"I know we aren't friends. But we aren't enemies anymore either. Keep winning. Maybe I'll see you again if you do"
The sentence plays for the umpteenth time in Moon's head as she closes her front door. A sigh escapes her lips now that she was out of public view.
Meowth peers up from his bed noticing that his other trainer was finally home. She takes note of the movement and gives the Pokemon an apologetic smile.
"I know we aren't friends. But we aren't enemies anymore either. Keep winning."
When Moon arrived to Iki Town she was overwhelmed by the good vibes. The music was blasting, the dance floor was busy, and Pokemon were running around in unison with everyone she crossed paths with on her journey.
It was fun, but she was the first to leave.
"I know we aren't friends. But we aren't enemies anymore either."
At the beginning she was overwhelmingly happy. Celebrating the Championship was one thing, but being surrounded by friends who have supported her wholeheartedly? That was priceless. These were friends she wanted to make sure were happy and safe so being in their company filled her with more joy.
But after a few hours she grew frustrated and as hard as she tried to keep up with the positive atmosphere her mind was preoccupied.
Hung up on the sentence Gladion told her before her championship, she had hoped he would show up to explain himself.
He didn't.
"I know we aren't friends."
She tiredly walks towards her room with Meowth on her trail.
She drops her belongings onto the floor before collapsing onto her bed face first. Meowth curls up into a ball on her carpet.
A few minutes of silence fill the room.
She hoped sleep would wash over her, but her mind was racing.
"I -on ge- it" Moon murmurs into the pillow, her muffled words don't call Meowth's attention.
She tilts her head, allowing her to glance at her Pokemon seated on the ground. "Meowth, he said we aren't friends."
The Pokemon opens a single eye. Moon groans as she pushes herself up, grabs Meowth against his will, and places him in her lap. She places her hands on his cheeks.
"How could he say that?" Her voice rises with frustration to which Meowth only meows and squirms.
"I knew he thought we were rivals, but I'm also rivals with Hau and we're friends!" Moon stares intensely into Meowth's eyes, he squirms some more. He had no patience for his trainer's ramblings. Moon dejectedly loosens her grip allowing him to jump off her lap and run back to his bed in the living room.
"Ughhhhhhhh." Her back hits her mattress as she drapes an arm over her face.
He was just so hard to understand, unlike her. She was obvious in portraying how much she cared about her friends.
Moon shakes her head as she sits up once more; ignoring the queasy feeling she had in her stomach.
"You know what...I don't care. I don't care at all." Moon says to herself as she reaches for her castaway bag. She pulls out her small green pokepager.
"I'm just gonna stay here and pretend the last few months never happened. It's not like I need his friendship."
She stands up hastily and makes her way out of her bedroom, not forgetting to collide into some furniture on her way.
"I don't need his angst. I don't need his sharp remarks. I don't need his rare laughter or even rarer moments of kindness. Right, Meowth?" Moon was now standing over Meowth's bed in the living room. The Pokemon blinks once, blinks twice.
"Meowr."
"That's right, Meowth! I don't need any of it at all!" Moon says with a haughty laugh as she walks out her front door leaving behind the sleepy Pokemon.
Her thumb presses on the ride pager with a surge of confidence and the Charizard appears not a moment later.
"Charizard! Can you please take me to…" Moon pauses now realizing she had no idea where Gladion was staying.
The Motel? Kukui's? Aether Paradise?
She gives the Pokemon a wide grin. "Are you okay with going to a few places?"
Ding-dong.
Silvally's head turns towards the sound, a low growl begins to form in his chest. Gladion pulls out his headphones realizing that his Pokemon was on edge.
"What's wrong, boy?" He asks as he places a soft hand on the Pokemon's side. The growling doesn't stop.
Ding-dong.
Silvally barks and a confused look places itself on Gladion's face.
A visitor to their household was rare in itself, but a visit at 2:27AM was just plain odd.
Ding-dong.
Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Di-Di-Di-Di-Di-
And this guest had no patience whatsoever.
"Wait here, okay?" Gladion directs the Pokemon, but Silvally follows behind him regardless.
Di-Di-Di-Di-Di-ng Dong.
"I'm coming. I'm coming" Gladion yells from the stairs.
"You know whoever you" Gladion begins as he aggressively opens the door "you have some explaini-MOON?!"
Silvally pushes his head into view and chirps. He was happy to greet the Champion.
Moon glances up at the blonde with a furrowed brow.
"Arceus Moon, that was you? What the heck are doing you here?" Gladion asks before he leans out expecting to see Lillie with her, but she was unaccompanied.
She gives Gladion an intense stare before opening her mouth to speak.
"At Mt. Lanikala you said we weren't friends and I just want you to know that I have not been mulling over this all day" Moon says pointedly, hoping for some sort of reaction out of the boy, but all he does is stare as his lips form a straight line. So she continues.
"And I also wanted to let you know that I was not waiting around the ceremony for you to appear." Moon shakes her head aggressively. "No sir, that's where you're wrong Gladion! You see I don't care if we're friends and that's why I'm staying at home!"
Moon ends with a confident smile.
Her point was made. She wins. She showed him.
"So why aren't you at home then?" Gladion nonchalantly adds. A smug smile pulls on his lips as realization hits Moon...hard.
"I-um-I-" Moon stutters, only to be interrupted by Gladion's laughter.
It filled the calm air of Aether Paradise with something more joyful, but it made Moon's stomach flutter.
"You never cease to surprise me, Moon" Gladion says as his chuckles fade. He brings a finger up to his eye as he wipes away a tear.
Moon felt the heat rise her face. Embarrassment, emotions, was there something in her drink earlier? It was all too overwhelming.
"Well, I'm happy you got a good laugh out of this" Moon mumbles bitterly as she looks away from the blonde not noticing the soft smile he gave her.
"Do you want to come in?"
She mulls over his offer before shaking her head.
"I think I'm done bugging you. I said what I had to say and it's not like we're friends, anyways" Moon says disheartedly. She reaches for her pager when Gladion let's out a sigh and closes the door behind him and Silvally.
He walks past her and down the path in front of Aether Paradise.
Moon's eyes follow while wondering where he was headed to at this hour.
"Are you coming or not, Champion?" He interrupts her train of thought. Silvally barks happily, clearly liking the idea of her joining them on the stroll.
She was confused to say the least as she searches his face for some sign of insincerity, but it wasn't there. Instead she found him lacking his usual facade of annoyance and saw it replaced with something more melancholic.
She walks up towards the blonde and he continues walking without a word. Eventually all their footsteps sync up as they quietly and aimlessly walk down the tree path.
Moon let's out an internal sigh of relief. Gladion wasn't one for small talk, but for once she was grateful for the lack of sound. The silence meant that for the moment she didn't have to explain her embarrassing confession, but a part of her wanted Gladion to question her.
Another part of her wanted Gladion to deny her claims and prove her wrong.
The blonde in question eventually stops as they begin approaching the edge of the manmade island. With the moonlit ocean surrounding them Moon was a little sad to have not noticed the beauty of the mansion's grounds before.
Of course, given the circumstances with the Ultrabeasts, it was understandable.
Silvally runs ahead of the trainers as he decides to roll around in the nearby grass patches. Moon smiles at the display of freedom Silvally had, but when she glances over to Gladion he seemed lost in thought. The forlorn look on his face was still present.
"Is something on your mind, Edgelord?" Moon casually asks, not fully expecting him to open up to her. He let's out a small sigh in response.
"Always sharp to pick up on things, huh? That must be why Lillie trusted you so much." Gladion says before gazing over at his Pokemon. "I guess there is something."
He takes a deep breath in.
"I'm leaving tomorrow."
Moon let's out a snort. "That's a weird way to say moving out. I figured you wouldn't want to live at Aether Paradise, but don't tell me you're going back to the motel on Akala. Surely you could find a more stable place to live."
He shakes his head. "No, Moon. I'm leaving Alola."
Moon's eyes widen. Of all things he could've dropped on her, this was the last thing she expected.
"What do you mean you're leaving Alola?" Moon asks slowly. "What about Lillie? Lusamine? The Foundation? The search for your dad?"
"They're all important, but I have to go. I have to become stronger. Stronger to protect them. Stronger to keep up with people like you." He gives her a sad smile. "You did all the protecting I couldn't do."
Moon feels tears prick the corner of her eyes and Gladion's heart sinks at the sight. "That doesn't mean you have to leave…"
It took everything he had to not comfort the younger girl. So he did the next best thing:
"Do you really want to know why I said we weren't friends?"
Moon wipes her eyes as she glances up at Gladion. He was staring out at the ocean that would soon separate him from everyone in this region. He looked at it as if it had all the answers in the world.
"I didn't want to deal with the goodbyes." He shifts his piercing gaze towards her. "But I guess I had to deal with the hardest one after all."
Moon says nothing in response as she tries to wrap her mind around his own confession.
"If I stayed at your celebration for any longer than I did I may have found tomorrow more difficult to go through with. I'm grateful for everything you did for Lillie, for my mother, for…" He pauses unable to finish the sentence, but the sentiment gets through.
"Basically seeing you and everyone that happy would make me reconsider my options."
Moon tries to let out a small chuckle, but it comes out as a quick snivel. The misunderstandings were real, she only wished this wasn't how they got cleared up.
She takes a deep breath as she steps up to the blonde and wraps her arms around him catching him off guard. He wasn't one for obvious displays of emotion, but Moon decided they both needed the hug.
"You better come back stronger than ever" She pleads through broken sobs. Her tears seeping through the thinner parts of his jacket.
He allows himself a rare moment of vulnerability as he wraps his own arms around Moon. "Just keep winning, Moon. I'll see you again if you do."