After skipping out last year, I'm back for another Advanceshipping Week!

Day 1: Stargazing


There was neither sun nor moon in the sky. There was no great light in the sky. There were only little dots in the sky, glimmering in the endless sea of space. Tonight, they had no number, for they practically covered the sky in their light.

There was no better place to view this spectacle than from the farthest hollow of Ten Carat Hill. From there the constellations of both the Sunne and the Moone could be seen, a rarity in the region of Alola. While other locations could give a fine view of one constellation or the other, there were only four that could give a view of them both, one on each island. And even then, Ten Carat Hill gave the most unique view of them all.

It was the perfect place to spend an evening with a loved one. And that's just what a certain young man had in mind when he decided to set up camp one night.

"Ash, do we really have to camp out here tonight?" a young brunette asked as they staked out a small spot on the highest hill in the area.. She wore a plain orange shirt with black shorts, as well as familiar white-and-black biker gloves. Most prominently, a headband with a white semicircle resembling a Pokeball adorned her head.

"Trust me, May," the young man, Ash, said with a big smile as he laid out his sleeping bag. "This is the best place to be on a night like this." Ash wore a blue shirt with short white sleeves. It was similar to a previous shirt he wore, with the primary difference being a large, white rectangle on the front. He wore long, dark pants with red stripes on the sides, as well as dark fingerless gloves with blue cuffs. And, of course, his messy black hair was contained by a bright red cap. This cap in particular had the Alolan insignia of a Pokeball on it, colored black.

"You know, Professor Kukui said we could sleep at his place tonight," May said as she struggled to pull out her sleeping bag from their backpack. "It's been a long time since we were in Alola after all. Wouldn't it be a good idea to spend some time catching up with him?"

"We've got all week to do that," Ash replied without looking up. "I wanted our first night here to be just between the two of us."

May rolled her eyes and chuckled. Ash was hardly the kind of person to do things the way everyone expected him to. He lived life on his own terms, stubbornly refusing to change unless absolutely necessary. While this could make it hard to negotiate with him, it nevertheless gave him a charm that few guys May knew had. Plus, this stubbornness often manifested itself in his unwavering dedication and resolve, something which also attracted her.

"Nngh!" she grunted, trying to pull out her sleeping bag.

At this, Ash looked up. "Need help?"

"No," she replied as she yanked at the bag once again. "I got this!"

Ash just chuckled and shook his head playfully. She could be just as stubborn as him sometimes. "I think you should look at the zipper."

"Zipper?" May blinked. She looked at the half of the sleeping back she'd pulled out and found the zipper to unwrap it. She pulled it and loosened up the bag.

"No no no, not that zipper!"

"What?"

Ash facepalmed and walked over to her. "Here," he said, bending down and grabbing the zipper on the backpack. He pulled it just as she pulled on her sleeping bag once again. The force of pulling it free threw her off balance, prompting Ash to run over and catch her so she didn't fall on her back. Unfortunately, this ended up getting the both of them stuck in May's completely open sleeping bag.

"Augh!" May cried, scrambling about in the bag. "Who turned out the lights?!"

"May, it's nighttime," Ash replied. "The lights were already out. Now hold still."

"EEK! Something touched me!"

"Sorry! That was me!"

"Watch it, will ya?!"

"Okay. Just gimme a sec – ACK!"

"What?! What is it?!"

"Something touched me, too."

"Oh. Is that what just touched my arm?"

"What?! Your arm isn't that soft!"

"Argh! Lemme get the zipper."

"No! That'll just get us even –"

Before he could finish, May pulled the zipper. But instead of making things easier, the bag only grew tighter around them. "Oh no!" she cried.

"Mayyyy," Ash moaned.

"It's okay. I got this! Mmph...urrrgh...great, now the zipper's stuck."

"Lemme see that. Okay, now let me – what?! May, this isn't a zipper! It's Pikachu's tail!"

"What? How did he get in here?"

"Oh, that's right. I let him sleep in here while we came up here."

"Oh, NOW you bring that up."

"Hey, I didn't think –"

"Piiiikaaaaa...CHUUUUUUUUUU!"

The electric shock sent the bag flying up into the air before collapsing down in a heap beside them. It also knocked the two of them to the ground, little Oscars and Andis spinning around their heads.

"Owwwwww," May moaned.

"Every time," Ash groaned. "Every. Stinking. Time." Pikachu immediately went back to sleep.

May turned and looked at her sleeping bag. It was smoking slightly. "Aw, man," she moaned again.

"What?"

"I borrowed that sleeping bag from Mom," she said. "Looks like it got a little damaged."

"Uh-oh. Is it one of her favorites?"

"Nah. It's pretty easy to replace."

"All right. Maybe she'll like an Alolan sleeping bag. I'll make sure I get one for her while we're out here."

May nodded and looked back up. Then she gasped. "The sky!"

Ash looked up as well and saw the night sky, covered in a vast array of stars. A smile crossed his face as he stared in awe. "Wow," he said softly. "It's been a long time since I've seen the Alolan night sky."

"Yeah," May agreed as they sat up together. "Is that why you wanted to camp out here tonight?" she asked, turning towards him.

"Of course it is!" he replied, turning to her. "It's just like the night we came home, isn't it?"

"It's even better than I remember," she said, turning back to the sky. He did likewise. "I don't think I've ever seen so many stars in my life. Not even in Hoenn!"

"Kanto's not much better," Ash agreed. "Now let me see…" He scanned the sky, searching for the constellations. He squinted slightly as he struggled to find it. May noticed this after a moment and turned to him.

"Looking for something?"

"Yeah," he said. "You're supposed to be able to see the constellations of the Sunne and Moone from here, but I can't see either one."

"Oh? Hm…" She joined the search. "Do you know what they look like?"

"Here," he said, switching on a flashlight to show her two diagrams. Once she took note of it, he turned the light off. They scanned the sky, searching for the iconic Alolan patterns.

"There!" May exclaimed suddenly, pointing.

"What?" Ash blinked. He followed the direction she was pointing. "Huh – oh! That's it! The constellation of the Sunne!"

"What?" May blinked, turning to him. "You found it?"

"No, you did!" he said, looking back up.

"I did?" she blinked. "No, I found the constellation of the Moone."

"What?" he blinked, turning back to her. "Where?"

"Right there!" she said, pointing in the same direction she pointed in before. Ash looked up and squinted.

"You sure?" he asked. "I'm pretty sure that's the Sunne I'm looking at."

"Positive," she nodded. "It looks exactly like the diagram."

"Huh," he muttered, pulling out the diagrams again. "That's odd." He switched on the flashlight and looked them over. "How are you seeing the Moone when I'm seeing the Sunne?"

"I don't know," May mused, looking the diagrams over. "It's almost like it's –"

At that moment, the answer hit both of them like a Thunderbolt. They looked up at each other briefly in excitement before turning back to the diagrams. Ash took the Sunne diagram while May took the Moone. They placed them one over the other, the Sunne over the Moone, and shone the light on it to see the merged diagram.

"An Eclipse!" they said in unison. Ash turned the light off, and they looked at the sky. Just as they thought, the two constellations were there, creating a unique constellation that matched the merged diagram exactly.

"Wow!" Ash exclaimed. "That's incredible!"

"They complement each other perfectly!" May squealed with delight, clasping her hands. "The Sun and the Moon."

"They're both beautiful on their own," Ash said softly as he stared at the sky.

"But when they come together," May went on, looking up, "they create something even more amazing."

The two of them spent the rest of the night sitting on the top of the hill, staring up at the sky. Ash slowly shifted over, getting closer to May and putting an arm around her. In response, May rested her head on Ash's shoulder. They stayed that way for a while, staring at the incredible constellation. Although the night's heavy slumber slowly called them into a peaceful sleep, they knew that this was going to be a night to remember.

For when the sun and the moon come together, there are few things more beautiful.


And we're off to a strong start! Let's see if I can keep this momentum going.

For those of you who follow Pokemon: Adventures in Alola, please consider giving your opinion in the poll on my profile page.