Chapter 1: Sulking
Aaron's POV
I lay on my back on my bed, glaring at the ceiling. I never wanted to move to Alola. We moved here so my mom could make more money at her job, but we were doing just fine in Kanto. "Aaron! Please come and help with the unpacking!" my mom calls from the kitchen. I groan. I swing my legs off the edge of the bed. My door opens and Meowth walks in. "I'm coming, I'm coming..." I sigh, and I stand up. I follow Meowth out of my bedroom and into the kitchen. My mom stands there, amid several cardboard boxes with labels such as "kitchen" and "living room".
"You were out like a light, weren't you?" my mom asks. "You should have plenty of energy now!" I sigh. The plane trip was tiring. I hate planes. "I can't wait to meet some Alolan Pokémon!" she gushes. Suddenly, the doorbell rings. "Could you go see who that is, Aaron?" my mom asks. I sigh, and start to walk to the front door. Then, the door opens, and a man wearing a hat, glasses, and a labcoat with an exposed torso walks in.
"Hey Aaron!" he greets me. "How was your trip? You feelin' any jet lag?" Did he just let himself in? "Hello, Professor Kukui. We arrived yesterday, and the trip was fine," my mom says, blushing slightly. Oh great. My mom is smitten with the first attractive man she meets in Alola. "Hey there, mom. I just let myself in. And just call me Kukui, would you?" he says. Did he just call my mom "mom?" What is with this guy?
"Welcome to Alola!" he says to us. "Ever since I saw you battle the Kanto Gym Leaders all those years ago, I've been in love with Alolan Pokémon," my mom says. "When I got a job offer here that paid more, I leapt at the opportunity." Professor Kukui laughs. "I thought I knew a thing or two about battling, but boy was I wrong! Those Indigo Gym Leaders wiped the floor with me!" he says.
"So, Aaron, let's go to the next town over, yeah? Time for you to meet the Island Kahuna and get yourself a Pokémon!" he says to me. What the hell is a "kahuna?" Do I really get a Pokémon? We moved before I could start my Pokémon journey in Kanto, so this is convenient. "The Kahuna will happily give a Pokémon to anyone who wants to go on an adventure with their first Pokémon," Kukui says.
"You'd better get ready then, Aaron," my mom chirps. "Your bag and hat are in the boxes in your room I think." My hat. My mom bought the hat at the airport, and I hate it. I'm not a hat person in general. I sigh and walk to my room. I grab my bag, a black satchel, out of the pile of boxes, and stare at the hat for a few seconds. I know it's not the hat's fault. I just don't like wearing hats.
I leave the hat in the box and walk back into the kitchen. My mom and Professor Kukui are deep in conversation. "You ready, Aaon?" Professor Kukui asks when he notices me. "Aaron, where's your hat?" my mom asks. "Mom, I don't want to wear the hat," I say, putting as little whine in my voice as possible. "Don't worry, cousin! I'm sure it's as stylish as mine, yeah?" Professor Kukui says.
"I'm not your cousin," I snap. Professor Kukui frowns. My mom whispers something in his ear, and he nods. "Let's get going, yeah?" he says, smiling again. How can one man be all smiles? "Goodbye, Aaron!" my mom says, pulling me into an unwanted hug, then rustling my messy brown hair. "Be sure to visit soon!" I put the hood of my jacket up and follow Professor Kukui out the door. "Welcome to paradise, cousin," he says as he leads me up the path of Route One.
"Folks here in Alola get along by living and working together with Pokémon. After all, you can get anywhere in life if you have Pokémon by your side, yeah!" Professor Kukui says. "Now, we're off to Iki Town! It's not far through here!" He leads me up a hill, still following the path. When we get to the top of the hill, we see a bunch of trainers and their Pokémon hanging out near the path, talking, eating, or battling.
"As you can see," Professor Kukui says, "trainers here in Alola are a social bunch, hanging out and battling with the Pokémon they love!" Several, if not all the trainers wave to Professor Kukui as he walks by, and he waves back. "Hey, you! New kid!" I hear a voice call. I turn to see a trainer walking towards me. "Let's have a battle sometime!" he grins. "Sure..." I say, uncomfortable with how forward he is.
"Aaron, let's get moving! Iki town is right over there!" Professor Kukui says, and he points toward an archway held up by two large wooden posts. I follow him through the arch, and into Iki Town.