not enjoy being in the spotlight, this is more Celestia's area. 

After that another two grunts attacked me, but Arsene easily defeated their small Zubat and Salandit, actually, I think he is enjoying that quite a bit. Probably a trace shared for being a Dark type. 

Swears and words of vengeance are nothing new for me, but the team Skull said it anyway before leaving as I returned Arsene to his pokeball. 

It took me a while but I finally managed to make it back to the hotel where the same woman I talked before gave me a forced smile. "Thank you for your help," She said coldly. I think she is a little upset I tricked her into my game. "My staff members will lead you to your room, please, enjoy while you're here,"

"Thank you," I said and followed the staff. Nothing better to start the day than making an adult learn a lesson in humility.  "I hope Lillie let one of the best beds for me,"





The world is a blur. 

I can't really describe the feeling I felt as I crossed the mirror portal, it was like I was thrown inside a multi-dimensional washer and then I hit the great wall with the force of a speedy bus and just then I fell on the floor. 

I opened my eyes and rolled onto my back so I can see the ceiling. It seems I'm in some kind of cave or anything like that, but it was obviously man-made. 

The creature that brought me here appeared in my camp of vision not much after. "I think you're more used to that than I am," I tried to joke and lift half of my body, but I was still really dizzy. "Thankfully, I'm really a tough woman,"

I looked at what was in front of me. The creature was standing at the side of what I suppose is the place I came from. It seems like some kind of mirror where I can see a teenager sitting on the floor. She had my eyes and a really beautiful multi-coloured hair... with a smaller and more destroyed version of the clothes I was wearing? 

"You gotta be fucking kidding me!" I turned to the creature with a burning rage. "What is this? I have 15 years again? You could at least..." Suddenly he moved. 

It was like a lightning bolt that he suddenly was behind me and I felt a really strong impact on the back of my neck and blacked out without another word.
> Chapter 19- Paniola Town
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paniola town was interesting to say at least. 

The city is gray and Brown because of all the dirty and woods (which is the main material used for the buildings and all the houses) and most people just walks around with cowboy's hat on top of their heads and a few Mudbray eat hay that was inside a small wooden car. And last but not least,  a small lake at the edge of the townhouses four fisherman are trying to take something, but most of them just look sleepy. 

"And now we are in the old west," I opened a small and amused smile as I took my cap off my head. "I really want a thematic one now," Nothing wrong with my cap, of course, but it is simple logic to want a cowboy hat while in a cowboy city. 

"Now, that's a nice place," I turned around to see Hau walking toward me with his hands on the back of his head with his Rotom-dex flying around him. "I feel like I'm in one of those old movies Tutu likes so much. It just makes me want to battle,"

"Really?" I could not help but ask. "I have fought 36 trainers on my way from our hotel to here, Moon even learned a new attack, and are you saying no one of those trainers tried to battle with you?"

"HAHAHAHAHA," He laughed. "Of course, they did, they're trainers after all. You are the only one I know that never have used your challenger's right. But look at this place. We have an entire street just for the two of us, a pokemon center just at the corner, and all we need now are decent hats," Hau Shrugged and pointed at a shop behind him with his thumb. "So, what do you say?"

"..." I stared at him for a few seconds with a blank expression. "I want the black one,"

"Now we're talking,"

After we bought our hats we felt like we are ready. We stopped in front of each other and shakes hand as he calmly smiles and looked at the sky. "The sunlight is strong here, huh? Looks like we're doing this at the right time too,"

Apparently he was more than just a little right. A crowd was surrounding us now and the bell of the tower started to ring. It's midday. I let go of his hand. "Twelve steps, turn and Pokeball,"

"I wouldn't do it another way," He smiled and we turned our backs at each other. I walked my twelve steps and turned to face him again. A random man started playing harmonica as a hay ball crossed our paths. "Talking about climatic confronts,"

"What do you say, one vs one?" He asked loud enough for me to hear. I looked at his waist and saw two more Pokeball (One great ball) waiting to be used, but he clearly thinks a one on one will be more interesting. 

"That is good for me," I took Moon's Pokeball and sent her out. 

"Let's shine partner," He took his Pokeball and sent out a strange and yet familiar pokemon. It was a black and red cat with a fire bell on his neck. Clearly the little Litten has evolved. 

The bell rang one last time and then it started. 

The first thing Torracat did was to look mean at Moon, his entire fur grew in a matter of seconds and he looked bigger than ever (and he already looks twice bigger than before). "Torracat, fake out," Hau held his hat between his fingers and ordered, and before I could even react his pokemon appeared right in front of mine and slapped her. 

"Scald," I ordered and Moon sent a jet of scalding water toward Torracat that jumped out of the attack. "Aqua jet!"

"Flame charge," Torracat surrounded himself in fire and attacked Moon head-on much for my confusion. Both attacks hit but instead of a hurting meow, I heard a hurting bark as Torracat pushed Moon away with sheer strength. "Now, fire fang," He turned and faster than ever before he turned and bites Moon with enough force to actually hurt her. 

Moon was sent flying toward me as I watched in shock. She stood up and looked at me waiting for orders, but I cannot give them right now, I cleaned the sweat from my forehead, I have to think. 

Why is his Torracat so strong? I was sure he would be faster but he has the disadvantage and still was having the upper hand. Why? He only used fire attacks, why? I looked at the sun. It is strong, so strong I feel like I am going to melt. 

' The sunlight is strong here, huh?' 

"Shit," The sun is so strong it is like he had used sunny day, weakening my water attacks and boosting his fire ones. And at the beginning of the battle, he had used Intimidate to lower Moon's physical attacks. Meaning: I just cannot defeat his strength. 

I underestimated him. 

I underestimated him really bad. 

"Flame charge again!" Torracat charged at us again and hit Moon drifting on the sand and charging again each time faster. 

"Scald on the ground!" Moon did as I told and hit the ground with enough force to be sent flying upward. "Create as many balloons as possible and destroy them with Aqua jet," 

"..." Hau looked at Moon and them at the ground. "Be careful Torracat, she wants you to misstep and fall!"

"!" Okay, half of my plan was discovered. But that means half had not. I stared Hau with renewed respect. He never even defeated one of my pokemon, and his childish behavior and mind always make me think of a kid with a new toy he likes but does not know how to correctly use, but he is changing fast. "Do not worry Moon, keep up with the plan!"

"It's useless," Hau's tone was not confident or anything, however, I can see he truly believes in what he said. "I've seen what you did against my grandpa, and I'm not falling for that,"

"Your grandfather is your grandfather. You are you, I will not treat you like him or do the same strategy as I did to him. I am looking at my rival now, not at the Kahuna," I said those words from the bottom of my heart, but I did not expect their effects. Hau stopped ordering and Torracat looked at him confused as small drops of water hitting him, Moon's courtesy, of course. But he looks just like I had slapped him on the face. 

He stared me blankly and without even blinking, his hat protecting him from the growing rain. "I..."

I am sorry Hau. I do not know what happened, I do not know what is happening inside your head, but right now we are fighting. "Scald again," He looked at me surprised almost as if he just remembered that we are in the middle of a battle, but it was too late even for Torracat to react and he was sent flying like it was hit by a Haryama. He spins and rolled on the wet ground before getting back on his feet lifting a cloud of dust. "AQUA JET!"

"F-FLAME CHARGE!" Torracat charged against Moon that was falling toward him like a small meteor so he could defeat her with his sheer power and strategy again, however, this time his strength was not enough to push her away, and even if her strength was not enough either they both were sent back. "What?"

"SCALD!" Moon backflip once and throw another attack at Torracat, this time, lightly knocking him out. 

Hau stared at his pokemon for a few seconds and then looked at the sky where the miniature rain was still falling. "Rain dance? I did not even know Brionne could learn it," He smiled again. "THAT WAS AMAZING!" He jumped once and ran toward his pokemon taking him into his arms. "That was so fun, it was the best battle I ever had, well, except maybe Tutu, but I know he was holding back against us, so I'm not sure it counts,"

I pet Moon's head as the crowd slowly dissipated and also took her on my arms. "You were amazing. Now let us rest, okay?" I put her in my Pokeball again. 

"Yeah, she definitely deserves," Hau said as his Torracat slowly woke up. "Sorry pal, it was not this time, but it was fun, wasn't?"

Torracat does not look so happy. 

"Let us go to the pokemon center?" I asked. 

"Sure! And I hope your moon gets even more amazing so I can get even stronger, okay?" He smiled and carried his pokemon on his arms as I shake my head and whispered. 

"I was talking about you," 

There was no doubt. His strategy was genial. If he had even tried to countermeasure mine he would be able to succeed. 

And I would have lost.
> Chapter 20- A name to remember
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After we healed our party I left Hau eating Malasada with his Torracat and went for a small walk. 

With both of my hands on the pockets of my jacket, I observed the city around me. It was actually really comfy for a thematic city, and it was really interesting to see people and pokemon interacting with each other. Some kids are playing tag with some energetic Rockruffs as their parents are using a really big horse-like pokemon to carry their heavy charges. 

Again I caught myself thinking about the many similarities between this world and the one I grew up and lived. I think I could really get used to living here. 

But then I would have to leave Celestia behind. 

My already small smile disappeared from my features. 

No way this is going to happen. I shook my head in decision. There is a reason I am doing all of this, I want to gather information so I can go back where I lived and be together with my sister, that is all. 

"But it would be nice if I could stay in both," For the first time I whispered these words. Saying the opposite would be a lie, no more no less. I like Alola. I like my pokemon and want to help them to become as powerful as they can be so they can live as they please. I like Lillie, Hau, Kukui, Hala and basically everyone I met. 

But I love Celestia. I love my sister and I like my world where I own a school, where I help guiding the young to find where they want to go and who they want to be and avoid following the footsteps I once walked.

And I cannot have both. 

I sighed. No point wishing something that cannot happen, and no use wishing something without battling for it. 

Look ahead Luna, grip your will and walk forward. 

"YO! THIS IS GREAT,"

"Oh, come on," I stopped my moment of a daydream for a well-deserved facepalm. An already VERY familiar voice was even louder than normal. "I think I agree with Hau, you guys have too much free time in your hand," I sighed and walked toward the team Skull. 

"Now, hand me this golden bottle cap or I will hurt you really bad," The first grunt was talking with a small white fox-like pokemon that was already very hurt. I think it is called Vulpix according to the book Lillie lend me.  "And if you don't want Guzma's Scizor to hurt you, you will have to behave,"

Scizor? 

I look in time to see a big bug whose skin is clearly made of sheer red metal, his face was contorted in what I can only call an eternal frown, but that was not the issue. 

They said this Scizor was lent by a man called Guzma, but even without them saying I would have noticed he is not one of their pokemon. This one has an abnormal presence, a pressure which makes me instinctively enter in battle stance. This one is strong, really strong. 

"Now, yo, use bug bite," The second one ordered. I think he missed a lot of his classes. If I am remembering right this Vulpix is a fairy and ice type, which means he resists bug type attacks, and the Scizor was aware of that. He rolled his eyes and completely ignored his orders, instead, He ran toward the shivering pokemon with its iron claw ready to attack... 

Iron claw? No, it is called metal claw, which obviously means it is a steel type attack... Which is not only super effective, but it is also X4. 

'HE WILL RIP THAT VULPIX IN TWO!'

He is a fast pokemon, too fast for me to call any of mine. Without thinking twice I ran as fast as I could toward them. The small pokemon shivered with its eyes closed as if he knew what was going to happen with him. 

Somehow I managed to be fast enough to get between them, but the Scizor did not play any mind and kept its attack. I used my right forearm to stop the attack. "Guh!" But I clearly underestimated this pokemon. His attach was absurd, I stopped his attack but his strength is even forcing my bones and sending waves of shock and pain through all my body. "AAHHHHH!" I yelled and held his attack, the ground beneath my feet shattered as I used my insane strength to push him back by force. 

He looked at me shocked, almost as if he could not believe what was happening. And with his distraction, I finally send him flying back. He stopped his own shock and using his metal legs he digs the ground to not be pushed back anymore, but his momentum was too strong and he lifted a heavy sand cloud. 

"YO? You're here too?" Both grunts asked. A big crowd stop what they were doing and looked at us surprised, but I ignored all of them. This Scizor is smart, He did not lower his battle stance and was searching for an opening in me. My right arm is so red it seems I was hit by a truck, but I think a truck is probably not as strong as this guy. 

"Guzma, is it not?" I whispered. This is the name of his trainer, a name I will gladly remember. He trained this pokemon well, in some brutal way, but well nonetheless. He is looking at me waiting for me to lower my arm toward my Pokeball, and if I do this he will attack. 

"What's wrong kid?" The first one asked laughing. "Scared now that you're seeing a pokemon from a real trainer?"

"Take out your pokemon," The second one yelled. I wanted to say shut up or something like this, but this pokemon is not one I can take my eyes off. "Well, if you're not using it now we will make you! Use u-turn,"

Again the Scizor ignored them. He closed our distance so absurdly fast I can only describe it as a priority move and attack with a dozen punches at the same time. I managed to cross my arms and block all of them, but his strength sent me flying above the small lake and hit the wall of stone behind it. The Vulpix looked scared as his protection was gone, but the Scizor completely ignored it and again used his priority move against me. At least the Vulpix ran away. 

But this time I was ready. I let myself fall down instead of staying on feet and he destroyed the big stone alone sending an even bigger curtain of dirty. He looked at the empty wall surprised and this time I am the one that used it. I punched his iron body with my left arm. His expression changed from surprised to utterly shocked as I sent him flying away with a single punch. 

But I knew this was not going to last long and ran toward him again, and like expected after a few meters he stomped the ground and did a backflip to stay straight again and immediately attacked me again. 

This time he tried to give a single punch with both of his arms, and I used each of mines to stop him. 

Hand against claw we stood, the ground below our feet shattering for the sheer pressure. We stared at each other with determination and we strengthen our arms sending an even more absurd pressure toward the ground while staying head to head, even if he is a lot taller than me. 

"YO! SHE IS FIGHTING WITH HIM?" One of them asked and I had to stop myself from yelling at him. If I even try to take one of my pokemon he will probably kill me. "Is that even possible?"

I looked at the Scizor again, He is sweating like I am. Looks like we got to a stalemate, neither could move thanks to the sheer strength of the other nor could we take our eyes off each other. 

All my Pokeball suddenly shakes furiously and I did not even have the time to react before all my pokemon freed themselves and attacked. 

Rockruff used rock throw against Scizor that jumped back only to be surprised by Moon's scald, but again he backflipped and avoid, but the approaching Dark Pulse was really close now, and yet he managed to roll on the ground to avoid and stood up already ready to come back into battle. 

He looked at all of us analyzing his chances. He is tired from our small fight and now there are three more to take care of, however, he noticed that now I could not fight like before without endangering my pokemon, and he stood ready. 

"FLAME CHARGE!" A new voice ordered and suddenly Torracat attacked out of nowhere with his impressive speed. He tried to hit Scizor that looked scared and avoided the attack by only the smaller of margins. Hau stood by my side ready to fight. "What the hell is happening here? AND WHAT HAPPENED WITH YOUR ARMS?"

I ignored him. Scizor is looking at me breathing heavily, only a little more than myself, but after he looked at Arsene, Midnight, Moon and Torracat he lowered both of his arms. 

"S-Scizor?" The grunt looked confused at the pokemon as he turned his back to us and walked away without listening to any order. "W-Wait for me Scizor, Guzma is going to want that golden bottle cap!"

All of them walked away without anyone trying to stop them. I let go of the breath I had been holding and finally lowered my battle stance. But I still needed to hold Hau's shoulder to stand straight. I put my other hand on my forehead. "Luna? What happened here? Are you okay? Oh, my Arceus, look at your arm! Let's go to the pokemon center, Nurse Joy will probably know what to do,"

I completely ignored him too. I just need a second for myself. It seems like it finally hit me. This Scizor was not only strong, I felt like I was standing in front of one of those Equestrian creatures, something wild, savage and powerful, and yet I withstood against him. I smirked as I tried to hold back a burst of nervous laughter. I do not know what I should be feeling. I do not know what I AM feeling. 

But now I am certain of something. I am not a dead weight anymore. 

"Guzma, is it?" My smirk grew into a psychotic smile. This is a name to remember. 





I put one of my hands on my mouth to hide my yawn. I'm walking toward the ruins where I know I will find Olivia. I saw many wild pokemon walking around but I ignored them, I already have a full team. 

"That chest of yours is definitely something to be proud," I heard the voice I was searching saying with a giggle. Olivia appeared from the entrance of the ruins. "I could see you even in the dark. How did you manage to have physic like this being a professor,"

"Hahaha," I couldn't help but laugh. "Years of practice with my pokemon. Believe me, an Incineroar can hit really hard,"

"Well, I definitely believe in that," Olivia giggled but soon assumed a serious expression. "I heard you wanted to talk to me, and I am glad you did because we have to talk too," 

"It seems something serious happened," I said. 

"No, not yet," Olivia crossed her arms. "The Tapus had been strange lately,"

"Yes, that is true," I nodded. I definitely have proof or two about this subject. One of them starts with Lu and ends with Na. 

"But that is not only it," Olivia closed her eyes. "I have been hearing some strange rumors too. Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno and many other legendary pokemon had been spotted here and there with alarming frequency,"

I nodded. "I heard a thing or two about a shadow-like pokemon around here too," 

"Yes, that is probably the Lord of the Nightmares," Olivia opened her eyes. "And even more strange is the fact that neither of the Tapus had been doing nothing against them,"

"Even among the legendary pokemon, the Tapus are known as powerful, and more importantly, vicious in battle and extremely territorial. If neither of them had been acting against the intruders,"

"That means something big is about to happen in Alola," She finished my thoughts as a cold wind blows through.
> Chapter 21- A new foe
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The battle of a few minutes ago definitely left some marks on me. 

Nurse Joy almost hit me with her own Chansey for being so stupid to fight with a pokemon like a Scizor barehanded, let alone fight for entire minutes. Now, after an hour of listening to an adult lecturing me (I really must say I am very sorry to Sunset Shimmer and all my students if I manage to come back), I am finally walking away from Paniola town toward my next trial with my arms totally covered by many bandages. Luckily, my hands are free, because I really want to hit Hau for running away and letting me alone with Joy after five minutes.  

A few trainers tried to stop me, including a cute country girl that makes me remember miss Applejack a little, but I managed to pass them all without major issues. But the one that used that Breakneck Blitz really should drink some chamomile or something like this. It does not matter how you see it, a normal type attack will not really hurt a rock type like Midnight, it does not matter how much you scream. 

The hot weather had yet to disappear, however, if my inner clock is somewhat right this will definitely take a while, I think it is barely midday. 

"Oh, I lost again!" A familiar (And traitor) voice said carefree. I walk toward Hau to see him scratching the back of his neck with a childish smile talking with another boy. 

This other boy has short blond hair (like Lillie's) covering one of his eyes, his clothes are mostly black with many holes on it and it was clear he tried to fix them all by himself. "Were you even taking this seriously?" He asked with a serene and yet furious tone as he put both of his hands on his waist. 

"Of course I have. I was seriously enjoying it," Hau laughed. 

"Enjoying it?" The boy sighed in frustration before pointing at Hau furiously. "It is only possible to really enjoy a pokemon battle when you give your all on it, which you clearly haven't!"

Hau kept a poker smile, however, I can see these words messed with him. 

And I cannot blame this boy though. I think the same about Hau. He never really tries hard. His talent is definitely something to behold, and just like our last battle had proved, it was clear that he can create incredible strategies out of nowhere to turn the tide at his favor, however, all this talent means nothing when you are refraining it by not taking anything seriously. 

"Hey, you," The boy looked at me. "You are Luna, aren't you?"

"Where is Luna? She owes me money," I pretend to look around. 

"So you're smart enough to be aware," He smirked. "Someone is not happy that you're messing with their subordinates, and asked me to test you,"

"Oh, thank you boy, but no thank you," I walked passed him. "I have a trial to challenge, so if you excuse me," He stretched his arm to stop me. 

He took a completely white Pokeball and sent it. From the inside came an extremely curious pokemon. It does not matter how you look at it, it is some kind of chimera I had never seen before. it's four legs are obviously strong and the claws as fearsome as eagle's, and on his head, I can see some kind of really big and heavy metal mask. 

I am not really the most experienced person in a matter of pokemon, however, one thing clearly crossed my mind. That thing... Looks artificial. "You really want to battle me? I do not know who contracted your service, but I think it is fine by me," I looked at him with determination. Looks like we have a new foe, after all.

"Just a minute," Hau smiled and put his arm around my shoulder. "Let's do this like the old west too, I'm still in the spirit for a duel," He slowly turned ourselves and walked away much for my confusion and the blonde too. "Listen," He whispered at me with an abnormal serious tone.  "This pokemon is not normal. The Pokedex cannot identify it, but he is tired after the battle with me. His defense is astronomically high, both of them, however, His mask is too heavy lowering a lot his speed,"

I looked at him slightly shocked. I cannot believe he caught all these pieces of information in a single battle he lost. I wonder what he can say about Moon and Midnight. "Well, I think I will serve as a judge this time," We stopped a few steps from that boy and he walked away. "Any competitors against it?"

"No," I answered. 

"Okay, on the right side we have Luna, and on the left side we have..."

"Gladion," The boy said. "And Type Null,"

"Creative name," Hau smiled. "Luna, please, chose your pokemon,"

I thought about what Hau said, and I should probably focus on speed and raw power to win, and thinking that way I should probably send Arsene to fight. But I did not. It was strange. I just feel like I am making the wrong decision. It is an instinct. And trusting in my instincts is something I learned long ago. So, I took the last Pokeball I should be using against such a foe and sent out Moon. 

Gladion looked at us for a few seconds, probably analyzing us. After a while, Hau finally gave the order, and just like Kukui did in my battle against Hala, he lowered his arm as if opening a race and yelled. "FIGHT!"

Gladion held his shaking right wrist with his left hand. "Crush Claw," 

"Start with scald," 

Moon shoots a wave of burning water toward her enemy, but Type Null did not even try to avoid, instead, He took the attack in its fullest as if it was nothing and start to run toward Moon. Just like Hau said he is quite slow for a pokemon, probably just a little faster than Moon on land, but the fierce red glow in his claws makes me a little anxious. 

His claws dig the ground as if piercing paper and he attack. His battle style is definitely a tank. He took my attack and now is attacking with sheer power, pretty straightforward, unlike mines. "Avoid that,"

When the crushing blow was just a little away from her head she backflipped and escaped, but he followed close by. Type Null attacked multiple times, but despite being faster he is not nearly as agile as Moon. She jumped back, forth, sideways and back again, always avoiding by the smallest of margins. "SCALD again," She sent another attack that,  again, Type Null does not even try to avoid. 

Gladion was looking at us fiercely like a volcano but definitely analyzing us. "Null, air slash," His pokemon concentrate for a few seconds and suddenly that thing in his head glows and he throws many blades made of sheer wind to slice Moon. 

She did not wait for my orders and tried to avoid again, but this time there were too many and she was managing to avoid by just a little, and it will not take forever for a mistake to happen. "Send many balloons," 

"Huh?" Gladion looked at us confused as Moon created various water balloons around them. Type Null already had stopped his attack but charged again with red claws and obliterated all the balloons making Hau smirk. "Keep crushing them, and then attack her,"

"Create balloons on the sky and soar with Aqua jet," Now Gladion is looking at us as if there was something wrong with my mind... I cannot really blame him. 

Anyway, just like she had been told, Brionne created many water balloons on the sky and when Null's claws were just a little away from her she covered her body in a Vail of water and soared above his right shoulder. She destroyed her own balloons creating another artificial rain dance, which is a move I know she can learn, but I think that is her way of doing it. "SCALD again,"

"You cannot trespass his defense," Gladion looked at the rain and the one creating it. Moon attacked again, and again, Null did not try to avoid, but this time the pokemon groaned in pain as it was sending a little further than he should. He looked at us a little surprised but soon assumed a serious expression again. "Rain, huh? You are more dangerous than I thought. Swords Dance,"

Many illusions of swords literally danced around Type Null and an orange aura surrounded him for a second before disappearing again. I frowned. His attack just doubled. He wants to one-shot us. "Crush Claw again,"

"Scald again," Moon landed and attacked, hitting Null like a small super effective attack, thanks to the rain, but again he kept charging through all the attack. 

Type Null endured everything with determined eyes, but his breathing is a lot heavier now, the many Scalds, the bonus of the rain and even the many bites and burns, courtesy of Torracat I guess,  are really tiring him out. However, he still managed to crush the ground and now even stones and boulders are shattering upon impact. "Just hit once and it's all over,"

"I have to agree," I murmured. "Scald against the ground," Moon shot a beam of hot water on the floor that send herself flying upward. "Now hit Type Null," Again she used this attack and again Null endured like a champion, however, this time a burning flame surrounded his body before a few seconds. He is burned now. 

"Shit," Gladion apparently understands too. The burn is a secondary effect of the hot water unleashed in Scald, and the secondary effect of Burn is to lower a lot the physical attack of a pokemon. "Air Slash," Again Type Null's strange 'mane' glowed and he sent many slashes against Moon that was now in the air. 

"AQUA JET," Moon listened and charged down like a water meteor. Many attacks hit her, really many, however, she kept pushing herself forward clearly using the same strategy as Type Null. She hit his head with all the impact of her own momentum and the gravity itself, and we saw as the mighty Type Null lowered his head with the impact and Moon landed a single foot away. 

"CRUSH CLAW," Gladion ordered. 

"SCALD," I also roared. 

The red claw was just a little away from her head when Moon suddenly lay down avoiding the last attack and sending her own with enough force to send Null flying away. 

He flew for entire seconds and was ready to faint for one of them. However, suddenly he spins his body and landed on his feet again. 

Moon and Type Null stared at each other for a few seconds more. I grinned my teeth as both of them are breathing heavily. Despite receiving many attacks and being burned, a single attack of Type Null was enough to tire her out just as much as he is. 

And out of nowhere a wave of burning flames surrounded him again as the Burn effect act again. His body trembled and his eyes are extremely determined, but soon he fell on his knees and fainted. 

"We have a result. The winner is Luna!" Hau gave his judge a verdict. 

I let go of the breath I did not know I was even holding and held the tired Brionne in my arms and watched as Gladion kneel beside his pokemon petting his mane and put him inside his white Pokeball again. When he put his Pokeball on his waist I saw two more Pokeball. Looks like he, Hau and I are really walking side by side in this journey, we even have the same number of pokemon in our parties. 

"Looks like we still have to fight stronger trainers, partner," Gladion sighed and stood up. 

"And why?" I asked. "Being strong and becoming stronger is only meaningful when you have a reason and a way to do it. And you are not on the island challenge, are you?"

"A way to do it?" He turned at us seriously. "I want to FIGHT stronger people so we can get stronger together,"

"If that is the case, then why are you acting as a mercenary? And who contracted your services?"

He kept staring at us for a moment and pointed at Hau. "Look at this boy. He is definitely not weak, nor are his pokemon, but he is not even trying to give all of himself in battle just because he knows he cannot defeat the Kahuna Hala even if he goes all out, so he uses this as an excuse to not even try,"

"You know my grandpa? Wait, you think I'm strong?" Hau smiled and put his arms on the back of his head carefree like always. 

Gladion turned his back on us. "I have no more reason to stay here," And walked away. 

I put Moon down and watch as he walked a few steps and stops. Not far away two grunts of Team Skull are coming toward us. "Yo, it's you again? Let's finish our business here. I know you have a Zoroark now, and I won't fall for that again,"

"Stop," Gladion calmly said. 

"Huh? Why would I? You're not even part of Team Skull, why I have to listen to you?" The grunt asked grumpily. 

"Just because he told you what really happened in your last battle and about Zoroark's illusion doesn't mean you have changed. You know you cannot defeat me, so there's no point in trying to fight her," He passed by his side. "You will only get your pokemon hurt for no reason,"

"Her pokemon is weak now, look, it's barely awake anymore, yo,"

"And she has two more Pokeball on her waist with two completely healed pokemon," As soon as Gladion said that the grunt looked at me and his eyes narrowed in anger. 

He turned his back on is too and walked away without another word. Gladion, on the other hand, stood there for a few more seconds and looked at us. "I hope I can battle with you again. Train hard and get stronger, so I can get stronger too," He walked away but stopped again. "The next trial is the water one. Your team has no way to really threaten the Totem Pokemon, so beware," He finally disappeared from our view. 

"Looks like I have the advantage in this one," Hau smiled and walked toward Paniola Town as if nothing has happened with Torracat by his side (Not that I had seen he freeing himself from his Pokeball... Probably he is spending too much time with Nebby) "I have a very healthy Pikachu with me, but you will have to think in a really good strategy,"

"It seems to be the case," I followed him with Moon by my side too. "Want a Malasada?"

"You will regret asking," Hau grinned as I smiled.
> Chapter 22- Water Trial
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The once calm surface of the lake had been such a peaceful view. Many water type pokemon swimming could be seen living their simple lives without a care in the world, and the only thing I was worried about was to guide my small boat with all of my pokemon by my side (While Moon drags the boat itself) in search of the totem pokemon that was somehow hiding itself amidst all the aforementioned water pokemon. Very simple for a Water Trial, right?

At first, I was wondering how come a totem pokemon is hiding so well? Most of the pokemon here are small and weak, not to say repeated since one of those species seemed to be dominant in numbers despite their clear weakness. Where in the world is this 'Demon of the seas' Lana talked about?

Why do I ask? Maybe I am not good at learning my lessons. 

"MOON, LEFT!" I desperately tightened the grip on the rope as Moon drifted to the side to avoid a giant wall of boulders where I was trying to attract the freaking 8 meters homicide whale formed of Whishiwashi that shattered the first boulder in the way with a massive beam of water just for the whale itself to shatter the second stone with its head as if all my strategy was worth nothing at all. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? A HYDRO PUMP?"

"Nope, that was only a water gun," Lana's calm voice came from my walkie talkie (Courtesy of Kukui) as Moon swim faster than she had in all her life as Midnight, Arsene and I are desperately trying to hold ourselves inside the boat. "And probably a headbutt. Lucky you, it could had used Waterfall, that would have hurt,"

"IF I GET OUT OF HERE ALIVE YOU BETTER RUN REALLY FAST, BECAUSE I WILL FUCKING MURDER YOU," I yelled at the Walkie Talkie. "MOON, SPEED UP! MIDNIGHT, ROCK THROW! ARSENE, DARK PULSE!"

Moon tried to protest but the sheer fear makes her speed up as I asked in a desperate attempt to get a small distance from the Totem Pokemon. Midnight and Arsene both attacked with their best long-distance attack to hit it with as much force as possible. The many small and sharp stones hit it like a machine gun but did absolutely nothing worthy of mention, luckily the wave of darkness slowed it down just a little bit. 

Arsene grinned at Midnight with an air of superiority and the dog groaned in response, but both of them stopped their small competition as a big wave hit the boat almost making us fall off the boat. "Not a good time you two," Moon shift our direction abruptly again. At first, it destabilized me, but as soon as the Totem speed up to Crunch exactly where we were a second ago I decided to trust her instincts. "Arsene, can you create an illusion to trick it?"

He shakes his head and I grinned my teeth. I am starting to understand his power, and sadly, I think that he can only create massive illusions with time and concentration, two things we do not have at our disposal. "Then let us go back to the old way. Dark Pulse and Rock Throw agai... Watch out!"

The Totem shot another water beam and this time I had to push Arsene down on the boat so he would not be hit and the attack passed exactly where my hand was a second ago and hit the big wall of stone that circle us in this lake opening a big hole on it. 

Midnight was the first one to recover and attacked again, but this time it hit one of its glowing eyes and it hit another boulder. "Good one, Midnight," This time the dog grinned at the fox, but I ignored. "Moon,  take us to the shore, we may have a better chance in the solid field,"

She swam like I told her and drifted again to avoid another strike from the Wishiwashi that soon understood our plan and make a sound like a hundred different beings commanding an army. I turned my face toward him while trying to protect my eyes from the splashing water and could not help but feel uneasy as I noticed that it was not trying to follow us. 

A sudden bump hit us and almost makes Midnight fall off the boat toward the water, but Arsene managed to hold him. A wave of insects flew toward us and buzz fiercely. If I remember well, their name is Masquerain.  "That Bastard called for help," Again I grinned my teeth and I gripped the edge of the boat with enough force to crack it. "Midnight, Rock Throw,"

His eyes sparkled vengeful as he throws another machine gun of small hard stones to take our new enemies down, and it worked wonderfully. Dozens of hurting cries signed their defeat, after all, if I recall these fellas are Bug and Flying. Absolutely not a good combination against a rock type. 

Since we finally stopped,  a bunch of blue insects jumped into the boat to fight us, but Midnight is already busy with the Masquerain army. "Arsene, Shadow Claw," 

Ghostly Claws surrounded his own claws and he also jumped into the offensive hitting an insect after the other in quick succession, automatically taking them down.

Another Bump hit us, this time far stronger than before, and it took all of us to hold the boat steady, but a lot of water filled the boat. "What was that now?" I cursed. Now some heart-shape pokemon (I think they are called Alolomola) are trying to turn the boat. I looked at the poor Midnight trying to keep himself brave, but even Arsene let go of their small competition and assumed a protective posture. I should not have brought a rock type pokemon to the middle of a lake. 

Some Alolomola jumped off the water and sent their own water attacks toward Midnight, but Moon let go of the rope and jumped too, taking all the three attacks and was sent flying above us and into the water again, and I used this opportunity to punch those fishes by myself, sending all of them flying at distance. "Dark Pulse," Arsene let go of Midnight and attacked the water again and a lot of pokemon was sent to the air around us. "Night Slash,"

He used his claw to slash a single movement creating a strong and darkwave of wind that cut like a blade and defeat almost all of them. "Moon, Disarming Voice,"

She also attacks with her omnidirectional voice hitting a few more of our foes. I scanned our surroundings in search of Wishiwashi but I could not see him anymore. "Moon, stay alert, I think he will target you next," She looked a little surprised at first but nodded nonetheless. 

My prediction was proved wrong. 

I felt a heavy impact on our boat, and it did not take a single second for the monumental head of the Totem pokemon to tear our boat in two, sending me, Arsene and Midnight to the air while Moon cry in surprise. 

I hit the water with my back first, it hurts like hell, but I managed to let my head off the surface. Arsene land on a boulder but desperately pointed at somewhere above me, and I saw Midnight falling toward the water. 

I used a pokemon that was swimming close to my feet to impulse myself toward him, but he hit the water hard too. I took him onto my arms quickly while using my legs to keep us floating. The poor guy was trembling and his eyes are watery and probably not because of the water. I put him on top of my head. "Sorry, Midnight. Hang in there just a little more," My cap disappeared during my fall, but this gave him a more stable standpoint. "Arsene, Night Daze! Moon, Disarming Voice,"

Both of them hit the Totem before he could approach Midnight and I changing its route so it destroyed another boulder. "Arsene, keep him busy while I swim," I said already swimming toward the boulder he is in with Rockruff shivering on top of my head. 

Zoroark used another dark pulse to hit the Totem, but three Alomomola jumped and received the attack for him. "I never thought I would complain about loyalty," I cursed and punched a few more pokemon in my way. 

I put Midnight on top of the rock first and hopped onto it, but an incredible animosity approached really fast, and I turned to see Wishiwashi coming in our direction with clear murder intent. "Dark Pulse again," Arsene attacked and as soon as Midnight shakes the water from his fur he threw a wave of rocks to hit it too. 

That pokemon clearly likes a 'tank' like style, since he did not try to avoid the attacks, but took them head-on again, but he felt it too. He was slightly slowed down, but still more than strong enough to shatter our small safe point. 

And that was when Moon hit it with water jet and he missed the target by the smallest of margins. "Thanks, Moon! I am sorry, but we are counting on you for this one," I said and both Midnight and Arsene agreed. Water is definitely not their territory. 

She looked at me slightly scared, but inside those same eyes, they were filled with determination. 

Meanwhile, the demon of the seas turned to face us again, more specifically, toward Moon which he apparently took as his new target. The two enemies eyed each other for a few more seconds, Moon was sweating in anticipation and Wishiwashi is probably trying to find the best time to attack. "SCALD AND THEN DISARMING VOICE,"

She shoots the scalding water hitting it without really doing much damage, and he went to hit her again followed by a few more pokemon that were standing low for a while, but she used her voice to defeat all of them and cause some major damage to Wishiwashi that kept coming toward her. "JUMP!" 

She hit the water with her tail and jumped off the way, but before we could breath in relief the Totem surrounded his tail in a furious tornado of water and hit her furiously sending her toward the big waterfall with all the strength a demon could. "Moon!" She let go of a painful cry as the stone walls crack a little with her body. And before we could react, Whishiwashi surrounded himself in a furious veil of water that at first, I thought it was going to use an Aqua Jet, however, it was not nearly as fast but a hundred times stronger. 

He hit the wall and Moon with so much force it broke the entire wall creating a tsunami of water that fell like a heavy cloud toward all of us. I hugged Midnight and turned my back toward the murderous wall of water.





The darkness clouded my vision, the water was trying to force its way inside my mouth and nose and all my will power was barely enough to stop it.

Midnight in my arms is my biggest worry. I took my Pokeball on my belt and put him inside while cursing myself for not doing it before. He is a rock type, weak against water, how come I was so stupid to bring him with me? 

I can feel the water revolving next to me as Arsene tries to swim too, but many pokemon are trying to stop him from doing so. He used a night slash to push some of them away and I punched and kicked the rest of them. We stared at each other for a second and searched for the surface, but it is so dark down here that I am completely disoriented. The pressure of the water is starting to crush me, and I am running out of air. 

Shit. Why is it so dark here? Are we so low level? And what the hell is this trial? The Raticate was not easy, but he was not a threat to my life either. But this Wishiwashi? I see now why he is known as the demon of the sea. 

He is powerful. 

That is simply it. He is so powerful that without a strategy or known weakness he will end up overwhelming you. All the pokemon around sees him as their leader for a reason. 

A drowned sound caught my attention. Arsene can no longer hold his breath, so, I put him inside my Pokeball too, but I could see he did not want to get into it. He is clearly scared I might not have the luck to find my way to the surface, and in this overwhelming darkness surrounding me, I am not sure either. 

I think I should be thankful though. Even in such a desperate situation, my friend was more worried about me than about himself. 

My eyes were starting to get used to the dark when a blazing light almost makes me blind again and slowly faded away. I looked at the origin of that light just to see something I was absolutely not expecting, a pokemon. 

This pokemon had most of its body is white, but it has a long, fish-like tail. It has a long snout with a round, pink nose, bright blue eyes with long white eyelashes, and long light blue hair trailing off the back of its head. A tiara-like structure rests on its forehead, consisting of a line of pearls with a pink sea star at one corner and a thin, transparent blue fin extending back over its hair. On its body are three fins similar to the one on its crown: one that drapes around its shoulders and chest, one around its waist where the fishtail begins, and one near the tip of its tail. It has long front fins with three digits.

It is a pokemon like I have never seen before. Her beauty is more than just being 'pretty' or 'alluring', she was truly majestic. 

The demon of the sea looked at that creature with his glowing eyes even more fearsome than ever and used another Waterfall, but in the water that pokemon was far faster. She swam around evading the attack and all the smaller pokemon that were trying to ambush her. During her small performance of agility, she also located me, and to my surprise, a look of recognition crossed her face a second before becoming darkly. 

She opened her mouth and started to sing. Her voice was melodious and just as overwhelming as her beauty, but my moment of dumbfounded brain stopped as I felt the water around me changing its behavior abruptly and literally held my entire body static and dragged me toward the closer light is found. 

I was sent flying off the water and I hit the shore with all the accumulated strength of the gravity. 

My body hurts but not nearly as my lungs. I cough a lot and spit out a lot of water from my mouth and nose as I felt the marvelous oxygen filling me and renewing my strength. 

The sound of the splashing water caught my attention and I turned to look at it. The lake was furiously revolving and many big waves are being formed on its borders. 

I looked in awe as the lake turned into a big swirl and walls of water rose above the surface carrying that majestic pokemon with it. She stood at the top of one of those walls singing like a songstress and the water was apparently obeying her. 

"She can control the water with her voice?" I was dumbfounded. No more, no less. I was just utterly shocked to see such an absurd ability in a pokemon. 

A violent burst of water in the Center of the Lake made me take my eyes off the majestic creature, and there I saw the sea demon with an expression of anger and resentment.

He jumped out of the water with the most powerful of the Waterfalls toward his new enemy with his big fangs open and already waiting to devour her.

The beautiful Pokémon sang even louder and a large number of water balloons appeared around it.  They weren't like Moon-created water balloons, they looked extremely dangerous, like little bombs about to explode. She surrounded herself with a familiar veil of water that I soon recognized as an Aqua Jet and flew toward the Totem with her many water balloons following her.

Whishiwashi's mouth was more than big enough to devour her whole, but she didn't hesitate for a second and stepped inside the Totem that was as surprised as me. Just behind her the water balloons also entered him as quickly as who had created them.

The totem made a pained expression as everything inside it was literally struggling to get out, and behind it, more specifically at the tip of its tail, the Pokémon tore it from the inside out a second before all the many explosive balloons detonated and they ripped it from the inside out and the many walls of water attacked it and finished the job of defeat the one that had been our strongest enemy so far. 

I stood watching the rain of little Whishiwashi falling and the water finally becoming calm again.

I sighed with relief.  I'm not sure what happened, but at least I'm alive and my Pokémon are safe and sound inside their Pokeball, except...

An unexpected hug cut my train of thought completely.  I looked at who had hugged me and found my savior who smiled beautifully.  She held me tightly, but I can tell that her physical strength is not the greatest when it comes to Pokémon, something that is very familiar to me from another Pokémon very dear to me.

"Moon?" I asked without believing in that brief possibility, but she smiled even more at the mention of that name and nodded. "You evolved? That is so amazing," I hug her too. "I cannot believe you defeated that totem alone,"

A small splash caught our attention. I looked around to see a single Wishiwashi smiling at me with a pretty blue crystal inside his mouth.
> Chapter 23- Deserved Rest and Exceptional Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Making physical effort has never been a problem for me. Seriously, I could run a marathon and still fight two rounds of boxing with a pro without the slightest complication or extreme tiredness.

But in return, fighting a Scizor may not have been the smartest of ideas I ever had, (Even if it was not the stupidest idea I have ever come up with either). The many bandages on my arms are an unnecessary reminder of my fight considering the pain I feel in them.And after that I still had the brilliant idea of trying the Water Trial right away, and this trial involved pretty decent leg activity, after all, an 8-meter homicidal whale is not something I fish often.

And now that my blood has cooled I can finally feel the extreme pain and fatigue that day has given me. “I will sleep until tomorrow,” I knocked on the door of my 'rented' hotel room with a tired sigh. I usually like to train at night, and my Pokémon do not usually complain about it either, but today there will definitely be no training at all.

"I'm going," An extremely sweet and familiar voice answered me in her usual reserved manner and shortly afterwards Lillie opened the door to let me in. "Oh, Luna, good to see you! How was your Trial? Got another Z-Crystal? And how ..." She greeted me with a small volley of questions in which she stopped in the middle for some reason, and following her gaze I understood why, I think I will have to calm her before she kills me. “WHAT HAPPENED WITH YOUR ARMS? ARE YOU ALRIGHT? WAIT, YOU HAVE BEEN FIGHTING AGAIN, DIDN’T YO…”

“Okay, before you take my leather off, know you are a little late. Nurse Joy has given me a lecture hour on this," I interrupted her and gestured for her to let me into the room, and she allowed without much drama. "As for the Trial, we defeat the Totem. It was not easy, I had to take Midnight to the pokemon center urgently, and yes, I know it was stupid to take a Rock type pokemon for a water Trial, but in the end we are all fine. Oh, and friend's advice: Scizors are very hard,"

She stared at me for a few seconds as if trying to process everything I said, but in the end, she just sighed and decided it was best to drop the subject."Well, it's nice to know you won. I think Hau will be the next to arrive then,"

"I think so, but please let the little traitor out for an hour, okay?" I looked around the room. Despite the scowl, the manager kept her part of the deal and gave us a very large room with three beds, one double and two single. "I will take the big one,"

Without the slightest regret I let myself fall heavily on the soft mattress. It looks like this place really isn't the best hotel around for nothing. Just by falling into this bed I can feel the many aches in my body begin to subside. “Pew?”  Apparently others had already decided this bed would be theirs, so little Nebby made a small protest for waking him so abruptly.

“I am sorry little guy, but we deserve a rest too. And I am sorry Lillie, but I think we'll have to share the bed, because it's going to be hard for something to get me out of here," I heard a squeak of surprise and turned my head to face the only other person in the room. For some reason her features were as red as a tomato. What the hell happens I will never know, because honestly, I am not being the one to ask. “Good night,” I close my eyes right here and now.

I am sure it will not take me long to sleep. And shortly after I closed my eyes little Nebby cuddled beside my head and I felt something soft and warm covering me. "Rest well," I heard Lillie's voice next to me after she covered me with the sheet, but what really surprised me was the little fraternal kiss I felt on my cheek ... Well, I guess I will not complain about that either.





‘STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, BAD LILLIE, BAD!’ I screamed at myself inside my head. My face is so hot that I could be a fire-type pokemon, but I know very well it's only because I realized the incomparable and totally unnecessary idiocy I did. Where did this idea of kissing Luna out of nowhere come from? Okay, I know it was just a kiss on the cheek, but she was still awake and well aware.

Luna and Nebby are sleeping comfortably in the double bed. The little troublemaker decided on his own that this would be our bed, and honestly, who am I to complain about it?

Kukui and Hau are about to return from whatever they were doing, so I think I'll soon have company to distract me at night, if they don't sleep as soon as they come, of course, which I definitely won't be able to do now.

As if combined I heard three knocks on the door. I rushed open it and found Professor Kukui's already familiar smile holding a sealed bottle of wine. “Yo, how’s our guests?” He entered the room and soon saw Luna sleeping in the largest bed with Nebby by her side. “I think I can see the answer, yeah, "He managed to make his smile get even bigger and put the bottle in the fridge. He saw that I was watching him and hurried to explain." I bought one of these with the intention of drinking with Burnet, But someone drank before we arrived. So I bought another one, "

"Do you think we'll be able to see her tomorrow?" He sat on the couch and sighed heavily. Looks like he's pretty tired too.

"Late afternoon, yes. Until then, I thought I'd show her the Battle Royale Dome. It looks like Masked Royal will be playing a presentation match tomorrow," He looked at Luna for a few seconds and nodded. “It’s good that she managed to get some sleep,” He put his hand over his mouth to hide a yawn, and his Z-stone bracelet seemed to glow with moonlight, a mystery I could never decipher. And this bracelet is apparently the opposite of the Mega Evolution bracelet on the other wrist... Wait...

“Since when do you have a Mega-Ring?” My question was asked automatically. I've been living with him for months and never seen him wearing one.
"Huh?" He looked at his own wrist as if he had forgotten it was even there. "Actually I've had one of these for years, but it's true that it's hardly used outside of official games. But this one is a gift for our friend here," He pointed at Luna with his thumb.

"For Luna? But she doesn't even have a Pokemon that can Mega Evolve,"

"And neither does Hau, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't give them options," He shrugged.

"But they're kind of hard to get, aren't they?" I remember my mom took some time to get hers.

"Not when you have reliable contacts," He said as nonchalantly, but I know it's not a simple contact that will achieve two Mega Rings in a few days. But I had to stop my moment of suspicion by hearing a distinct howl from the woods outside.

"What was this?" I opened the window and looked out at the forest at the foot of Wela Volcano.

"Lycanroc," He stared out the window with an expression mixed with interest, respect, and perhaps even melancholy. "The Lycanroc are famous for having a kind of tournament at night to train themselves and to define who is the strongest of the pokemon, especially the Midnight Forms, but many other pokemon will also participate. And..."

Before he could finish his sentence one of Luna's pokeballs began to tremble and little Rockruff came out of her with a determined expression on his face. But that determination shifted to surprise upon seeing us awake and watching him. 

For a very weird seconds we stared at each other in silence, only Professor Kukui smiled with an understanding expression. "You want to go there too, don't you?" He bent down near Midnight.

"Come back before sunrise, or I will pick you up in person," A totally unexpected voice spoke straight from the bed. Luna didn't even open her eyes but her voice was wide awake. "Have fun, I will not stop you,"

Little Midnight looked at her in surprise, but then nodded and ran to the door barking once. Kukui opened the door and soon he darted down the corridors toward the exit, but as we are in the middle of the night I doubt anyone will try to stop him.

"It's very common for Rockruff to go out at night while their coaches sleep to train, but usually the coaches don't even know," Kukui closed the door and came back to sit on the couch. "But I think this guy is unlucky to have a trainer who never rests,"

Luna pulled the sheet over her shoulders and tried to sleep again.





As a Kahuna is very common I have to lose a few nights sleep. Sometimes some strong Pokemon try to fight each other at dawn and we have to intervene before there is destruction, or sometimes some unfortunate poor get lost and we are responsible for locating them.

But today is an exception. 

There is no specific reason for me to be awake, but it is simply my instinct that tells me that I must be out here today. And I can't complain too much, the night is really beautiful, but that's common here on Melemele Island, not to mention the entire Alola Archipelago.

One trail of light after another cuts through the skies. It may seem strange, but it makes me think of Tapu Koko. Our guardian has a simply stellar speed in combat.

The Kahunas are known as the chosen of tapus to protect the island, but nobody almost knows the trials to become one, and the fact that all Kahuna has had to face their respective Tapu is not disclosed to anyone apart from themselves Kahunas and the Captains or those who wishes to become one of them.

But that doesn't mean we see them often, more than the opposite actually. Tapus hardly ever fight with the same person more than once, and there was only once in history when all Tapus fought with their chosen Kahunas more than once, and it happened in my generation.

Hala, Olivia and Nanu, as well as the late Koni Island of Poni Island will surely be in history for their successors.

But today is an exception.

Like a ray of light Tapu Koko himself descended from the skies and landed in front of me.

His eyes flared with such iron determination as his untamed will to fight, but that was not what caught my eye.

In his mighty arms was a girl. She is unconscious but has no visible injury. His hair is the color of rainbows and his skin is so white that he is pale as a dead man, but his chest rose and fell signaling her breathing.

"What does that mean?" I questioned as I approached. Tapu Koko laid her gently on the floor and stared at me in silence. He made a silent request to take care of this girl. I sighed and nodded. He looked at me with respectful and even tired eyes, nodded as well and disappeared into the heavens again toward one of the other islands of the archipelago.

I took the girl in my arms. She may not be more than fifteen, but despite being light I can feel an aura of strength around her, almost like that girl Kukui found. On her right shoulder I can see a large scar like a knife, but normally it would be easily hidden by the sleeve of the garment.

“Lu…” She tried to say something in her sleep. I brought my ear closer to her lips and heard her whisper a name. "Luna..."

I stared her for a few more seconds. Usually I have a very peaceful night with no surprise at all.
> Chapter 24- Lesson and Battle Royale
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So can we get started?" I crossed my arms with an expression of determination, and Midnight barked with a flaming look. "Good," I nodded approvingly. "Kukui said it is natural that Rockruff will escape at night to get stronger, and this is a characteristic trait of those next to evolve, but that does not mean I can not help the process, does it?" I turned to look at Moon who was majestically beside me. It is a little weird to see her so taller than me to be honest, and ever since she evolved she gained the Fairy type, and Arsene is trying to be a little away from her, almost as if a little uneasy.

We are near a tall grassy area near a city with a large dome where the so-called 'Battle Royal' will be held later. The wind is very nice and cold, which is a stark contrast to the furious sun above us. "I really prefer the night. But we have something more important now. Let's do this: Alola's pokemons are known to be more inclined to call for help, and are we going to take advantage of that?"

My three pokemons stared at me a little doubtfully. "Let's find a pokemon, fight him until he calls for help, and we'll defeat the pokemon that comes up, and we will repeat the process. Clear?"

Midnight nodded approvingly and I smiled. "Excellent. Moon, Arsene, stay here. If I need help I will whistle as agreed," They also agreed and Midnight and I headed toward the tall grass.

I thought it best to leave both of them behind instead of bringing them so Midnight has a little more privacy, after all, I think I know why he's so desperate to evolve. I captured Arsene already fully evolved, and Moon reached his peak yesterday, in the end he is the only one feeling inferior. And of course, the rivalry with Arsene is not helping.

A sound. It did not took long and I already spotted our first victim. A little chubby pokemon was under a tree eating some really juicy looking berries, I think the name is Munchlax. I approached and he soon assumed a combat stance. "I like you," I smiled. "Midnight, remember the plan. Rock Throw,"

The many stones around his neck gleamed and he created a few dozen sharp rocks around himself and threw them with a command.

Munchlax saw them approaching and jumped out of range. "Crunch," He ran and hit the pokemon as he fled. He screamed in pain but countered with a powerful punch that I soon identified as a counter. Midnight took the blow and stepped back slightly, raising a small cloud of dust. "He is good," I admitted.

Munchlax decided to come on the attack with his fist literally on fire. Midnight stood still and received the attack but without even moving. "Rock Throw again," He attacked a second time and this time Munchlax was sent away. "Crunch," he attacked and Munchlax could not dodge.

He pulled away tired and sweating and then shouted for help. "That is perfect," I smiled. It seems that my plan will be very effective, now we just have to wait. We stared at him with a rigid posture, ready to strike.

And we wait for a few seconds.

And a few more seconds.

30 seconds will be lucky.

After a minute I was scratching the back of my neck. "Weird situation," I glanced at Midnight who seemed to agree. "Let's use Rock Throw, but do not hit him," He did as ordered and missed on purpose, but clearly startled the Munchlax who again screamed for help.

And we wait for a few seconds.

And a few more seconds.

After another minute the silence was really awkward and Munchlax seemed to want to cry. That sad little face is so hard to look at, I am so sorry for him.

"Destroy the rock beside him," Midnight ran toward the terrified pokemon and destroyed the rock with a Crunch and stared at him fiercely. The Munchlax stared at him shivering for a few seconds, sat on the floor, and began to cry.

"Huh?" I got no reaction. Midnight looked at me confused, but I was not much better. I glanced sideways and no pokemon made a point of moving to help him. Again I scratched the back of my neck. This is not right.

I approached him and he cried even louder but no one came. "Hey buddy, are you alright?" I knelt beside him and Midnight sat on the other side. He looked at me tearfully and looked around where there was nothing but grass, which is strange since it is a place famous for the large amount of Pokemon living here, and started to cry again. "Oi, Oi, calm down there," I tried to calm him down with no idea what to do. This is too new for me.

"What happened? Don't you have friends to help you?" As soon as I asked that he stopped shouting and kept his mouth open for about ten seconds. "I... Jackpot... Right?" Now he began to cry even more. "Easy, easy, we are not going to attack you anymore," I looked around and put a hand on his shoulder and even Midnight approached him and tried to cheer him up too. "What now? Why is this kind of thing so hard? How about this, I can be your friend," I said on the spur of the moment.

He stopped shouting and looked at me with eyes still full of water. "Munch?"

"Y-Yeah, we are going to be your friends, are we not, Midnight?" I looked at Rockruff desperately but he did not look much better and just agreed with me by putting a paw on his other shoulder. He looked at both of us and started crying again, but this time he gave Midnight a real bear hug and then jumped on me to hug me too.

I held him for a few more seconds until he stopped crying. "Better now?" He nodded and I sighed in relief. "Celestia makes this kind of situation look so easy ... Maybe it is practice, I always make her deal with this kind of thing,"

I took a pokeball that Kukui had given me, I think it is called Friend Ball and I offered it to him. "How about you come with me ... Not that I know exactly where I'm going, but we can screw ourselves together like good friends. Is that okay?"

He nodded and entered the pokeball without further crying. Midnight and I look at the pokeball until it stops blinking, and only after that we breathe a sigh of relief. "This was not what I expected," Midnight nodded. "But I think I should say Welcome, um, Faust,"





I was pacing in front of the big Dome. Luna is not the late type. Nebby was looking forward to seeing the Battle Royal, and frankly Midnight too, but she said it would help train him, so it's just me and Nebby. I have no idea where Kukui is.

A little huddle of people was happening near the city entrance, I think it's Team Skull again, but I think I better not get involved, I wouldn't be much help.

"Pew?"

"I think she should be coming soon," I soothed Nebby. Many people were entering, after all, today is one of the battles of the famous Masked Royal, so it is expected. "We won't have to wait long,"

"Wait for who?" Of course she would hear me. I turned with a nervous giggle.

"L-Luna, I'm glad you arrived, I think we should get in soon and," I finally looked at her and I admit the image was rather comical. She was holding Midnight in her arms and on top of her head was a small Munchlax eating a toasted berry with a black and white bandana on its head."And should I ask or will you explain?"

"Team Skull was in the doorway causing problems, so I found a small woman named Hapu with a well-respected sized horse pokemon who asked me to finish them, so Midnight and Faust finished them. And Faust got a little souvenir from one of them,"

“Okay,” I shook my head sighing. I don't think it's worth forcing anything. "Are we going in? We'll be out of place if we take too long,"

"After you," Luna and I walked to the entrance, but she decided to stop and buy us a snack. "I didn't eat breakfast," she said and gave some food to both her pokemons, me and Nebby as well.

We finally entered the dark Dome and searched for places, but unfortunately only the back seats were available. We sat down and I let Nebby out of the bag. "Be very quiet," I ordered.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a male voice from the microphone boomed, and looking at the jury table I saw a man with short purple hair narrating, beside him was a woman with long red hair who seemed to defy the law of gravity and. Is that a Meowth in a suit? "We're here today with a long-awaited battle, today three lucky challengers will challenge the all mighty Masked Royal, "

Luna watched everything with interest. From three of the four extremes of the ring Trainers with a challenging expression entered, well, two. One of them seemed already defeated. "And on this side we have our own ... MASKED ROYAL!"

The lights focused on the remaining corner and from there a man approached calmly with a large Incinerator just behind. For some reason I can't take my eyes off him. Although he's shirtless and masked, I think he's very familiar to me, but I don't know if that is what is bothering me.

"That's what high quality muscles are," Luna smiled beside me with a strange expression. She looked at the three challengers and then at the Masked Royal. A drop of sweat trickled down her forehead and both Midnight and Faust also stared at him.

"What happened?" I had to ask.

"Not sure," Luna said without taking her eyes off him. "I'm not an experienced trainer, but ..."

"But?"

"But something tells me this is going to be a very short battle,"

"You think?" Even Nebby turned to face her. "Masked Royal is very good, it is true, but these three are sure to come together to try to defeat him, and now everyone knows which one of his pokemons will be battling. I think the challengers have a chance to overcome him like that," She turned to look at me. 

"You're right," She squeezed her left arm. "It was just a silly impression," she said as if trying to calm herself down, but I can see she's not feeling well.

"YO! Hello everyone," Masked Royal spoke into the microphone and the whole place went silent. His voice is deep but familiar, it's almost as if he is forcing his voice to be different. "Welcome to this exhibition match. Undoubtedly many of you have been waiting for this day to come, and perhaps this is the first time for some here, Oh yeah!” He seemed to focus his gaze on Luna for a second and she shivered, is she cold? "And to all of you I say my sincerest: ENJOY!"

The Dome exploded with roars and shouts of encouragement, and the challengers waited to see who Masked Royal would send, and as expected, was Incineroar. The first challenger is a brown-haired boy with a truly arrogant look. He is wearing a brown jacket and a cloth covering the lower part of his face.

He took a pokeball and sent a... Lycanroc into battle? This is different from the ones I've seen, it's not the midday form, let alone midnight. It is almost a mixture of the two. "So, big Masked Royal, what do you think about starting with switching your pokemon? Or you don’t care about it getting hurt?" For some reason Midnight's ear twitched at his voice.

"I think that's a good idea," The only defiant girl was wearing a blue dress and sent an Alola Marowak. "Being the first to send the pokemon always puts you at a disadvantage, you should know that,"

Masked Royal smiled. "I wouldn't send another one even after seeing yours," The two Trainers were surprised and the third one shivered. He's a boy the same age as the other two, maybe a little older than Luna, but unlike them, he seemed to be shy and had no idea what he was doing there. "You were the winner of that market draw, weren't you?"

The boy nodded nervously. He's kind of cute. "I won by accident, shouldn't be here,"

"Calm down," Masked Royal smiled, completely ignoring the other two Trainers. "Let's go slow, defeat is not a shame, giving up without trying is. Send your pokemon and we'll try together, okay?"

"Are you ignoring me?" The arrogant Trainer was annoyed and turned to the shy boy. "You there will help us, won't you? We're here to defeat him, if you help us I'll take it easy with you later,"

The boy appeared to think about it and launched a turtonator. He was sweating and clearly in doubt, but the Masked Royal decided to intervene. "I don't care if they come together to defeat me, it shows strategy and a cool head, which is admirable for a trainer," Despite the kind words, his face was serious, almost furious. "But fighting without using your full potential against an opponent who is giving his all to overcome an insurmountable enemy, that's shameful," He turned to look at the shy boy. "For now just watch boy, and then decide what to do, but remember, Enjoy the match,"

"Okay then," The boy seemed to get increasingly angry. He should have a soothing tea. "If you want to start like this, Lycanroc use Stone Edge,"

"Bonemerang,"

"Two strong and super effective attacks right from the start," I covered my mouth with my hands. "They have no mercy?"

"They should not have," I looked at Luna and she swallowed hard. Large stone spikes rose from the ground toward the fire-type pokemon, and the Marowak threw the bone hard and violently.

“So, this is like a bunny hunt,” The masked royal smiled. "But I wonder which side is the bunny? Darkest Lariat!" The Masked Royal ordered and the Incineroar began to spin fast with its claws gleaming with dark black flames. But no matter, a Stone Edge is an extremely powerful attack, and Bonemerang will still help.

When the ridge of rock came up at the Incineroar feet I thought this would be the end, but instead of dodging, running, or trying to hide, he took all the accumulated energy from the spins and made a single attack with his arm.

Stone Edge has been annihilated.

I stared in shock at the massive and fearful stones being shattered to rubble with a single strike and the Marowak Bone hurled back so hard it overtook the ring limits and smashed the ground.

The Dome fell silent. This makes no sense no matter how you look. The entire audience watched in admiration, but the other contestants were beginning to sketch out fear and confusion.

"Cross Chop at Lycanroc," The incinerator crossed his arms in 'X' and advanced toward the first opponent.

"Rock Slide," Lycanroc summoned a large amount of huge rocks to attack the Incineroar, but he didn't even hesitate, instead he received all the attacks and advanced. Lycanroc gaze was replaced by fear for no more than a second, because the next second the Incineroar hit the attack.

There is no way to measure the difference in strength. The attacking wind disrupted the ropes of the ring and advanced until it drilled holes in the viewers' wall, and poor Lycanroc received the full force of the blow, but instead of just breaking the wall, he continued to advance until the entire Dome trembled and through the hole began to enter something unexpected.

The sunlight.

I was wrong.

Very wrong.

The challengers aren't the hunters cornering a rabbit.

They are the rabbits.

"The Incineroar attack was so absurd that it destroyed all the way from here to the outside?" I had to ask Luna, but she, Midnight, and Faust watched the battle in shock. Luna smiled nervously with sweat dripping from her forehead, she was holding her arm so tightly that her knuckles were turning white and I think if she goes on like this she will end up tearing her own arm.

“Throat Chop!” The incineroar turned to the ghost type pokemon and hardened his right claw like the tip of an arrow, and soon after a dark energy enveloped the whole claw. The marowak stepped back in fright, but the great tiger stepped toward him and with a single attack on the throat he was thrown away and also destroyed part of the wall.

More silence. The two Trainers returned the pokemon to the pokeballs and drew others. The next pokemon was the girl's Machamp and the boy sent an Electivire.

"Focus Punch," the girl ordered and Machamp stiffened all the muscles in his four arms.

"Thunder Punch," Electivire attacked the Incineroar with a fist covered with electricity.

"Bulk Up, and hold the Electivire," Incineroar gave a loud roar and all of his muscle nearly doubled in size and steam began to come out of his skin, but instead of trying to stop Machamp's attack that is the most dangerous he stood still and let Electivire attack.

He gripped the huge pokemon's fist with visible ease, but the machamp's strike was ready and he attacked with a single, violent and focused punch.

Everyone in the audience held their breath, time seemed to slow down, but the Incineroar seemed to be smiling, and instead of running or trying to defend, he took a single step back. The attack went right past him and hit Electivire sending him away. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU IDIOT?"

“Impossible, my Machamp have No Guard! He always hit. You’re cheating,” The girl accused him.

"It's true that Machamp always hits a target," Masked Royal continued to smile. "And he hit a target. We're in a Battle Royal, we're all rivals here, yeah,"

"Electrocute him," the boy shouted and Electivire used both tails to attack the incineroar who again stepped aside, but the girl realized what his plan was and ordered the pokemon to flee, but the tails literally chased him and Machamp was electrocuted in place.

"But..."

"Lesson two about No Guard. All attacks hit the pokemon who has this ability. I don't think you have had this guy in a long time, you just captured him to battle me," Maske Royal shrugged. "Throw Machamp on Electivire,"

All Trainers were surprised when Incineroar took the fighting pokemon and threw it at the other weakened pokemon. They tried to get up but a final order was given. "Incineroar, Blast Burn,"

Incineroar's belt of flame burned like never before, and soon his whole body was covered by a large sphere of flame, it was as if a small sun were forming and he attacked the two fallen pokemos with all the force of one.

The ensuing explosion left no doubt as to the result when the flames finally vanished. Incineroar stood like a monster while the other two fallen no longer moved.

Both Trainers returned the pokemons, but instead of sending the last one they simply turned and left without looking back. The last Trainer who watched everything to the end sweated almost as much as Turtonator himself, but the pokemon seemed strangely determinated, as if he still wants to battle. He took his own pokeball and lifted it trembling.

"Will you run away too?" Masked royal asked.

"What good is fighting you?" The boy replied. "I have no chance of beating you, you're much older, and your pokemon is too strong,"

"True," To everyone's surprise Masked Royal agreed. "You can't defeat us. But not because I'm older, not because you're weak. Being defeated by a formidable opponent is not a shame. But running away from an opponent who gave his all, and faced you with his head held high until The end is.

Experience does not come from age, it comes from fighting and learning, losing and rising. Thus you will evolve yourself.  Learn from your Pokémon, don't make them war machines, make them your friends. Fight beside them,”

The boy's expression gradually changed he clenched his fists and with his head held high he asked. "Teach me how to get stronger, please?”

"I can't teach you how to get stronger, this you will learn on your own, but I can give you advice that I have been following for a long time. When fighting an enemy with an abyssal difference in strength, fight with the mind, trust your pokemon, choose in the heat of battle the moves your heart and your pokemon think is the right thing to do. Raise your head, breathe like one, think like one, and then attack with heart and soul together with your pokemon, and in the end…”

“DRACO METEOR!” The boy yelled, his voice failed but his pokemon was so confident as he could be. From above many artificial purple meteors appeared from apparently nowhere and fell from above toward its enemy. 

Without even being commanded, the Incineroar used the Darkest Lariat again and smashed the falling meteors to pieces as if they were nothing, and then it advanced rapidly and with a single throat attack, the Turtonator has fallen. "And then, lose together," The masked Royal said proudly.  "Lose, be defeated, shed tears and grow. Don't think what you could have done differently to defeat me, think of how to get up and beat me another day. That's what I would do in your place,"

The boy returned his pokemon, but instead of running away, he took another one with shaking hands and yelled challenging.
> Chapter 25- Midnight Lycanroc
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I thought the Totem Raticate looked like he controlled a mafia, but I have to admit: The Salazzle Totem is not just about looks, she is definitely a mafia boss.

"Rock Throw," Midnight attacked, but as expected, a simple order from Salazzle caused a dozen Salandit to jump in the way and receive the damage instead. "Jump on them," he went on using the many subordinates to achieve a privileged height. "Rock Throw again,"

The many sharp stones finally had a good angle to reach it, but her speed was insane and with a twist of her tail a wave of poison prevented or deflected all the prognoses.

Truth be told, this is not a good thing. Midnight has the advantage of type, it resists both attacks and can also cause super effective damage, but the absurd number of loyal soldiers, and the ridiculous speed of the leader makes us at a serious disadvantage.

"Faust, keep them away from Midnight," The not-so-small pokemon went towards the enemies by rotating his arms with various types of elements imbued in them, which I already learned is his signature. Electricity, fire or simple punches that sent the many lizards away were an inspiring sight for us, it seems that the little guy will be a good and unexpected addition for the team.

The Totem did not like that and used a Flamethrower against him, but Midnight hit him with a very weak Tackle but that was enough to get him out of the way by rolling and then he fled too, but I had a big surprise when the blow almost hit me. I managed to dodge it but Midnight and Faust were obviously concerned now, I looked into Salazzle eyes I could see an almost human malice.

My pokemons returned and prostrated themselves in front of me with a hostile stance. I really appreciate the gesture, but if we want to win we cannot be defensive.

"Faust, use Double Edge to clear the way," He ran like a Mini Tractor and literally opened up the sea of Salandit that protected the leader. "Midnight Rock Throw," He stepped forward with a look of piercing determination and threw the projectiles again, but she dodged as she moved toward him, which was clearly a mistake. "Crush Claw," His paws were outlined by a violent white aura and he hit her straight in the face. And to improve, I could see that a purple aura surrounded it for a second, decreasing its defense.

"Just one more attack and we won," I felt a trickle of sweat drip down from the side of my forehead. This is clearly not the most difficult Trial I had to face (Damn all Wishiwashi) but I still feel my adrenaline rushing through my veins. "Rock Throw again," The stones around his neck shone, but before he attacked I saw Salazzle malicious eyes getting more dangerous than ever, and instinctively I ran towards them.

She opened her mouth and from there a huge cloud of purple and clearly poisonous smoke came out. Midnight was trapped since he couldn't possibly dodge being so close. Well, not without help. "Stay on the plan," was the last thing I said before literally kicking him and sending him flying.

Salazzle looked at me in surprise when the poisonous smoke cloud hit me and all the surrounding area. I started coughing even though I tried to cover my mouth and nose, but clearly it was in vain. Above me, Midnight had the attack ready and hit Salazzle hard. "Finish with Crush Claw!"

Using all the momentum of gravity, he fell with one last devastating attack and the Totem fell to the ground unconscious. 

At the sight of the defeated leader, all the minions ran away desperately, a good thing given the fact I think we would not be at the best position to deal with them.

Midnight looked at Salazzle breathlessly and howled into the night sky. A blinding light came around his body and I smiled when I saw what was clearly happening. In just a few seconds a majestic wolf stands in front of me. With dark red fur and a thick mane that runs from its back to the top of its head. It has a short, stubby tail, folded ears and eyes that glow bright red with no visible iris or sclera. A fringe of black fur hangs over its face, and two pointed rocks emerge from either side of its waist.

He looked at himself and with an expression of satisfaction he howled to the moon again. Faust approached me and pointed at himself and then at Midnight. I smiled and put it on my shoulders. "Later friend, this is his moment,"





"What did you say?" I yelled into the phone.

"Exactly what you heard," Hala replied seriously. "Tapu Koko brought a girl to me and asked me to take care of her,"

"How she looks like?" I asked holding my cap.

"Milk-white skin, but long, colorful hair like the rainbow. I think she's about 15, but I still haven't gotten any other information,"

"Rainbow Hair?" Something about this is familiar to me. "Is she pretending to sleep while listening to you talking?"

"I have no doubt about it," Hala confirmed.

"Take care of her until I arrive," I looked at the clock. "I have to see one last thing here and soon I will come to you," I hung up the phone and headed towards the place where the Fire Trial is probably taking place. I think I have useful information to share with that girl.
> Chapter 26- Explanation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is hard to breathe, I am sweating cold and my body hurts.

Is it anticipation? Anxiety? I think not...

I put one of my hands on my chest when I started coughing. The sun is strong, but weakening, so I think the sweat is not because of that. I almost tripped but managed to lean against the wall somewhere and decided to stop for a second to catch my breath.

"Go Nebby! Use... Use splash," A very friendly voice tried to order a pokemon attack, but I do not know how good that attack is, and the command could have been better.

"Pew?" It was the only audible answer.

I moved away from the wall and staggered to the entrance to a place that was clearly a great kind of laboratory, which means that in one way or another I got where I wanted to, and the living proof of that was Lillie herself with her head down in front of the automatic doors.

"Heh, sorry Nebby, I was just acting as if I was Luna, but I guess it wasn't really good," She admitted in a slightly embarrassed voice, and I am sure the sudden heat on my cheeks is not the sun fault. "You always seemed to end up getting hurt, Nebby. Seeing that pained me just as much as if I was the one being hurt. But if I could become as strong as Hau and Luna are... then maybe things would be different..." She admitted all this with a rueful voice.

I wonder how many times I have had that thought. From a very young age, I was strong and arrogant, but when that happened to Celestia, I felt totally helpless, after all, what is the use of being strong when I cannot help my sister? And as an adult I did not improve much, I became more experienced and smart, but that is it. It was never enough to prevent threats from another world that so often plagued those I care about.

I shook my head hard to ward off those kinds of thoughts. This is not about me. Nebby was the first to notice me when I started walking towards the small dynamic duo. He smiled and Lillie turned to me with wide eyes and burning cheeks.

"Um, oh, Luna. Hello. I feel like it's been a while since we last met. Th-this is a laboratory that studies the dimensions, did you know? And the professor is waiting to meet you!" She said awkwardly and I smiled a little.

"I'm glad I found this place," I approached them. "I thought I got lost after the Trial,"

"How... how were your trials? It must be quite trying to do two in a row,"

"It was a little difficult," I crossed my arms. "I wanted to do the third Trial, but I had agreed to come here today,"

"I would think so... But still! You made it through two of them in such a small frame of time, that's amazing,"

"I had to make an effort, or Hau would leave me eating dust," I am starting to feel a little dizzy. "But how about we go in? I would like to talk to Professor Burnet for a while,"

"Yes, of course, let's go," She took Nebby in her arms and we entered the building.

The building reception let us pass easily when they saw Lillie, apparently, she had already been here, so we took the elevator. I used that moment to close my eyes a little. I'm feeling so tired right now, I think I underestimated Alola's weather a little. Or maybe I overestimated myself a little. Hard to know.

"Luna?" Lillie called me. "Are you okay? You look pale... And this is coming from me," Little Nebby seemed to agree with her.

"Just a little tired. That Salazzle was pretty tough," I took a deep breath. "But I'll be fine, don't worry,"

"I see," She didn't seem at all confident in my words. "If what you're feeling gets worse let me know, I'm sure Professor Burnet will understand,"

"I will not miss a chance to talk to her," I answered honestly. "I have been waiting for this," I can even feel my heart racing.

The elevator doors opened and revealed an entire floor with LOTS of technological equipment and more than a dozen scientists walking around or fiddling with their computers. Among them, a woman stood out. While some people were running desperately for her, she simply answered them calmly and confidently, clearly she was the person in charge.

"Oh, hi," She smiled at us with a friendly expression and invited us to come closer. "How nice to see you, Lillie, I was waiting,"

"Hello Professor Burnet," Lillie greeted her with a big smile and I approached her. "Are you too busy?"

"Not really," She looked at me with motherly eyes. "You're Luna, right? Lillie told me a lot about you. She said you were the reliable sort, and a few other things too,"

"Professor!" Lillie almost yelled at her as I tried to hold back a laugh, but I ended up choking and coughing a few times. "Anyway, this is Professor Burnet, she is the chief scientist at the interdimensional research laboratory, and Professor Kukui's wife," She looked at the floor almost ashamed. "Three months ago she was the one who found me with Nebby,"

"Really?" I asked looking at both, even though they were a little out of focus, hoping to hear how far the conversation goes. Kukui told me that he found Lillie on the same beach like me, which is clearly suspicious, but he never said anything more.

"Yes," Burnet took on a slightly more serious expression. "And I heard that your case is somewhat similar,"

I took a deep breath, I think it's getting a little difficult to breathe here. "Kukui told me that you could tell me about Ultra Wormhole, I am interested,"

"I see. In summary, Ultra Wormhole is an extremely rare event where sometimes a hole opens in the sky over Alola. It appears that this rift leads to a different and unknown dimension. The reason that people think there may be a mysterious dimension is because of the legends of fearsome Pokémon appearing from the Ultra Wormhole. And a strange account or two," She knows. I am sure Kukui told her about me.

"Creatures?" I asked and leaned against the wall trying to pull the collar off my shirt with my finger. It is getting really hard to breathe here.

"There is also plenty of evidence already in the Pokédex for the existence of different dimensions, like Bronzong, but the creatures that appear from these holes are clearly a very different kind of pokemon that we are used to. The 'Pokémon' that appeared from the Ultra Wormhole is called Ultra Beasts. Extremely violent creatures, and as dangerous as they are furious," She approached me with her arms crossed and worried eyes. "But are you feeling good, Luna?"

"Do not mind me," I shook my head hard trying to stay focused, but I am getting dizzy. "I need to know more about Ultra Wormholes. Are they totally random? Or can they be forced to open up?"

"Luna," Lillie put her hand on my shoulder. "You look even worse than before, you haven't been well since you came back from the Fire Trial,"

"Fire Trial?" Burnet asked with wide eyes and quickly put her hand on my forehead, I tried to remove it, but the world seems to be darkening before my eyes. "Luna, did you battle a Marowak or a Salazzle?"

"Is that really important?" I asked.

"You fought Salazzle, didn't you?" She practically stated. "Answer me,"

"Yes, I fought," I am feeling too weak to argue.

"Luna, look at me," Lillie called to me and I focused on her. She looks so worried. I can hear murmurs from the other scientists, but I cannot make out their words, so I focused on Lillie. "Did Salazzle hit you? Even if  only once?"

My head hurts, my legs are wobbly. "She used a strange gas and I got Midnight out of the way. I think that counts,"

"Gas?" Burnet's look changed instantly. For a microsecond, she looked surprised but then she turned and started ordering. “CALL NURSE JOY, I NEED URGENT MEDICAL CARE, "

A great commotion started. A dozen scientists ran back and forth while some picked up the phones, but at that very moment my legs failed and I fell, but Lillie held me.

"PEW! PEW!"

"LUNA! LUNA!" Lillie called my name several times and Burnet knelt beside me, but I feel my conscience slowly fading. "LISTEN TO ME, you need to be strong, look at me and try to stay awake," She is so desperate. But it still looks so confident, I cannot take my eyes off hers. "You were poisoned, and we need medical help, but you need to stay still and be conscious, do you hear me?"

"Yes, I am, madam," I forced a smile. Poisoned... It makes sense. “I can hold it a little longer... I think... I can hold three more minutes,"

"Long enough," Burnet got up and ran towards the door. "I'll get Joy as fast as possible,"

"I am not leaving here," I smiled again when I saw Lillie's angry look at my joke.

Three minutes is enough.





I hung up the phone and sighed. Little Rowlet is sleeping on top of the wardrobe and the new guest is on the sofa.

"Kukui is a trustworthy man, a proud apprentice, and he surely has some theory about you," I turned to the girl 'sleeping' on my couch and crossed my arms. "But I would like to know a little bit for myself if you don't mind. So when you feel like stopping pretending to be asleep I would like to talk. I assure you that I am not a threat,"

"It's hard to keep pretending after a sentence like that," The girl replied and opened her eyes, her wide awake and full of energy eyes.

"I'm sorry for that, but you look suspicious of me, so you better keep your guard up without worrying about being inert, and I wouldn't want you to attack me when I get close," I smiled.

"Thank you so much for your consideration," She sat up and scratched her head, her colored hair tossing from side to side. "So, can I start asking questions?"

"I don't see why not," I sat on a bench in front of her and Rowlet woke up from his sleep and watched us in silence. I don't think she saw him yet.

"What is your name?"

"Hala, I'm the Kahuna of Mele Mele Island. And yours?"

"Celestia. And I've never heard of this island," She took a deep breath. "Do you know how I got here?"

"Tapu Koko brought you to me, and I carried you inside,"

"Tapu Koko?" She looked confused for a second, but then her gaze changed and she seemed to understand something. "A black and orange creature, fast as lightning?"

"It's a way of saying," I smiled. "Tapu Koko is the guardian deity of this island,"

"Deity?" She brought her hand up to her chin. "So I guess I shouldn't have thrown a table at him, should I?"

"You what?" I asked a little disbelievingly.

"Forget it," she said quickly. "It wasn't important. Anyway, I do know this creature. He came to my house to deliver a letter that my sister had written,"

"What?" I asked. "A letter? It's the first time I've heard that. But who is your sister? Why did he have to deliver the letter? "

"My sister..." She assumed a sad expression. "She disappeared a few days ago. I was already giving up hope of finding her, but this Tapu Koko gave me a letter from her. And the next night he offered to take me to her, but I don't feel the slightest sign of her in this house,"

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said solemnly. "I will endeavor to help you, Celestia. In the meantime, what is your sister's name?"

"Luna,"

"LUNA?" I got up quickly and ended up knocking over the chair. "Is your sister called Luna?" In a fraction of a second she moved, and the next moment I felt that she was holding my shirt and pressed me against the wall.

"DO YOU KNOW WHERE MY SISTER IS?" She screamed. Her voice was almost unbalanced. "ANSWER ME!"

"Does she have black hair and bluish skin?"

"YES!" Celestia's eyes look completely desperate.

"I met her," I replied quickly and gently put my hand on her arm. "I know who she is and I can help you find her, but you need to calm down Celestia,"

Her hands shook, but slowly she released me. "I’m sorry,"


"Don't worry, you just wanted to know about your sister's well-being," I adjusted my shirt. "Your sister showed up a few days ago, Kukui found her on the beach. He said she admitted to coming from an Ultra Wormhole, so I think it's safe to say that you came too,"

"Ultra Wormhole?"

"It's basically a portal. You came from another universe, didn't you?"

"Yes, that seems to be the case," Celestia replied more calmly this time. "It's nice to know that I won't have to lie to you, but I need to know where my sister is,"

"Your sister is fine, she went on a pokemon journey with my nephew Hau, Lillie, and Kukui,"

"Pokémon journey? What is it?" She asked confused, but thirsty for the information.

I smiled and Rowlet flew until he landed on my shoulder. "If you want some explanation, you'd better sit down again,"
> Chapter 27 - Brand New Start
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My head hurts so much

I wonder where I am? Am I lying down? How long have I been here? One day? One year? I have been sleeping for so long that I do not remember anymore?

I try to open my eyes, but I cannot force myself to do it yet. I feel dizzy, my head hurts so much that my disorientation and darkness seem to be all that is left. That and a distant sound in the background that I cannot make out yet. No more than a buzz in my ears, but a constant company that seems to refuse to leave.

What was I doing?

I think I was talking to someone. A friend and a Professor maybe ... But then what happened?

Poison!

I try to open my eyes again, but again I fail. Now I can remember a little. I was in a pokemon battle recently, and I was poisoned instead of my loyal companion.

After that I started to feel bad, and now I understand that it was the poison running through my veins. If I could I would be smiling. I may be as grown up as Kukui, but I am just as inconsequential as Hau. But after that, what was I doing?

The sound in the background seems to get louder by the second. First, nothing more than a simple annoyance, but it was distinguishing itself as a beautiful and angelic voice that sings to me in a slow and constant rhythm, like a lullaby for a child to sleep. But who would sing for me? I have never had anyone but ...

"Tia?" I manage to ask a simple question and the song has stopped, making the sound of silence seem deafening in my ears.

"Luna? Are you awake?" I feel something soft and warm gently against my cheek, like a hand. "Do I need to call Professor Burnet? Can you speak?"

"PEW!"

A barrage of questions continues. Worried about me for my stupidity. I do not think I can ever help but worrying others. I try again to open my eyes, and this time I am slowly reaching my goal.

I see light. Strong and blinding, but I cannot tell if it comes from the lamp or the young girl looking at me worriedly. Her golden hair falls over her shoulders as she presses her small hand to my forehead to check my temperature.

"Lillie," I can say her name. It would be rude to mistake her for someone else when she is clearly concerned about me. I force a weak smile as I greet her. "How are you?"

"HOW AM I...," She almost yelled at me but took a deep breath and smiled at me. "I ask the same thing. How are you feeling?"

"Dizzy, weak ... Stupid," I try to sit up, but instead of stopping me, Lillie actually helped me do it.

"I would enjoy disagreeing with the last one," She finally sat on the bench next to me. "But after being poisoned by the only known pokemon capable of poisoning other poison type pokemon I feel sadly inclined to agree,"

I gave a small laugh. Is little Lillie trying to insult me? Maybe I really stepped on the ball this time. "Where are we?"

"In the infirmary," She finally took Nebby in her arms and placed him beside me. The little guy soon cuddled up next to me and started sleeping. "Professor Burnet brought you here as soon as the nurse arrived,"

"And how long did I sleep?"

"Much less than expected from any human being," A new voice became involved in the conversation. I looked at the automatic door that was already closing and saw Professor Burnet walking towards us. "You slept for just over four hours. You almost broke the world record,"

"Almost?" I cannot help playing with the situation. "Well, who managed to wake up faster than me?"

"The average time for a person to wake up is three days, but Kukui woke up in three hours," The Professor smiled and sat down next to Lillie.

"Damn ... There's something wrong with that guy," I feel a little bitterness emerging. For so little he was better than me.

"I prefer to think that there is something wrong with you two," Burnet interrupted my line of reasoning. "You are the only idiots in this world who have chosen to be poisoned,"

"Well, it could be worse," I look at the ceiling thoughtfully. "But on second thought ... With three hours, Hau must have already won the next Trial and be on the way to the next island. I think I stayed behind on this one," Heavily I admit my defeat.

"What are you talking about?" Lillie asks, confused. "Hau's over there," She pointed to my left. I turn around and see the boy next to my medical devices eating what is clearly a malasada, "

"Yo," He greeted me with a wave of his fingers.

"Did you not even think for a second to speak up before?" I asked with a small drop of anger and embarrassment.

He stared at me for a few seconds chewing and finally swallowed his favorite treat. "I had my mouth full,"

Strangely, this is a good excuse.

I turned and looked at Burnet, after all, our conversation is not over yet. But I feel bad about excluding children like that, so I stuck to other priorities. "Where's Kukui? Shouldn't he be here already?"

"Professor Kukui came quickly," Lillie explained to me. "But after he saw you were unconscious he said he had an emergency that Hala had called for him,"

"Hala needed his help?" I would like to say that I contained my surprise, but it would be a lie. "What could need those two together to solve?"

"Kukui didn't speak, but he wanted to talk to you about it," Burnet sighed. "I thought you might know,"

"No, I cannot imagine," I reply sincerely. "But Professor, could you tell me more about Ultra Wormholes?" I asked her so that she would understand my concerns without involving Hau and Lillie, to them it would appear to be nothing more than a small curiosity.

"Yes, I could," she sighed and her expression changed to motherly pity. "But I doubt I can tell you what you want to hear,"

"I see," That was my only response before looking out over the horizon and sighing as I leaned my face into my hands. So much work and effort for nothing. Not a clue or information on how to get home to my sister who is waiting for me. Unconsciously I feel my fingers press harder on my head as I try to organize my emotions.

"Luna?" I feel hands on my shoulders. I lift my head to see both Lillie and Hau comforting me. They have no idea about me, and yet they care about me as much as a friend. None of them said anything else, just demonstrated their empathy for me in understanding. Now I look from one to the other and see perhaps for the first time that I never thought of them as anything other than children, just two of many that I have had to deal with over the years for my sister's dream. But I will not lie to myself, I consider them as my friends, perhaps the first true friends since my sister.

"You guys are amazing," I sigh as I feel a smile growing in me.

Burnet was watching us with a sad smile. She got up from the chair and questioned me. "Well, due to your absurd immune system, I think you can leave in an hour, just to make sure there are no sequels. What do you intend to do?"

Hau and Lillie sit down and I look at the clock. "I am going to visit the pokemon center and then I will be heading towards the grass trial, maybe I can finish it today,"

"Aren't you tired?" Burnet asked me before sighing, the ring on her necklace seemed to glow when she smiled again. "You look a lot like Kukui did you know? But please try not to kill yourself on the way,"

"Don't worry, Professor Burnet," Hau wrapped an arm around my neck in a kind of tight hug. "I'll go with her. I'll make sure she kills Totems instead of the two of us,"

"Do not make promises you do not know if you can keep," I replied and a general laugh echoed through the room.

"I'm going to stay here for a little while longer. I want to go to the Ruins of Life tonight. I heard this is where the Kahuna does her Grand Trial so maybe we will meet there,"

"It looks like a plan," I jumped out of bed with ease to Lillie's despair and Nebby's scare. "Now, where are my gloves and cap?"





I hate to leave my beautiful boat on Akala Island, but I also have to be aware of what it can and cannot do, and this time I needed speed. "Just a little more my friend, Mele Mele is right there," I talk to my Braviary who gives a shout of agreement. We flew almost the entire route between the two islands and I can already see our objective approaching.

There was a time when things were simpler, I think with a frown. It was just acting like a Professor, trying to negotiate exhaustively with the pokemon league center, recruiting members for the Elite of 4 and other things of the genre. But now the situation has changed.

The wind almost takes my cap off but I catch it before it falls overboard. First it was Lillie and Nebby. Appearing like that. Then Luna appeared with an even higher standard, even making Tapu Koko show a clear interest in her. And now another stranger appeared brought by the island's own guardian deity ...

Something big is going to happen, really big.

The city lights almost blind me when we finally arrive. I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't even realize that Braviary had come so close to Hala's house.

We landed in the big ring that gave way to the battle of Luna and Hau. "Thank you very much my friend," I stroke my Braviary. His face and body were full of imposing scars when he received my affection. "Rest, I need to solve some problems," I put him back in pokeball and ran straight to Hala's house, knocking on the door next. "Hala, I'm here, can you let me in?"

"Kukui?" I heard his surprised voice and a short time later he opened the door with a friendly smile. "It's good to see you so fast, my friend,"

"Well, good to see you too. But tell me, how is she? What do you know so far?"

"Well ..." He started to say something when a strangely familiar noise echoed from inside the house.

"That ... Is she, isn't she?"

"It is," he replied.

"One question. Why?"

"When I talked to her about how we captured a pokemon and offered Rowlet she said it wasn't fair to just gain him for free,"

"So is she fighting with the pokemon?"

"She is," Hala agreed and I smiled.

"Well, let's see what awaits me," Hala made room and I finally entered the house. Unsurprisingly I see that most of the furniture was damaged, Rowlet flew with a determined expression using everything to hit a girl with extremely white skin and long hair the color of the rainbow, but frankly, he was not having much success and the girl finally managed to grab it all at once and press it against the floor, trapping it completely.

"Got you, little one," The girl said, huffing a little as Rowlet tried to pull away.

I look at the scene with a small dose of nostalgia. I can't help remembering myself and Luna with her 'little' confrontation with Midnight. I went in and finally the girl let go of the bird out of her grip, but he looked a little crestfallen, as if he didn't like losing a human at all. "Hello," I say, attracting her attention.

She turned to me with her face barely sweating at all. "Oh, hello," She greeted me with a smile. "Nice muscles,"

"You are not the first to praise," I say relaxed as I approach. "My name is Kukui, I am here to try to help you in your situation. What is your name?" I say extending my hand.

"Celestia," She extends her hand as well but I stop in the middle of the gesture when I recognize the name I only heard once in my life.

"Celestia ..." I look at the girl with skin as pale as an albino, but now I see traces on her face of undeniable familiarity. "Are you ... are you Luna's sister?"

We both stopped looking at each other in silence. Rowlet flew and landed on Hala's shoulder who simply watched everything quietly. "Do you know where my sister is? How is she?" She asked me in a broken voice.

"Your sister is fine," I soon soothed her. "I know where she is now and I know where she is going next," With each word I saw a smile of relief grow on her features. "You don't have to worry, I will take you to her. My partner is bringing my boat, he will arrive here in the morning. And your sister is a strong child, besides being in good company. She will be fine until we arrive,"

"How nice ... Wait, kid?" She looked at me confused and I did the same. But instead of saying something else, she just looked at her own body carefully and started laughing.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" She doubled over holding her stomach and leaned on Hala’s couch while the Kahuna and I looked at each other without understanding what was going on. "Gods, she must be so furious,"

"Um, sorry to ask, but what's so funny?" I questioned.

"Well, looking at MY body I would say I'm about 15 years old," She said and started laughing again. "So Luna must be around 12 or 13, am I right?"

Hala and I stared at her for a few seconds. Something about this conversation just doesn't fit. Doesn't she know her sister's age that she is so worried about? That does not make sense. "Well, yes, I would say yes,"

"Wow, she must be really furious about everything. She has a serious height complex," she said before laughing again.

"Well, I noticed that, but why are you asking this?"

"Your name is Kukui, isn't it?" She asked good-naturedly. "It's very typical for Luna to be so suspicious of everyone. In short, in our world we are not children. I would say that you and I are almost the same age. I am the principal of a school, and my sister is the vice - principal, "

Silence reigned in the room. I stared at her with my mouth open as the puzzle pieces came together in my mind.

The way her mind is fast, her maturity and self-control, and even why she cried when she saw the pokemon school. Ease of learning and strategic mind ... Everything fits together.

"I'm sorry that she kept this hidden from you," Celestia approached in a good mood. "But Luna has had serious trust issues since ... Well, it doesn't matter. But I guarantee that she is a wonderful person, and that she probably genuinely likes you and wasn't just using you,"

"Okay, I get it," I sit down and feel a little laugh wanting to leave. "Now it makes sense. But it doesn't matter now," I looked her in the eye. "You want to go to her yourself, don't you?"

"Yes," There was not the slightest hesitation in her voice. "When do we leave and where are we going?"

"We left in the morning. She is about to finish what she had to do on Akala Island, so I think we should go straight to Ula'ula Island and wait there,"

"If you say so," She answers me confidently before looking at herself in the mirror. "But since I'm here, how about some shopping to help with the wardrobe,"

I smile when I see her so relaxed. The two are so different and yet similar at the same time. "I know the right place. Let's go before the night comes,"

"After you," She bows playfully and points to the door. Little Rowlet lands on her shoulders.

I laugh and walk through the door followed by the duo. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m sure we all will have a big part in it... And it all begins with a brand new start.