On a quiet path by Iki village, a single house stood alone. Light shone through the window and the silhouette of a woman was visible. Seeing this, a tired young woman smiled and continued on her way. It had been months since Moon had seen her mother in the flesh. As the Alolan Champion, she was expected to attend many conferences and meetings. They were interesting, of course, and filled with new friends, Pokémon, and battles. But Moon needed to see her friends and family after so long.
Moon knocked on the door, bracing herself. It opened before her in a flash, and she embraced the woman named Anna Celeste, her mother.
"Honey, you're finally home!" her mom exclaimed. "How are you? Have you kept safe? Did you make friends?"
Moon laughed, saying, "Mom, I'll tell you all about it once you let me inside."
The feeling of love and warmth enveloped her as she walked in, and Moon smiled to see her mom's beloved Meowth scurry over to her. She knelt to scratch the cat-like Pokémon behind her ears and giggled when Meowth made faces. Mother and daughter traded stories back and forth, until Moon was slipping into and out of sleep. Her mom seemed like she was determined to extract every detail of her journey. Her mom spoke rapidly, her tone light but dusted with urgency. She almost seemed nervous, but Moon shook it off and, with a yawn, said goodnight.
She went up to her room and smiled, seeing nothing had changed. It was just like she left it four months ago. For that matter, she hadn't changed her room's layout since she was 11. But even though Moon was 15 now, looking around the room she felt it was still perfect. It was spotless, and as Moon collapsed into bed, she thought how wonderful it was to be back in Alola. How wonderful it was to be back home. She almost didn't notice the pictures on her wall. Moon glanced at them fondly; there was one of her, her mom, and Meowth; one showed a young Moon and Hau grinning; another captured a rare moment when Moon and Hau had gotten Gladion to smile; one of her favorites was a group shot with all the captains of the four regions along with the respective Kahunas. She knew there were more. Her absolute favorite was right in the center; Moon stood in Iki village with her three best friends, and all of them were smiling. In her room, the Champion managed a small smile, but there was bitterness behind it. Next to that picture was one that gave Moon an ache in her heart. There she was, in a small cave on Eggsecutor Island, with damp clothes and damp hair. Her arm was slung around the shoulders of a blonde girl in white clothes. They were both beaming.
Moon sighed and turned over in her bed. It's been four years, she told herself. Get over it.
When she woke the following morning, she flew down the stairs, hugged her mom, and barrelled out the door. She loved her mother dearly, but she had to let her friends know she was home at last.
The very first place Moon went was Iki village. There, she found Hau, jumping up and down on the dais. She called out to him and when he turned, he smiled his widest grin, the one Moon knew was for her.
"Moon!" He rushed over and hugged his friend tightly, lifting her up off her feet. He gently set her down and looked her up and down. Moon had gotten taller in the months away but not much else had changed. She seemed to glow in the Alolan sun, her dark skin shining. She wore a navy surfing tank top with an adorable Pikachu riding a rainbow, and paired it with black shorts. Her white Z-Ring glinted on her wrist, and she had chosen a white bag to match. Her wavy black hair fell to her shoulders, adorned with a dark blue flower, and her brown eyes gleamed as she scanned Hau's face. "You're back! How was it?"
"It was great," Moon replied. "But I missed you guys so much."
The two had always been close, and through their constant adventures, they had bonded even more. Moon was filled with a rush of love for her friend and she threw her arms around him again. They were the best of friends, and still fierce rivals. Holding true to their natures, the pair had a heated battle.
"Go, Decidueye!" Moon's trusted friend and starter Pokémon greeted Hau. "I caught a few Pokémon from each region, but I decided to keep my original team for now. Why mess with a great combo, right?"
Hau sent out his Primarina. "Just like our first battle, huh?" he said with a chuckle.
Moon grinned, determined to show her friend her skill.
"Leaf Blade!" she called. Hau grimaced as his friend chose her move. Her owl Pokémon was strong against his water type starter, and Decidueye's Leaf Blade was notorious for landing critical hits.
Decidueye rushed forward and landed a direct hit. Primarina stumbled and fell to the ground in a faint.
The Kahuna's grandson stood with his mouth agape as he wordlessly called the tired Pokémon back to its ball.
"I haven't changed too much. I'm giving this everything I've got," Moon said, smiling slightly.
Hau started to smile, as always, and exclaimed, "You always had the greatest connection with Decidueye, Moon!"
The battle ended fairly quickly, with all five of Hau's Pokémon fainted and only Moon's Sylveon fainted and with her Decidueye at a critical health level. "Wow, Moon!" Hau exclaimed in wonder. "I knew you were way stronger than me, but you got even stronger!"
Moon smiled and the two friends caught up for the rest of the evening. Hau wanted to know everything that happened to Moon when she had been traveling around new regions. She tried to ask what was new in Iki Town, and with him, but her easy going best friend laughed it off.
"So, what was the food like there?"
When Moon left Iki town, it was dark. Moon was perfectly fine, content with the approaching night, still feeling bubbly from seeing Hau again. She had been traveling alone all day since she was 11, after all. Maybe not completely alone, she thought with a twinge of sadness.
She didn't go straight home, and knew her mother wouldn't worry too much. She stopped by the Pokémon lab. Moon was elated to see the light on inside, and knocked lightly on the door. She stepped back as the door opened.
"Moon!" cried Professor Kukui with a grin. "How were the conferences?"
"They were pretty cool," Moon said. "But it's way better to be back home".
"I heard on the news you went through the Gym challenge while you stayed in Kanto," Kukui said. "How'd that go?"
"Well, I challenged the league after I beat the Gym Leaders," said Moon. "Of course, it wasn't for the title; I wouldn't want to be Champion of two regions, now would I?"
"'Course not," agreed Kukui. "The stress would eat anyone up."
Moon laughed and nodded. "So I beat the Elite Four, and, well, I already battled Red and Blue here in Alola, so…"
Kukui chuckled quietly. "So you're the strongest trainer in two regions. Probably all of them, in fact."
"I doubt that," argued Moon. She knew she was a good trainer, but she also knew she wasn't invincible.
The profesor shrugged. "That's just what I think, cousin," he said easily. "You pack a Mach Punch, yeah!"
The Champion showed Kukui her Pokémon, and told him about some of the new ones she had met on her travels.
"What, really? You saw Xerneas?"
"Yes, professor. A lot of the Champions had legendary Pokémon on their teams, like I do. Oh, I think Lugia was there. And Groudon. I think I saw Reshiram, too. And Dialga!" Xerneas had been the Pokémon of a young woman named Serena. Moon had thought she was nice, if not a bit too ambitious. A girl around Moon's age had used Lugia. Her name had been… Lyra. She had been quite friendly; her Typhlosion had followed her around and taken a liking to Moon. Groudon had the Pokémon of Brendan, a boy her age from Hoenn. A teenage girl, Hilda, Moon remembered, had battled with Reshiram. And Lucas had been the boy who had battled her using Dialga. He hadn't seemed surprised that she, too, had a legendary Pokémon, and merely grinned when she had thrown out Nebby to meet Dialga in battle.
Kukui looked astonished. "Wow, cousin! Sounds like you had a great time, yeah!"
"I did," Moon agreed with a fond smile. "But I'm happier here."
At last, Moon said goodbye and left for her house. The Pokémon professor walked her to the door and looked like he wanted to say something, but he shook his head.
"Be safe out there, yeah?"
Moon was tempted to ask Kukui about that. She didn't know what there was in Alola that she had to be safe around. But she smiled and bid him goodnight and turned to face the sea. A small walk through the tall grass and up a hill brought her to her home.
She would have to let Gladion know she was back. She resolved to see him in the morning.
When she entered her house, her mom was next to her in a flash.
"Oh, you're okay!"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Is anything wrong?"
"No, no. I'm just so happy you're back home!"
Moon told her mother where she'd been and then was off to sleep, thinking for a moment about how relieved her mom sounded.